As I've been on this topsy-turvy journey of 'what in the world should I do with this life?' I've realized a few things about happiness.
I've always heard that money doesn't make a person happy. But, I always thought that was just something parents told their children so they wouldn't be disappointed if they weren't rich one day. 'Ah, you don't wanna be rich like them. Money doesn't make you happy anyways.' Riiiight. But, I honestly now believe it. And not just because I don't have much money. Or I think that's why anyways. :) All you gotta do is just take a look at the lives of many celebrities...chaos. Or all those people who win the lottery...divorce, family feuds, murder! Now don't get me wrong, money can help solve many problems and make life easier, but it alone doesn't make people happy.
And you and I both know those people who are 'married to' their jobs. Workin 100 hours a week to be the best, or to get rich (come on folks, did you not read the above paragraph?!), and to move up the corporate power ladder. It's actually kinda sad the way work can consume one's life and become one's all in all. I was headed in that direction myself and know that it doesn't make one happy.
So what is it? What's the key to happiness? Obviously, if you've read my blog before you know I'm going to say that salvation, and thus knowing that God has already won the battles we face, is the only way to true joy. That even in the darkest of times, where it seems there's no hope, that you can know that there IS hope, indeed. And that can lend happiness to the bleakest of days.
But, I've also discovered something else this year. Being surrounded by those who you love and who love you back is important to happiness. We were put on this earth to fellowship. With God ultimately. And with those around us.
I think we are the happiest when we are with people who are like-minded. I even read (msn.com) that spending quality time with people you love can strengthen your immune system! I don't doubt it for a second. who has time to be sick when you can't stop laughing and smiling?
My happiest times are easy to create. Hanging out at a friend's house just talking with my best girl friends, road trips with Robyn, laughing with my sister, visiting family on holidays, or eating dinner with my parents. They're happy times because these people love me and make me smile. These are people I know I can count on, trust, and share secrets with.
Loneliness is one of the worst feelings in the world. So if you don't have someone who loves you, who makes you smile...then be that person to someone around you who is lonely. I guarantee you, you will make a fast friend. I'm not trying to offer 'Lessons On Life by Lindsay' or anything, but I am excited to share about something that could help with your happiness! You all know how much I LOVE CHOCOLATE. Creme-filled. Fruit-filled. Nougat-filled. Peanutbutter-filled. Cakes, cookies, brownies, pies...but being around people who love you, well, that's even better than chocolate.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
when the WAITING is the hardest...
Does your mood ever echo the weather? Like yesterday when it was B-E-A-UTIFUL outside, it was easy to feel weightless and carefree. Ready to laugh and have fun. Then today...ick. Gray skies. Brown grass. Trees with no leaves. Colllddd. It's easy to want to mope and be lazy. Weather really does affect how we feel a lot.
It's the same way when everything seems to be going wrong in your life. It can feel like gray skies all the time. Many of you know I was laid off from my job as a news reporter. So, at the age of 25 (it really does feel old!) I had to move home with my parents. Away from most of my friends and all the 'action.' I've sort-of been having a 'career-crisis,' as I'm not sure where God would have me go next.
Don't get me wrong, I've had a job pretty much constantly since then, but as far as a 'career,' I'm still trying to decide what to do. It has been really hard. There are so many things I've never considered before, and lots of jobs that I think I could do well and enjoy. How to choose which direction to take your life in, when there are so many that could be right?
By praying. Tilling the soil (aka doing the work: applying for jobs, trying new things) and trying the doors God opens. Sounds so simple. Unless there are no open doors. You've heard it said,'the waiting is the hardest part.'
Geesh! It's true. In a society where we all want it NOW, or where you're only as good as the job you hold...it's hard to slow down and take a look around. It's tough to say no to the quick and easy, while waiting on the best.
A couple of years ago, before I got my job at WPDE, NewsChannel 15 I was offered a good job at a bank. I had no other job offers at the time. Everything in the world said I should've taken the job. But, as soon as the man offered it to me, I had a feeling (Holy Spirit) that it wasn't right for me. That was it, a feeling.
BUT, I had been praying about it a lot. That 'feeling' was my answer. I knew God's will was for me to be a reporter. More waiting. Trusting. Hoping. I felt like an idiot when I told my Dad I turned the job down. I knew people thought I was crazy. But I KNEW God had something else for me.
Not too long afterwards, I sent my tape in to NewsChannel 15. The rest is history. If I had taken that job at the bank, I probably wouldn't have even applied at the TV station. And I would've gone to work every day knowing I wasn't in God's will.
At almost the very second my boss told me they couldn't afford to pay me anymore, I knew I was supposed to come home. It wasn't easy going from working a great job, being totally independent to coming home with nothing. It's still not fun to tell people I live at home right now.
It's easy to get discouraged about my future and see only gray skies ahead. But, since I've been here I've had several confirmations that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. This 'waiting' has been longer and harder than the last one, but God was faithful then and He never changes.
Some verses that help me:
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 futre.'
Romans 8:28
'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, for those who have been called according to His purpose.'
Deuteronomy 4:31
'For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.'
2 Timothy 2:13
'if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.'
It's the same way when everything seems to be going wrong in your life. It can feel like gray skies all the time. Many of you know I was laid off from my job as a news reporter. So, at the age of 25 (it really does feel old!) I had to move home with my parents. Away from most of my friends and all the 'action.' I've sort-of been having a 'career-crisis,' as I'm not sure where God would have me go next.
Don't get me wrong, I've had a job pretty much constantly since then, but as far as a 'career,' I'm still trying to decide what to do. It has been really hard. There are so many things I've never considered before, and lots of jobs that I think I could do well and enjoy. How to choose which direction to take your life in, when there are so many that could be right?
By praying. Tilling the soil (aka doing the work: applying for jobs, trying new things) and trying the doors God opens. Sounds so simple. Unless there are no open doors. You've heard it said,'the waiting is the hardest part.'
Geesh! It's true. In a society where we all want it NOW, or where you're only as good as the job you hold...it's hard to slow down and take a look around. It's tough to say no to the quick and easy, while waiting on the best.
A couple of years ago, before I got my job at WPDE, NewsChannel 15 I was offered a good job at a bank. I had no other job offers at the time. Everything in the world said I should've taken the job. But, as soon as the man offered it to me, I had a feeling (Holy Spirit) that it wasn't right for me. That was it, a feeling.
BUT, I had been praying about it a lot. That 'feeling' was my answer. I knew God's will was for me to be a reporter. More waiting. Trusting. Hoping. I felt like an idiot when I told my Dad I turned the job down. I knew people thought I was crazy. But I KNEW God had something else for me.
Not too long afterwards, I sent my tape in to NewsChannel 15. The rest is history. If I had taken that job at the bank, I probably wouldn't have even applied at the TV station. And I would've gone to work every day knowing I wasn't in God's will.
At almost the very second my boss told me they couldn't afford to pay me anymore, I knew I was supposed to come home. It wasn't easy going from working a great job, being totally independent to coming home with nothing. It's still not fun to tell people I live at home right now.
It's easy to get discouraged about my future and see only gray skies ahead. But, since I've been here I've had several confirmations that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. This 'waiting' has been longer and harder than the last one, but God was faithful then and He never changes.
Some verses that help me:
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 futre.'
Romans 8:28
'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, for those who have been called according to His purpose.'
Deuteronomy 4:31
'For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.'
2 Timothy 2:13
'if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.'
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