I wearily sat down on the edge of my bed. Every muscle in my back, legs and feet were protesting. I grumpily thought of all the laundry that still needed to done. I sighed heavily as I pondered on how the house had mysteriously gotten so cluttered when we had hardly spent any time at home over the weekend. I struck up a running commentary in my head on the injustices of doing my household duties while everyone else lounged in front of the television.
Then my eyes drifted over to my nightstand and caught these words printed on a card.
Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits- Psalm 103:1-2
Oops! I had been doing everything but that for the last hour. I had let my tiredness and selfishness take control. Instead of complaining, I should have been praising. Praising God for my happy, healthy children. Praising Him for my loving husband (even though he had parked his caboose in front of the T.V.!). Praising the Lord for my home, for the food he provides to fill our tummies, and for the clothes we have to wear. Praising Him for our freedom to worship in this country. Praising the Lord that my husband still has a job. Praising Him for his love. Praising, praising, praising.
Let me tell you those two verses struck my heart. I realized I have prided my self in being a positive person, looking for the good in every situation. Last night I realized my positive attitude does a disappearing act when I am in the comfort of my own home. All of a sudden, I start to gripe. I get frustrated with all that needs to be done and all that isn't getting done. My outlook takes on a more pessimistic tone. Instead of setting my heart to praising I find my self grumbling. This is the exact opposite of what I want to teach my children. Now I'm not saying that I walk through every second of my day grouchy. I tend to feel the grumpiness coming on when I am tired, the children have been a handful, or when there is much to do and little time to accomplish it. However, I am coming to see that these are the times I need to pour on the praise, look for the positives and fill my heart with thankfulness. When the pressure is on my children are watching to see how I will respond. Am I going to crumble or am I going to stand firm and fill our home with praise. I want my children seeing and hearing me praising the Lord through the good and the bad. So that when they face difficulties they will know exactly how to deal with them...
Head on, with a heart and voice full of praise!
Funny enough, we are going through a "training" time with my 9 year old son now regarding being negative.
ReplyDeleteI have to watch myself ALL THE TIME because we get weary and it's easy to just say things without thinking.
I know I have/need to be an example so that my home is running like a fine oiled machine! :)
WOW you couldn't of had a better post! This is everything I feel wrapped up in a post! I am so thankful I was able to read it. I am thankful you remind me to praise the LORD! Life is good isn't it, even if your upstairs toilet is misfunctioning at least we have 2 others right. Have a good week! Tana
ReplyDeleteI do this myself too. It's a constant battle. Fighting the flesh. I try to praise God that I have the health to be able to pick up the house while the rest of the family is on the couch playing the playstation. I try to remember several months ago when I physically couldn't take care of my home. "In everything that you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men"
ReplyDeleteit's a good thing that verse was out in plain sight! sometimes the constant nature of housework does get a litte old, hope the back holds up :)
ReplyDeleteI am still in the position of daughter so I can't feel how you feel. But I learn a lot from your writing since I am going to get married next year. I want to praise Him for everything I get.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, sister.
I can totally relate! It is so easy to let our guard down when we're at home. I'm often much more relaxed, jovial, and good-natured when I'm at work, church, or somewhere that isn't my house. I definitely need to grow in this area and praising God for the blessings He has poured out on me.
ReplyDelete~Luke
Yes we forget during the tough times...and that's when we need Him the most. I've been going through some of those times here.
ReplyDeleteOh how I hear you on this one! I think it's so true of so many of us because we really do have an overwhelming amount to take care of, all of it heaping down on us at home. It's hard to stay positive and praiseful, but WOW, it feels so much better than my usual griping.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, lady!
I love how you said, "When the pressure is on my children are watching to see how I will respond. Am I going to crumble or am I going to stand firm and fill our home with praise." You hit me between the eyes with that one! I tend to crumble pretty quick sometimes and that is definitely not the example I want to set for my little ones.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog! I'm happy to meet you and see your darling family. I really miss homeschooling, 4-H, and all the activity of having young ones around. Empty nests come way too quickly! But PRAISE the Lord for all His benefits! How can we count them all? Who forgives all, heals all, redeems all, crowns us with loving-kindness... and renews our youth like the eagle. I love Psalms 103! See you again soon!
ReplyDeleteAw, you're not alone. Even I have moments like that, and I'm not proud of it. It gets frustrating and sometimes it seems like we can never keep up! The messes come faster than we are able to clean it. The verse is a great reminder, thanks!
ReplyDeleteWe so have to watch ourselves don't we Jenn? I know that I have to really focus on The Lord continously, or else I will start griping, complaining, getting frustrated and quite angry at the situation I am in at the moment.
ReplyDeletePraising Him...that is the answer!
blessings to you and to your dear family,
lady m
How true is that? I had the exact same revelation earlier this month, I even blogged about it :D great minds think alike. We need to praise the Lord, through the good AND bad times as well. AMEN!
ReplyDeleteHow well you have struck a cord in my heart. I struggle w/depression even though I have everything I could ever want-God has blessed me greatly. But w/struggles w/children,a small farm, etc, I've forgotten simply just praising God can greatly help me thru the day-Thank you for your words-you've no idea how much I needed a simple reminder!
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