Just a Spoonful of Sugar

How funny - this just popped in my head and it's amazing how relevant it is to what I wanted to write:

In ev'ry job that must be done
There is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap!
The job's a game

And ev'ry task you undertake
Becomes a piece of cake
A lark! A spree! It's very clear to see that

A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down..!

What am I talking about? Let's see. Last weekend I moved home to my parent's house for the last month I am here in R-kansas. Not sure what to say about that! Friday I packed everything I could into every corner of my car and I set off. Saturday morning I got up bright and early to come back to get the remainder of my things. It was not difficult getting everything packed up and transported. The hard and long part was bringing everything in and unpacking - and in 90+ degree weather - climbing up stairs! Okay so it was a lot of work and yet it wasn't difficult at all! Wherever the motivation came from, it felt good to get everything done in one day and get settled in.

I'm still working, so now I have to drive an hour every morning to work. It seems like that would be a long time but it isn't bad at all! I've had a chance to spend some time with God, pray for different things, listen to some teachings, etc. Here I go again making situations that may seem difficult or consuming into something sweet and well worth it..

I've been thinking about something lately and I just really want to share it: joy. Joy is an inside job. It is a decision we make to be blessed and thankful in all things (not for all things). This isn't always easy. We are sometimes faced with situations that continue to be a nuisance and it can be challenging to always have to change our thinking and be "happy." Well, how about we take Mary Poppins' advice here... Let's "find the fun" - let's look for the positives in the situation, or let's look for something that we can do to turn the negative into a positive - positive solutions!

Recently we've been learning about the book of Ephesians and in chapter 4, verse 2 it says, "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;" Meekness, longsuffering, forbearance - these all have to do with patience. We want to build strength in patience, that way we can experience God's peace in situations.

Hebrews 6:14,15
Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

When we patiently believe God to help us in situations, we will see that He will meet our every need! Verse 3 of Ephesians 4 goes on to say, "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." There you have it. We strive for unity in the bond of peace. Patience toward ourselves and one another, when it is motivated by God's Word, yields peace. And with a peaceful heart we can decide to be joyful!

Colossians 3:15
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Let's change our perspective and look for the positive solutions in situations, with patience and peace ruling in our hearts, believing God to meet our needs - then we can have a joy that nothing can take away!