Give Thanks in all circumstances

Be joyful always, pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thess. 5:16-18

So this was our family verse to memorize a couple of weeks ago, and this morning I realized how often God kept showing this verse to me since then. Different people keep posting it on FB, it is stuck in my head all of the time, and finally today (I'm a little slow) I realized there may just be a reason for that. You see, we sold our house on Monday, and I haven't been super excited about it. I know I can be joyful without being "Woohoo" happy, and I AM very grateful that He brought a buyer for our home. I've thanked Him in between bouts of pouting. But I'm also pretty sad to leave this house and the neighborhood I've grown to love. We have no new home to go to yet, and in the back of my head I keep thinking that it can't be as good as what it is now. I've prayed about it a lot and keep giving it back to Him. I know that's wrong, because we've done this 3 times and it keeps getting better and better. But those are my honest thoughts.

So this morning I realized this verse was getting placed before me over and over to remind me of the part I'm missing. The Always, the Continually, the ALL. That's God's will for me. Not in between my own selfish thoughts and pouting. Not alongside the thoughts of never having it "this good". But I am to be joyful, praying, and giving thanks Always, Continually, in ALL circumstances. I need to cover my life, my talk, my walk, everything with joy, prayer, and thanksgiving to God for all He has done and for who He is. God is good All the time! And I need to live like that!

Are you Ready?

We have the blessing of singing with a dear friend on Sunday. His name is Brandon, and he is an amazing vocalist with a heart for the Lord. His only fault-he is a Southern Gospel follower. Just joking about it being a fault, but he knows every Southern Gospel song ever written, really. We're going to sing a couple with him on Sunday, and one we've been working on is called "Are You Ready?" It talks about being ready when Christ returns.

For unbelievers, it means deciding today to stop living for yourself and start following Christ. Commit your life and all that you are to living for Him.

If you already have committed your life to Christ, are you ready? has a different meaning. I was walking to pick up my girls from school a couple of days ago, and the sky had this odd crease down the middle from a plane or cloud. It looked like it was about to split in half. I thought what if it did? What if in the next moment I would be lifted up through the sky to meet my Maker and Savior. Was I ready? What if today He said, "Welcome home, how was your day? How did you bring me glory today? Did you live in My grace today or try to survive on your own works?" I had to go through my day and figure out the answers to these questions, and some moments of my day weren't so pretty.

Here's the verse I'm singing in the song: The Bible speaks of two men who were standing in a field. Where one is taken, and one is left behind. Two women in the kitchen. One goes and one remains. So get your house in order while there's time. In the cross there is salvation. Through the blood there is a way to secure your destination on that resurrection day.

It's not about me. It's about Him. His blood, His power, His grace offered to me to live in victory every day. What if it was today? Are you ready?

Update on Robbie

We haven't posted an update on Robbie lately, because progress at this point is pretty slow. He went to PT last week and was told he was doing great as far as mobility and motion, but needs to "stop trying to be Superman" and put the brakes on a bit. Because he is moving quite a bit, there is popping and clicking and sticking going on that shouldn't be. He was really hoping to be able to do some yardwork by now, so please pray for patience for him, that he doesn't get discouraged by having to slow down, and that he doesn't do anything that will impede his healing. He still does not have full range of motion and is continuing to gently work toward that goal.

You don't realize how much everyone works together in a family until someone can't do their part. I'd ask that you pray that the girls and I can get done what needs to be done around the inside and outside of the house, especially with all the showings on the house we've been having and the busy schedule we are jumping into for the summer. We have a summer packed with events, and I am needing to focus my attention on getting the props and sets ready for the video in July and preparing for all the various concerts and camps this summer. I am feeling quite overwhelmed and often have to stop and just pray for help to relax and not stress about the timing of everything.

We knew it was going to be a long road ahead, and we're not in crisis mode anymore. For that we are very thankful. But there's still a lot of healing time ahead. Thank you for your prayers!