The POWER of Praise

I am thankful today for the POWER of Praise

 Praising the people in your life:

 Praise Defined – Words and actions of honor; applause, adoration, a compliment, a pat on the back, a recognition, celebration, thanks, appreciation

 

Praise is a means by which you give honor to an individual for who they are

or for what they have accomplished

Praise is a good thing

·         Give your children praise for a job well done, and they beam!
·         Give them praise just because of love, and they blossom!
·         Give them praise on a regular basis and they flourish!

·         Give your friend, co-worker, neighbor praise and they respond in kind – they may not believe your words and actions of praise or thanks as easily as a child will, but somewhere deep inside they will grab on tight and they will be lifted up to a higher place

·         A child giving praise to a parent or caretaker prompts a response of satisfaction, of love returned, of warmth, of joy

 Praise Recognized -- brings joy, grants strength, restores courage and self-esteem, motivates!!

 

Praise grants blessing to the giver and to the receiver

Praise is Powerful!!

 

Praising God:

Praise Defined --  Words and actions of worship: applause, acclaim, adoration, exaltation, celebration, giving glory, thanks

·         God is not in need of a self-esteem boost; He is very aware of His greatness, His goodness, His power

·         He enjoys praise from a place of perfect love….love for us
               o   As the ultimate Parent, He just plain loves that we love Him back
               o   As the ultimate Giver, He loves the praise for our sake:

·    He created us with a need to  receive and to give praise… there is fulfillment in the act of Praise

·         In addition, He has arranged that in our giving of praise and thanks, we create power and possibility in the spirit and soul realm!

There is an incredible promise that Praise and Thanks actually releases God to work on our behalf:
“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." ~ Psalm 50:23 NIV

I don’t claim to understand this concept  (Why does God, who is all powerful, request our participation in order to work on our behalf?)

I don’t understand it, but I accept it…. this is the way He has set it up.

Yes, He can and does do miracles on a regular basis that have nothing to do with us.
Also on a regular basis we work with Him to create miracles:

We work WITH Him to see goals met

We work with Him to see mountains moved

We work with Him to see evil overcome

We work with Him to find freedom from chains

We work with Him to find healing

We work with Him to see doors of opportunity opened

We work with Him to let the past go, enjoy the present, prepare for the future. 

We work WITH Him

One of the ways we work with Him, is to give Thanks and Praise

PRAISE is POWER!!

 

We are more fulfilled, more at peace, more free, more powerful,

when we give thanks, when we give praise!

Praise on the lips brings beauty to the countenance.

 

I love that old song that says:

“Praise looks good on you”

~ Don Moen

 

Some days it is easy to give thanks to people or thanks to God; some days it is easy to live from a place of praise….. Joyful days of thanks and praise are my favorite.

But, some days it is difficult to live from a place of praise. It can be especially difficult when troubles are weighing us down; long term illness, financial difficulty, relationship disappointments, rainy days without end, the death of a loved one, the list goes on of reasons that we may not feel like giving thanks, we may not feel like offering praise.

Our “natural” tendency is to respond to difficulties and evil with fear, frustration, anger, discouragement, doubt.  Those tendencies have a place in the grieving process when we face loss. But beyond that, those tendencies do not bring us what we long for.

We can rise above those tendencies, and make a choice to give thanks, to live from a place o praise…. And then we WILL find our heart’s desire.
 

Praise if often a choice….and if we will make that choice

Praise is always Powerful!

 

Praise changes the atmosphere and

paves the way for Miracles!

Praise has the potential to change circumstances and

it will ALWAYS change you!

  

I’m with that master musician and poet, King David, who throughout his life knew many trials; he knew rejection, and betrayal; anger and doubt; sickness and despair. And he always returned to praise!  

“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to Praise Him”

~ King David; Psalm 92

 

 

Here’s to the Power of Praise!
~ Connie

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Contact Connie @ connie@budbooks.org

Thankful for Another Year of Love

Birthday Blessings:

Another of my years has come and gone. I have faced some giants and knocked a few of them down; and I have prayed a couple of mountains out of the way. I have walked through some doors and walked through some fire – I have even looked death right in the face.**

New friends have been added to enrich my life; precious old friendships have been renewed. New ideas have been formed; old ideas have been strengthened or discarded.  My body is a little older, a few more grey hairs… my soul has a few more bruises, lumps and bumps…my spirit is restored and strengthened, my faith is returning to childlike.

For another 12 months on this planet, I have listened for His voice and followed His leading (some of the time willingly, some of the time dragging my feet.)  It has been a challenging year of stepping stones, of building blocks, of preparation for something new just up ahead. I am looking forward to what comes next.

(**Regarding death, I want you to know that it is lovely on the other side…So much light, so much love there… when it is my time to go I will be glad to step over into that place. But it was not my time yet, and I am thankful to still be here; to have some time on this side left….)

I have learned a lot this year; about life, about love, about God, about me.

I have gathered some wisdom, from here and from there…. Here is just a bit of that wisdom for you to ponder….some words from others, and some from my heart:

FROM MY HEART:

·         God rewards bravery.

             Bravery opposes fear
             As fear’s enemy, bravery becomes an ally of love
             Bravery is a friend of the greatest Love that pushes out all fear

When you do come to the end, and your life passes before your eyes (and I found out recently that it does actually pass almost as a video tape before your eyes), it will not be the things you tried and failed that will bring you regret; but you will regret the things you did not try because of fear.

As you are getting ready to cross to the other side, you will begin see all things more clearly, and that clarity will allow you to see fear for what it is – the opposite of love – it is not a good thing.

Fear is an evil robber of good gifts, of gifts that belong to you; gifts that are meant to be yours, meant to be enjoyed by you while you are living on this side of the grave.

On the other side there is no fear...only love.
 

Love is all that lasts. Love is the beginning and the ending. Everything else falls away. Everything else is just noise and clatter.**

Never make decisions based on fear
Instead let love build brave into you.

(**Refer to I Cor. 13)

FROM OTHERS:

·         “Wisdom is a blessing only to those prepared to absorb it.”

~ Author Unknown

 

 

·          “If you wait for perfect conditions you will never get anything done. You will never love, you will never learn, you will never grow, you will never dance.”

~ Author Unknown

 

·         “I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”  
~ Mother Teresa

 

·         “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength. Loving someone deeply gives you courage; makes you brave.”
~ Author Unknown

·         “As long as you have breath, it is never too late to love. It is never too late to laugh. It is never to late to dance.”

~ Author Unknown

 

·         “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
~ George Eliot

 

What if today you grab ahold of this truth:
                     God IS Love!...Whatever you know or think you know about God, all that He is; who He is, all that He does or has done, all that He promises… all of Him is wrapped up in this: He IS Love!

What if today you are not afraid of love?

What if today you based all of your decisions on love?

What if today you take a chance because of love?

 

 

Connie

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