Sep 24, 2015

Thankful Thursday

Well happy Thursday! Today, keeping with my personal theme of being happy this week I'm joining up with Lori over at Frog's Lilypad for her Thankful Thursdays.

If you read my To Do Tuesday post you'll remember I had only one item on my list for the week and that was to be happy. 

I looked up the word happy just to get a little insight. Dictionary.com defines happy this way:
happy [hap-ee] 
adjective: happier, happiest. 
1. delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing: to be happy to see a person.
2. characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy: a happy mood; a happy frame of mind.
3. favored by fortune; fortunate or lucky: a happy, fruitful land.

4. apt or felicitous, as actions, utterances, or ideas.

Then I looked up synonyms for happy.

Synonyms 
1. joyous, joyful, blithe, cheerful, merry, contented, gay, blissful, satisfied.
2. favorable, propitious; successful, prosperous. See fortunate.
3. appropriate, fitting, opportune, pertinent.

The single thought that hit me right between my brown eyes was CONTENTMENT. Contentment brings happiness. My lack of happiness was directly related to my lack of contentment.

God has brought me so far from the type of life I grew up in and the circumstances I lived with that I have always found it very easy to be content. Every turn my life has taken since I was born again at 21 has been a step up. Things have consistently gotten better over the last 22 so it's never been a challenge to find contentment.

I've never had a problem with where and what God has given us. I've always been happy to be right where He put us regardless of the grandeur. Contentment has never been a problem until this last month. I realize that my problem hasn't been a lack of things or people that make me "happy" but a lack of contentment with where are lives are right now.

The truth is, everywhere God has ever told us to go, we have went. When He says don't go, we don't. We've done our best to live with a reverent fear of the One who gave us life. So when He says it we try to do it and do it with a good attitude. My problem is that this whole season of my life, God has appointed and I'm resisting His plan. Shame on me! There isn't anything going on right now in our life that should cause me to resist so why am I?

I have fallen prey to an "I want" mentality. As long as we live in "I want-ville" we can never arrive at "Content-burgh". I've been cruising around and burning up precious fuel in "I want-ville" way too long. Whether it's a person (or people in my case) or a thing, staying in "I want-ville" too long is dangerous. Dangerous to us as Christians and dangerous to the abundant life God wants to give us. John 10:10 says:
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
So, for this whole "happy" thing to be possible I must get a firm grip on the big C. Contentment is the key to happiness and it's the one ingredient I've been missing lately. I've stopped and wondered often why I feel depressed when everything in my life seems perfect. I have a more than amazing relationship with the man of my dreams. We have a lovely, comfortable dwelling place. We have a church family that adore us. We have good, faithful friends that are there if and when we need them. We both enjoy great health. We have saved, healthy, smart children. What could possibly be making me sad? A sheer lack of contentment with the season of life that God has given me.

No more! I have identified the culprit in my life. The one that causes most of my downheartedness and I'm finished with it! Dissatisfaction and I are breaking up! I'm finished with it. I'm taking Contentment by the hand and we're going to get coffee. Today, tomorrow and for as long as I trust God, I'm going to be content and by being content I'm going to be HAPPY.

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding
                                            Proverbs 3:13-18

So I'm joining Lori today for Thankful Thursday because I'm thankful for those "wake-up" moments God gives us. Those moments when things look a little clearer and make a little more sense. I'm thankful today because God gave me a "wake-up" moment and I woke up.



17 comments:

  1. Hi Tori, Godliness with contentment is great gain😃
    Thank you for sharing with us at Lori's place.
    God bless

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  2. This post really resonated with me. I've been struggling with being content lately. I wonder why it's so hard to just be? Great post!

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    1. Isn't that true. It's so hard to just be content but it's the key to happiness. Glad you stopped by and visited!

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  3. "Content-burgh" -- I love it! Great thoughts for today, especially as we enter fall and thanksgiving season. :)

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    1. Thanks Arlene, glad to see your smiling face!

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  4. Hi Tori, you have a nice blog...lots of encouragement here. :)
    I struggle with contentment, too, especially when I see most people around me who seem to sail through life with no trials or struggles, while my family gets more than our fair share. But He is faithful in all of it, and sustains us. Thankful for His grace! :)

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    1. Thank you Lisa for the encouraging words and for visiting me here at Home Away From Home.

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  5. Anonymous7:19 PM

    Yeah....I have learned the hard way to find joy in the little things. My husband shakes his head at me when I giggle every night over spitting my toothpaste, but when it had to drool out of your mouth for months, being able to spit your toothpaste is something to rejoice over!

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  6. Tori, I could have written this post! I have been so discouraged lately about where we are at that I get dissatisfied with everything. It's when someone mentions or I read something I've written about how God provided everything we've needed since being here brings me back to reality. I wrote a post back in June titled Thankfulness Leads to Contentment, I had to click over and read it the other day, it was a wake up call for me...again. Thank you for linking up with Thankful Thursdays.

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  7. My Pastor made a statement last week that has stuck in my mind....when things are not what you want, or they are as bad as they can get, God is right outside the door of your heart and mind, and will give you greater peace, contentment and happiness than you can ever imagine. Just keep 'talking to Him, and telling Him about it'. "Change is constant, contentment is captured". Be blessed today.

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  8. Just wanted to stop by and thank you for commenting on my blog. I'm glad are able to reconnect! We are definitely bloggers from the "old" days; not too many of us around anymore. Have a "happy" weekend! :)

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  9. Oh, there's nothing like having that personal relationship with the Lord and letting Him speak truth to us....even if it kinda hurts sometimes!!! So glad you've chosen to be happy....because it truly is a choice!!!

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  10. Tori, I love this! I just tweeted my favorite sentence! As long as we live in "I want-ville" we can never arrive at "Content-burgh". :-)
    Thank you so much for your kind comments over at my blog! I am so glad we made a connection! I love your little corner of the blog world!
    Blessings and smiles,
    Lori

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  11. As long as we live in "I want-ville" we can never arrive at "Content-burgh"-- love! I am trying to count the blessings I have instead of dwelling on the things I don't. (Phil. 4:11 is a good verse on being content).
    Blessings,
    Aimee

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  12. Beautiful...I think we all struggle with this at a time or two....thank you Tori for a lovely post. Blessings

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  13. I enjoy so much reading thankful posts. I do one on Fridays and they brighten my whole week. So glad I saw this on the New Mrs. Adventures link up. Happy Fall!

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Hey thanks in advance for leaving a comment, sure do appreciate it!!