Spiritual, just not religious?

Have you ever heard anyone say I’m spiritual, just not religious? I had a conversation like that with a person recently who took pride in having a faith that’s neutral, passionless. He described it as a firm belief in an undefined, generic God Who doesn’t impact personal life.

It seems to me that a vague belief in a Creator who is powerless to impact one’s daily reality is like having a treasure chest in the middle of your living room where you can walk around and admire the construction of the box, yet never open the lid and experience the treasures within.

I value the treasures of God and wouldn’t live my daily life as I do without them. Like assurance of the love of God that makes it possible to be an outrageous lover of all God’s people, enemies included. Like the supreme trust that enables me to live with joyous self-abandon, because God has ultimate control. I like the excitement of each new day anticipating the challenges and wonders God has planned. The deeper I dig into God’s Treasurebox the more there is: sweet comfort when I hurt, hope when I’ve walked into a place of blackness and supernatural energy when mine is depleted. And when I see a scene like this while driving through the Carolinas I gulp, He's amazed me again.

By the way, I don’t consider myself religious either. Something about the word reminds me of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day – men who walked about preaching to others the externals, legalities of faith, without having the internals straight. The character, Jennifer, in my new novel, Directive 99, is like this. Her spirituality was surface without substance. She served others without joyous heart affection until God got her full attention. (For more info on Directive 99 visit my website www.judithrolfs.com.) Personally, I prefer the descriptive words a Jesus truster or an unabashed God lover.

Treasuring the Elderly

Here's my new book baby launched this week - a mystery thriller that includes murder, kidnapping, two love stories and a message about protecting the elderly among us.

I’m not sure how my love affair with older people began. Perhaps it was having interesting grandparents. Maybe it was my wonderful carpenters in their 80’s whose workmanship more than compensated for the fact that their work pace was slower.

I do know it was sharpened by the word of God which reminds us to respect the living treasures of wisdom we have among us. Leviticus 19:32 "Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD."

In a church I visited last week while vacationing in St. Petersburg, FL, I encountered Ann – 88 years young sitting next to me in her spiffy pill box hat dressed to the nines. Of course, I had to chat with her afterwards. Angel Ann I immediately nicknamed her in my mind– what a sweet face, joy spilled from her eyes as she shared how she washes and irons the church altar linens every week and has performed this service in various parishes for sixty-two years.

After we exchanged names Ann promised to write me a letter if I gave her my address, because writing letters was something she liked to do, but “Sit down when you read it, because I write long letters.” I told her about my current writing and she promised to pray for me every day, promptly adding my name to the list she carried in her purse on a big card. Getting a quick glance at the paper, I estimated about fifty names already on it.

Ann reminded me of Kathryn in my new novel, Directive 99, a resident of a futuristic government run life centre for the elderly. Here greedy officials introduce a plan to euthanize them in incrementally lower ages because the economy no longer can handle the burden of their expense. My Kathryn, vibrant and alert, performed her part-time work as an antique jewelry appraiser and was a beloved family member to her nieces and nephews, but she would be among the first to die.

I’ve studied current population data and prevalent myths (I’ll present them in depth in the future), but beware of false dogma. What God creates he provides for (unless the greed of man snatches it away.) We need not destroy the elderly to advance our personal lifestyle. The time is coming when euthanasia very well may be presented as a viable choice. It’s not - not ever.

If you like suspense, a love story, and a fast-paced novel with a moral message, I encourage you to get your hands on Directive 99, available through Amazon or Barnes and Noble stores or my website: www.judithrolfs.com

A Normal Day

How I treasure a normal day. Life changes in a second when suddenly normal is gone.

You remember the moment forever when you learn of the physical illness or death of a loved one. It’s like your chest is being compressed as terror floods your mind. You want to yell, stop, this can’t be happening, but your gasp is silent as it should be, if it is a family member or friend dealing with their own shock and needing every ounce of support and encouragement you can give, but it’s enormously difficult.

The disruption of normal happened to my husband and I the Monday after Thanksgiving when he returned from a pre-op physical and announced the EKG revealed a heart abnormality. A week filled with stress tests and echocardiogram and cardiologist visits spun by in dizzying speed. Until we heard no alarm, heart’s okay, but the tumor found during a colonoscopy was to take two days in UW. Madison Hospital to eradicate. If there’s a sweeter word in the English language than benign I can’t think what it is.

Where was God in all this? I felt like a tightrope walker holding two poles, Christ and the Holy Spirit, and a magnetic beacon, God the Father, drawing me forward. The Scripture verse that sustained me, for I surely needed strengthening, was given me by phone from a dear friend the next day. You may laugh when you read this or perhaps consider me dotty, but I embraced “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all (I really needed this because I become very assertive when a loved one of mine must maneuver the medical maze.) And then this next section is a gem, “The Lord is near.” Followed by “Do not be anxious about anything, but present your requests to God with petitions and thanksgiving and the peace of God which passes all understanding will be yours in Christ Jesus.” (Phillipians 4: 6-10)

Not only did I read this, I printed out three copies – one for my purse, one for my bedside, and one in case I lost either of the other two. I memorized it and meditated on it. If ever Scripture was a sword, this was for me.

Now again I’m savoring normal days, but taking longer to dwell over the joy of a shared trip to the store or lingering while we wat breakfast together instead of zipping off. Rejoice? You can be sure we do, with hearts of gratefulness.

If you or a loved one faces the terror of cancer or heart disease, may I suggest requesting a copy of Triumphing Over Cancer, a manual I wrote to help patients after being thumped by our own eighteen year old son’s cancer followed by his being hit by a drunk driver. There is a fundamental flaw in the name it, claim it prototype of God, but there is total truth in a God whose love is measureless and whose strength of grace is steel in His hands and ours.

I wouldn’t, couldn’t, walk through the devastation of concern for a loved one without Him. The manual, Triumphing Over Cancer, will do more than two or three greeting cards. Order it at the website or e-mail me direct at jwrolfs@charter.net.

Eyewitness Account Washington D.C.

Health Care Rally November 5, 2009

Wayne and I arrived in Washington for an extended weekend visit to the Smithsonian Museums arranged months ago. As God would have it this happened to be the day of the Citizen’s Rally against the House Bill on health care. Of course, as a writer and an American, who would be impacted, I wanted to check it out, and there was no holding back my husband.

As I walked among the crowd of thousands upon thousands while listening to the speakers on the steps of the Capitol, I wondered why had these men and women dropped everything to come on short notice of less than a week? Why the sacrifice of time and money by many who, according to their own admission, had never before been involved in politics?

I studied their faces, heard their comments and read the signs they carried to get my answer. Then I understood. They came to see if the concept that made America the greatest country on earth still works. These people had hope written all over them that the voices of “We the people” still meant something in Washington.

All ages were represented. A woman in front of me with green streaks in her hair and tattoos up one arm tended lovingly to a baby in a stroller while cheering loudly for the health care bill to be halted. One voice, one mission: legislators use common sense; do not abuse our trust. She eagerly accepted a bumper sticker being passed out, which I didn't understand at first - a yellow coiled snake with the saying "Don't Tread On Me." Later, I learned that was symbolic of the American Revolution when people told England to stop imposing impossible, unjust taxes.

Reliable polls had determined that the majority of Americans want the health care system improved but the majority do not want a government run system. These hard-working people feared receiving inferior and limited health care. Most doctors and other medical professionals have said this would follow as surely as the sun rises and sets and point to government systems in Canada and England as examples.

The House Health Care Bill is far reaching and proposes a system of gatekeepers to see if medical procedures and prescriptions doctors recommend are necessary. These gatekeepers may be government controlled doctors or lay people who will decide -how no one knows for sure - perhaps simply by quotas, or “quality of life” issues. Rally-goers wondered how adding another layer of bureaucracy could do anything but add more costs and inefficiency to health care and increase taxes for all.

In fact, the people we spoke with feared their backs would be broken with the total cost of government run health care and other new government programs being proposed. The people are scared by a financial burden beyond their ability to bear. Is this an exaggeration? Hardly. Our country has never in its history seen such runaway deficit spending. In the final bill passed late Saturday night a travesty would be executed against them - they will be responsible for more new debt of one to two trillion dollars. These people, like most, live by core financial principles. It would never in a thousand years occur to them that they should pledge to buy something they couldn’t pay for.

It shocked me to learn that in the bill citizens may be threatened with fines and jail if they do not buy the government plan. What an incredible violation of liberty that I MUST buy something – I can imagine our patriotic founders laughing at the thought!

But the worst aspect of all is the concern that we might have to participate in funding the murder of unborn children and speed up the demise of the elderly. Abortion is unacceptaable to the majority of Americans at every level. I believe it is the worst abuse ever foisted on women who suffer horrible physical and emotional complications from believing the lie that abortion is okay.

We encountered rally goers who also visited their own Congressional representatives in groups and individually beseeching them to rethink what they were about to do. Outside Nancy Pelozzi’s office a group gathered to crumple and toss to the floor pages of the 2000 page bill as they peacefully protested against abortion. Inside a little old priest lay on the floor in silent prayer and protest until he was carried out by three police officers.

On Saturday evening “We the people” watched as many of the men and women we’d elected broke every principle of sound financial management. I’m sure many who stayed through the vote gasped with dejection as the government passed a bill placing their families in a nightmare of debt. Fortunately Stupak's amendment stopped the abortion clause but only for a time. Watch out for what comes through in the end from the Senate!!!

No one has greater compassion for the poor than Wayne and I. However the poor are not served by creating more poor among us.

Other options for health care reform were totally ignored in this bill. Setting up state funds to help those who are unable to purchase insurance, as some states already have for those denied coverage wasn’t mentioned. No effort was made to curb excessive costs of medical malpractice. In fact, states that already had reforms in this area must eliminate them.

Some attenders believe that the reason for the Democratic government’s free health plan is a power play. If most people are dependent on the Democrats, they will also have control of their vote. Might this be true? However, it’s not the politics that concerns me as much as the lack of common sense in coming to a solution to this problem.

One thing is certain: The American people should not be subjected to the hypocrisy of legislators who create a health program that they refuse to personally participate in!

It’s as if the enemy has infiltrated our government and the enemy is within. People are scared by the direction our country is taking. Is America being destroyed by the actions of those who were supposed to guard it? Sad, but true, “We the people” seem to have lost our voice as we’re being changed into “We the government.”

But not yet. And we must continue to express our concerns and do all we can to keep this country fiscally sound and socially responsible for the needs of ALL AMERICANS.

Just a few thoughts, dear ones.

November Fun

After finishing the manuscript for my new novel 99, I celebrated by taking a trip with Wayne, my traveling buddy-hubby. We observed the passionate people's Health Care Rally in D. C. on Nov. 5th in opposition to the current House Bill, then attended an evening lecture by Tim Keller at the National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church. How inspiring to see 1000 young adults and thirty and forty somethings absorb his message to beware of false idols of wealth and possessions. (I highly recommend checking out Tim Keller's website and downloading some of his powerful free podcasts.)

The International Spy Museum was fascinating and provided research for a future suspense plot. We were enthralled by each of the Smithsonian Museums and walked to, fro and within each about five miles daily, praying often throughout the day. (We value prayer-walking ever since our time volunteering for Campus Crusade.) The highlight of our trip was all the fascinating people we met as we rode the Circulator bus, spoke with fellow travelers in our hotels, toured the Capitol, etc. We splurged on one night downtown D.C. at the elegant Hotel Monaco hob-nobbing with lobbyists and legislative aides and praying as we conversed.

After D.C. we spent three days in Williamsburg studying the factors that led to the American Revolution against the loss of liberty and the excessive taxation that England imposed. What an interesting parallel to contemporary politics. Then off to Virginia to visit our son and his wife and our five-year-old grandchildren.

We live in a great country filled with awesome people. May it thrive ever more in the years ahead.

What a gift of joy this trip has been - much laughter, mind-stretching experiences, spectacular education - I'm filled with gratitude - such an outstanding prelude to Thanksgiving!

May yours be extraordinary!

Birthday Thoughts

You young things hang on, because the years roll by with breathless speed.

All of a sudden, like me, you'll find yourself in the senior ranks, and the delightful surprise is it's quite fun after all. The opportunity you have for reflection that the hurry-scurry years seldom allowed is great. Yes 60's are all in all quite a nice place to be.

I recently took the time to ponder what 67 feels like.

Life for me has been less a self-planned unfolding of my choices as I used to pompously believe and more an intentional journey with God. A release, a freedom to day by day plunge into the unknown, ordained by Him. And then hanging on tightly and delighting in the tour He's planned.

New options appear at every season for walking through open doors God has placed before me. Entering isn't scary any more. I'm always eager to respond to anything that might be of Him.

Sometimes I start leaping too fast as St. Peter often did. But then my husband, Wayne, reminds me he became the first Pope. So Wayne's taken to calling me Popette. But always I'm guided, sometimes with a thump, back to the reality God has intended for me in every course of this feast of life.

Over the years I've learned a few important things about me that change the way I view everything:

I have no giftedness apart from what our God has placed within me.

I have no desire for riches except to use them for God's work in the world.

I have no need of anything that He hasn’t provided.

I am among all women the same but different because I KNOW I am richly blessed with treasure that cannot be lost or stolen.

How I praise my God who has birthed His love and wisdom within me!

My goal is only that I may honor Him adequately with these brief days of life.

And leave a legacy of truth and strength for generations to come.

I embrace fully the heritage I received, including my family's history of alcoholism and dysfunction, but also one of faith and creativity and love, all of which I desire to sent forth into eternity.

In EVERY SITUATION, I bow to the one who made heaven and earth and me and I say Thank You for dwelling in me. And for giving me a power to laugh at life and see the sparkle in each person. And thanks for instilling in me a few talents to invest for the Kingdom to come.

Happy Birthday, Me!

Teach Children About Spiritual Stuff?

Removing God?

 “You can be good without God.” CTA buses have begun accepting anti-God advertising from groups wanting the very idea of God eliminated from our thinking. So why should parents bother to teach their children about God? People can be good without God, the source of all goodness, right? It’s absolutely true they can do good, kind and generous deeds without knowledge of God,  but can people be as strong?

Parents who give children an understanding of the reality of their spiritual nature and the existence of a loving, empowering God give them a source of lifelong strength.

The God debate is not just philosophical argument. God is a real and present help often unexperienced until called upon in a state of desperation. The Bible, best-selling book of all time, declares this very thing: Psalm 46:1  “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Unfortunately without spiritual knowledge, depression, despair, even suicide beckon when life feels out of control, when the tower of human strength cracks apart, there’s no undergirding to hold a person. As a family therapist I’ve seen lives fall apart when this imperfect world doesn’t make sense and becomes a source of pain. Witness the children and adults who commit suicide when an important relationship ends or because  of financial loss or loss of prestige. Korea is still in shock following the recent suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun last week. The 62-year-old leapt to his death following charges of corruption. Suicide tempts those who have no inner core spiritual stability. In fact, where do you turn if yourself is all that you have?

A child or an adult need not even be a church attender, but can still have an inner core of belief that adds emotional stability through tough times. Certainly, attending an active church is a plus. The friendships formed can add another circle of emotional support for an individual. God’s people learn that loving and caring for others as ourselves is part of the deal in connection with God.

Parents like to give their sons and daughters gifts. There is no greater gift than teaching children they’re spiritual beings created in the image of God for an important purpose. Parents love and deeply care about their children and they know most likely their life span will not match their offspring. When parents die they can leave their children of any age, a legacy of love and care of a constantly present, doting God that will serve even adult children well all the days they live.

And if parents don’t know this God because no one ever taught them about the reality of a loving, God this may be the time to make a discovery that will change parents’ lives as well. How? Visit a church and ask a pastor how can I come to know this God you serve. Ask a friend who seems to have a strong connection. Who actually is this Jesus? Do some research. I urge reading His own words in the gospels to see what to think for yourself.

Don’t deprive your children of this important spiritual component of their make-up. They are spiritual beings designed with meaning and purpose. Children can have a real and present help for any situation they experience throughout life.

Just a few thoughts.

The exciting mystery for ages 9-14, The Adventures of Tommy Smurlee, teaches children about  the Sunmaker (God), Who is the source of all Wisdom and Goodness. 

 

Who is Huram Abi?

 

Huram-Abi was sent by King Hiram of Tyre to King Solomon

For an important, never-before-undertaken building project,

Creating an edifice worthy of God.

Huram-Abi was a cunning man with understanding,

A man with a reputation for excellence

Written about in the 2 Chronicles 2 chapter of God’s Book.

A man with skill and intelligence

Whose works were always of quality.

He had a mother from Dan and a father from Tyre,

Mentioned because parentage can be important.

Multi-talented: trained to work in gold and silver,

Bronze and iron, stone and wood,

As well as purple and crimson yarn and fine linen,

An experienced engraver able to create any design given him,

Who worked ably with his craftsmen as well as David’s,

Modeling the ability to work with others as well as alone.

His hands helped craft the temple unsurpassed in beauty in Jerusalem,

Which inspired an awe of Ultimate Beauty, the Holy God.

A man as dependable as the metals he shaped.

With a name now synonymous with outstanding accomplishment.

A role model for excellence.

Huram-Abi. Let’s think about him today.

 

Excerpted from Breathless Mini-Meditations 2009 © Judith Rolfs subtitled:

The Lesser-Knowns and the Un-knowns Among Us who have played vital parts in the unfolding story of God among us. These men and women conveyed pieces of the message of truth of who we are and how we are to live. They provide a bridge of wisdom from their past to our present.

 

The God Debate

Getting Rid of God

We seem to be hell-bent [excuse the pun] these days on doing away with God. Perhaps it’s because we have the mistaken notion that God stands in the way of our having good times and a prosperous life. We’ve reframed morality, which God engraved upon our souls for our protection and enjoyment of life, as a fun-stopping collection of stupid rules.

When we eliminate the real God from our thoughts, instead of seeking to imitate a holy, loving Being exemplifying goodness and truth, we often model ourselves after self-centered, conniving peers. Or we find a cause like conservation or a political party or a human leader and make this into our god. We’re like the jungle baby who, losing both parents at birth and raised by wolves, begins to imitate a lesser form of life.

Without God, stuff and nonsense becomes our focus, greed for things replaces lofty desires like growing in kindness and selflessness. This can easily happen if we pretend God is not real, religion is foolishness, and we know better than to believe.

Fools that we are, our indifference to God created the world we now see around us, where men and women care nothing about destroying other lives, wiping out the hard-earned savings of decent people.

It’s not just getting the Ten Commandments back on school room walls we need but getting them back into the hearts of humankind. Wouldn’t practicing the words of 2 Chronicles 15:12 in the Holy Bible be better? "They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.”

I’ve no doubt one day we’ll meet face-to-face this God whose morality we blithely deny, and be in for the surprise of our lives.

10 Commandments are Cool

Today's Thoughts

Christmas, a word that evokes emotions of childhood excitement and holiday mayhem all wrapped in one word. Christmas - Christ for the masses and Christ of the holy Mass. A celebration of Christ, the son of the God who gave us Ten Commandments, still wise rules for life. 

The arrest this week of the governor of Illinois caught up in envy and greed remind us of the importance of truth-speaking and honesty. Christmas is a great teaching time for reminding children and grandkids of what's essential like the importance of self-control for living a happy and honorable life. 

Let's dust off the 10 Commandments and get them out where all children and adults can see them again. After all, what's wrong with telling people not to steal or not to kill or to take a day of rest to reflect and be renewed? 

The picture above shows fun teaching moments making Christmas cookies with our grandchildren left to right Steven, DJ, grandpa Wayne (supervising), me and Katie.

My Adventures of Tommy Smurlee books, exciting mystery fantasy for ages 9-16, also teach positive virtues like honesty and perseverance. You can order Adventures of Tommy Smurlee and Tommy Smurlee and the Missing Statue at barnesandnoble.com

Scripture John 15:14: "You are my friends if you do whatever I have commanded you." 

Memories With Meaning

Today's Thoughts
Along with the addition of years to one’s life, comes the unanticipated gift of memories. One may pop up any moment, unexpectedly triggered by a scent or a scene. We may repaint some memories to make them prettier or uglier than they were, but a few can never change because they’re so vividly imbedded in our souls.

We had guests for dinner last night, friends from church we wanted to know better, and our house took on the glow I love when candles are lit, order is prevalent, and talk of God’s ways with us fills the air. My memory of the evening is sweet.

I awoke during the night with a different memory of another December place – less comfy-cozy, but so sacred to me that it makes me catch my breath. It was of hospital settings with beds occupied by children enduring the unendurable and bedside chairs filled with parents that love them, who would gladly change places.

23 years ago I was in such a place and every holiday I think of this setting where every minute is gift, and a world of worry over dollars is in the furthest recess of the mind. Every day of mine and my now grown son’s life is different because of the memory of what we lived through – to God be the glory!

I appreciate God’s 2 A. M. reminder to pray and attempt to offer solace to those engulfed in the mystery of suffering and healing.

Triumphing Over Cancer, A Patient’s Manual is a practical help for adults. Hey, I’ve Got Cancer, Here’s How You Can Help is the children’s version. Love Always, Mom is an amazing, heart-warming story of God’s miraculous healing. To order any book call 850-591-7848.

“Whatsoever things you ask in prayer, believe that you may receive.” Mark 11:24
Ask with faith and leave the outcome to our sovereign God.

Giving Thanks

Today's Thoughts

Blessed Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones! This snowy scene is the view from our window.

My sweet sister, Joy, and her husband, chef Dave, are again hosting the clan for Thanksgiving and what a delight it always is!

It occurred to me that as families gather to give thanks to God and enjoy one another, it's wise to remember the central role Christ plays in all our blessings.

I'm not sure how old I was, but I definitely was an adult, when I learned that "Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see... everything has been created through Him and for Him. He existed before everything else began, and He holds all creation together." Quoted from Scripture, Colossians 1:16-17, NLT. 

Thanks to  God who is:

Meaning-maker for my life,

Architect and builder of my mansion, 

Defier of daily demons,

Sustenance-giver of all that is.

What an amazing God we thank!

I love to meditate on who God is and the amazing relationship He invites each of us to have with Him. If you'd like to read more meditations they're in a collection called Breathless, Minute Meditations for Connecting Your Heart to God's available through www.fantasticfamily.org

Today's Thoughts

I’m a prayer-learner and shall be until I have my face-to-face flat down, collapsed in awe, first-ever encounter with God in heaven. In the meantime, I’ve learned a few things about the prayer process, which I humbly share. 

Prayer for me is opening myself through thought and inner conversation to the spiritual relationship I have with my dearly beloved and mystifyingly in-love-with-me lover - the Almighty God over all.

A day without prayer seems dry and without meaning. This action of praying enables me to sanctify many moments of my days. It reminds me to be ever watchful of what’s happening and observe the actions of the One Who is the Great-Co-coordinator of every life.

Prayer for me happens at the work places I enter, as I open the door trying to be mindful of the Holy Spirit of God whose presence I desire to bring into these surroundings. It occurs in the super market and the department store. I rarely walk the aisles without thinking, Wow, thanks, for all the choices, what a privilege to live in this great country!

Every time I go outdoors, whatever the season, I move straight into the creative natural realm of Christ which always leads me breathlessly into a form of typical Jewish prayer - spontaneous outburst – used often by Jesus. The picture above shows me doing just that in Breckenridge, Colorado while dwarfed by God's majesty surrounding me.

I embrace all types of prayer: rigid and rote, as well as prayer thoughts straight out of the wild blue. To the Our Father each bedtime, which I share with my husband, I add my own petitions of protection and guidance for those I love and for the whole world. Sometimes my prayer is pure listening to discover new truths about my God, your God, our God. I pray because I know the One to whom I’m speaking.

Did you ever learn: "Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as it was now ever shall be, world without end. Amen?" This is an old, ever fresh great prayer. How many saints have said those words?

What are your triggers, your reminders your process, your favorites? Whatever system of continual prayer works for you, if you're willing to share some of your thoughts feel free to post them below.

© Judith Rolfs 2008

Chapter 11 of my women’s book, A Women’s Guide: 52 Way’s to Choose Happiness & Fulfillment, entitled Praying Well, has more ideas about what, when, where and how to pray. Available at Christianbook.com

My prayer for you today is from Scripture from Colossians 1: 9 & 10

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”