This Time I Will Praise the Lord: The Developmental Process

In July 2018, I sat with thousands of other Jesus followers at Hillsong Conference, Sydney listening intently to

an inspiring session by Pastor Chris Hodges as he shared about developing a bucket list of life passions that

aligned with God’s purpose for us. Following his suggestion, I wrote a list on my phone notes with the entry

entitled ‘Bucket List’. One item I included (write a book) felt like a spark — just an idea, with no specific start date or direction but simply an idea that resonated deeply. I couldn’t have known then how long that seed would

take to grow, or the winding path it would follow. But that moment was the beginning of seven-year journey that led to the tangible reality of the book, “This Time I Will Praise the Lord.”

The idea sat in a gestational season till late 2021 when a Holy Spirit revelation sparked in the stillness of my personal devotional time. I found myself reading through the Genesis account of Leah when chapter 29:35 jumped off the page “This time I will praise the Lord.” It felt like a holy declaration, a cultural defiance, a divine turning point. I even posted it on my Instagram account on November 23, 2021, with little idea how deeply it had marked me. In the days following, I spent hours contemplating this statement and many questions began to surface: Why - this time? What is praise, really? What actually happened to cause Leah’s profound decision? This lady’s story had suddenly become very relatable. Her quiet pain, her striving for love and approval, and finally, her pivot to praise.

In mid-December 2021, I began leaning into prayer and asking God, What are You saying through this story? Our family was holidaying in Mexico and I was standing in a long line waiting to book COVID tests for our re- entry into Canada when a divine download suddenly hit and I couldn’t scrawl fast enough. The theme of godly praise began crystalizing, not just the type when everything is going well, but the resolute choice which is born in uncertainty, confusion, pain and heartbreak as well. The kind that chooses to sing, even when nothing seems to be changing

By early 2022, I was researching the fullness of Leah’s journey, listening to ‘praise’ music, and interviewing friends and mentors to understand their wrestling with this incredible invitation and Christian mandate. My own journey helped me appreciate many facets including that praise is not the same as worship or thanksgiving. They are connected, but distinct. Praise is our one-way honoring of who God is! It may look different in different seasons but always deliberate and authentic. And through Leah’s story, I saw that praise wasn’t necessarily a result of changed circumstances, it was her fervent declaration in spite of them.

In March 2022, I created the book’s outline including the lineage of Leah’s first three sons named after various disappointments, before her fourth son Judah, whose name translates to praise. Leah’s shift wasn’t just emotional, it heralded a generational signpost which pointed to the ultimate source of our praise in the person of Jesus. What a crescendo, and all from a broken and dysfunctional lady who was rejected by her husband. In April, our kitchen table became littered with coloured papers – my writing style – with each colour matched with a specific chapter of the story. During this process, the authentic practicing of praise took on a much greater significance in my own faith journey.

Everything was going swimmingly until it wasn’t! Life circumstances bled into a deep personal grief and temporarily suspended my writing as I didn’t feel I could authentically practice that which I sought to write and espouse. Like a huge STOP sign, my praise fell silent, and so did my writing. It wasn’t right and yet, just like Leah, I felt the weight of a deep low following the highs of this praise commitment. But this silence wasn’t the end. After several months in the desert, God’s loving call broke through the painful hurt and re-ignited the journey. With fingers again poised over the keyboard, a beautiful melody of restoration saw words form on the digital pages again. In September 2024, a friend and colleague gave me a small hand painted rock emblazoned with the Latin phrase ‘Laus Deo’—“Praise be to God.” This was far more than serendipity, and this godly prompting fueled the discovery behind this passionate pronouncement.

By November, the first draft was complete and I entrusted a few copies to trusted friends and mentors, eagerly awaiting their feedback. With the changes implemented and anticipation running hot, then came the big test of researching Christian publishers and placing this humble offering in God’s hands to see what He would do with this broken hallelujah. Vulnerability became my new praise posture. Then on March 6, I received an acceptance letter from Word Alive Press, Winnipeg, Canada. It’s been quite the whirlwind since then and I‘ve learnt a lot about the publishing process. I am indebted to so many who have given their support, talents and encouragement towards the proof copy that arrived in our mailbox on August 27, 2025. What a privilege to honor my Lord and Savoir in this way.

This book didn’t come from a single lightning-bolt moment. It came through years of stops and starts, questions and hard-fought praise, crisis and rediscovery of God’s faithfulness and unchanging character. Just like Leah, I didn’t write this from a place of arrival—but from a posture of continuous learning where I chose to say: This time I (too) will praise the Lord.