— 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes, Devotionals, Five Minute Friday —

Turn Service Into Praise

A season of thanksgiving is upon us.

A time for gatherings and fellowship, food and light, celebrations and anticipation will quickly be knocking at our doors.

Some of us will be in full swing, baking up our grandma’s famous pies and mom’s best dressing. Our hands will be busy, our tummys full, and our hearts bursting with delight.

Others will be huddled up in their dim houses, longing for invites that don’t come and warm tastes they will never know. Loneliness will sit at their tables with them over a cup of luke warm tea and day old bread.

When we sit down to pray over this season, do we praise the Lord for those blessings no matter the magnitude?

Do we thank the Lord for full bellies and hearts or the day old bread upon our plates? Do we reach out our hands to pull people into fellowship so that the warmth may extend beyond ourselves?

It’s easy to praise the Lord when we sit at one of these tables and feel compelled to turn away from the other. How do we move beyond our situations and turn all things back to the Lord in praise?

Sometimes an invite or a warm welcome extends praise.  A basket of food for a quiet celebration could also do the same. Quiet prayer for our destitute neighbor shows a stance of praise in that we trust the Lord’s provision will not go unnoticed. Our praise can encompass all aspects of the Christian life in hospitality and service to those around us.

Romans 12:13 ESV 

Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

This season reach beyond your norm and invite the saints in. Step outside your comfort zone and serve those who are lost. Praise the Lord for all of His good gifts and pay them forward. Even when you have a little yourself, you may be a blessing when you share with others.

Step outside your comfort zone and serve those who are lost. Praise the Lord for all of His good gifts and pay them forward. Click To Tweet

 

Join me as I track through 31 days of free writes with my Five Minute Writing Community. Today’s theme: FMF- PRAISE.  For more posts, please click here.

 

6 thoughts on “Turn Service Into Praise”

  1. Hospitality is such a gracious way to praise. It can be intimidating for some of us…but of the joy that is found when we will extend an invite!

  2. I must have been meant to post my entry right after yours this week. I just posted a recipe for dressing on my blog earlier. Then I see it mentioned in your post too, now I want to make a batch of dressing. I haven’t had it for years. Mom’s was always the best but she has been gone almost 15 years now and I just know mine won’t taste as good as hers. Thanks so much for sharing. FMF #3

    1. I found the recipe to my grandpa’s “famous” apple slices. I’m thinking of baking some for an early Thanksgiving celebration.

  3. Beautiful post, Maryann.

    The happiest Christmas we ever had was when the local Walmart would put up an ‘angel tree’, with cards carrying poor kids’ wishes.

    Barb looked through them, and then found one for…a bicycle. She said, “Can you imagine the courage this kid has, boldly hoping for this when his parents probably told him it was too much? We’re doing it!”

    #1 at FMF this week.

    https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2018/10/your-dying-spouse-527-satisfied-with.html

    1. That’s wonderful. God calls us to be bold and we often ignore thinking meekness is better. There’s benefits to both, but that kid was so blessed by you and Barb. Thank you for sharing.

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