Share Your Good News & You Will Be Better

An article entitled Share Your Good News & You Will Be Better by Emma Seppala, describes psychologists' research on the joys of sharing joy.  Of course we share our joys, right? We enjoy being joyful, right?

In fact, the article explains that while most of us have 3 times as many positive experiences as negative experiences, the abundance of joyful experiences can serve to diminish them.  We take joyfulness for granted and instead focus our attention on negative experiences.

Seppala recommends making daily lists of things you feel grateful for.  She says being intentional about noticing those people, events & things that make you feel joyful, improves your psychological & physical health & sense of well-being.  Gratitude & joyfulness "improves our ability to connect with others, boosts our tendencies to want to help others, makes us optimistic & happier, decreases envy & materialism, & even improves health for people with physical ailments," she writes.

My family & friends make me feel grateful; they know all my bad points & still love me.  I also enjoy reading & learning about family history; I just started a class on DNA, by our local genealogical society.  I like working out at the gym, which gives me more energy, strength, endurance, & more deep sleep.  I'm grateful for our warm home on cold days.  I am grateful for God who is so faithful to me.

I am blessed to share my good news with you.  Now, start your own list of people, events, & things that make you feel joyful.  Then share your good news with someone else.  It will warm your heart on a cold day.  Sharing your joy will give you more joy.

From Bitterness to Praise

Lamentations 3:22-23 is a familiar Scripture – “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”  In my experience, it’s common and easy to sing “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

The thing is, Lamentations was written at a HORRIBLE time in Israel’s history.  Jeremiah wrote it after Jerusalem was destroyed by invading Babylonians.  Imagine the Oklahoma City bombing or 9-11 attacks on NYC.  Jerusalem’s homes and businesses were destroyed.  Their gold and valuables were taken by Babylonian soldiers.  Add this factor: The foreign invading army took many of Jerusalem’s residents as prisoners back to Babylon, to work as slaves.  Many Israelites felt deserted by God and bitter. 

If you read the rest of Lamentations 3, you’ll get a sense of Israel’s grief bitterness.  It’s amazing that Jeremiah was able to praise God for his love and faithfulness in the midst of such terrible destruction.  Would you be able praise God after your business and home were looted and burned, and some of your loved ones taken away as prisoners? 

How often do the people around us disappoint us?  How many people have made promises to you, that were not kept?  Almost all of us have been disappointed by someone we loved.  But God is completely faithful.  God is 100% trustworthy.   Yet there are times when some of us have felt neglected or abandoned by God.  Maybe an unexpected loss has left you feeling hopeless.  Do you still believe that you can count on God?  We live in a world of great uncertainty and huge changes.  So many promises and guarantees have been broken.  It’s no wonder that some become skeptical, bitter or hard-hearted. 

Lamentations 3:24-26 says,”The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.  The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.”  Can you wait for the Lord?   Can you wait for the One who is loving and faithful?  If you haven’t been trusting the Lord lately, remember, the Lord is GOOD to those whose HOPE is in Him, those who seek Him.  

In a disappointing, uncertain, changing world, let us trust the Lord of heaven and earth.

Gratitude for God's Blessings.

Plans are being made for Thanksgiving, which means it’s time to look back and give thanks for God’s faithful blessings.  Each year, I consider who or what I’m grateful for.

I’m grateful for God’s faithfulness.  When we sin and rebel against God, our sin separates us from God.  But God comes looking for us and calls to us; this shows that God wants a relationship with you and me.   God is faithful to his promises and to his people.  When you or I stray from God, He comes looking for us.  So let’s thank God for his faithfulness.

I’m grateful for my family.  My wife Jane and I celebrated our 30^th anniversary this year.  Our son is blessed with a good job and friends in Houston.  Our daughter Megan is serving God as a volunteer for elders in Chicago.  Our daughter Becca and her boyfriend Josh are now engaged.  God has blessed us.

I’m thankful for our church family.  We've gone through challenges and celebrations together.  We worship God faithfully, care for each other, serve our communities, love children, and help others.

This year has brought challenges and blessings.  Some have faced health struggles, endured financial struggles or lost loved ones.  Some are blessed with a new baby or anniversary or wedding.  Some have made new friends or rediscovered old friends.  I’d like to say thanks for our readers who serve our communities and strive to make it a better place to live.  I appreciate those who love and serve God faithfully.

On this thanksgiving, please join me in giving gratitude to God for his blessings.