Psalm 113

"From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the Lord is to be praised."
Psalm 113:3

During this Renewal/Sabbatical there have been several things that I have learned or had reaffirmed. As I have been reading and reflecting upon the Psalms over and over again I have been reminded of the importance of praise. I think the contemporary church has lost it's way a bit in associating praise only with music. Now I love to join with others and sing praise to God please don't get me wrong. But when was the last time you really stopped and listened to someone else give praise to God?
One of the things I love about our Church Council meetings at Saint Joseph is that we start out each meeting with a sharing of praises and prayers. Now there are always those requests for prayers for ourselves and others that are shared but every time we meet there are always people who will share praise of how they have been touched by God's presence or where they have seen God active in their life or the life of the church. In some ways it might seem to be a waist of people's time to start a meeting that way but I think it connects us not just to each other but to God in a way that makes the 'business' of the church holy.
What kind of a gift might you receive if before this day was over you found someone you know and said, "I want to listen to all the things that you have in your life to give praise to God for and if you can't finish today I'll make time again for you tomorrow!"
(Let me know if you are brave enough to actually do this.)