Sunday, May 21, 2023

Psalm 113:3 - "That's The Thing About Praise"

I love Sundays! I love gathering with my church family for worship and fellowship! Yesterday's Celebration of Vows Ceremony with some of my South Carolina tribe was such a joy. I look forward to today's gathering with Sunday School, Morning Worship with Annual Meeting business, communion, me presenting the vision God has given me to share, and our time of fellowship after church. God continues to pour down His blessings upon not only myself but the Beaufort Church of the Nazarene. He continues to guide our steps and for that I am thankful. As I prayed for pastors before going to bed, during the night, and again this morning I asked God to give them contentment in their heart for where He has them. I prayed for every pastor to be in relationship with God where they not only hear His voice but desire to walk in His full empowerment to live out His will. God has such great plans for all of us all we have to do is be willing to be submissive to Him. We need to be willing to not live in the past but learn from it. We need to be willing to live in the present where we will realize every day what He has for us. We need to be willing to look to the future to realize God's will for us. After resting for a bit after the ceremony yesterday we decided to go out and take a walk on the beach. What a blessing it is when Doug gets me to 'stop and smell the roses' and take time to be out in nature. I received such a blessing on the way to the beach as I was dealing with a couple phone calls. Doug pointed out how every song that was played on the radio was for that particular moment. They were songs that encouraged us to praise God no matter what was happening. Walking on the beach was another blessing. I saw some wildflowers growing out from an overturn tree at the beach and Doug commented how I see beauty in nature that many miss. I am so blessed by nature and really blessed by the love of my husband. On the way home we realized it was getting close to sunset so we drove to Pigeon Point and watched some dolphins play as the sun set. I love this time of year with the mimosa trees blooming and was blessed last night with taking a picture of one with the sunsetting behind it. Once again I thanked God for the beauty of His creation. It is sad to think of how many times I took nature for granted. How many times did I walk past a beautiful plant, flower, or tree without actually seeing it? How many times did it take for a strong scent from flowers before I finally smelled it? How many times sun rises or sunsets happened without me actually seeing them? It is sad to think about yet I am grateful God continues to pour the beauty of His creation out to be enjoyed. I am grateful for the way God works through His creation to encourage me through days that seem so overwhelming. I am thankful He doesn't tire of lifting me up. Blessing Offor sings a song called "That's The Thing About Praise" that reminds me to praise Him through the 'good' days and the 'tough' ones. It reminds me He is always here for me and nothing surprises Him.

TherŠµ's what I want and then there's where I'm at
Every one step forward, it got me five steps back
And I cried, I called, God knows I prayed
But most days faith is climbin' up a mountain that stayed

Dear Jesus, Thank You for the privilege to pray for pastors before going to bed, during the night, and again this morning! Thank You for all who made our Vow Celebration Ceremony so beautiful! Thank You for my dear husband Doug who loves me so well and reminds me to 'stop and smell the roses'! Cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. May  people see/hear You through my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts. I pray a blessing over my annual report and the sharing of the vision You have given me for our church. I pray for many going through difficult days to find reason to praise You. My Momma, my sisters Linda, Sally, and Mary; my brother Richard; Ben and Colleen; Steph as she recuperates from surgery; Pete and Delores; Steve; Cait; Rhonda; Mike; Norma Hall; Sharon Sebolt and her parents; some young ladies with anxiety; a young man out of rehab; Mary Lilley; a husband/father separated from his wife; Brooklyn; Kristen Batten; April; families in turmoil; Gay and Doug; Sherry; Mr John; and many others. I also pray healing prayers over many dealing with ‘c’ and/or going through treatments…Audrey; Chrissy’s cousin; Shirley Jones; my pastor friend with daily chemo; Little Ivy; Little Judson; Little Roselynn; a young girl in our community; a lady whose breast cancer has returned; a lady diagnosed with stage two breast cancer; a lady diagnosed with throat cancer; Sue Danhoff’s husband Harv; Michele with breast cancer; Mr Mullett; David; and Damon. I pray for: the Long family; Becky; Russ; a couple contemplating divorce and another couple having serious issues; and Kaytlin’s husband. Thank You for continued healing for Pastor Tommy and Pam! Thank You for being My Praise Maker! Amen.

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