2012-09-27T10:41:00-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com /feeds/topics/happiness/ http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-personal-power/the-great-door-opener-6709 2012-09-27T10:41:00-05:00 Your greatest attention getter for Christ may be that you have a smile in a sea of sour. A Christian draws his joy, not from what's going on around him, but who Jesus is going on inside him. Nehemiah said, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-personal-power/an-air-of-expectancy-6645 2012-07-05T15:36:19-05:00 You know you've really prayed when you get off your knees expectantly and you go through your day looking for the fingerprints of God on that day. It may not be like I thought it would be, but there will be His surprises. Expectation is the byproduct of faith. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/the-altar-whatever-it-takes-6085 2010-05-07T11:42:44-05:00 Maybe you've almost put your life on hold until you find that man or woman to marry. Don't waste a precious day of your life waiting for what you don't have. Live this day - single or married - with all your heart! And don't let your waiting start to turn you hard and cynical and bitter or negative. Those kinds of responses insult the God who said He will meet your needs. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-most-important-relationship/the-gilligan-syndrome-2519 2009-09-25T14:25:48-05:00 What is the Gilligan syndrome? Going farther than you wanted to, staying longer than you planned to. It might be happening to you right now. Jesus told us about a young man it happened to many years ago... http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-most-important-relationship/beautiful-things-that-fall-apart-5830 2009-09-10T12:43:34-05:00 What Jesus offers is the one relationship - the one love that will totally fill the hole in your heart. It's the relationship with Him that the Bible says you were literally created for. That's why all those other beautiful things ultimately seem so hollow. But that relationship with Jesus is impossible as long as your sin stands between you and Him. No religion can take it away. Only He can because He died to pay for it. If there was any other way, He would not have paid that price. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2068:3&version=NIV 2009-07-20T15:14:12-05:00 Where is happiness found? In obedience to God, who grants true joy and happiness to those who trust in Him. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%202:24-26&version=NIV 2009-07-20T13:32:56-05:00 How do we find happiness in life? Not by pursuing wealth, fame, and pleasure, as the author of this passage learns to his chagrin. After chasing after life's distractions in search of happiness, he learns that true happiness comes from God, who bestows it on those who follow Him. http://hutchcraft.com/A-Word-With-You/Your-Most-Important-Relationship/Joy-In-The-Jungle-4116 2008-08-18T16:13:14-05:00 You know, we all have things in our environment that are unpleasant - people that irritate or hurt us, circumstances that get us down, little injustices, stubborn problems. But when we look at the grace that God gave Martin Burnham - and we know we have access to that same grace - I have to ask, "What's our excuse for a bad attitude?" http://navpress.com/store/product.aspx?id=9781576836484 2008-06-06T15:22:03-05:00 The Lost Virtue of Happiness Discovering the Disciplines of the Good Life Even in an age of instant gratification, life's best takes time and effort. What is happiness? http://woh.org/pdf/books/how_to_live_happily.pdf 2007-12-19T12:21:49-05:00 When it comes to knowing how to live, all of us share some of that ineptness. We greatly need both direction and inner strength. In Jesus Christ we can learn how to live - and live happily.