A joyful heart is good medicine!
I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.
-Audrey Hepburn
The grid through which we see life will determine how we behave in life. A long time ago, I realized that my children needed a happy mama. Since then, there have been many times when I've truly struggled to find joy in my days, but it has become a position of my heart to search for it.
Happiness is a choice that comes from a heart that desires to please God. Happiness is an attitude that, in the will, says, "This is the day the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
How to develop this attitude little by little is another thing all together. Here are some things I have done to cultivate happiness in my home. The more you practice and choose these heart expressions of happiness, the more happy your home will become.
Cultivating Happiness In Your Home
Before you even step out of bed, put your eyes on Jesus and talk to Him.
"Jesus, this is your day. I can only have enough strength for all that I carry if you carry it for me, and if you give your spirit's life into the moments of my days. Please help me to worship you today by choosing to be thankful for the gifts of my children. This is your day, Lord, and I want it to be a day when you are present every moment. I love you, Jesus and am thankful for you being with me."
When you first see your children or husband, greet them with a blessing.
Kiss your husband in front of your children---this makes them feel happy and secure. Choose to take time to tell him goodbye and kiss him before he goes to work.
"I am the most blessed mama in the world to have you as my little boy."
"Good morning sunshine. I am happy to see you this morning. Did you have any dreams?'“
"Mama needs a kiss from you today because you are so very special to me."
"I am so happy to be your mama! God must have loved me to give me you."
When a child grows up with a blessing most every morning when he awakens, he feels wanted and affirmed deep inside.
Put on music at different points all day.
Turn something on when you do the dishes or chores with your children (I prefer something upbeat!)
At the dinner table play something instrumental so everyone can talk without interruption.
Put it on when you are in the car, and when you have a sick child, and when you are alive, and … !
Certain music, scientists have said, lowers blood pressure, soothes the nerves, gives people a sense of contentment, helps some children do better at math problems, and takes the focus off work so time goes by more quickly and pleasantly.
Place fun things in your day that you as well as your family will enjoy.
I light candles a lot just because it makes me feel civilized.
I instituted afternoon tea times because I wanted a civilized moment, and it made me happy. A cuppa and a small treat, like a piece of dark chocolate.
I love to walk, sing, dance, have fun, and live with beauty and harmony, so I place things every day in my life that give me happiness or a sense of fun. Flowers, walks at sunset, back rubs, sitting out on the deck and watching the pines bend in the wind… these small joys have helped me to calm the raging life storms I've faced.
The practice of being thankful and cultivating joy is not one that is perfected overnight, and there will undoubtedly be stormier days that challenge us more than others, but the more we take time to look at the day the Lord has made and make the choice to rejoice, we will find that joyfulness becomes a more natural state.
May your days be happy and bright.