Joy, prayer and thanks

The father & son of the house that burned came to thank us for helping with his school costs. He hugged every girl & prayed for them. It was a special moment for the teens who had given their money.

Quique took the university test and feels he did well. There will be 3 more tests along the way. I cannot believe he has reached this age.

We have visitors here who are cleaning the wall of flags for repainting. There is even a gardener helping Dottie.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says (16) Rejoice always, (17) pray without ceasing, (18) in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

These scriptures tell us that we should be thankful at all times. There will be good times and there will be harsh times and God does not tell us to be thankful only in the good times. It is so important for us to have a joyful attitude. To rejoice always is a major characteristic of an obedient Christian.

From there Paul tells us to live in an attitude of prayer. He does not mean that we are to always be in a state of asking. He tells us to begin our prayer by giving Him honor as our Father and His name is holy. We are to realize that as a Father He cares, loves and protects us. But too often we pray only when we have problems. Once things are ok we seem to pray less.

Finally IN EVERYTHING we are to give thanks. It is easy to thank Him before a problem and it is easy to thank Him after a problem. But what about when you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death? There is the proof of who you really are. It is when everything around you appears dark and bleak that who you truly are rises for others to see.

I only wish I could live these three commands much better.