Week of Praise! And, Our Winner of the He IS Able Card Set Give-Away!!

 ^"Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise..." 

(Psalm 51:15 NIV)

Hi Friends~

I have several things to share with you today!  The Scripture listed above has a special meaning to me.  And, I was recently blessed by it, and want to share with you what God has done with it...and me!  I learned this part of the Psalm when I went to a Jewish Camp for a week as a Senior in High School.  I learned it in Hebrew and in English, and they taught it with such a beautiful simple tune played on flute.

 The other day, I kept humming the tune...after not thinking of it in many, many years.  I knew that it wasn't a pop song or anything like that...and I just "somehow" knew that it was a gift for or from God...so I kept humming.  Eventually, after several hours of humming it...the English words started to form.  They are beautiful.  When that happened, I wanted to remember the Hebrew version, and offer it as a sacrifice of praise.  I want to remember things from my past.  I prayed for a while, asking Him to please provide the words in Hebrew to me...that I wanted to sing them to Him...with all of my heart.  I was told just keep singing.  So, I did. 

Soon it was time for bed, so I sang quietly.  Dave asked it I was praying.  I answered, "I'm being obedient."  I must have sang the beautiful tune another 50 times.  All of a sudden the words seemed to echo the English...I would sing a portion in English...and I could see and hear the words in Hebrew.  So, I started singing them to Him...I was so grateful for the gift of the words provided to me.  The tune was one we kids made up as we led the Worship Services at camp, and singing the tune would not help my parents know the words, because it was not in a traditional setting.  It was such a beautiful gift that He allowed me to share.  I cried. I woke up my not-yet-believing husband and shared how God is always good...and what had happened.  He held my hand happily as I sang until I fell asleep.  And, I felt that as I sang it quietly to Him...my heart would burst with happiness as I recalled blessings He had showered in my life...now including the words and tune to this Psalm...in English and Hebrew!  May you "open your lips and let your mouth declare His praise!" 

How about if you list some of the many blessings I am sure you have received in your life in the comment section?  Let's  have a Week of Praise!  Let's leave at least one item of praise daily for the next week!  Let it serve as way to encourage our Sisters and Brothers who may not be able to recall a blessing in their life right now. Or who may not know all that He is capable of!  I am so excited to read how He has blessed you. Or how you have served Him.  Of course, you can share anything in the comment section.  Whatever you write, gets you entered in the He IS Able Card Set Give-Away.  So, doing this will serve in many ways...including the most important...Praising God!

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So, let's announce the He IS Able Card Set Give-Away Winner!

Congratulations go out to Grace of  the Th-ink-ing of You blog! 

Congratulations, Grace you will have 2 beautiful cards heading your way.  I just need you to please email me, letting me know you would like to receive this gift!  It is our hope that you will use the cards to share about His Love, His Word, His Gift of Salvation with others.  I know that you do this in everything you do!  You are a wonderful example to me.

Grace's blog is filled with all sorts of amazing art.  She loves to share her love of Jesus through her art, as well as sharing on Christian based Design Teams like the Our Daily Bread Design Team.  (You all know that is one of my absolute favorite stamp companies anywhere!)  She shares from the heart about how Jesus has been a part of her life, and how amazing He is!  I promise you will be blessed if you visit her beautiful blog Th-INK-ing of You.

Here is Grace's comment:  "Hi Traci! Hope you are staying safe in the storms... I think they are headed here next. Romans 8:31 would be a reference for that verse! Looking down through your blog I'm just blown away by how beautiful you are doing on your cards!!!Your Copic coloring is really great! Don't you love them? They are so fun to shade with. Hoping you are feeling better!!! Have a great Sunday!" Grace

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And, if you knew that the Scripture  "If God is for us, who can be against us?" can be found in Romans 8:31, Congratulations! You are right!

So, since we were speaking of praising Him...who can tell us where this Scripture can be found? Be careful...many Scriptures have similar words in them, make sure you have the right one. Then go ahead and list the answer in the comment section--making you eligible to win our

 He IS Able Card Set Give-Away!

 "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."  (Hebrews 13:15)

He IS Able!

Traci Starkweather