Ordinary Time

Pause

Make room for the real important stuff.

Tigger (in Disney’s The Little Book of Pooh-isms)

Listen

Praise the Lord! Let my whole being praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with all my life; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live. Don’t trust leaders; don’t trust any human beings— there’s no saving help with them! Their breath leaves them,  then they go back to the ground.  On that very same day, their plans die too.

Psalm 146:1-4

Think

As I write this, my family is currently evacuated from our home on the North Carolina coast because of Hurricane Dorian. It has been easy for my thoughts to become consumed by the storm and my soul filled with worry.

But today’s scripture reminds me to try to make praising God a priority. As God’s children, we are commanded to praise God with ALL of our lives every day. Our praise isn’t dependent upon circumstances, but on who God is and what God has done through Christ. God, who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and full of grace, is deserving of our praise.

Hebrews 13:15 says, “So let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise through him (Christ), which is the fruit from our lips that confess his name.” Some days, like today, can weigh me down so that I don’t feel like praising God. But that is exactly when I need to praise God most. For it is God alone who can save and in praising God I am reminded of that.

Stella Perrin

Pray

God, I admit that it is easier to praise you when life is easy. No matter what I face today, help me to praise you as I remember who you are and trust in your love for me. Amen.

Go

Today, make room for God to reveal God’s self to you through the people you encounter, the beauty of God’s creation, and the quiet whispers of God’s Spirit.

And as your soul is filled with the reality of God’s limitless love for you, may it crowd out all the unimportant stuff that weighs you down, freeing you to share that love with others.