My Birthday!!! and music

Hey everyone!
I have to say life is going well right now. I just had my birthday on Monday which was lots of fun and we've been celebrating since last Friday! lol
I have a family party on Saturday which I am really looking forward to. I just want a day with my extended family (well, Lufkin side) where we can all hang out and not have the TV on. That'd be awesome.
Brent is doing well. His next surgery is scheduled for Nov. 15. I'll let y'all know more of what happens once it's over because sometimes they do more than what they say they'll do which is great!

I love to sing songs about praising God in the good times and in the bad times too. Because sometimes it's easy to cry out to God in the "bad times" of our life. This of course is a natural response and I believe that God allows the storms of our life to call us back to Him and to remind us that He is still good and in control, no matter how the seas of life shake us. However, it is easy for me to forget to praise Him during those times unless I think of "WWJD" - What would Job do.
However, it is equally as hard to remember to praise God during the "good times" without it feeling superficial. It's so easy to live in the feel good times and forget that we live in a broken world that desperately needs us to be aware of what is actually going on.
So, when I hear songs that remind me of praising God when we are on mountain tops, or in the valley, it's like a warm fuzzy blanket of truth wraps around me. I remember where I've been, who I used to be and that God still loves me and wants to give me second chances ("Our God is a God of second chances!" - Veggie Tales). The other part is that even though I've messed up, or I've gone through trying times, God still lets me experience the "mountaintop" feelings before the trials come again. He owes us nothing, yet offers us everything. We deserve Hell, yet He gave us the gift of Eternal Life with Him! He would still be a just God if we were never offered a way out of the sin that we chose. Yet I am grateful that He allowed me to be born in a generation, and in a place that has taught me about the Creator God who hand-crafted me and called me unto Himself. ...It's been a great birthday.