Why Praise God?

     A friend once said that he doesn't need a 'god' who wants to be praised all the time. He said who would need a vain and selfish being, obsessed with glorifying himself.  So why praise God?  

     It is but natural for us to give praise or thanks for the things that satisfy us - our family, nature, beauty, a good deed and the like.   Praise is an overflow of happiness, contentment or joy.  It is something we cannot contain inside us.  We just have to let it out.  Such also is the reason why we praise God. 

      In his book Desiring God, John Piper said  "We praise what we enjoy because the delight is incomplete until it is expressed in praise. So if God loves us enough to make our joy full, He must not only give Himself; He must also win from us the praise of our hearts - not because He needs to shore up some weakness in Himself or compensate for some deficiency, but because He loves and seeks the fullness of our joy that can be found only in knowing and praising Him, the most magnificent of all beings."1

     God doesn't need us to praise Him for the sake of vanity.  We need Him to complete our joy. Have you ever felt a joy so deep that no circumstance can alter it? A joy that can be felt in our hearts and soul... a joy that penetrates our innermost being.... such is the joy that comes from God and He  is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. 2.   He Himself causes us to rejoice. (Ezra 6:22)

     

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My 2nd to 4th week layouts for Project 52 - Gratitude

Week 2- This week, I thank the Lord for giving us time 

to spend with relatives who we did not see for a long time,

for bonding time with my brother (Desi andJoyce) and his family, 

for a chance to show our love to our dear friends from 

our Dgroup, for the joy we see in our kids' faces when they 

accomplish something new and when they conquered their fear 

as they rode the 'Surf Dance' and 'Jungle Splash'. 

I thank God for the week long prayer and fasting 

and for reminding us about stewardship - 

that everything we have is from Him and for Him.

 

Week 3 - Thank you Lord for our D12/Dgroup,
for homeschooling and for TMA

Week 4  - is week, I thank God for :
1. our dgroup being able to meet at the CCF center.
This is an answered prayer for us
2. a wonderful weather - love the cold breeze
even if all the eggs in the house got frozen 
3. ALL HIS leadership seminar. Learned valuable lessons on
stewardship, giving, and tithing.
Blessed with Pastor Robert Morris' testimony.
I praise God for CCF, our church, for giving us
no excuse not to grow and multiply
4. homeschooling. I always thank God for this
 - it's a gift He gave our family.

My first week layout HERE:


Credits:

1- Desiring God, 2003 ed., John Piper page 49
2.  Desiring God, 2003 ed., page 10

Layout Credits:
Week 2 WA by joyful expressions, designs by helly - the story of us, numbers by Sueli Colbert, template by Honeybees Creative HIve, stitches by ginger scraps

Week 4  Unforgettable by A Little Giggle Designs and template 824 by Andrea Gold 

Week 3 was created using Leaving a Legacy Designs Snips and Snails. It's a fun boys kit that has 50 elements, 20 pattern papers, 8 solid papers and a full alpha with numbers and symbols. Grab it HERE.
     Here's a preview of the kit: 
     

     and the layout I made with it: