Saying No to Say Yes

There are those seasons in life that seem extra busy. Those seasons where you just do not have enough time in each day to accomplish all the things that you had hoped to. I'm finding that those are coming more and more and that I am having to learn to say no to things much more frequently. Recently I felt the need to drop out of a Bible Study with some dear friends simply because I just wasn't able to keep up, and falling behind proved to be stressful and sent me to bed each night regretting that despite my best efforts I hadn't answered even one single question, much less done a whole lesson.

Then today a friend shared a mommy blog post. I like mommy blogs even though I'm not a mom, and so I took a minute to read it while on lunch break. And I had to smile. I think my life is hectic and I don't have children hanging off of me. I thought, "Well, am I saying no to quickly? If she can do that, maybe I can do more?"

But as I thought about that, I realized that each season of life has it's own moments of hecticness, and that her busy is different than my busy. What I say no to, will be different than what she says no to, but that doesn't mean either of us is wrong. We are just in different seasons of life. We all need to say no sometimes. The important thing is to evaluate what we are saying yes too, and making sure that that is in line with what God has for us in our current season of life, and evaluate our no's in the same manner. Right now one of my big yes is finishing my college education. Later when I have finished college, my yeses will be for something else. 

So, what are you saying no to so that you can say yes to the most important things in life? Namely your relationship with the Lord.

Yeah, I know, I said life was crazy enough so that I couldn't even do a Bible study lesson and here I am writing a rambling blog post. While my lunch is getting cold no less. But you see, for some people, writing is every bit as important as eating. ;)

Procrastination, A Lack of Trust

February 5, 2014

Have you ever been so busy that you never seem to have a down moment? You go from one task to another all day long and reach each evening feeling further behind instead of more caught up. You tell your friends you would love to join them in this or that, but you are just too busy and cannot spare time just now. And yet, beneath all of the busy you are procrastinating.

Have you been there? I have.

Some of my own struggles in procrastinating has been rooted in my fear of being still, quiet, and trusting in the unseen hand of God Almighty. To cover up any sense of guilt or shame for not trusting, I often allow myself to become super busy and tell myself that each task is important and the world would all but stop if I stopped. Can you say pride and foolishness?

This ultimate struggle to surrender and let go of control, placing my trust in the One who is most worthy of trust, pushes me into a tizzy. I go and go and go until one day I realize that it is all empty. I am busy, but it amounts to nothing more than burned energy and a dissatisfied heart.

Have you allowed procrastination and busyness to rob you of the joy of being still and letting God be God? Have you taken matters into your own frail hands and "made" a life for yourself that is deceivingly full, but frightfully empty? If you have, I challenge you to be still and let that truth sink in. Then take some time and talk with the Lord about this area of sin in your life and start tomorrow afresh. Start by being prayerful and careful about what you say "yes" to and what you need to say "no" to.

He is worthy of our trust, and He has so much more for us then empty busyness.

"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him" (Psalm 34:8).

Pixels of the BIG Picture

May 22, 2013

 

I was thinking of how I often have prayed, "Lord, open my eyes so that I may see things more like You do." And then when He does, I squirm and I want the "extra sight" to go away. I don't want to be burdened by the hurts and sins I see. I don't want to ache day and night over my own sins and failings. I just want life to be easy, and I want to be happy. I want life to be about me, because I am selfish. The truth is, life isn't about me. It wasn't ever meant to be. It was meant to be about Him. So today I've been asking myself, do I really want to see as He sees? Do I really want my heart to ache as His must? It will cost...am I willing to die to self? I'm not saying that God doesn't find joy in watching His children. He does! But it only takes one look into the world through eyes that He has opened just the tiniest bit to see how much pain there is as well.

 

Praying that we may see as He does in some aspects is good, but have you ever thought about how overwhelmed we would become if we even so 1/100,000,000th of what He sees? We could not carry such burdens, no rejoice with half as much exuberance as would be needed....He sees the BIG picture, and we just see a few pixels.

 

When we ask God for things, we should always remember to ask it in the spirit of, "if it is Your will" and "if it is good for me." What we think we want and what we really need are two different things. I don't know about you, but I find it comforting to know that He knows my needs and He gives accordingly. Even when it means not answering my prayers for more of something because He knows that I am not ready for more.

Prayer, a Picture of Dependence

"P.T. Forsyth once said, 'The worst sin is prayerlessness.' Does this statement surprise us? We usually think of murder and adultery as among the worst offenses against God and humanity. But the root of all sin is self-sufficiency--independence from the rule of God. When we fail to wait prayerfully for God's guidance and strength, we are saying with our actions, if not with our words, that we do not need. Him. How much of our service is actually a 'going it alone'?" 

~ Charles E. Hummel

Tyranny of the Urgent

-----------------

 

If you understand the depravity of humankind, the thought that you are self-sufficient and can successfully walk through life alone is laughable. Until you realize that you often live as though you were sufficient, not prayerfully waiting upon and seeking the Lord.

Perhaps you have been there? You say that without Him you are nothing, you admit that there is no good in you, but you go about life, rarely stopping to speak with the Lord. You life is full, you are too busy. Any prayers are whispered on the run, and most often consist of "help me, help them, bless us" and little else.

What kind of relationship is that? You never stop to listen, never stop to have deep conversation. Isn't it hollow, empty? Doesn't it say that you do not need them/Him to exist? That you can "go it alone"?

I've been there. More times then I wish to count. Oh, thanks be to the God of mercy Who opens our eyes that we might see!

My prayer today, as we enter this holiday season, is that we will realize that the most important thing we can do, the most urgent thing, is to stop and spend time in prayer. He is the source of good, He is the One Who saves the lost, it is in Him alone that we have hope and that we can offer hope.

 

"Be Thou my strong habitation, where unto I may continually resort."

Psalm 71:3

Seek Him Every Morning

"There are no shortcuts to Christlikeness. Shortcuts only lead to masquerading. There is no substitute for spending consistent time alone in His presence. The cost is great. But the rewards are even greater. If we want to be transformed, we must be willing to:

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word...

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;

Much time spend in secret with Jesus alone;

By looking to Jesus, like Him though shalt be;

The friend in they condeuct His likeness shall see.

~ Willeam D. Longstaff (1822-94)"

A Place of Quiet Rest

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

----

I know I have written several times about the urgent need in all of our lives for prayer, but recently in I was remind again of how important prayer is.

Sometimes in all my bustling around I slack in the one area of my life that should always remain consistent. Prayer. Again and again I have reaped the fruits of my lack of faithfulness in seeking my Maker. I have been overwhelmed, discouraged, and lacking direction.

When I finally sit down to ask myself why things have been going so badly, why I am so frustrated at every turn, I usually do not have to search my heart long to discover that I have been doing it again. I have been trying to do everything alone.

So often God has used circumstances, things that push me to my limits, to remind me that I need Him. That I cannot hope to cope with all life throws at me, alone. I need Him, and I need to seek Him out daily.

What are some things that encourage you to be consistent in your prayer life?

Love Is Not...

 

I was young and foolish and he was the first one to walk into my life that seemed to measure up to all of the "qualifications", and who had a heart for the Lord that was something more than I had ever hoped to see. Yes, my expectations were frightfully low, but then I did not realize that, or if I did, I was afraid to hope for more because one cannot have everything one wants, right?

 

He was of the "right" age, height, build (Hey, didn't I mention I was immature?), and like I said he loved the Lord. What was not to love? So foolishly I let my emotions become entangled in fantasies of how I could be the happiest girl in the world if only he would look at me twice.

 

All to often young girls allow their emotions run away with them. For me, I based my happiness on whether or not a man that I didn't even know that well would pay me just a little attention. If he did not I felt crushed, and if he so much as said, "Hello!" I was walking on clouds. Our joy in life is not to be wrapped up in man, but in the Lord. If our only joy in life is based on the love or attention of a man we will end up with broken hearts and an empty life, because the fact is, he wouldn't be enough. He would not be able to fulfill all of our needs. Only God can do that.

 

I've learned a bit since then (I hope!). My understanding of love doubtlessly still has room for growth, but I know that mere infatuation is not the same as true love. Infatuation is selfish and wishes to be satisfied, while love is selfless and seeks to give.

 

Standing on the Rock

Recently we had rain. We have not had much in a while, so it was a real blessing. After the rain the air was so fresh and cool that I just "had" to go out and explore a little. I found the acreage behind the house had turned into a shallow pond. Beyond that was a "fort" my siblings had dug into the ground, so I had to go see if it was full or not. I waded through water and mud and finally was able to see into the trenched out fort. It was full of rain water and the dirt walls that my siblings had piled around it where becoming so saturated by the water from the neighboring field, that they were beginning to fall into the murky water filled trench.

 

You know, sometimes we are like those saturated wall. We know that we are called by our Lord to be in the world, but not of it, but sometimes we stand just as close as we can get to the world, looking over at it. "It can't hurt us" we say. But the world's influnces are many and they slowly but surely can flow in and surround us if we let our guard down, much like the rain water from the neighbors field slowly seeped in and surround my siblings dirt walls surround their fortress, their safe place.

 

Before we realize it, the ways of the world begin to seep into our lives and saturate us, and we begin to crumble. The walls that were once strong, standing against the evil of the world become soft and our standards which were once high slip lower and lower until people looking on can no longer can see the difference. Then they may ask, "So, if you are a Christian and I am not and yet we speak the same, we dress the same, we like the same music and movies, why do I need Jesus? Why do you?" And what opportunities we may have had to witness have been swallowed up in the murky waters that we though could not harm us.

 

Any good that is in man, is there by the grace of the Lord. There may be times when we are tempted to think that the world cannot hurt us because we are too strong. But, the fact is, if we do not surround ourselves with the Word of the Lord to the point of becoming saturated in it, and if we are not continually seeking Him and are not continually on our guard, we will fall. It is not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Why, because in and of ourselves we are weak. We cannot stand...but for Him. 

 

Everyday is a battle. Our hope and safety from the murky sin filled water of the world is on top of the Solid Rock. He is our strength, our stronghold. Are you standing firmly on the Rock? 

 

"The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him."

Nahum 1:7

The Greatest Gift

 

"If we have the slightest clue about being bought by the blood of Jesus, we won't see how much we can get away with. We'll see how much we can honor Him. True, there is not a sin that you or I could muster up that would make God say, 'I don't love you anymore.' But that doesn't mean we have the right to take His grace for granted." ~ David Nasser


If we know what a sacrifice was made for us by Jesus, if we grasped how much He gave of Himself for us, then we could not help but to live every moment of every day in a way that honors and pleases Him. Think of it like this, if someone nearly died saving your child (or insert your mother, father, or dearest loved one's name here) from a raging fire, would you not be grateful to that person and show them gratitude? Would you not do whatever was in your power to show them that you valued their willingness to, if need be, sacrifice their very life trying to save the one you love with all your heart?

Well, Jesus did that. He died to save your loved one from a fire bigger and hotter than any forest fire. He also died to save you from the same fate. And would you dare to be anything but grateful for that sacrifice? Should you not live a life of gratitude? Should you not do your best to honor Him? Yes, we will all fail, we will all sin, we will never be perfect on this earth. I get that. But, shouldn't we seek everyday to live in a way that says "thank you" for the great sacrifice of the cross instead of pushing limits to see how much we can "get away with"? 

If we really understand grace, and the price of the gift given to us by our Heavenly Father through His only Son, we can't take it for granted.

Lost in the Sand

April 15, 2013

 

I am the type of person who likes to make up her own, "quotes." For each season of life I make up little sayings, often drawing from Scripture, and things I have heard or read. These little phrases may be ones I hang onto for only a day, or maybe on that is with me for a week. If I were to make one for today it would be, "In times of drought, trust in the Maker and Sender of rain, for He shall surely quench your deepest thirst."

 

There are times as we walk the paths of life where dryness comes to our souls. Darkness shades our way and we cannot make out what the "road signs" so. We stand at this crossroad of the heart, unsure of which way to go. Left or right? There seems to be no hope, no reason to keep on keeping on. The joy to which we once danced to, slips away...and all we hear is silence.

 

In such times I have learned to cling with every fiber of my being to the truth of His Word. Maybe it does not speak so clearly to my heart, but I just keep on trusting in the truths that He has promised. I do not always know why the dry times come, but I know that I have always made it through them before...and I trust that I will once more.

 

If we have not trust and faith in the unseen, then we have no faith at all. It is how we act and react in the times of drought that truly show how much we truly trust in the unseen Almighty God.

 

If you are going through a time where God seems sooooooo far away, let me encourage you to soak in the Word and to trust in what you cannot see, clinging to His promises. He will not let you die of thirst. He will be your Spring of Life.

For Him Alone

"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand." ~ Isaiah 53:10

 

This verse is one of the many that stood out to me as I made my way through the book of Isaiah this last week. I could comment on many things the verse says and what it speaks to my heart, but for the sake of time, I will stick to one little phrase.

 

"the pleasure of the LORD"

 

As I read through Isaiah, that phrase and others like it continued to stand out to me. "For mine own sake" (Isaiah 48:11), "He will do His pleasure" (Isaiah 48:14), and many others. Over and over and over the truth that all things are for God, for His pleasure, for His glory, for His honor, and for His purposes.

 

If all things are for the Lord and His purposes, than it means that each day we live, the hard - the boring - the terrifying, somehow fit into His bigger picture.

 

Let me ask you a question? If you have had a really tough day, is it easy for you to get downhearted and to be tempted to question God's wisdom with, "Why, Lord?" What if we thought instead, "Lord, I don't know why today has to be so hard, but I trust that it is for Your pleasure and for Your purposes. Show me how I can live out this day in such a way as to only add to that pleasure and purpose. Help me to be faithful with this charge that You have given."

 

I am finding that if I keep in mind that all things are for Him, than it changes my whole perspective and how I live each day, the good or the hard.

Priorities

"As a leader, you can remain available to mentor others. This means you may get less done in the present, but you will actually accomplish far more in the future by pouring your life into the people who can carry on those things that are nearest and dearest to your heart."

 

~ The Ascent of a Leader

Sometimes as I juggle life's many roles, I get so focused on my plans that I began to shove relationships aside. I close all the doors and make myself unavailable to others so that I can check each item off my lengthy to-do list without interruption. Have you ever found yourself doing that?

 

When I came across these words yesterday, I stopped. My eyes grew a little wider as I realized that the picture the authors had painted was just what I wanted to be, but just what I was furthest from being.

 

So what if I completed all the items on my forever growing lists of things to do? In the end, what would it all amount to? If I had not taken time to invest in the lives of others, teaching them and helping them grow so that they are able to carry on with those things that are nearest and dearest to my heart, then have I not failed?

 

I will not live forever. Not even close. At the end of my race, when I am drawing my last breath. When I look back over life, will I see nothing but the doors I slammed in the faces of those seeking my assistance, or will I see the flourishing and vibrant trees that have sprung from the investments I was willing to make...sometimes at the cost of my own personal goals?

 

What can I do to be more available to others? What might I have to give up for the present time? Am I pouring my life into others in such a way that they may better carry out those purposes ,are not only the nearest and dearest to my heart, but also to the Lord's?

 

 

Just Do It

I love Mrs. Beavers' thoughts on John 2:5 about doing what He asks, no questions asked. Please take a moment to hop over and read her post on Unto Him We Live.

 

Do You Believe?

November 30, 2012

"Is anything to hard for the Lord?" ~ Genesis 18:14

 

Maybe your first reaction to reading that is, "No way! God can do anything!" I do hope that you know that He can do anything, but more than know that, I hope you believe it. What do I mean by that?

 

We often say that we believe God can do anything, but when it comes to obeying God blindly do we always trust Him explicitly? In that moment when doubt creeps in...do we let it live, or do we crush it because we trust even when we cannot see? Search your heart, is there anything that you are not trusting the Lord in? Are there any areas where you have let doubt creep in that He is actually who He says He is and that He can actually do anything and everything because He is that big and powerful?

 

Can you say from the depths of your heart that you believe without a shred of doubt that there is nothing that is too hard for the Lord?
 

Each Day, a Gift



It started like any other ordinary day, but the ending was far from what I could have imagined. That was the day we learned that one of my younger sisters has type 1 diabetes.

 

It got me thinking. We have this expectation that each day will be a continuance of the last. We wisely do not borrow trouble, but trust that the Lord knows what plans He has for us and will provide strength accordingly. Yet, there is one thing that I have found, while it is good to not worry about tomorrows, it is not good to take things for granted. Neither health, nor loved ones, nor life. Thank God for the blessings He bestows, treasure them, treat each day as if it might be your last...day of good health...day with those you love...day to live on this earth. Do not live in fear of what could happen, and look with joy towards a future with the Lord in eternity, but do not take today or what it holds for granted. The things of this life are fleeting.

Ouch!

"Those of us who are single face a danger of becoming self-absorbed. Free from the constraints of family life, it is all too easy to become preoccupied with fulfilling our own social needs or consumed with our jobs or with making money. Now there's certainly nothing wrong with having friends or careers or making a living, but God is concerned about the heart motives of His children. Rather than devoting their lives to furthering the Kingdom of Christ, many Christian singles have been caught in the trap of self-seeking and self-fulfillment." ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss


Reading this was one of those "ouch" moments. It gave me food for thought and prayer. What are my heart motives and what are some things that I may need to change?

Day 33

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of all of them” (Psalm 34:19).



No one says life as a follower of God will be easy. Actually, the Bible says many times that the righteous will suffer, but our hope rests in the fact that the LORD will deliver us. He will be our strength. What a promise!

Who's Kingdom Are You Building?

"We are kingdom-oriented people. We always live in the service of one of two kingdoms. We live in the service of the small, personal happiness agenda of the kingdom of self, or we live in service of the huge, origin-to-destiny agenda of the kingdom of God. When we live for the kingdom of self, our decisions, thoughts, plans, actions, and words are directed by personal desire. We know what we want, where we want it, why we want it, how we want it, when we want it, and who we would prefer to deliver it. Our relationships are shaped by an infrastructure of subtle expectations and silent demands. We know what we want from people and how to get it from them. We seek to surround ourselves with people who will serve our kingdom purposes, and we evaluate them not from the perspectives of the laws of God's kingdom but from the perspective of the laws of our kingdom."

~ Paul David Tripp What Did You Expect??

"The kingdom of self," those very words made me cringe as I read them. Sometimes it is the words of a wise friend and sometimes it is a passage from a book that causes you to face yourself head on and see a truth about who you are. In some cases you see your weakness but just choose not to give them the attention you ought. As I read Mr. Tripp's words I was forced to stop, to be still, and to listen to the truth that has been gently whispered to me over and over in more urgently the last few months. I say that I love the Lord, that I love others, but are my thoughts and actions really reflecting that?

Have you ever had thoughts about others that sounded something like this, "I love them, I'm there for them, I sacrifice for them, but they don't do anything for me"? "Whoa, wait a minute," you think. "Did I just think that?" Be honest, thoughts of pride and self-centeredness are a part of every life, but that does not excuse us. That does not give us the freedom to continue walking in sin.

We each must be equipped with the knowledge that we will struggle with the kingdom of self, because as children of God we know that we are called to build not our own individual kingdom's, but to build His. That our actions and words should be a reflection of the Father's love in us.

I was challenged to examine my relationships with family and friends, and even the casual passer by-er. What do my actions, words, heart attitudes towards others reflect? Myself or God? Am I surrounding myself with people who will serve to meet my agenda and build my own little self-centered kingdom? Or am I seeking to love as Christ loved, to serve as He served, to be self-less and filled with grace?

Each day we face choices. We can choose to do those things which make us feel good, big, and important, or we can choose to seek the Lord and His strength to do those things that will probably be harder and will require sacrifice at times but will also bring Him the most glory. We can live to build our own little kingdoms, or we can live to build His.

How do you love? Why do you serve? What are your heart motives? These are questions I continue to ask myself, and pray I never cease to ask myself. We are sinners by nature, but we are not bound by sin. Christ died to give us a better way. In Him, we can love and live more like He loves, more live He lived (in His time on earth). In Him we can die to self and live for our Maker. In Him we have hope.

Tis' The Reason for The Season

Merry Christmas!

It is hard to believe that it is only two days until Christmas! I have been so busy that Christmas really sneaked up on me this year. I woke up the other day to the shocking realization that Christmas was less than a week away. Yikes! I did not have all my gifts bought, much less wrapped, I had several small projects that still needed finishing touches, but more than that my heart was not prepared.

As I've grow older I will admit that receiving gifts from my loved ones is nice, and giving them is a lot of fun, but more than anything I want Christ to be nearer to my heart than ever. Christmas has become a time for me to refocus on what is truly important. To look back over the year and to see what I did that I feel satisfied with, and what I am disappointed in myself over. It is a good time to contemplate the new year and what I would like to do different, Lord willing. Most of all it is a time when I like to stop in the midst of all the busyness, find a quite spot, read the Christmas story, marvel at God's love for me, and praise His name.

This morning as I was preparing for the day I was thinking about Jesus the baby. The Lord sent His only Son to earth as a baby. A sweet little baby. I think about how my dad loves my siblings and I and how God's love is so much bigger. Than I think about how much God must love His Son...Yet, that day, that day when Jesus was born...God knew what the future held for His Son. He saw the cross. That little baby was born for the purpose of saving the souls of a lost and dying world. He was born to die for my sins. Think about holding a precious little baby, looking upon his little sleeping face, so peaceful and sweet and knowing that He had come to die...on a cross...for you...

I cannot begin to fathom the love of our Lord. In all your busyness, remember the Best Gift of all. Slow down, take a moment to thank and praise the Lord, to stand in awe of such great love...for He loves you!!!!!

May the Joy of the Lord fill your heart and home and may you remember the reason for the season as never before.

Below I am posting a video. If you have time, please take the time to watch it. I think you will be glad you did.

Many blessings,

Kathryn

Be Encouraged

"I have always noticed that when God has purposes of blessing for

some should the devil of discouragement, who is one of Satan's

most useful servants, is sure to come and whisper all sorts of sorrowful,

depressing, miserable thoughts.He drops these thoughts about,

sometimes in one heart and sometimes in another. If they take root and grow

into feelings and words and deeds, he knows that a great deal has been

done to hinder what our God intends to do.

Do not forget that discouragement is always from beneath; encouragement

is always from above; God is the God of Encouragement.

~ Amy Carmichael

The Edges of His Ways

How often when you have become discouraged by "sorrowful, depressing, or miserable thoughts" have you discovered that the root of it is Satan? Often times I have grown very discouraged with who I am and what I have done. I get so down that all I can think is "Poor me!" Wait. Poor me? I rewind. Poor me? No, blessed am I! Blessed beyond measure.

Satan tries to pull blinders over our eyes and take our focus from God and turn it onto ourselves. Here is my comeback line:

"Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD you God and Him only you shall serve'" (Matthew 4:10).

Don't believe the lie. You are precious in the eyes of your Heavenly Father for you were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:20) when Jesus died on the cross for the sins of man, the ultimate sacrifice (Hebrews 9:14).

Prayer IS the Answer

"There are no shortcuts to Christlikeness. Shortcuts only lead to masquerading. There is no substitute for spending consistent time alone in His presence. The cost is great. But the rewards are even greater. If we want to be transformed, we must be willing to

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word...

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;

Much time spend in secret with Jesus alone;

By looking to Jesus, like Him though shalt be;

The friend in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

~ Willeam D. Longstaff (1822-94)"

A Place of Quiet Rest

~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

I know I have written several times lately about the urgent need in all of our lives for prayer. This morning in devotions I was remind again of how important prayer is.

The end of summer has been busy for me, and in all my bustling around I have slacked in the one area of my life that should always remain consistent, prayer. Again I have reaped the fruits of my lack of faithfulness in seeking my Maker. I have been overwhelmed, discouraged, and lacking a sense of direction. When I sat down to ask myself why things were going so badly and why I was frustrated at every turn, I did not have to search my heart more than a few seconds to discover that I was doing it again. I was trying to do everything alone. Again, God used circumstances, including a failed test and being in a minor car accident to remind me that I need Him. I cannot hope to cope with all life throws at me alone. I just cannot.

Prayer is the ANSWER!

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,

in everything give thanks; for this is the will

of God in Christ Jesus for you"

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).