What Are You Believing For? And What Are You Doing About It?

"I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live..."   --- Ecclesiastes 3:12

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Since early, dark, last December mornings, I've whispered to God, "I believe at least 4 good things will happen today."

Those whispers, that believing, is changing my life.

Oh, when I began doing this (this started as a Joyce Meyer idea), I thought those good things would arrive from friends, family, neighbors, acquaintances. Yet probably just 20 percent (less?) actually do.

The rest of these happy things? They come from 1.) God and 2.) from my own proactivity (which He said I sorely needed).  シ

Proactive: creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after it has happened.

Some cheerful things God brought:

Intensely sunny days after dark ones.

Cherry tomatoes from my garden until Nov. 21st (in Buffalo!)

Mornings warm enough to read outside in December and even January.

Times I knew He moved on friends' hearts to contact me.

Joyful times resulting from choosing proactivity instead of procrastination:

For the first time in 12 years, I've raked away the majority of leaves in my garden beds before Springtime(!)

On a dark, winter's day I sorted through my garden seeds, then ordered new ones via Ebay, using my Rakuten refund and spending less than $1 for each seed pack (oh, that February garden dreaming!).

The glass table top I'd ordered for our guestroom arrived.

My new, wanted-for-10-years chandelier arrived--

--and last week I had a deliriously great time filling out Valentines for friends beneath that chandelier and upon the glass table top.

I found some clothes in an under-the-bed bin I'd forgotten about.

I walked down to the Little Free Library and came home with The Illustrated Walden.

I ordered a book for a Youtuber and she emailed me saying she absolutely loves it.

No longer do I wish for a skylight near my desk: I came up with a solution using my sun-like reading lamp. (Plus, the saving of hundreds of dollars is lovely, too.)

(There's a much longer list, but you'd wonder, "Really? Those tiny things made you happy? Heh.)

Anyway, always at least 4 good things happen every. single. day. Seriously! I count them. Sometimes type them into a draft folder. I remember one Saturday when I counted 12 happy things--oh my!

Yet what most clearly shines from this lesson since December? Believing and proactivity go oh so well together. Their combination is like a recipe for miracles. An invitation. A guarantee.

How will our day feel? It's pretty much up to us.

Two important-to-me things not mentioned, above? Feeding the outdoor birds and switching-on my hearts and cross lights in the dining room window. For whatever reasons, yeah, they make me happy and too, I choose to believe they encourage my neighbors, as well.

"Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."   --- John 16:24

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Valentine's Day! A day for expressing friendship. That's what it's become for me. 

... a special thank-you to all my friends on this Valentine's Day!

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You know how sometimes a movie will stay with you for a couple days? That's how Touchback affected me. Couldn't shake it, didn't want to. Only a tiny bit of language, otherwise highly recommended.

It's Ok To Feel Good.

And here's a fitting thing for Valentine's Day--

It's a brooch I made probably 25 years ago. Used to wear it around and I'd get compliments. So easy! Just hot-glued buttons and costume jewelry to a wooden heart, then hot-glued a large safety pin to the back.

Remember! With Jesus you are stronger than you think.

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15