Do What Makes You Happy

The other day I was in a store. As I walked past the lingerie, one in particular. It made me stop and think. It was not provocative or skimpy something that would turn heads. It was what was printed on the nightie that bothered me. It said, “Do what makes you happy.”

I know most of you who are reading this will think, “What’s so wrong with that?” Well, first, “happiness” is relative. Happiness, not a one size fits all thing. For example, I love running, it makes me happy. You, on the other hand, might hate exercise of any kind so it would not make you happy. “That’s not necessarily a problem,” You might say. And you are right, it might not be a problem. But consider this; I live in town, and my son is quite noisy in the morning. However, he is happiest when he is loudly talking to himself outside. If he did what made him happy, my neighbors would all be awake at 7:00 a.m. with him. Call me crazy, but I am willing to bet that my neighbors do not want him to do what makes him happy. There are many other instances where doing what makes me happy would be the worst thing in the world. If someone cuts me off in traffic and what would make me happy is to ram the back of their car then maybe I should reconsider doing what makes me happy. I don’t need to go on; you get the point.

Am I saying that we should not be happy? By no means! We should have and live life to the fullest. I am suggesting that happiness is a choice. I can choose to be happy or not happy in any circumstance life throws at me. I can elect to consider those around me when deciding what will make me happy. The absolute best example of wanting others happiness and not his own is the example of Christ; when he was hanging between heaven and hell. We would say that there is no way he could be happy suffering in that manner. The writer of Hebrews said, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross …” It seems that what brought Jesus happiness was suffering so that we could be brought near to him.

Perhaps the same is true for us also. When we consider the happiness of others as of greater value than our happiness, then our definition of happiness changes also. We find happiness and even, dare I say it, joy in considering the needs of others as more important than our needs. So even though my son would be happy to go outside and talk very loudly at 7 in the morning. I do not let him because I know my neighbors would rather sleep a little longer, that and I don’t want any rocks thrown at my house. Jus’ sayin’

Live Fearlessly

As I was driving home today, I passed a person walking on the side of the road. Since it was cold, and snowy, I thought I should stop and offer the person a ride. As I drove on by, I was irritated with myself for not stopping. I could have and should have but I didn't. Why? I was scared! Maybe that wouldn't bother you, but I'm willing to bet there are things that make you afraid. It may be snakes or spiders that send the ticker into overdrive. Or maybe it's your job and finances that keep you up at night when you should be resting. Then again perhaps it's relationships that consume your thoughts and energy. As followers of God, we know that we are told not to be afraid. Yet we often are afraid despite everything we know. As I was driving away from a misse...

Tragedy: A Christian Response

I want to start by telling you a story. We were new parents. When Our oldest, a son, was about eighteen to twenty months we had another baby, a girl with brown hair and huge eyes. One day as I went to feed her, my son who may have been two at the time wandered off to another part of the house. The next thing I heard was a thud. I grabbed my baby girl and ran to see what happened. There was my son with a table on top of him. He had pulled it over on himself and more blood than I had ever seen was running all over. We put him in the car and dashed for the ER. It was not a fun trip. He had a skull fracture and many stitches. Fast forward about fourteen or fifteen years, I’m at a stop light and watch my youngest daughter about ten start across a street on a bike start across a street just as a truck comes around a corner into the path of the bike. She hit the side of the truck and bounced onto the road....

Thank you God for Leading us

Thank you God for how you lead us. Like a shepherd leading his sheep. Sometimes through the words you spoke in the Bible, your written word. at other times, it was the wise words from friends, coworkers,or neighbors spoken at just the right time. Still other times it was a gentle tug, a whisper to our heart to move in one direction or another; intuition or a sixth sense that one way or another was right or wrong Yet, when I listened and obeyed I found the way was clear, distinct and easy to follow. You never leave us to guess which way to go. ...

Inspirations

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