One of the most appalling comments on our present way of life is that half of all the beds in our hospitals are reserved for patients with nervous and mental troubles, patients who have collapsed under the crushing burden of accumulated yesterdays and fearful tomorrows. Yet a vast majority of those people would be walking the streets today, leading happy, useful lives, if they had only heeded the words of Jesus: Have no anxiety about the morrow; or the words of Sir William Osler; Live in day-tight compartments.
– Dale Carnegie
All posts by SandyM
Happiness Research
More than 60 scientists have been given millions of dollars in funding to help humanity find happiness. A popular movement among psychologists called “positive psychology” is an attempt to elevate and focus its research on peoples’ strengths rather than only trying to deal with human weaknesses and problems.
Although the U.S. standard of living has increased since W.W. II, there is no increase in the number of people who regard themselves as happy. A U.S. News & World Report on the subject says, “Once income provides basic needs, it doesn’t correlate to happiness. Nor does intelligence, prestige, or sunny weather. People grow used to new climates, higher salaries, and better cars.”
Many years and millions of dollars studying and treating depression have succeeded in reducing most people’s levels of sadness, but they are not necessarily happier. Researchers have found that self-esteem, spirituality, family, and good marriages and friendships are key to a happy life. So are hope, meaning, and discovering and pursuing the right goals. Even helping others to be happy can “jump-start a process that will lead to stronger relationships, renewed hope, and a general upward spiraling of happiness.” Just seeing others do a good deed results in that “heartwarming” feeling and influences people to do the same.
Gratitude is another key ingredient to a happy life. People who made a daily and/or frequent practice of being thankful were “not only more joyful; they were healthier, less stressed, more optimistic, and more likely to help others.”
Hope and spirituality work together to provide an important basis to a happy life. “Hope fosters optimism, and faith is, by definition, hope for the future. And the churchgoing form of faith can be a built-in social support network. This is not to say that atheists can’t be happy, but it helps explain why so many do find happiness in faith, and why researchers continue to find connections between faith, optimism, and physical health.”
Holly J. Morris, “Happiness Explained,” U.S. News & World Report (9-03-01), pp. 46-54; submitted by Jerry De Luca, Montreal West, Quebec
Nuns In A Fire
Several Nuns were in their second floor convent one night when a fire broke out. The Nuns took their habits off and tied them together to make a rope to get out of the building via the window.
After they were safely on the ground and out of the building, a news reporter came over to one of the Nuns and said to her, “Weren’t you afraid that the habits could have ripped or broke since they are old?
The Nun Replied, “No, don’t you know old habits are hard to break”.
Tougher As They Get Older
An elderly teacher, with a pupil by his side, took a walk through a forest. Suddenly he stopped and pointed to four plants close at hand. The first was just beginning to peep above the ground, the second had rooted itself pretty well into the earth, the third was a small shrub, while the fourth was a full-sized tree. The tutor said to his young companion, ‘Pull up the first plant.’ The boy did so eagerly, using only his fingers.
‘Now pull up the second.’ The youth obeyed but found the task more difficult.
‘Do the same with the third,’ he urged. The boy had to use all his strength to uproot it.
‘Now,’ said the instructor, ‘try your hand with the fourth.’ The pupil put his arms around the trunk of the tall tree and couldn’t even shake its leaves. ‘This, my son, is just what happens with our bad habits. When they are young, we can remove them readily; but when they are old, it’s hard to uproot them, though we pray and struggle ever so sincerely.'”
From the Heidelberg Herald.
Sayings
Habits are first cobwebs, then cables. – Spanish proverb
Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it every day, and at last we cannot break it.
Horace Mann
Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.
Mark Twain
The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.
Sources Unknown
What Are You Carrying In Your Sacks?
There is an old legend about three men and their sacks. Each man had two sacks, one tied in front of his neck and the other tied on his back. When the first man was asked what was in his sacks, he said, “In the sack on my back are all the good things friends and family have done. That way they’re hidden from view. In the front sack are all the bad things that have happened to me. Every now and then I stop, open the front sack, take the things out, examine them, and think about them.” Because he stopped so much to concentrate on all the bad stuff, he really didn’t make much progress in life.
The second man was asked about his sacks. He replied, “In the front sack are all the good things I’ve done. I like to see them, so quite often I take them out to show them off to people. The sack in the back? I keep all my mistakes in there and carry them all the time. Sure they’re heavy. They slow me down, but you know, for some reason I can’t put them down.”
When the third man was asked about his sacks, he answered, “The sack in front is great. There I keep all the positive thoughts I have about people, all the blessings I’ve experienced, all the great things other people have done for me. The weight isn’t a problem. The sack is like sails of a ship. It keeps me going forward.
“The sack on my back is empty. There’s nothing in it. I cut a big hole in its bottom. In there I put all the bad things that I can think about myself or hear about others. They go in one end and out the other, so I’m not carrying around any extra weight at all.”
What are you carrying in your sacks?
H. Norman Wright, The Perfect Catch (Bethany House, 2000)
We Didn’t Do It!
A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were excessively mischievous. The two were always getting into trouble and their parents could be assured that if any mischief occurred in their town, their two young sons were in some way involved.
The parents were at their wits’ end as to what to do about their sons’ behavior. The mother had heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children in the past, so she asked her husband if he thought they should send the boys to speak with the clergyman. The husband said, “We might as well. We need to do something before I really lose my temper!”
The clergyman agreed to speak with the boys, but asked to see them individually. The 8-year-old went to meet with him first. The clergyman sat the boy down and asked him sternly, “Where is God?” The boy made no response, so the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, “Where is God?” Again the boy made no attempt to answer, so the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s face, “WHERE IS GOD?”
At that the boy bolted from the room and ran directly home, slamming himself in his closet. His older brother followed him into the closet and said, “What happened?”
The younger brother replied, “We are in BIG trouble this time. God is missing and they think we did it!”
G-U-I-dance
When I meditated on the word “guidance,” I kept seeing “dance” at the end of the word.
I remember reading that doing God’s will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn’t flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It’s as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word guidance. When I saw “G”, I thought of God, followedby “u” and “i”. God, “u” and “i” dance”. God, you, and I dance. This statement is what guidance means to me.
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. I became willing to let God lead.
From The Sermon Fodder Email List
Don’t Ask Unless …
“Don’t ask the Lord to guide your footsteps unless you are willing to move your feet.”
If You Won’t … Don’t …
If you wouldn’t write it and sign it, don’t say it.
Quoted from net153.com email list
Triple Filter Test
In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem.
One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”
“Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied.
“Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”
“Triple filter?”
“That’s right,” Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”
“No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it and…”
“All right,” said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?”
“No, on the contrary…”
“So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?”
“No, not really.”
“Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
Quoted from CyberSalt.org email list
Treat Your Neighbours With love
When I was growing up, my father use to say, “No matter who they are or what they do, treat your neighbors with love.”
I didn’t fully understand what he meant until one Sunday on our way to church, when we spotted someone shoveling corn from our crib into a battered old truck. Dad stopped the car and got out. The man looked up and froze.
I knew this man. Everybody in town suspected him of stealing their gas! No one had ever confronted him for fear of his violent temper. Now we’d caught him red-handed. What was Dad going to do?
“If that’s not enough,” my father said evenly, “come back tomorrow. Take as much as you need. Remember, you’re my neighbor.”
The man dropped his shovel and hung his head.
He never stole from us or anyone else in town again, as far as I know. Perhaps he learned how to be a good neighbor that day. I know I did.
Louis Lehman, Albany, Oregon. Quoted from: home.att.net/~scorh3/GoodNeighbor.html
When I Was Your Age …
A young man who was an avid golfer found a few hours to spare one afternoon and hustled to the golf course. He figured if he hurried and played very fast, he could get in 9 holes before he had to head home.
Just as he was about to tee off an old gentleman shuffled onto the tee and asked if he could accompany the young man, as he was golfing alone.
Not being able to say no, he allowed the old gent to join him.
To his surprise the old man played fairly quickly. He didn’t hit the ball far but plodded along consistently and didn’t waste much time.
They reached the ninth fairway, and the young man found himself with a tough shot. There was a large pine tree right in front of his ball, directly between the ball and the green.
After several minutes of debating how to hit the shot, the old man finally said, “You know, when I was your age I’d hit the ball right over that tree.”
With that challenge placed before him, the youngster swung hard and hit the ball right smack into the top of the tree trunk, where it thudded back on the ground not a foot from where it had originally been.
The old man offered one more comment, “Of course, when I was your age that pine tree was only 3 feet tall.”
Boomerang
Gods Love Is Like A Boomerang …
You Can Throw It Away But It Always Comes Back.
I think Im throwing sticks.
What Does He See?
What
does he see
in me
that
even though he knows
my sinfullness,
he says,
“You are precious
to my heart”?
Wellsprings p227 – Anthony de Meool
He Is Your King But He Is My Father
A young boy burst into the great throne chambers of a medieval king. The boy was skipping and singing as children do. He was completely oblivious to the regal sobriety of his surroundings. Suddenly, he was intercepted by an armored solider. “Have you no respect, lad?” hissed the soldier. “Don’t you know that the man on the throne is your king?”
The boy wriggled out of the soldier’s grasp. Dancing away, he laughed and said, “He is your king but he is my father!” And the boy bounced up to the throne and leaped into the king’s lap.
Quoted from craigpages3.100megsfree5.com/sermons/janfebmar92.html
The Scars Of Life
Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.
He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.
His father working in the yard saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.
Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a u-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. An incredible tug-of-war between the two began. The alligator was much stronger than the father but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.
Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack. On his arms were deep scratches where his father’s fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he so loved.
The newspaper reporter interviewing the boy after the trauma asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn’t let go.”
You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He’s been there holding on to you.
The Scripture teaches that God loves you…You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way but sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril – and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That’s when the tug-of-war begins – and if you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not and will not ever let you go.
Quoted from CCECstorylist: www.injesus.com/index.php
While God Gives Me Strength
One of God’s faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the Savior. Despite his troubles, he said, “While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me.” In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, “I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God.”
Quoted from The Sermon Fodder email list
Proof
Does God Exist?
A man went to a barber shop to have his hair and his beard cut as always. He started to have a good conversation with the barber who attended him. They talked about so many things and various subjects.
Suddenly, they touched the subject of God. The barber said: “Look man, I don’t believe that God exists as you say so.”
“Why do you say that?” – asked the client. Well, it’s so easy, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God does not exist. Oh, tell me, if God existed, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be no suffering nor pain. I can’t think of a God who permits all of these things.”
The client stopped for a moment thinking but he didn’t want to respond so as to prevent an argument. The barber finished his job and the client went out of the shop. Just after he left the barber shop he saw a man in the street with a long hair and beard (it seems that it had been a long time since he had his cut and he looked so untidy).
Then the client again entered the barber shop and he said to the barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.”
“How come they don’t exist?”-asked the barber. “Well I am here and I am a barber.” “No!” – the client exclaimed. “They don’t exist because if they did there would be no people with long hair and beard like that man who walks in the street.”
“Ah, barbers do exist, what happens is that people do not come to me.” “Exactly!”- affirmed the client. “That’s the point. God does exist, what happens is people don’t go to Him and do not look for Him that’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”
From: Sarah Longino Quoted from Sermon Fodder email list