Journey to 1000 Gifts from Him. {Day 251} SINGING PRAISE

There are mornings when waking up out of REM sleep and ending on the sour note of a bad dream really threaten to discolor the sky of any day.

I wake and try to ponder for a few minutes, but nothing stirs me out of the gloom.  I get up and begin the day with proofreading my sweetheart's paper and brushing through my hair tangle.  The little boys are up so early and I wonder how I'm going to fight through this day...alone...because my sweetheart is going back to school.  I get ready for the day and afterwards let the boys watch a short movie while I spend my much-needed daily time with the Lord...feasting and thinking and feeling.  I plead with Him for answers (as I do on so many mornings), answers to solve my miniscule problems that loom larger than life.

As I read I'm reminded of the dreams I had just before waking...of being left alone time after time...and me struggling to care for my boys all by myself.  And I realize that this subconscious fear is what I've been harboring...knowing that my sweetheart would be returning to school, knowing that soon we will welcome another beautiful spirit into our home and I will be a lone mother again when we move.

But the words I read give me hope and call me to repentance.  The Lord did not leave the Jaredites alone when they crossed the great deep.  He gave them light, He provided them wind, He made is so no whale or sea creature could mar their ships, He brought them out of the depths when they were encompassed about with waves.  And for 344 days, they were driven forth...tossed upon the waves of the sea.  

But what did they do?  Did they bemoan their lot or ask "why" to their Lord?  No.  "...they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord." (Ether 6:9)

And I felt that this story was for me.  Today.  And everyday as I strive to make the counting of the gifts become part of who I am.

So I sang.  Songs of testimony and commitment and love.  Songs that lifted me from the depths of the encompassing waves and set me aright again on top of the waters.

Songs of praise have this sort of power.  And I wonder why I haven't thought to make the consistent singing a part of my daily praise...

It is now.

"An occasional burst of praise, in the midst of years of complaining, is not what is required. Songs on rare, sunshiny days; and no songs when skies are cloudy—will not make a life of gratitude. The heart must learn to sing always."  ~J.R. Miller, 1912

{ image via pinterest}

908.  Quiet time to relish with my boys and sweetheart every morning this week.
909.  Knowing the Lord will give me gems in my scripture study this morning.
913.  Imagining what my Little Star will look like and envisioning her in my mind.
914.  A fun and memorable library trip.
917.  My sweetheart telling me that I'm the most beautiful woman in the all the world and that he loves me with all of his heart.
922.  Little one hiccups inside of me
925.  My personal "Thanksgiving Celebration" where I will reflect on all that I have learned this year.
931.  German buttery pancakes with homemade Raspberry jam.
933.  The boys always behaving so reverently during Sacrament meeting.
940.  Paper chains--red and orange to count down our time before we move to our Cottage and pastel pink for when Little Star will come.
941.  Actually feeling the singing of praise lifting and energizing my sagging spirit.
942.  Pop reminding me that the waiting and anticipation is just as exciting as the actual having.