March 28, 2024

Bless The Lord (10,000 Reasons)

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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

Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name

You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

God, I’ll worship Your holy name
I’ll worship Your holy name

 Written by Matt Redman and Jonas Myrin ~ Performed by Yancy

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Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.
Psalms 103:1 and 2

Now that is what I want to do!  How about you?  Of course…it comes so easily to the heart of one of God’s children! Oh…how we love to praise and declare His goodness!

I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will [earnestly] remember the wonders of old.
I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.
Psalms 77:11 and 12

Haven’t we all had times when you have palpably experienced the goodness and faithfulness of God so intensely that you wanted to leap in the air and shout and say, “How could I ever doubt You, my God, after this?  How could I ever again despair of Your help?”  And we go along remembering His goodness and blessing Him.   …And then…some short time later…we falter.  We find ourselves doing just that—being discouraged, and doubting, forgetting our confidence in the goodness and greatness of God.  Why does this happen?  Perhaps because we so easily forget the evidences of God’s goodness which we ourselves have experienced; not to mention the vast number of records in Scriptures which tell us of God’s faithfulness and His goodness.

What are some of His ‘mighty deeds’…the ‘wonders of old’ spoken of in Psalm 77? Think about it; I am sure you won’t need to think but a moment to recall God’s awesome works!  Now, these are not quite 10,000 reasons…but here are a few that immediately came to mind—and these are all from the very first book in the Bible:

  • God spoke into existence His Creation (chapter 1:3-31)
  • God gave Noah His plan for saving a remnant of mankind, the animals and birds (chapters 13-21)
  • God protected mankind from making too much of themselves (chapter 11:3-9)
  • God promised (chapter 18:10-15) AND then made a way for a 100 year old man and a 90 year old woman to conceive a child (chapter 21:1-7)
  • God provided in an incredible way as Abraham obeyed to the uttermost (chapter 22:1-14)

That God is GREAT <in every way that greatness could possibly be!> should be obvious to everyone.  Paul reminds us,

Ever since the creation of the world, His invisible nature, namely,
His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.
So men are without excuse for, although they knew God,
they did not glorify Him as God or give Him thanks.
Romans 1:20 and 21

We ARE without excuse…if we are not continually voicing our gratitude and our thanks!  Our great God, the Great I AM, has done many and mighty works throughout time!  And His lovingkindness and goodness continue…His faithfulness to each of us is incredible!  We each have numerous stories to share praising God for His incredible blessings in our lives.  Every day in a variety of ways we should be expressing our thanks.

I will praise the name of God with a song.  I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God,
that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.
Hebrews 13:15

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High;
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.
He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.
Psalms 50:14 and 15, 23

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This is my prayer…for you and me.  Let us bless the Lord with all that is within us!

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
My soul will make its boast in the Lord; the humble will hear it and rejoice.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
Psalms 34:1-3

Introducing “Glorious Living w/Coach Megan”

I am so pleased to announce a brand new addition to our ministry.  Many of you know our Co-Founder, Megan Smidt.  You know her heart.  You know her love for helping women.  You know she pours her heart into everything she does.  You know above all else, her love for our Lord Jesus.

Megan wears many hats, one of which is a Certified Christian Life Coach.  Being a Life Coach is Megan’s calling.  It is very evident in how she reaches out to other women, and guides and encourages them in the way God is calling them.  She has an amazing heart, and I am so very blessed to know her, and have her as my partner here at Girlfriends Coffee Hour.

Beginning March 29th, Megan will begin a brand new blog here on GCH, titled Glorious Living with Coach Megan.  This blog is for YOU, our readers, to have your questions about life answered.  Megan will be answering your questions each Friday!  All you have to do is submit your questions to her.  She can address them anonymously, as well.  Email your questions to Megan at Megan@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com.  

We’ve set aside some time today for you to get to know Megan a little better.  I’ve interviewed Megan recently, and we want to share that interview with you!  May I introduce Megan Smidt, CCLC….

megan

Where were you born?

Lynwood, CA.

Out of all the places that you have lived, which one is your most favorite?

Tennessee!!! I love having seasons and the people here are amazing.

What were you like as a teenager?

I was… ME!  I loved music, singing, reading, writing, and being with my friends. I wore every color at the same time and I certainly danced to the beat of my own drum. I guess I haven’t changed too much since then!

Did you go to college? If so, what degree(s) do you hold?

Yes, I went to Fullerton College right out of high school and earned an AA degree in Liberal Studies. I then transferred to CSU, Fullerton where I earned Bachelors of Arts degrees in English and Women’s Studies. I went back to school and earned my Christian Life Coaching Certification from PCCCA in 2011.

Tell us about some of the jobs that you have held over the years, and which one is your most favorite?

My first job was “magazine manager” at B.Dalton Booksellers when I was 16. From there, I was manager and buyer for a Papyrus store, and retail manager for Hallmark Creations, Ice Accessories, and Victoria’s Secret. I was a manager and scheduler for Bank of America and most recently, I am Personal Assistant to Yancy (www.yancynotnancy.com) and, I “work” as a Certified Christian Life Coach.

It is hard to pick a favorite because there are things about most of those jobs that I loved, but I would say that working for Yancy has been a whole lot of fun and I LOVE helping people grow in their walk with the Lord and in their life in general as a life coach.

If you could have lunch with anyone that is living or has passed on, who would it be? Why?

Oh, that’s a tough one! I would have to say my gramma. I miss her terribly and even though I had a lot of time with her here on earth, I miss our talks so much that to have one more would just be wonderful.

If money was not an object, and you could do anything that you wanted to do and know that you would not fail, what would you do?

I would travel around the world helping as many people as I could come to have an intimate relationship with God and intentionally live the life God has called them to live. I pray that Craig, our kids and family could join me along the way!

What is your most favorite thing about blogging?

Encouraging people to intentionally live the life that God has called them to live.

Tell us how you came to be a Christian Life Coach.

God told me to. I had been fired from my job and let myself be still and wait for God to show me what He wanted me to do. He showed me this and I had no clue what it even was! So, I began looking into it and, after 6 months of prayer and research, I found the perfect program for what God had shown me. I became certified and have loved every minute of this journey living out my calling!

If there was one piece of advice that you could give the women of Girlfriends Coffee Hour, what would it be?

Do not be content to merely survive! God calls us to a life filled with joy where we are content in every season. It IS possible or God would not command it in His Word! It takes diligence and intentional living to make it happen but, with God, all things are possible!

Explain what your new Glorious Living blog will be about, and how women can submit their questions to you.

I am so excited about this opportunity to help all of my GCH friends! Glorious Living is a weekly blog where I answer questions posed by friends simply sending an email to me at megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com . The questions can be about anything they might need help with in their life to propel them forward where they might be feeling stuck. This can have to do with relationships, career, values, life purpose, priorities, and their walk with the Lord… Anything, really!  I have already received some great questions and, I am so excited to get started with this new adventure! I pray God works through this blog to help heal and propel women all over the world forward toward the life that God has created them for!