"God comes where my helplessness begins."
Friday, April 16, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Spring
Despite getting up while it's still dark outside...
Despite 30 degree mornings...
Despite cold, rainy days...
SPRING IS HERE!
The new life it brings is gently unfurled...
It reaches forth in splendor...
It stands quietly in a corner...
It gives bright hope for the future...
It graces with its presence...
And it freely shares its joy, its life, its hope, its beauty
with all who will just take the time to stop... and look.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Praising God
Halleluh, halleluh, halleluh, hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord...
I have known this song for pretty much as long as I can remember. I've sung it at the top of my voice, I've sung it sitting down and standing up. But never once did I actually stop and consider what it means.
What does it mean to praise God? Is it just saying, "Praise God!" or "I praise you Lord for doing such-and-such"? Or is there more to praising God than that?
I was fine and content praying to God in my monotonous way, "I praise you for such-and-such," without really thinking whether I was actually praising God or not. That is, I was content until I came across Psalm 150:1 one day and wondered what it actually means to praise God. So decided to look up the meaning for the word praise. The definition I found was kind of surprising.
The Hebrew word for praise (halal) means: to be clear (orig. of sound but also of color); to shine; hence to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; to celebrate. Hmm... that's interesting. It sounds like what people are doing to movie stars. So praising God is boasting about Him, and raving about Him! God reminded me that I do that with physical things - food, people, books, movies, clothes - when I really like them. I know how to praise, and my God just wants me to rave and talk about how great He is; after all, He does deserve it!
I have known this song for pretty much as long as I can remember. I've sung it at the top of my voice, I've sung it sitting down and standing up. But never once did I actually stop and consider what it means.
What does it mean to praise God? Is it just saying, "Praise God!" or "I praise you Lord for doing such-and-such"? Or is there more to praising God than that?
I was fine and content praying to God in my monotonous way, "I praise you for such-and-such," without really thinking whether I was actually praising God or not. That is, I was content until I came across Psalm 150:1 one day and wondered what it actually means to praise God. So decided to look up the meaning for the word praise. The definition I found was kind of surprising.
The Hebrew word for praise (halal) means: to be clear (orig. of sound but also of color); to shine; hence to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; to celebrate. Hmm... that's interesting. It sounds like what people are doing to movie stars. So praising God is boasting about Him, and raving about Him! God reminded me that I do that with physical things - food, people, books, movies, clothes - when I really like them. I know how to praise, and my God just wants me to rave and talk about how great He is; after all, He does deserve it!
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