Praising Through Life's Aggravations

I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall be continually in my mouth. Psalm 34:1 NKJV.

Good Morning Girlfriends:

As I was cleaning up the kitchen the other night, the neighbors dog was standing out in my driveway barking, so I went out to see what was going on. There was nothing out there for her to bark at, so I shooed her down the road to her home, seconds later she was back in my yard barking up a storm. Normally I don't say too much, but with a new baby in the house who was settled down for the night, I didn't want him to be woke up, so outside I went again. This time as I tried to shoo her down the road she would only go so far then stop and continue to bark, so unlike me to do so, I picked up a rock and threw it in her direction to get her attention, she didn't seem to care as I threw another rock and then another, but she finally began to trot down the road towards her home. The next morning as I came up the hall to the living room, I was faced with a ball of something on the couch with a big puddle of wetness, I knew instantly that my cat had brought something up in the night, nothing like facing that job on an empty stomach. It was then time for me to get the person, that I drive to work, to get on the road, as I dropped him off, a vehicle sat in front of me waiting for the traffic to go, when there was an empty spot to go, the vehicle just sat there. In my own vehicle I am saying to myself, " there is nothing coming, why don't you go." I didn't dare go around the person, so i waited until they decided to move out. Seconds away we came to the other stop sign, as I was looking up and down the road it was a clear view for this vehicle in front of me to go and again they sat there not moving. I am not one of these people who honk the horn, but in my mind I was thinking that they are not paying attention or they are looking at their phone, either way it was quite aggravating.

As I was heading back home, I was talking to God and telling Him that I wasn't going to let all of these little things keep my focus, the neighbors dog, my cat, morning drivers, I decided to focus my attention on the beautiful morning and praise God because He is good. In Psalm 34, David who is the writer, reminds us that we should praise God through all of the good times and the bad, the ups and the downs. Praise should be in our mouth everyday, no matter what our circumstances are, especially when we are walking through great trials.

Girlfriends, when we take our focus off of all the aggravating things that happen, or hardships that come our way, because they are going to come, and put our focus on praising and thanking God, our attitude and the atmosphere changes. When we sing, and thank God for all we are thankful for, the enemy cannot keep us in that mood of frustration, and that's exactly where he wants us to be. Think about how you feel when you begin to sing a little ditty or start thinking on the nature you see around you, think about your loved ones, what plans you may be making for the weekend, whatever it is, it will take your mind off of the situation in front of you.

It can always make a difference to call a friend and talk to them in order to get your mind off of things, or they may have something to say to get you through, praying together is a great way to lift ones spirits about something that may be bothering you. Make sure you surround yourself with uplifting people, who know how to pray and be the kind of encourager that you need. Nothing makes me feel any better than listening to my praise and worship music, it sure changes the atmosphere as it begins to change our moods as well. When we sing a song of praise to God, it's like giving Him a gift, He loves to hear us sing to Him. It's a sacrifice from our heart as we try to give Him our best, even when we don't feel like it, and as we do we are filled with the Fathers love so we are able to pass it onto others. That's how it works, in order to pass the blessings on.

Let's Pray,

Father God, I thank you for giving us a new day, just knowing that You are in this day with each and every one of us. I thank you Lord that your mercies are new every day, that we can have a start over when things didn't go well the day before. Lord help us to always to have a song of praise in our mouths each day and help us to love on others instead of making quick assumptions on them. Let us be quick to pray for one another and send send blessings their way in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

Be blessed, and be that blessing that someone may need. Here are a few scripture verses to read that will encourage you: John 16:33, Galatians 6:9, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 42:11, Psalm 56:3-4.