The Power of Praise (or What to Do When You Can't Sleep...)

Insomnia is not a typical struggle for me.  But every now and then a sleepless night comes calling.  You know those nights...

-- when the brain just won't "shut off." 

-- When life's fears and anxieties overcome the the pull of sleep. 

-- When prayer cycles into worry, then back to prayer, then to worry -- until you're exhausted (but still not sleeping) from the struggle.

As a teenager, I read somewhere this tip:  "Instead of counting sheep when you can't sleep, make a list of God's attributes, beginning with 'A'." Today this tip was brought to memory as I read through Psalm 145 and was reminded that this Psalm is an acrostic based on the Hebrew alphabet.  The closing assignment in the study I am using was to make my own alphabetical list of God's attributes.

And like a flood, the power of praise washes over me.  The uncanny ability that God's Word has to restore the soul amazes me once again.

~~ Doesn't Psalm 22:3 say that God inhabits the the praise of His people? 

~~ Didn't Paul and Silas feel the prison walls tremble and their chains break off after an impromptu time of praise and worship? 

~~ Don't we feel the drizzle of depression and doldrums begin to dissipate as we drench our minds and hearts in God, in praising Him?  

So, do it!  Praise Him! List His attributes back to Him as an act of worship. Then watch Him turn your sacrifices of praise into temples of worship!

Five Minute Friday: Finish

It usually doesn't come with a warning.  There's no grand finish line.  No horns blowing or flags waving to signal the end.  It just quietly and uneventfully ends.  And suddenly you look back and realize that it's over.  It's gone.  The baby stage is past and the toddler stage is here.  Then you get busy again and notice that the toddler stage is over and in place of the toddler I find an active, articulate little girl. Barely even a preschooler any more.  She reads alone.  She makes her own breakfast.  She doesn't need or want me in the bathroom with her.  She gets dressed alone.  Just like that babyhood/toddlerhood is behind.  It never even said good-bye.

Most things in life are like that, I think.  Oh, some go with a clanging finality.  The family house being sold.  The son moving away to college or the daughter getting married.  But most other more nebulous stages just quietly end.  And the finale passes us in quiet ordinariness.  

I don't remember the last day Jacie pronounced sausage "ostrich."  But she says it right now.  I don't remember the last day I could read to her and skip sections without her knowing 'cuz she's reading along right with me.  I didn't know the last time she begged me to come in the bathroom and help her on the toilet would be the last time.  She hasn't needed me for months now.  

I embrace the finish because it signals an exchange -- a new set of adventures and learning and development.  But sometimes I wish I had said good-bye to the last stage before I realized it was already finished.

Farmers' Market Finds

Our local farmers' market launched a terrific program this summer for kids.  Just for signing up and showing up each Saturday, kids ages 4-12 get 2 free wooden tokens worth $1 each, good toward any produce.  The best part is that the kids get to keep the tokens from week-to-week and save them up!  I take Jacie with me every Saturday that I'm in town, and so far we've gleaned summer squash, eggplant, and green beans -- all farm-fresh and chemical-free -- for free!

Last night's chicken-crust pizza boasted all veggie toppings as a result.

(The summer squash missing on this one; I forgot to take a pic before we devoured it!)

I followed this recipe for our green beans

and paired them with Conroy's famous jerk-sauced chicken! (Both dinners adhere to my low-carb living life-style.)

Yay for farmers' markets featuring local produce!  And yay for finding free healthy-eating deals!  

Five Minute Friday: BELONG

Belong. A fitting word as we've just come home from a week-long vacation.  My home is where I belong.  My family is where I belong.  But do they feel the same way?

Does my 4-year-old feel that sense of "Ahhhh" relief when she walks through the door of her house and sleeps in her own bed that first night back? Does our home and family create a sense of peace and stability that welcomes and envelops her as plays and lives throughout each day?  Does she feel challenged to grow, but at the same time embraced and loved for who she is? I pray that she knows that she Belongs.

Does my husband sense welcome and rest as he walks in the front door after a long day?  Does he feel the joyous liveliness that life with a preschooler brings while still having the freedom to unwind?   Does the atmosphere at home spell warm retreat and not tension and frustration?  It is my desire that he knows that he Belongs.

And what about our guests?  Do they feel at home when they come over?  Do they feel welcomed and embraced and relaxed?  Does our house meet that cheery balance of clean but not sterile, orderly but lived-in, peaceful but not too quiet? I hope each person feels that he or she Belongs.