My wife and I added bubble parties to our small business venture. We love spreading joy, and there's something about bubbles that makes everyone happy. At a bubble party this weekend, I noticed something you've probably seen, too. Every time a child showed up to the party and saw all the soapy, floating spheres, the first thing they would say was, "Bubbles!"
I started thinking, What makes a child feel like they have to say it out loud every time? My guess is they can’t keep the joy to themselves. It’s like their hearts recognize something wonderful and their mouths just respond. They don’t analyze the situation. They don’t hold back. It's almost like they can't. They just say it: Bubbles!
Don't you think that's what praise should be? Real joy that we experience in God overflows from our hearts. When we pay attention to something beautiful that God has done, it’s natural to speak it, to sing it, and to let it rise like bubbles into the air.
A 19th-century Baptist minister wrote these words as part of an American folksong:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing;
All things are mine since I am his—
How can I keep from singing?
But don't we sometimes keep ourselves from singing? The psalmist said, “Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have ordained praise” (Psalm 8:2). It's a gift that children see something we forget, that joy deserves a voice. 
I wonder if our faith would feel lighter if we let praise come as easily as children do. When you notice God’s goodness today, say it out loud. Whisper it, sing it, or share it. Let your heart speak the joy it has found in God. You might find your praise rising just like those bubbles.
Stay blessed...john | 
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