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Praise Him in the
Morning
Even if you're not a morning person, a little praise first thing
goes a long way — especially during the Thanksgiving season.
by Michelle Medlock Adams
“And each morning and evening they stood before the Lord to sing
songs of thanks and praise to him.” (1 Chronicles 23:30, NLT)
I’ve never been much
of a morning person. This was especially true when I was a child.
I’d wait until the
absolute last possible moment to get out of bed.
But, my morning
“wake-up call” began at 6 a.m. every weekday, courtesy of my mother, Marion
Medlock, who was a morning person.
She didn’t just knock on the door and say, “Time to get up.” Oh,
no–she was far too joyful for that. My mother had an entire musical
extravaganza worked out.
She’d begin with her rendition of “This is the day that the
Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
All of this singing
was accompanied by very loud handclapping, and if that didn’t do the trick, she
would flip the lights on and off in time with her singing.
At the time, I
thought this morning ritual was pure torture, but as I grew older, I realized
that I didn’t have to be a morning person to praise the Lord in the a.m.
In fact, I discovered
praising God in the morning was actually scriptural. Who knew?
Psalm 59:16 says, "But as for me, I will sing about your
power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love." (NLT).
So, as you might have
guessed, I proudly carried on this tradition when I became a mom.
I even sang the same
song, accompanied by loud handclaps, and my own light show. And my girls moaned
and groaned, almost as much as I had years before.
Nevertheless, we
began each day praising God and thanking Him for another day – some of us a
little more than others!
I found that it
started our day on the right note, setting the tone for our morning routine and
commute.
Though my mama is
in heaven and both of
my girls are now in college, I still find myself singing in the mornings.
Sometimes I’ll bust out, “This is the day that the Lord has
made; I will rejoice and be glad in it!”
Other times I sing songs that I used to sing as a child at Camp
Wildwood such as: “Praise Him. Praise Him. Praise Him in the morning. Praise
Him in the noontime. Praise Him. Praise Him. Praise Him when the sun goes
down.”
Why not join me,
morning people and non-morning people alike?
Even if you’re not a
gifted singer, and even if you’re a little more reserved and quiet in your
worship, that’s totally fine, just as long as you get your praise on in your
own way.
Maybe you can put in
a praise and worship CD and begin praising God for the many blessings in your
life during your morning commute.
Or, maybe you can get
the whole family involved and bust out a song of praise on the drive to school –
whatever works for you, works for God.
It doesn’t matter if
your voice is less than angelic or even if
you’re totally out of tune, God likes it.
And, there’s no
better time to start praising God than during this Thanksgiving Season, so go
ahead.
Get your praise on
tomorrow morning! You’ll be so glad you did!
Michelle
Medlock Adams
is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, earning top honors from
the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Hoosier
State Press Association.
Author
of over 80 books with close to 4 million books sold, Michelle’s latest
children’s book, I Love You the Mostest just won the prestigious
Maxwell medal, and her book My First Day of School also took second
place in that same children’s category. In addition, her book Happy
Birthday to You! won the Selah Award for Best Children’s Book in 2017—her
third Selah for Best Children’s Book since 2012. In fact, in 2014 Michelle’s
board book God Knows You not only won the Selah for Best Children’s
Book but also won the esteemed Book of the Year honor over all other Selah
winners. And, her latest release for women, Love & Care For The One
and Only You (Worthy) was a finalist for a Christian Retailing Best Award
in the Devotional Category and earned “The Gold” for best devotional in the
2017 Illumination Awards. In addition, her book When Chocolate Isn’t
Enough: An Inspirational Survival Guide for Moms (Worthy Inspired) earned
“The Gold” for best devotional in the 2016 Illumination Awards.
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