I can remember singing, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands” when I was a child. That song always seemed to make sense to me. I knew from an early age that I wanted to be a happy person. I wanted to approach life with excitement and passion, but I remember going to school and seeing other kids who were unhappy. Sometimes I thought I should be unhappier, like them, but then realized there was no fun in that. Most of my friends were just a product of their environment, like a thermometer. I couldn’t blame them entirely, they just reflected what their environment was at home. However, I knew that if I wanted to be in control of my happiness, I had better choose to be happy. So I decided to live life by making the most of it. I remember reading what Coach John Wooden said, “Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.”

I decided to live my life by that statement and make the most of the way things turned out. I knew certain circumstances would happen that I had no control over, but I knew I had control over me.

“You can’t choose what happens TO you, but you can choose what happens IN you.”

I chose to make sure that whatever happened in me was what I wanted it to be. I determined that I had to master my own emotions. It never sat well with me that I would allow others to control my happiness, so I simply took responsibility for my own well being. Life is too short and too full of opportunity to be unhappy. 

John 10:10

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.    

Jesus said that He came to bring us life, but not just life, life more abundantly. There is a big difference between life and abundant life. Life is simply surviving where as abundant life is thriving. So which side of the comma do you live on? Do you live on the left side of the comma and just have life? Or do you live on the right side of the comma and have abundant life? 

Too many people are living life with a frown rather than a smile. I sometimes wonder if their face is tired of frowning. I think some faces have been permanently stuck in frowning mode for years. Rather than taking responsibility for their happiness, they allow everything and everyone else to determine their well-being.

“Life was meant to be ENJOYED not ENDURED.”

Life is a gift. It is an opportunity to enjoy the things God has given us. There are always times when tough circumstances can be hard and even confusing, but the life we live is special. There is a supernatural joy that can fill us when God’s presence is within us. A joy that comes from God that strengthens us when we are weak. 

Nehemiah 8:10

“And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Years ago I read a book that was super helpful about living with joy by Ed Young. It’s called, Outrageous, Contagious Joy: Five Big Questions to Help You Discover One Great Life. You should check it out if you’re interested.