Thanks Living: Assignment

To stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening. 1 Chronicles 23:30

To stand: present oneself before, be attentive, arise, appear

Morning:  implying the coming of dawn, and even daylight

Thank: to revere or worship (with extended hands)

Praise: to boast, to rave; to celebrate

Likewise: faithfulness, in the same manner as before

Evening: originally sunset

In 1 Chronicles 23, David makes Solomon king and gathers together the princes, priests, and Levites, to assign them their proper jobs. I like the assignment given to the Levites, to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord—and do it again in the evening. 

Start the day thanking and praising God, and then end the day the same way. Beginning the day begun in thankfulness and praise will determine your mindset for the day. Ending the day with thanksgiving and praise will make you realize that God is working in and through you. 

How important is this assignment? Well, for David to have assigned it at all, shows that it is vital. Each and every morning and night, be attentive—specifically give thanks and praise to God. 

But what if I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, do I still have to thank and praise God? Especially on those mornings! For what better way to get an attitude adjustment, then to attentively thanks and praise God?! It's hard to have a bad attitude when thanking and praising Almighty God! 

Thanks Living is fully accepting the assignment of thanking and praising God each and every morning and night. A day that starts with thankfulness and praise will end on a high note!

A Continual Christmas

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

White Christmas, Jingle Bells, Rudolph
All I Want For Christmas,
Let It Snow, Silver Bells,
The sounds of Christmas add delight
But do we remember that holy night? 

Silent Night, Noel, Oh Holy Night!,
Away in the Manger, What Child Is This,
This Holiday, on the Who and why reflect
And lift up our voices in honor and respect!

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Redeemer, Savior, Lord, and Friend
To Thee our praise should never end!
- Rhonda Sawtelle

Magnificent morning. Positive day. Peaceful night.

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 92. Here is what I learned.

It is good to ·tell of [proclaim] your ·love [loyalty] in the morning and of your ·loyalty [faithfulness] at night. Psalm 92:2 (EXB)

It is good to announce your mercy in the morning and your faithfulness in the evening. Psalm 92:2 (GW)

To speak of Your unfailing love in the morning and rehearse Your faithfulness as night begins to fall. Psalm 92:2 (VOICE)

Morning: dawn, the beginning of the day

Night: end of the day, darkness

Mornings can be mayhem, mishmash, monstrosity or magnificent, marvelous--depending on how I choose to START my day.

On March 23, 2013, my Ponder Morsel from Psalm 57:8, was Waking up with Great Anticipation! “Psalm 57:8 expresses the same thrill of anticipation concerning praising God. The very thought of praising and giving thanks to God, wakes me up rejoicing! Literally, waking singing a song! ” Waking up with Great Anticipation!

If I want to have a magnificent, marvelous morning, it HAS to start with praising and honoring God! That’s the ONLY way to start my day on a positive note! I’ve learned that when I START my day praising God, I have a “better” day. No, praising God doesn’t guarantee that everything will go smoothly. But, rather I have a “better” day because I have God’s perspective on the day. 

Uneasy, unpeaceful, unquiet, unrestful—.uncertainty, uneasiness producing a restless and nightmarish night OR unafraid, unnervous, unworried—unbend, unlax, unwind and drift off into a peaceful sleep. Which night sounds magnificent and marvelous? I’ll pick the unafraid, unnervous, unworried—unbend, unlax, unwind and drift off into a peaceful sleep.

I’ve endured those unrestful, nightmarish nights mostly due to my pain medications. However, I have learned that even in the midst of those unrestful nights, if my focus changes from the pain and uneasiness, to praising God and His faithfulness, I am overcome with peace. 

If I want a magnificent, marvelous morning make my day awesome, the moment I awake, I need to praise God for His lovingkindness. And if I want to enjoy a night, unafraid, unnervous, unworried—and drift off into a peaceful sleep, I need to end my day praising God for His faithfulness! Praising God changes a magnificent morning into a positive day and creates a peaceful night. 

A magnificent, marvelous morning, a positive day, and an unafraid, unnervous, unworried—peaceful night is possible, if I only take the time to praise and honor my amazing and wonderful God.