Smiles Help!!  Are You Smiling? A Word from THE WORD!!! #162

Just a few words this morning to hopefully brighten your day.  Joy and laughter are good for the soul, and many are weary and tired, rushed and stressed with work, home, shopping, spending money—or trying to come up with the money to spend!  These are perilous times and scripture told us they would come, but don’t lose heart—our God reigns and Jesus is coming soon!

“And a voice came out of the throne, saying,

Praise our God,

all ye his servants,

and ye that fear him,

both small and great.

6 And I heard

as it were the voice of a great multitude,

and as the voice of many waters,

and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying,

Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”   Revelation 19:5-6

Oh, Hallelujah sings my soul—as I sit here listening to Handel’s Messiah singing the Hallelujah Chorus, one of my favorite pieces of music—and I am smiling.  How about you.

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:

but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”  Proverbs 17:22

I pray that you will find the “joy of the Lord” and smile, through your tears if necessary.  I was trying to encourage a friend recently who is carrying a heavy load of caring for an aging parent in the throes of dementia and heart problems; now not to give away any personal secrets but part of our conversation may help you see that sometimes, lightening the spirit with laughter and light-hearted banter can help.  Our texting conversation was something like this:

       “me:  take one step at a time….

         My friend: can I crawl?

        Me:  not unless you’re wearing knee pads…

My friend:  sending a meme of a woman on the floor rolling up into a carpet…

Me: rolling is fine, but you better watch those corners, they’ll get you….”

No great words of wisdom, or spiritual depth, just a friend trying to make another friend smile in the midst of her tears.  Smiling is ok!  Smiling is good for the soul, the spirit, and the face—especially for those looking at it, and it’s often contagious!

“A merry heart

maketh a cheerful countenance:

but by sorrow of the heart

the spirit is broken.”  Proverbs 15:13

“All the days of the afflicted

are evil:

but he that is of a merry heart

hath a continual feast.

16 Better is little with the fear of the LORD

than great treasure

and trouble therewith.”  Proverbs 15:15-16

Money is nice to have, and friends (real friends) are a delight to the soul, and an encouragement to the downhearted, but I’ve learned that you can’t buy love or friendship, but you can nurture and cultivate both, or you can give up and go without—but that is a most dreary way to live.  I’ve known people like that, and I just smile and say, “Have a blessed day!”—and while it sometimes evokes a smile—and sometimes not so much—but either way, I know I’ve spread a little love, cheer, and kindness.  You never know what that little clerk may be facing, or that teller, or that service person on the phone may be worried about; so spread a little cheer with a smile on your face, in your voice and everywhere you go.  It costs little and can do so much good.

Nehemiah was one who stepped up to help his people rebuild out of chaos, and that under circumstances of great stress and fear, but as they gathered to hear The Word of The Lord, their hearts were sad, yet Nehemiah encouraged them to rejoice in what they had heard from God; rather than sorrow, he called them to rejoice, share what they had with those who had none and to, in my paraphrase, “put on a smile, rejoice in the Lord and spread it around”!  Won’t you do the same, especially as we celebrate the gift of our Redeemer’s birth—HE who came to die in our place, so that we could live!

“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.

11 I am the good shepherd:

the good shepherd

giveth his life for the sheep.”  John 10:10-11

And that my friends, is something to smile about.  Spread the love of Jesus, smile at the world and don’t be ashamed to wish others a “Merry CHRISTmas”!  Blessings on your day!

With a great big smile!

Amen and Amen!!!