First Day of School

Today my two grandsons went back to school. One went into first grade and the other went into third. One had a wonderful time and the other hardly ever has a wonderful time. They remind me of what Abraham Lincoln said.

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

That is so true. So what if you decided you were going to be happy, what resources would you turn to, to give yourself a push. For instance, when I diet, I read diet cookbooks, diet pages on the web, diet books and articles in magazines. Where to go for happy helps?

Amazon, of course.

Oh my! There are 178,159 listings for books with happy in the title. But some of these are great! And you can even chose how many steps you want to go through to be happy.

Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out by Marci Shimoff,
How We Choose to Be Happy: The 9 Choices of Extremely Happy People--Their Secrets, Their Stories by Rick Foster
100 Simple Secrets of Happy People, The: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It by David Niven
You Can Be Happy No Matter What: Five Principles for Keeping Life in Perspective by Ph.D. Richard Carlson

Oh, my! Look at this one: 14,000 Things to be Happy About.: Revised and Updated edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer

I'm not actually recommending any of these books. The only one I've read is 100 Simple Secrets, and yes, it was good.

But really it comes down to taking advice from Scripture (Imagine that!):
"Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye grieved; for the joy of Jehovah is your strength."
Nehemiah 8:9-11
So is this something that just bubbles out. Well, sometimes, but not always. Here's another verse that sheds more light:
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. "
Philippians 4:10-12
Aha! just like you have to learn to play an instrument to make beautiful music, you need to learn to tap your talent for a laugh and refine it through practice. And there are those who know how to play an instrument but choose to make a raucous noise. There are jokes that are funny but not pleasing to the Lord.
So let us be a sweet, sweet fragrance to our God and express our joy.
And when you hit that first day of school, first day at a new job, any first day, make up your mind to be happy. You can do it. God says you can.

It's okay to start small

This is Curtis. He married my daughter three months ago. This is the living room of their cozy cottage. And this is their first Christmas tree.

I love this picture for many reasons, but I posted it simply to say it's okay to start small. Most of us are in a hurry to achieve our goals. We want big success (in school, relationships, sports or hobbies or even in our faith) and we want it now. But there are reasons why God didn't create us as full-grown, knowledgeable, talented adults. We have to grow and learn. Develop our skills. Study. Practice.

In His wisdom, God even chose for Jesus to start small. He came as an infant. He had to learn to walk and talk and feed Himself. He had to go to school and learn to read. He had to practice carpentry under Joseph's watchful eye. He even had to spend time in prayer to refresh His spirit.

If starting small was okay for Jesus, it's okay for us, too.

Maybe someday Curtis and Grace will have a big, fancy Christmas tree in a lavishly furnished home. But meanwhile, they're making the most of small beginnings. They're happy. And that, my friends, is huge.