Praise Those You Love

I love my family. And, every time I hear of a tragedy where someone has lost his wife or her husband, child, parent, or sibling, I stop and think what life would be like without those I love.

The thought is sobering and always fills me with renewed gratitude. I find it's a good idea then, when I'm feeling most appreciative, to deliver a little TLC and praise the members of my family.

It's so easy to be critical, to say something like: "Don't do that," or "Why didn't you do what I said?" rather than "I think you are wonderful" to our children and spouses.

Isn't it the truth that we are apt to find fault instead of saying something like, "I think you are a wonderful person," and listing all the qualities about the person that we like?

Yet we know how we feel when someone we love gives us a simple word of loving reassurance. Praise lifts our hearts and counteracts both the blatant and subtle messages of inadequacy we get from the media that we "should" be smarter, richer, thinner or own something we don't have.

So if you want to bring a little joy to a loved one's heart, take time today to deliver a few genuine compliments. Imagine what your beloved means to you and reconnect with a feeling of gratitude for having this person in your life. Then speak from the heart. You'll find that the giver and the receiver are really the same.

Remember, God made your beloveds, and in praising them, you praise His Work and Him.

I Reassure My Beloveds Through Praise

Dear God,

Ignoring the efforts of my family
Or criticizing them because they do not do things my way
Does not create intimacy or love.

So I now notice how my Beloveds relate to the world
And I praise them for it.

I praise them for the good they do.
I praise them for their kindness.
I praise them for their uniqueness,
And I praise them for the choices they make.

I praise them for small things and large.
I praise them for courageously trying again after failure.
I praise them for success,
And I praise them whenever they try something new.

I never take my loved one's efforts for granted,
But enjoy seeing their endeavors.

I delight in them as You delight in me
And I let them know, above all things, that they matter.

Lord, by Your Grace, You remind me
- and in each chance I get -
I reassure my Beloveds through praise.

And so it is.
Amen.

from Prayerforce: 365 Days To A New Life

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Praise is comely. Psalms 33:1

So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever. Psalms 61:8

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalms 133:1

If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith. 1 Timothy 5:8