From the Word.

Be Joyful, Be Prayerful, and Be Thankful.

I hear a lot of people say they are not happy. Happiness depends on our circumstances. Sure, I would not be happy if my children were sick, or my husband lost his job. Most Christians look at their walk with the Lord this way. Am I happy? Well, many Christians realize that they may not be "happy" all the time because we live in a sinful world. Christians should be joyful, knowing that our sins are forgiven. Even though we go through hard times and life is unpleasant, we can still have joy in our heart. Joy is deep inside from God.

We are to be prayerful. This doesn't mean to be in the posture of prayer. Most of us as mothers don't have hours to spend in prayer, but we do have time to mentally be in a state of prayer. I find washing the dishes, by hand, to be a great time to talk to the Lord and share my trials and my praises. When I fold laundry, this is also a great time to pray for each of my children and my husband. God is always available to hear our prayers and he want us to spend time in His word each day and to pray continually.

And finally to be thankful. God wants us to be thankful. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says to "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I'm so glad that God put a little preposition in the above verse.....in. God wants us to be thankful "in all circumstances". God never askes us to be thankful "for" our circumstance; but while we are going through the hard and difficult time, he wants us to be thankful in it. - Mark Driscoll calls this "Sanctified Afflictions". He says that not every trial comes from God but it has passed through his hand. Whatever the affliction, poverty, hardship, betrayal, or sickness, God uses this to make us more Christlike and we are to be thankful in it.

So I hope each of you will be joyful, prayerful, and thankful in your walk.

By Grace Alone,

Kim