Happiness :)

  • Depression is the difference between reality and your perception of it.
  • Happiness is the difference between reality and your perception of it.

It’s all in how you look at things. It’s up to you to be happy. If you don’t feel like it, fake it ‘till you make it! Smile and be nice 🙂 Before long, you’ll feel happy and cheerful!

Things don’t make you happy. Just like money can’t buy you love, it can’t buy happiness either. We have everything we need in life to make us happy but we don’t realize it or appreciate it.  Look around and find the little things that bring a smile to your face. Happiness is a state of mind!

  • Don’t look for things that are out of your control to bring you happiness. Happiness comes from within.
  • Don’t wait for life’s circumstances to be perfect to be happy. Life is never going to be perfect but laugh and be happy anyway 🙂
  • Have an “attitude of gratitude.” Being thankful for what you have will make you happier.
  • Be forgiving, to everyone. I know it’s hard but you can do it! I have faith in you!
  • Don’t dwell on negative things. Think “happy thoughts.” Make the choice to be happy.
  • Talk to someone. That may sound silly, but you’ll feel better after some human interaction. I don’t mean texting, tweeting, or facebooking. I mean speaking out loud face to face with another person 🙂
  • Get busy! Do something! Be productive! Find something to do and do it. You’ll feel better and be happier.
  • Get enough sleep. It’s amazing the fresh outlook you’ll have on life after a good night’s rest.
  • Go outside! It’s God’s beautiful world out there for you to enjoy! Run around a little bit! Exercise will boost your mood and make you feel happier as well.

It’s not about you. It’s easy to forget that life isn’t all about you. Try thinking of yourself and your circumstances less and think about others more. Don’t worry so much about what you look like or your clothes or your hair or whatever you worry about. Relax!

No More Stress!

We all need a little stress reduction from time to time, or maybe all of the time! These tips will help you slow down and enjoy your days, rather than stress through them. 🙂

  • Simplify! Make life easier on yourself.
  • Identify things that you know cause you stress and look for ways around them.
  • Concentrate on one task at a time – finish one then move to the next task.
  • Don’t be late! Allow extra time to travel and get things done. You’ll be amazed how much stress this removes.
  • Learn to say “NO!” You don’t have to agree to every request from every body. You’ll still be a nice person 🙂
  • Live within your budget. Don’t use credit cards or have excessive loans. (More on budgeting later)
  • Don’t worry! Worry doesn’t change anything and it’s hard on you.
  • Weed out unnecessary trivia. Write down important things and don’t worry about the rest.
  • Live in the present. Enjoy today, it will be your yesterday tomorrow.
  • Take a walk! Get up and dance! Get away from your stress for a few minutes, it will help.
  • Every night, thank God for something. If it’s been a rough day, thank him for two (or ten) things!

Be Grateful To Your Husband

Here are a few more verses to help you show love to your husband. Tiny things make the difference in life. Don’t be discouraged if your husband doesn’t notice everything you do. He will notice eventually and he will love you all the more. 🙂

Be grateful to your husband by . . .

  • keeping your house clean (1 Corinthians 14:40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.)
    Notes: You’d be surprised how good a clean, organized, uncluttered house makes you feel. It makes your husband and children feel good as well.
  • keeping yourself attractive (1 Peter 3:1 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.)
    Notes: Being attractive actually doesn’t all rely on appearance. A big part of being attractive is your attitude. No matter how beautiful you are on the outside, if you are a nagging bitter grouch, you aren’t attractive. 🙁
  • being genuinely thankful for everything your husband does (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.)
    Notes: Fill your heart with gratitude and there won’t be room for much else! 🙂
  • encouraging your husband (1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.)
    Notes: Encouraging is prompting others with an uplifting, cheerful call to worthwhile accomplishment. Always be your husband’s #1 cheerleader!

All Bible references are from The NIV Study Bible, 1995, The Zondervan Corporation.

Love Your Husband

There are many verses in the Bible that teach wives to show love to their husbands. Your husband is the head of your household. This is important to remember, and easy to forget in life’s chaos. If your husband isn’t a believer in God, keep praying for him. Don’t give up.

Here are a few ways to show love to your husband.

  • Accept your husband as the leader of your family. (Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church)
    Notes: This is hard to do sometimes, especially in today’s society when people are taught the opposite.
  • Learn to be content with basic provisions that he can provide for you. (1 Timothy 6:6-8 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing our of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.)
    Notes: When it says “food and clothing” that doesn’t mean going out to eat every day and buying every item of clothing available. Moderation is the key here 🙂
  • Help your children build loyalty and respect to their dad by keeping a good attitude toward him when he’s home and during the time he’s at work. Don’t complain about things he hasn’t done or finished yet and don’t voice your worries about things that might happen or he might do.  Help your children honor you and their father. (Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.)
    Notes: Your children are never to young to learn respect. This is so important in the world we live in today!

 

All Bible references are from The NIV Study Bible, 1995, The Zondervan Corporation.

 

Christmas No Sew Fleece Blanket

Your Next Christmas Craft

I gave you a few weeks to work on your dishcloths! I’m sure you made so many of them, you are sick of yarn! (Is that even possible??? I love yarn . . . I dream yarn . . . anyway . . .)

Here is a quick project with no sewing involved. You can whip up one of these in an hour or two. You could make 100 of them by Christmas!!! 🙂

Thank you to Joann.com for this great project!
* By the way, you can find all sorts of projects at Joann.com in their Inspiration section.

Supplies & Tools:

  • Fleece – 2 yards each of two coordinating prints, or a print and a solid
  • Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
  • Ruler

Directions:

  1. Layer the two pieces of fleece and cut a 56″ x 70″ rectangle.
  2. Cut a 7″ square out of each corner of both pieces of fleece.
  3. Make fringe around all sides of both pieces by cutting 7″ into fleece at 1″ intervals.
  4. Place fleece rectangles wrong sides together.
  5. Knot fringe pieces together using one strand from the top fleece and one strand from the bottom to tie each know. Tie together along all four sides.

Download PDF Directions here.

And you’re done! See, wasn’t that easy? 🙂

Fresh Summer Salad

Fresh Summer Salad – Ahhhh . . .

1-2 cups green leafy lettuce, torn or chopped

1/2 cup chopped carrots or more (I really like carrots . . .)

1 small diced fresh tomato

1 medium chopped apple, any variety

1/2 cup halved sweet Bing cherries

1/4 cup chopped Walnuts

1/4 cup shredded soy cheese

2 tablespoons salad dressing of choice (I used Kraft Zesty Lime)

Arrange in your bowl however you like. You can add some chickpeas (garbonzo beans) for protein or maybe a Boca Spicy Chik’n Patty.

Keep in mind that you can adjust this recipe to your liking. If you don’t want soy cheese, use your favorite cheese. Use what you have. Add or remove anything to make this salad into your favorite salad!

The Ten Commandments

Of course you already know the Ten Commandments. But you might need a refresher 🙂 I know I do.

Exodus 20 (NKJV)

And God spoke all these words, saying:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image —any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holySix days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that isin them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

13 You shall not murder.

14 You shall not commit adultery.

15 You shall not steal.

16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Here is a picture of the Ten Commandments straight out of my Bible. (NKJV)

For a simple review, remember these:

  1. Put God first
  2. Worship Him only
  3. Don’t use the name of God in anger or joking
  4. Work 6 days, rest 1
  5. Obey your parents
  6. Harm no one
  7. Don’t cheat on your spouse or have sex outside of your marriage
  8. If it’s not yours, don’t take it
  9. Tell the truth, don’t lie
  10. Don’t be jealous of other people’s stuff

Simplify Your World

Helpful tips to simplify your life

Clear out clutter: bedrooms, closets, kitchen, bathroom, garage, basement, storage spaces

Simplify food: plan and prepare food ahead, eat lean, lose the weight

De-stress work life: lay out your clothes the night before, be on time, make a difference with your work

Finances: pay off debt, don’t be a slave to it – Proverbs 22:7 “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”

Get rid of extra things – cars, clothing, shoes, storage buildings, hobby/craft things, electronics, books, junk. It’s rarely necessary to rent storage space (unless you are in the middle of a move or waiting on your house to be built) otherwise, clear it out and save that payment.

  • Giving sets us free, while hoarding entraps us
  • Giving changes the lives of others
  • Giving brings blessing back to us
  • Giving allows us to store up treasures in Heaven rather than on earth
  • Giving makes you feel good

Walk with Jesus through your home, work, emotions, relationships and let Him show you what you can let go of, get rid of, and what to keep.

Stop doing things that aren’t important and waste time, there are many things we think we must do that really are not worth doing.

Too much stuff can leave too little room for God. With all the time required to shop for, use, store, clean, maintain, organize, insure, and worry about our stuff, there can be little time left for reading God’s Word, prayer, ministry, church, and reaching out to others. Is it any wonder that the Bible encourages simple living?

Keep these things in mind:

  1. Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.
  2. Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you.
  3. Develop a habit of giving things away.
  4. Refuse to be swayed by advertising.
  5. Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
  6. Develop a deeper appreciation for the creation.
  7. Look with a healthy skepticism at all “buy now, pay later” schemes.
  8. Obey Jesus’ instructions about plain, honest speech.
  9. Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others.
  10. Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the Kingdom of God.

Align your life with your values and pursue what matters most to you. Your sense of worth and self-esteem should be increasingly based on values and not material things and possessions.

Good Plans for You

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Notes: Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, the Lord has not forgotten his people. God is the ultimate source of prosperity. (The NIV Study Bible, 1995 The Zondervan Corporation)

 

Whatever you are going through, God has not forgotten you. He has big plans for you. Good plans. This is one of my favorite verses and helped me through some tough times. It will help you as well.