A Life of Praise

Hi friends,

I've been really enjoying studying the Psalms this term at college and have learnt so much already about the nature of praise and worship, as shown to us in the examples of the psalms. One of the things I have found fascinating is seeing how the whole book of Psalms unfolds from a position in the earlier psalms of distress and lament to a posture of praise at the end of the book. If you read the last five psalms you will notice a strong theme of praise that includes every part of creation. This structure of moving from distress and difficulty to praise for God's love and faithfulness is also seen in many of the individual psalms.

This has really made me think about the way we praise God in our own lives. The psalms show us that it is totally ok - in fact encouraged - to bring all of our lives to God (warts and all!). We can pour out our hearts to him in total honesty about how we feel and what is happening to us. But here's the thing: it shouldn't end there. There should be a BUT moment, where we choose - despite the circumstances - to praise God for who he is and what he has done. There are so many reasons to praise our God (and the Psalms give us lots of examples that we can follow) that no matter how dark it may get, we can always lift our head in praise and allow his light to shine in our hearts.

I created this page in Psalm 146 as a declaration of my heart, which desires to praise the Lord at all times, for as long as I live, no matter the circumstances, in every season - because he is good, faithful and loving, and he is the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer of all things. PRAISE THE LORD!!

I used the fun new Texture Tiles 4 stamp set (October's Stamp of the Month) for the panel at the side - I love how you can create your own patterned paper effects with this! I also used Armor of God, Refresh my Soul and Teeny Alpha along with some alphabet stickers to create the verse. The other fun new product I've used on this page is Diane's Starry Sanctuary Printable Bundle & Devotional. There are so many lovely images to print and use in a variety of ways. I printed mine on clear sticker paper, then cut out by hand and stuck on this page once I had stamped and sponged the background. Here are the new goodies I've used on this page:

I want to encourage you to pour out your heart to God, and in the process to choose praise as the final word in your situation. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!!

x Amy x