Praising God

Another week has come and gone!  Wow! Hope your week was a good one. 

Saturday gets started off by Tim and Scott visiting our friends. Everybody seems to be doing ok. With the warmer temperatures and all our rain, mosquitos are becoming a nuisance. Things have been quiet around the center for the most part. Ricky continues his work in the garden. Work continues in the prayer section. Brick pads are being put down for our benches. A pad for a bird bath is going on. More exciting ideas are being talked about. 

Tuesday evenings continues to be full of activities. The mens and womens Bible fellowships are bringing in new members of our community each week. Benny led the men's conversations reading from Psalm 150. Praising God!  Don't we owe everything to God. He is worthy of our praise.

A note from Ardis: I was to remind you to mention the lovely thing Beth Ackerman is doing by picking up the Panera bread on Thursdays.  This has allowed us to have plenty of dessert  treats for both the men's and women's Bible Study, lots of bread to give out and serve for Thursday Community Meal, extra bread to share with people in need that Jan Core knows about, and even more extra bread that I share with a 3/4 House for recovering men that is in my neighborhood.  Beth just informed me tonight that Paneras is closing at 10 pm, an hour later, now that school is out, but she is such a trooper that she's going to continue to pick it up on Thursday and I wouldn't stop doing it no matter how late they stay open!   Blessings come in so many different forms but Panera Bread and Beth are a true blessing for me!!!

Thursday was another magical night. Chapel was led by our friend Noel and his friend Chester, playing his guitar and singing. After our benediction,  Ms Abbie comes up front and starts playing the piano and Chester plays his guitar while we all sing Because He Lives. Then all of Ms Abbies grands come in and they all start singing! Nobody wanted to stop! Magical! 

Our meal was hosted by our long time friends,  the Koinonia Sunday school class from Grace. Great evening with them all pitching in to help. 

Prayers continue for William. Prayers for Lisa's son Michael, having surgery today. For those who are traveling. Prayers for new changes in our lives.

Next Thursday we will be hosting a youth group from Lake Charles.  They will be with us through Saturday. This is their third year visiting with us. Please come by and say hi,  give them a hug. Very nice of them to come and spend time with us.

Praising God. Been thinking about that. We go to God with our  "big" problems do we go to him with our everyday events? All too often, we are waiting for the "burning bush" experience, but more often God seems to come in a quiet soft voice. We need to be able to hear that voice and turn out the noise of the world.

A lot of how we praise God depends on our relationship with Him. If our relationship is one of a friend, most likely we go to God every day, every hour. If we only seek His time when we have run out of options, then we won't praise Him for the little things of life.

I mentioned to the men Tuesday evening, I have seen my relationship with Jesus change. I now go to Him when I walk into a house and ask Him not to let the dog bite me! Or praise Him when I get a screw to loosen, or when I hit a good golf shot. It is not me, but Christ working through me that accomplishes these things.

Praising God should be a joy, not a chore. Everything we do, everything we are, everything we hope to achieve comes from God. Praising Him should be a natural order for us all! Amen.

Hope everybody has a great weekend. Enjoy your time with your family and friends. Hope to see you around the center next week meeting our friends from Lake Charles.