"Sing And Be Happy!"

As I sit here this morning and look out of the window in my study, I see gray skies, trees trembling in the wind, and drops of rain falling lazily to the ground. It is not a "stormy" day, but it certainly is not a "bright sun shiny day" either! I wonder how many people see life that way! You know, not so bad, but not that good! I have heard folk say, "I wish it would get cold and stay cold or become warm and stay warm!" They don't seem to like those mediocre days of partly cloudy skies and intermittent sunshine!



This reminds me of the devotional song that says, "If the skies above you are gray, you are feeling so blue..." The encouragement is to, "Sing and be happy, press on to the goal, trust Him who leads you, He will keep your soul."



That is solid advice for all of us! It is when we let our surroundings (weather, confusion, disappointments, etc.) determine our joy that we discover that our trust in God has weakened significantly. I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I am a believer and the son of believers! Behind every cloud is a "silver lining" that shines in the heavenly land! Today's agonies will be overwhelmed by tomorrow's blessings! This moment's disappointments will be overshadowed by the next moment's realities! So, why not "sing and be happy?"



It really doesn't take too long for you to turn a gloomy gray sky day into a bright day of sunshine by just singing a happy tune! Whistle while you work and notice how much easier the work seems to be. Hum a happy melody and notice that the people around you are really your friends, not your competitors.



There is one line in the above mentioned song that is bad advice. It says, "When the dark clouds vanish away then your heart truly can sing." Do we have to wait until the sun shines again before singing? I think not! It is the singing that drives the clouds away and brings back the sun! There is no reason we cannot enjoy life while the raindrops are falling on our heads. If one has to wait until the storm passes by to be happy, he may miss the blessing of trusting in God! My happiest moments are trusting God when there seems to be no reason to trust Him!



"Don't worry...be happy!" There you go! Simple, but profound!

"Old Dogs And New Tricks!"

"Wisdom is wasted on the old!" I just read the preceding thought and wondered what the author had in mind. It reminded me a bit of a saying that I remember seeing on the side of my Dad's scotch tape holder. It read, "Too soon old and too late smart!" I guess that's about the same thing, isn't it?



As I tried to think through both statements, I came up with only one conclusion. They are both saying that the young need the wisdom of the old, but wisdom is wasted on the old because they won't change their minds or lives, even if change is needed. Hmmmm? I guess that is assuming that young folk would change their minds and lives if shown that change would make their lives more desirable. Is this conclusion assuming things that are basically not true?



Remember hearing, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks?" I am wondering again if that adage is true! How old does a dog have to be before he cannot be trained anew? What determines if such training will be useless? Even if it takes an old dog a bit longer to learn a new "trick," does that mean we should not make the effort to improve his life? What if the old dog resists discovering new "tricks," are we to cease making the effort? I wonder!



There is one thing for sure, the above adages do not apply to humankind. Period. I have seen folk who were well into the sunset of their lives make drastic changes in their lifestyles. They have learned to eat well, exercise more, and live happier even after years of missing all three. I have, also, seen young flexible teenagers who did not change even when shown their lifestyles were detrimental physically, mentally and spiritually. Well, there goes the above theories!



What does that mean for those of us who are trying to help people have healthier, happier, and more contented lives? It means, if you are working with "old dogs," you might want to give up a bit sooner, but if you are reaching out to "young and old people," you never, never give up!



What do YOU think?

The Baton Will Soon Be Passed!

I wonder what's going through the mind of President-elect Barrack Obama about now! In a week and a day, he will walk into the oval office as the President of the United States of America for the first time. Wow! With a simple, "I do," he becomes the most powerful man in the world! On his shoulders will fall the fortunes of 350 million citizens, plus the futures of billions more. He will control the most powerful military ever known to humankind! He will preside over a budget of thousands of billions of dollars! Mind-boggling, isn't it? How do you suppose he feels about now? Excited? Humbled? Scared? Nervous? Probably all four and many more!

It was interesting this morning to listen to the farewell press conference of George W. Bush as he prepares to return to his ranch in Crawford, Texas. The questions were unlike those asked in previous news conferences because this would be his last as the sitting president. Questions like: Do you have any regrets? What was your biggest mistake? How did you feel the first time you walked into the oval office? Would you do anything differently? Very few of the questions were about current situations in the world because there was not that much time now to deal with them. The wars and the weak economy will be passed on to the 44th president next Tuesday, January 20. He will then pass the ruling baton to another generation of politicians!

My prayer is for this country and the possible new direction that it will take! I am not a prophet and have no crystal ball, but I pray that God's will can have free reign in people's lives. That God's truths will be held in utmost esteem! That the problems plaguing the nation at this point will be resolved and peace can break out throughout the world! That Mr. Obama will be safe and provide some much needed leadership for us all!

I don't wish our new president luck....I promise him prayer! Will you join me?

On With Living and Loving...

Leo Buscaglia, known as "Dr. Love," once noted, "Don't brood! Get on with living and loving. You don't have forever!" Buscaglia was one of my favorite modern day philosophers years ago. He was not a scholarly theologian, but more of a practical philosopher. When I was in my twenties, I ran across one of his paperbacks on "love" and I read that over and over again until I had nearly digested it all! I finally passed it on to someone else and I hope they gained as much common sense out of it as I did.



When I read the above quote the other day on the website, "Brainy Quote," it spoke to my heart (my heart needed someone to speak to it!). It is so frustrating to brood over matters that are really unimportant in the big picture of life. I wonder how much precious time is wasted by trying to work out that which is unable to be worked out? A lot, I am sure.



You and I need to get on with living because as Dr. Love suggests, "...You don't live forever!" At some point life will cease as we know it and there will be no more time to "get on with living!" Two things are terrible things to waste: one's mind and one's life!



Now, what was it I was brooding over? Oh, well...it does not matter because I have to get on with living and loving!