Mother’s Day

I don’t know what it’s like to be a mother; I never will. I do know that I wouldn’t want to raise me, let alone my seven other siblings. Being a mother is hard, that much I do know. Mostly because as long as your children live, you never stop being a mother. You never stop being the protector, worrying about the future, and yes, being disappointed. 

Not everything we do will be everything you dreamed we would. Not every standard you hold will be a standard we think is necessary. But, you can teach us well. Instruct to do what is right in the sight of God. If you train us up in that way, when we are old, we will be alright.
We know we can always count on you to be there when we have problems. You are so dependable that we take you for granted. Thanks for being there when we don’t need you, for its in those time that we overlook your importance as an instructor and guide.

Today is a day to honor mothers, and I know many of you have various ways you do that. I want to encourage you to just spend some time with your mom’s today. Let them know you love them. If you’re like me, and all of that stuff just makes you feel awkward: just being there and having a good attitude will help your mom enjoy the day. I want you to spend this day with your families and specifically your mothers, so I won’t drag this post out.

As always, thanks for reading and Happy Mother’s Day.

–the anonymous novelist 

God Doesn’t Want You to be Happy

Allow me to explain myself. Happiness is a base emotion, a topical feeling that we experience for just a moment and then it’s gone. God doesn’t want you to just be happy, he wants you to be joyful. Joy comes from God alone, it is a deep-seated, fulfilling feeling and satisfaction comes with it.

… Bear with me, it’s 1:15pm here and I just woke up. You wouldn’t believe the day I had yesterday. Anyway, God wants us to have joy, not happiness. The word happy is used only 25 times in the Bible, whereas the word joy is used 155 times. Joy is of God, joy is by the Holy Spirit, joy is through Christ Jesus.

Happiness is here today and gone tomorrow, no matter how good it feels at the time, it doesn’t last. God doesn’t want happy children, He wants joyful children. In the Bible, happiness is a result of something, example: happy is he that doeth this, or happy is he that has done this. But joy is a condition; people become happy, but people live joyful.

Joy brings peace, hope, satisfaction, and life. Happiness brings only fleeting enjoyment and false fullfillment. Happiness doesn’t last, joy is forever. God doesn’t want you to be happy, He wants what’s best for you, He loves you, He wants you to have His joy and to glory in Him.

I know this was short, but maybe that will help you to get this message. The world gives happiness because it is a human emotion, we respond to situations with happiness. The only thing wrong with that is that we can only be happy when things are good. We can be joyful in the midst of trials because joy comes from God, and God is always there; in the good times and bad we can have joy.

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist