i got a new water bottle today

My small group met at Chick-fil-A this morning. We were talking about Psalm 63:3 which says, "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you." Rachel asked us what it means to praise or glorify something. What do we use our lips to praise on a daily basis? What do we talk about and promote to others?

The lesson hit home a few minutes ago.

I got a new 20-oz water bottle at Walmart right after small group; it's pink and has a cool straw that pops out. All day long I've been wanting to tell people how great it is, how much more water I'm drinking now, how I only have to wash the straw and the lid, how handy the handle is, etc. Not just wanting to tell them, but rehearsing in my mind all the great things I could tell them and imagining how I'll probably bring it up at dinner or when Kimberly gets home. It comes so naturally to use my lips to praise this water bottle.

Hold the phone. Let the incredulity of the statement wash over you: "It comes so naturally to use my lips to praise this water bottle"?!?!

My prayer is that the love of God would be such a novelty each day and such a necessity that I never realized I needed so desperately. His water quenches my thirst, His love is unbreakable, His life is real and substantial, and He is crazy about me. I want to babble about Him more than presidential candidates, more than the weather, more than my schedule, more than food (another ridiculous thing I'm prone to get too excited about), more than new clothes or weekend plans, and always more than silly, plastic, water bottles.

Learning to redirect my praise to the only One who is praiseworthy,

Katie