Finding Your "Happy Place"

Can I really be happy?  If so, how do I get to the place where it’s not my struggles that determine who I am?  How, oh how, do I find my happy place?

These are real questions and, if they live in your heart, you are not alone.  I think everyone strives to be happy.

God wants you happy!

Knowing it’s God’s plan for your life is the first step! Ecclesiastes 3:12 makes this clear. “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.”

You mean, God is not the one causing my sad times?  Absolutely not! The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).

Now, does that mean you will never have trials? All you have to do is look around to know there will be hardships.  In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).

The question remains, how can I experience difficulties and yet remain happy? 

You see, your “happy place” is not found in situations on earth, but in your Heavenly position in Christ!  When you learn to live aware of him and the position He gave, you come to know your place by Him at the right hand of the throne of God.  Ephesians chapter 1 tells us so!  Guess what?  There is no sadness in that place!

Jesus was happy on His way to the cross, talking about the joy before Him!  Mary sang a song of joy, knowing all her friends and family would see her pregnant before marriage.  That sure wouldn’t be easy!  Paul and Silas were in the inner prison, a horrible place, singing praises to God. 

You mean their happy wasn’t determined by their experiences?  Positively not!

I can remember spending our first Christmas away from family.  We were in Northern India and there were no signs of Christmas to be found.  No snow falling, no trees lit and, trust me, no big holiday meal; how was I beyond happy?  I was following His plan for my life, while living in His presence. 

You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Psalm 16:11).

Your "happy place" is found with the heart.  It’s not a location on earth, but a realization of who is with you and a knowing that He is taking care of you in the realm of the Spirit. 

Happy is learning Acts 17:28.  For in him we live and move and have our being.

It’s simple, really.  You find your “happy place” in Him.



:O),

Judi Jo

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Puppy Love

~ Who loves me more... my dog or my God?!

I know what you’re thinking, this is a bit far fetched (pun intented:).  Just stay with me for a minute, I have a good point;)  I am the proud owner of the most wonderful, majestic, sweet, 70lb., Goldendoodle puppy named Samson.  I love my dog and my dog loves me.  As a matter of fact, every time I walk in the door he goes crazy!  If Samson could talk he would probably be saying something like this... “I missed you’ ‘I love you so much’ ‘You’re my favorite person ever’ ‘I’m so glad you’re home’ ‘Thank you for letting me be your dog’ ‘You rock’ ‘You are the most amazing person ever’ ‘Can I have a hug’ ‘Will you be my Valentine’.  Ok, ok, so I might be putting words in his mouth, but this is how he acts when he sees me!  I started thinking about how we so easily receive the love from our dog and question at times the love of our God.  We ask questions like these... ‘Why is this happening to me’ ‘Where is God’ ‘Why doesn’t anything good happen to me’ ‘Why does God hate me’ ‘Where is He when I need Him the most’.  How could my dog love me more than my God?  My God is faithful through the ages.  He is as close as the mention of His name.  He is a friend that sticks closer than brother.  

Zephaniah 3:17 says,

‘The Lord your God is with you. He is like a powerful soldier.He will save you. 

He will show how much he loves you and how happy he is with you. 

He will laugh and be happy about you, like people at a party.’

Exodus 34:14 says,

‘He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with you.’

You are His beloved.  The apple of His eye.  His daughter.  His prize possession.  He's excited when you open your eyes in the morning.  He loves when you succeed.  He rejoices when you get blessed.  He dances over you.  He is pleased with you and thinks you are the most beautiful girl in the world.

No more questioning God’s love for you saying...  ‘He loves me, He loves me not.  He loves me, He loves me not.’  He loves you!  He loves you more than you could ever dream!  He is crazy about you!  Receive the amazing, life changing love of God!!  You are His Valentine!!  XOXO

Song 6:3 says, 

‘I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine.’

Xoxoxoxoxoxo.... Amy

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Let's Learn From the Sunflower

As I was praying for certain groups of people recently, this phrase came up in my spirit: "Learn from the Sunflower."

I pondered this for awhile and then went and looked up more information on this unique flower known for rolling the sun. But to my surprise, the sunflower doesn't actually follow the sun. Instead, it sets it's leaves to receive the sun in the east and then follows it to full mass overhead, only to stay there until the sun sets, preparing to position itself again for the rising of the sun in the east the next morning. In other words, the sunflower never fully looks to the west.

Lesson learned! The sunflower is ever ready for the sun. It knows where it comes from and where it will return.

The wise men came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him" (Matthew 2:1-2). And Jesus foretold how to find Him again: "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matthew 24:27).

In both cases, Jesus wasn't found in the setting of the sun, but in it's place of rising.

Sadly, in our world today, it seems the sunflower is more prepared for the return of Jesus than most people. Isaiah said, "I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other" (Isaiah 45:5-6).

From the rising of the sun to its setting… I believe God intended for this clockwork to give us a vivid picture of how to live prepared.

When we rise in the morning, our thoughts should be on the Lord. As the day continues, our thoughts should never wander far from Him. And each night, we should position ourselves again to rise with the "Son" in our hearts and on our minds.

But another interesting fact about the sunflower is its uniformity. A field of sunflowers is amazing to see. Every single flower is parallel to the other flowers around it. Because the sun is their central focus, they are all unified together in their position.

I think this is another lesson. The Bible says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity" (Psalm 133:1). In other words, it pleases God when His children are unified in purpose and poise.

And the world will stop to see it! Just like a field of uniformed sunflowers catches our eye, so does a group of believers united together.

But there's another type of sunflowers that are simply wild. They are typically found on the side of highways or in fields of corn or wheat, where they are labeled as "weeds." 

Interestingly, these wild sunflowers still look for the sun, but not together.

One is facing up, while another is facing down, while a few others are off in la-la-land just blowing in the wind. Does this sound like some people you know?

In learning from the sunflower by comparing our lives to their natural instincts, we have to be careful we're not emulating the wild sunflowers who have no uniformity and are lost in purpose. The wild sunflower "looks" like the real deal, but watch its pattern of living and you'll soon see the difference.

The same can be true for Christians--which is why we should remember the words of Paul: "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). If we all strive for this goal, the world would be amazed.

So yes, we should learn from the sunflower. And I pray it will never be more ready than we are for the return of God's SON.

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'Above All Else'...Means It's Important!

Here we are in the month of February - completely adorned with red, pink, and hearts in every size and style.

The heart has become the standard icon marking the love that is shared on Valentine's Day. Ironically, the word 'heart' is what we use to describe the essence of a person. There are some whose heart is pristine and beautiful, like that of a Valentine's Day heart, overflowing with grace and love. But, there are others whose hearts have suffered so much damage, that you may not even recognize it as a heart. Regardless of where you think the condition of your heart is on that spectrum, from pristine to unrecognizable, God is in the restoration business. And He restores to better than before!

Restoration to better than before - that's great news for us. But as with all things with God, we have a part to play. Our part is described in Proverbs 4. Let's first look at vs. 20-22 - "My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body."

The writer (likely King Solomon) tells us what he's about to say is important. In fact, it's not only important, it is life and health to your whole body. Not just your attitude, your whole body!

What is this instruction that preserves us so well? We find it in verse 23:

 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." [emphasis mine]

Do you see that? Guard Your Heart! Don't just guard it, above ALL else, guard it. Seems to me that he is saying if you want life and health to your whole body, this is the most important thing to do - guard your heart. And immediately following, he confirms to us again why - it is the wellspring of life. Not a wellspring, but the wellspring.

American Heritage defines a well as 'a source to be drawn upon; to surge from some inner source.' Your heart is your inner source - all of your life will draw upon this source. Prov. 4:23 tells us that above all else, we need to guard our inner source.

Many times when we hear the word well, we think of a water supply, most likely a water supply that we drink from. What happens if that well becomes contaminated? If we consume it in our bodies, it will most likely make us sick physically. It will impact our whole being.

Verse 23 tells us that our heart is like this well - it is our life supply. If it becomes contaminated, our whole being is affected.

So how does our heart become contaminated? Daily life offers many opportunities for contamination. It comes in the form of unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, worry, jealousy, offense, pride, and gossip to name a few. If any of these take root in our heart, it impacts our whole being.

The difference between water contamination and heart contamination is that we have the ability to rid our hearts of contamination. None of those contaminants can get into our heart without our permission. And we are the only ones that can escort them out. It is all about choice. Is it easy? In most cases, NO! But the Holy Spirit will give you the strength to overcome. As you do, your well spring, your inner source, will gradually move up the spectrum to resemble that pristine Valentine's Day heart.

We must be diligent in casting off those thoughts that keep the contaminants present. Refuse to think on things that lead to any of the heart contaminants. Remember the choice you made to guard your heart and do not let bitterness, resentment, offense, etc. dwell within. Don't let your thought life drift to memories that stir up bitterness, resentment, etc. Controlling your thought life is the primary mechanism to guarding your heart. Think about what you think about!

Friends, don't wait another day. Ask God to help you - He is faithful to help you heal, channel your thoughts, and guard your heart!

On Guard,

Dawn

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