Let me be singing when the evening comes

Psalms is filled with verses about praising God and praying in the morning. "Joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5) "I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning." (Psalm 59:16)  "Oh Lord, in the morning you hear my voice..." (Psalm 5:3)

Morning - it's fresh, untainted, new.  I would venture to claim that it's easier to praise God in the morning.  Coffee in hand, hopefully having a few quiet moments... all is well in the world.  THEN.  Those other people in your house start waking up (likely sooner than you'd prefer), complaints start rolling in, someone is ill from not sleeping well the night before, you're late for drop off...  I could go on and on.  Maybe more serious things happen as the day goes on... you get bad news affecting a loved one, maybe you feel guilt over something in your past, your family receives an unexpected financial blow.   Where was that zeal you felt that morning?  No doubt, that feeling is gone out the window along with your hopes that the day would go smoothly.

As I was thinking about this idea of morning praise, two songs came to mind...come on sing with me: "Praise Him, Praise Him, Praise Him in the morning, Praise Him in the noon time, Praise Him...Praise Him, Praise Him when the sun goes down." You sounded good! Oh yes, you've heard that good ole kids' song.   And the other.... "The sun comes up. It's a new day dawning. It's time to sing your song again.  Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me...Let me be singing when the evening comes."  And it hit me - what about evening praise?  That's hard. I researched what Psalms had to say and buried in 113:3, only mentioned once that I was able to find, there it was:  "From the rising of the sun to it's going down, The Lord's name is to be praised."

I don't know about y'all, but I sing/play 10,000 Reasons with a whole new light now.  It's saying that ALL day, not just in the morning, when it may be easier, I should praise Him.  Praise Him in the evening.  After all of the junk has happened.  After you've likely acted in a way or said some things you shouldn't have.  After you've cried, screamed. After you've sunk down on the couch after you've finally gotten the little one(s) bathed and asleep.  Pray.  Surrender.  Ask for forgiveness.  Thank Him. Praise Him.

So, what's the big deal?  Why does He want us to praise Him in the evenings?  Because praise changes our perspective.  Sure, a lot of things may have gone wrong today, but I bet you even MORE things went right.  Praise is thankful. Praise is humble.  Praise is unselfish.  Praise is reverence.  Praise brings peace.  Praise shifts the focus to the God.  Praise puts our trust in Him.  Philippians 4:4-7 basically says - REJOICE! Again, if you didn't hear me, REJOICE!  Be gentle, be anxious for nothing, be thankful and be prayerful and the PEACE of God will overcome you.  Our circumstances, good or bad, are forgotten in exchange for rejoicing in the glory of God that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

Sorry if you were looking for DIY projects - you know you always get more than those in these posts!  I'm sure you're like...whoa, I just wanted to see some shiplap and stuff.  So let's bring it down a notch and apply all of that to the home.  One way I've reminded myself to sing when the evening comes is by having the Word visible all over my house so that I'm reminded of it's truth all throughout the day.  Now, I'm here in the house all day, but maybe it's your car, your office, at the top of your planner, a bracelet, the background on your phone (I realized I may have lost you millennial when I said planner earlier, so I threw a tech gadget in.  You're welcome.)  The Bible says in Deuteronomy 11:18-20, "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.."

As we've settled into the new house, I wanted to be intentional about what goes up on the walls.  We don't have a ton of wall space, so I want to love what we do put up - it has to be practical and have a purpose.  Here are a few examples of what I've put up so far and resources of where you can create your very own reminders, custom to your family and its needs.

One of my favorites over the bed in the master:

I got this one made at Board and Brush in Statesboro!  They will be happy to work with you on a custom design!

Fittingly this one is in the bathroom:

I downloaded a file from an Etsy shop and printed it on clear matte label paper, then stuck it to a piece of glass and mounted it to some old pine wood leftover from the house. 

On my side of the bed I have this gorgeous painting I found at an antique store years ago and got this corresponding verse made into a frame at Twin City Drug.

       


Now for the kids rooms, these verses are special to us and ones we pray over the kids.  Maybe when they learn how to read, these will be good reminders for them of what's important. That is if they don't decide to swing from the rope and destroy them in the meantime.

The Smallwood Home site wasn't super user friendly, but I liked that you can completely customize what you want the sign or canvas to say.  They are on sale now for $29 each plus an extra $10 with code "CANVAS"

A few others scattered around the house - these were gifts from friends, but I'm sure you can easily find similar ones in a Google search.

I didn't add this photo by mistake, I just wanted you to see the real life when I zoomed out.  Those blog photos where everything seems perfect bug me.  

A new thing I've done to help us Praise him ALL throughout the day, is to play worship music in the morning while we're getting ready for school and in the evening when we're getting ready for sleep and reading stories.  If you have any tips or other ideas, I'd love to hear them!

And remember...Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me... LET ME BE SINGING WHEN THE EVENING COMES!

Love y'all - Janna