Give Thanks

As we prepare for Thanksgiving I wanted to share with you all a verse that hit home with me recently.  It's 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 and it reads, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

It can be so easily to take for granted how blessed we really are. I know I'm guilty of making a mountain out of a mole hill. Take for example the process of doing my morning devotions.  I get the coffee ready and set the delay timer the night before, so not to wake anyone up by clanging around in the kitchen at 5:30. I tip toe into the kitchen, pour my hot cup of deliciousness, then sneak down to basement with my iPad and Bible in hand. I settle down and just begin to read when I hear the jingle of our dogs tags and her nails across our wood floor.  Every morning. I know it's going to happen and I still get frustrated. 

I then have to stop what I'm doing, go let her out, feed her, and pray that the ruckus doesn't wake Grant up.  I sure am not "rejoicing always." 

But, it's all about perspective.  Once the dog has been out and eaten she doesn't go back to bed, she comes and snuggles next to me on the couch.  She just wants to spend time with me.  That's worth rejoicing about.  

Then there's the "pray without ceasing" part.  I think God wants to be on our speed dial.  He wants a relationship with us.  He wants us to "call him up" like we do our best friend, our spouse, our mom. Just to talk. He wants us to share the good, the bad, and the ugly with him.  Let's face it, He already knows, He just wants to hear it from us.  Praying doesn't have to be some big fancy presentation.  

Mathew 6: 7-8 says "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. For your Father knows what you need before you ask him..." God just wants to hear from us.

Then lastly: "give thanks in all circumstances." That, my friends, is a doozy. All circumstances, not just the good ones.  This reminds me of a sermon I heard recently at church in reference to the life of Joseph in Genesis 37-50.  To sum in up, God came to Joseph and told him about the life He'd called him into and also revealed the power he'd later have over Egypt. 

Just because God called him didn't mean he was going to have an easy life. Before ultimately becoming the king of Egypt his jealous brothers wanted to kill him, but decided to sell him into slavery.  He was bought by a wealthy family, but would not sleep with the woman of the house, then ended up in jail because of a he said/she said battle. 

Do you think it would be easy to "give thanks in these circumstances?" I think many would turn and run from God, but Joseph did not.  He remained faithful to God and it says time and time again throughout the story of Joseph's life that God was with him.

I think it can be easy to assume that once you choose to trust God life will be easy, but that's not usually the case.  We should "give thanks in all circumstances," because every step we take when we're in relationship with God takes us one step closer to who he calls us to be.  

Now about my outfit today. I really love how it looks and I actually wore it once last week to school then last weekend for errands too. I scored this Ann Taylor sweater from thredUP, (get $10 off your first order here) and I found this blanket scarf here.  

I have to be honest about the blanket scarf though, it literally is big enough for a family to have a picnic on.  Seriously.  When I wore it to school it was about 12 degrees that day and I was pretty comfortable in it until about 2:00, when I was too hot and had to take it off.  

Then, when I wore it on Saturday it was around 40 degrees and I. Was. Hot.  It worked great for errands, but the second I was inside I was really uncomfortable.  This was my initial fear before I bought it. So here's my suggestion, if you decide to hop on the blanket scarf bandwagon, wear it with one light layer, like a long sleeve tee. I've also heard of people cutting it in half....I'm not sure I'm brave enough to do that though... So, I love how this outfit looks, but I feel like it's a fashion + function = failure

Sweater: Ann Taylor via thredUp similar

Vest: Wet Seal similar

Scarf: Style This Life same

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Unisa c/o DSW same

Today I'll leave you with this great graphic from She Reads Truth and I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Random Wednesday