Always Be Joyful.

Daily Advent Lectionary Readings - Sunday, December 17th 

Psalm 126
Isaiah 61:1-4; 8-11, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, 
Luke 1:46b-55 John 1:6-8, 14-28

Always be joyful.
Never stop praying.
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.
Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.
Stay away from every kind of evil.
Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Content to sit and fish.
Lake near Orangeburg, SC

This was Paul's teaching to the church at Thessolonica. Good wisdom. I find that when I choose to "always be joyful" my whole attitude toward God and everyone around me changes. My Mom was like that...always joyful. She had times when she was frustrated with us kids, but generally she was always joyful. She chose to be happy. I think she practiced "praying without ceasing" too. She was close to God--and thus thankful for everything she had--especially family and friends. Growing up during the Depression her family didn't have much, so she knew how to make do without--and be satisfied.
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. Philippians 4:11 (NASB)
Be content. Good choice to make...during this Advent season...and all year. For today...I choose to be content...to be joyful. How about you...what do you choose?

Prayer ~  Thank You God that we can make our own choices..we aren't your puppets. Joy and contentment. Those are my choices for today. Help me to spread Your JOY to everyone I meet today. I am content in all things. I need only more of You.
Daily Bible Reading: Philippians 
Advent Random Act of Kindness - Send Thank You notes to the homes with the best Christmas lights.

© 2017 Text and photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.ccm