If you have ever experienced happiness... you have the ingredients within to experience it again (read on)

1. If you boil it down... happiness is a feeling caused by a chemical reaction in our brains that effect the way we feel. 

2. If you have experienced it at least  one time, that means you have the potential and ability to experience again

3. Most people do not realize that they  can release those chemicals, at will, in their brains in order to experience those feelings of happiness. Most leave it to chance. 

4. There are many practices that you can utilize to release those chemicals. Recalling/ reliving happy moments, meditation, worship, prayer, gratefulness, living in the moment, physical activity are broad ideas of how to release those chemicals in your brain. 

5. It takes intentional practice of these modalities to get better and better and manipulating at will these chemicals in your brain. 

6. You could use the short cut of the abuse of alcohol, food, drugs and numerous other vices to achieve a counterfeit happiness but that road forks rather quickly and you find yourself on a path... even farther from your destination and goal of a happy fulfilled life. 

Please feel free to discuss with comments here or on messenger with me. This is an area i am greatly interested in. 

Thanks for reading

God Is My Cake

                                                  

People will always fail you at some time or another..... even the best are imperfect..... so don't be surprised when it happens.   Because it WILL happen!!!

Now life is like cake.  God is my cake...  I get to enjoy cake everyday.  No matter what is going on in my life... I always have cake.  Everything else is sprinkles, icing, or whatever else you want on top of your cake. 

There are days when all you will eat is cake.... but that alone is enough.  Then... there will be days when extra things happen.... those are the sprinkles and icing in life.  Maybe it is a phone call from a friend.  Maybe it is something nice that a complete stranger does for you.  Maybe it is a good movie.  Perhaps it is a memory of a fun time you had years ago.  Icing typically does not come every day.  Sometimes you can go weeks without sprinkles or icing.  But.... YOU ALWAYS HAVE CAKE!  

So.. on a day.. when you are feeling lonely, unneeded or unappreciated... go enjoy yourself some cake.  Realize that tomorrow there might be icing.  Or just go ahead and make your own icing.  Make a list of things you really like.  A TV show, a book, a country drive, call a friend, relive a happy moment.  Make it happen, and apply that icing to your own cake.  

But... remember... you ALWAYS HAVE CAKE! 

This is an addendum to "God Is My Cake" 9/5/2019
If you are feeling down because you don't have icing on your cake today.. just look back to the last time when you had icing and relive those moments..  Chances are.. it wasn't that long ago... 
Then... look forward to the next time you are going to have icing... maybe the weekend... if you don't see any in your near future.. then do something to make your own icing!

My Favorite Christmas Gift

My favorite gift this Christmas? It is a gift that my Father gave me. That gift is faith. This gift causes me to believe in the grace of God that causes me to walk in a wonderful life.

The Father offers this free gift to everyone. Some don't ever open it... in fact they snub their nose at the Giver. Some open it and toss it aside because there think there are better things out there. Some open it and enjoy it for awhile and are grateful but then listen to others when they say there are so much more better gifts out there. Then there are those who open that gift.... not totally understanding it... but they continue to explore it. It never ceases to amaze them as they explore... it becomes more vast. They realize that this gift is a mystery that can't be explained... it has to be experienced.

I have been in every stage of this gift receiving. But as I have walked down the paths that these decisions have led me, and began to experience the consequences of my decisions... I saw the destruction that was coming my way. I quickly ran back and looked for that gift of faith and began to explore it again only to realize that what it offers is what I truly want and need.

Today, as I have some time alone to spend in the Father's presence. I realize this...

You will show me the path of life: In Your presence is fullness of joy and at Your right hand pleasures for evermore. Ps 16:11