This is a pretty clever sign, intentionally ironic or not! But, it got me thinking.........there is so much negativity, so many bad things going on in America, and yet it's so necessary to STAY JOYFUL! What do you do to keep SANE if not quite joyful in the wake of government take-overs, a president who applauds another country's president insulting our laws, a healthcare takeover which threatens your healthcare on every level, etc etc etc?l!? Do you have hobbies? Were you born with a cheerful character? Do you ignore what's happening as best you can? What do you do? Does your faith carry you through?"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious JOY." I Peter 1:8 (what fabulous Scripture, huh?)
Find joy...take a walk, turn off the TV news, watch an old black/white film with popcorn, help a sick friend, hug someone......tell me what YOU do to take a break from what bugs you!
z
36 comments:
Hoping you find joy Z. There is a difference between happiness and joy...joy is eternal, happiness is based on our circumstances.
As long as I stay focused on the eternal, I find joy.
I agree with Elmers Brother. We who know who holds us in His hands, knows He controls the world. We can have confidence in Him and His Word. The verses that I go back to are 1 John 5:11-13.
5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Well, Elbro, happiness has been much more elusive lately since Mr. Z passed away, but joy is attainable through what you and LInda describe, though even that sometimes feels beyond my reach these days ......
I'd share more but I've found that it's not a good idea :-)
Thanks so much, Elbro and Linda, for your support and reminders.
Nice Elmers Brother.
You might say "it's not so much about being happy as holy"....
Happy, as Elbro reminds us, is a reaction to things around us...JOY is inside and based on a great gift.
This is something that has really helped me after losing my husband...that HE has REAL JOY now gives me a joy that can't be taken away........
...except by myself when doubt creeps in. I have to admit.
love the sign Z!..may I borrow it?..lol.. Hope ya had a great weekend my friend!:)
Romans 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
tio
I love your Faith segment today Z, the video is beautiful as is the scripture.
Since you ask, first, I do find joy in my family.
I have always felt I was blessed, and I am so grateful for them and dear friends.
For fun and recreation I bowl in three bowling leagues, two of those with my sister. An opportunity to see her every week, and a little exercise and competition, which I hope keeps me on my toes. Mostly, it's just fun!
I love to read, am kind've artsy-craftsy, and a big Dodger fan which gives me a chance to yell and cheer and forget for awhile more serious issues.
While it may not seem so here, I've always been a happy sort, although I admit the last several months have been burdensome, thinking and worrying about our country and my children's future.
And no Z, I can't ignore what's happening. It's not in me. I just can't.
Oh, and one more thing. I enjoy coming here with such good company and fine Americans. It's a chance to vent, so as not to drive Mr. Pris crazy, that's for sure!
For this, I thank you Z, for providing the opportunity.
Finally, I do pray that God's grace will see us through.
Pris
I agree with those who say we find joy in keeping our focus on eternity -- and that is always there no matter what suffering is going on in daily life. I feel for you, Z, and wish you COULD talk about it more, but just imagining it is miserable enough, the reality must be a hundred times worse.
I have a hard time these days even reading or listening to any of the insanity that has come to characterize our nation, it has a horrible effect on me just to think about it. But we need to know it, I'm not saying I'm in favor of my know-nothing attitude, I just can't take much of it. Everything from policies in Washington to wacky destructive political and cultural opinions encountered everywhere, I mean everywhere, from neighbors, on TV, in movies, everywhere, to the destruction of human lives as listed on that sad church sign.
I have been trying to pray more. I have books on prayer to inspire me, I watch You Tube exhortations to prayer, especially prayer for revival. I'm not succeeding to any great extent, some days not at all, so I'm not saying that, but I do know it's the right direction and I wish I'd get a fire lit under me to pray hours a day. I may be one of the few here who have the time for that so I'll be held more responsible than others which isn't a happy prospect at the moment.
But I wish more of us would pray more, and I do mean LONG prayer periods, focusing on God's bringing revival above all, but listing all these ills we talk about here all the time and asking His intervention to turn back the tide. And pray for more people to pray more too, and pray for me while you're at it.
This country MUST have a God-sent revival soon, just MUST.
What do I do to take a break from what bugs me?
I swim laps, smoke a good cigar, read a book, or maybe just kick my dogs.
JUST KIDDING!
I never read books.
My best therapy is working long hours and coming home to my family and THEN kicking my dogs! LOL!
On the serious side, I'd like to wish all you good Christians a Happy Sabbath. :-)
Frankly, I've been losing faith. I'm unconvinced we're going to survive for much longer as the nation with which we grew up and the nation we know. By placing a Band-Aid on our ills with manufactured paper we're merely delaying the economic inevitability. The people in DC, on BOTH sides of the aisle, no more have the ability to stop spending than does a pederast to stop a lust for children.
I've always had trouble with adult beverages but these days I mostly retreat to my cabin on weekends, pull the Big Rock in behind me, and get reacquainted with the Grey Goose. I wish I had the ability to just shunt it all aside and burst out in a blazing ball of brilliance and cheer. At this point, candidly, I lack that present ability. If I knew the answer, I'd proffer it.
But, actually, if we on the Right think that the GOP -- or ANY party for that matter -- will suddenly stand up, see the light and shout "huzzah" -- we are sadly mistaken.
We are careening down a road that was pre-destined for many years. Not only can't we jump off that road but, further, many if not most of us simply don't WANT to. Too many people want their slick jobs, too many people depend on lies and evil, too many people want their Free Cheese.
The only thing that may possibly "turn us around" will BE the inevitable -- that is to say, only when we DO "crash" will our eyes open a bit.
And even then, I'm not certain we have the sheer willpower required to experience Judgment.
Alexander Fraser Tyler - Cycle of Democracy (1770)
- A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over poor fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average of the world's great civilizations before they decline has been 200 years. These nations have progressed in this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; from faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to Complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again to bondage.
We are on the back-end of "apathy to dependency" and in the doorway of "dependency back again to bondage."
And THAT is the job of Mr Obaka now: to PUSH us there full force.
BZ
BZ great post! I've read it long ago, and it's beautiful in it's wisdom.
A word of advice-if you'll allow me. Don't crawl too far into the bottle of Grey Goose. You still have to crawl back out eventually, and then you feel like that stuff that runs through the goose in such a hurry. Every time I thought I had defeated a bottle of Jack or Jim or Wellers, those boys had the last say in the matter! :-)
BZ, I'd like to think people care enough about their children and grandchildren to concern themselves with their future.
That's a big part of this for me. I would still take the position I do now if I didn't have children, but, having them, I lie awake nights worrying about what lies ahead for them. Surely, many parents consider this.
Jingo, you really are funny, and very refreshing!
Pris
I was wondering if that sign was real or a joke. If it's real, it certainly IS ironic.
You're so right, we can't allow ourselves to be depressed. It's important to find joy in the good things of life.
I'm sure Tyler is quite right, but God can do anything, even overturn such solid common sense. Why wait until we're back in bondage when He can pull us out of the circle at any point if we seek Him?
BZ, you believe in God, take an hour out of that boozy weekend to pray about it all, just to talk to God about it. Before you go, first listen to some talks by Leonard Ravenhill, or Wesley Duewell or Bill McLeod or others on You Tube or Sermon Index. If you can formulate a prayer from the heart about all this even while drunk I have no doubt God will hear.
Only God can change this miserable mess we're in, but more of us have to realize that and get serious about banging on His door until He comes to our rescue.
Why thank you Pris! I thoroughly enjoy your posts too. I feel BZ's angst in a BIG way, and sometimes the utter crapola coming from the radicals in power is so stunning and absurd and damaging that the only thing I can do is see the humor in it.
Hey, I really enjoyed your last front and center post here at Geeeez. It was an opportunity to poke fun at Napolitano--the lodestone of a thousand jokes! LOL!
Angel, of COURSE you can borrow it!
Tio...perfectly sublime
BZ: See Tio's Scripture
Romans 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
But, keep up the Grey Goose! (my favorite, too, tho I'm usually a one red wine a day girl!)
Jingo, I burst into laughter because I read your comment and thought 'When the HECK does Jingo have time to READ?'..then saw "I don't read books" Amen! :-)
Karen, thanks..you're so right.
Faith, one gets the oddest 'advice' when one talks of something this big and personal...nobody's the same, no grief is the same, so I pretty much downplay it, especially here. Even in 'real life', where I've had the MOST unusual things said to me :-), I just say "I'm fine!" these days....less pressure on the VERY well meaning advice-giver and, for me, it's less homicidal thinking (smile)
Pris and Jingo...let's face it, some of us have a bond from FPM commenting days that'll never be broken....you guys, FT, Faith, and a few others...good days. Even Ducky (who I think has become mellower here, believe it or not!)
I forgot Imp......and FairWitness and WVDottr....
Elbro, you commented at FPM, too, right?
I know FJ did years ago.......
I should again post that I blogged long ago, about Left Coast Chuck, who passed away and, before he died, asked his kid to contact me and Loprena Meadows (who I miss) to tell us he loved us and had passed on...IMAGINE? Dying, this guy says to his grown child "Please go to FPM and find ZinLA or Lorena Meadows and tell them I've died!"? THAT's how good a place that was........we'd all become pretty close through blogging.
JINGO, Happy Shavuot, if that's what you say? I believe that's right around now, no?
Tell us about it and, most importantly (spoken like a true heathen food lover), what FOOD is associated with it!? :-)
I had a dinner last night that gave ME JOY, while we're on that subject here!:
Grey Goose on the rocks with 3 olives.........(only drank half as I drove home afterwards)
an 'amuse bouche' that was a very tiny sliver of THE best greyere quiche i have EVER had, ...
then a bowl of hot creamed cauliflower soup with strands of lightly coated and fried spring onions (mmm), and tiny bits of THE most tender and delicious beef EVER on the soup...
then a NY Steak with a tiny drizzle of a blue cheese type sauce, fabulous very lightly garlic'd mashed potatoes and a salad of watercress(which I normally detest) with chunks of Gorgonzola and candied garlic in a very light sauce which I DEVOURED...and a glass of Cabernet that was DIVINE...I was so happy I hadn't finished the vodka!
and my friend also ordered sweet potato fries on the side which were fabulous..AND we split a hot blackberry pie with creme fraiche ice cream on top!
OH, was it GOOD...and OH, did it give me JOY :-)
Boy, after reading all of these comments, I realize I'm a late comer to this site. I do what you to know that I appreciate the bonds that seem to have formed through the blogging world. I'm glad I found you guys!
I know exactly what you mean about the "advice" Z. A person can't even be having a middling bad day and mention it without getting a lot of good advice about it, which can be annoying enough, but so much harder when you're really in pain.
The advice IS well meant, of course, as you say, quite sincere, with the fondest of wishes involved, and yet it's not what is needed and usually ends up being more of a burden on the already burdened sufferer.
I think people somehow feel obliged to give it though, get nervous hearing about someone's pain and want to make it all better.
But sometimes the only thing that can or should be done is just listen and maybe cry with the person.
Or take her out to a great dinner as you just described.
Elbro, you commented at FPM, too, right?
nope, I was never a part of FPM
sometimes I need to keep my mouth shut and just listen
"let's face it, some of us have a bond from FPM commenting days that'll never be broken....you guys, FT, Faith, and a few others...good days. Even Ducky (who I think has become mellower here, believe it or not!)"
Yes we do Z, and now we add those who are here. Just one big family, and how good is that? One can't have too many good friends.
Ducky's mellower? He preceded me on FPM, but I'll take your word for it. Well that just goes to show you what a positive influence can do. HA! Aging doesn't hurt either. Well, in this respect at least.
Pris
Elbro, how the heck many times have I asked you about FPM and you've told me "NO" and, for some reason, I just keep thinking you were there!
Pris, Ducky and I went at it BIG BIG BIG TIME, or maybe I was just more a novice at this politics thing and even more passionate now because, frankly, I'd never heard Americans talk as unAmerican as he had/does. Probably, that's it.
Linda, welcome...never too late! :-)
Faith, just "I am SO sorry" or "I'm thinking of you and/or praying for you" is so good. Or, yes, crying with you. YOu've been very kind and 'appropriate', thank you. So many of you who I know better than other commenters, via emails, have been wonderful.Pris and Elbro and Heidianne were at the funeral..THAT meant SO MUCH.
The BEST thing anybody can say to me that really brings the most authentic old-Z happy feeling back is "I miss him so much, too" or "he was just such a great guy " or "So smart..so kind...." or "I wish I'd known him better" (Which a LOT of people said after hearing his friends and relatives speak at the funeral)
That makes me SO happy I almost stop and think "Boy, THIS feels good!"
he made me laugh, he gave me purpose, I never ONCE IN OUR LIVES together doubted his fidelity or support NEVER, he loved my COOKING!! how bad is that?!! :-)..and so much more.
But, I know I'll be fine. And that's enough of that! Thanks.
he loved my COOKING!! how bad is that?!! :-)..and so much more.
you are a good cook...thsoe enchiladas you made were delicious
that makes me happy thinking about those enchiladas
> Read the bible and talk to God. Then I get perspective, gratitude and de-stressed.
> Yoga. Then I get energized and more de-stressed.
> Make cookies for Mr. B or share a Teaching Company DVD with him. This is a treat for us both. we're almost done with "Rome and the Barbarians."
Elbro, thanks, I love that recipe!
Deborah, good ideas there..
Also, Deborah, I'd just walk around that garden for some de-stressing!
We're picking blueberries now and enjoying the sweet perfume of jasime ... yes, very de-stressing!
THERE you go, Deborah! BLUEBERRIES? Well, you know WHERE I AM!!!!! :-)
Enjoy! But, if you get a bumper crop, let me know!!
No, I KNOW, how about some blueberry ice cream or sorbet? My door is ALWAYS OPEN :-) haha!!!
P.S.
I must not be too battered. I can still form sentences.
BZ
BZ, I don't think there's enough booze on the planet to prevent YOUR writing talents :-)
Z: aw, gosh, thanks, you make me blush. . .
BZ
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