The Blesser

Are you thankful October is here?  And for cooler temperatures?  Fall is my favorite season of the year.  Each day begins with praise to the Lord for His goodness, His Lordship, His gorgeous creation…the intricate design in the leaves…pumpkins…apples and cinnamon, and on and on it goes.  I savor my Lord as I end my time of praise and head to the kitchen for a soothing and delicious turmeric/ginger/cinnamon latte.

How I wish you could join me for one of
these completely sweet, warming,
better-than-pumpkin-fall-goodness-in-a-mug
fall treats!

It is healing, anti-inflammatory, cancer fighting, blood sugar reducing, hormone balancing, pain relieving, plus many more benefits.  I’m thankful God has brought many delicious ingredients and recipes for wellness into my life, and He gets all my gratitude and praise for healing some underlying causes of my compromised health.  God truly loves and cares for you and me!

Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.
(James 1:17)

Speaking of gratitude and praise, let’s get on with today’s topic, shall we?  Many, many people on-line have discussed gratitude this and gratitude that for a long, long time.  When I created the Praise Challenge earlier this year, I was determined to avoid using the word gratitude at all because what I felt when praising God on my own personal praise journey was deeper than simple gratitude.

But, I lacked the proper words to describe
those deeper feelings behind the praise process.

Beside the fact that gratitude was way overused, I felt a different focus in praising God than simply thanking Him for His blessings.  My focus was solely on our heavenly Father, The Giver, rather than the gifts.  It’s only a subtle difference but one I found to be profound.

In a podcast I heard recently, the preacher was discussing a completely different topic than praise or gratitude.  But, he made a point about his chosen topic in a way that pinpointed perfectly my feelings about the difference between gratitude and praise.

The Blesser Versus the Blessings

When starting each morning’s ten minutes (plus) of praise, realize your focus is on the Blesser  and not the blessings.  Yes, we are thankful for our blessings, and we must always honor and praise our Lord for His gifts.  I know most of you would never fall into the trap of idolizing God’s blessings.

And my God will meet all your needs according
to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:19)

In our world of instant gratification, materialism, things that go viral, the trending and popular, far too many people are idolizing the gift and not the Giver, our Holy Blesser.  The Praise Challenge places the focus solely on our Blesser.

If you haven’t been a part of the Praise Challenge, I invite you to indulge in this life-changing opportunity.  The Lord, as our Shepherd, takes such good care of us – and in all the ways and names for which we know Him as our Father.

His blessings~

One final question: Are you interested in some simple recipes for the healthful seasons of life – Fall and otherwise?  Let’s chat about that.