Finding joy in the everyday

This Friday, the 13th is WORLD KINDNESS DAY and it is all about doing random acts of kindness expecting nothing in return.  A warm smile is the universal language of kindness - William Arthur Ward There are many things we can do to bring a smile to someone face and change their day for the better. If ever single every person did one act of kindness every day, just imagine what the world would be like. And if we all taught our children to be kind to each other, to not hurt other people, to not say nasty things, to not bully — our future society would also be a nicer place to live. Sadly, we are living in a mean and cruel world where every one is looking after themselves and have forgotten how to be kind to anyone else.  Even our bureaucrats are lacking in compassion and our governments tend to be more interested in the rich and not the poor. The elderly are forgotten and the young often overlooked. We live in a society that has forgotten the meaning of kindness....

I once worked with a man who was into the stock market. He invested every cent he had, he took out a loan to increase his shares and every day he monitor his wealth on his vast and complex spreadsheets. He did make lots of money but in the process because obsessed and wore socks with holes in because he didn't want to waste a cent. I felt that by the time he retired he would be a millionaire but not happy and unable to spend any of the money he made because he just wanted to keep making more.  He wasn't a happy man and his marriage had failed. But he had lots of money.  Sad. We can't take our material goods or wealth to heaven and to be honest, the more we have doesn't mean more happiness. In fact it is highly like to take us further away from Christ, more stressed and less happy. Don't let your possessions possess you.   ******

We live in a world that is suffering from a complete lack of contentment and joy. People seems to be always searching for "it": buying self-help books, going to therapists, altering their diets, going on holidays to "discover" themselves, changing jobs, buying things believing material goods will make them happy but contentment continues to allure them.  It isn't that hard when you think about — the first place to look is in the bible and to study God's Word where there are so many verses about joy and contentment such as  rejoicing in the Lord always and through rejoicing one WILL find contentment.  We aren't promised happiness, but we will find joy and contentment knowing the Lord, even at the toughest of times.  I thought I would write down 101 ways to help you on the road to contentment and joy, simple things that are inexpensive, quite easy to do and some can be done with love ones!! But remember, the very last one on thi...

Even on a cold wet grey old day, there is still plenty of sunshine to be found - you just need to look for it. Sadly so many people grumble on a days like this, rather than looking for the joy, the simple things that can create so much sunshine into one's life. Here are  some to my favourite activities on a cold wet day: Reading Sewing Watching a heartwarming film Listening to beautiful music Enjoying a hot chocolate with friends Visit the library Make a jigsaw Make some birthday cards Quilting Baking Creating a gift to surprise someone with Call a friend you have spoken to in years Build a photo album Knit Write a letter Listen to an audio story Playing a board game What do you do to bring sunshine into your life on a grey day? We live in a world full of people who complain - they complain about everything and anything. We need to be different. Instead of complaining we need to look up and say Thankyou for all the Lord has provid...

Dear blogging friends, I write to you from a very grey and cold location - it really does look bleak outside (ssh don't tell anyone, but I am still in my dressing gown and warm slippers!), but according to the weather bureau, once the clouds lift it should be a lovely sunny day.  Sometimes life is like this - all around us looks bleak and cold, but if only we trust in the Lord and lean on Him, we will see the sunshine through the clouds.  What a week, it was so busy, with book club on Tuesday evening, working late on Wednesday, vet on Thursday and car service on Friday.  I don't like being home late during the week, fortunately it rarely happens and  I thank the Lord as He gave me the extra energy I needed to get through those two long days (God never lets us down when we need that extra energy). However I wasn't looking forward to Friday - I was nervous about taking the car to be service as it isn't something I normally do and I am car illiterate (of ...

4# Yellow daisies If someone asked me what was the colour of joy, my reply would be yellow. Yellow is such a joyful colour - even on a grey day, these yellow daisies from my garden provide splashes of sunshine. One cannot be angry when glancing at these flowers. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1:16 ****

3# Warm memories I have found much joy in the everyday over the last three weeks at home.  Whilst this time draws quickly to a close, it has created wonderful memories which I will treasure and look back on with pleasure. Memories don't need to be of exciting holidays or a new born baby - memories are made up of fragments of the everyday, which, when you look back, warm you from the inside and make you smile. Memories are timeless treasures for the heart. Watching the setting sun Warm feet snug in slippers What memories have you made from the everyday? *****

To all my blogging friends, I thought it would be fun to start a Facebook page. Who knows why we do things like this . . .  but its a friendly way to reach out to others and share the joy. Below is my new Facebook address and I do hope you join. It will be much less formal than the blog and I do hope a place for feminine conversation (and of course joy in the everyday) and a place to enjoy a nice cup of tea. Beware, I am likely to include recipes, books I am reading, articles I have found interesting, artwork that I love, my cats, domestic activities, quotes, birthdays and anything else that takes my fancy!!   https://www.facebook.com/joyintheeveryday PS lets see how big we can make this community by the weekend!! PS Still trying to figure out how to place a 'Facebook" button on my blog - help welcome :) ***

2# A morning walk in Autumn Reading in the sunshine Home-cooked meal Kale and feta parcels based on spinach and thyme pastries from River Cottage Where have you found joy this week? ******

To encourage others (and myself) to find joy in the everyday, I have decided to start something new. Each week I will be posting a simple photo, a  quote, a passage from a book, a bible verse, perhaps a hymn or something else that has given me joy during the week. I have chosen Sunday - the Lord's Day as He has asked us to be joyful, so lets do just that.  1#  Flowers on our dinning table.  &  Miss Beatrix Bunny keeping guard. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. James 1:2 ****