Finding Happiness

I heard a story about a little puppy that noticed that whenever he was happy, his tail wagged, so he thought he had discovered the secret to happiness. One day he shared the secret of happiness with an older dog. He said, "I have learned that the best thing for a dog is to be happy, and that happiness is in my tail. So I am going to chase my tail; and when I catch it, I shall have happiness. The old dog replied, "I too believe that happiness is a marvelous thing for a dog, and that happiness is in my tail. But I have noticed that whenever I chase my tail, it keeps running away from me; but when I go about my business, it follows me wherever I go.
The Bible has a lot to say about being happy. It doesn't say, "Happy are they who have a lot of money" or "Happy are they who live in big houses and drive fancy cars." It doesn't even say, "Happy are they who only have good things happening to them." What the Bible does say is, "Happy are the merciful, happy are the peacemakers, happy are the pure in heart." The Bible also says, "Happy is he who trusts in the Lord." Many of us are like the little puppy chasing his tail - trying to find true happiness that is always just out of our reach. What we need to do is learn that if we will just go about our business and trust in the Lord, happiness will follow us where- ever we go.

I found that story while doing some research for a sermon, and I don't know who to give credit too, just know it isn't my story!

I love the message though. We spend so much time and energy trying to achieve happiness. Of course we usually equate happiness with more money and more stuff. The trouble is we are never satisfied with more money or more stuff because there is always more. We certainly don't think of happiness in terms of being poor in spirit, meek, insulted, and being persecuted. Yet that is what Jesus is telling us in the beatitudes. It is important to remember that the beatitudes aren't a prescription to happiness, they are simply a reflection God's character and the God's realm. God blesses differently then the world does. God also knows that only true happiness can be found in him. Happiness can only be truly attained if we stop trying so darn hard to prove ourselves and/or ear God's love and stop and realize that God already loves us just the way we are. Once we get out of our own way, and realize that the Spirit working threw us is the key to happiness will we finally feel whole. We need to stop relying so much on ourselves, and rely more on God. Not only will we make better decisions, but we'll begin to see fruits of that union in our own lives. Begin the day with a simple prayer: God I need your guidance and presence in my life today...spend a minute or two quiet and listening...then thank God for another day and be aware of opportunities to experience the Spirit!

God in a Box

Rev. Nicole Havelka, or Cole, as Isaac kept calling her gave a very thought provoking sermon this past Sunday. She spoke about the ways in which we put God in a box. She talked about how we tend to really limit the ways in which we imagine God working in the world and working in our lives. In the limiting of the ways in which we view God or believe God is working in the world we keep God in a nice little box. She stated that most everyone can tell of a time when God helped them through a sad time, but what about the good times or the times that challenged us and made us grow. Do we see God in those times too?

I think I tend to put God in a box and pull God out when I want to. Sort of like my own personal Gennie(sp?). I will pull God out when I need some help with a situation and/or I want something. Is there something wrong with that? There certainly is, but it is safer to keep God in my little box. If I only see God as helping me with stuff I want then I don't have to listen for God challenging me in other parts of my life. If God stays in my nice little box then I can live the life I want. Opps, did you catch that...live the life that I want! Anyone else guilty of keeping God in the box so God doesn't mess up YOUR plans?! Sounds down right silly when you say it out loud.

We know, at least I hope most of us know, that God has the best plan for our life. I know that, but I also know that God's plans sometimes aren't my plans. God's plan may involve some risk, some moving outside of my comfort zone, and maybe some examining of my life. It is easier to just leave God alone inside the box isn't it? Well it might be easier in the short term, but I can almost guarentee that in the long run we're going to miss a lot of opportunities and blessings that God had intended for us. By trying to control everything ourselves we limit what God can do in our lives. Yes, God can break in and still do amazing things, but we miss so much by trying to keep ourselves comfortable and pain free. I know it is no fun to be stretched, challenged, or pushed outside our comfort zone, but if we don't then we never grow. We don't experience new things and we certainly don't mature very much as Christians.

God can't be put in any box. God will still do God's work in the world whether we open the box or not. If we don't expand our knowledge of God, and honestly let God guide our lives then we might do ok, but we will miss so many blessings and joys and chances to spread the Word of love and grace. Yes we might be challenged, but as my old high school coach used to say..."No pain no gain." And there is some truth in that. We need challenge to grow, and without growth there is death. Which side would you rather be on? Think about it...

The First Real Snow!

I made the treacherous commute to my office this morning...with the aid of my snow blower of course. I have to admit that I like the snow. I've always thought if it is going to be cold and dreary out a nice blanket of snow makes things look better. On the other hand, last year was a bit extreme. So this can the the first and last real snow storm of the winter and we should all be fairly happy.

I almost spit my coffee out this morning as I was watching the morning news. The topic of course was the shooting in Arizona and they were going to begin the debate concerning if the current political climate had anything to do with the shooting. I guess they were looking at the possibility of a link between the vitriol that comes out of Washington, and political commentators, giving this person a motive. My first reaction was you've got to be kidding me! But as I sit here and let my wonderer wonder a little bit maybe it is a healthy debate to have.

Before I go any further I place the blame for the shooting squarely on the shooter. I am sure the causes are complex and many, but there is no excuse for what he did and he chose to pull the trigger. What I'm interested in looking at is the power of words. People are lazy...we don't want to take the time to read both sides of a story and come up with our own opinion. We'd much rather listen to someone who we believe reflects our view points and let them do the thinking for us. What ends up happening is we just hear one distorted side of the story and that colors the way we think, talk and probably even act a little bit. Why think for ourselves when we can have someone else tell us what to believe. Do I need to explain the danger in that? Not only does this happen in the political world but it happens at church too. People would much rather be told what they should believe then be asked to think for themselves.

I can be guilty of this too. It takes a little work and energy to think for myself, and it takes a little bit of stretching the brain to read the other side of an argument with an open mind. The real scary part is you might find yourself agreeing with the other side or at least parts of it. The real shame is I believe 80% of people are fairly opening minded. The trouble is the voices we hear, political or religious, are from the 20% on the extreme ends of the spectrum. These voices then presume to speak for the rest of us, and the commentary isn't helpful at all because it comes from an extreme point of view with no regard for the other side. I guess what I'm saying, besides venting a little, is that we need to be mindful of what we say and where our info is coming from. We need to take the time to think for ourselves and decide what we truly believe. And, maybe most importantly, we need to take into account what our words and beliefs will do to others. Our Savior did remind us that we are to be caretakers of the world...and that means everyone in it...even those we're convinced are wrong.

Happy New Year!

It is 4 days into the new year...how many resolutions have been broken already? I don't believe in resolutions. Mainly because I don't stick to them, and I don't like them because they contribute to a sense of failure when you don't live up to them. Most of us are too hard on ourselves already, and adding pressure to keep some promise made half-heartily after too much bubbly isn't helpful either!

On a serious note I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I was walking through a Target store on the journey home Sunday and they had already started putting up Valentine's Day decorations on some of the end caps! I guess consumerism doesn't slow down for anything. I was doing my best to reflect on Christmas this year and I'm amazed at how fast it is all over and we're back into the "normal" groove of life. It is almost as if Christmas is something to be endured, when in fact Christmas should be life changing shouldn't it. We are celebrating the birth of our savior after all. Disclaimer alert: I'm not railing against Santa Clause and gift giving, just some thoughts about keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year round.

This year our son Isaac really started to get into this whole Santa Claus thing. In fact he was mad at Santa because he didn't bring him the DSi that he wanted. I know, I know we're terrible parents for not giving him everything he wants. As Isaac was more and more into Santa I found myself wanting more and more to make sure he knew why Christmas even existed. We sang happy birthday to Jesus and had some cupcakes, which is a cute way to remind us of the event. But, more importantly we made sure to let him know, as much as a four year old can understand, how lucky he, we, all of us, are to be able to share gifts and family. By doing my best to stress this to Isaac I was reminded myself how lucky we are. As we were buying the gifts for the Christmas family the church adopted I was completely humbled and thankful for the blessings that abound.

My thought is that as the "normalcy" of life plods along we'll all do a better job of remembering the gifts and blessings that we have. My prayer is that we will remember we are all God's children, loved by God, and called by God to share that good news. If we can do that then the limits of what the Spirit will do in our lives is endless.