[Transcript may not match broadcasted sermon word for word]

Happiness Point #8: Don’t Get Overhyped About Things

       I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten on vacation only to be a couple days into it and realize, this isn’t as good as I thought it would be. It’s not that my current vacation isn’t going well, it usually is, it’s just that it’s not as exciting and exhilarating as I had expected. There still resides worries from things back at home, and there are the standard hopes and desires that everything on the vacation will go as planned—and that the weather will be good. The problem isn’t that the vacation isn’t really going that good, the problem is that I had set up unrealistic expectations in my mind about the vacation before I ever left.

       You see, that’s what most of us do, most of the time. When it comes to plotting and planning a vacation, we think only about the good things that we are planning on doing, the places we are going to see, the rides we are going to ride, and the food we are going to eat. We don’t think about the normal parts, or even the possibly worrisome parts. We have created an artificial outlook of the vacation in our minds. There is nothing wrong with this necessarily. It’s good to look forward to taking time off and getting away. It’s just that when we overhype something in our heads, we are only going to be faced with disillusionment when what we have planned is coming to pass.

       This can be done with all sorts of things. We might think of a special night out to dinner, a family reunion, watching the premier of our favorite TV show, or even our upcoming wedding. We know, deep down, in reality, that all that really matters is God. He is the one with whom, whenever we spend time with him, we are never disillusioned. But all other things, if hyped up too much, definitely give us a let down. It’s good for us, then, to keep things in their proper perspective. Realize that dinner will be good, but not great. The family reunion will be a good time to catch up with people we haven’t seen in a while, but there will be a couple of people we have to talk to that perhaps in a perfect world we would rather not. Our favorite TV show will come back with a bang, but there will likely be at least one decision the writers made that we don’t like. Our wedding day will be great, but we still have to get up early, go through dressing ourselves up, and do a lot of waiting.

       When we bring events down a notch or two on the excitement scale, we can then sit back and enjoy the day as it comes without having too much eager anticipation. This allows us to sort of take things in as they come. It allows us to enjoy the moment, to accept things for what they really are, and not some artificial thing that they are not. It allows us to remember that God is the one who really matters, and everything else is secondary. It permits us to accept people as they are, imperfect, just as we are, and not expect too much from them. All of it allows us to live life in the manner it really is.

Happiness Point #9: Listen to Classical Music

       Sometimes I like to just take some time, relax, and listen to some classical music. Why classical music and not some other form of tune? Why not alternative, or rock, or hip-hop, or whatever else one likes to listen to? Well, for me, I find that when I listen to classic music, it really relaxes me in a way that a lot of other things cannot. There is something refreshing about it, almost as if it is rebooting my brain and clearing out all of my thoughts. Other music tends to get me to think about things too much. But classical music, it’s like going for a nice evening swim when the temperature is perfect outside.

       We can all remember the story from 1 Samuel 16. This is the story in which Saul, king of Israel, was facing a real problem. He found himself being tormented by an evil spirit for something he had done wrong. The King’s men suggested to him that he call upon someone who could play the lyre, that it would likely help him. He did just that—he called upon the man his men recommended. This person, we know, was David, Son of Jesse, the future King of Israel. And David would play the lyre for Saul, when the evil spirit was bringing him torment, and after a while Saul would be refreshed and made well.

       Hopefully none of us are suffering in such a harsh way, being tormented by an evil spirit, but most of us have enough torment from ourselves. We have worries we haven’t given up, uncertainties about the future, and hopes for others who are in our lives. If everything was perfect, we should be able to give all of this up, to not really trouble ourselves about any of it. To be in a surrendered state like our Master, Jesus was, and is. But, if we are honest with ourselves, we know that a lot of times we aren’t. We have a lot of negative thoughts rampaging through our heads. Well, why not take the example from 1 Samuel 16? Why not play some classic tunes to try to clear our heads and give us rest?

Happiness Point #10: Use Your Drive Time for Your Enjoyment

       A lot of us commute into work. Whether that is twenty or thirty minutes a day, that time really adds up over time if you think about it. Let’s say it’s twenty minutes a day. Well, in a week that amounts to 1 hour, 40 minutes. Quite a lot of time there. About the time of a typical movie. That being the case, that’s a lot of time that we can take to do something productive. That productive thing may work for our enjoyment. Here are three things I suggest you could do with that time.

       First, maybe use to it listen to the Bible? There are so many audio versions of the Bible these days. In fact, I would venture to say that most of the popular Bible translations have an audio version. And on top of that, when you listen to a different version, you can pick up things you hadn’t noticed before. The same passage phrased in a different way can shed new insight. Easier versions of the Bible to understand can also give deeper meaning. You are not distracted by all the language specific to the readers of the time, but things have been presented in a way that makes more sense to us nowadays in American culture.

       Another thing you can do with that time is listen to sermons. Lots of sermons indeed. There is Christian radio, of course. The pastor at your church probably has his or her messages posted online for download to be listened to anytime. These messages can provide further careful study. Perhaps you want to try out a new pastor you’ve always wanted to listen to? Well, with the internet, all of this becomes possible in a way that people haven’t been able to in the past. Don’t let these opportunities pass you by. People long ago would be envious of the knowledge we have available to us in digital form now.

       Thirdly, audiobooks are growing more and more. A lot of popular titles are available in audiobooks. Whether that is a Christian book, or perhaps even a self-help book, there are many titles available, and some of these, usually the older books, are available for free. Certainly, to get the newest stuff and the stuff of the past decade or two you’re going to have to shell out some cash. That’s just the way it is. But some libraries allow you to check out audio books, and perhaps even over their app. So if money is tight, this could be a good alternative. But it’s amazing how a book can be read without ever technically reading it.

       Finally, all that drive time to work may be better found to listen to your favorite music. Indeed, this is probably the most popular choice of the bunch. But even so, some people need to realize that is okay to take this time and have fun. Especially, say, you’re driving home from a busy day at the office, and you need some time to wind yourself down before you are greeted by your wife, three kids, and your happy-go-lucky dog at the moment you enter your residence. Mentally preparing yourself for the time spent with family at home can be a wise decision to make. This way, you’re not carrying the overload of the office into your home tonight.

Happiness Point #11: Spend Some Time with Thomas Jefferson

       I love history. Admittedly, however, not until the last year really have a spent a significant amount of time becoming acquainted with Thomas Jefferson. Sure, I knew the basics like everyone else. I knew he’d wrote the Declaration of Independence. I knew he was responsible for the religious freedom we enjoy each and every day. I knew he was the third President of the United States. I even understood he liked technology. But, there is so much more to this guy than these accomplishments.

       Jefferson understood freedom perhaps in a way no one ever did, or has, from that moment, up to our current time. Especially if you’re a person who tends to impose lots of rules upon him or herself, then I think you will find Jefferson’s understanding of freedom as a big refreshment. A good place to start is with his Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom. It’s not a very long document, maybe a couple of pages. But the insight into freedom is profound. It’s an amazing thing when we come to realize that we are really free. You and I are free to worship God how we feel that’s right, by the dictates of our own conscious, and not by how our church or anyone else tells us we have to.

       Personally, I like to spend my time going through Jefferson’s correspondences from time to time. They are available online. Within his correspondence, you will understand more of how he thought, and some of the ideas that were flowing through his brain. You may find that you don’t agree with everything he thought, as that’s what I have found, but nonetheless the insights are revealing and helpful. You may find that his own understanding about things jogs your memory and leads you down new paths toward things you have never contemplated before.

       I would have to say I don’t think I ever really grasped freedom until I became acquainted with Thomas Jefferson’s different writings. The Bible tells us in different spots that we are now free in Christ. It tells us to live as a free people. This being that case, we should probably have a good understanding of what freedom actually is. Some of us think we are living freely, only to not really feel that free at the end of the week. We find that we are giving other people too much dominion over us. We find that we aren’t in a church aligned with what we really think inside our minds. We find that we really aren’t worshipping God in truth, with what rings in our heads to be true, but in a way that someone else has told us we have to.

Happiness Point #12: Let Your Light Shine Before Others

       We often dread the thought of helping others. Isn’t that sad? Sad but true. More often than not, we wonder if there is a way we can get out of helping someone with something. We don’t want to be bothered. We want all of our time to be ours, and not someone else’s. Yet, despite all of this, we know, deep down, that it’s our responsibility to help others. I mean, after all, we expect people to help us from time to time, do we not? We hope our friend will pick us up at the airport, take us to the auto repair place when our car is done, help us hang out a new light fixture, aid us in moving a heavy piece of furniture, whatever it is, we expect help from others.

       The truth is, is that helping others, letting others see we are not only about ourselves (in effect, letting our lights shine), this typically ends up benefiting us more than it does the person we are actually helping. It benefits us because we get to see that the help we provided eased the burden of our friend. We get to give a little and thus make someone else’s life a little bit easier. Truth be told, it just makes us happier whenever the task is completed, and we know that it makes the person we are helping happy.

       We know too that it’s not just how we feel that is of benefit to us. Jesus has told us over and over again that doing such things gains us rewards for the future. Since God is keeping track of all the good things we do, he is building up ideas of more and more good things to give us when we enter the next realm of existence. That being the case, then, it only makes sense that the more we give, the more we will receive. In this cost-benefit analysis, we end up getting more benefit versus the actual cost to us.

       And finally, it needs to be said that we know that the people who are kinder are the ones who have the better reputation. We enjoy being around those who treat us better. It’s just how it works. I definitely know that’s true for me. I mean, who wants to be around a person who is stingy, who never gives, who never helps, who has no light at all shining at any time for those around him or her to see? Yes, it’s true. The better we are to others, the better people will see us.

Happiness Point #13: If You Don’t Know the Answer

       When it comes to losing something important, what kind of person are you? Are you the type of person who drops everything and tries to find that item? Or are you the person who realizes that, if you let it go for a while, the item will probably show up on its own? Yes, for some it may be tempting to overly magnify the importance of a lost item. It’s just that, usually when we let something go, and utilize patience instead, we realize that we never had to go through all the hard, rigorous work of trying to find something. What we were looking for just shows up naturally.

       Well, the same principle can be applied to wanting an answer about a certain life-situation. We will throw up a prayer to God and then wait eagerly for the answer. What I have found personally, is that an answer never usually shows up for at least half a day. Sometimes a day or two. It’s not that we pray something to God, open our eyes, and expect to see the answer within ten seconds. At least, that shouldn’t be the way we are thinking. I have been guilty of this myself. But what we find is that God takes his time. He simply isn’t in a rush.

       Anyhow, usually when I ask God for answer to something, I find that I have that answer in a couple of days. And that’s the beautiful thing. I don’t look for the answer. I don’t pick up Christian books and seek diligently around hoping to find what I’m looking for. Nah, if I just let it go and wait, hopefully forgetting I even asked, then the answer will appear on its own. It’s a great feeling when all of the sudden you receive an answer out of the blue through a conversation, TV show, or just naturally reading something. Then you think, “I asked God about this yesterday, and here is my answer.”

       Anytime we try to surmise an answer through our own effort we can be sure that it will most likely be the wrong answer. It may sound good, look good, seem right, but I bet you that what you have concluded isn’t correct. Why did we pray in the first place if we are going to go through all the effort of just trying to do it ourselves? In that case, we didn’t even need to pray. However, when we turn something over to God, we need to leave it turned over to him, and allow him to tell us when the time is right. Sometimes we don’t need to ask God because we already know, but if we do, we need to wait patiently. The answer will come.

Happiness Point #14: Get Out Into Nature

       I find that taking walks out in nature really helps to refresh my spirit. There is something to be said about getting out on a lonely path, with just the grass, trees, and blue sky in the background, not to mention all the animals out and about. Not only is it good exercise, but it reminds you that there is more to this life than the work you are doing. There is more to life than the office and all the papers piled on your desk. There is more to life even than whatever is going on at home. Yes, in our great State, there is a great abundance of parks, so there is plenty to see.

       Depending on your situation, you may want to go alone or even with your family. It’s good when your son or daughter can actually see what a butterfly really looks like in action, instead of just learning that they exist in the school’s textbook. Video games and television are fun, but sometimes they get old. Nature can provide a 3D experience like non-other. It is real, not artificial. It requires you to move your body, instead of just sitting about stagnant. You get to use your senses. You see real things, smell real things, and hear real things.

       Perhaps even, if you do not wish to experience it all-natural, you can take your headphones and listen to something good as you walk. I do this a lot. You can listen to good, classic sermons from long ago. You can listen to that new audiobook that’s been on your wishlist for months. Maybe some classical music suits you better. Whatever the case, at least your either learning or relaxing while moving. At least your eyes still get to feast themselves on all the beauty of what God has created.

- Daniel Litton