I will sing of the goodness of God!

Today, I am singing of the goodness of God. I believe God’s goodness has always been here, I just haven’t noticed it. So, I want to change things up a bit. Because it seems like things are changing, both in me and around me. I feel it. I believe it is the goodness of God that I feel. But not just the goodness, the awareness of that goodness. Check out this song below. (p.s. – if you can’t see the song clip, click on the link and view from my website.)

My family and I started using a practice called The Examen . It is a way to pay attention to God at work in your day. (Click here for more info on the Examen.) Basically, we come together, pause and notice when we felt the most joy, the most alive or the happiest throughout our day. Opposite of that, we acknowledge the lowest parts of our day; our disappointments, anger, aggravation, stress or sadness. The sharing somehow connects us. It is really cool when some of our favorite parts of our day are actually the same. This practice brings me joy. Maybe it is because I’m pausing long enough to remember? I don’t know. But in it, I see the goodness of God.

The other night, as I hurried through my supper, I glanced up and noticed this framed verse hanging in my kitchen,

Psalm 34:8 NLT,

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.“

Being my favorite meal, you would have thought I would have slowed down and savored it. Nope, I scarfed it down, not even tasting it. As I left the table, the words on the wall tried to linger in my mind, but I wouldn’t let them. I had too much to do to chew my food or ponder resonating words with hidden meanings. I missed the message and the meal. I wonder how much I’m missing in all my haste?

I obviously need to go back and reread my blog from last week on Learning to relish the moments . It’s a reminder for me to pause and notice the goodness of God. When you taste, you have to slow down and take in the food with all its flavors. When you see, your eye lingers for a moment taking in the beauty of the image. Taking it in whether by taste or sight, you receive it. The better it is, the slower you chew and the longer you look. That way you receive all it has to offer. It’s the same with God’s goodness. When we linger, we can receive it.

I’ve experienced a lot of God’s goodness this week.

• Released my first book, The Me Disease and it hit #1 New Release on Amazon.
• First podcast interview with Kathy B of Source Nation. (Click here to listen.)
• Signed my first book, my second and then my third.
• My 14 year old son told me how proud he is of me. (biggest joy of all!)

Like the song says, “I feel like God’s goodness is running after me.” It’s a crazy God kind of feeling.

Yesterday, me and my mom attended a luncheon. As we were directed to our table, the hostess informed us that we would be sitting at the “media” table. I glanced at my mom, with a smirk on my face, recognizing the goodness of God not only running after me but ahead of me. As I took my seat, I found myself seated with the editor of a local newspaper. By the time the luncheon was over, she and her feature writer asked if they could interview me for a story. This is God’s goodness. It is here and the more I acknowledge it, the more of this goodness I seem to see. I can’t thank God enough for what is happening in my life right now. But I can sing of the goodness of God.

I want to encourage you to pause and think about your day. It doesn’t really matter if you are at the beginning, middle or end of your day. Reflect on it thus far. When did you feel the most joy? What brought you that joy? Now, thank God. God is in the joy. God is in those moments. This is the goodness of God.

Let us pray,

Dear Lord, thank you for your goodness that has been running after me all of my life. Forgive me for not noticing. Allow me to taste and see that you are good. In Jesus Name, Amen. -M