Celebrate!

   If you have looked on the sidebar at the Blogs I Follow link, you will see my daughters' blogs. The "girls" refer sometimes to a way of living we all worked on together when they were young: celebrating every event we could think of. 
   I also tried to instill in them that no matter how draining or discouraging one day might be, we always had a fresh start on the next morning. As the Lord says in Lamentations, his faithful mercies are refreshed every morning.  
   Therefore sometimes, we simply celebrated a new day or a new month.  Try it--you'd be surprised how encouraging a mini-party can be at low tide.
   My three daughters were all born within a span of 38 months. Our life was a 24/7 daycare center for awhile.  One late afternoon in the thick of the chaos, when the atmosphere was getting grim, I turned to the girls and said, "Who can think of something funny?"
   "An orange wearing socks," said Catherine, not missing a beat.  Perfect! Party sandwiches, anyone?
   [As a side note, I received an exasperated phone call from a little friend's mother, who desperately needed to know what party sandwiches were. Mary Kathryn refused to eat regular sandwiches anymore at her house. She insisted that her mother make party sandwiches.  I gave her mother the recipe: peanut butter (or any kind of sandwiches) cut up into quarters and called party sandwiches. Ta Da! On the other hand, butterfly sandwiches are cut diagonally and arranged so they look like butterflies--point to point (2 on a plate).  Marketing is key with picky 2-year-olds. But I digress.]
   God calls us to lives of celebration, and not merely when times are easy. I would say, especially when times are not easy. 
   Isn't that what praise is?  Praise is an act of the will.I know. Like duh. The attitude of gratitude is more than a platitude. In the midst of crops failing and the olive tree not producing, Habakkuk 3:17 says, "I will joy in the God of my salvation." 
   Choosing to rejoice in the midst of pain is not only an act of the will, it is a brave act of faith and trust. Trust that HE who promised to bring you out to the other side has a reason for all that he does. He is never surprised by what happens on earth. He has the whole of history in his view. 
   Faith is seeing who the staggeringly awesome God we worship is, and realizing what he has done--and is constantly doing on our behalf.     
   The opposite of praise is worse than ingratitude; it is leaving to waste all the riches of our Almighty Father. He has extravagantly given us more than we can ask or think, yet we barely tap into the surface of our riches. How reckless, how shabby, with our gift bought at such high cost.
   The more we thank him and celebrate what we have, and who he is, the more honor we bring to him.  Start recognizing the wealth of his goodness, his glory, his power showered upon you, and celebrate!
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you...and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Isaiah 60:11