Rejoice. Pray. Thanks. Repeat.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
 --I Thessalonians 5:16-18

We moms love our routines. The predictable, the workable, the structured control that makes momma feel sane and the kids--well, they need it. It's been a week-long relay to hold it all together, and dinner is a struggle, and here we are at the steepest leg of the race. We finally reach our breaking point. I'd like to think that after a few years of the same routine that we'd have it down...Maybe one day.

But what really ends up happening is we keep dancing the same clumsy steps and playing the record on repeat. What did Einstein say about insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

It's the week after Easter, aren't God's promises still fresh on our hearts? Joy to those of us who are being save.

We read in the first chapter of Acts that during the forty days following his death and resurrection, the risen Christ appears to the apostles from time to time, proving to them in many ways that he is actually alive. He talks to them about the Kingdom of God and about the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1-5).

On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit comes upon the apostles for the first time! We see the transformation of Peter, who had three-times denied Jesus, as he begins walking in the power of Christ. We listen in as he delivers passionate sermons in the presence of the religious high counsel. We witness as the apostles perform miraculous signs and wonders.

And I can't help but feel like somehow, I've been missing out on something...

So this month following the resurrection, approaching the Pentecost, I wonder: What does it even mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? What if the same power and passion that impelled the apostles to preach the gospel, to heal the sick, to persevere through suffering, is for us? Today. 

What if I lived today like that? Like when the Spirit of Christ himself filled and empowered his followers to do and to be all he called them to. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit (Galations 5:25).

I think about those fruits of the Spirit that I have long suffered to bear. Striving to reap the benefits of the power to become a better mother, wife, and friend. Even to fulfill part of that great calling in Christ to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). And momma? There are those little ones hugging our ankles whom Jesus welcomed freely because he knew they would be his greatest disciples. Yes, we are making disciples of Jesus...everyday (Luke 18:16).

I had read it in my morning devotions, but twelve hours later I am like the woman who looked at her face in the mirror and then went away and forgot what she saw (James 1:19-25). It's something about bath time that turns our home into a scene out of the pages of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Sitting near the edge of the bathtub, I help my daughter wash her hair. Why is it always so difficult? She is excited and careless and I get splashed in the face. I'm fuming frustration. My shrill voice startles even me. Her big round brown eyes blink hot tears. “Momma, will you forgive me?” Grace. It is in the receiving as much as the giving away.

Conviction from the epistle burns into my heart like hot embers... about being quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry... Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds (James 1:2). What was that about joy? A fruit of the Spirit?

It was printed there on the page of my devotional: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

And here's the rub – I see it tucked away there in verse 19:

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.

Ouch. It hits me like an arrow between the eyes. I'm thinking, how do I not stifle the Spirit in my life?

The dots all connect like the shining pegs on a Light Bright.

• Always be joyful.
• Never stop praying.
• Be thankful in all circumstances.

For this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

But it's so hard. This dying to self. Had I forgotten about grace? How because of the empty tomb I could awaken to life?

A big fan of Ann Voskamp, I've started my own list of counting one-thousand things I love, and here it is. The secret to joy. You have shown me the path of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence (Psalm 16:11).

Record-scratch. Lift the needle on this revolving record. God does not always work in formulas. Neat, predictable, ordered patterns that always give the same result. Been there, done that. I fall flat on my face trying to run the course in my own strength. This is not a color-by-numbers.

Being a Christian is not a check list of rules to follow and then you've got it all figured out. God's people already did that, remember? Thankfully, we are in a new covenant of grace. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit --That old way? Leads to death. And I have killed joy in trying to keep it-- But the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Yet this? It's so simple it's profound.

How can I kindle the Spirit's fire in my life? These are baby steps and I'm learning to walk in it:

Joy.

Prayer.

Thanks.

In all circumstances.

This is God's will.

It's joy that runs over the rim of my cup. I bite into joy and the sweetness runs down my chin. Taste and see (Psalm 34:8).

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit (Psalm 51:12 KJV).

It's prayer that humbles me and brings me to my knees at the foot of the cross. “Prayer, to be prayer, to have any power to change anything, must first speak thanks:

In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6).

“Prayer without ceasing is only possible in a life of continual thanks. How did I ever think there was another way to enter into His courts but with thanksgiving?” (Voskamp, "Praying Grace", One Thousand Gifts Devotional)

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name (Psalm 100:4 KJV).

It's thanksgiving that has me counting daily graces. But we do not give thanks for the circumstances – which fluctuate between good or bad as we perceive them – but we give thanks in and inspite of our circumstances because God is good. Because God.

I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.

-- Psalm 116:17

Update:

The weekend of Easter I challenged myself and a dear friend to three-days of counting graces. We were surprised by the joy. And it didn't end there. Do you know what we found as we searched for wisdom as if hidden treasures...? We found the empty tomb. We found Jesus.

Day 1 - Jesus' death - Gifts of Comfort: mother and child cuddle; cup of coffee; a good book.
Day 2 - Jesus is risen - Gifts of Renewal: a good night's sleep; songs of worship; time with family.
Day 3 - Jesus appears to disciples - Gifts of Promise: grey rain clouds cloak mountains on a back-drop of sky robins-egg-blue; "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Ps. 119:105); "Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Mt. 7:7).

If you're reading this, maybe you too, are searching. Maybe you are like me and wondering how to live the abundant life Christ promised. The simple answer? Jesus. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.

Jesus walked with the disciples forty days before he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. On about the fiftieth day began the feast of Pentecost, the time when the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

I personally feel the need for accountability, to keep on giving thanks in all circumstances, keep on praying, keep on rejoicing. If we start today we can spend the next 40 days counting gifts of thanks. Will you invite Christ to ignite the fire in your heart? Will you take this challenge with me?