Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Decide to Be Happy! by Bernard Smalls
Decide To Be Happy!
Say continually; "That's Good!"
One who is full despises honey, but to one who is hungry, even bitter food tastes sweet. Proverbs 27: 7 (GOD'S WORD Translation)
Happy people with real life experience understand that the bitter can be made sweeter than the sweet that has never been bitter. The more bitter the bitter, the sweeter the sweet. WOW! What a tongue twister!
Let me illustrate: What's so good about food? Being hungry! If you fast (go without food) for one day, the next morning you will eat anything that does not eat you first! Food is always awesome or better after fasting. The bitterness of hunger makes food taste even better, or should I say sweeter. But, at times, we have all eaten so much that we did not want to see food for a while no matter how good it was.
How About Sex?
How about sex? What's so good about it? Let's not even go there... Psychologists say that if a man is deprived of food and sex (two of the strongest human needs) for any extended period of time, after which both food and sex are offered, he will always eat the food first. However, after wiping his mouth, he will "quickly" ask if the other part of the deal is still on the table. You know what I'm saying; I don't have to paint any pictures.
What's Good About This?
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."
Genesis 41: 39 (NIV)
Joseph learned to get out of his pit of misery and embraced "the lemonade principle." After Joseph was promoted to one of the most powerful positions in the world, he looked back on all of the unhappy situations, realizing that it was all a means to produce much good and preserve many lives. He was only seventeen when life started to hand him some giant-sized lemons. WOW!
Just think of what Joseph must have felt like as a young man going through rejection from his brothers, purpose derailed, the pain of the pit, and the prison of limitations. Through it all, he made lemonade and so can you!
So, I encourage you to look at your unhappy situation and start asking yourself; "What's good about this pit?" Not sarcastically, but objectively. The truth is that life tends to be a bitter, then sweet, experience. Most unhappy people have not accepted that. They expect only good things to happen and make those good things the basis for their happiness. I don't want to burst your bubble, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Even though we tend to not like the tests and trials we go through, we grow through them and good often is the net result and life is better and richer, if we learn to make lemonade. Decide To Be Happy! Here is how; No matter what happens today, ask yourself; "What's good about this?" Then look for the good in the bitter situation and say; "That's good!"
Make Lemonade Recipe
This week I want you to really apply the lesson by making some real lemonade. I have included 5 Be Happy Lemonade Recipes in my book. While you drink it, close your eyes and thank God for turning your bitter into sweet! Do this! HAVE SOME FUN! Try these recipes, relax and enjoy the process.
Pink Lemonade
INGREDIENTS:
· 2 cups sugar
· 9 cups water
· 2 cups lemon juice
· 1 cup cranberry juice
PREPARATION: Mix everything in a pitcher and stir until dissolved.
Serve lemonade over ice.
LEMONADE IS GOOD!
Say: I Feel Happy! I Feel Healthy! I Feel Terrific!
Say continually; "That's Good!"
One who is full despises honey, but to one who is hungry, even bitter food tastes sweet. Proverbs 27: 7 (GOD'S WORD Translation)
Happy people with real life experience understand that the bitter can be made sweeter than the sweet that has never been bitter. The more bitter the bitter, the sweeter the sweet. WOW! What a tongue twister!
Let me illustrate: What's so good about food? Being hungry! If you fast (go without food) for one day, the next morning you will eat anything that does not eat you first! Food is always awesome or better after fasting. The bitterness of hunger makes food taste even better, or should I say sweeter. But, at times, we have all eaten so much that we did not want to see food for a while no matter how good it was.
How About Sex?
How about sex? What's so good about it? Let's not even go there... Psychologists say that if a man is deprived of food and sex (two of the strongest human needs) for any extended period of time, after which both food and sex are offered, he will always eat the food first. However, after wiping his mouth, he will "quickly" ask if the other part of the deal is still on the table. You know what I'm saying; I don't have to paint any pictures.
What's Good About This?
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."
Genesis 41: 39 (NIV)
Joseph learned to get out of his pit of misery and embraced "the lemonade principle." After Joseph was promoted to one of the most powerful positions in the world, he looked back on all of the unhappy situations, realizing that it was all a means to produce much good and preserve many lives. He was only seventeen when life started to hand him some giant-sized lemons. WOW!
Just think of what Joseph must have felt like as a young man going through rejection from his brothers, purpose derailed, the pain of the pit, and the prison of limitations. Through it all, he made lemonade and so can you!
So, I encourage you to look at your unhappy situation and start asking yourself; "What's good about this pit?" Not sarcastically, but objectively. The truth is that life tends to be a bitter, then sweet, experience. Most unhappy people have not accepted that. They expect only good things to happen and make those good things the basis for their happiness. I don't want to burst your bubble, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Even though we tend to not like the tests and trials we go through, we grow through them and good often is the net result and life is better and richer, if we learn to make lemonade. Decide To Be Happy! Here is how; No matter what happens today, ask yourself; "What's good about this?" Then look for the good in the bitter situation and say; "That's good!"
Make Lemonade Recipe
This week I want you to really apply the lesson by making some real lemonade. I have included 5 Be Happy Lemonade Recipes in my book. While you drink it, close your eyes and thank God for turning your bitter into sweet! Do this! HAVE SOME FUN! Try these recipes, relax and enjoy the process.
Pink Lemonade
INGREDIENTS:
· 2 cups sugar
· 9 cups water
· 2 cups lemon juice
· 1 cup cranberry juice
PREPARATION: Mix everything in a pitcher and stir until dissolved.
Serve lemonade over ice.
LEMONADE IS GOOD!
Say: I Feel Happy! I Feel Healthy! I Feel Terrific!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
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