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.

Strategies For Stress

The word stress is usually used in a negative way, as though all stress was to be avoided.  However, stress can be positive and healthy.  Think of a stringed instrument such as a guitar or piano.  If the strings don’t have enough tension or stress, they don’t work properly.  Too much tension or stress causes the strings to break or play off pitch.  Just the right amount of tension or stress will produce beautiful music. 

Most of us need a certain amount of stress.  Without any deadlines or pressure, most of us wouldn’t get much if anything done.  Positive stress can motivate us to accomplish things.  On the other hand, too much stress will cause physical or mental health problems.  So the key is to find THE RIGHT AMOUNT of stress for yourself.  Here are some strategies for handling stress:

1. A relationship with God will help you to deal with the stress in your life.  Jesus can help you deal with anger, resentment, bitterness, guilt, and a life with Jesus will motivate you in healthy, positive ways.  Psalm 62: 1-2 says, “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.  Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”   Focus on building a personal relationship with Jesus through prayer and the Bible.   

2. Release your frustration and negative emotions to God in prayer.  Psalm 62:8 instructs us,  “Pour out your hearts to God, for God is our refuge.”  Every life has disappointments, frustrations, grief, irritations, etc.  Release your negative feelings to God in prayer. Also, release your negative feelings to a trusted friend or counselor or pastor.

3. At some point, everyone of us is mistreated or offended.  We’re all tempted to become bitter.  When we’re hurt, the temptation is to build a wall around yourself, so that you won’t get hurt again.  One antidote to bitterness is FORGIVENESS.  Even if the other person doesn’t deserve your forgiveness, forgiving him/her will improve your emotional health.  Another antidote to bitterness is GRATITUDE.  Make a list of 5-10 blessings in your life, everyday for 10-15 days; it can change how you perceive your life.  Resist becoming bitter.

4. Accept help from others.  We all want to become independent when we’re young, but some of us struggle to become interdependent as we mature.  Why do you believe you have to handle everything in your life on your own?  God provided Aaron for Moses, and Jesus had 12 disciples.  God created us to be in community, in relationships with others.  So if someone offers to help you, accept their help.  Who can you ask to help you?  If you have too much stress, take initiative to share part of it with another person(s).

Choose 1-2 of these strategies, to help you manage your stress.  I will offer more strategies next week.  May God’s Spirit strengthen you and guide you.

Thanksgiving Prayers & Poems

"Thank You, Lord, for Loving Me"
Once, I was lost in sin.
I was blind and couldn't see.
Friends tried to talk to me.
But, I couldn't hear.

So, I wandered on in sin and misery.
Then, a still small voice spoke
and said, "Come, follow me."

Thank you, Lord, for loving me
and setting me free.
Thank you, Lord, for your precious blood;
how it ran down that old tree.

Thank you, Lord, for each drop;
for it covered all my sins.
Thank you, Lord, for loving me.
Yes, thanks for loving me.

Now, I'm following Jesus.
Now, I can see.
His Holy Spirit speaks
And, now, I can hear.

I no longer wander in sin,
But I walk in His light.
Oh, won't you come and follow Him,
and learn of His love?
© 1980 by Amanda Jean Griffith

T is for the trust the pilgrims had so many years ago

H is for the harvest the settlers learnt to grow

A is for America, the land in which we live

N is for nature and beauty which she gives

K is for kindness, gentle words, thoughtful deeds

S is for smiles, the sunshine everyone needs

G is for gratitude ... our blessings big and small

 I  is for ideas, letting wisdom grow tall

V is for voices, singing, laughing, always caring

 I  is for Indians, who taught them about sharing

N is for neighbors, across the street, over the sea

G is for giving of myself to make a better me

by Judith.A. Lindberg

Thanksgiving Prayer

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day
We bow our hearts to You and pray.
We give You thanks for all You've done
Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.
For beauty in nature, Your glory we see
For joy and health, friends and family,
For daily provision, Your mercy and care
These are the blessings You graciously share.
So today we offer this response of praise
With a promise to follow You all of our days.

--Mary Fairchild

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Lord, so often times, as any other day
When we sit down to our meal and pray

We hurry along and make fast the blessing
Thanks, amen. Now please pass the dressing

We're slaves to the olfactory overload
We must rush our prayer before the food gets cold

But Lord, I'd like to take a few minute more
To really give thanks to what I'm thankful for

For my family, my health, a nice soft bed
My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head

I'm thankful right now to be surrounded by those
Whose lives touch me more than they'll ever possibly know

Thankful Lord, that You've blessed me beyond measure
Thankful that in my heart lives life's greatest treasure

That You, dear Jesus, reside in that place
And I'm ever so grateful for Your unending grace

So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You've provided
And bless each and every person invited

Amen!

--Scott Wesemann

Thanks for reading my blogs, & I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

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.