Proverbs 15:13 (NLT) A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit.
According to Dr. Martin Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness, there are two kinds of smiles…
“Duchenne smile” and the “Pan American” smile. Here is how  Seligman describes the two smiles…

“The first, called Duchenne smile (after its discoverer Guillaume Duchenne), is genuine. The corners of the mouth turn up and the skin around the corners of your eyes crinkles (the crow’s feet). …Genuine smiles are produced spontaneously by the unconscious part of the brain. When a person genuinely smiles, the orbicularis oculi and the pars orbitalis contract in addition to zygomaticus major, causing the cheeks to raise and the skin around the eyes to crease.
The Pan American smile (after the flight attendants in television ads for now-defunct airline), is inauthentic. In Duchenne smile, the facial muscles involved are difficult to control voluntarily.. Therefore, it’s difficult to fake a Duchenne smile unless you smile from within. The Pan American smile is a perfunctory smile, on created by the cerebral cortex (conscious brain). It is nothing but a courtesy smile as in the case of a flight attendant responding to a patron. It’s an expression of courtesy and politeness rather than inner joy. Alas, the Pan Am airline is dead but the smile will live forever.

Proverbs say that a glad heart produces a happy face. A glad heart can sometimes be illusive. When we can’t be genuinely happy we put on an artificial face to the masses to get by. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to just “get by”. I want to live a life marked by GENUINE joy and happiness that overflows to the point that it not only affects my face causing it to shine, but a genuine joy that is contagious to those I come in contact with. As you study out the subject of happiness you discover quickly in both secular and Christian writings that happiness comes not in consumption but contribution.
I have good news, you CAN be happy and Jesus gave you a clue how.
Acts 20:35 (NLT) …You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
While the joy of consumption habituates and gets less sweet with each bite joy multiples as you give and contributes into the life of another. This Christmas bless someone else in a meaningful way. When all is said and done the give of the gift might just be the one that with the biggest smile.

From Government officials to sports super stars to ministers we look for shining examples of what to be. For a season it seems we’ve found one. One to whom we can look and deeply admire are seek to emulate. Then it happens…. the fall from grace. This week in the news it’s Tiger and next week it’ll be another. It’s sad but true that heroes are harder to find than ever.
I may be assuming too much in thinking that you and I define hero in the same way. The truth is a lot can be discovered about a person by whom they look too as a hero. Athletes, Musicians, Billionaires and Celebrities aren’t my heroes by their skill alone but how they leverage their positions to help others. Many are strong to be strong and powerful to be powerful but VERY few aspire to power to help the powerless. Although many claim there aspiration to greatness is to help the hurting its usually a thin veneer covering the truth that they’re in it for themselves and themselves alone.
I’m looking for heroes… the real and genuine kind. I’m blessed to have heroes that I know in my life people who’s name you may never know but who are making a real difference in the lives of the people around them. But more than looking to find more people to whom I can admire I want to look to Christ as my example. Furthermore I want to allow his example to shape my life in a way that I’m unashamed when people follow my example. so I, Like the Apostle Paul, can say follow me as I follow Christ.

Exodus 4:1-3 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”

“God helps those that help themselves”. If you where to ask the average guy on the street if that’s in the Bible most likely the answer would be yes. But it’s not. What is, however, is a pretty clear theme that God wants us to do the possible and believe him for the impossible. God could have done anything he wanted with Moses but said, “Whats that in your hand?” It’s as if he was saying between you efforts and mine we can get this done. News flash: God DOESN’T need us AT ALL to do what he wants to do. But by his divine will he chooses to make us part of what he’s doing. Lest you relegate the story of Moses to an isolated incident I offer for you consideration these examples as well:

Lazarus is dead and before he raises him, Jesus commands the people to, “remove the stone from the grave” and after, commands the people to, “loose him and let him go”. (John 11:1-45)

Elisha asks of the widow woman, “what do you have in your house?” and  “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few” After she did it a miracle of multiplication of oil took place enabling her to provide for her family
(2 Kings 4:1-3)

Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram and had had leprosy. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” After he did, he was made whole.
(2 Kings 5:10-14)

Peter needed tax money and Jesus told him, “go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
(Matthew 17:24-27)

Today we have to do the possible THEN pray for God to do the impossible. My kids will often say when asked to do something, “I can’t”. I look at them and say, “don’t say I can’t, say, It’s hard”. Difficult isn’t the same as impossible and in or weakness or weariness we think they ARE the same . The Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”. Why does he give us strength if he just planned on doing it all himself? He gives us strength to do our part and remain on our feet while we wait for him to to do his.

What’s in your hand? What’s in your power to do while you wait for God do what’s in his power to do?

Proverbs 19:3 (NLT) People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.

In 2000, the  American Medical Association said poor diet including obesity and physical inactivity caused 400,000 U.S. deaths — more than 16 percent of all deaths and the  No. 2 killer. That compares with 435,000 for tobacco, or 18 percent, as the top underlying killer. Along with that was Alcohol consumption at 85,000 deaths;(3.5%). Sexual behaviors (20,000) and Illicit use of drugs (17, 000).

I absolutely believe that God can heal. If something goes wrong in your body that is absolutely out of your control I believe that God is the great physician. But what if your health condition is YOUR fault? You have to find a real idiot physician to give you gastric bypass simply because you cant by-pass the dessert. You also will be hard pressed to get on a list for a lung transplant if you’ve been filling the ones the good Lord gave you with smoke for the last 20 years. What’s my point? I’m so glad you asked. As I said before God is the great physician and as such places a burden of responsibility upon us to be stewards over the amazing bodies he’s given us. One of the places I believe Christians open themselves up to mockery from those outside the church is when people find out we’re praying for God to “heal” us of issues that are completely self inflicted. I don’t say these things to shame those that are struggling with these types of issues. I say it to empower you with the realization that you CAN change your situation. If it truly is genetic then get a doctor involved. But let me say one thing about that.. The American heart association says that the rate of obesity has tripled since 1960 among men and doubled among woman. Even for the Darwinist out there they don’t believe genes evolve that fast. What does evolve that fast is our poor lifestyle habits.

At the end of the day why does all this matter? It’s not an issue of vanity but of utility. I think God wants you to live a good, long, FULL life. A life that is marked by energy, creativity and vitality. I want to live to run races with my grand kids and more than that, I can do more for God in 80 years than I can in 60.

Its high time the church leads the charge in the area of healthy living. If you say you follow Christ(can I be blunt)… you shouldn’t be perishing from the things listed at the top of this page. Stop rationalizing, stop justifying, stop delaying and determine to take the resources God’s given you and make healthy lifestyle choices and LIVE.

OH! and a little side note. I wonder what good we could do in the world with the $147,000,000,000 we spend a year on health care issues related to obesity in America.

References:
Ali H. Mokdad, PhD; James S. Marks, MD, MPH; Donna F. Stroup, PhD, MSc; Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH. Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000. JAMA. 2004;291:1238-1245.

Lt Col. Dave Grossman in his book On Killing postulates that the old Fight or Flight model is flawed. “Fight or flight” was first described by Walter Cannon in 1929. His theory basically states that, in moments of extreme crisis peoples sympathetic nervous system kicks in causing them to either run away from or engage the obstacle. Grossman states that the sympathetic nervous system allows for two other options, previously unexplored. In addition to fight and flight he states that posturing and submitting are two other viable options.

We all face obstacles in life and how we engage those obstacles ultimately defines the type of person we become. We all wish that we were the type to stand, face and fight the giant that stands before us. There is a God given, soul deep desire to be truly brave. Unfortunately for us and our delicate ego, too often, we find ourselves running from the fight. I will say that running away can be strategic at times. Maybe you’re not prepared to fight or the timing is wrong or you’re being forced to fight on the wrong terms or it’s simply not your fight to fight… Whatever the case, from time to time, running fits the bill. The following two are cowardly;

Posturing is looking the part but not truly engaging. Its giving enough to say your tried but not enough to actually overcome the obstacle. “It tired to work it out”, “I tried to get the job”, “I tried to finish that race” and on and on and on. Its weak and you know it. You know it but others never have to if you master the art of posturing. You save face, on a certain level, to the masses but you are hardly able to look yourself in the mirror because you know your not fighting the fight only striking a pose and making noise.

Submission is the end. You see the foe and instead of fighting you simply surrender. Although this may not not mean the instant cessation of life it always brings about a kind of death. When you give way to a thing you know you should have resisted something inside of you dies.

I want to always be able to properly assess myself. I want to be able to know what are my fights to fight and to have the courage to fight them. I pray that I would not submit to something I’m called to subdue.  And I pray that I spend my energy fighting my fight and not posturing for peers, praise or paparazzi.

“There’s what people want to hear,

there’s what people want to believe;

there’s everything else

and then there’s the truth.”

I heard that quote this week and I immediately wrote it down. The filter through which we absorb the world around us is what we WANT the world to be. Unfortunately, the world isn’t what we want it to be in present simply because we wish it was. However, the world can, to some degree, become what we want through facing the truth of what it currently IS.

Its way more convenient for me to believe things like Human trafficking and child sex slavery DOESN’T exist. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “People only see what they are prepared to see.” We are only able to bring about significant change when we are willing to face the truth of reality no matter how ugly that reality is.

There are realities that need to be faced IMMEDIATELY.  What realities are you refusing to face in the world, moreover what realities do you need to face in YOUR world? We can never face the reality we see on the news until we are willing to face the reality of what is in the mirror.

Stay with me, God. The night is dark.
The night is cold: my little spark
of courage dies. The night is long;
be with me, God, and make me strong
-Junius, Vietnam veteran

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Deuteronomy 6:10-13 (NIV) When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

At the beginning of a daunting task its easy to lean on God and look to him for strength. Especially if the task we’re taking on seems monstrously bigger than us, we naturally look for something bigger than us to get through. However, as we acclimate to the new environment or task our dependence upon God can wain. It’s as true for us as it was for the children of Israel. Just as our eyes fall off of God inevitably our feet fall upon a tough patch. Its inevitable, even in the most God ordained, noble pursuits we “will have trouble”. It’s in that moment that we come to a decision point. We decide to either quit, persist on our own strength or go back to the start… the place where we put our whole trust in God to get us through.

When your courage fades and your strength wains go back to the start and remember your redeemer and draw fresh life from him like you did when you first began

“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.” -Hardy D. Jackson

The longer a race, the easier it is to forget why you are running. The loss of of vision leads to lack of motivation which will eventually leads to dropping out. This progression is as true in life as it is in a race.  When you feel a lack of motivation in any area of your life there are are several things you can do rejuvenate fresh passion

-Ask yourself if you should be doing it in the first place.
If your goal has a weak base like selfish ambition or fear the process will fade to a drudgery.
- If I feel it is something that was right to begin I have to ask myself if it was a seasonal commitment of a lifelong commitment.
If I come to the conclusion that the endeavor was legit than I need to be able to remember why I started in the first place. I revisit the heart of the pursuit.
- Surround yourself with fresh motivation.
I do this by reading books, connect afresh with similarly minded friends, watch  movies that capture the passion of the thing I’m after.
-Mix it up and find a way to shake yourself out of the rut.
if you run, enter a new race. If you job is in a slum work with fresh fire and creativity like your job is on the line. ect. ect.
-Tell someone who  never told your goal, vision, story.
There is something about revisiting your roots that has the power to breath fresh life into an old vision.

Passion is the lifeblood in in pursuit of your purpose. We MUST keep passion in the process and fuel on the fire so that the God given goals of yesterday don’t become fall on the trash heaps of unfulfilled potential in our tomorrows.

Its time to keep doing the things you need to be doing. Its time to do you BEST at it and that can happen as you make a fresh commitment to it and choose start over.

Tomorrow: part 2. remember why you started in the first place