High Praises

“Let the high praises of God be in their throats!” Psalm 149:6

I am not always successful in waking up with praise and thanksgiving. “Word before the world” is what I put in my “life map” at the beginning of the year, and so I really strive not to turn my phone on at the start of my day. 

There is so much we take for granted, and there is so much to thank God for. Electricity, water, a bed to sleep in, a roof over our heads, family, friends, community, our work, etc. I thank God that I can breathe without an oxygen tank beside me, that I can walk, and talk, and sing.

I was just listening to a woman who escaped from Saudi Arabia. Her own father forced her at 9 years old to marry a man who beat her every time she displeased him. She is now in the US, an activist trying to help trapped women like her, in other countries, even in the States, where the Sharia law is obeyed. Twenty five women from Afghanistan were invited to the US to learn some computer skills. When President Bush came to talk to them, he was so embarrassed because they all fell to the floor to kiss his feet. It was the first time they experienced respect and genuine concern for their welfare. 

Let us never take our blessings for granted! And let us in our little way, where we are, with what we have, share our blessings with others.