Praise and Thanks

January 13, 2009

A Point of Focus

In the world of good manners we have the words, “Please and Thank you” being taught and hopefully practiced on a daily basis. The affects of these words can be very dynamic when said properly, sincerely, and consistently. They are there to use on a daily basis not just when we want or feel like being polite.

In our Christian lives we need to change those words ever so slightly to “Praise and thanks.” This is done not for the sake of “good manners” but as a point of focus for our hearts and food for our soul. They are things that need to be taught no differently than teaching a child how to walk, run, or jump rope so let the lessons begin….

Praise is used to Praise the Lord for who He is. Reading through the Bible you can find all sorts of things that demonstrate things about God that we can praise Him for. Starting with the Book of Psalms we will pull out praises to God to lift before Him in our hearts and to focus on in our minds.

Next thanks is used to thank the Lord for the things that He has done for us or given to us. Instead of focusing on all the things we want or would like to have or don’t have we need to take the time to say thanks for the things already given. When you have invited Jesus to live in your heart, be a part of your life, to walk beside you through life’s adventures you don’t have to be a part of the “give me, give me” world. Stop and give thanks and you’d be surprised of the blessings you will find that you never saw before.

Our praise and thanks for today is…..

Praise you Lord for being someone we can fully trust in (Psalm 27:3)

**In a world where we are surrounded by people and things we can’t trust it’s a big praise to know that we can trust in God fully 100% of the time.

Thank you Lord for our life you gave us and all its trimmings, all the things that come with it.

***Our life doesn’t have to be one full of riches, we may have health problems, family troubles but we can be very thankful for what we have, the air we breathe, the food we eat whether we like mom or dad’s cooking or not.

X marks the spot. We have created a point of focus to direct our minds too when times get tough, or we are feeling depressed, happy, excited, sad, lonely, fearful, or whatever. Whether it’s the first thing in the morning, in the middle of the school day, or the last thing at night it doesn’t matter it’s a point of focus we need to train our selves to do.

When life gets negative and you feel your spirit being drawn down by things going on in your world make an X on a piece of paper. Once you’ve done that look at it and turn your head slightly and you can see your X turn into a cross. The cross of Jesus He died upon to get your life focused on what truly is important, a life with Him. With the right training of our eyes we can see Jesus wherever we are, in everything we gaze upon and it starts with the proper focus.


Copyright 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing