Welcome to the Love Where You Are podcast! 

In today’s episode I am joined with Lauren Chandler.

Lauren Chandler is passionate about writing, music, and leading worship at her home congregation, The Village Church, and across the country. She is the author of two Bible studies, including With Us in the Wilderness, and two other books including one for children: Goodbye to Goodbyes. Lauren and her husband, pastor Matt Chandler, live with their three children in Flower Mound, Texas.

In this episode, Lauren Chandler and I dive deep into praise. Praising God can seem easy during the pleasant pastures of life's journey, but even then we can get distracted and not do it enough, and through the storms of life it can be difficult to praise Him. Lauren and I discuss the ways we can praise God through all seasons of life, the sunny days and the dark nights, and how to foster homes of praise and demonstrate it to our kids--it makes an impact! 

Thank you for being here today. Now, let's dive into the conversation! 

You can connect with Lauren Chandler  through Instagram and her website

Plus you can order her new book! 

 

FAVORITE TAKE-AWAYS:

*Praise isn't just for singing in church. Praise can be walking out the door with all the kids trying to get to school, and realizing the sunrise is stunning. Nature is full of God's beauty and wonderous handiwork and can bring us back to Him. Praise can also be lived out as a life-long expression of obedience to Him. Rethinking "praise" can help us do it on a daily basis. 

*Praise changes our focus. Lauren shares the example of being in a bad mood one morning, rushing to get kids to school, and then after stopping to see God's sunrise and turned to praise, she found her mood completely change. With her heart pointed to praise and thanksgiving, her mood shifted and was able to extend love and grace to her kids that morning and begin her day brighter. 

*Kids pick up more from us as parents based on our actions as opposed to our words. We can say a million good things, but it's our actions that kids notice and take after. Demonstrating a posture of praise even in dark seasons can help our kids as they go through their own dark seasons, remembering how mom and dad got through it. 

 

REMEMBER:

*Don't discrdit your child's prayer or praise. Praying for a puppy's hurt toe can be a prayer which leads to praying more with God, especially in darker seasons, like witnessing a friend's parents get divorced. 

*Every child has his or her own journey to Christ. All we can do is model Christ's love and show them He is real through our life as an example, and through bringing them up on the solid foundation of scripture. We have to trust God that He will handle the rest. 

 

Connect with me! Here's my Facebook & Instagram! Now, go love where you are and live on mission for Jesus today.