Oh man, it was great to be back in the flow of the fun that is #fmfparty over on Twitter!
This is Kate's 2yr Anniversary of hosting Five Minute Friday over at her blog and so don't forget to head on over to her place, too!
This is Kate's 2yr Anniversary of hosting Five Minute Friday over at her blog and so don't forget to head on over to her place, too!
This is Five Minute Friday (- a five minute timed free write) and our One Word Prompt for the day is:HAPPY
{GO}
Because, of course!
I already wrote about Happiness this week, but honestly --it's not like any of us couldn't use a little MORE Happy, right?
It's not like there is TOO MUCH Happy going around right about now!
Even for me... one who has a bent for being joyful and positive, this season of heavy and dark can weigh me down and pull me to corners of weariness and shadows.
I already wrote about Happiness this week, but honestly --it's not like any of us couldn't use a little MORE Happy, right?
It's not like there is TOO MUCH Happy going around right about now!
Even for me... one who has a bent for being joyful and positive, this season of heavy and dark can weigh me down and pull me to corners of weariness and shadows.
I wrote about it earlier this week --how God changed my bent and revealed my identity and assured me over (and over again) that my tendancy for Happy is not shallow... it is a gift.
Oh, but it can feel shallow sometimes because this world is pulsing with pain and scrambling for answers but often times the answer of let's try looking for the gold doesn't feel very helpful or useful at all.
I've had only a few short seasons of doubt and depression in my life... but it can sneak up on me when I am unaware and it can make me feel heavy... tired and a bit lost without direction or purpose.
The enemy is sneaky like that...
But he is also a liar!
I have come to find that when the whispers of the enemy are trying to lull me to hibernation or woo me in to his web of lies and half-truths, this is when I must decree and declare the opposite. This is when I rise up and speak out loud my identity and the Word and press in to the Lord and ask Him to sing over me songs of freedom and hope and Truth once again.
It's not that I don't know the truth,
...it's just that sometimes I forget.
But the truth is that I am like Paul... and the Joy He pours out is not shallow.
Through His Word, the way He loves me, and through sisters and brothers, He has taught me to look for lovely and to count gifts and to take the happiness dare and in all of that looking and counting and daring... always, I find Him!
And in finding Him... I find me.
And in finding me, He enables me to look beyond myself and to pour out... to be contagious and to encourage those around me towards finding their own Happy!
And, (because --of course!) this in turn makes me happy, too!
Oh, but it can feel shallow sometimes because this world is pulsing with pain and scrambling for answers but often times the answer of let's try looking for the gold doesn't feel very helpful or useful at all.
I've had only a few short seasons of doubt and depression in my life... but it can sneak up on me when I am unaware and it can make me feel heavy... tired and a bit lost without direction or purpose.
The enemy is sneaky like that...
But he is also a liar!
I have come to find that when the whispers of the enemy are trying to lull me to hibernation or woo me in to his web of lies and half-truths, this is when I must decree and declare the opposite. This is when I rise up and speak out loud my identity and the Word and press in to the Lord and ask Him to sing over me songs of freedom and hope and Truth once again.
It's not that I don't know the truth,
...it's just that sometimes I forget.
But the truth is that I am like Paul... and the Joy He pours out is not shallow.
"I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." ~Phil 4:12 The Message
Through His Word, the way He loves me, and through sisters and brothers, He has taught me to look for lovely and to count gifts and to take the happiness dare and in all of that looking and counting and daring... always, I find Him!
And in finding Him... I find me.
And in finding me, He enables me to look beyond myself and to pour out... to be contagious and to encourage those around me towards finding their own Happy!
And, (because --of course!) this in turn makes me happy, too!
{STOP}
I had sort of thought of making a quirky, fun list of things and people and places that make me happy... but we just follow His lead here, don't we? So I am praying that whoever needed to hear this message finds his or her way here!
For more Happy, don't forget to head on over HERE to read my Book Review post for The Happiness Dare by Jennifer Dukes Lee and enter to win your own copy.
For more Happy, don't forget to head on over HERE to read my Book Review post for The Happiness Dare by Jennifer Dukes Lee and enter to win your own copy.
Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today. Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click HERE to read what others have to say about: "HAPPY"
I'm also linking up with the lovely writer community linked below:
#FreshMarketFriday... how adorable is that?
P.S. I now have an ebook available on Amazon that is formatted to be a month long Devotional Read entitled 31 Days of Resting in God ...it's easier/harder than you think! You can purchase it by clicking here or grabbing it from the side bar to the right.
My hope and prayer is that this book will do just that! (Remind us how!)
My hope and prayer is that this book will do just that! (Remind us how!)
Oh being more naturally wired for happiness is such a gift in this world! Do you happen to know what type you are on the Enneagram? I love the freedom and enlightenment that comes with knowing why I do the things I do, and the strengths and weaknesses (that are often two sides of the same coin!) Anyway, thanks for writing, and for sharing happiness :)
ReplyDeleteEmma, it really is a gift -- and one that I can easily take for granted if I am not careful! I am an ISFJ, but to be honest - that's about all I retained from the whole Enneagram deal! I have all the info but never got around to reading through it! ;) Thanks so much for stopping by!
DeleteLoved your post. You mentioned that choosing to be happy is not shallow but a gift. Well said. God wants us to be that way. Wonderfully written!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Alice! I know for me --sometimes when I am surrounded by people who are full of emotion and tend to pull toward the darker side of the spectrum, Happy can feel shallow and too Pollyanna-ish. There is a time to sit in the darkness and not say a word... because our lights always shine and sometimes they appear to shine brighter when surrounded in shadows. However I believe His heart is always to call us up higher, more out into the Light! Thanks so much for stopping by!
DeleteYou can definitely never have too much happy! I love how you point out that happiness is not shallow and that as we look for happy, we find God. I have loved being part of the Happiness Dare launch team too. Visiting from FMF #20
ReplyDeleteOh me too, Carly! Jennifer knows how to gather an amazing tribe! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Delete"And in finding Him, I find me!" Yep! Great post sweet friend! I'm over in the #5 spot this week.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it the way it always is? But often we can fall for the lie that our pursuit of Him will cause us to lose ourselves completely! When in actuality He created only one you... He sort of wants you to live out loud in who He made you to be! Thanks for popping on over, friend!
DeleteLove your take on this, Karrilee!
ReplyDeleteIt can feel shallow, and also somewhat disloyal to those who are hurting, to be happy. But I've never known being miserable with someone else making them feel better, or improving their situation.
#1 at FMF this week.
https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2016/08/your-dying-spouse-190-mustard-seed-of.html
Oh man Andrew... I LOVE the point you make! This is oh so true and has been my experience as well! Sometimes sitting and not exuding Happy is helpful, but being miserable with them doesn't draw us up! So good to see you here, friend!
DeleteHappy Happy Happy. I'm older than most of the bloggers participating and the songs that surface in my head are crazy old. Like, If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, you got to make an ugly woman your wife. Now isn't that just the stupidest song ever? But I bet you smiled, or laughed and it sounded happy!!!! xoxoxoxo
ReplyDeleteLOL! You are so funny... I know it is partly my own deal - but the internet is awesome in tearing down walls between generations --not that there are generations between you and I, though! I did smile... what in the world? I suppose whoever wrote that song previously dated a gorgeous woman who most likely cheated on him, and this was his brilliant (?) solution! hehe
DeleteLove you so! Happy Mail tomorrow! I can't wait! xoxo
Karrilee, so glad to meet you at #fmfparty last night! So glad I stopped by. I love how you say: "It's not that I don't know the truth,...it's just that sometimes I forget." Especially in times when bleak circumstances try to lure us into a bleak outlook. When my happy is Him, nothing can take that away. Thank you for sharing! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteShauna, Thanks so much for stopping by! Amen... when our Happy is found in Him - it is never lacking or less than... it is always expanding and overflowing!
DeleteThe world needs happy folks! I tend to be a bit "Pollyanna-ish" ... but it helps the many Eeyore's out there. ;)
ReplyDeleteLOL! So true, my friend! So very true! ;)
DeleteAmen, sister Christian! ;) Amen! #YouMayBeTooYoungForThatJoke #NightRanger #YourMotoring (which means nothing... they just made up that word for the song!) #NowLookWhosLoopy
ReplyDeleteSo good, friend! "And in finding Him, I find me." Amen and amen, a thousand times over. That is where our true happiness begins. Love this! Blessings to you, Karrilee!
ReplyDeleteHey there Stranger! It's so good to see you! Yes - True Happiness is always rooted in Him!
Delete"And in finding Him... I find me". Girl, yes!!! I didn't think about it until now, but when Adam and Eve hid from God in the Garden, it was really because they were hiding from themselves! Thank you for provoking my thought today.
ReplyDeleteRight? There is so much to uncover and dig around in in Genesis and our sin makes US hide...and makes US hard to find... but He is always calling out for us, searching for us as if He doesn't know where we are! Gracious in giving us the choice to be found! So glad we both chose wisely and stepping into the Light! Thanks so much for stopping by, Tondra!
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