[cngp90]

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
These verses have been working on me the last few days. They are so direct and simple, they are difficult to ignore. They are so beautiful in their simplicity and can to be applied to every situation in life. I love having instructions that are so easy to remember and that make life so much better.
The first command, to be joyful in everything, is such an inspiration when in unpleasant situations—it helps you get your focus back. When you focus on the situation and yourself it will always bring you down; putting your eyes on the Lord, who is our joy, will instead bring you the joy God desires you to have. Letting God give you the joy of his Salvation will make you and everyone else around you so much happier. I think about people I know that I enjoy being around and, for the most part, they are people full of joy. If we are stuffy and boring, who is going to want to be around us as Christians? The joy of Jesus coming forth from his people will draw unbelievers to us and, in effect, to Him.
"Pray continually." It sounds hard, and it does take practice and intentionality but it is possible. If it weren’t, God wouldn’t have given it as a command. Praying continually is a habit that will make a Christian’s life a million times fuller and more effective than when not communicating with the Father. Because humans don’t have the same mind and thoughts as God, unless we are actively seeking Him and His will, we won’t naturally be in line with his will- it takes effort on our part to keep up our part of the relationship.
Thirdly, do we really give thanks in all circumstances? It’s not something that generally comes naturally. The old song, ‘Count your blessings’, speaks to this: “Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what God has done.” I remember when I was probably six or seven and my dad, sister, and I were driving a disabled man to church one Sunday morning. I remember the man was in a wheelchair and was complaining that he was getting sore from sitting in the chair for so long. My dad was driving and my sister and I were in the back with the man and my dad told Randy that he should count his blessings and asked if my sister and I could sing that song, ‘count your blessings’. Only if he did start counting his blessings would it have helped him. I don’t remember what happened after that but it was something that stuck with me and makes me think even now. It’s easy to be thankful when life is good and there’s nothing that is making us uncomfortable, but what about when you aren’t in control of the situation you are in and there are things that are making your life less-than-perfect? That’s when a thankful attitude can make all the difference in the world. It makes such a difference when we look for the things to be thankful for instead of at all the things that we can be upset about. And if, heaven forbid, we didn’t have anything else in the world to be thankful for, we have the hope of heaven to be thankful for along with the knowledge that we serve a mighty and loving God that is with us always and who made a way for our salvation. If there was nothing else in my life that happened that was good, I would still have those to be thankful for.
All these things affect our lives so much and can benefit the lives of us and those around us when we regularly practice them. If God said them, of course they are going to benefit our lives.


Any thoughts, comments, whatever would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
-Collin

[Nate]

Before I do, what is it for?

[Nate]

The main thing that jumps out on a first reading is that you have WAY too many qualifiers ("so," "very," "of course," "such," "a million times," "more," etc). These special types of adjectives are overused. There is almost always a better choice than a qualifying phrase. Using qualifiers means that you couldn't come up with the phrase or word you wanted, so you had to modify a word that you could come up with to get across the idea you intended. Even worse, the modifier is usually unnecessary, adding nothing to the meaning of the sentence other than needless emphasis. Unless you are writing something very informal, these types of filler words aren't necessary and make your writing seem immature. Take the time and come up with the right words / phrases or to simply stick with more simple wordings and your writing will be "a million times" better.

Here's a list of some of these qualifiers:

Originally Posted by cngp90

so direct and simple

so beautiful in their simplicity

every situation in life.

so easy to remember

make life so much better.

such an inspiration

always bring you down

make you and everyone else around you so much happier.

a million times fuller and more effective

something that generally comes naturally.

probably six or seven

one Sunday morning

in the chair for so long.

all the difference in the world.

It makes such a difference

all the things that we can be upset about.

anything else in the world

nothing else in my life

All these things

affect our lives so much

of course they are going to benefit our lives.

It's a bad habit that I'm sure will be hard to break, but it will make your writing more professional if you don't use these vague types of qualifiers that don't give any indication of what it is you're trying to say other than that it's something "so big" or "such a good thing" or "not like anything else" or whatever else. Be more precise.

[JesusFreakGirl]

One thing that I stress over hardcore when I edit peoples' papers is the usage of words like 'I' 'me' 'my' 'you' 'our' etc. If it is an opinion paper, it is usually alright to use the words like 'me' and 'I', but otherwise, professional writing (which papers are supposed to be) should not contain those kinds of words, with the exception of direct quotes.

[cngp90]

thank you both. that helps a ton.