Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts

Monday

10 Little Things I am Thankful for at Home - Coffee & Conversation




The weather may be something we tend to talk about a lot in Northern Ireland because it can be so changeable but we shouldn't let that have any sway on our feelings.

We should be happy and contented inside or outside, fair weather or wet weather.  

Those types of things may have some bearing on our actions but should not have any control of our feelings.  

We can be determined to find things to enjoy no matter where we are or how much we can manage to do.

So today I'm thinking about some of the small things indoors that make me happy, that put a smile on my face.






10 little Things that I am thankful for  -  not big things  -  but little things that should not always go unnoticed or unappreciated.


Maybe these will remind you to be thankful for the little things too.




1.  These coasters sit on my desk and always bring a smile to my face no matter what I'm working at.






You see I practically always have a mug of coffee with me as I work at the computer and because my desk is white wood I need to be careful not to stain it hence the need for a coaster.





2.  I love to hear Fred enjoying himself on the keyboard or guitar making up some tunes or playing some songs we know, it is very relaxing for both of us.


Pity you don't get the sounds as well.




Fred playing another of his musical "toys" a Cajon.




Thankful for his musical abilities and the joy they bring him.

Thankful for the input these abilities have been in our worship life both at home and in church



3.  These negatives are just an example of the many we have of old photos which may not be in great condition these days.
But we can still enjoy and be thankful for the memories they bring back.





Having old photos and especially the negatives of them today mean that we can get them transferred to digital and store with the more recent ones too.

Now I just have to get enough time to actually do that!




4. This little plaque that is very old ( from sometime before we got married ) still makes me smile. 





Still thanking God for giving him to me.




5.  This picture reminds me of the ordinary everyday laugh out loud fun I can have with family.





Thankful for all the silly, giggling moments with Fred, our kids, grandkids and friends.




6.  If I didn't include my coffee break with one of my various mugs many people would be surprised.

Nowadays most of my coffee breaks are enjoyed along with Fred as he is home more often since he took early retirement. Only thing is he's a tea drinker!

Oh the happiness of anticipating a lovely coffee in this mug I got on our first trip to South Korea and sometimes I even get to enjoy some Korean Coffee when my daughter can bring it over for me from her friend's Cafe.



Oh you thought I was going to forget the mug!



and maybe
A little treat too









7.  Every month I get a notification about this pic I have on Pinterest from a previous post on this blog.  They say it is one of my best performing pins.

  

Really?  

It was such a simple pic to make and is rather a personal pic so why would it be of any interest to others?

But it does make me happy to have this little reminder of the good marriage I am blessed with.







8.  This little gif from last Christmas is always a little reminder for me to be thankful for my family and the happiness and faith we all share.





Thankful for a loving marriage (not taking it for granted)
Thankful for our grown-up children (and spouses) and their love for us and each other
Thankful for our grandchildren and the love shared between them and all of the rest of us.

So I am thankful to be a wife, mother, mother-in-law and grandmother.



9.  A lot of things I do or think about seem to feature my husband in some way. Of course with us living on our own and him having taken early retirement then I suppose a lot of the things that make me happy will involve him.


There are little things like:

 He is not normally one for going to the shop just because I want something but he is the one that mostly goes to the shop because I hate supermarkets and prefer to do online grocery shopping.

 He is wide awake once he gets up but he knows that I am the opposite and like to enjoy my coffee quietly before I'm ready for the decisions of the day.

etc. etc. etc.

So 

It is great that we can be happy together after all these years even in the little things and we are thankful that we have a 43 year marriage. 









10.  How lovely to look out from our home to this view of the sunset over our town.







Here is something to remind me of the assurance we have that the sun will rise and set each new day.


Thankful that we know our God is in control of everything.
















What & Where is True Happiness & Joy? - Coffee & Conversation






Do we need something complicated or elaborate to make us happy?

Do we need something beautiful or intricate to make us happy?

Do we need something expensive or outlandish to make us happy?









No I believe that mostly the simplest of things make us happy.



A Silly Picture


This picture that I saw on Facebook one day really made me laugh out loud.


Photo Credit - Holiday Spirit




 A Funny Word that makes us Laugh



 A Familiar Taste


So happy that there was one Mr Frostie ice pop left in the box because I don't like the Mrs Frosties






A Sense of Satisfaction over something we Achieve.  


The highest score I have ever got for one turn in a game of Wordfeud.






When we try and plan things to be happy events or special moments or fantastic pictures, they can be spoilt by the simplest of things as well.  But some of the best events, moments or pictures are the ones we haven't thought out or planned or hoped for but have just happened when we are not thinking about them.


I am definitely a person who likes to plan things but I have to learn to sometimes just let things happen and enjoy the moments that God gives me and not just the ones I plan.



Often I have been struck by the different things that I would chose as happy moments. 

It is great to think that the majority of them do not involve spending money so who can possible claim that money brings happiness.  

Often things that bring happiness are things I have made or achieved or took part in with others and memories.

These things were perhaps not perfect and not the most beautiful but I learnt new skills and I am always ready to take some time to enjoy my memories.






There is the contact with friends and family that make me happy.   


We were happy to have all our family together for summer holidays for the previous 3 years


A hug that made me very happy when I had a headache





Then there was that ordinary day when I was very happy to be able to embed this
 Gospel Presentation Video
 by Glen Scrivener
 in my blog sidebar.


This was not something that made me laugh or was cute & made me smile.

This was not something that involved my memories.

This was not something that I had accomplished.



No.

This was something that I knew would help to bring true happiness and in fact true joy to others.






What could make us happier than to know that others are happy too!

What can make others happy?

Where does our true happiness come from?


                   Not money and not perfection anyway!


Our true happiness is really deeper than happiness it is pure deep joy that comes from the Lord 






What and Where is True Happiness and Joy?




Can you say that you are truly happy?

Do you have this joy that nothing can take away from you?

I hope you take the time to watch the short 321 video
and share it with others too.








You may enjoy reading some more Coffee & Conversation Posts from this Blog


You may be interested in reading more encouragement around Happiness  at

 





Thursday

What Happened at the Gate? Day 5 - The Book of Acts



In the previous post we finished chapter 2 and today we are looking at the first 10 verses of Chapter 3.


This is one of the most well-known parts of the book of Acts especially by children as we often cover this story in Sunday School and other kids events and use the song


"Silver and Gold have I None"

to help the children remember the event.







I love how learning a song that is based on Bible verses can help us to learn God's Word and this is a great example.





Each verse in this section has something important to highlight.

1.   Going Together to Pray
2.   A Beautiful Gate
3.   A Simple Request
4.   An Attention Getter
5.   Expectancy
6.   The Truth is Spoken
7.   Needs are Met
8.   Joyful Praise
9.   A Miraculous Work of God
10. Wonder and Amazement


Even though I know this passage so well I still can get the happiness of this event and the joy of this event.

Happiness and joy are not the same and here I think we have a good example of the difference.

The people were glad for the man but the man himself was full of joy.

I'm sure he was happy too but only he could know the real joy because this miracle had happened to him, and changed his life forever.







It is such a good example of the change in our lives when we accept God's salvation: it brings us happiness and real joy and changes our lives forever because of an encounter with Jesus.


Happiness and joy are not the same and here I think we have a good example of the difference.


There are lots of things we can learn about salvation here but also lots of things to learn about how Christians can witness to others.  Just look at those verses again and see it from those two points of view and be encouraged.






You can find all the other posts in this series at









Wednesday

Happiness, Happiness. - A Dose of Encouragement



If you are in the UK and can remember back quite a few years you may be able to remember a song called "Happiness"


It was recorded in the 60s but was extremely well-known for many years.







I was in the bathroom running a bath last Thursday afternoon when suddenly I started to sing this old song.  Now I was headed out later in the day for a doctor's appointment and if anyone had asked me if I was happy I probably would have thought I wasn't really so why was I singing this song?



Well here is the reason




In a post last year I talked about 5 Little Touches I had used to make the bathroom of this house mine as opposed to just being the bathroom I ended up with from the previous owners of the house.

One of these things was my bath pillow which I got new because my old one was too well worn.

I had noticed this one in a bargain shop called B&M  which I love to browse round any time I am near it.  I knew it would match the decor and it just made me smile to look at it.  It is also extremely soft.

So obviously as I was preparing my bath I had subconsciously noticed the bath pillow and the chorus of that song just popped into my head.






I had some time to think about those words and how I felt while singing them as I soaked in my nice, long, hot bubble bath.


I have been blessed with a lot of happiness as well as joy.


I am often happy about little things that may seem silly to others I just love to have a laugh at some of the silly things that made me happy.

And I am very thankful to God for being like that and finding happiness in little things.

But it was the first sentence that I really started to dwell on as I lay in that bath.

Yes I could say that God had gifted me with things to make me happy or even say He had gifted me with Happiness although it is not the greatest thing that He has given me.


But what about the fact that happiness is something we can help to give to others.


We can give various things to others but do we give them something to make them happy?

What about those little letters and cards we talked about 2 weeks ago in the post Tears over a Little Letter?

Of course making someone happy does not always involve giving them an actual physical object.

We can bring happiness into someone's life in many other ways.

Maybe we can help them out with a task that they can't do for themselves or just give them some support like in I Had Plans a post from last year.



I have another object in my bathroom that reminds me of something else.





What about helping someone to come to know the saving grace of the Lord Jesus so that they can know His forgiveness of their sin and become a child of God?


Share with them the knowledge of the greatest gift God has for them.





Yes, Happiness is not the greatest gift God has given me because here is the greatest gift in this verse, the gift of Salvation.  

The words of that song may not be completely true but they did nudge me into thinking about happiness, and I do thank God that I am blessed with happiness and also the deep joy of knowing Him.







So let's be encouraged to go and share some happiness with others.


Perhaps then some day you will be able to share the Bible verse with them as well.