My heart has felt heavy lately. I’ve felt like my dog Molly’s stuffed moose “Gregory” with all the stuffing ripped out of him, one eye missing, and half of one antler gone, leaving nothing but a rag. Head injury and job loss just seem like too much.
But, after reading a chapter in Martha Peace’s book Damsels In Distress I was hit by so much conviction. Do I praise Him in the good times AND in the bad? Or just praise Him when all is well like my wayward heart was doing the last few days. She went on to mention how praising God in our trials because He is working them out for our good is something we can do as believers to glorify His name. If we go around all down in the mouth and slump shouldered that brings shame to our testimony as believers in Jesus. He deserves our praise in every storm we face no matter how hard or how scary or real they are. When we praise God, the world looks at us in wonder, and marvels at our faith in our Savior as we journey these valleys keeping our eyes on Him. They observe us steadfastly holding onto and clinging to Him while we sit at the foot of the cross in full surrender to His will. This brings glory, honor and praise to His awesome and majestic name.
Exodus 15:2 King James Version (KJV)
2 The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Jesus is with us in every storm. Every test or trial is from His loving hand and He carries us through them to refine us bringing forth gold. He could give us nothing but sunshine and lollipops but then we wouldn’t need Him and we wouldn’t mature. These trials give us the opportunity to showcase His grace, mercy, love, and strength.
Will you praise Him with me?
In the darkest hardest times, let us continue to praise Him with a thankful heart.
Much love,
Viv β€π
Molly
Viv, I am humbled and awed by your candor and authenticity. I admire your ability to endure and press on even in the difficulties. I have heard it said that the prayer that changes everything is praise. And so with a heartfelt and mighty amen, I say along with you, βwe will praise Him!β Love, hugs and blessings, Mandy
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Blessings sweet Mandy! We will praise Him, we will!!!!! Praise God for His love, mercy and goodness!π Thank you for praising Him with me! Amen! God bless you always my friend! πβ€π€
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I feel like I identify with you so much little sister. Living with chronic illness and tight times financially are the norm for me as a home missionary. But to praise God in the midst of the hard time is so important. Not that God needs our praise. We need it because it keeps us focused on Him as we got through the hard time.
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Matt, it feels like poverty and sickness usually go hand in hand. I have been praying for you brother and will include your financial struggles as I do. Yes, we need to stay focused on Him always. We will praise Him Matt! We Will! π’π
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Thank you little sister π
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God bless you Matt.ππ
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π
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Well expressed big brother!
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Thank you little sister β€οΈπ€β€οΈ
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Youβre welcome, big brother β€οΈπ€β€οΈ
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I love this!! I’ve been feeling like that stuffed animal a lot lately, too. I need to take your advice!! Thank you so much for this! ππ€
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Dearest Michelle, I’m sorry you can relate to Gregory……I will pray for you dear neighbor. We will praise Him.β€ Thank you for your support. ππ€ππ€
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Hard to do but it helps us stay rooted in HIM in the midst of our trial. When we praise Him in the valley we tell the enemy we will not let your seed of doubt take root because our Father has said in His word that HE will never forsake us.
God is working behind the scenes right now for your family.
A song called mountaintops, the lyrics are absolutely beautiful. Sorry the message is a bit long as a result π
My eyes are fixed on You, not what I face
Not what may stand before me
I know You’ll lead me through the desert place
The storms that rage around me
Savior, Redeemer, Defender and Healer
Every single step of the way, You never change
I will bless Your name, every breath I take
I will praise You from the valley to the mountaintops
I will lift my hands, I’m not holding back
I will praise You from the valley to the mountaintops
From the valley to the mountaintops
Your promise never fails, when silence falls
Though darkness tries to hide it
Your faithfulness prevails, when chaos calls
Your peace is all around me
Savior, Redeemer, Defender and Healer
Every single step of the way, You never change
I will bless Your name, every breath I take
I will praise You from the valley to the mountaintops
I will lift my hands, I’m not holding back
I will praise You from the valley to the mountaintops
I will build an altar from the ashes
I will shine Your light into the shadows
I will raise a banner in the battle
Lift You high, I will lift You high
I will bless Your name, every breath I take
I will praise You from the valley to the mountaintops
I will lift my hands, I’m not holding back
I will praise You from the valley to the mountaintops
From the valley to the mountaintops
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Oh dear girl I love this song! Is it the one by Hillsong? These lyrics are perfect to think on today and I praise Him for giving it to you to share. I hope others see it too and are encouraged. God bless you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to send this thoughtful and needed comment. Big hugs sweet lady! ππ€
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Preach it, girl!
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I praise Him with you! πβ€
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Yes!!! We will praise Him Kathy! God bless you! πππ€
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Hang in there. It’s not over , Love you
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Bless you Beverly! Love you back!! πππ€
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Amen Vivian! Needed to hear this today! Really fighting Celiac hard lately and I have felt just like beat up Gregory too! I’m with you sister, I hear you, and I understand the pain. God bless!
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So sad to hear about your more recent battles Ryan.π I’m praying for you and glad this post could encourage you today. π
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Hey Ryan, I think you’ve mentioned it before but I wanted to double check with you to see if it’s okay I share your scripture pictures to my Facebook page? They are so Wonderful!
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Definitely, thanks! Feel free to use them wherever you like! π God bless!
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Thank you for this Ryan. I know it will bless my Facebook friends dealing with chronic illness. God bless you too!ππ
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Ugh, my phone won’t cooperate Ryan. I keep pressing on the pictures but nothing happensπ£
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On a computer, you should be able to right click it and save it.
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I only have my phoneπ
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I have a Samsung Galaxy S8+ and I have to press and hold on the picture, then the window pops up to save it.
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OK, I just saved your post to my file then from there was able to get it on my phone.
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Awesome, glad it worked! π
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πme too, thanks!
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I definitely understand the feeling βbeat upβ….but like Job, βthough He slay me, yet we will trust Him.β
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Been praying for you today Dee!
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Thank you, Renee my love. I need the prayers…my faith is being tested ππ½
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You are welcome! I also thought of you and a lot of other blogger friends, as I was at church worshipping with eyes closed. I prayed that God would make provision. ππΌ
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Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!
A testimony is being birth ππ½
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Praying for you Ryan!
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Praise God! ππΏ Thanks for this encouragement to trust Him in the storm. Continuing to pray for you and your family. Love you Vivian! π
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We will praise Him dearest Dawn! Amen! God bless you and love you back. ππππππ
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Amen Vivian! π
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Bless you dearest Kranti! Much love and many hugs! πβ€πβ€π
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Thanks so much. This article is full of very encouraging and healing words. Blessings to you.
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Blessing to you as well Fay! I’m thankful for your comment and that you found some encouragement today. That brings me so much joy! πππ
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Blessings received graciously. To God be the glory for the joy he brings π€π€
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Amen Fay. To God be the glory. He is doing amazing things and I’m so glad for this moment in time of joyful rejoicing! π€π€β€
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Thank you for the encouraging post. Praise Him in the storm βοΈ
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I’m so glad you enjoyed this post Deborah! Yes, we will keep praising Him and trusting in Him as we weather these storms. Much Love! β€π€
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Amen! Praising God with you and for you, Vivian.
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Thanks so much Bill. We will praise Him. I’m keeping you in my prayers. ππ
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Thank you so much, my friend.
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You are a great encouragement to me Bill, and to many others. π
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May God continue to bring you and your family what is necessary to meet your needs. Many are surrounding you and your family with heartfelt prayers.
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Bless you Richard! Your kindness and prayers are cherished!
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You are most welcome. God has your back!
I was invited to participate in a 3-2-1 Quote Me Challenge. If you are interested in participating, I have invited you. It is entirely up to you so don’t feel you need to.
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Oh neat! Thank you. I will definitely look into it.
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Praising Him for the good days is easy, isnβt it? I guess He tests our faith when we have those bad days and they seem to repeat too often … hard to praise Him for that. Easier to question. Are You there, God? Isnβt this enough already? God bless you… He does have a purpose! π€ͺβ€οΈ
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Yes, oh yes dear Jan! But this here is the test…..praising Him in the storms that come. God bless you too and thank you for the encouraging comment. π€
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Viv, today was day 30 and I honestly felt disappointed in Godβs posture. Told Him so too. Then, I turned my praise music on and began reminding myself that βPraise is what I do, in the good and the bad; whether happy or sad.β Why? Because irregardless is what He does or in my case, didnβt do, Heβs still good!
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Oh my dear girl! Yes, and amen. I believe honestly and humbly coming to God in prayer is a sweet priveledge we are given to pour out our hearts to Him. No matter what, He is good. I’m praying my friend and will continue to. Much love and big hugs!! Xoxoxo
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π€π€β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈπ€π€π€
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I love that song!
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Thank you, Vivian. This encouraged my heart. I think we all need to be reminded of this from time to time, so thank you.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed this post Dear Sue and that God used it to encourage you. That’s just what I need to hear since I’ve felt defeated and like giving up the blog. But, it’s just a fiery dart I think.
Much love!π€β€
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Oh, Vivian! Never give up!! You are such an encouragement to the rest of us!! Yes, that is one of Satan’s fiery darts he likes to throw at all of us, but we have to stay the course. So, keep on! You are making a difference!! Love to you, too. β€
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Awwww, thanks Sue! Love to you back dear one!!!!β€β€β€π€π€
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Praising Him with you my sweet sis! He will provide the lamb…Just keeping trusting and praising!
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Praying for you today!
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Much love Renee!!!! β€β€
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Awe! Love and hugs back to ya my friend!
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Big hugs sweet Renee! God bless you always my friend! π€π€π€β€
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Awwww, thanks Renee! This is such an encouragement to me today to think on that particular scripture of provision and thank you so much for pointing me towards It! Bless you dearest! β€π€
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Always my friend! Blessings to you! ππ»
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Love this uplifting message, Vivian! β₯
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Thanks so much Lily! I hope this brought you encouragement and blessings today. Much Love! β€π€
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Thank you for this post. It reminds me of Job’s answer to his wife: “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?β I, too, and learning to praise God in the midst of pain and exhaustion. It isn’t easy, but I’ve found that when I do, it allows me to be more at peace.
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Awwwww, thanks so much for checking out my blog and for this thoughtful comment Rebekah. β€ Yes, praising Him in the storm brings so much peace. And, He gives us grace to seek Him asking for help in this when our spirits are low and we feel defeated, He reminds us to look up and keep our eyes on Him. Much Love! π€
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I really feel like that worn out and torn up moose this weekend. Hurting bad and crashing emotionally.
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Oh Rebekah, big hugs. β€ I understand the pain that tears up our emotions. I will add you to my prayer request list. ππ€ Here are a couple songs of comfort that I’ve gained hope from: “Another in the fire” by Hillsong
And “Hope In Front”, by Danny Gokey.
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This is very really unique helpful information. keep it up. Thank you so much!
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Thanks Martina!
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I’m so sorry you have been feeling down and trodden. I have as well here of late with the whole car thing. But God is working things out π
This is a wonderful reminder for us all to praise no matter the situation.
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Awwwww, yes, well I’m okay really I am. Just taking it one day at a time trusting in Jesus to provide and doing what I can to make ends meet. What happened to your car Stu?
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One day at a time is the best plan. Beautiful yarn colors. I like the fuzzy yarn. Your daughter looks like she was going to try the look mom no hands π
It died and has been put out of it’s misery. Friends and co-workers have been taking back and forth to work. Truly grateful for that but…
I may have found a new one to purchase. I go look at it Wednesday.
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Yes, I love that fuzzy yarn too! She is loving her bike but now it has a slow leak in the front wheel. Boo.
Oh no, I’m sorry your car died but hope the new one fits your needs and runs well. It’s not fun having transportation, believe me, I know.
I’m so thankful for your friends! ππ
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On no π¦ What size tires are on her bike? I can order her an inner tube for it and have it shipped.
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Awwww, that’s so thoughtful of you Stu but I think it’s okay for now. Just a slow leak. Thank you anyway bro! ππππ΄ββοΈ
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Such a cute Molly and what a great post to stay encouraged and praising God in the good and bad!!
Praying for you my friend!!!!
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Thank you Alyssa! We will praise Him my friend! π€
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Praising Him in the storm has never been the easiest but it is certainly some of the most powerful worship I’ve ever experienced. β€
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Amen. And I find such a peace that He gives when I do. π€
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Bless you TR! Thank you for sharing this today! Much Love! π€
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Reblogged this on Thoughts of CS Lewis: A Journey of Faith and commented:
thoughts with you and the family, Viv
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I was just thinking of you today! How are you?
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very well thanks. Just banged my leg right on where I had the graft, but the nurse is checking it
Another silly thing I do
The lady who comes in to organise me and clean once a week says at least I put a smile in people’s faces amidst my chaos and she’s happy that shes got a job for life. Gets paid by the govt (my sister in South Africa is amazed at New Zealand’s welfare system)
Gave up on the gym recently after a new instructor came in and I couldn’t follow any instructions. More chaos, so just let me do it my way. Thought I’ll do walks myself daily, so can concentrate.
Been praying for you and hope things are going well, Viv
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I appreciate your prayers Craig! I have had some clumsy moments too. Last month right before my birthday I slipped on a bunch of acorns in the driveway and down I went. Now my boys escort me when I’m outside because they think I’ll fall.πthey’re Right! That must be a fun job working as your house cleaner! I bet she loves it. Take care of your leg Craig.
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Now you know why my friend Lindsay, the “Gatekeeper” used to see to me. When I arrive in heaven, he’ll turn to his right and say to Jesus: “Send that guy straight back to where he came from. He’s trouble – BIG!”
see https://theprophetandprayerwarrior.wordpress.com/
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Oh, π€£ππ
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