Praise

      -Praising, or singing to God, both in Long Term Care and at church,
is important to me. Because I can't talk, of course my praising has to be
somewhat different from other people. But, to God, praise is praise. As long
as it comes from a sincere heart. There are several reasons why praise is so
important to me.

Probably the most important reason for praising is simply that He deserves
it. When I think that God sent Jesus to die on the cross so I wouldn't have
to go to hell, how can I not praise? In addition, there all the benefits
that come with being a Christian. Healing, for one. And, then, there is the
hope of Heaven. If nothing else, that is definitely something to look
forward to!

Another reason that praising is so important to me is that it helps to keep
my focus on God where it should be. It is pretty easy to keep my focus on
God at church but not so easy the rest of the time. That is why I have
music, almost entirely Christian, playing most of the time. Especially in
afternoon, when I have to rest in bed, I like to "sing" along to the music.
It is pretty hard not to keep my focus on God when I am praising Him. Most
of my music is Christian but I do have a bit of classical. For some reason,
classical music always makes me want to praise God.

My life is tedious so I am always looking for something to help me pass the
time. Praising God does that. It is amazing how much faster the time goes by
when I am praising God rather than thinking about myself.

Praising God at church makes me me feel more like I belong. There are so
many church activities that I can't be part of that I often feel like I am
on the outside looking in. But, when everybody starts to praise and worship
God, that is one thing I can do along with everybody else. Even if my form
of praising is not quite the same.

Finally, praising is an anti-depressant for me, just like reading the Bible
is. When I am feeling frustrated and depressed, if I have the sense to MAKE
myself start to praise God, it is usually not too long before I start to
feel better. The operative word, though, is "make". When I am feeling down
like that, the last thing I want to do is praise, God or anything else. At
church, it is usually not such a struggle to praise. I admit, though, that
there are times that all I can do is praise though the tears. But, if I keep
at it, I soon feel better.

So, then, even though I praise God because He deserve it, there are also
plenty of benefits for me.