Then sings my soul!

I had a really great day!  I went to church and sang today for the first time since my sinus surgery.  I am in no way the most fabulous singer, but I love to sing anyway, especially hymns.  With apologies to our outstanding preacher, I have to say that the song service is often the most moving part of worship for me.

At our church, like at many, most of the music we sing is contemporary, but we have at least one traditional hymn each service.  You can call me old-fashioned, it wouldn't be the first time, but I love the traditional hymns.  I enjoy lots of contemporary Christian artists and their music.  From Newsboys and Sonicflood to Twyla Paris and Amy Grant, there are many groups and singers who have contributed wonderful songs to the modern "hymnal", but for pure inspiration, I turn back to the hymns that have been with us for generations.

Think about it.  Is there anything more powerful than the voices of a congregation swelling together to sing,

Then sings my soul,
My Savior, God to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
(Link to complete lyrics)

accompanied by only a piano, or even better, an organ?  How can your soul not sing in that moment?  The old hymns don't rely on complicated chord progressions.  The melodies are typically simple and accessible to everyone, accomplished vocalist or not.  It is the words that carry the task of inspiration.

Some of my favorites are the hymns that remind us of the glories of God's unending grace -  Old Rugged Cross, Amazing Grace, Blessed Assurance, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, and Love Lifted Me - to name a few.  Hymns like these provide us with the opportunity to sing our praises directly to God.  They are prayers set to music and, even though we are joining our voices with many others, we are communicating our love and devotion straight to Him.

The youth in churches today may not appreciate the classic hymns when they are first exposed to them, but I believe that these touches of tradition should remain in our church services to represent the simplicity and purity of our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Dear Lord,  Thank you for giving us music as a way to express to You our joy, thankfulness, commitment and adoration!  May we always remember that it is the feelings we express through the words we sing, not how well we can sing them, that matters to You.  We will worship You with gladness and come before You with joyful songs!  In Jesus's name, Amen

Psalm 100

1  Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

2  Worship the Lord with gladness;

    come before him with joyful songs.

3  Know that the Lord is God.

    It is he who made us, and we are his;

    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4  Enter his gates with thanksgiving

    and his courts with praise;

    give thanks to him and praise his name.

5  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

---

Happiness is a new baby!

I had to write a quick post to share a development that made me so happy today!  Deanna, my fabulous friend and secretary, had a beautiful baby girl today.  Her name is Alexandra Faith, which I think is a simply lovely name. Her picture is below.  Isn't she precious?  The icing on the cake is that Alexandra and I share today (7/7) as our birthday!  Happy birthday to Alexandra and to me!  :O)

Make your hands fly!

In the week since I had sinus surgery, my period of forced inactivity has reminded me that I am not good at not being busy.  Like many people, I am happier when I am accomplishing something.  Of course, there is a point of diminishing returns where the to-do list becomes overwhelming and my stress level shoots up, and I do like a "chill out on the couch day" every once in a while, but on the whole I like to be busy.

When I was a child, I was fortunate enough to spend a good bit of time visiting at my Grandmother and Grandad’s house in Ashland, KY.  My grandmother was one of the most industrious people I have ever known.  From morning to night, she was busy – cleaning the house, working in the yard, and best of all, cooking fabulous food.  If Grandmother saw me or one of the other ten grandkids just sitting around, she would say “get up and make your hands fly”.  Sometimes she would tell us to get up and “gin around”, which I think must have something to do with the cotton gin because it meant get busy and be productive, but my favorite was always “make your hands fly” because of the images it brought to mind. 

My grandmother was a very wise woman who came from a long line of wise women.  I think much of their wisdom came from their longevity.  After all, my grandmother lived to be 93 and one of my great-aunts (her sister) to be 99, another of their sisters turned 100 on New Year's Day, and their mother lived to 103.  So I feel particularly blessed to benefit from their collective wisdom.   

Sometimes when I have a lot I need to do, I hear my grandmother’s voice saying “get up and make your hands fly.”  As a child and especially as a teenager, I didn’t always appreciate hearing these words from Grandmother. But as I look back, I think that she was trying to teach us that tasks don’t get done on their own and reaching your goals requires action. I don’t know that my grandmother would have ever used those words, but that is certainly one of the life lessons that I learned from her – get moving, do what needs to be done, and don’t complain about it. I never heard Grandmother complain about the work that she did. She just knew what had to be done and did it. And the funny thing is that doing what needs to be done not only gets a task completed, it also leads to a strong sense of satisfaction and increases the happiness in your everyday life.

The Bible has many verses that address industriousness (or, in Grandmother's terms, making your hands fly), but my favorite is 

^"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,"  Colossians 3:23

This verse reminds us that everything we do can be for God's glory if we fully commit ourselves to it.  What other motivation could we need to get up and make our hands fly?

Realistic optimism

I am a self-defined "realistic optimist".  My realistic side knows that difficult times will happen, but my optimistic voice responds that things will be alright in the end.  I might not end up back where I started or anywhere I ever thought I'd be, but I will be OK.  This philosophy has developed through my faith and through my upbringing.

Psalm 27:5 says,

For in the day of trouble
   he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
   and set me high upon a rock.

This verse doesn't say that nothing bad will ever happen in our lives, but it does say that when we do have trouble, God will be with us.  This promise is foundational to my way of seeing life and, ultimately, to my happiness.
 

One of the basic truths found in wisdom literature throughout history is that “life is difficult”.  Little did I know as I grew up that my father possessed the wisdom of a great philosopher.  After all, his response to the many challenges we faced throughout life was consistent - “T'ain’t nothing easy.”  When the car broke down - T’ain’t nothing easy.”  When it took longer than expected to get somewhere - "T’ain’t nothing easy.”  And when the tree fell on Grandmother's garage - "I tell you girl, t’ain’t nothing easy. 

My father is an educated man, with a master’s degree and over 40 years as a high school teacher to prove it, but when life gets tough he turns to an age-old adage to find truth..."T’ain’t nothing easy."

I would like to encourage you to consider the idea that “T’ain’t nothing easy” or if you prefer “Life is difficult.”  On its face, it sounds pessimistic, like the speaker is complaining that all is lost.  But in truth, "T’ain’t nothing easy" is simply a realistic look at life that can see you through the hard times and give you the ability to be optimistic about the outcome.

Understanding that there will always be challenges in life prepares us to address those challenges when they arise.  It also helps us to value the other side of the challenge when we get there.  When my father says "T’ain't nothing easy" (or when I say it, for that matter), we utter those words knowing that we will get through whatever difficulty we are facing.  It is as if acknowledging that we are being challenged gives rise to a certainty that we can meet that challenge.  "T’ain’t nothing easy" sounds trite, but in my life, it has come to be a battle cry that spurs me to put my head down and persevere.

  

My father has another adage that supports my philosophy.  You see "T'ain't nothing easy" is typically followed by "This too shall pass", a clear statement that difficulties are temporary.  Together these proverbs encourage acceptance of the challenges we all will face in life, but also provide comfort with the assurance that things will get better.  In other words...realistic optimism.

Happiness in difficult times

When I considered names for my blog, I felt that "blessed with happiness" best captured the way I feel.  The by-line under the title says, "God has given us the gift of happiness. Our task is to recognize it, nourish it, share it and thank Him for it."  I truly believe this.  To me God blessed us all as his children with the capacity to feel happiness and it is what he wants for us.  The trick is knowing happiness when we see it and being willing to invest in it and help it grow.  

In my mind, being happy doesn't mean being constantly brimming with joy or being a "Pollyanna" who doesn't recognize life's challenges.  I have no expectations that I will be ecstatically happy about everything that happens in my life, but I do have the desire to see the blessings in every situation and to use them to make things better for me and for those around me.  The path to happiness begins with acceptance of your circumstances, then looking for the hidden possibilities for happiness, leaning on those happy moments and thanking God for them.  I have found that this process makes anything easier to bear.

I'll give you an example.  Yesterday, I had surgery on my sinuses.  I am recovering, but there is pain involved and I am pretty tired.  Definitely not a pleasant experience, but there have been moments that increased my happiness even during this time.  My nurse, Lynne, was just as sweet and caring as she could be.  Before the surgery, she soothed my nerves and made me more comfortable.  As I was waking up from the anesthesia, she was right there holding my hand and talking softly to me.  Until the time I left, she took care of my needs.  She was definitely a blessing to me.  

My surgery has also given me a renewed appreciation for my husband.  He has taken such good care of me since the surgery: getting me food, helping me up, bringing me things I need, and just generally anticipating my every want.  I have also received good wishes and love from my parents, a phone call from my preacher, and flowers from my co-workers.  All of these moments have made my recovery so much easier and me so much happier.

Thank you, God, for bringing me safely through my surgery and for giving me these wonderful people to care for me.  Thank you for your gift of happiness and for helping me to find it!

Earth laughs in flowers

If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.  ~Terri Guillemets 

Did you know that there are almost 300,000 known species of blooming plants on the Earth?  I see this as direct evidence of God's hand in creation because I don't understand how that many types could have come to exist randomly. (I suppose the over 1,000,000 types of insects would have made my point even more strongly, but insects don't make me nearly as happy as flowers!)

I love everything about flowers: the vast variety of colors, the interesting shapes, the softness of the petals.  Pansies, peonies, petunias...I love them all, but my absolute favorites are wildflowers, those little surprises that pop up all over in spring and summer.  They beautifully illustrate what Emmerson meant when he said, "Earth laughs in flowers."

My wonderful sister, Michelle, took these lovely pictures of wildflowers.  I hope you enjoy them!

What's luck got to do with it?

I don't believe in luck.  That doesn't mean that I won't say, "I'm keeping my fingers crossed" or make wishes (which fall into the same category as luck in my book) when I blow out birthday candles.  Those things are whimsical traditions, but I don't buy that they will change anything about my life.

So, what does believing in luck have to do with happiness?  To me, a lot.  Luck is transient and ethereal.  You can't count on luck.  People think they can influence luck with charms and rituals, but by definition it operates by chance.  Relying on luck for the good things in life must be extremely stressful.  And what if you have bad luck instead of good luck?  If one can come to you at any time, so could the other.  Hard to be happy with that kind of uncertainty.

A conversation I had with a co-worker recently is what got me thinking about luck.  The day before, I had slipped on a rock and strained a ligament in my foot.  I had it checked out and had to wear a small walking boot for a couple of days to give it some support.  No big deal.  When I told my co-worker, she shook her head and said with a pitying tone, "I can't believe what bad luck you have."  I was dumbfounded by her observation and asked her what she meant.  She proceeded to point out a couple of surgeries I had in the past few years: one on my foot to remove a neuroma and two on my hand to remove cysts from my knuckles.  I told her, "That's not luck, that's life."  Our bodies have problems sometimes and I thank God that mine have been really very minor and able to be addressed and resolved. 

Rather than believing in luck, I choose to rely on God's grace and I have faith that He will see me through.  Seeing yourself as "lucky" may or may not make you happy, but having the peace that comes with acceptance of life's challenges and the knowledge that God is always on your side certainly will. So, I will thank God for my blessings and ask for His help when things are hard.  That will bring me much more happiness than throwing salt over my shoulder or carrying a rabbit's foot ever could. 

My first blog post ever!

I have been thinking about starting a blog for quite a while.  I even started to do the layout for one last year, but I didn't get very far.  A couple of things got in my way.  First, my confidence wavered.  I began to think, "Who would want to read my blog posts?  I'm not an authority on happiness."  Then, I succumbed to "perfection paralysis".  I got stuck in a cycle of tweaking and fixing the formatting because it all had to be just right before I posted anything.

So, what's different now?  Well, for one thing, I told someone about my project.  Last time, I never mentioned my blog to a soul.  Mostly because I didn't want anyone to know if it didn't work out.  But then the other night, our preacher came by to talk to my husband and me.  Somehow in the the course of our conversation, I mentioned the blog that I almost started.  By the time the evening was over, I had recommitted myself to the idea.

Another change is a shift in my perspective.  I realized that this blog doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to be real.  I also decided that, while I truly hope that people want to read my blog and find some inspiration from what I write, it serves a purpose even if it is only a place for me to scribble my thoughts about happiness in all of its forms and inspirations.  I truly believe that 95% of happiness is based upon our attitudes toward the events in our lives.  I know that spending time reflecting on the joyful moments can only enhance my happiness.  I hope you want to come along for the ride.  I think it will be lots of fun!