Girls To Grow

Nurturing moms in their walk with God

How to Praise God When Life Is Difficult

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It’s hard to believe we’re closing out March today! We’ve definitely had some spring-like weather here lately. I walk outside in our neighborhood most days, and it’s been fun to see which trees and plants are newly blooming and budding each week.

Our focus on the blog this month has been praising God. We’ll close out this series today by focusing on how we can praise God when life is difficult.

There’s a long list of things that can make certain seasons of life hard. Let’s list some of them.

  • sickness – your own or a family member’s
  • death of someone you love
  • job loss
  • financial troubles
  • discouragement
  • disappointment
  • frustration with a current situation
  • marriage problems
  • parenting struggles
  • difficult co-workers
  • uncertainty about a medical issue
  • feeling lost spiritually
  • unmet expectations

And sometimes we have more than one of these happening at the same time!

So how do we praise God on those days…days when we feel overwhelmed, helpless, or hopeless? Here are five ideas.

Here are five ways we can continue to praise God when we're in a hard season of life.

1. Focus on God’s character.

What we face from one life season to another will change, but God never does. Get into His Word. Write down and meditate on Bible verses that tell you Who God is.

2. Recount His faithfulness in your life.

I think almost every post this month has included this point, but it’s so true. Think back to past trials, times when you hit a rough patch and God came through for you. Remind yourself that God has been steadfast and constant in His deliverance and provision.

3. Make a conscious decision to trust Him.

Now, when it’s hard, is the time to prove your faith. We can’t see behind the scenes to how He is working. We don’t know how or when our difficult circumstances will end. So just decide right there in the middle of it to have faith and trust God.

4. Be grateful.

As the hymn writer says, count your blessings. Are there days when the silver lining is so thin you can barely see it? You bet. But you’ll never see it if you’re not looking. Before you get out of bed each morning, mentally give thanks for something. Do like I do and keep a gratitude journal. Every day write down at least three things for which you’re thankful.

5. Reach out to others.

This one is two-pronged. First of all, ask someone you love and trust to pray for you or with you about what you’re facing. Pray for a proper perspective on the problem. If they’ve been through something similar, they can empathize. They can come alongside you and help you offer praise.

Secondly, see who there is around you who could use your help. Give someone else a reason to praise God because you’ve been a blessing to them!

When life is difficult, we can still worship our Lord and praise our God. I like how Habakkuk sums it up.

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” [3:17-18]

(In Friday’s subscriber e-mail I’ll be talking about a verse I’ve read many times that came to mean something new and personal to me in light of a recent disappointment. If you’re not already subscribed, you can do so here.)

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5 Valuable Ways to Worship God Like David Did

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I’m a little bit excited today! Our younger daughter’s on spring break at her high school this week, and she and I are flying to Florida to visit the college her older sister attends. We’re knocking out a college visit and time with my older daughter in one trip! I am praying that the weather will be nicer than predicted, but we’ll have a great time either way.

As we continue our focus on praising God this month, I thought we’d see what we could learn about worship from the man who wrote many of the Psalms. Last week we pulled some simple verses from Psalms to inspire our praise life, and there are so many more passages in that book that express praise to God.

David is a well-known Bible character. We know that he’s called a “man after God’s own heart.” [Acts 13:22] We also know that, just like us, he had times when he struggled with sin. I think there’s a lot to learn from the way he offered praise and worship to God.

From the great Psalmist of the Bible we can learn helpful ways to shape our worship of God.

1.David worshiped with a right view of himself and a right view of God.

Let me set the stage. King David goes to prophet Nathan and says that he wants to build a house for the Lord. That night, the Lord speaks to Nathan. His message for David is that David’s seed will build God a house and God will establish David’s kingdom and throne forever.

Here’s David’s response when he gets the message from Nathan in 2 Samuel 7:18-22. [I know this is a long passage, but it’s so good!]

“Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come.

And is this the manner of man, O Lord God? And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant. For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.

Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.“

In humility, David acknowledged that he’d done nothing to be worthy of this great honor that God was bestowing on him. He saw God as He is, the great and only true God.

May we come to worship God in true humility. It is only because of God’s love and grace that we are even able to come into His presence. Our God is worthy of all our worship and praise.

2. David worshiped by recounting God’s faithfulness.

Here’s where we find David at the beginning of 2 Samuel 22.

“And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:“

The next fifty verses of this chapter are David recalling different times when he’s been in a hard place, but God always delivered him. Here are a couple of examples.

“When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;” [Verses 5-6]

In verses 17-18, he says that God “…sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters; He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.“

In verse 50, David proclaims, “Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.“

We’ve all seen God’s deliverance in our lives many times. Not only do we offer our praise to God when we recount His past goodness and faithfulness, but we also encourage our own hearts.

3. David worshiped with a desire for God to direct his life.

“Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.” ~Psalm 25:4-5

In Psalm 143:8, he says, “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.“

David wanted God’s guidance and direction. I’m afraid at times that my perspective is, “God, here’s what I want to do, so please bless it.” Instead, let’s worship with an attitude of openness to how God might direct us.

4. David worshiped God by forsaking known sin in his life.

David wanted a heart that was pure before God.

“For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.” ~Psalm 25:11

We’re probably all familiar with Psalm 51, written after his sin with Bathsheeba.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” [Verses 1-2]

If we want our worship to be acceptable to God, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us any sin in our lives. As He does, we have to be willing to take the next step and repent.

5. David worshiped God by honestly expressing his feelings.

“How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?” ~Psalm 13:1-2

God already knows how we’re feeling. It’s okay to pour our hearts out to Him, to let Him know that we’re hurting or sad or angry. And, it may take time, but if we’ll let Him, He can fill our hearts with hope. That’s where David got to when he ended that Psalm. He found hope.

“But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” [Verses 5-6]

May we learn to worship God in these and other ways as we grow in our walk with Him!

Related posts:

10 Simple Verses from Psalms to Inspire Your Praise Life

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We’re halfway through the week and I’m wondering how you’re doing post-daylight-saving time! I REALLY miss the light in the mornings. It just seemed to make getting up and starting the day easier. However, I know I’ll come to appreciate having more light at the end of the day.

So how’s your praise life right now? This month we’re talking about praising God here on the blog. Deciding to write about this subject each week is helping me to focus on it more – which is a good thing!

Last week we studied three Bible women to see what we could learn from them about praising God. Today we’re looking to the Psalms for simple verses we can use to inspire us when we want to praise God. Whether it’s praising Him or praying to Him, it’s always helpful to go directly to His Word for guidance.

Here are ten short verses from Psalms to give us inspiration as we seek to praise God.

1.Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. ~Psalm 103:1

What if we made a list of the names of God and praised Him for one of them each day? From Genesis 1 where we see Him as Creator to Revelation 22 where He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, we could spend weeks praising His names.

2. I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works. ~Psalm 9:1

Let’s not hold back any part of ourselves from praising God! What a blessing if we have no sin affecting our fellowship with Him, but are wholly intent on giving Him glory.

3. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. ~Psalm 145:1

This relates to the one above, because the word “extol” means to praise enthusiastically! We can be enthusiastic about a lot of things – our favorite sports team, a fabulous restaurant, or a new sofa. How wonderful if we can show that same energy and excitement about praising God.

4. Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments. ~Psalm 119:164

I love that David is so specific in this verse! He praises God seven times a day. Why? Because of God’s righteous judgments. In our current world, laws aren’t always enforced fairly and morally, so praise God that He always judges rightly!

And don’t miss that “seven times a day.” More than a number, let’s just remember to cultivate praise throughout our day. Remember – it helps us have a better attitude!

5. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. ~Psalm 145:3

Even though, with our finite minds, we can’t truly understand how great our God is, we can praise Him for His immeasurable power, majesty, and glory.

6. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. ~Psalm 150:2

Praise God for His miracles. There are many that we read about in the Bible; we can praise Him for the encouragement we find there for our own lives. And then as He shows Himself mighty in situations we face, we can offer thanks and glory to Him for how He worked.

7. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. ~Psalm 69:30

Praise and gratitude go hand in hand. Say out loud to God three things you’re thankful for every day.

8. I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. ~Psalm 71:22

Sing your praise! You can do it all by yourself in the car or on your couch. Or do it as you sing hymns in church with fellow Christians or at home with your family. And if you play a musical instrument, use that as a way to praise God.

9. My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. ~Psalm 119:171

Praise God for the truth of His Word. Thank God that we can get to know Him through what He reveals to us in the Bible. We can always count on it to give us wisdom, guidance and comfort. His Word never fails!

10. But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. ~Psalm 71:14

We can praise God for the future because we see how He’s been faithful in the past. Our God can always be trusted to do what’s right, so we can praise Him for the outcome – no matter the situation – even before we know what it will be.

I hope these verses help you begin to praise God in some different ways. Let me know if you have other Bible verses that inspire you to praise Him!

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3 Women in the Bible Teach Us How to Praise God

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Well, here it is Wednesday again! How’s your week going so far? With some really beautiful weather here lately and the official start of spring just around the corner, I’m feeling quite hopeful.

We’ll be attending our younger daughter’s fine arts concert at her high school tomorrow night. I’ve also been finalizing some plans for a summer vacation. Admittedly we’ll likely be masked for these events – and there are definitely some senior-year moments that aren’t happening – but I feel like perhaps a more normal, post-covid lifestyle is at least closer than it has been.

Our theme this month on the blog is praising God. Last week we talked about how praising God can change our attitude.

So what exactly might praising God involve? I thought we could find a few tips from women in the Bible. Here are three of them that give us a good example to follow.

Reading our Bibles to see how Deborah, Hannah, and Mary praised God gives us valuable ways to worship Him.

Deborah

She may not be as well known as some other women in the Bible, but there’s a whole chapter devoted to her praising God.

We find her story in Judges chapters four and five. She was a judge in Israel who went with Barak to fight against Sisera and his army. After God gave the Israelites a great victory in chapter four, chapter five is Deborah and Barak giving praise.

How did Deborah praise God?

1. She praised God publicly.

“Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.” [Verse 3]

Deborah wanted the kings and princes to hear what she had to say! It’s certainly appropriate for us to praise God when we’re alone. But there are also times we need to let others know how great our God is.

2. She acknowledged God’s power.

“Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water. The mountains melted from before the Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel.” [Verses 4-5]

The things Deborah’s mentioning in these verses are things that only God could do.

3. She thanked God for how He orchestrated specific events.

“They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon.” [Verses 20-21]

In verses 24-27, Deborah also describes how Jael killed Sisera. Her praise wasn’t just in a general sense. She was very definitive in noting how God helped them win the battle. When God answers a specific prayer or accomplishes something that can only be a “God-thing,” we should praise Him for that.

Hannah

We find Hannah’s prayer of praise in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. For years, Hannah wasn’t able to have children. In this passage, she is thanking God for answering her prayer for a son by giving her Samuel.

So how did Hannah offer praise?

1.She rejoiced in what God had done.

“And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.” [Verse 1]

Hannah had received the desire of her heart and her joy overflowed as praise to the Lord.

2. She reverenced God as the only God.

“There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.” [Verse 2]

Hannah knew there was no other way her prayer could have been answered but through an all-powerful God working in her life.

3. She recognized God’s sovereignty.

“The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.” [Verses 6-7]

Whatever happened to Hannah, she realized that God was in control of it all.

Mary

We all know this story well! In Luke 1:46-55, Mary praises God after finding out that she is to be the mother of the Messiah.

How did Mary offer praise?

1.She gave all glory to God.

“And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” [Verse 46-47]

Mary’s heart was full of wonder and amazement at this blessing from God.

2. She had a humble view of herself.

“For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden…” [Verse 48]

Mary saw herself simply as a servant of God. She knew there was nothing in her to make her worthy of the honor of giving birth to the Son of God.

3. She recalled God’s promises.

“He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever.” [Verses 54-55]

What a blessing it is to our own souls when we can praise God for keeping His promises! It reminds us of His faithfulness and that He will always do what He says He will in His Word.

Choose one or two of these ways to praise God today. Maybe we praise God to a friend in encouragement or praise Him for His supreme power or find a promise in the Bible to praise Him for.

I hope seeing how these women praised God will encourage us as we make praising Him a priority in our own lives!

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How to Improve Your Attitude in One Step

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Happy March, friends! I would say we’re well on our way to spring now. We still have some chilly days ahead, but I’m definitely ready to pack up the boots and heavy sweaters.

Sunday was a fairly warm day here, and my daughter had a new dress she wanted to wear to church. She’d just bought it on Friday, and it needed a small alteration. [Insert fact about me: I don’t like to sew. Buttons, I can handle. Outside of that, I have little patience for it.]

My daughter said she would sew it – and I probably should have let her since she’s fairly handy with a needle. But I knew it would take some finagling for the dress to come out looking right. I’ve done this alteration before, and she hasn’t. Since I had a good twenty minutes before I needed to get ready for church, I figured it shouldn’t be a problem.

Well. The first try looked awful. On the second and third tries, I messed up a stitch near the beginning and didn’t realize it till I was almost done. Time was running out, and my daughter said she would just wear something else to church. But at this point, I was frustrated with myself and determined to get the job done.

I will spare you the rest of the details and just say that she wore the dress to church Sunday morning. But part of it was held together by clear shipping tape. (Yes, it’s true! And it survived the service!) I did sew the dress up properly on Sunday afternoon.

As you might imagine, my attitude in that moment was not the best – and it was my own fault. I was mad at myself for not being able to do it right. It should have taken me five minutes to complete, but I kept messing it up.

Many different things affect our attitude. We go through big, hard trials. We or someone we love is sick. A family member won’t communicate with us. Our every day emotions rise up and we feel mad or sad or hurt or helpless or discouraged. Some days we just get up on the wrong side of the bed!

All it takes is one adjustment to turn your attitude around.

So how can we change our attitude? I believe it boils down to one word.

Praise.

Most of the time I have an attitude problem because my focus is wrong. It’s on my circumstances or my feelings. I wrap myself up in self-pity or self-righteousness or self-condemnation.

Getting my focus off of myself and onto God can change my attitude. But I have to make the choice. It’s not easy because sometimes, as weird as it sounds, we like to indulge ourselves in our feelings. But nurturing that wrong attitude isn’t good.

So what does praising God mean? It’s us expressing our admiration of Him to Him. It can also involve expressing thanks and love to Him and showing our reverence for Him as Lord.

What better way to praise God than by saying His Word back to Him!

I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.  Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.  Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.  ~Psalm 145:1-3

In a post later this month, we’ll talk more about Bible verses that praise God. Another way to praise God is through song. Here are five of my favorite classic hymns of praise.

It could be helpful for us to create a list of “praise” Bible verses to pull out when we sense that we need an attitude adjustment. A playlist of praise hymns would also be a great tool for directing our focus to God.

Occasionally I will skip my daily scheduled Bible reading and prayer and use that time to simply praise God.  After singing hymns of praise, I read praise passages in the Bible. 

What a difference the right attitude makes! Our homes and our relationships are better when we have a grateful heart that’s saturated in praise for our God.
  
The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.  The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.  My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.  ~Psalm 145:17-18, 21

This month let’s make praising God a priority. Share a favorite praise passage or hymn if you have one!

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7 Prayers to Pray for Our Homes and Families in 2021

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It appears that February 2021 will go down in the record books as a weird winter weather month! I’ve read about the frigid temperatures and snow in much of the country, even in places you don’t normally expect it. I hope you’re safe and warm wherever you are!

Our weather story has been rain, followed by rain, and then some more rain. We even had thunderstorms move through on Monday night – not a common occurrence here in February. As I write this on Tuesday, we’ve finally got sunshine – and there’s actually more of it in the forecast for tomorrow!

Moving on from the weather…This month on the blog we’ve been talking about our homes. Previous posts focused on how to keep traps out of our homes and discovering what makes our homes happy.

Today I want to talk about how we can pray for our homes and families, especially in our current culture. These seven ideas are based on Scripture. You could pray one of these prayers for your family each day of the week. Or you could choose one day to pray through all seven, making your home your prayer focus for that day.

I hope these remind all of us of the importance of praying for our homes and families. How thankful we can be for a God who hears and answers our prayers!

Here's a list of seven Bible-based prayers we can pray over our homes and families this year.

1. Pray that our homes will be built on a solid foundation of faith.

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” ~Matthew 7:24-25

Hard times will come to our families. Your storm will look different than mine and different than your neighbors. And when those rains and floods come, we want our homes to still be standing when it’s all over. That can only happen as we build our house on the rock of God’s Word and live by it.

Prayer: Dear God, help us to build our home on You and Your Word. Give us ears and hearts to hear what the Bible says to us and the strength to live out its commands. May we base our decisions on Bible principles, seeking your guidance through prayer. When trials come, may our family be a testimony to our faith in you.

2. Pray for the courage to make Godly choices in your home regardless of what culture says or the choices others around you make.

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” ~Joshua 24:15

It seems like every day it becomes clearer that following God or following the world system and its philosophies are in direct opposition. While we’re to be good citizens in the world, we’re not to buy into beliefs that go against what God teaches us in His Word. In his day, Joshua made it clear where he and his family stood.

Prayer: God, give us the courage to make a stand as a family to do right. May we do it as a way to honor you, in a spirit of love and mercy for those who don’t know you, so we can be a light shining brightly in a world that is dark with sin.

3. Pray for our homes to be marked by love and unity.

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” ~1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This one gets kind of personal! Sometimes it’s easier to love people outside our homes because we don’t know them and their faults nearly as well as we do the people who live inside our homes.

We know the characteristics of love from the passage above. It’s patient, kind, not jealous, selfless, not easily provoked, believes the best about the other person, longsuffering. Just reading through the list reminds me how often I fall short of loving my family well.

Yet our homes can be characterized by love, even though we’ll have children – and adults – who disagree. We can speak our love and we can show it through our actions.

Prayer: Lord, let love characterize our home. When children argue, when parents disagree, convict our hearts. Don’t let us get caught up in having to be right or only be concerned about getting our own way. May we cultivate a love within our family that flows over into the lives of others as a testimony to the love you have for each one of us.

4. Pray that God will protect your home from evil.

“But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” ~2 Thessalonians 3:3

We talked about some of the harmful things that can enter our homes in a post earlier this month. Blatant sin, like pornography, brings evil directly into our homes. But we also want to pray that God will keep our family from the subtle influences that may seem harmless at first, but can lead to real problems.

Prayer: God, please protect our home from evil. Don’t let Satan gain a foothold in any of our lives. Help us to guard against temptation, especially in areas where we know we’re weak. We know that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. [1 John 4:4] May your Holy Spirit keep our hearts tender and sensitive to those things that would lead us into sin.

5. Pray for wisdom to build your home and guide your family.

“Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” ~Proverbs 14:1

I definitely want to be the wise woman, not the foolish one! We can build up our homes by loving and encouraging those in our family, and by following Biblical principles.

According to James 1:5, wisdom is ours for the asking. I often face situations that I don’t know how to deal with. But God has the wisdom I need and He willingly makes it available to me.

Prayer: God, I need your wisdom to build my home in a way that’s pleasing to you. Help me remember to pray for that wisdom before I give correction or advice to my children. Your Word provides direction, so bring appropriate verses to my mind when I’m not sure what to do. Thank you that you’re always willing to give wisdom when I ask for it.

6. Pray that God will bless and protect each one in your family, that He will be gracious to them and give them peace.

“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” ~Numbers 6:24-26

This is my favorite passage to pray over my husband and our girls. In fact, I have a print of these verses hanging on a wall in our living area.

Prayer: Lord, bless my daughter/son/spouse today. Protect her mind, her heart and her body. May your face shine on her. Please show her your grace as she goes through her day. Watch over her and give her your peace in her spirit.

7. Praise God for how He provides for and blesses our homes as we trust in Him.

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;” ~1 Timothy 6:17

What a blessing our families can be! It’s a privilege to grow together spiritually, to become friends with our adult children, to see our children learn lessons and mature, to experience how we as parents become better people because we’ve learned from our children.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the gift of a home and a family. One day we’ll know the full experience of a family when we’re all in Heaven with you. Thank you that we can have a tiny taste of that here as we learn and grow with ones we love so much.

May we use the gift of prayer to intercede with our Heavenly Father on behalf of our homes and families so that together, we can bring glory to God.

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Are We Keeping Traps Out of Our Homes?

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Happy first week of February! We’ve got a fairly full month ahead of us. Our senior daughter finishes up her high school cheerleading career and prepares for her last fine arts competition (which is virtual this year).

We’re also trying to plan ahead for a summer vacation, but covid restrictions are making that quite interesting. We’d initially looked at traveling internationally, but that changed last month. Now we’re checking out locations that offer a good mix of options for our one activity-loving and our other leisure-loving daughters 🙂

I briefly mentioned here on the blog our exciting (ahem) VRBO we stayed at last summer. Our younger daughter found a snake on the stairs leading from the lower level to the main floor. (Yes, there was screaming involved.) Then all four of us spotted a mouse (or more likely several different mice) on all three floors of the house.

The owner of the house did send an exterminator who put out a few of those sticky traps to catch the mice. (We, as in my husband and our older daughter’s boyfriend, took care of the snake ourselves.) As to the mouse traps…first of all, there was nothing in those traps to attrace the mice – certainly nothing as good as what was on the kitchen counters. And secondly, I’m not even sure the mouse I saw could have fit into one of those little traps! Needless to say, no mice were caught while we finished our stay at the house.

In that instance, the traps were totally ineffective. But real traps – those made to trick and deceive – can be very effective. The kind of traps I’m thinking of are those temptations that slip into our lives and homes and lead us into sin. And if we’re not careful, we can fall prey to them.

In the second chapter of Judges, the angel of the Lord rebukes the children of Israel for making leagues (alliances) with the heathen inhabitants of Canaan. In the third verse, he says that because of their failure to remove these people, he will allow them to “be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.”

There’s a real application here for our homes. You see, the Israelites failed to recongize the consequences of not ridding their environment of things that would cause them and their children to be tempted to sin.

Let's keep an eye on the things we allow into our homes so that we can protect our families from the temptation to sin.

I began to wonder if there were any areas in which I have unknowingly allowed worldly ideas or philosophies into my home. Could anything here be a snare to my family and perhaps entice them to sin?

Let’s be clear that each one of us is responsible for our own actions. We should know ourselves well enough to set boundaries in areas where we’re weak and prone to sin. But I also feel, in a way, that I can be a gatekeeper. I can ask God for discernment to allow only the best things into our home.

So what kind of snares should we be watching out for in our homes? Here are a few ideas.

Media

This area came to mind first. Are the books, music, movies, or television programs that come into our homes drawing us away from our relationship with God? It could be because of the content – bad language, inappropriate situations, or anti-Christian viewpoints. Or it could just be the amount of time we spend on those things that could be used in better ways.

I suppose we could lump our smartphones into this category as well. The purpose of this post is not to specifically discuss boundaries on social media, games, or other information we access on our phones. However, it’s certainly an area in which we can be easily tempted.

Worldly philosophies

One reason to monitor our media choices is that they affect our thoughts. Our ideology can come from what we see or hear repeatedly, so we have to be careful that we’re basing our beliefs on God’s Word. If we’re getting our opinions from Facebook, the news, another person (even a “spiritual leader”), and not checking those ideas against Bible truth, we can easily fall into a pattern of worldly thinking.

Sinful attitudes

It gets very personal here! Is there an attitude I portray that is negative or sinful? Maybe it’s discontentment, ingratitude, anger, or a critical spirit. And I’ve noticed that those attitudes are very contagious! If I fall into that trap, I’m probably going to take someone else in the house with me. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us recognize when our minds are headed in the wrong direction.

Putting other things before God

This could be work, a hobby, friends, a place we go – things that are good in and of themselves, but not when we put them ahead of God. Or maybe we just go our own way. We make decisions based on what we want, and fail to seek God’s guidance.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but just some ideas to get you thinking. But let’s end with a few practical ways to avoid traps in our homes.

Let’s practice 1 Thessalonians 5:17. “Pray without ceasing.” As we go through our day, let’s have a heart attitude that drives us to prayer when we need guidance.

In the words of Philippians 1:9-10, let’s “approve things that are excellent.” Just as we wouldn’t feed our families a steady diet of junk food, let’s make sure that what we allow to nourish their hearts and minds is healthy.

And when we recognize that we may not be noticing the traps around us, let’s seek to have our “senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” [Hebrews 5:14] Sometimes things that seem innocent on the surface can be harmful. As we pray and delve into Scripture, God can reveal those traps to us.

Like me, you want your home to be one that honors Christ. Let’s be vigilant to watch out for and remove any traps that might be present!

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3 Places to Find God’s Goodness When Life is Hard

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As I write this post on a late January afternoon, it’s partly cloudy outside and temps are in the low 70s. Winter days here in coastal South Carolina can be unpredictable, but I’ll take this one for sure!

I know a lot of people who are carrying heavy loads in this first month of 2021. I mentioned that we’ve already been to two funerals, and have other friends who’ve lost loved ones. We know people who’ve had surgeries, hospitalizations, received a cancer diagnosis, or dealt with covid. None of us are exempt from trials.

In my Friday e-mail to blog subscribers, I included a video where I talked about part of our journey expecting an anencephalic baby. [If you’re not signed up to receive those e-mails, you can do that here.] Since we’ve been looking at God’s goodness on the blog this month, I hoped to encourage you by sharing a time in my life when God’s goodness was particularly evident.

Today I wanted to dig into this a little more. When we’re going through a difficult time, it may not be natural to immediately focus on God’s goodness. But if we can, it’s always there for us to see. It can change our perspective on the situation and give us hope going forward.

When life is hard, we can still see God's goodness in our lives in these three ways.

Three ways we see God’s goodness in our trials are through…

1. His grace

Like His unexplainable peace, God’s grace is always there to sustain us. It’s such a comfort to know that whatever comes, He will give us grace to meet the need.

In our case, it arrived when well-meaning strangers saw that I was pregnant and excitedly asked questions about the baby. They had no idea that she would never take a breath on her own on this earth.

We needed grace as other couples around us were choosing furniture for their nursery while we chose a gravesite. And His grace brought me through a difficult delivery and allowed us to hold our stillborn baby.

Does God’s grace mean that there weren’t hard days? Of course not. But His grace sustained us and brought us through that trial. We came to a place of knowing His goodness that we’d never have reached without it.

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” ~1 Peter 5:10

2. His gifts

Can there really be gifts in a trial? Yes, so many! Among the greatest were our ob/gyn who fully supported our decision to continue the pregnancy. Our labor and delivery nurse in the hospital was unbelievably kind and caring. Family, friends, and church members prayed for and supported us.

While we may not have seen it at the time, God used this trial to knit my husband and me together. We gained a common confidence in the goodness of God. What a gift that was! It’s a lesson that has stood us in good stead over the 23 years since this happened.

God’s gifts can be people or financial provision or deliverance from a situation that only He could have orchestrated. Regardless of the form it takes, there are always gifts from God that demonstrate His unfailing goodness.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” ~James 1:17

3. His guidance

After our baby was born, I needed to go back to work. I’d given up my teaching job before we received our baby’s diagnosis since I thought I’d be staying home with a baby. God opened the door to a wonderful administrative position in a hospital system that was a blessing for the next three years. That experience would never have unfolded if not for the trial we’d been through.

In every difficulty we face, there are decisions to make. We won’t always know what to do. But as we pray and seek God through His Word, we can trust that He will guide us into what is best for us because He is good.

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” ~Psalm 37:23

Have you’ve experienced God’s goodness for yourself? I hope the verses we looked at in last week’s post cement in your soul the truth that He is a good God. Whether life is smooth or today is hard, let’s look for His goodness in His grace, His gifts, and His guidance.

[If you’d like to read our full story about our daughter Angel, I wrote a blog post series on it called Our Story of God’s Goodness and Grace.]

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10 Things We Can Know About God’s Goodness

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Our life is changing again this week. Our older daughter heads back to college on Friday. She’s ready and I know it will be good for her to get back to her life and schedule there. What’s hard is knowing that the next time she leaves, her younger sister will be going, too! But, as the saying goes, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

This month I’ve been sharing posts that focus on God’s goodness. His unchanging goodness is one of His character qualities that gives me such comfort and peace. Would I want to trust a God who’s only good some of the time? Of course not! But because our God is good all the time, I can trust Him in every situation.

Today I wanted to list out ten things we can know about God’s goodness based on Scripture.

We can trust God because He is good. Here are 10 things we can know about His goodness based on Scripture.

1. God’s goodness doesn’t run out.

“…The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,” ~Exodus 34:6

We can’t use it up or age out of it. God’s goodness is plentiful and always more than enough for us.

2. No one is exempt from God’s goodness.

“The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” ~Psalm 145:9

None of us deserve God’s goodness, but He extends it to everyone. There’s no favoritism or partiality involved. His goodness is just part of His nature.

3. Every good thing we have comes from God.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” ~James 1:17

All good gifts come from God. Whether it’s material blessings, good health, or a loving family, they’re all sent to us from His hand.

4. Trusting in God’s goodness sustains us.

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” ~Psalm 27:13

There’s plenty in our world right now to discourage us. Yet we need to have a firm belief in God’s goodness. Not that every act happening around us is good, but we as Christians fundamentally know that God is in control. Believe His promises and trust in His providence.

5. It’s good to reflect on God’s goodness in our lives.

“They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.” ~Psalm 145:7

How powerful it is to look back over all the times God’s been good – how many there are! – and reflect on them. It encourages us in our faith.

6. As we trust God in all things, we can experience God’s goodness in our lives.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” ~Psalm 34:8

This doesn’t mean life will always be easy, but if we’re willing to step out in faith and trust God, we will know His goodness is real. In fact, sometimes it’s through a trial that we’re brought face to face with how good He is.

7. Because of His goodness, God is worthy of our praise.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.“~Psalm 100:4-5

We would be very remiss not to praise God for His abundant goodness. Let’s thank God privately and also publicly as we’re given an opportunity.

8. Because God is good, we can run to Him in our troubles.

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.” ~Nahum 1:7

We don’t have to worry about God’s response when difficulty comes. Because He is good, He will be a refuge and shelter for us.

9. God has goodness stored up for His children.

“Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!” ~Psalm 31:19

God has goodness waiting for us here and now as well as in heaven. When the time is right, He releases this treasure into our lives. It’s exciting to consider that He has even more special grace and favor ahead for us!

10. Because God is good, we can trust Him to lead us.

“Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.” ~Psalm 143:10

We wouldn’t trust someone to lead us unless we’re confident that they have our best interest at heart. And God always does. We can follow Him without reservation.

As we go through the rest of our week, let’s spend some time meditating on the goodness of God.

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When What Seems Bad Can Actually Be Good

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Here we are, firmly entrenched in this new year of 2021. Last year is definitely in the rear view mirror. My hope and optimism for this new year are still fairly strong!

Last week we talked about how our definition of “good” is subjective. For us, saying, “life is good” usually means we’re happy and don’t have any troubles. And that’s a nice place to be!

But going through hard or “bad” things is a part of life. Another person says hurtful things to or about us. A loved one passes away. We lose a job or struggle to pay our bills. Maybe we or one of our children develops a health need. These are all serious issues that are difficult to deal with and we have no control over many of them. But one part of them we can control is our perspective.

As I reflected on how we can properly view the bad times in life, I was reminded of the story of Joseph. The patterns in his life remind me of ours.

He’s the favorite child of Jacob, his dad. Life is good.

His jealous brothers throw him in a pit, then sell him to traveling merchants. Life is bad.

He’s taken in as a slave in a prominent man’s house and, through hard work and God’s blessing, he’s put in charge of everything the man owns. Life is good.

The man’s wife falsely accuses Joseph and he’s thrown into prison. Life is bad.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Joseph’s life was just like ours is – full of seasons that change, full of “bad” times and “good” ones.

But what’s convicting to me is that Joseph didn’t change. As far as we can tell, no matter whether his circumstances appeared good or bad, he continued to trust God.

So what kept him going through the hard seasons? Here are three things that gave him a proper perspective of good and bad events in his life.

Three lessons we can learn from Joseph's life to help us keep going when life's circumstances seem bad

Patience.

Remember when Joseph interpreted the dreams of the butler and the baker? After telling the butler that he’d be restored to his former position, Joseph asked him to tell his story to Pharaoh.

Once the butler, as predicted, left prison, I wonder how long it took for Joseph’s hope to fade. Did he spend that first week listening for the outer door to open? Every time the keeper of the prison called his name, did he think there was a messenger sent to get him out? After a month of nothing changing, was he discouraged?

We don’t know what was happening in his mind, but we do know exactly how long Joseph had to wait.

“And it came to pass at the end of two full years…” ~Genesis 41:1

Joseph waited on God for two years to get out of prison. But did Joseph learn lessons during those two years that he wouldn’t have learned if he’d been pulled out of prison and returned to his family? We can’t know for sure. Yet I believe that God puts us in specific places for a particular time period to teach us lessons like trusting Him. (Know that this is easy to write but much harder to remember when we’re actually in one of these times!)

Faithfulness to his duties.

Whether in Potiphar’s house or in prison, Joseph didn’t give in and sit around having a pity party. I have to believe that he had hard days when the difficulty or unjustness of his situation overwhelmed him.

But everywhere he went, we see Joseph working hard and prospering.

“And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.” ~Genesis 39:3-4

“But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.” ~Genesis 39:21-11

When it seems like we’re in the midst of a bad time, let’s keep being faithful. Let’s continue doing our best in service to the Lord.

Serving others.

So when the baker and the butler ended up in the prison where Joseph was, he helped them. I might have been tempted to say, “Listen, I realize this is bad for you, but let me tell you all I’ve been through.”

Instead, he noticed they were sad, and reached out to them. “And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly today?” ~Genesis 40:7

I think we all know that we can gain a better perspective on our own problems when we look for someone else in need and try to help them. It’s like the old acronym for JOY – Jesus, Others, You.

You and I don’t stress when we see Joseph thrown into a pit by his brothers. We’re not overly concerned when the merchants drag him off to Egypt. We don’t wonder what’s going to happen because we know how it all turns out just a few pages later. We know that Joseph will say to his brothers in Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.“

But Joseph didn’t have any of that information in real-time. And right now, you and I don’t know the end of our story. But God does. Even the parts we see as bad, He’s in control of those, too.

So we have a choice. Our perspective can make all the difference. Let’s be patient, be faithful, and serve those around us. And as we trust Him, let’s believe that when our last chapter is finished, God will have written the just-right ending to our story.

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