ThreeDs

Happiness IS …

Scripture Verses

Acts 5:41; James 1:2-3; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Thess 1:6
John 14:27; Matt 6:25, 27 & 34; Colossians 3:15-16.

Remember those days when Mom used to cross stitch some of those Precious Moments thingy that goes like “Love is….a candy bar in hand” or something like that? Or Happiness is …. something something.

Too cutesy for me.

Lots of quotes come from what people think. We had a quick activity where all of us imagined we were doing a cross stitch with a pen and paper and have a caption “Happiness Is….” And whatever we thought happiness was. I can’t remember all of ‘em but here are a few I recall. So without their permission, here are some of Threeds ‘happiness is’ (might be inaccurate):

1) A cloudy day (presumably for him to sleep in) – Winst

2) Being alone with your thoughts (And he drew an empty boat in an ocean) – Jem

3) Eating meatballs in an alley (?) – Alvin

4) Hanging out with friends on the beach – Allan

5) Holding a new born child – Eileen

6) A long walk with a putter – Greg Norman

Greg Norman is a famous golfer by the way, and he’s not from our cell. It’s just a quote.

For me, I’m not a great Precious Moments fan, but I’m a big big Charlie Brown fan. In one of the plays called You’re a good man Charlie Brown, the song Happiness is..goes:

HAPPINESS IS FINDING A PENCIL.
PIZZA WITH SAUSAGE
TELLING THE TIME.
HAPPINESS IS LEARNING TO WHISTLE.
TYING YOUR SHOE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

HAPPINESS IS PLAYING THE DRUM IN YOUR OWN SCHOOL BAND.
AND HAPPINESS IS WALKING HAND IN HAND.
HAPPINESS IS TWO KINDS OF ICE CREAM.
KNOWING A SECRET.
CLIMBING A TREE.
HAPPINESS IS FIVE DIFFERENT CRAYONS.
CATCHING A FIREFLY.
SETTING HIM FREE.

HAPPINESS IS BEING ALONE EVERY NOW AND THEN.
AND HAPPINESS IS COMING HOME AGAIN.
HAPPINESS IS MORNING AND EVENING,
DAY TIME AND NIGHT TIME TOO.
FOR HAPPINESS IS ANYONE AND ANYTHING AT ALL
THAT’S LOVED BY YOU.

HAPPINESS IS HAVING A SISTER.
SHARING A SANDWICH.
GETTING ALONG.
HAPPINESS IS SINGING TOGETHER WHEN DAY IS THROUGH,
AND HAPPINESS IS THOSE WHO SING WITH YOU.
HAPPINESS IS MORNING AND EVENING,
DAYTIME AND NIGHTTIME TOO.
FOR HAPPINESS IS ANYONE AND ANYTHING AT ALL
THAT’S LOVED BY YOU.

I’ve attached the mp3 here for your consumption!! Happiness.mp3

Some other Happiness is quotes:

· Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.

· Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.

· Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.

· Happiness is a Swedish sunset — it is there for all, but most of us look the other way and lose it.

· Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

· Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

· Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

· Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

· Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling

· Happiness is never stopping to think if you are.

· Happiness is a form of courage.

· Happiness is a direction, not a place.

· Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.

· Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response.

· Happiness is your dentist telling you it won’t hurt and then having him catch his hand in the drill.

· Happiness is a warm puppy

The world has so much definition of what Joy is. But what does the bible say about joy?

Of course there’s the definition of joy in Psalms:

Psalms 5:11, 9:2, 16:11, 28:7, 30:11, 31:7, 32:11, 33:3, 119:111 etc

There’s a whole lot in Psalms. We all know most of it was written by King David. He wrote it during times of rejoicing when the temple was built and the ark brought back, when he walked in His light. But also, a part of it was written during his darkest hours: his sin with Bathsheba, his consequent murder of Uriah, his time in the wilderness when Absalom rebelled, his sense of hopelessness.

Does joy mean you will be happy all the time, full of laughter, perpetually grinning, and exuberantly excited?

No. The joy that the Bible speaks of is much more profound than that. The early church understood that joy would be a reality in their lives no matter what happened to them. When the leaders of the church were beaten, they rejoiced because “they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:4)

James encouraged those who were suffering to endure persecution by writing, “Consider it pure joy … whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3). And the writer to the Hebrews inspired the suffering by saying, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2). Of these early believers Bishop Stephen Neill observed, “It was because they were a joyful people that the early Christians were able to conquer the world.”

Joy is much more significant than a happy countenance. True joy, which comes only from the Holy Spirit, is possible even when life is rough, when we ar going through great disappointment, loss or grief. The word Paul uses for joy is chara, which most often in the New Testament has a spiritual source, such as “the joy given by the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess 1:6) The Old Testament often uses phrases like “the joy of the Lord” (New 8:10).

It is a joy whose foundation is God. This joy comes from a relationship with Jesus, the one who is able to give us an eternal perspective no matter what our circumstances.

A prime example of a person who did this was Job, who lost everything yet still refused to curse God but prayed for restoration of joy.

Psalms 30:5 is the basis for one of my favourite songs: For his anger endureth but a moment, in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning!

Can we lose this joy, even as believers? Here’s an excerpt I found:

A. Our “JOY” can be lost by our own sinful values and lack of spiritual walk.
1. Sin of Selfishness. Thinking me, me, me and not looking at others through the eyes of
Jesus with love and compassion.
2. Sinful Spiritual Pride can make us loose our joy. Instead of helping people with an
attitude of humbleness, one can become conceited and arrogant making the other
person feel unimportant and hurt.
3. Sin of Anger and having a fighting spirit can take away joy from one’s heart and life.
4. Sin of Judging and being critical of others takes away joy and peace of mind. Fault
finding can create a feeling of dissatisfaction in one’s life. It will destroy joy!

B. Our “JOY” can be lost by not making an effort to spiritually grow.
1. By not reading and studying the Bible will take our joy away.
2. By not taking everything to God in prayer can take our joy away.
3. By not looking at others through the loving eyes of Jesus with love and compassion.
4. By not following and trusting the Lord to help get one through life. In other words
leaning upon one’s own power and understanding instead of God’s.

We can have real joy in knowing that He loves us and is coming back for us. No matter what problems that we have throughout our day, we can have real joy in the comfort of His love. What is the foundation that are you letting yourself be built up with? Jesus or the trials and problems of this world? Are you putting your whole body and soul (mind, will and emotions) into serving the Lord? Is true Spiritual ” JOY”, a part of your everyday life? If it is not, it can be.

What happens when a forest mighty trees burns down? It starts the regrowth process doesn’t it? Grief and sadness is only for a season when you put your life into proper perspective. If we allow it, the seeds of tears can grow into new spiritual growth. Our tragedies of life can become a learning experience if we patiently wait upon the Lord to help us fly again. Psalms 126:5-6 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Think of it this way, “If you start your day praising the Lord and end it praising the Lord than you had a good day. There may have been problems and heartache. You may have even cried but if you end the day always remembering to praise the Lord, than you had a good day.

Prayer

Joy and Peace are anomalies in today’s news:

Can there really be peace and joy in this world?

Break into groups for prayer for these groups, and discuss what happiness means to you.

Middle East Crisis Israel, supported by the US, is confronting Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria. This at a time when tensions are already high as Tehran is being reported to the United Nations (UN) Security Council over its nuclear programme. Pray for bombing and missile attacks to stop Pray for the children and civilians that death toll will be minimized and displacement of their homes Pray against the intended retaliation strike by Hezbollah Pray for talks of cease fire by Friday	North Korea Wants to test long range nuclear weapons. Pray for a resolution with US and no escalation of conflict. Flooding crisis in North Korea by torrential rains Reports are that thousands are dead or missing. A million people have been displaced, and tens of thousands of hectares of farmland have been eroded or flooded in the provinces of North Hwanghae (the North’s breadbasket), South Pyeongan, Gangwon, and South Hamgyeong. The country was already in dire straights because of its food crisis, and now the situation is only going to get worse. Currently N.K refuses Flood aid. Pray that flood aid will be accepted.
Somalia: “The country is on the brink of civil war.” The conflict could spread to Ethiopia and Eritrea — which have an unresolved border dispute. Ethiopian troops entered Somailia to support the transitional government Pray against civil war between islamist militia moving into Ethiopia	India: The situation is seen to have deteriorated markedly. The co-ordinated bombings on seven Mumbai commuter trains last month killed more than 400 people and have raised tensions with Pakistan. No major jihadi groups have claimed responsibility 183 people died, pray for the wounded 700, and peace in India and safety.
Sudan: Implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May is at a standstill, partly because of infighting among rebel groups. The Sudanese military is reported to be supporting attacks by the Minnawi faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army. Pray for peace in Darfur region; safety of aid workers, many aid workers killed	Sri Lanka: A major risk of escalation in the conflict between government forces and the Tamil Tigers after last month’s clashes and extra-judicial killings. Pray against the war by Tamil Tigers and government and civilians fleeing. 30,000 civilians trapped in the battle zone

Keep praying! And be joyful in all things! (Even when that crazy driver cuts you off and you want to give him the…..blessing…)

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 8th, 2006 at 10:17 am and is filed under Cell Notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.