Professional Documents
Culture Documents
INCLUDES: Recreation.
RELATED INDEX TOPICS: Cheerfulness, Positiveness, Humour, Communion with God: Praise,
Contentment.
1. Scientists have been studying the effect of laughter on human beings & have found, among
other things, that laughter has a profound & instantaneous effect on virtually every important organ in the
human body. Laughter reduces health-sapping tensions & relaxes the tissues as well as exercising the most
vital organs. It is said that laughter, even when forced, results in beneficial effect on us, both mentally &
physically. Next time you feel nervous & jittery, indulge in a good laugh.
Happiness is to be forgiven,
Living a life that's worth the livin',
Taking a trip that leads to Heaven
--Happiness is the Lord!--Ira F. Stanphil
3. Seeking the happiness of others as God has ordered us to do, is the only way to have true
happiness! If you'll try to make OTHERS happy, it'll make YOU happy, & you'll have a little Heaven right
here on Earth! You don't find happiness by chasing it. Happiness finds you by your bringing happiness to
others. That's God's system, that's God's rule, that's God's way, that's God's Law of Love. God'll make you
happy if you make others happy. It's that simple!
4. There is this difference between happiness & wisdom: He that thinks himself the happiest man,
really is so; but he that thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest fool.
5. The plain fact is that human beings are happy only when they are striving for something
worthwhile.
6. Happiness is neither within us only, or without us; it is the union of ourselves with God.--Blaise
Pascal
7. Searching for true happiness in the context of a God-less life is like looking for a needle in a
haystack that doesn't have any.
8. God allows us to use pleasures, but not to live in them; to take delights, but not that they should
take us.
9. One evening in 1808, a gaunt, sad-faced man entered the office of Dr. James Hamilton in
Manchester, England. The doctor was struck by the melancholic appearance of his visitor. He inquired:
"Are you sick?"
"Yes, doctor, sick of a mortal malady."
"What malady?"
"I am frightened of the terror of the world around me. I am depressed by life. I can find no
happiness anywhere, nothing amuses me, & I have nothing to live for. If you can't help me, I shall kill
myself."
"The malady is not mortal. You only need to get out of yourself. You need to laugh; to get some
pleasure from life."
"What shall I do?"
"Go to the circus tonight to see Grimaldi, the clown. Grimaldi is the funniest man alive. He'll cure
you."
A spasm of pain crossed the poor man's face as he said: "Doctor, don't jest with me; I am
Grimaldi."
10. We've heard of an old Quaker who advertised that he would give 40 acres of rich farm land to
anyone who was perfectly satisfied with that which he had. One seeker came to see the Quaker.
"Art thou perfectly satisfied with what thou hast?
"Yes," answered the hopeful guest.
"Then why dost thou want this land?" was the old Quaker's significant reply.
13. There is an Eastern tale of a wealthy king who ruled a vast domain, lived in a magnificent
palace & had a luxurious court. In spite of all his authority & power, & in spite of his extensive
possessions, he was very unhappy. Among the servants in his court there was a renowned sage whose
counsel the king frequently asked in times of difficulty & crisis. This sage was summoned to the king's
presence. The monarch asked him how to get rid of his anxiety & depression of spirits, how he might be
really happy, for he was sick in body & mind. The sage replied, "There is but one cure for the king. Your
Majesty must sleep one night in the shirt of a happy man."
Messengers were dispatched throughout the realm to search for a man who was truly happy. But
everyone who was approached had some cause for misery, something that robbed them of true & complete
happiness. At last they found a man--a poor beggar--who sat smiling by the roadside &, when they asked
him if he were really happy & had no sorrows, he confessed that he was a truly happy man. Then they told
him what they wanted. The king must sleep one night in the shirt of a happy man, & had given them a large
sum of money to procure such a shirt. Would he sell them his shirt that the king might wear it? The beggar
burst into uncontrollable laughter, & replied, "I am sorry I cannot oblige the king. I haven't a shirt on my
back."--Ecc.2:3-11
14. Joy is the natural outcome of the Christian's obedience to the revealed Will of God.
15. Take a saint, & put him in any condition, & he knows how to rejoice in the Lord.
16. There is as much difference between spiritual joys & earthly as between a banquet that is eaten
& one that is painted on the wall.
17. There are two ways of being rich. One is to have all you want, & the other is to be satisfied
with what you have.
18. The World's happiness should be spelled "happenness," because it depends on what happens.
19. God has linked together holiness & happiness, & what God has joined together we must not
think to put asunder.
20. It's impossible for any of us to go through life without either increasing or diminishing
somebody's happiness.
22. Two things contribute to happiness: What we can do without & what we can do with.
24. If you cannot find happiness along the way, you will not find it at the end of the road.
25. Happiness is not something you have in your hands; it is something you carry in your heart.
27. The time to be happy is now, the place to be happy is here, the way to be happy is to make
others so.
28. Basis for happiness: Something to do, someone to love, something to look forward to.
29. You will be happier if you will give people a bit of your heart rather than a piece of your mind.
32. Nothing will stop your song quicker than your sin.
33. It is an unrealistic concept of spirituality to think that joy & heaviness cannot go together.
Indeed, it is unbiblical.
35. It isn't your position that makes you happy or unhappy, it's your disposition.
36. True happiness comes not from having much to live on, but from having much to live for.
37. Why not learn to enjoy the little things--there are so many of them!
38. If you don't enjoy what you have, how could you be happier with more?
39. It is not doing the thing we like that makes life happy; it is learning to like the thing we have to
do.
40. Happiness does not come from what you have, but from what you are.
41. It's not WHERE you are but WHAT you are that determines your happiness.
42. There's nothing wrong with living a life of pleasure ... if we get pleasure out of the right things.
43. Tomorrow isn't likely to be much fun for the fellow who can't find anything to enjoy today.
44. We have a little bit of Heaven already--Heavenly hearts, Heavenly Homes, Heavenly loved
ones, Heavenly work to do for the Lord, bringing the Heaven of His Love to others! So we're already
having a Heaven of a wonderful time even right here on Earth! But this is only a sample of what's coming!
This is just the EARNEST of our salvation (Eph.1:14), just a little bit of Heaven here to have His Love &
His Spirit now & each other & His wonderful work. So if this is a sample, think what the whole thing is
going to be like! Hallelujah!
45. The World's idea of religion is the sadder you are & the more you show that you suffer, the
more religious you are! The greatest sufferers & the saddest sacks are supposed to be the most holy & the
most religious. They have founded whole orders & monasteries & brotherhoods & convents & nunneries
on that principle, that the more solemn & sad you are & the more you suffer, the more you show how
religious you are. This is a religion of the Devil, not the Lord! This is a System of Satan, not Christ!
46. What the Hell difference does it matter whether you're happy or not?--Get your mind on the
LORD & get your mind on OTHERS & try to just forget yourself & your selfishness & your pride & please
OTHER people! Get your mind on the Lord & others! You won't find happiness through the pursuit of it,
you'll find happiness through trying to make other people happy!
47. We have Heaven on Earth: Heaven in our Homes & Heaven in our hearts!
48. We have all this & Heaven too! I often feel like the old lady who, when they were trying to tell
her there wasn't any Heaven said, "Well, at least I've had a mighty good time getting this far!" But don't
worry, Folks, this is only the beginning!
So those of us who know & love the Lord & have His Spirit & live together in our Heavenly Homes with
our Heavenly loved ones, & have Heaven in our hearts, we have Heaven on Earth already! Beautiful!
Wonderful! Sometimes I wonder how Heaven could be any better since I'm having such a good time
already & I'm so happy here & now with you & Jesus in our Heavenly Homes & our Heavenly labours,
winning souls for Jesus, making other people happy & bringing Heaven to them! Hallelujah!
50. Nine-tenths of our unhappiness is selfishness, & is an insult cast in the face of God.
52. Recreation is not the highest kind of enjoyment, but in its time & place is quite as proper as
prayer.
53. He lived in a world of fantasy
Where all were mad but he.
He lived in a world of madness
Where he alone was free!
If foolishness is gladness
'Tis folly to be wise!
If sanity is sadness
It makes my brain capsize!