I’m jumping on here late in the day just to share a few thoughts as we approach this special day of being grateful!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Lovingly,
Lie and Praise
I have a love/hate relationship with the Auto-correct on my cell phone. When I want it to correct a misspelled word, it often does, and I love that. However, it doesn’t read my mind and it often makes assumptions at times that aren’t always right. It can be very frustrating! I know I’m not alone in this.
Recently a friend was texting about whether or not she would be able to attend our church’s Pie and Praise service this week. However, her auto-correct fixed the word Pie to what it assumed was correct. So she let her friends know she wouldn’t be attending the “Lie and Praise” on Tuesday night! I laughed until my sides hurt over that one!
However, the more I’ve thought about it, the more convinced I am that her auto-correct may have been right after all! Oh, I’m sure no one who attends a praise service would purposefully lie about their praise, but there’s a way that I see myself not giving honest praise to my God. Here’s what the next part of Psalm 103 tells us to do:
Don’t forget all His benefits!! I lift my hands and say, “Thank you, Lord!” This past Sunday after praying and thanking the Lord for His benefits, I marched out the door, went to church, and when someone asked me how I was, the first thing I told them was that I had a migraine! What?! Could I have not shared at least three things God had done for me instead? What about all the parts of me that felt great, thanks to my God who holds this body together?! But no, I turned my praise into a lie by not sharing God’s blessings and goodness with that person! I’m thankful for the conviction of the Spirit of God, because I was able to get it right with Him when I confessed it!
Isn’t it easy to praise one minute and complain the next? God has done so much for us, but if we praise Him one minute and gripe and grumble the next, we’re really lying instead of praising.
I’m asking the Lord to help me to attend the Pie and Praise instead of the Lie and Praise – not just at church this week, but every day of my life!
Do you find yourself praising or grumbling today? Let’s remember all His benefits and praise His name! No lying!
Pie and Praise
I’ve been scouring through pie recipes looking for something great to take to our church Pie and Praise Fellowship Tuesday night. The possibilities are endless, but the success rate on some of them looks doubtful.
So many ingredients!
So many steps!
But there’s one thing I can take with me to that fellowship that is very simple – a heart of praise. Why? Because according to Psalm 103:
- Bless the Lord – There’s only one Person Who deserves my praise – it’s my God! I may struggle over which pie to make, but I can never wonder Who deserves my gratitude – it’s my wonderful God! To “bless the Lord” is to give Him praise. This phrase comes with a heart of affection and a sense of gratitude. There is none else who deserves my thanks and praise but the Lord!
- O my soul – My mind and heart are all in when I’m praising God! Some of these instructions in the pie recipes are confusing and so complex! Failure seems inevitable! I’ll never go wrong praising the Lord! To bless the Lord with my soul is to use my mind and heart, my emotions and my will. All I have to consider is how great He is, and it comes so readily! My soul was made to have fellowship with God, to enjoy His favor and consider His attributes. I was made to praise the Lord and I will praise Him with my soul!
- And all that is within me, bless His holy name. I can give praise with my whole being. While I could keep back a piece of the pie I’m baking and savor it myself (which is tempting sometimes!) to bless God’s name with all that is within me is to praise Him with all my faculties, all my heart, all my will, all my emotions and all my affection. God is worthy of all the praise that I can give Him with my whole being! I will be “all in!”
My pie probably won’t win a prize, but I pray that my praise will be a beautiful delight to my God. He alone is worthy. So I say, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
I trust you’re preparing your praise to God even more than you’re preparing the food you’ll enjoy on Thursday!
Taking the Guess-Work Out of Date Night
Who doesn’t love a fun date night? Getting dressed up, going somewhere fun and spending time together is a great way to recharge your marriage. But there can to be two problems when a man and woman are going to go out for a date:
- They always go to the same place because they can’t think of something new.
- They’re afraid to say what they really want to do, or they can’t make up their mind, so they go back and forth with, “Where do you want to go?” “I don’t care, you decide!”
Does this sound familiar?
I have a couple suggestions for you that will alleviate both of those issues:
Resolution #1. – Either Google “New restaurants (or stores, etc) in our area”, or use another kind of guide with that information to find new possibilities, like your newspaper.
It’s easy to fall into a rut! You go to your favorite restaurant, get dinner and call it a night. But with the world around us growing as it is, there’s no need for that to happen. In our city and I’m sure in most areas of the world, new businesses, walking/biking paths, books stores, and restaurants are popping up every year, giving opportunities for new adventures.
Recently our local newspaper published their 2017 Reader’s Choice Awards. In it are Restaurants with the best french fries, Asian foods, barbecue ribs, pies, doughnuts, desserts, coffee, Stores including gift stores, department stores and book stores. It goes on and on, listing the best of all kinds of fun places to shop, eat, be entertained or pampered. I couldn’t believe how many places were recommended that I’d never even heard of! I am writing those places into a book of date idea places. The next time we want to “try something different,” we’ll simply open the book and make a new choice!
You could also write the names of the places you want to try on Popsicle sticks and put them in a jar. Draw one out and do it when Date Night rolls around.
I love this idea of color-coding so you can make a more careful choice regarding price range or planning ahead.
Resolution to #2. – Take turns deciding. When it comes down to making the choice of which place you should go, do this – He chooses this week, you choose the next. It takes the pressure off trying to be sure he likes the place, and vice versa. This way, you both get the chance to decide and if it’s not the best, well, next week they can make the choice!
Don’t allow boredom or indecision to ruin your date night! Mix it up a little and make the most of the time you take to share a special evening together!
Refresh your marriage!
My Daily Kitchen Cleaning Routine
Not many care to have to scrub and scour by the hour! The remedy to that is to keep on top of chores so it doesn’t take long. If you let the counters in the kitchen pile high before you get to un-cluttering for Thanksgiving, you’re going to be working much longer than if you clear it off at the end of each day.
Here are a few tasks that I do every day after I finish cooking:
- Wipe down all the counters with warm, soapy water
- Wipe out the microwave
- Use window cleaner on the microwave, stove top, oven door, refrigerator, trash can and dishwasher
- Wipe out the sinks
- Empty the dishwasher and dish drainer
- Sweep the rugs
These tasks are complete in about 15 minutes, and the kitchen is clean when we get up in the morning and start the process of cooking and cleaning all over again!
What about your kitchen is most bothersome and hard to keep clean?
RefreshHer 