A December to Remember

 

As I end this difficult year, I want to contact my blog family and friends to wish them a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  It has been a year filled with challenges, but as of now, we are still in good health and very thankful for it. It seems everyone is ready for 2020 to go away and for the promise of 2021. Maybe we are expecting too much, but it will be interesting to see what happens.

A new Christmas star will appear on December 21, 2020 in the southwestern sky in the hour after sunset.  The alignment of Jupiter and Saturn will create a very bright star that can be seen by the naked eye. It has been 800 years since this great conjunction has occurred and another 60 in 2080 before it happens again.  Perhaps this is God’s gift to us to encourage us after a long, tough year.

As the Covid-19 vaccines begin to arrive in hospitals, labs, and drug stores across the country, there is hope on the horizon for better days ahead. It has been nearly a year of lockdowns, masks, and social distancing. Here in Georgia, we have lived an almost normal life, but we are tired of the masks and other precautions we have had to take.  Covid shut down our business and we are still trying to decide what to do next.  I am enjoying the peace and quiet and not feeling so rushed to accomplish something.  Charles has days when he is looking for his next adventure.

Christmas will be relatively quiet at the Dixon house. My Christmas came early when we had family for Charles’ birthday and Thanksgiving.  Rose Davis, Stuart’s daughter, spent four weeks with us before returning to Texas.

Last Saturday, we had high tea and other local granddaughter Alexa Davis joined us for the party.  A good time was had by all. 

On Christmas Day, two sons will join us for lunch and phone calls will be made to family spread far and wide in Texas, North Carolina, and Toronto, Canada.  I hope that you will be able to spend some time—virtual or in person—with those you love and reflect on the reason for the season of Christmas. 

May God bless you during this holiday when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 (KJV) 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

 

The Pursuit of Happiness

Who doesn’t want to live a satisfying life?  Humans are complex and travel many different paths in life, but everyone is looking for meaning and purpose. We spend most of our time pursuing those things that make us happy. After all we’re Americans and isn’t that what Americans do? The Declaration of Independence gives full support to our desire to be happy.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the                                    pursuit of Happiness.

 I found two internet articles on the subject of long-term happiness and the sense of well-being, which represent two sides of the same coin. The first article from the August 12, 2015 edition of The Week Magazine is entitled The Key to Sustained Happiness is Religion.  Researchers at the London School of Economics and Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands studied various social activities that people chose to pursue.  They also looked at organizations that people join. Politics, Community Involvement, Charities, Education, and Religion were the areas that received the greatest scrutiny.

http://theweek.com/speedreads/571509/study-key-sustained-happiness-religion

The researchers discovered that every area they studied except religion led to decreased happiness over time. Only participation in a religious organization boosted happiness in the long run. The researchers said that they were puzzled by their discovery. 

The second article written by Scott Barry Kaufman on August 2, 2015 on the Scientific American Blog asks What Character Strengths are Most Predictive of Well-Being?  517 people ranging in age from 18-71 were studied to determine their positive strengths. The goal was to use this information in psychology to not just treat mental illness but to encourage people to focus on those positive strengths. Google:  Scientific American Well Being for article.

The characteristics that rose to the top in people who experienced well-being were: Gratitude, Love, Honesty, and Hope. I see a strong connection between participation in a religious organization and those characteristics. Believing in God and studying His Word with a group of like-minded believers will make us more thankful and honest. Stretching our faith muscles will develop a mindset of love and hope. 

Jesus also talked about a full and satisfying life as recorded in the Bible in John 10:10.

I am come that they might have life,

and that they might have it more abundantly.

Pursue happiness and a sense of well-being by investing your life in serving God and serving others. And I would love to hear from you. 

What makes you happy?