RELATED ARTICLE
Suffer Well
As a father of four, and a “happy faced” grandfather of sixteen, the emoji I seek is the emoji of a “Happy Faced Heart” that transcends worry, fear, pressure and the general disappointments that often surround family living.
While giving credit where credit is due, TIME Magazine did a most interesting issue once entitled “The Science of Happiness” that quoted every psychologist except the Bible with lots of good ideas that originated from the Bible! (Oh, when will they ever learn?)
“If I only woke up today with what I thanked God for yesterday, what would I have?”
The four most noteworthy ideas for building a “happy faced heart” were the following:
Thankful Hearts Are Happy hearts
Corrie Ten Boom is my favorite! While living in a German P.O.W. death camp for coming to the rescue of persecuted Jewish families during World War II, Corrie was “thankful for the fleas” in her barracks because the fleas kept the guards out. That gave her the freedom to read and share from her Bible that she kept hidden under her pillow! A mom (or dad!) who pauses throughout the day to give thanks for the blessings as well as “the fleas” (often hidden blessings) will deliver a smile on her heart that nothing can diminish. You can post this quote on your refrigerator; “If I only woke up today with what I thanked God for yesterday, what would I have?”
Showing The Love
A caring heart is a happy heart. In my house, my two boys and I used to gently push my wife out of the kitchen to do the dishes after meals. It was good training for my “pups” and increases our “smile wrinkles” on our hearts. I got my love for doing dishes from my mom. She had a tongue-in-cheek sign over her sink in my childhood home that read, “The best way for a mom to get some time alone is to stand in front of the sink doing the dishes.” 🙂 Attached is a list of 100 ways to say “I love you” without using words that I pulled from a parenting book I published many years ago. Enjoy the smile that grows on your heart as you try a few this year!
Spirituality Matters!
(DUH!) as “The Science of Happiness” surveyed “happy faced people” across America, they found that people that cared most deeply for God were the happiest people of all! Second to that were people who cared about others (like caregivers, first responders, E.M.T.’s, etc.) No wonder Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to “Love God – love others.” Amazing!
Meditation Brings A Smile To The Heart!
While various forms of meditation around the world differ, one thing is crystal clear. Psalm 1 nails it when it proclaims so boldly, “How blessed is the man (or woman) who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” If you haven’t ever memorized Psalm 139 with your kids and meditated on it when you lay your head down on your pillow after a long hard day pouring your heart out for your family, you are in for a “personal therapy” experience like none other! The very best thing my kids and I enjoyed together were our “tuck-in bed” times at night memorizing chapters like this one in the Bible. As we say in the Ozarks, “Ain’t nut’n better than this.”
“How blessed is the man (or woman) who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord”
With my hopes and prayers for a smiley face on your heart and mine, I’m thankful to get to share our lives as we seek to work together for happy children.
Joe White
KEYWORDS: Behavior, Spiritual Identity, Purity, Relationships, Family,