Taste and See

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I’ll never forget the first time I saw Lake Superior. After setting up camp in Muskallonge Lake State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, we and our kids walked across the street from the campground and then followed a trail that led to Lake Superior. When we emerged from the lush trail and stepped onto the beach, the sight of this gorgeous Great Lake took my breath away. As I gazed at the expanse of beautiful blue water and multi-colored stones covering the beach and extending into the clear lake, the song “How Great Thou Art” welled up inside me. I remember feeling convinced that anyone who’s an atheist has never stood on the shores of Lake Superior.

We don’t have to travel hundreds of miles to experience the wonders of God’s love. Sometimes all it takes is a conscientious effort to look for the amazing blessings that He’s showering upon us right here. Sometimes, we just have to see what’s already in front of us. 

For example, this time of year we can look beyond the corn in the field and the tomatoes in the garden and see God’s loving hand behind them. We can use our imagination to picture Him dreaming up and designing all the different vegetables to feed our bodies with His loving, joyful creativity. Also, we can see our family and friends as gifts from Him to feed our souls and look at them with renewed gratitude. Sometimes we just have to look around with fresh eyes and try to begin to grasp how great God is. 

When we seek God – when we look for expressions of His unconditional love – we move closer to Him. When we acknowledge how He provides for us, we begin to trust Him more. Sometimes, when we look for Him in the beauty of nature and the people we care about, we may experience His presence – not on an intellectual level but sensing with our heart that He’s with us. Sometimes, when we seek Him, we may get just a taste of the magnificence of His goodness. All of this brings us deep joy, as I experienced on the beach of Lake Superior that summer day. And so we keep seeking, drawing nearer to Him, trusting Him, and opening our hearts for a greater understanding and experience of His love.   

God’s goodness is all around us. Let’s seek Him; let’s look for the many blessings He’s gifted to us – in the wonders of nature and the people we love. Let’s let a song of praise rise up to Him from the depths of our hearts for the immeasurable love He has for us.

“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” – Psalm 34:8  

Let everything I do be with You, for You, and because of You.

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, the reader, to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

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P.S.

Pray for peace at home and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the people around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Praise Him With Music

Photo credit:  Free-images.com

Music is a universal language. It brings people together; it can connect people of different countries, cultures, and languages where spoken words cannot. It’s like another love language! All throughout our lives, from birthdays to funerals and everything in between, music adds beauty and power to the words we speak. 

What does music have to do with God? In the Bible, music is referenced more than 1,000 times. Singing, specifically, is mentioned more than 400 times. Many of the psalms speak of playing music and singing. Music plays an important role in our liturgies, too. It adds beauty to the celebration, and the songs’ lyrics often strike at the heart when spoken words do not. Praying in song may help us feel more connected to God. Also, when the congregation is inspired to sing along, their fuller participation strengthens the sense of community between its members. And to those who claim they don’t sing because they sing badly I say, “God gave you that voice. Give it back to Him!” 

The last three verses of Psalm 150 are full of music. I was happy to see that the Scriptures for one of this week’s weekday Masses included Psalm 150. I use the weekday Scriptures in these blog reflections. In Psalm 150, you can hear the excitement in the psalmist’s voice as he tells us to use music to praise the Lord. The psalmist seems to be crying out, “Just look at how magnificent the Lord is! Praise Him with your whole being! Blast the trumpet! Clash the cymbals! Praise Him with any and every instrument you have! Sing out!” Listen to the power in the final words: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” As long as we’re breathing, let us praise the Lord!

Side note: It took me a while to understand the difference between praising God and thanking Him. When we praise God, we focus on His nature: “I praise you, Lord, for You are loving and merciful.” When we thank God, we thank Him for something specific: “Thank You, Lord, for my family.” Why does this difference matter? When life is difficult, it’s sometimes a challenge to find things to be thankful for. However, even though our circumstances change, God never changes. So we can praise Him for being loving, kind, merciful, and powerful, even in the midst of our difficulties.

Read Psalm 150 a few times and hear the excitement and urgency in the psalmist’s words. Hear the psalmist encourage you to praise the Lord. Praise Him with your voice! Praise Him with an instrument! Everyone, praise our loving God!

“Praise him with the blast of the trumpet, praise him with lyre and harp. Praise him with timbrel and dance, praise him with strings and pipe. Praise him with sounding cymbals, praise him with clanging cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” 

– Psalm 150:3-6

“Lord, I praise You with all my heart and soul and voice!”

p.s. The women’s a cappella quintet I sing with, Grace Notes, has two performances this week! See the flier below for more info. Hope to see you there!

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2024 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list.

You can also find my posts on Facebook!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home, in Ukraine, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.