Recipe for Joy
April 18th, 2008
Over the last few years I’ve gotten two prescriptions for what to do when you’re in a self-centered funk, and they’ve both proved to help marvelously. I want to share them with you.
Recently I was mentioning that night time often brings an introspective mood that often turns negative (because it’s late, and you’re alone, and Satan attacks when you’re alone, and often I’m sitting alone at my computer looking at photos or descriptions of awesome parties/adventures/missions other people’ve done). Erica said, “Yah, I know that. Go take a bike ride.” It’s great. Nature… Gainesville at night… Endorphins… Connecting to God… Seeing the beauty of my surroundings… Getting out of my stupid room and out from in front of my computer… Overkilling on the ellipses… You get what I’m saying. Take a bike ride.
Also, a few years ago I was in a significant spiritual funk and couldn’t figure out how to get out of it. I had been trying to connect to God and trying to pray about it, but nothing was working. Berry asked me, “Well, when was the last time you were on the ‘front lines’ for God?” He elaborated to let me know he wanted to hear the last time I put myself out there to help someone else; he wanted to know the last time my discomfort, concern, and prayers were for another person instead of for myself. I couldn’t think of the last time I had focused so much attention on someone else; rather, I had spent the entire time focusing entirely on myself. And that’s what it took. I think that’s an essential part of the Kingdom of God, and why we’re not supposed to defend ourselves, but we can defend others; why prayer for others always seems more effective than prayer for ourselves. God wants us to be interdependent and to focus on each other.
That’s it. Enjoy.
April 18th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
i so love you.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
good entry – thanks
April 19th, 2008 at 1:53 am
Stauffer. I read this earlier this morning….and it sorta pissed me off, to be completely honest. Thinking like: “that’s ridiculious. it’s not that simple for everyone to just get out of their little “funks.” There’s no such thing as some simple “recipe” for joy…” [etc.] Probably thinking such things because I, myself have been in one of these spiritual funks for a bit now.
Anyways, I think your post had something to do with it….I just sorta realized that, yeah, God does not want me to be in such a funk. That’s simple, but true. And He wants me to be happy. There’s no reason I should not be happy, yet I without reason, I constantly deny myself this happiness…like I don’t deserve to be happy? It’s all just this enjoyment of feeling sorry for myself. An excuse to pity myself, for my world to be nothing more than that…MY world, to revolve completely around me. Sick.
Maybe a bike ride isn’t going to fix my problems, but that doesn’t mean there’s not some other way God wants me to go to find happiness. And I’ll agree with your second “recipe”…just shifting my perspective and narrow mind from myself to other people. Loving people matters a lot.
And a lot of times when I get really depressed and stuck up in self pity, I usually am praying and seeking God, but it’s still all very self-centered. When God is silent, and not to be found in a prayer closet, then that probably means we should be looking for him elsewhere…and that place is generally in other people.
Anyways, thank you for posting this. It helped. And was really bad off, so the help was a big deal.
Also, it was good to see you tonight at AFAC.
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Good post!
I like praying for other people. Then I’m not focusing on myself, and I’m growing in love for them, and I get to be really excited when I see God work in their lives. That works for me to get my eyes off myself.
People are so darn interesting.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:37 am
my friend kat costello heard about it through IV (i think marilyn de guehery), and suggested we ask them about designing a shirt for the orphanage. so she met with a couple of designers, told them the story, and they were all for it.
they’re comfy as heck.
you should buy one