Christian Living

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Prayer: Happiness is Just a Prayer Away

Happiness is just a prayer away
Breathing in the peace of Christ
Breathing out the barriers
that hinder us from His love

Being with Jesus is the silence
Opening all and emptying all
so He can fill us with serenity

Now we are ready to rest
in the heart of Jesus
Now we are with the
lover of His beloved

Two hearts beating as one
Two hearts in harmony
Now we feel happiness
beyond words and understanding

We are with our creator
We are in the arms of faith
We are being held with love
We are with Abba

How do you feel about your life? Many of us are so busy living life that taking time to reflect how we feel may be humorous. Are there times during the day when you’re irritable or frustrated and don’t know why? Or perhaps you’re sad and wonder if there’s a reason you feel down when things actually seem to be going fairly well. Sometimes I feel emotions that don’t match the situation because there’s something more complex I haven’t noticed, or I don’t have much insight.
As I mentioned in the first chapter, our culture suggests what makes our life full, yet is it what gives us purpose and happiness? Many goals focus on making money and buying things. But does that make us happy? It might for a moment, yet what about our inner most happiness? In this chapter we will look at our goals and see if we are meeting those goals.
In the last chapter, I asked you to look at your daily schedule and see if there’s a balance for yourself and others. Why did I make that suggestion? How do you feel when you are running from one task to another and at the end of the day? Are you exhausted? Did you take time for a break? Did these activities lead you to love God, your neighbor and yourself?
At the end of the day, could you see how you helped another or were drawn closer to Jesus in some way? Sometimes at the day’s end I write down what I did and am amazed at what I was able to accomplish with Jesus’ help. I helped someone with a doctor’s appointment or cleaned my place so I could relax when I came home. Journaling helps me focus on Jesus and prayer. When you reflect on your day, you also might be surprised to discover how you helped people in your family, at work, or community. It’s very satisfying to look back on the day and see all the things you accomplished. That you made a difference that day.
How do you feel about your job or your main focus during the day? Are you doing something helpful, and do you have a sense of purpose in life? No matter what you do, you can make it a ministry. Every time you offer a smile or greet a customer or fellow employee with respect, you are showing the light of Jesus. Every time you forgive someone who made a mistake, you are ministering to others. I think we have misguided understanding of ministry. There are many different kinds. Some are social service ministries where we care for others with physical, emotional or spiritual needs in a very focused way. There are ministries where a person preaches and uses the Bible as their focus. Sometimes I think those are the only ministries people think of. I have been in a restaurant when I was having a bad day and a waitress smiled and seem glad to see me. It would make my day. What if she had been grumpy or cold? I would not have felt welcome. That is a ministry. You can work in a factory and provide profound ministry by the way you treat others. Is your life a ministry?
I see my life as an imaginary book. Each day I add a page regarding how I have shown love and met Jesus. It even points out my weaknesses and the times I need forgiveness. It’s all there. When my time comes to see Jesus, I will give Him my book and say, “Jesus, You have given me many gifts and blessings during my life; this is my gift to You.”
I don’t try and show love because of fear of Jesus or the end of my life. I show love because of the light that is within me and needs to be shared. It is not meant to be hidden. A lot like the song This Little Light of Mine. It is given with joy and gratitude.
The wonderful thing is we don’t have to do something spectacular for the entire world to see the light of Jesus. Like the example I used earlier, it can be as simple as a smile. As you think about your life, can you meditate on all the ways you can show the light of Jesus? You just never know how much a simple gesture means to someone.
As you explore your schedule, if you find you don’t have much time to care for yourself, maybe this is an area that needs more focus. Many times, we put vacations or time to enjoy our family on the back burner because of other pressing issues. That can lead to burn out at work and make life more burdensome than need be. Talk with your supervisor and work out a balance so don’t work late so often. Don’t be afraid to say no to a new project because it would take you away from your family. After all, if you become sick or unemployed, it’s your family who will support you, not the people at work. Your children are only young once, you don’t want to miss experiencing life with them because you are overworked. Of course work is important and we need to be responsible, but we also need to balance it with being with our family. Hopefully, it is a place where you feel loved and cared for.
To summarize, our life needs purpose, and we are to contribute in sharing the love of Jesus. To do this, we must take care of ourselves and spend time with the family. Prayer is essential to living a life of purpose and revealing the light of Jesus.


Activity

Read this chapter’s beginning prayer again slowly and see if it’s helpful to you today. If not, think of a way you can pray where you breathe out stress and emotions that prevent you from feeling the light of Jesus. Then try and pray in a manner in which you are open to all the love and light Jesus wants so much to give you.


Prayer: Today is the Day!

Today is the day
for compassion and understanding
Today is the day for peace

Today is the day for forgiveness
and reaching out to another
Today is the day I

praise Jesus not only with words
but by the way I live
Yes, today is the day for love!

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