Give Thanks, Embrace Peace and Joy

These are just a few excerpts from one of my favorite blogs: When you are giving everything you have and you can only take so much — Christ kneels close with arms stretched open wide: “Let Me take the rest.”

… “be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16–18).

Thanks to God is what that calms the wild heart.  Anger makes us sick and weak and bound and the therapy is in the thanks. Thanks therapy is God’s prescription for joy.

I couldn’t sleep. Until I started Thanking Him. For everything. It was the only thing that calmed my heart…”

No big trial here.  Just the daily battle of a tired mom training four children to follow Christ, be thankful, embrace joy instead of anger, and peace instead of strife amidst the busy schedule, dishes in the sink, etc.  

No matter the jarring, a jar of fresh water can’t spill filthy water. When you’re upset, you upset what’s really in you.

What do I want my children to remember — my joy in clean floors, made beds and ironed shirts — or my joy of the Lord? You will be most remembered — by what brought you most joy. The joy of the Lord is your strength and the person of Christ is your unassailable joy – and the battle for joy is nothing less than fighting the good fight of faith.

"You don’t think about how you can open your mouth and let the sharp side of your tongue tear the innards out of a soul —- and there’s no way you can stuff the whole bloody mess back....

Busyness and tiredness are no excuse to lose it.  Peace lives in me.