What is Happiness?

With Spring here I've noticed a sort of languid ho-hum in the air.  Have you?  It's as though the world just sat back and gave a big sigh.  People are telling me they're sleeping more, and they're complaining of laziness.  Never mind the volcanoes erupting in Iceland and things like pollution and even pollen--  Maybe we're all a little bit tired.  Or maybe it's what the songs call Spring Fever.  Winter and worry has worn us out.  But I believe this is a time to contend for the power of the Word of God in our lives and in the lives of our families and friends.  I believe this is a time to contend for our cities and our neighborhoods. (Always for our nation.)  Yes, okay, "a little sleep, a little folding of the hands," but then up and attum, I say. Time to start anew, re-energize, gear up and create something astonishing and wonderful around us.  Prayer changes everything.  Don't give up, don't fall asleep in the Light--  Strength creates more strength--  beauty moe beauty-- love more love.

Running Toward Something Big

Ever get the feeling you're on the way somewhere in your life, but you don't know where?  As a practicing psychotherapist I talked with people every day about the direction of their lives and the conditions that feed into the  loss of focus and purposes.  I don't believe we need a personal trauma to feel a sense of futility.  In today's world depression is as common as apple pie-- in fact, moreso.  More people suffer depression now than in the last 20 years.  A contributing factor to depression is change and fear of the unknown.  The world itself is radically changing.  I'm finding in my own life that many things (places, people, situations) I've counted on as reliable and steadfast are now either removed or radically changed.  How to handle the changes and losses we face?  As for me, I challenge myself DAILY to enter a place of inner stillness and breathe in the sweetness of God.  I reject all aspects of fear in order to  feel the overwhelming sense of love and  stability.  The love of God never changes.   I believe with all my heart that if you love God you're heading for the greatest hour of your life.  The greatness that is you have hardly even begun.  It is vital to keep our eye on the truth and to "cast down imaginations [fears, worries] and every high thing tht exalts itself against the knowledge of God , bringimg into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2Cor 10:4-5). 
What a privilege!