Food for Thought- Satisfied?

picture found on churchart.com

When I was a student at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio I was a Resident Assistant. Every year during our fall training we would be given countless pieces of paper and other resources with ideas and suggestions on how to help the students in our building become the best students they could be during their time at MUC. During training my junior year we were given resources that focused was self-care, priorities, and life-skills popular college campus topics. One of the resources we received was a teal colored piece of paper; on the top of the paper in big bold letters it says “HOW TO BE HAPPY”. The rest of the page consists of 16 bullet points of ideas on how to achieve this happiness. Well really 15 and 1 blank space for you to add your own idea. When you read this list it can be over whelming. Some of the ideas are not easy for example one I found difficult then and continue to struggle with now is “develop a life purpose; give back to our world”. WOW if I had to check that off my list of things to do every day I am not sure I could do it. If you think about happiness only in regard to checking things off a list, you could wear yourself out before you decide you have reached happiness.

Every so often, even years after that particular training, I pull out this list and I focus on one bullet point for a period of time. That is what I would like to offer to you today. One thought that might help make you a little happier, even if it is only for the day. “Practice being satisfied with what you have”! You will notice it doesn't say, ‘be happy’ with what you have, but ‘be satisfied’. If you are a word person you might know that happy and satisfied as well as content, pleased, fulfilled, and many other words are all synonyms. We use words like happy, content, fulfilled to share our feelings about different life circumstances and situations. You know the feeling, the one that tells you all is right with the world, even if only for a moment. Being satisfied doesn’t mean that you won’t eventually begin to yearn for something new or different. Being satisfied doesn’t mean that you won’t ever change your mind about what satisfies you. Being satisfied means-taking a look at the whole of your life, everything from your family, friends and home to your career, hobbies and finances and saying “all is well, at least today.” Here it is your FOOD FOR THOUGHT

We can’t imagine happiness into our past, we can’t wish it into our future, we can simply look at the present and “practice being satisfied with what we have”.

If you have a “food for thought” topic you would like me to write about please let me know!

Comments

10 Years, One Decade, No matter how you say it...Thank you!

It is hard to believe that a decade has passed since I stood in front of a church filled with my family and friends and said the vows that brought me into the Order of Christian Ministry. Time flies even if all of it hasn’t been fun. The past 10 years have been a roller coaster . The past 10 years have been terrifying. The past 10 years have been exciting. The past 10 years have been exhausting. The past 10 years have been overwhelming. The past 10 years have been amazing. I thought on my 5 th anniversary I wrote a blog about the top 5 things from the first 5 years but I must have dreamed it or not posted it or somehow lost it on the inter-webs (according to some people that can happen you know hahaha). So this year in honor of my 10 th anniversary I would like to share 10 of my favorite memories from the last 10 years. It’s a pretty generic list because there is no way to boil 10 years of ministry into 10 exact memories, so here they are. 10 memories. ...

A Prayer for the Week

picture from churchart.com My prayer this week is not my own but is a song entitled “The Blessing” by Celtic Woman. I spent the day at a spiritual retreat center and this is the song that kept coming to my mind. I wanted to share it with you (whoever reads this blog) In the morning when you rise I bless the sun, I bless the skies I bless your lips, I bless your eyes My blessing goes with you In the night time when you sleep Oh, I bless you while a watch I keep As you lie in slumber deep My blessing goes with you This is my prayer for you There for you, ever true Each every day for you In everything you do And when you come to me And hold me close to you I bless you And you bless me too When your weary heart is tired If the world would leave you uninspired When nothing more of love's desire My blessing goes with you When the storms of life are strong When you're wounded, when you don't belong When...

Words from the Board...Bulletin Board that is

I have a bulletin board hanging on my office wall; it has various things thumb tacked to it. At some point each of the things hanging there were important to me. I suppose since they are still hanging there even after making a 740 mile move cross country, they are still important. The things hanging on this board vary in shape, size, meaning, and appearance. A Chalice sun catcher, a map of the church, several cards from family and friends, a picture of my paternal grandparents in front of the "Arc de Triumph" during WWII, my father’s obituary, the preaching schedule, and a couple crosses…just to name a few. When I am sitting at my desk, this bulletin board is on my left; every time I glance at it the same thing catches my eye. I am always drawn to the same card. I believe I received this card at my Ordination and if memory serves I received three or four of this same card that day. The card reads; “Be who you are. Do what you love. Make a difference. Change the world.” ...

Braving The Waters

Search This Blog