Browsing Tag

Happy

Handful of happy November 2015

Let’s pause and appreciate the things we have, not the things we don’t.

When it comes to the month of November, the moving from one season to another, the grasp of Thanksgiving, let’s hold fast to that thought … appreciating What. We. Have.

And the blessings of …

Love. Grace. Calm. Encouragement.

Here is the handful of posts from my Happy Day Moments Facebook Page and my Twitter feed from November that had the most likes, the most comments, the most shares. {Go ahead, tweet the ones that touch your heart.} 🙂

Love and kindness have transformative power

Communicate your love and appreciation while others are still around to hear it.

There will be water poured on your thirsty land and there will be grace for your desperate need.

Although you cannot calm the storm, you can remain calm in the storm.

Choose to be an encourager. A win for others. A win for you.

It’s not our job to change who we are in order to become someone else’s idea of a worthwhile human being.

Don’t wait for some special day; celebrate each day as special.

Relationships are what matter most. Not possessions. Not pursuits.

Life is tough, my dear, but so are you.

Do not be arrogant and unconcerned; and do not neglect the poor and needy.

***

And approaching Christmas, let’s hold onto this …

The evidence of a grateful heart is generosity and unselfishness.

 

Happy napping

I love to nap.

I’ve confessed my love of popcorn. My love of “marathoning.” Now I’m confessing my love of napping.

The older I get, the sweeter that time seems to be. I’ve come to highly value the snooze.

Naps of any length. Naps when it’s quiet. Naps when it’s noisy.

Planned napping.  Emergency napping.

Dozing. Snoozing. Catnapping. Catching forty winks. Getting some shut-eye. Grabbing a few Zs.

Each one. How utterly wonderful.

I’m from a family of nappers. My Dad being King of the Nappers. The first Thanksgiving my husband spent with my family, he was in awe that every one of us found some furniture, some space, to curl up or stretch out and drift into napland. A Kehoe talent. To be sure.

But studies indicate that napping is good for us. And I’m a strong believer in doing what’s good.

Napping, therefore, is not a sign of weakness, nor is it a slothful waste of resources. Naps are not just good for babies. They’re good for everyone.

A well-timed nap can boost cognitive function, improve work output, and make us healthier, happier, and all around better people. An admirable goal. My goal.

I have experience in all kinds of napping:

Couch napping – No doubt, the favored nap location for most. This naptime is best when stretched out and snuggling with a blankie or afghan or quilt. The softer the better. Better yet, with a cover warm from the dryer. Or best yet, with someone’s at the end of the couch massaging your feet.

Chair napping – The best chairs for napping are cushy, not straight-back. The Laz-E-Boy, stretched out with footrest up, is almost couch-like and offers a premier napping position. But my napping skills are now so advanced that I can konk out sitting, just sitting in a chair, with no need for feet elevation.

Bed napping – Crawling into bed under the covers to nap happens mostly when I’m a sickie. Otherwise, it’s too much like bedtime, not naptime. Bed naps are looong naps. Hours looong.

Desk napping – These naps were a common occurrence during my college years. Those long all-nighters of studying/writing papers, leading to exhaustion and just-let-me-lay-my-head-down for a few minutes. The major issue with desk napping, however, is the drooling. Waking up in that little puddle. With papers stuck to your cheek.

Floor napping – One of the best memories of floor naps was when I was a four year old. We lived in a house with no air-conditioning and on those scorching summer afternoons, my brothers and I would grab our pillows, line up next to Dad on the living room floor, and sort-of nap.

Chaise lounge napping – Oh, those outdoor naps. Those basking in the summer sun naps. Optimal location: poolside.

Car napping – Caution: should be attempted only as a passenger. Obviously. Ditto for plane napping and all travel-related napping.

Pew napping – These naps –really, I-was-just-praying – are not recommended for longer than 30 seconds.

Movie-seat napping – see above.

Hammock napping – I know folks can accomplish this feat, but I have serious getting-in-and-out issues with these contraptions. I only performed this nap feat once.

Blanket-on-grass napping – My least least naptime option. My preferred avoidance of all things buggy and creepy crawly.

Naps deserve a place in our lives — they definitely do.

Now, all this has made me tired. Time for a nap.

Hahaha. Let’s go for it. 🙂

Happy Day Moment Echoes: 5.15

There will be blossoms.

More than likely, you’re experienced deep, hard moments. Maybe you’re like me and are in the middle of them right now. Moments of emptiness loneliness bleakness.

And yet. (Those two words are a promise.)

And yet, for all the struggles, questions, hard times, there is gratitude.

Gratitude that shines a light in every dark, desolate place. Gratitude that remembers a summer, a fruitful place.

That season of minimal color, stark branches, when the world feels forsaken, will become a season of blossoms.

And I will be grateful.

For every season holds something of value. The buried seed blooms.

As Echoes of the May posts on my Happy Day Moment Facebook page,

As one who strives and yearns and (sometimes) blooms to live with gratitude, I make these statements as blossoms to you:

Pink blossom (Explore 2014-05-09)

It’s not happy moments that make us grateful, but gratefulness that makes happy moments.

Be profoundly, crazily, completely, utterly you.

Life is too short to live even one day without celebrating and expressing love for others.

Let the next chapter of your story be a story of love and rescue.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Don’t be defeated by hatefulness, but defeat hatefulness with love.

We all make mistakes, but let’s forgive one another, covering offenses with love when we’re wronged or hurt.

When you see others in a hard season, love them well.

 

It’s good to believe that anything is possible.

God’s grace can never fail

People will always judge or misjudge you; live with kindness and forgiveness anyway.

Love covers over all wrongs.

Essential to living a life with joy, confidence, faith, and hope is remembering to be grateful.

 

Let’s pause before we speak and understand the weight of our words.

Don’t let the voices of guilt or inadequacy whisper negativity into your moments.

Stop judging; start accepting. Stop rejecting; start embracing. Stop withholding; start giving.

Be hopeful. Share hope. Because in the end God wins.

Nobody is better at being you than you. Say yes to being who God made you.

 

May these words be as a hand upon your shoulder: “Despite everything, you belong to God.”

The key to being happy is to make kindness a fundamental pursuit in your life.

We can always choose kindness — a most excellent expression of love.

Nothing much matters if we don’t have love. Love others extravagantly.

 

Help others in ways small and large and put aside a “payback” mentality.

We are equally important and we all have different gifts for doing things well. Be you!

Embrace new opportunities. Enter new relationships and new situations with courage.

Each and every passing day, we are the beneficiaries of a myriad of mercies

Faith helps us live with the unanswered.

 

Be deliberately encouraging to others and see what happens.

There is always something more important than our feelings, and that is God’s love.

Shift your focus to thankfulness and all the ways you are blessed.

Choose to make time for the sweetness of intimacy that comes from investing heart time with those we love.

P.S. – If you enjoyed this post and think it may be helpful for others, please share it by using the social media buttons! Thanks! Or post a comment and let me know what blessed  you. 🙂

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