{"id":3580,"date":"2016-08-14T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2016-08-14T14:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3580"},"modified":"2016-07-09T18:16:33","modified_gmt":"2016-07-09T23:16:33","slug":"choose-to-be-of-good-cheer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3580","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Be of Good Cheer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another Year of Choices<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Be<\/p>\n

Jesus told people to be of good cheer \u2013 sometimes in the direst of circumstances. The life lesson is that although on the surface it may not look like we have anything to be cheerful about, maybe we do.<\/p>\n

Jesus told a paralytic, \u201cBe of good cheer!\u201d Why? \u201c\u2026because your sins are forgiven.\u201d (Matthew 9:2) We have God\u2019s forgiveness and pardon.<\/p>\n

Jesus told His disciples who thought He was a ghost walking on the water, \u201cBe of good cheer!\u201d Why? \u201c\u2026[Because] it is I; do not be afraid.\u201d (Matthew 14:27) We have Christ\u2019s presence so we have nothing to fear.<\/p>\n

Jesus told His disciples, “Be of good cheer!\u201d Why? \u201c\u2026[Because] I have overcome the world.\u201d (John 16:33) Jesus said that because He has overcome the world, we can have peace in the midst of trouble.<\/p>\n

So no matter what we are going through, we always have Christ\u2019s pardon, presence, and peace. That may not make us feel like laughing, but it should at least make us smile. Even during hard times, we should be able to muster a faint smile \u2013 and there simply is no excuse for not smiling when things are going well in our lives.<\/p>\n

What better way to show we are Christians than by smiling? Studies show that even forced smiles have a positive effect on the people smiling and those around them. Smiling is a universal language everyone understands. Smiles are contagious. Smiles are proven to reduce stress and anxiety, release endorphins, and strengthen the immune system.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying we need to grin like idiots all the time, but William Barclay said, \u201cA gloomy Christian is a contradiction of terms.\u201d At times Christians might be sad or somber, but they should never be gloomy. Gloomy means having nothing to look forward to and a pessimistic outlook on life. Think of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh who says, \u201cSure the sun is shining now, but I\u2019m sure it will rain.\u201d Or when someone said, \u201cGood morning,\u201d Eeyore replied with, \u201cIf it is a good morning, which I doubt.\u201d Unfortunately, I\u2019ve known some Christians like that!<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 Paul said that Christians can be sorrowful, yet still rejoice. (2 Corinthians 6:10) If we truly understand and appreciate Christ\u2019s pardon, presence, and peace, we can smile! Jesus said to be of good cheer. I don\u2019t think He meant it as a suggestion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Smiley<\/p>\n

Ideas for practicing this choice\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Each day you wake up, force yourself to smile. It helps set your mood for the day.<\/p>\n

Before you answer the phone, smile. It will make a difference in your voice tone.<\/p>\n

For one day, draw a smiley face on the back of your hand and every time you look at it force yourself to smile. (I recommend ink, which will come off with rubbing alcohol. If you use permanent marker you may be smiling for a month. Although worse things could happen.)<\/p>\n

Force yourself to smile a little at people you meet throughout the day. Don\u2019t overdo it or they\u2019ll think you are up to something.<\/p>\n

If you feel yourself getting gloomy whisper, \u201cI have Christ\u2019s pardon, presence, and peace.\u201d Then smile and say, \u201cThank you, Lord!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Smile<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another Year of Choices By Barbara Dahlgren Jesus told people to be of good cheer \u2013 sometimes in the direst of circumstances. The life lesson is that although on the surface it may not look like we have anything to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}