This week I’m trying to get back into the gym. It hasn’t been easy. With all of the change and moves and other commitments going on, working out hasn’t been a priority for me. (And my tighter clothes are a great indication!)

This morning as I was on the treadmill, feeling the burn from yesterday’s workout, I was listening to my all time favorite praise album. It’s the Jesus Saves, Live CD from Travis Cottrell, Beth Moore’s worship leader. Travis and his wife Angela were at the same church as we were before our recent move and I worked with his kids in children’s choir. This album is my absolute favorite. There’s just something about the songs and the worship that happens that just puts me in the right frame of mind.

Listening to praise music as I work out is a different routine for me. When my husband was deployed, I worked out a lot but I convinced myself I needed really peppy “hard” music to inspire me. So I listened to songs about becoming a rock star and looking sexy and songs that reminded me it was all up to me to get it done. Sure, these songs were fast and easy to work out too, but I realized too late that while these songs were good for my physical body, they weren’t necessarily great for my soul or for my spirit.

Back to the Jesus Saves Live cd. Since I discovered this over a year ago, I have listened to it over and over. I mean, if it were a record or an actual CD, instead of tunes in my iPod, I would have worn it out long ago. One of my favorite parts of it is a moment when Beth Moore speaks about Paul and Silas being locked up in jail and how they were able to praise God anyway.

“Praise first, feel it later.”

I thought this morning about how that can be applied to the military life we all live. Especially when we’re in the midst of deployment. There are just some days (maybe many) we don’t feel like praising God. We don’t even feel like getting up out of bed, or even going to church, much less praising Him.

Read the Psalms though. Anytime the psalmist is hurting or overwhelmed and somewhere in the Psalm he starts to praise God for his goodness and his love, by the end he’s feeling a whole lot better. “Praise Him first, feel it later.” Get it?

So I want to challenge you this week with those words. Praise Him. Praise Him despite the challenges, the mess, the emotions. Praise Him for being who He is and for the grace He gives us each and every day, the love He shares and the hope He offers. Praise Him that no matter what, He is constant despite the ever-changing winds we deal with when it comes to deployment. He is there. And He is worthy of our praise.

What’s your praise today? Or, what’s your favorite praise music to listen to to get you in that spirit of praise?

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