"Joy to the World, the Lord has Come"- The True Meaning of Joy

Joy, joy, joy...It's funny when you just keep repeating the word in your mind several times. What do you think, is joy the same as happiness?

       Well, they are practically not the same. Of course they are both similar in a way that when we are happy or if we are joyful, we feel contented and we have the pleasure. But joy lasts eternally or longer while happiness is just for a while. One reason is because of the origin of the word "happy", the root word of happiness:

Origin


Happiness comes from the word "hap", which means "luck".

       Since all of us know that luck only lasts for a while, then this means that happiness doesn't last.
       Unlike happiness, joy is forever and not everybody could receive this because not everybody is content and full of joy. This is because not everybody knows the true meaning of joy and the only source of joy. That only source is Jesus or God. If we rejoice in Him, that's when we see the true meaning of it, that's when we receive the joy in life. And if we just keep holding on to His love and blessings, your joy will last forever and ever.

       Which is why it is, "Joy to the World, the Lord has Come!," not "Happy to the world, the Lord has come!" In short, it is because of Christ that we sinners are able to find true everlasting joy in our lives. By being born to the world, He was able to save us from our sins. So, in this upcoming Christmas, let's celebrate it with joy by believing in Christ and rejoicing in Him by being thankful of what He had done for us. Let's turn all the frowns upside down and be joyful. :D

5 more DAYS before CHRISTMAS!!! :)


The Positive Side, The Better Side

There is always a positive side in every problem.

     What makes an optimist different from a pessimist? Well, of course we would say that an optimist is always happy and a pessimist is usually sad, but the greatest difference between the two is his/her perspective in life.

      A lot of us are usually pessimistic. We would complain and say negative things. We would only notice the bad things happening, and not the good things. Well, I'm a pessimist before, too.
      But not everyone is that negative, which is why there is the word optimistic. Optimistic people are those who usually look only at the good side. Just like what they would always say, "There is always a positive side in every problem." This means that every problem has two perspectives, the bad or the negative side and the good or positive side. Even if the negative side is GREATER than the positive side, an optimist would always look at the positive side. Like on this picture, there are only a few tiny flowers and everything seem to be really harsh and painful, but optimistic people would only notice or focus on the flowers, not its surroundings.
      You can ask yourselves, "Am I a pessimist or an optimist?" but what really matters is that you will be able to change for the better. I know it will be kinda hard for you to change at once, just like me when I started changing from a pessimist to an optimist, but you can always start small.
      As a starter, we can try to be positive on things that happens in your daily lives. Let's try little mistakes we commit daily. Do you know that there is this saying that says, "Failures and mistakes are gifts, particularly from God." Well, of course failures are negative stuffs, but actually they were given by God.
      Remember my post last October, "The Existence of Coincidence", it states that things happen because of a reason, and that reason is God's reason. If you haven't read it and you feel curious, you can check it out. :) So, okay, since things like failures happen in our lives because of God, then it means that God does have a reason. That reason is to make us a better person. You see, when failures come, an optimist would say, "Thank God for making me see my mistakes! I'll correct them and never do it again" or something like that. You can try it. See the positive side and dwell on it. See them as blessings from God and thank Him because once you see that tiny flower there, you would be able to witness how beautiful and amazing it is. Sooo, BE POSITIVE. :)   

Blowing Your Own Happiness

         I remember thinking hard of what I must say about a picture I took for my school club. My picture was someone blowing out bubbles and we were required to explain our pictures in front of our club mates. Suddenly, a thought came into me. My classmates usually state that happiness is a choice, and voila! Bubbles can be compared to our happiness!       


Stop blowing your bubbles of happiness 

          Bubbles are fragile and easy to break just like our happiness. Whenever we feel happy, that happiness will only last for a while. Later on, we will feel sad and we will start to blame God, just like bubbles that break and we start blaming.
          They say happiness is a choice and yup, that is true. In life, we are the ones that control our own feelings. We can't blame others for making us sad because we chose to be sad. I mean it is like when we fail a test, we can't blame our teachers for making us sad because even if we did fail the test, we can still be happy (but don't be literally happy that you fail, just don't get depressed).
           It is just like our bubbles, if they brake, it is our choice to blow again or not, to be happy again or to stay sad.   
        This is such a blessing from God such that we are able to choose to be happy or not, to live joyfully or not. So we have to thank Him for that and praise our God in heaven. And to make the blessing worth it, we must always choose to keep blowing more bubbles, we must always choose to be HAPPY. :)
                     
       

The Existence of Coincidence

Nothing will ever be a coincidence.

             Sometimes when we get surprised, we may say, "What a coincidence!" Actually, that is kind of wrong because everything that happens in life is planned. There is always a reason why things happen in our lives.
             This is also the same as luck. Luck never exists. Sometimes I say "Good luck" but sometimes it's better to say "May God bless you." This is because it is God's choice to bless us or not. But no worries about God not blessing us, because there is always a reason why God gives us problems and challenges in our lives. That reason would either be because He wants us to let us realize our mistakes or because he wants us to be stronger and better spiritually and physically for the future.
            So in life, don't always take things as coincidence, take them as plans of God. Accept these as blessings in life and thank Him for these even if they are bad because there must be a reason they happen. Just like what I learned before: failures, challenges, and problems are gifts.

Every Little Thing is a Blessing

It all started with a story:

          There was once a boy who was really, really sick that he can't even walk. All he can do was stay on the hospital bed everyday. His parents were kind of worried for him because they know he is actually inching to his death. Slowly he is dying with no friends, no experience of the outside world, as in nothing except his parents and his daily needs.
          One day, his parents visited him and surprisingly, they saw him writing on a book. The title of the book was "God's Blessings".
          "Hi dad. Hi mom," his eyes were droopy as though he hadn't sleep for days, yet he had a smile across his face.
          "Hello kiddo! What is that your writing on?," his dad asked.
          "I'm writing a list of blessings in my life," the boy smiled.
          "Can we take a look?," his mom gently took the book from the boy.
          As they read the book, tears started sprawling out of their eyes. They saw this:
   
             1. I thank God for letting me live even for a few years.
             2. I thank God for giving me the greatest parents.
             3. I thank God for the food I eat everyday.
             4. I thank God for giving me water to drink.
             5. I thank God for giving me doctors to befriend and who cared for me
          
         And so on and so forth... 
               
Even if this little boy was sick in bed everyday, he was still happy of all the things in his life. He was so contented even though he was suppose to be mad at God for giving him a horrible life. Instead, he thanked God for every little thing God has given him. So let us be happy and thank God for everything in our lives.

~This is the first time I blogged. XD