Are you McHappy?

I was the speaker at a Women's breakfast in Novemeber. This is what I shared..........              

  I’d  like to pose a question. Are You Mc-Happy?

           In 1940  McDonalds brothers  opened their  very first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.

71 Years later there are more than 33,000 McDonalds restaurants in 123 different countries

When you think of McDonalds what pops into your head?

                                     Burgers, fries, nuggets shakes, Fast, Easy convenient ?

            I think that it is safe to say that we are living in a Mc society that is in search of Mc Happiness. I  want what I want, I want if fast, and I want it to be convenient.

            I’m over weight….why? Well the obvious reason is that I eat too much? The next question why do eat I to much. Well early in life I made a connection between food and happiness. I feel sad, I eat ice cream and for a little while I don’t feel so sad. I feel stressed, I eat chips. And for a little while I don’t feel so stressed.

          I have been using food to supply instant happiness. It is this instant gratification to which I am referring when I ask, “Are you Mc-Happy” the ‘happy’ that fades away as fast as it came.

         Over the past few months I’ve been working hard to watch what I eat and I’ve been trying to get to the gym and I’ve dropped about 30 lbs. wow that s great you say?  You’re not using food to deal with stress and sadness. Well it sounds good. I have been doing better with the stress eating, but guess what? My Christmas shopping is almost done….every time I felt stressed, sad, or lonely. I found myself shopping. The internet has made it so very easy. You can shop from your home, at any time of the day!  Now right now it is kind of working out, but what happens in January  when there are no  more gifts that need to be purchased. Where am I going to find my instant happy?

          Where do go in search of instant gratification?

     Are you like me. Does food give you the instant gratification that you’re looking for. Do you feel  a little less stressed with each fry?

   May be your vice is clothes. Do you love to have a new pair of jeans? Does a new shirt make you smile?

Maybe your clothes closet is empty, but what about your basement,  your attic and garage? Are they filled with things that you had to have. Were you able to chase away the blues when you were at the yard sale buying things that you didn’t really need?

 Some of you may escape into computer games,  face book, or TV to hide from the sadness and stress that are lurking.

 None of these things are bad in moderation. But every now and then stop and ask yourself why….why am I eating this piece of cake when I’m not hungry? Why did I just buy this second hand bowl when my kitchen cabinets are already filled with bowls? Why did I buy a pair of Jeans that I don’t need? Why did I just spend an hour on the computer playing a game when my house is a mess  and there are things that need to be done?

 I’ll tell you why.

Ladies,   we have been lied to. We women have been lied to since the very beginning! And every where we turn we hear more lies.

 In the book Genesis chapters 1 and 2 we read that God created the heavens, the earth, the animals, and Adam, and then we read that God wanted Adam to have suitable helper. So He, God, put Adam into a deep sleep and using one of Adam’s ribs created Eve.

READ Genesis 3: 1- 6

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;  but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”     Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”     So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate

Eve believed the lies. She listened she looked, she touched, and she ate…..Do you think Joy and happiness filled her heart when she was hiding from God? How about when she and Adam were taking the last few steps out of the garden, the paradise where they had walked with God, do you think that she was joyful then?

If you turn on the TV you are bombarded with adds promising that smooth, wrinkle, free skin will make us happy, we are told  that being skinny will solve all of our woes, and that every girl needs  a big fat diamond to make her truly joyful!   Those are all pretty wonderful, but they will only provide us with Fleeting Mc-Happiness. And before we know it the joy will be gone and we will be left with the ... Sadness ... suffering and ... emptiness.

 Ladies our minds are constantly being pulled away from the one place where true happiness and eternal joy can be found.

 In the book of Galatians we read the fruit of the spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Long suffering, gentleness, and self control god wants us to be happy, but really happy not the fleeting Mc-Happy stuff that the world wants to give us.

 In  Psalm 21

King David says, “The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD;
And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!”

 King David has just returned from a battle.  He was rejoicing because the Lord saved Israel from their enemies.

Have you received the Salvation of the Lord?

The Bible tells us in  Romans 6:23  that the wages of sin is death

We all think, and say, and do things that are wrong, we are sinners everyone of us
We deserve to be punished for those sins

 But the verse continues to say that ....but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God the Father knowing sent His only Son to this earth to take our punishment. He was crucified for us…….

 I can’t think of anything else that could possible give me more joy than having a personal relationship with someone who loves me so much that He gave his life for me.

In the book of Isaiah I read that when life is rough I don’t have to stand alone. I can lean on the Lord and be strong through Him

Isaiah 40:31 New King James Version (NKJV)
³¹ But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Ladies this information is the opposite of the fleeting mc-happy. Those jeans you bought. They are going to go out of style. Those delicious milk chocolate candies will be gone in a swallow. Houses burn, money gets spent, but our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ is eternal and He tells us

Isaiah 41:10 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁰ Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

This information makes me feel pretty happy. I don’t have to stand against the world alone.

This, the BIBLE is where we should be looking for our happiness

 God’s word is filled with reasons to be happy. Happiness that will not fade away like the taste of fries on your tongue.

I challenge you to take time out of your day and spend it in the word of God. I promise that you will find joy. When you are feeling stressed the book of psalms is filled with songs giving us reason to rejoice in our Savior. If you are suffering from sadness read Mark chapters 14 – 16. We have a Savior who loves, who died, for us, who is so powerful that He could not be conquered by death but rose again on the third day and rules now and will forever more into eternity…..If you have accepted Him as your savior you can rest in the joy that will too will spend eternity in glory!

When I see my kids hurting my heart breaks, but I am still filled with joy.

When I receive a hurtful email that maked me cry, I am still filled with joy.

When a  friend died in the prime of her life I hurt more than I thought possible, but I was still filled with joy because I have a savior who didn’t expect  me to handle any of those situation on my own. I have a savior who loves me, who stands by my side, and even carries me when all strength has left and I can’t stand on my own.  Through all of my hardships, I cling to the joy that comes only from Jesus Christ

 Are you Mc-happy or are you filled with the joy of the LORD?