This Sunday I'm kicking off our new series (see beautiful new graphic above) by talking about one of the secrets of a happy life... building a praise habit. We're using the Psalms to help us develop in our faith as we follow Jesus and get to know Him more.
These last few days have kind of been all over the map for me. There has been a lot of reading financial statements and other administrative work, we had a holiday in the middle of the week, and we're trying to keep up with the latest health and safety rules/recommendations during the pandemic. Something tells me your days and weeks can be a bit unpredictable, too.
And through all of it I was writing my message and remembering the power of praising God through every task, in every circumstance and during every interruption. I haven't perfected it but this habit is a powerful one.
Here are some examples that will also serve as reminders for church life. I'm not even contriving these, they represent the genuine praise habit that I was working on this week!
We got our audited financial statements in time to process them and get them out to our members by the deadline on Tuesday. Sometimes we're tempted to brush aside reports and their timing, but I'm thanking God for His help and the excellent help of our Treasurer, Mary Lynn, who does a lot of heavy lifting in this area.
We purchased a picnic table for the church to test out the ones we're considering for the pavilion... and so I ate lunch outside with Margaret. We had a chance to look at the property and talk about how incredible it was to be able to dream for and use this 10 acres. We even tried to imagine what it would look like when the new pavilion was built. And, Margaret bought us some of those new donuts from McDonalds. Simple things that when you pause over them bring a lot of gratitude to the God who pieced it all together.
On Sunday, we are gathering both here at the church and in our homes around the Lord's Supper. This moment of remembrance is centred on praise and I will get to lead my church family in it. That's a good thing. #getyouremblemsready
While I was working this morning, I was texting Matt about something I want to do for my message and he walked me through how we will do that with the live site and livestream. Meanwhile, Walt and Rob were making a bunch of noise in the sanctuary, testing and tweaking the audio to work out the last of the kinks for livestreaming from our sanctuary (coming soon!). These guys are simply the best - joyfully serving and working to make the message of Jesus accessible to everyone and as effectively delivered as possible. So much to thank God for!
And listen, friends, it's only Thursday afternoon. Not everything is easy - not by a long shot. Not every day is your best - not by a really long shot. But every day God is good and this habit of praise helps us to calibrate our hearts to that truth moment by moment.
Lots more on that this Sunday and in the coming summer series of messages!
See you at 10am on Facebook Live for our service... if you have a praise song request, let me know. You never know what Rob and I might do during lobby time!
Pastor Tracy
This Sunday
MORE THAN A SONG
Praise Habit
Join us on Sunday at 10am for church online.
FOLLOW THE LIVESTREAM ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
Or, Or, REGISTER TO WATCH THE LIVESTREAM AT THE CHURCH.