8:00am on a Sunday morning and I've been awake for over three hours. This is not normal. My wonderful husband woke me up a little before 5:00 and, while I'd normally go right back to sleep, I made the mistake of checking the time on my phone and discovered five thousand notifications and, even though I didn't click on any of them, it still got my brain running. Once that happens, it's all over. I love being a female (eye roll).
We laid there and joked around and laughed. He eventually fell back asleep and I eventually pulled up Hulu on my phone and watched the latest Grey's episode.
I just brewed a hot cup of coffee and made it into a super healthy, protein filled peppermint mocha that'll give Starbucks a run for their money any day. Mmmmmmm. My Bible is open next to me and I just read Psalm 30. Such beauty and joy and peace found in these twelve verses. I have to share each of them.
We laid there and joked around and laughed. He eventually fell back asleep and I eventually pulled up Hulu on my phone and watched the latest Grey's episode.
I just brewed a hot cup of coffee and made it into a super healthy, protein filled peppermint mocha that'll give Starbucks a run for their money any day. Mmmmmmm. My Bible is open next to me and I just read Psalm 30. Such beauty and joy and peace found in these twelve verses. I have to share each of them.
1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
I absolutely love the honesty and balance in this passage. It emphasizes and rejoices in the good, the happy, the joy, the gratitude, while at the same time, talking about the hard, the heavy, the difficult, the painful. It's such an accurate picture of life and reflects the thoughts swirling around in my head.
It also makes me think of this article that I came across in my Facebook history from a couple years ago (and then re-shared on my timeline because it's that good). It talks about taking time to love and enjoy all of the little gifts and GOOD in this life, while not ignoring the bad and evil or pretending it doesn't exist.
(I must interrupt these thoughts to go shower for church or I will make us late. And I hate being late.)
It's now Monday and a gorgeous chilly fall day. Can't believe tomorrow is the first of November. Craziness.
I had intended to finish this yesterday afternoon but my husband surprised me with an early birthday present plan and we ended up going for a gorgeous drive to buy an electric fireplace off of Craigslist! I'm SO excited! He recently learned of my absolute love for their cozy, glowy warmth and I love him to death. It's so pretty and lovely! I had it decorated within twenty minutes of bringing it home, so I'm obviously rather thrilled about it.
Anywho. That was a digression and I'm reflecting back on Psalm 30 now. I love that it begins with praising God. What a beautiful way to begin each prayer, each day, each hour even. It is convicting to me as well. It is so easy to get caught up in the little details and hardships of life (and the big ones too, of course) and my first thought and focus is not on PRAISE, as it should be. And the funny thing is, worship and praise to our God has a way of changing my heart and perspective.
Yesterday I was struggling with some hurt and confusion over something. As I pondered and thought, I was noticing the gorgeous scenery outside of the car window. I began to pray and praise God for His goodness and creativity and beauty. Guess what. Those thoughts and frustrations were suddenly not such a big deal.
Praise doesn't magically fix everything. As we see in the Psalm above, the writer is still very honest and emotional about his struggles and calamities. God is always here to hear our cries, wipe our tears, forgive our sins when we repent, and renew our joy. Sometimes He removes the hardship, sometimes He doesn't. But He is with us through each moment, either way.
I love the words of happiness and joy in this Psalm...
Dancing.
Gladness.
Praise.
Sing.
Healed.
Joy.
Not everyday is full of "momentous" joys. Not everyday brings the healing we're looking for. Not everyday contains literal dancing (although maybe it should and I'm trying to do more of it).
Yet every single day is an opportunity, no matter the pain and evil in this world, to rejoice in the little gifts, to sing praise to God (and your favorite Disney song), to dance in the kitchen, so sit and enjoy the gifts God gives us, no matter how small.
The cozy glow of a fireplace.
A favorite show on Netflix.
A cup of tea.
Good books.
Crunching leaves.
Drives through the countryside.
Baby smiles.
Hugs and kisses.
A clean kitchen (for about five minutes, right?)
Fresh baked cookies.
Crazy weird costumes.
Pumpkins.
Playing with the dog.
Breakfast for dinner.
Laughter with the hubs at 5:00am when you both wish you were sleeping instead.
God is so very good, all the time. We just need to stop and notice and praise Him for it.
It also makes me think of this article that I came across in my Facebook history from a couple years ago (and then re-shared on my timeline because it's that good). It talks about taking time to love and enjoy all of the little gifts and GOOD in this life, while not ignoring the bad and evil or pretending it doesn't exist.
(I must interrupt these thoughts to go shower for church or I will make us late. And I hate being late.)
It's now Monday and a gorgeous chilly fall day. Can't believe tomorrow is the first of November. Craziness.
I had intended to finish this yesterday afternoon but my husband surprised me with an early birthday present plan and we ended up going for a gorgeous drive to buy an electric fireplace off of Craigslist! I'm SO excited! He recently learned of my absolute love for their cozy, glowy warmth and I love him to death. It's so pretty and lovely! I had it decorated within twenty minutes of bringing it home, so I'm obviously rather thrilled about it.
Anywho. That was a digression and I'm reflecting back on Psalm 30 now. I love that it begins with praising God. What a beautiful way to begin each prayer, each day, each hour even. It is convicting to me as well. It is so easy to get caught up in the little details and hardships of life (and the big ones too, of course) and my first thought and focus is not on PRAISE, as it should be. And the funny thing is, worship and praise to our God has a way of changing my heart and perspective.
Yesterday I was struggling with some hurt and confusion over something. As I pondered and thought, I was noticing the gorgeous scenery outside of the car window. I began to pray and praise God for His goodness and creativity and beauty. Guess what. Those thoughts and frustrations were suddenly not such a big deal.
Praise doesn't magically fix everything. As we see in the Psalm above, the writer is still very honest and emotional about his struggles and calamities. God is always here to hear our cries, wipe our tears, forgive our sins when we repent, and renew our joy. Sometimes He removes the hardship, sometimes He doesn't. But He is with us through each moment, either way.
I love the words of happiness and joy in this Psalm...
Dancing.
Gladness.
Praise.
Sing.
Healed.
Joy.
Not everyday is full of "momentous" joys. Not everyday brings the healing we're looking for. Not everyday contains literal dancing (although maybe it should and I'm trying to do more of it).
Yet every single day is an opportunity, no matter the pain and evil in this world, to rejoice in the little gifts, to sing praise to God (and your favorite Disney song), to dance in the kitchen, so sit and enjoy the gifts God gives us, no matter how small.
The cozy glow of a fireplace.
A favorite show on Netflix.
A cup of tea.
Good books.
Crunching leaves.
Drives through the countryside.
Baby smiles.
Hugs and kisses.
A clean kitchen (for about five minutes, right?)
Fresh baked cookies.
Crazy weird costumes.
Pumpkins.
Playing with the dog.
Breakfast for dinner.
Laughter with the hubs at 5:00am when you both wish you were sleeping instead.
God is so very good, all the time. We just need to stop and notice and praise Him for it.
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