Praising God Always...

When I am not doing well my good friend, Adrienne, reminds me to "praise God always..."

So one of the ways I do this is when I am feeling sorry for myself is to think of the following throughout the day...

When I take a shower I thank God I have running, hot water in my home instead of having to bath in a cold stream a few miles away...

When I eat, I thank God I have a stocked pantry to eat out of and a fridge/freezer that stores healthy food so I don't have to go out back and kill something to eat with my own two hands or make bread from scratch starting with harvesting the wheat...

When I am frustrated with my children (which their struggles mostly stem from my own weaknesses) I remember the barren couple that would do anything to have these frustrations...

When I am mad as hell about immoral people making decisions on our behalf in our government I thank God I live in a country where freedom does truly ring...

When I am frustrated about lazy, rude Americans I think of all the heroic Americans that make a difference every single moment of the day - our medical communities, our police and firemen, our men and women in the armed forces...

When I have a terrible pain or am sick I remind myself of my chronically sick brothers or sisters that will not know what if feels like to be free of pain or sickness on this earth...

When I am not happy about my mundane chores and daily responsibilities, I think of all the religious men and women in the world that have taken a vow of obedience to tirelessly pray and work for the glory of God, always...

When I feel like running my mouth about someone I remember this is what will most likely send me to and keep me in purgatory...

When I do not feel like saying my prayers I remember the sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross...

When I am frustrated with the people I love most I try to think of them being taken from me at the end of the day and lower my often unrealistic expectations of them...

And as another good friend, Amy, reminds me "God is good all the time, all the time God is good."