A New Way to Live

A few months ago, I found the words of this hymn echoing through my heart day after day:

Fill thou my life, O Lord, my God

In every part with praise,

That my whole being may proclaim

Thy being and Thy ways;

Not for the lip of praise alone,

Nor e'en the praising heart

I ask, but for a life made up

Of praise in every part.

Praise in the common words I speak,

Life's common looks and tones,

In fellowship at hearth or board

With my beloved ones, -

Enduring wrong, reproach or loss

With sweet and steadfast will,

Loving and blessing those who hate,

Returning good for ill.

So shall each fear, each fret, each care,

Be turned into song,

And every winding of the way

The echo shall prolong;

So shall no part of day or night

From sacredness be free,

But all my life, in every step,

Be fellowship with Thee.

~ Horatius Bonar

While I washed dishes, while I drove to prenatals, while I waited for my flat tire to get fixed, while I was grocery shopping, while I was juicing fresh veggies for Mom, when the house was 100 degrees inside, while I was running, while I was cooking breakfast, while scrubbing out dirty produce buckets, as I drove away from births, those lines

I ask, but for a life made up

Of praise in every part.

clanged loudly, jarring me from the irritating, the tiring, the annoying, the mundane, even the wonderful that I reveled in. Praise in this.

Praise for all of the things that happened today that weren't supposed to. Praise in the midst of missing important deadlines because my brother was having problems and I had to occupy him. Praise while Mom feeling sick. {Wouldn't she rather hear me happily singing at the sink, anyway?}

Praise instead of sighing to myself when the floor was sticky and the oven wasn't working and my car was needing another repair.

Praise.

Praise.

Praise.

That could be my life. My life doesn't have to include silent sighs and groans to myself.

Praise. That can be my whole life. EVERY part.

It starts with calling someone to tell them that I will have to reschedule this afternoon's prenatal. {How unprofessional! a murmur rises up in me. I was late to their last appointment after having to borrow a car at the last minute. And now this! Undecided whether I should explain what's happening at my house and with my family, or leave them wondering if I'm unreliable, I hesitate. Then, one little word comes to mind: Praise. Praise in the common words I speak. That's your new way to live.}

A smile crosses my face. Yes, in this, too.

What good is praise if it's only during the times when anyone's heart would sing for joy?

Not just praise on my lips, or even just praise in my heart.

A LIFE made up of praise in every part.

I've met a few people whose whole life appears to be a praise song to their Maker.

They just live different than the rest of us fretting, whining people.

My Jesus deserves that from my life.

My rest-of-2011-resolution? To sing this song pretty much every day, and to live it every day.

That's why I leave the book open to hymn #42 in the kitchen window nearly every day.

Will you join me? :)

Fill My Life... In Every Part With Praise

Fill Thou my life, O Lord, my God, In every part with praise,

That my whole being may proclaim Thy being and Thy ways;

.... I ask but for a life made up of praise in every part.

- Horatius Bonar

Praise

One quick thought in my absence:
Pastor Jay Folk from New York came down and preached at Bethesda the week after Family Camp. Something he said has continued to echo through my head :

"The soul that stops praising God will stop serving God."

How is your gratefulness meter doing this week?

Speechless... We WON?!?!?

I am speechless.

Reality hasn't sunk in yet, and I keep pinching myself, asking, "Did I really get that phone call from our attorney this afternoon?!?!"

My family and friends assure me that I am very much awake. And the presence of 134 new related emails that have appeared in my inbox in that last couple of hours confirms it.

I'm afraid I sounded very unprofessional and giddily happy when reporters were calling me for comments this afternoon. I was so happy that I didn't care what they thought of my crazily ecstatic comments. (Yes, it's always dumb to get so emotional that you don't care what you're saying to the media!)

The Missouri Supreme Court decided the midwifery case in our favor!!

On July 4th, the felony status of Certified Professional Midwives in Missouri will be lifted, and they will be free to practice.

I guess I'll eventually grasp how this will change my life and plans sometime soon... maybe.

For now, Psalm 146 echoes my heart tonight...

Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
While I live, will I praise the LORD:
I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that day his thoughts perish.

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is:

Which keepeth truth for ever:
Which executeth judgement for the oppressed:
Which giveth food to the hungry.
The LORD looseth the prisoners.
The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind.
The LORD raiseth them that be bowed down.
The LORD loveth the righteous.
The LORD preserveth the strangers.
He relieveth the fatherless and widows:
but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

May A Mortal Sing Thy Name?

Mighty God, while angels bless Thee,
May a mortal sing Thy name?
Lord of men, as well as angels,
Thou art every creature's theme.
Lord of ev'ry land and nation;
Ancient of eternal days,
Sounded thro' the wide creation,
Be Thy just and endless praise.

For the grandeur of Thy nature,
Grand beyond a seraph's thought;
For the wonders of creation;
Works with skill and kindness wrought;
For Thy providence that governs
Thro' Thine empire's wide domain,
Wings an angel, guides a sparrow,
Blessed be Thy gentle reign,

But Thy rich, Thy free redemption,
Bright tho' veiled in darkness long;
Thought is poor and poor expression;
Who can sing that wondrous song?
Brightness of the Father's glory,
Shall Thy praise unuttered lie?
Break my tongue such guilty silence!
Sing the Lord who came to die.

From the highest throne of glory
To the cross of deepest woe,
Thou didst stoop to ransom captives;
Flow, my praise forever flow.
Reascend, immortal Saviour,
Leave Thy footstool, take Thy throne:
Thence return, and reign forever:
Be the kingdom all Thine own!
~ Robert Robinson

Singing this hymn always brings at least a few pangs of conviction to my heart.
It reaffirms to me the most noble and honored task I have of spreading the news of the glories of my Lord. And it reminds me how little and apathetically I do it.

I have several friends who are in various stages of marriage, courtship, engagement right now. As they should be, they are bursting with the wonders and greatness of the man they love. They almost appear bored if the conversation switches to something else. They are nice to their friends, but everyone can tell their heart is somewhere else. Their profile pictures online aren't just a picture of them; they are the best picture they can find that includes their sweetheart.

They don't have to try to focus on their lover... They almost have to force themselves to talk about something else and to talk politely to other people about other subjects.

Want to talk about how great their man is or hear about what wonderful things he has done for them this week? Their face lights up, and all aglow, they happily tell you everything wonderful they can think of! They never, ever run out of things to say about him. The rest of us see him as a great guy, but a mere human and smile at their sweet, blind love.

How often do the angels who bask in the presence of the great God, smile sadly at my weak estimation of His worth, my ignorant praise of his immense value, my slight comprehension of my pardon at Calvary, my weak "thank you" for my very breath and life?

How do I find myself struggling to find something to say about my Lord to someone I have just met who does not know anything of His worth, goodness, and majestic holiness?

Break my tongue such guilty silence!

That is my prayer for this weekend which I will spend with dozens of people who do not know the goodness of my Lord or even begin to comprehend His mercy extended to them.
Oh, for a tongue bursting with the glories and greatness of my God!