Something to shout about

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON

“As the morning is to you the beginning of a new life; as God has

then given you a new enjoyment of yourself and a fresh entrance into

the world, it is highly proper that your first devotions should be a

praise and thanksgiving to God, as for a new creation; and that you

should offer and devote body and soul, all that you are, and all that

you have, to his service and glory.”

-- WILLIAM LAW

“Good morning God! Good morning, people! Good morning, world!” our

daughter Kelly exclaimed as she walked down the stairs one morning on

a visit home from college years ago. I remember that my husband Jon

and I looked up and smiled at each other at the breakfast table and

one of us said, “Kelly is home.”

“Hello God, hello everybody,” Amy sang as she practically pranced

down the stairs on one of her visits two years later. Again Jon and I

smiled, nodded our heads at the same time and said, “Amy is home.”

Both Kelly and Amy were born with an exuberance and excitement about

God and life, and they have continued to live that way ever since.

I thought about them and their zeal for God last month. After Jon

left for work, I did the dishes, worked for a while, returned phone

calls and headed out for a walk. It was a cold, gloomy, windy day,

but it made for an amazing sky with ever-changing clouds. In the

distance I watched a woman slowly make her way to a stone wall, and

sit down as if she were in pain. When I neared her, I asked if she

needed help. “Thank you dear, I’m fine,” she replied sweetly. Then

with zest she said, “I’m here to enjoy the view and thank God for

another day. Isn’t it spectacular?” “Yes, it is indeed,” I answered

and headed down the hill.

I later passed and greeted a woman who shook her head and said, “I

can’t stand this weather anymore. It’s supposed to be sunny and warm;

that’s why I moved here.”

I thought about the attitude of the first woman and told the

second one to look up at the dancing clouds. She gave me an odd

glance, looked up and then said, “Well, you do have a point there.”

The rest of the way home I focused on thanking God for the gift of

the day. Once home I took an index card that I’d written Psalm 100 on

and I read it out loud outside in the cold. It reads:

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the Earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before him with joyful singing.

Know that the Lord himself is God;

It is he who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

And his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him; bless his name.

For the Lord is good;

His lovingkindness is everlasting,

And his faithfulness to all generations.”

The temperature continued to drop, but my joy climbed. I came

inside and read the card again. If God allows us another day to enjoy

with him, that is certainly something to shout about.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at

[email protected] or through the mail at 537 Newport Center Drive,

Box 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.