How to Keep God Close
Praise. It lives at the intersection of earth and heaven.
It's loving on the God we live with.
To paraphrase William Murphy...
Lord, it's what we do when we want to be close to you.
It is how we "woo" God,
how we celebrate his sovereignty,
how we proclaim him as our Lord
But it means nothing to God to lift up our hands and our hearts not be in it.

What are Your Doing?
The lifting up of hands is designed for one of two things: to give something, or to receive something.
What are you doing?
If we want to keep God close, our praise should look like covenant, not casual.
Covenant says "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here and growing in love and fellowship with you not because of what you can do for me, but because of who you are to me.
~From the book, GOD 'n You: Finding Your Place in Forever
I had an amazing time this weekend at the book signing. Everyone was so gracious. I felt God's presence and felt privileged to read and share what God had given me.
And yet...I let the little foxes of perfection temper my praise.
The next day I found myself wallowing in what didn't what didn't go as planned. Finally, I had sense enough to ask myself,
"What are you doing?"
"Do you know what just happened?"
"Are you discounting his glory with imperfections, and if so, who were you trying to impress in the first place?"