Wouldn't it be nice to have a 3-step plan that brings success in any situation?
There's nothing that guarantees worldly success, but Scripture offers three steps that will bring us peace, contentment, joy and spiritual success in life.
This trio of truths is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
1. Rejoice always,
2. pray continually,
3. give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Rejoicing, praying and being thankful:
- "Rejoicing always" because no matter what else happens, we are forgiven and saved! See Crazy Joy!
- "Praying continually" because nothing is too small to share with our Lord. See Have You Folded Any Socks?
- "Giving thanks in all circumstances" because God can use even the worst circumstance for our good when we love Him (Romans 8:28). See 15 Benefits of Being Thankful.
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Hi Gail,
ReplyDeleteAt our house we have a jar, special made at a local potters which says, " Blessings and Answered prayers" on it. There is a small pad of paper next to the jar. Whenever someone has a special blessing or answered prayer, they write it on a piece of paper, fold it, and put it in the jar. Every Thanksgiving, after all our company has gone, our family sits at the dining room table, empties the jar out on the table. Then we each pick a paper, and go around until they are gone, reading the blessings and answered prayers outloud for the whole year. It is always an amazing experience and there is always one or two that bring everyone to tears. After years of my oldest son being somewhat estranged from the family, my youngest son wrote, "Thank you that Aaron says, "I love you", again.", and my oldest daughter wrote, "Thank you for the child in my womb", so that is how we learned about our newest grand child. When two of our children were married, my husband had jars made for them, and that was their first Christmas gift from us.
WOW! This is such a great idea. I love it and I'm going to incorporate it into my family traditions. Thanks so much for sharing! I hope others will read your comment and be blessed too!
DeleteLuv your family tradition, Anonymous! What a great faith - and "bonding together" - builder!
DeleteDo you have a picture of the jar? Love the idea.
DeleteLove it! This was in our Scripture yesterday at church. Thanks Gail.
ReplyDeleteI had a homemade jar for thankfulness when our children were little. I like the idea of a pretty one being made especially for thankfulness. I loved this post. Another post I will need to print :-)
ReplyDeleteI like all the ideas for Thursdays. It is better to write down things we are thankful for once a week than say we are going to do something and never do it!!
I hope you link this up tomorrow so maybe others will read it that don't receive your Bible Love Notes.
I love this idea, Judith! A jar is a good visual reminder.
DeleteI love the idea of the Blessings and Answered Prayer jar. I think that it may need to be a new family tradition in our home. I also like the idea of sending a thank-you to someone once a week. There are so many people in my life that I need to take time to appreciate and to thank. (There's something so special about receiving a handwritten note.) Thank you for the reminder of a powerful three-step plan! Blessings to you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary, for your comment and I so agree with you about Judith's jar idea.
DeleteGreat advice and also very hard to follow! Thanks for sharing at Mom's Library.
ReplyDeleteMakes me take stock of how poorly I do this! But it is also very encouraging to look back and be reminded of God's goodness. Thanks for sharing at Deep Roots At Home!
ReplyDeletelove this post!
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