My dog is so doggone thankful.  She wags her tail when I say hello.  She wags her tail when I feed her.  She wags her tail when I give her water.  And I have to tell you, my dog is a professional pet – because she really wags her tail when I pet her.  I love when any dog wags their tail!!

Now I’m not a cat lover, but if you don’t tell anyone, I even love it when cats rub next to me and purr!  And because of “equal opportunity laws” I really should tell you that I have a handful of chickens who run to me and seem to cackle and thank me when I feed them – and it sure is fun!

Isn’t our God amazing – how he gives us glimpses of who he is through nature!  And I’m not talking about dogs, cats or chickens today – I’m talking about us.

You see, I love it when my pets seem like they are thankful to me.  And because I am made in God’s image, I have to believe that God loves it when I am thankful to him!!  Isn’t it an amazing thought!  That God Almighty, totally complete inside of himself, our God who totally lacks nothing, would love us so much that he loves when we love him back.

The Bible calls us, hundreds of times, to praise God.  Psalm 33 says, “Let the godly sing for joy to the LORD; it is fitting for the pure to praise him.” ^{Psalm 33:1 NLT} Yes, it is fitting, suitable and right for us to praise him.

To wag our tails, to raise our eyes, to smile in praise God for his love.  For his mercy.  For what he has already done for us through Jesus.

We may praise God when we are fed, but we can also praise God when we are hungry – simply because it reminds us of our smallness and our need for God.  We get the joy of praising God when we are healthy, but when we are sick or dying, we can still praise God, simply by knowing that he is holding us.

My friends, let’s praise God.  It is so fitting.  So right.  Let’s praise God right now: “Our Father we praise you for who you are.  We praise you for loving us.  We praise you for your son, Jesus.  We praise you for your mercy and your grace.  Help us to praise you all day long.   Thank you Lord.  Our Father in heaven.  Amen.”