Celebrate!

"Celebrate good times. Come on." Sound familiar?! It's a line from a song that most of us have probably heard of before. When you think of celebrating good times, birthday parties, weddings and graduations are a few moments that may come to your mind. In this season, many high school and college graduations are taking place in many different areas. Celebrations for the graduates are being held and that's great. But what about celebrating the fact that we have stopped a bad habit for 2 weeks, saw a family member we haven't seen for a while, started eating healthier foods, getting more sleep at night? What about celebrating those moments of life along with the special occasions? When we celebrate, we show our thanks and appreciation for what has happened. At most celebrations, there is also a noise that can be heard. There are sounds of joy and excitement in the air. Well, God is looking for a sound too! God is looking for a sound of praise from us. Psalm 150:6 says, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord." When we praise, we give thanks and say good things about someone or something. We have a lot of good things that we can say about God. After all, He's the One who gives us life and allows us to go day by day. In II Chronicles 5:12-13, the people praised God with singing and instruments when the ark was being brought into the temple Solomon had built. The ark contained the 2 tablets with the Ten Commandments. There was a lot of noise that day made by the people! That noise was a sound that pleased God. Are we making a sound that is pleasing to God? What do our actions, attitudes, and words sound like on a daily basis? Are they harsh and negative or are they loving, kind and uplifting? The sounds we make to please God should be heard not just when we're at church, but everywhere we go. We have to be careful to always check that we are making a sound that is pleasing to God. We can make a sound of celebration every day. The fact that we are alive, have the health and strength we have, have the people in our lives we do and have God's love shown to us every day are just some reasons to celebrate. There's a whole lot more! Look around and see all that you have. Look around and see all that God kept from not happening. Some days we may have to look harder than other days, but rest assured, you will find a reason to be thankful. So I challenge you (and myself!) to find something every day to celebrate and thank God for. I challenge you (and myself!) to start celebrating God for what He's going to do. Let's celebrate and make some noise!

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Psalm 100:1