I once heard someone say, "joy is the confident expectation of future good." Consequently joy and sorrow can coexist, yet happiness is often determined by our circumstances. Like C.S. Lewis said, "I'm not particularly sure God wants us to be happy." But we can be joyful in Him regardless of our position, personality, or problems.
Elizabeth | 10.14.05 - 9:37 am | #

Yeah, our church watched the series by John Piper called the Blazing Center, talking about how we should get our joy from God and not other things.

Read To Kill a Mockingbird this summer... excellent book!

~Nella
Ednella Sound-Out | 10.14.05 - 10:33 am | #

Bravo!!! Excellently said!
Grace Petitmermet | 10.15.05 - 10:39 am | #

you are an incredible family.... thanks
hannah marie | 11.24.05 - 2:02 pm | #

I love "Chariots of Fire"! This is my constant inspiration to live a life of No Compromises.
Carley Anderson | Homepage | 11.27.05 - 2:22 pm | #

That was a wonderful post... it really blessed me.

It is so important that we don't set ourselves up for disappointments. You're right... if we base our happiness on circumstances, we will be disappointed and let down most of the time(if not all of the time) and even what makes us happy changes as we get older and grow up. It is really sad to see people who futily pursue happiness in everything except Christ.

It is great that you mentioned that just watching the movies wont help us unless we actually apply what we've learned from them... that is so necessary because we cant get better unless we use what we have learned... and likewise we wont have a better relationship with God if we dont read _and_ apply what He said.

Anyway, it is so nice to learn that we can don't have to be unhappy. If our happiness is in Christ, we will indeed never have to be unhappy.

(I dont know if and when you'll actually read this, but...) I have thought for a while, but I can't seem to think of answers to these nagging questions... what do you and alex think? :
Is God the _only_ sure thing that can make us happy (other than salvation)? I know He will make us happy, but is He the only dependable, sure One? Following God I think will make us happy, but can we be happy even when we are in persecution? Paul and Silas seemed to be... but can everyone? Is fellowship with other Christians a fleeting happiness? Would they make us happy even when they disappoint us?

I know spouses might not necessarily make us happy forever, because they are fallible humans and will most likely fail at some point.

thank you for reading this... and your guys' thoughts on those questions would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

Oh! and how did your niece's heart transplant go? I had read something in a later blog about her dying... did I interpret that correctly????!

Deo et pax vobiscum,
Elisabeth J. Gruber
Elisabeth Gruber | 08.04.07 - 11:36 am | #

I read your post and I really liked it! My parents and I are going to Sept 15th,07 Rebelution in Indianapolis! When I heard about your niece it reminded me of how our family had to sacrifice for my twin sisters. They were born 11 weeks early. It was hard but we were happy to help the babies as much as possible. But now they are almost a year old and as happy and healthy as can be!.
Thanks for all the hard work you do for christians, to teach us to be godly teens and adults
Sophie Barnes | 09.13.07 - 1:42 pm | #

Excellent post.
I would like to say that Cinderella Man is one of the best movies I have ever seen, I would highly recommend it to anyone! A wonderful story of commitment, faithfulness, and love.
To Kill A Mockingbird and Chariots of Fire are also family favorites!
Rachel Joy | 10.26.07 - 9:32 pm | #

I just finished teaching To Kill a Mockingbird with a highschool homeschool coop. There are so many valuable lessons to be learned from this book. I'm glad you recommended it, too. One word of caution...it is not without swear words. I went ahead of my class and blacked out the inappropriate words. I don't want these words to seem "OK" just because they were in a good book.
Kay | 03.20.08 - 11:37 pm | #

i was near tears trying to read the post. thank you for saying that stuff. i need help in that department very bad. i'm always upset about everything, and have anxiety attacks way more than what i should (which should be never). it feels like everything goes wrong all the time. i do good things, but i still hate myself and everyone around me- cuz i'm not happy with what i do. i def need to keep this in mind, and work on it. i do need a job very much, and don't believe i could ever be happy if i don't get a prosperous marriage. but somehow my mom has always been extreemly happy without these things (for the most part of these things).
I'm just sick of being mad at myself, but it seems like i can't be happy.
I'll be working on it
jen | 07.03.08 - 2:08 pm | #

Hey well i do agree with this whole thing about the negtive prat vs/ the posstive side of things i have learned that the heard way and it was very HARD for me to change my mind from all that negtive things and go to the posstive side of things. In my school I was always saying oh im going to fail im stupit for numbers of years. and it brought me down i have done a whole lot better. im more confindent in myself and that. I try not to think on the negtive side but yes it is hrad to do so, but i do try my best
Nicole | Homepage | 07.22.08 - 10:27 pm | #

""And here is my shocking statement: You should never have to be unhappy.""

-the only thing is ,
happiness is a consequence of circumstance.
God never promises us happiness as believers. Do you think Paul was happy to be in prison? I wouldnt think so. But he did write about JOY through trials. (James 1:2-3) Happiness is an emotion when all things are going well, but you can have joy THROUGH trials by putting your trust in Christ, that he does have a plan for the greater good. (Romans 8:28)
Lindsay | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 9:45 am | #