31 days to hallway praise Rejoice always.

Give thanks.

Be content in all circumstances.

At first glance, these Biblical mandates might seem simple enough. But for those going through tremendous hardship, it can seem impossible to find joy of any kind, let alone being able to praise the Lord through it all.

If you're a Christian struggling with a trial right now and feel like you've lost your joy, may I offer you some encouragement? It may not seem like it right now, but with the Holy Spirit's help, you can find joy in Christ. In fact, during the month of October, I'm going to tackle this very topic with my newest blog series: "31 Days to Hallway Praise."

My goal is to offer you 31 ideas to help you praise the Lord during hardship. It won't necessarily be easy, and it will require a lot of work, but I'm convinced that no matter what you're facing right now, you can choose joy. You can choose to praise God. You can choose to give thanks, not only for what appears to be good, but also for the very trial itself.

I'm not an expert in praising the Lord during hardship - far from it. But with the Holy Spirit's help, I know it can be done.

Are you willing to join me on this journey? If so, I have just one challenge for you today: decide that you'll finish the challenge, all 31 days. Some of the assignments might seem simple, especially if they're already part of your normal routines. Other tasks will be more difficult, but none will be impossible if you rely on the Lord for the strength to do them.

If you're in a season of life where things are going well and you're not facing hardship at the moment, I would still invite you to join us as well! There is always room to deepen your faith, prepare for the next trial, or become better equipped to help out someone else who is suffering.

This is the post where I will be adding each day's link. Feel free to check back here any time you want to re-read a day's post or catch up if you fall behind.

One last thing: will you pray for me as I write out this challenge and go through it with you? Sometimes it's easy to think that bloggers have everything together, and maybe a few really do. But I'm not one of them! I've worked in advance on this project, but it's far from finished. I'm eager to see how the Lord uses this in both your life and my own. But I'm also nervous about committing to writing each day for 31 days straight, too. Your prayers mean the world to me and will help me to stay diligent to this commitment.

I'm so excited about this 31-day challenge. Let's do this together!

Day 1: Pray without ceasing

Day 2: Memorize Scripture

Day 3: Keep A Gratitude Journal

Day 4: Make Your Bed

Day 5: Fix Your Eyes on Christ

Day 6: Drink Water

Day 7: Stay in Church

Day 8: Make Time for Exercise

Day 9: Read the Psalms

Day 10: Participate in A Bible Study

Day 11: Do Something Lovely