LIVING ON UPBEAT AVENUE

Life is tough.  Parts of it stink.  Struggle could possibly be our middle name on many occasions.  But who wants to live on the corner of Bummed Street and Never Satisfied if we could reside on Upbeat Avenue?  This possibility is surely worth pursuing.

I was a part of the church for a long time--as the minister--and didn't see the beauty of liking right now.  My bent was not on God's glory and wonder.  No, mine was a pursuit of truth which masked as ego-mania with a Bible in tote.  It isn't that one is unable to know truth; for we are called to do so and his name is Jesus.  Much of the so-called truth I knew made those around me more miserable than more alive.

But I was more of a clear-the-air sort of guy.  Pounding pulpits and bellaring favorite quotes, I eventually ran into the real me; the man who didn't know beans about God, yet had a recollection of a few heavy verses.  Thanking God?  Not likely.  I was busy correcting errant believers for I was about the meatier things of faith.

In singing songs I wasn't praising God.  I was set on doing worship right.  Even that turned out that I was wrong because I had made a god out of my preferred worship style over actually worshiping Him.  Oh sure, praise was in the line-up; but I had it headed the wrong direction.  The praise I was pursuing was that of hoping others would tell me how bold or how daring I was in my delivery.  And, many did.

The biblical direction, however, is praise going to God.  I didn't know much about that. Oh yes, I sang and I prayed.  When in song, I was more about whether I liked the tune.  In prayer, I was all about my grocery list of wants.  Little of my effort exuded in telling God in one form or another just how awesome He is.

The breakthrough came when I realized somehow that God glories in praise to Him.  I now pray more--even constantly--for there is so much in which I am thankful.  Drive through His streets.  Do you notice how much of life comes in 3-D?  Isn't that awesome?  And did you also note that you can see?  And that you are driving?  And that you are able to multi-task: see, drive, feeling elation, watch your speed, and not fall from the car....all at the same time?

This God of ours is fascinating!  Put your eggs in this basket of daily gratitude. Worries distract us and rob God of our saying thank you.  Worries don't necessarily go away.  They just get lost in the shuffle as we have a thousand more things going right and we choose to give Him praise.

Fill your day with praise.  It will change your life and cause those around you to be a bit more happy as well.  They might even see such a significant change in yourself that they will wonder what you have been up to!