HAPPINESS
INCLUDES: Recreation.
RELATED INDEX TOPICS: Cheerfulness, Positiveness, Humour, Communion with God: Praise, Contentment.
1. Scientists have been studying the effect of laughter on human beings & have found, among other things, that laughter has a profound & instantaneous effect on virtually every important organ in the human body. Laughter reduces health-sapping tensions & relaxes the tissues as well as exercising the most vital organs. It is said that laughter, even when forced, results in beneficial effect on us, both mentally & physically. Next time you feel nervous & jittery, indulge in a good laugh.
2. Happiness is to know the Saviour,
Living a life within His favour,
Having a change in my behaviour
--Happiness is the Lord!
Happiness is a new creation,
"Jesus & me" in close relation,
Having a part in His salvation
--Happiness is the Lord!
Happiness is to be forgiven,
Living a life that's worth the livin',
Taking a trip that leads to Heaven
--Happiness is the Lord!--Ira F. Stanphil
3. Seeking the happiness of others as God has ordered us to do, is the only way to have true happiness! If you'll try to make OTHERS happy, it'll make YOU happy, & you'll have a little Heaven right here on Earth! You don't find happiness by chasing it. Happiness finds you by your bringing happiness to others. That's God's system, that's God's rule, that's God's way, that's God's Law of Love. God'll make you happy if you make others happy. It's that simple!
4. There is this difference between happiness & wisdom: He that thinks himself the happiest man, really is so; but he that thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest fool.
5. The plain fact is that human beings are happy only when they are striving for something worthwhile.
6. Happiness is neither within us only, or without us; it is the union of ourselves with God.--Blaise Pascal
7. Searching for true happiness in the context of a God-less life is like looking for a needle in a haystack that doesn't have any.
8. God allows us to use pleasures, but not to live in them; to take delights, but not that they should take us.
9. One evening in 1808, a gaunt, sad-faced man entered the office of Dr. James Hamilton in Manchester, England. The doctor was struck by the melancholic appearance of his visitor. He inquired:
"Are you sick?"
"Yes, doctor, sick of a mortal malady."
"What malady?"
"I am frightened of the terror of the world around me. I am depressed by life. I can find no happiness anywhere, nothing amuses me, & I have nothing to live for. If you can't help me, I shall kill myself."
"The malady is not mortal. You only need to get out of yourself. You need to laugh; to get some pleasure from life."
"What shall I do?"
"Go to the circus tonight to see Grimaldi, the clown. Grimaldi is the funniest man alive. He'll cure you."
A spasm of pain crossed the poor man's face as he said: "Doctor, don't jest with me; I am Grimaldi."
10. We've heard of an old Quaker who advertised that he would give 40 acres of rich farm land to anyone who was perfectly satisfied with that which he had. One seeker came to see the Quaker.
"Art thou perfectly satisfied with what thou hast?
"Yes," answered the hopeful guest.
"Then why dost thou want this land?" was the old Quaker's significant reply.
11. To be content with what we possess is the greatest of all riches.
12. God give me sympathy & sense
And help me keep my courage high;
God give me calm & confidence,
And--please--a twinkle in my eyes.
--Margaret Bailey
13. There is an Eastern tale of a wealthy king who ruled a vast domain, lived in a magnificent palace & had a luxurious court. In spite of all his authority & power, & in spite of his extensive possessions, he was very unhappy. Among the servants in his court there was a renowned sage whose counsel the king frequently asked in times of difficulty & crisis. This sage was summoned to the king's presence. The monarch asked him how to get rid of his anxiety & depression of spirits, how he might be really happy, for he was sick in body & mind. The sage replied, "There is but one cure for the king. Your Majesty must sleep one night in the shirt of a happy man."
Messengers were dispatched throughout the realm to search for a man who was truly happy. But everyone who was approached had some cause for misery, something that robbed them of true & complete happiness. At last they found a man--a poor beggar--who sat smiling by the roadside &, when they asked him if he were really happy & had no sorrows, he confessed that he was a truly happy man. Then they told him what they wanted. The king must sleep one night in the shirt of a happy man, & had given them a large sum of money to procure such a shirt. Would he sell them his shirt that the king might wear it? The beggar burst into uncontrollable laughter, & replied, "I am sorry I cannot oblige the king. I haven't a shirt on my back."--Ecc.2:3-11
14. Joy is the natural outcome of the Christian's obedience to the revealed Will of God.
15. Take a saint, & put him in any condition, & he knows how to rejoice in the Lord.
16. There is as much difference between spiritual joys & earthly as between a banquet that is eaten & one that is painted on the wall.
17. There are two ways of being rich. One is to have all you want, & the other is to be satisfied with what you have.
18. The World's happiness should be spelled "happenness," because it depends on what happens.
19. God has linked together holiness & happiness, & what God has joined together we must not think to put asunder.
20. It's impossible for any of us to go through life without either increasing or diminishing somebody's happiness.
21. A small house will hold as much happiness as a big one.
22. Two things contribute to happiness: What we can do without & what we can do with.
23. Happiness is like the common cold--it's catching!
24. If you cannot find happiness along the way, you will not find it at the end of the road.
25. Happiness is not something you have in your hands; it is something you carry in your heart.
26. Some pursue happiness--others create it.
27. The time to be happy is now, the place to be happy is here, the way to be happy is to make others so.
28. Basis for happiness: Something to do, someone to love, something to look forward to.
29. You will be happier if you will give people a bit of your heart rather than a piece of your mind.
30. We are meant to enjoy our salvation, not endure it.
31. The heart is happiest when it beats for others.
32. Nothing will stop your song quicker than your sin.
33. It is an unrealistic concept of spirituality to think that joy & heaviness cannot go together. Indeed, it is unbiblical.
34. To seek God is to desire happiness; to find Him IS that happiness.
35. It isn't your position that makes you happy or unhappy, it's your disposition.
36. True happiness comes not from having much to live on, but from having much to live for.
37. Why not learn to enjoy the little things--there are so many of them!
38. If you don't enjoy what you have, how could you be happier with more?
39. It is not doing the thing we like that makes life happy; it is learning to like the thing we have to do.
40. Happiness does not come from what you have, but from what you are.
41. It's not WHERE you are but WHAT you are that determines your happiness.
42. There's nothing wrong with living a life of pleasure ... if we get pleasure out of the right things.
43. Tomorrow isn't likely to be much fun for the fellow who can't find anything to enjoy today.
44. We have a little bit of Heaven already--Heavenly hearts, Heavenly Homes, Heavenly loved ones, Heavenly work to do for the Lord, bringing the Heaven of His Love to others! So we're already having a Heaven of a wonderful time even right here on Earth! But this is only a sample of what's coming! This is just the EARNEST of our salvation (Eph.1:14), just a little bit of Heaven here to have His Love & His Spirit now & each other & His wonderful work. So if this is a sample, think what the whole thing is going to be like! Hallelujah!
45. The World's idea of religion is the sadder you are & the more you show that you suffer, the more religious you are! The greatest sufferers & the saddest sacks are supposed to be the most holy & the most religious. They have founded whole orders & monasteries & brotherhoods & convents & nunneries on that principle, that the more solemn & sad you are & the more you suffer, the more you show how religious you are. This is a religion of the Devil, not the Lord! This is a System of Satan, not Christ!
46. What the Hell difference does it matter whether you're happy or not?--Get your mind on the LORD & get your mind on OTHERS & try to just forget yourself & your selfishness & your pride & please OTHER people! Get your mind on the Lord & others! You won't find happiness through the pursuit of it, you'll find happiness through trying to make other people happy!
47. We have Heaven on Earth: Heaven in our Homes & Heaven in our hearts!
48. We have all this & Heaven too! I often feel like the old lady who, when they were trying to tell her there wasn't any Heaven said, "Well, at least I've had a mighty good time getting this far!" But don't worry, Folks, this is only the beginning!
49. Like the old song goes,
"Heaven is here, is here right now!
Heaven is here, & I'll tell you how!
Jesus to know is Heaven below,
Heaven is here, is here & now!"
So those of us who know & love the Lord & have His Spirit & live together in our Heavenly Homes with our Heavenly loved ones, & have Heaven in our hearts, we have Heaven on Earth already! Beautiful! Wonderful! Sometimes I wonder how Heaven could be any better since I'm having such a good time already & I'm so happy here & now with you & Jesus in our Heavenly Homes & our Heavenly labours, winning souls for Jesus, making other people happy & bringing Heaven to them! Hallelujah!
50. Nine-tenths of our unhappiness is selfishness, & is an insult cast in the face of God.
51. The Christian tastes God in all his pleasures.
52. Recreation is not the highest kind of enjoyment, but in its time & place is quite as proper as prayer.
53. He lived in a world of fantasy
Where all were mad but he.
He lived in a world of madness
Where he alone was free!
He lived in a world of madness
Where only he was sane
He brought them joy and gladness
They only brought him pain!
He lived in a world of madness
Where only he was wise.
They lived in a world of sadness
'Twas folly in disguise!
Where happiness is madness
'Tis wisdom in disguise--
Where sanity is sadness
'Tis folly to be wise!
Oh give me a world of madness
If madness is to be glad!
I'd rather be happy in madness
Than only be sane and sad.
If foolishness is gladness
'Tis folly to be wise!
If sanity is sadness
It makes my brain capsize!
Oh give me pain with gladness
If wisdom is in vain.
'Tis better far than sadness
And sanity again!
If singing songs brings gladness
Like singing in the rain,
And wisdom only brings sadness
I'd rather be mad than sane!
They tell me our goodness is badness
Our singing of songs is in vain.
But I tell them their wisdom is madness
I'd far rather sing than complain!
They tell me our goodness is madness:
We should seek after worldly gain!
But I tell them their saneness is sadness
And it brings to so many such pain!
Oh give me my world of madness!
Give me my songs in the rain!
They can have their saneness and
sadness! I would rather be glad though insane!
It's their whole world that's in madness!
'Tis their whole world that's insane!
I'd rather have joy in my gladness,
Than their sanity, sorrow and pain.
It was their world that was madness!
They were the ones so insane!
For his hope, love, joy and gladness
Was better than sorrow and pain.
So therefore if madness be gladness,
And sanity, sorrow and pain,
Oh then, let my gladness be madness
And let me be mad once again!
How crazy are the words of David!--
They'll say he has gone insane!
But I'd rather be mad and be saved
Than lost in their darkness and sane!
So give me his joy and his gladness!
I'd rather have joy than be sane!
I say it is they that have madness
Who'd rather have sorrow and pain.
They live in a world full of madness
It was he that was really sane!
For our Don Quixote had gladness
In spite of their sorrow and pain.
This world full of violence and madness
So violent and mad and insane!
Would you rather my joy, or their sadness?
Would you rather my bliss, or their pain?
So let me dream on if I'm dreaming!
Oh let me drift on in my dreams!
I'd rather be dreaming than screaming!
I'd rather have dreams than their screams!
So come let us dance in our gladness!
Oh come let us dance in the rain!
I'd rather be mad than have sadness,
I'd rather be glad though insane!
I'd rather be old Don Quixote
Than the pompous wise sane King of Spain!
For though he's a little bit dotey
Quixote was happy, 'tis plain!
For he lived in his mind on a rancho
A great knight was he in his brain!
He had his old faithful dear Sancho
And thus he was freed from the strain.
So give me his world full of madness!
And give me his world so insane!
I'd rather have madness than sadness,
I'd rather be glad than be sane!
They say there's no end to this madness!
I say there's no end to their pain!
I'd rather have joy in my gladness
Than all of their sorrow though sane.
You say you have no time for madness?
You have to go quick catch a train?
I'd rather be free and have gladness
While you slave again and again!
So give me this Man of La Mancha!
And sing me his happy refrain!
Oh can you all see it, or can'tcha?
That he was the one who was sane!
Oh I am so weary with study!
Of the reading of books there's no end!
Can't you see their minds are all muddy?
It's they who have gone round the bend!
They like to be rich and be churchy
And wage their cruel wars without end!
Don't let their pollution besmirch me!
I'd far rather heal and to mend.
They call me Pied Piper of Hamelin:
"He's old Don Quixote again!"
They say that on Heaven I'm gamblin'
While they wreak their Hell amongst men!
I may be Abominable Snowman
A giant wild happy and free
Who cares and so what?--Come let's go, Man!
With me you've no idea what you'll see!
So let's sing a song for Quixote!
Let's sing a song for the free!
Let's sing a song though we're dotey
For we're bound for Eternity!
So let's sing a song for Pied Piper
And a song for his Children so free!
For I'd rather be mad than a sniper
Who only brings sad misery.
Let's sing for the Mad Monk Rasputin
Who loved, drank, healed and swayed kings!
For while they were madly disputin',
He made off with all of their things!
So here's to dear Alice's Mad Hatter!
And the Walrus's cabbage and kings!
So what if it's mad, does it matter
If to children it happiness brings?
So here's to the "Light in the Plaza"!
So here's to the madness that sings!
Would you rather have shooting in Gaza
Than a girl who is happy with rings?
So give us the mad Don Quixotes!
Pied Pipers that make us to sing!
And let us be madness devotees
With the joy our insanity brings!
So I'd rather be happy in Jesus
Than sane as the Devil and bad.
If it's madness of spirit that frees us,
I'd rather be mad and be glad!
For we live in a world full of madness
Where all are insane but we!
I'll take my world full of gladness
Though you call it fantasy.
Your world may be sane but temporal--
While mine is unseen but more real!
You call me insane and immoral
In this madness of gladness I feel.
But I say it is you who are crazy
And it's I who have reality!
It is you who are mad and amaze me,
For mine's for Eternity!
For only in realms of the spirit
Can you enjoy Heavenly scenes
That Heavenly sound, can you hear it?
Do you know what such ecstasy means?
No! You're mad, and you don't even know it!
It's you who are living in dreams!
It's I who am glad, and I show it!
I dance on in spite of your screams.
It's you who are living in madness!
It's you who are really insane!
It's we who have Jesus and gladness,
And we'll have it again and again!
So here's to our dear Don Quixote,
Pied Piper, Rasputin and MO!
I'd rather be their blest devotee
Than have your insane world of woe!
So give me my wild happy Children
Their singing and dancing so free!
You can have your madness that kills men
Bringing Hell and insanity!
I'd rather have dear Simple Simon
Who tasted the Pieman's wares
Or the "Idiot" who dared to defy men
With the love, truth and mercy he bears!
Give me Alices and Don Quixotes
Pied Pipers, Rasputins and MOs!
I'd rather have all of these doties
Than all of your world full of woes!
Give me trips in the spirit that thrill me
And a mind that with visions God blows!
Your world of killing just chills me!
l like living where anything goes!
So here's to our dear Don Quixote
And all of our Heavenly tours!
I'd rather have rice in my roti
Than bats in my belfry like yours!
So that makes just 49 verses,
And seven times seven must blend:
Or else you will load me with curses--
And wish that my madness would end!
P.S. So wee words of wisdom
Have come from my pen
Though you think my madness
Be full to the brim!
For the foolishness of God
Is wiser than men
And this world's wisdom
Is foolishness to Him!
--1Cor.1:25; 3:19.