Praise Reports

     At a church I used to attend there was usually a time that our Pastor asked if we had any Praise Reports to share, meaning that it was a time to share things we were thankful to God for. Usually there were minimal if any things that anyone shared. It always hurt my spirit that we were so detached as to have nothing to praise our generous, loving Father for! I remember one particular time that he asked and ...this time it was on my heart to thank the Lord for lightening bugs.
     I raised my hand and shared how thankful I was for lightening bugs! I mean, really! God didn't have to make something so fun as lightening bugs, but He did! What is their purpose? Do they have one? But they do bring joy to my heart every time I see them on a summer's evening. They whisk me immediately to a childlike desire to gather them in a jar and enjoy their lights blinking off and on before setting them free again.
     I probably don't need to add that I'm the only one that I'm aware of that stood up in our church and thanked God for lightening bugs. A lot of times there was nobody (not one person!) ready to praise God for anything at all. Isn't that absurd? Shouldn't we have to extend church services to have adequate time to praise God and tell Him thank you for the things in our lives that we appreciate?
     Have we become callous to the things in our lives that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with and only bother to talk to Him when we want to lodge a complaint or when He has taken it over the top of glory and beauty? Or saved us just in the nick of time!  Let's think, who can we thank that the Earth keeps rotating? Who can we thank for holding together the Universe? Who can we thank that our heart keeps beating? Who can we thank that we have so many material blessings that our closets are crammed and we even(as a nation) have to rent storage units? Who can we thank that if we don't feel well we have a doctor in every city and neighborhood? Who can we thank that our car starts every time we turn the key? Who can we thank that there is plenty of groceries on the shelves in the local grocery store? Who can we thank for air conditioning? Who can we thank that we have comfortable, safe homes to relax in? Who can we thank that we are blessed with good health? Who can we thank for the family and friends that grace our lives? Who can we thank that we have the freedom to worship our Lord? The list goes on and on and really we should never run out of things to thank Him for.
     If we run out of the routine, mundane things we can progress to the songs of the birds, the beauty of the flowers, trees and clouds and move on to thanking Him for the joy that lightening bugs bring to our lives!