I know I just wrote last night but I can’t help myself. Why? Because I got me a fresh word from God. There I was on my walk this morning with Beanie who was racing squirrels and nearly pulling my left shoulder out of socket. Praise was blaring from my headphones and I mostly had my right arm straight up in the air. I thought about something really cool God did in the last 24 hours and I had to give Him a “Yahoo!” Maybe you don’t get the term because you don’t live in Texas. Or maybe you’ve never said it right and for that reason, it has never been fulfilling. Here’s how you have to say it so you can practice: you NEVER say the first syllable with a “Yah” as in “Paw.” Never. You say it with a short “a” as in “Gag.” Then, you hold it out for a long time: “Yaaaaahhhhhhhhh”! Only then can you add a comparatively short: “hoo”! And you kind of fall off the note a bit on the “hoo.” Start high and loud. End low and quick.

So, anyway, I wondered if God enjoyed “yahoo!” Maybe not as much, I thought, since it’s just a celebratory word without identifying who you’re giving praise to. An intelligent person might reason that “Yah” in the first half of it is Hebrew for Lord but I don’t know that the Texans who were home, home on the range where the deer and the antelope play had brushed up on their etymology. Furthermore, the way we came to butcher it (along with the deer and the antelope) with a short “a” might not give Him the praise He’s due. Hence, my new word. All at once it came right over me. Almost like a moment of inspiration. “Yahoo-Jah!” Yes, indeed! Just try it! Feels right, doesn’t it? A Texas “Hallelujah!” We’re a hospitable State, happy to share, so go right ahead and take it up with us if you have a mind to. I expect it to spread.

So, that’s what happened to me this morning. I’ve said it a lot of times since then. In fact, my lips are kind of mouthing it right now.

I’m so happy.

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