How to Be Happy

1.  Realize that you won't always be happy.  That is okay.

2.  Live for the happiness of others before your own.  (To be happy, stop worrying about being happy.)

3.  Learn to enjoy the things that you must do.  You won't be happy if your duties all feel like intrusions.

4.  Trust in the promise of heaven.  Do not trust in the promises of temporary things.

5.  Stop sinning.  Enjoy forgiveness.  Forgive.

6.  Do not stuff your calendar, your body, or your home with too much stuff.  Not worth it.

7.  Entrust your Maker with your happiness.  He knows your heart better than you do.

8.  Don't sweat the small stuff.  But find God in the small moments.  The small moments are your life.

9.  Don't try to control people.  Don't try to control things that are out of your control.

10.  Don't take yourself too seriously.  Laugh at yourself a lot.  And laugh a lot in general.

As James Taylor says, "The secret of life is enjoying the passing of time."  As Solomon says, "There is a time for everything under the sun."  Believing God to be good, loving, and sovereign, I believe that all the passing moments of my life are either gifts or gifts in disguise.  God was plotting my happiness, hunting me down to give me himself, before I was even born.  What grace!