318 – Celebrate and Have Fun

#faithbites #faithjourney celebrate

Life is pretty hard. We have probably seen the hashtag #adulting or #momlife or #dadlife or any of the others out there that help us express how hard things are. The news is usually grim. Death is out there, devastation, bills, politics, and so many things that weaken our resolve and stop us from enjoying life. I’m not going to lie and say that life is sunshine, puppy dogs, and unicorns. But you know what? There is goodness in the world. There are times to celebrate. We need to take our little victories and celebrate.

Tonight I was able to work through 6 pages of homework with my almost 9-year-old without screaming or fighting. To me, that’s worth celebrating. This morning there were cookies and brownies in the break room. Yay for chocolate.

So many things get us down, but to take those few minutes to look back at what we’ve accomplished and celebrate it. We get the strength we need to keep going.

Scripture

•  Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
• When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

  “He is good;
      his love toward Israel endures forever.”

  And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. – Ezra 3:10-11

Reflection

If we look at the Ezra verse, the builders just finished the foundation. They had a long long way to go until the house of the Lord was finished. So many more days of hard labor, toiling in the sun, and suffering to build the house. But they stopped, celebrated and gave thanks to the Lord for what they had accomplished so far. In the Thessalonians verse, we are told to rejoice always and pray continually and give thanks to God.

Do you give your thanks to God? Right now, I’m going to celebrate that I’ve written #faithbites before it was late in the evening. Is it a big thing? Nah, but It’s one less thing I have to do so I give thanks. I got it done and it’s not bad.

We should take those victories, give thanks to God, and keep on doing his good work. The journey is filled with many milestones, let’s celebrate, not just reaching the destination.

Charge

Do you celebrate little victories? Do you have a plan in place to make sure you give thanks to God and celebrate? Maybe you get a cookie for writing a couple of pages of your paper. Maybe you get to play a game if you finish all the laundry. Whatever it is, give thanks to the Lord for what he has given you.

Lord, help me not to be bogged down by the long journey ahead. Give me the knowledge and strength to celebrate all the little victories in my life.