Yes, we have a contract for the sale of our current house.  Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for God’s will and kairos-timing!

But no, that has nothing to do with happiness. (Although we ARE relieved!)

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Happiness as a concept came up the other day in the middle of a podcast. Listening to 2 professional baseball players describing their dream job gave me pause.

These men are in the height of their ball careers; they are married to women who love and support them; they are followers of Christ and they are what the world would call successful.  What more could one ask?

But when they described their schedules, I thought – “Who would want that kind of life, that kind of day?”  It’s April and their baseball season is ramping up.  A snapshot of their lives reveals this kind of quotidian activity:

They….

·         whizz by middle America while riding on buses, briefly stopping a day or two in forgettable cities

·         crack nuts, spit out pistachio shells while hanging out in dugouts

·         study their Bibles in sweaty locker rooms

·         risk injury and mercurial statistics on the diamonds

·         catch up with wives & children by skyping in the evenings from different hotels

This is what little boys dream of? Sacrifice for? Skip ‘life’ for?     

I thought about what it takes to make me happy – and it boils down to how I get to spend my day.  No matter WHAT the job, WHAT the family arrangement, WHAT the finances, WHAT the health, WHAT the house and stuff…..what makes me happy is:

·         Being well-rested

·         Spending unconstrained time reading my Bible and meditating on what God shows me about Himself, His Love and my future with Him and fellow members of the ‘holy bridal party’

·         Eating healthy food while sharing thoughtful conversation with Mike… other family… friends

·         Walking/ working out an hour a day

·         Keeping up with email, podcasts and blogs on the internet

·         Reading good books each day  

I already have all the above right now in my life. Any other details, including where I work, where I live, where I worship…those are the interchangeable parts.

Maybe you think I’m too reductionist.  But it sure is freeing to know that I don’t have to have anything else to make me happy.

Hebrews 13:5 – Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”