By Ann Farabee

This is my story. This is my song.

Praising my Savior, all the day long.

The choir director would be flapping his arms all around.

When we got to the word ALL on the last verse, he held his arms up and we would stretch out and hold AAAA-LLLL as long as his arms were in the air.

Now, I occasionally still hear that song at church, so in my mind, I always stretch out the word ALL as we sing!

Why? Because all is one of my favorite words.

Why? Because all means all.

Not just some of the day, but all of the day! Yes, I was supposed to praise my Savior all the day!

How was I supposed to do that? At the time, as a teenager, I had a secret life that made me feel less worthy in the eyes of those at my church — or so I thought.

I had problems. My days were certainly not 24 hours a day praise worthy — or so I thought.

After church on Sunday night, I would go home to a father who had been drinking. It was my secret life and I was ashamed.

I was jealous of the others in my youth group. They went home to perfect families — or so I thought.

When I went home, I took fear with me. I carried fear into my home and took fear to bed with me. I would lay there with my eyes open, hoping that sleep would come. But I knew that at some point, my father would be drinking and begin fussing at my mother. It was a small mill house and I could hear every word. I was scared.

I began to stay after school to help my teachers grade papers. I wanted to stay at school all the day long.

Coincidence? No. It was a God-incidence. God was preparing me for a lifetime of teaching.

How are we supposed to praise our Savior all day long?

Guess what? It is as easy as pie — whatever that means.

It is easy, because Jesus gives us joy, no matter our circumstance. Satan has no power over us, for we are children of God.

It is easy because we have access to grace, we are justified by faith and we can trust that faith endures.

It is easy because we have learned that trials help us count on Jesus. When we face fear, we can speak the name of Jesus.

I have a powerful testimony.

It is hard for me to understand how I was able to touch my Savior at a young age and how Jesus removed my fear and replaced it with peace — even in the middle of the night.

Your story is just as powerful — no matter whether it was full of trouble or whether you never had a problem.

Share your story.

Ask someone to share their story with you. Sharing our story or hearing someone else’s story lifts us up spiritually. It increases our faith.

Maybe your story is this, “I don’t really have a story. I always went to church. I grew up in a Christian home.” That is a great story! Share it and offer hope.

“Go home to your friends and tell them the great things the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” — Mark 5:19

Sure, going to a foreign country to share Jesus is powerful, but we can share Jesus in our homeland. The need is great.

“This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long…”

The next time you sing this in church — sing the word all extra loudly — just for me.

Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.