Thunderstorms are all around me today, and I'm in between travels with just random thoughts to share. So excuse my ramblings.  For those who find my thoughts useless or worthless, quit now.

Joy vs. Happiness

In my life, happiness is connected to the temporary, here and now existence. It's best associated with what we do and what we accomplish. It's described in the Bible in Ecclesiastes with the temporary exhilaration that power, people, possessions, work, wine, and fame bring to some..."meaningless" in the big picture of life.

Joy on the other hand is more about knowing who we are no matter the circumstances. Joy is eternal vs. temporary. Jesus describes joy in the Bible as complete (John 15:11; 16:24; 17:13).

So in tough times, nourish the joy within you by pure thoughts, experiences that rejuvenate the hope within you, people who are encouraging, refreshment at a soul level with quiet time and prayer, spending more time with family and giving back to others.

Problems and Predicaments

I got an email the other day and it goes something like this:

A problem is something you can do something about.  A predicament you can do nothing about. Treating a problem as a predicament or a predicament as a problem will result in frustration, anger and depression.We have to live with predicaments and solve problems. Problems should not be treated as special, but as something expected.  In all aspects of life, expect problems.  If things go according to plan, then be pleasantly surprised.  

Problems should be viewed as a potential opportunity. The trick is to identify the problem when it is big enough to see and yet small enough to solve.  Have multiple solutions and expect it to take some time.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

rb