Breathing Out Your Praise

So I'm breathing in Your grace,

And I'm breathing out Your praise.

Matt Redman

We sang the above song by Matt Redman Sunday, and it's been singing in my heart all week. Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given (John 1:16). Each day is a grace, leaving no room for the trite and pettiness so evident in the world. I can press them down, shake them, but still they run over -- each breath a praise to my God.

Praise for forgiveness, freely given.

Praise for life, abundant and full

Praise for peace, quiet and calm

Praise for joy, overflowing and steady

Praise for blessings, upon blessings, upon blessings.

This grace is undeserved. It's amazing, and constant. It's daily and unending. And it's for you! Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). 

Breathe in God's grace, and exhale with praise. There will always be grace-breaths to inhale. His grace never ends, but it is in the praising that brings sparkle to the grace. Without the praise, when we take grace for granted, it dulls. Take some deep breaths today, and count your graces.

What grace are you breathing in today?

For you...30 Days of Praise. 30 praise verses for you to cut out and use during this season of gratitude.

Click here (30 Days of Praise) to download.

My Children are His!

Guest Post by Tracey Thornton. We are focusing today on praying for our children. School is beginning, students are headed off for college -- let's pray for them. Add your child in the comment section so we can all pray for each other's children. Sons (and daughters!) are a heritage from the LORD (Psalm 127:3).

If you are a parent, you know about worry. We want to trust God, but it's easy to get bogged down in everyday life, and in being human Lately, I have let stress and worry about my children eat away at me til I've been worn down to a pathetic useless frazzle. It's my own fault. When we take our eyes off Him and start looking down at the waves, we will sink every time. Today I was reading an article and one sentence jumped out at me: "Children crave their parents’ attention because it makes them feel known—deeply and intrinsically” (Mia Mauss).

I hope and pray my children feel that I know them. Divorce rips apart families and no matter what, the children always lose. I can't undo the damage. I can't fix it for them. Those of you that have intact families, thank God for it. Don't waste that precious gift. Don't take it for granted. Make the most of it. I never thought it would happen to me or my children. It was not my choice, and not having my children with me for ANY amount of time has NEVER been my choice. It would be very easy to be bitter and just abandon hope. I've been at that heart wrenching, completely broken, point so many times. 

I would like to be able to tell you that God always bails out the children and they are protected from the pain and loss. But that isn't true. Mine have suffered great loss, they still do, they always will. I've fought, struggled, cried, prayed, beat down heaven’s doors, but in the end, I can't make it be the way I want for my children. They live in a sin-cursed world, just like me, and will always suffer because of the choices of others. It's not fair. It just isn't. It is reality.

But, I choose not to be bitter. I choose HOPE! I know that we love and serve a big God and that He is more than able to bring my children through and home safe to Heaven. He will even bring them joy in this earthly life! He loves them far more than I even do. He knows everything that has happened to them, every heartbreak, every triumph, every battle, every joy. He knows and He cares. He won't let them fall. He said He wouldn't and I believe Him! All the good and all the bad that has happened to them, HE alone, can work it all towards their good. That is His promise!

I have one right now that is pretty angry with God and has chosen not to believe in Him. He knows that and He loves them anyway. He knows their heart and soul and every single heartbreak they have suffered. He knows the pain and anger and anguish that has surrounded them. But more than that, He has a redemption for them -- JOY for them. I'm praying, I'm trusting, I'm believing that God will take this that we have created and redeem it. He has loaned my children to me for a little while, but they are HIS!

So today, I'm letting go of the stress, the fear, the guilt, the constant worry that breaks down my soul and shatters my heart. I'm letting go and grabbing hold of JOY. I’m trusting in a God who cannot fail! I’m resting in His big, powerful, sheltering, loving hand and putting my four beautiful children right there with me.

by Tracy Thornton 

Linked to:
Women with Intention
A Little R and R
Hope in Every Season 

Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood

Titus 2 Tuesday

Intentional Tuesday

Finding Joy in the Everyday

When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' your unfailing love, LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy (Psalm 94:18-19).

Do you feel it -- that tightening in your chest that makes you think medical attention is eminent? That uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach when you think of your to-do list? Those tears when you think of those you love going through hard trials? The shadow that hovers over your heart as you deal with grief?


My “Everyday” this week encompassed all of those. Physical issues, writing deadlines looming, mixed with entertaining preparations, a continuing grief, and friends coping with cancer, empty nests, and frightening physical diagnosis.

But as I began my day I realized that while my heart is aches, frustration sits with tenacity in my stomach, heart shadows creep closer, my body wants to curl up without moving, I can still be joyous! 

The Psalmist asked God: Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days (Psalm 90:14). This is the satisfaction that comes with beginning our day with God. Satisfaction from reading the love letter He left for us. Satisfaction from conversation with our Best Friend. Satisfaction from listening to worship music. It is out of this satisfaction that we can find joy in our “Everyday.”

Joy in the clear amber of my iced tea.

Joy in an egg casserole, RB-style.

Joy in a successful morning of writing.

Joy in lunch in a “hole-in-the-wall” diner.

Joy in West Virginia peaches, corn-on-the-cob, and cherry tomatoes from a vegetable stand.

Joy in a refreshing nap.

Joy in texts and laughs from my teacher daughter.

Joy in anticipation of family togetherness.

You see, I could let life irritate and overwhelm me – and I almost did. But I was reading Psalm 41 when verse eight stopped me. “I take joy in doing your will, my God.” God’s will is for us to live the “Everyday” with joy.

Joy when we’re not feeling well.

Joy when we don’t have enough hours in our day.

Joy when we stand at a loved one’s newly laid grave marker.

Joy when we are bearing others’ burdens.

Because when we choose joy, we find it waiting in every moment of our day, around every corner we turn, in every activity. Too often we use joy and happiness interchangeably. Nobody is happy with pain, happy when grieving, happy that our friends are suffering, happy with more work than hours. But joyful? Yes, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.

In the midst of a week of difficult circumstances, I found joy in my “Everyday.”