Being Happy


flowers = happy

I want to be happy. I want to be a happy person. Things and possessions don't give me lasting happiness. But doing the right thing, and following God, is supposed to make me happy.

They say "Don't smoke, do drugs, sleep around, swear, or drink alcohol, because it's wrong, and besides, the people that are doing that are not happy."

They look happy. All the cool kids.

I had a whole post written and ready to publish, ways of how to get "more of God" in your everyday life, consequently making you a happier person.

I was going to post it when I got home from church - thinking how brilliant I am. And then bam. Our pastor spoke on how getting "more of God" isn't about what you have to do, it's just about loving God. Just staying in His love.

[PS: If you're not a Christian, you're probably thinking WHAT THE HECK IS SHE ON ABOUT. I don't blame you. But if you would pleeeeeeeaaaaase stay to the end, that would be really cool. Superman cool. You've always wanted to be a superman, right? Well here's your chance.]

So basically I got home and had to scrap everything I had previously written. Thanks God.

And then BAM I learnt something else. The reason doing the right thing (not smoking, not swearing, not being proud, serving others) wasn't making me happy was because I was looking to others to see if God had worked his magic yet - basically comparing myself to others to see if I was happy. I wasn't thinking "Joe's smiling, so that means that he's happier than me" but unconsciously, I was using comparison to measure my happiness.

At this point I burst into nervous giggles because I realised how wrong I had been. I had gotten it all wrong. I'm glad God pointed it out to me (twice).

The way to get happy and live a life of joy (sounds great, right?!) is to look to God, not look to others to see if you're happier than them yet. BAM.

The post that I scrapped contained a list of things that I thought we had to do to be happy in God. Which is totally works-orientated and not how it should be. As I was writing it, I found the verse below, and I thought I should mention it but I didn't know how to fit it in, so I left it at the bottom of the page. Obviously now it makes complete sense:

"Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always."
1 Chronicles 16:11

In this crazy pursuit of happiness and joy, instead of wracking up a list of ways that I can get more of God, I think I'll leave it to him. I'll just do my best to stay in His bubble of love.

I can't say that I'm superrrrrrr excited about Mondays yet (that might take a while), but I'm relieved that it's not up to me to have a great day. I just accept His love.

Here are some ways of accepting His love:
+just listen to His voice
+thankfulness
+soaking
+reading your bible
+praying
+listening to worship music
+writing songs for Him
+making art for the glory of God
+dancing

Congrats! You've finished reading possibly the craziest turnaround blog post EVER and if you left your thoughts down below that would be really cool.

Madison xx


12 comments:

  1. Nicely written! I am a Christian, so I stuck around until the end without thinking you were crazy!! ;) It's unfortunate that you have to give a disclaimer like that though! I agree that comparing happiness is never a good thing. I like the way you word it, that just looking to God can make you happier! Thank you for sharing!!

    Much Love,
    -Stephanie Eva
    www.stephanieheva.blogspot.com

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  2. This is a great post. Very positive. Thank you for sharing! LETS ALL BE HAPPY!!!

    xoxo Emily
    http://www.ditchtheheels.com

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  3. Love this post<3 thanks for sharing love your blog
    follow for follow?:)

    xoxo
    http://hilarynirvana.blogspot.com/

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  4. Beautiful post! I absolutely love it. It's definitely something I needed to read, especially on a Sunday night.

    Connie | Sponsored by Coffee | Bloglovin’

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  5. Just stumbled upon your blog today and I love it! I love writing too and your words are very beautiful.

    www.laurencarmen.weebly.com

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  6. This is such a beautiful post. Was feeling under the weather then BAM I found your blog. Oh think I should mention am from Kenya 😊😊
    First Christian oriented blog I've seen.

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  7. This is such a beautiful post. Was feeling under the weather then BAM I found your blog. Oh think I should mention am from Kenya 😊😊
    First Christian oriented blog I've seen.

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  8. Hello! I've recently found your blog (through a comment on Poppy Deyes') and am so happy to find a fellow Christian. Thank you for writing without fear, reading your posts have been a real encouragement to me. I love when ministry speaks to you specifically and you just know it was intended for you - I'm pleased to hear it effected you. :) Have a lovely day!

    - Chloe. x

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