Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Praise!
“I love you, O Lord, my strength.The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,and I am saved from my enemies.” ~ Psalm 18:1-3 (ESV emphasis. Iris')

Welcome to Thankful Thursday, hosted by Iris at Grace Alone... What a wonderful day to praise the Lord for the blessings He has given us and just to praise His holy name!
I love looking at the Hebrew definitions for Scripture. It helps me go deeper into the Word He has provided for us and I find it fascinating. It enables me to know Him more.
When the Psalmist acknowledged God as His rock he was saying that the Lord was His security. Fortress means, in part, fastness, stronghold. One of the definitions of deliverer is "to bring into security, bring to safety." There is so much we can praise God for!
This week, I'm choosing to be praise Him for letting me put my trust in Him.
At 5:30 a.m. on December 15, my uncle is having brain surgery. He is having malignant melanoma removed from the same exact spot it was removed from in May of this year.
Trust. That's a heavy word in a crisis like this, but we know that God is able.
The Hebrew word used in the verse above for trust is chacah, which means:
1) (Qal) to seek refuge, flee for protection
a) to put trust in (God), confide or hope in (God) (fig.)
I am trusting God for His good, pleasing and perfect will to be done in Jimmy's life. I'm praising Him for how well the surgery went last time and praying that his recovery is as quick as it was then. Jimmy had the surgery on a Wednesday last time and was home by Friday. He woke up from surgery able to talk and hold up the appropriate number of fingers. His coordination was great, his speech clear. He spent less than 24 hours in ICU. It was only by the grace of God that this happened. The neurosurgeon had prepared us that he might not regain his speech and motor skills for a couple of weeks! Susan, his wife, went to the hospital with flash cards in her suitcase to help him! She never had to pull them out, praise God's Holy Name!
"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah" ~ Psalm 62:8 (NIV)
The Hebrew word for trust in this verse is batach, which means:
1) to trust
a) (Qal)
1) to trust, trust in
2) to have confidence, be confident
3) to be bold
4) to be secure
b) (Hiphil)
1) to cause to trust, make secure
2) (TWOT) to feel safe, be careless,

I praise God that Jimmy is a man of strong faith. He is so humble and would never tell you himself, but he's an awesome uncle, brother, son, husband and father. He's a teacher and a deacon in the church, active in his community, and is a volunteer fireman. Jimmy's heart praises God and trusts Him for the outcome in this, and I do, too. May the Lord's will be done.

Jimmy will tell you quickly that it's not about him at all, but about the One who holds him in the palm of His hand. Please join me in praying for him and praising the Lord in advance for the work He will do through him and for him - and most of all, for God's glory!

P - Put your complete trust in God as you sing His praises. "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD." ~ Psalm 40:3 (NIV)

R - Remind yourself to lift God up in praise, even when things look down in your life. "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." Psalm 43:5 (NIV)

A - Announce God's praises before others. "I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples." ~ Psalm 57:9 (NIV)

I - Incorporate praise into all aspects of your daily life. "I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips." ~ Psalm 34:1 (NIV)

S - Sing your praise to the Lord. "Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him." ~ Psalm 33:1 (NIV)

E - Eagerly praise Him in the morning; it sets the tone for your whole day! "In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." ~ Psalm 5:3 (NIV)

For more Thankful Thursday posts, please visit our hostess Iris at Grace Alone...

32 comments:

Denise said...

I love you, and your dear uncle will be lifted up in my prayers.

LAURIE said...

Praise and Prayer - it goes hand in hand. I have alot to give God praise for this week - but a long time ago I decided to give Praise no matter what the circumstances were. I pray that your uncle will find a praise on his lips as he recovers from his surgery. -Blessings, Laurie

i said...

Will be praying for your uncle. I like how you write about each letter in PRAISE. God bless!

Anonymous said...

Wow.. this is nice. PRAISE God for a great blogger like you.

My Thankful Thursday entry is posted here. Please drop by if you have the time.

Melanie said...

Good Morning, Laurie Ann. I love your acronyms... always so great.

Happy Thankful Thursday!

~Tracy~ said...

Thank you for your blog today.. It was soooo goood!

Your uncle Jimmy sounds like an amazing man of God! Praying for his complete healing!

Bless you,
Tracy

Debra Kaye said...

Sweet Sister Laurie Ann,

I praise the Lord for you too. You are a great bloggy sister and I know you are such a blessing to so many.

I will be praying for your family and especially your Uncle Jimmy. Please keep us posted, sweet friend. Hugs to you today.

Jennifer said...

I am lifting your uncle up in prayer today and in the days to follow.

You showed us this morning how to praise Him in all things...good or bad, happy or sad for God is in control.

I love "E" because that is so true...praising Him in the morning sets my mood for the entire day.

Thank for sharing your heart. Happy TT!

Tammy said...

What faith - I love the definition of trust that states to seek refuge and flee for protection. It brings comfort to me to know I can find refuge and a safe place in my Father's arms. Have a joyful thankful Thursday!

More Than Words said...

What a beautiful post! Your Uncle sounds wonderful!! I will be praying for him too!!!

HUGS,
Alicia

Shawna said...

Wow, Laurie Ann, has anyone told you lately that you rock? Because you do. Your comments on my post were so thoughtful and uplifting. Thank you for visiting me, but most of all I thank you for offering to pray for me!

I loved your TT post. Do you mind if I ask what translation of Bible you use? I am asking because you pointed out certain words and told their Hebrew meaning in that scripture. I'd love to be able to research that, too. I am interested in that kind of in-depth study.

Your site is beautiful. It's very nice to meet you!

Shawna said...

I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that I am adding your uncle to my prayer list. He sounds like a great man, and I will pray for him.

Darlene said...

I like your TT post! We can learn so much by looking deeper into God's word. I like how you pass along what you are learning. Praying for your uncle...he sounds like a wonderful uncle.
Have a fabulous day!
Darlene

Amanda said...

Laurie Ann,

I am right there with my dear sister. If you check out my posts on my aunt you will see some praise for God's answered prayers and His faithfulness to her. She had a brain tumor removed in September and was then diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. They have since gone back, removed part of her skull, she has had a staph infection in her brain for over 6 weeks now and the doctors keep telling us she will die soon. But God keeps telling them otherwise. Yesterday she was told they may even go ahead with radiation which is a miracle b/c they put her in hospice at the first of November.


Anyway, sorry to go on, but I'm excited that the Lord lead me over here today. I'll pray for Jimmy and I just love how the Lord strenthens His own in these times to be great witnesses of His grace, mercy, healing, and power.

Praise be to Him and Him Alone!!

bp said...

I like the R. I think it is most helpful to praise in the hard times.

Unknown said...

Hi Laurie Ann,

What a beautiful post, as always filled with so much wisdom and care!

Praying for your Uncle and will keep your family in my prayers as well.


Blessings to you today!
Jill

Lisa said...

I will be praying for your Uncle Jimmy, God is able. This weeks Thankful Thursday is so good because Praise the The Prayer That Changes Everything.

Anonymous said...

Blessings on this Thankful Thursday!

May you feel His loving hands throughout the week.

~Mrs.Cuddles

Grammy said...

Hi Laurie Ann, A wonderful tt post. I am glad Jimmy is in your life.

Blessings to you.

Tricia said...

I will say a prayer for Jimmy... so glad that he is a man of strong faith and that he has a family of faith surrounding him as this time. May we all see God's miraculous work in his life, and may God be glorified!

Blessings!

Mindy said...

We will add him to our prayers! Trusting GOd is allwe can do in these situations, and we're blessed that He always has our ultimate good in mind.

I thought about you today when I saw that you N'awlins folks are getting snow!

Unknown said...

God Bless you! Thank you for blessing me today with a comment on my blog. I thank the Lord for each one!!!!

Anonymous said...

Lord, i lift up to you, laurie ann's uncle. i pray that you intervene in his up coming surgery. Lord, we are believing for your healing and recovery for her uncle. thank you, God, for hearing our prayers.

nothing is impossible with God. nothing is too hard for Him to do. here's trusting and believing along with you, laurie ann. ♥

Cheryl said...

It is indeed a wonderful day to be praising HIM! Great thankful post! Happy TT~

Unknown said...

Laurie Ann,

What a neat tribute to Jimmy.

The acrostic of priase is really neat. These scriptures just filled me up.

I would like to pray for your uncle. Lord, I lift up Jimmy before your throne. Lord, you know this particular cancer toched our home in a personal and deep way. So I pray with emotion and compassion. Lord, let us pray within your will for the healing of Jimmy. Offer him hope, healing and give him stamina to fight. Protect him from evil and give wisdom to the physicians. In Jesus powerful life-changing name, Amen.

HEATHER said...

Absolutely a beautiful praise post. Jimmy will be in my prayers and for his family too. May God Bless you all this upcoming week.
Love in Christ,
Heather A.

Marsha said...

I love your acrostic!

I'll be praying for your uncle on Monday.

Have a blessed weekend trusting and resting in Him.

Unknown said...

Laurie Ann, I am always blessed and encouraged when I read your posts. Thank you for weaving ever so beautifully God's Word into the tapestry of your thoughts. I will add your uncle to my prayers and will look forward to see how God hands will fashion His blessing upon Uncle Jimmy.

Blessings,
Denise

Susan said...

Wonderful post. I'm going to be praying for you Uncle Laurie Ann, let us know how he does.

Blessings♥

Anonymous said...

One of the most beautiful/informative post I;ve read today. Thanks! BTW, prayers for your Uncle. I pray his sirgery is successful. Blessings.

Nancie said...

Thank you for sharing this lovely post with us. Thanks for your visit and prayers. Thank God I am better. Take care. May God grant you a very blessed weekend!

Anonymous said...

I will keep Jimmy (my dad's name too) in my thoughts and prayers. I hope his surgery is just as successful as his prior one. {{hugs}}