Praise loudly

I was at my friend Regina's house the other day and came across a book she had. I can't recall the exact title, but it was a book on proverbs and sayings from Hawaii. Curious, I thumbed through the pages to see if there was anything of value. And guess what? There was! The one that stuck with me the most was this: Praise loudly, criticize softly.

I guess it struck such a chord with me because lately I've been so quick and loud to criticize all the difficulties I've faced since moving here to Germany (just ask my husband). It's not that it's bad here, it's just a hassle -- I think being spoiled in China has something to do with that though. And rather than focus on the small victories we accomplish each day, I tend to concentrate on the negatives, which doesn't help my outlook or my attitude!

So, I thought I'd take a moment and praise loudly the awesome things God has done here, and, at least for a few minutes, silence the criticisms I have of my new home:

1. Praise for the car that we found! It was below our budget price, it was in excellent condition, and it's an automatic transmission (a large majority of the cars here in Europe are manual, which are hard for me to drive).
2. Praise for our cat being miraculously returned to us when he escaped from our hotel room two weeks ago!
3. Praise for our sea shipment's arrival this week in Germany! We probably won't get it until the middle of next week as it has to go through customs, but at least it will be here!
4. Praise for our children and their new friends! As I type this, Abbey just received a phone call from one of her new classmates!
5. Praise for the fact that I haven't died in the cold yet. Seriously! I know that may sound funny, but for this girl who loves the warm and the beach I am surviving the below freezing temperatures.

Short list, I know. Hopefully, prayerfully I will be able to add more to this list with each new day. For now, I will just try to remember when to be quiet and when to be loud and try not to get the two mixed up so often. I hope you will find time to praise loudly and criticize softly too.