Illustration: Praise

In his book The One-Minute Manager, Kenneth Blanchard recommends developing the practice of "one-minute praising," where the manager (or parent, spouse, etc.) tries to "catch someone doing something right" and then spend a full 60 seconds praising that person for the good deed.

This is a lot more difficult than it appears. Where we might not find it difficult to criticize someone for 60 minutes, many times we find it almost impossible to praise someone sincerely for a full minute. This is true for the church, as well. It seems that it can be hard for some people to praise God. Even in our prayer time, we can list off the prayer needs; but I think we find it difficult to come up with praises. The more we praise God for everything He has given to us, the less we will criticize others. The more we praise Him in the church, the more we will see His hand and Spirit moving through the church. (Turning Point Daily Devotional)