"Bittersweet"

 "But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand." (Ecclesiastes 5:14 KJV)

  "We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Rescue me from my rebellion. Do not let fools mock me. I am silent before you; I won't say a word, for my punishment is from you. But please stop striking me! I am exhausted by the blows of your hand. When you discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us. Each of us is but a breath. Interlude" (PSALM 39:6-11 NLT)

 There is such a huge difference between what happens under the sun, and what is protected, under the Son of God. We have no idea sometimes how much we miss out on, putting any hope in the things of this world; even for a short while, we can make a pretty big mess of things, by just thinking that the riches of this world make us better off. 

 As far as the unhappiness I was speaking of yesterday, most of my unhappiness is based upon the cares of this world; and when I say cares, I mean what I care about in this world, such as the care for my wife! It really hurts some days to see her kept here in this condition; but I refuse to take her life, because that is not up to me, it is up to God! 

 That said, I know this life is short; the older I get, the closer I feel to the ground; which is just my flesh that is feeling that, because spirit is waiting to fly away, like the song, "I'll Fly Away," from 1929. That is where joy is found, in this life, in knowing that this will soon all be over, and we will with the Lord! But, in this life, happiness is brought about by doing what is good; by helping others, by making your life a testimony of Christ Jesus, and showing others that He lives, because they see Him living in you!

 As I was heading down to Sacramento yesterday morning, I happened to be listening to Paster Greg share on happiness. I thought to myself, this should be interesting, as he started to share about Jesus' teaching on the Beatitudes. All of those, "God Blesses," which Jesus spoke about, actually meant that there was happiness being brought into their lives, through all the right attitudes! 

 This attitude adjustment is totally and completely based upon where your heart dwells: Under the sun, or under the Son of God...

""God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way."" (Matthew 5:11-12 NLT)