Happiness is free!!

- Have you noticed that children are unapologetic about their happiness. Like they want to play all the time.....the moment they are unhappy they cry up until we figure out our how to make them happy again....

- Now in the same spirit have you noticed the more we grow as adults, the more we become less happy? And this is really unintentional. The moment we exit childhood and enter our teenage years it's as if someone opens our happiness gas cylinder and it slows vanishes into thin air without even feeling it. Now we can attribute this to life pressures at different stages.

- TEENAGE YEARS

-We experience a lot of subtle depression because the following:

*Fluctuating grades at school especially high schools

*The pressure from our parents and guidance to get A grades in everything even if you are not mathematically gifted

*Being accepted or declined in the South African top universities

*Identity

*On and off spiritual connectedness to God

*Failing matric or just barely making it.

*Body and homonal changes

* Acne and body oudour

*Bullying and fitting in in glamourous social circles

* Fluctuating weight

*Sexuality

*Dating and pregnancies

*School fees and NSFAS/Bursary funding

*Not being accepted in your ideal course

*Not really enjoying your chosen course

*Extended family members

*Parents divorce and separation

*Urbanisation provincially and internationally

YOUNG ADULT YEARS

-Job offer regrets

-Not having a start up capital like a car and a flat from home

-Dating and marriages

-Work world and corporate culture

-Starting a family (single parent or married)

-Lobola

-Demotions and being fired

-Parents honour

-School meetings

-Baby mama and baby daddy issues

-Break up's

-Deadlines

-Career growth

-Shedding off and taking on new friends

-Social circles

-Finances

-Postgraduate studies

- Identity

- Dropping and picking children from school or creche

- Sexuality

-Now what does the Bible say about this?

- Ugly relationships at work

- On and off spiritual connectedness to God

- Parents divorce and extended family members squables

-Career transitioning and unemployment

-Poor performing economy

-Relationships (femineity and masculinity)

Notice something, we have only 24 hours a day and 8 hours we are supposed to be sleeping. So we are actually left with 16 hours a day. Subtract travelling time in the mornings and getting ready we are left with 14 hours.

Ok so, we are supposed to work 8 to 8,5 hours. It is the same if you are a student as well. So we are left with 6 to 6,5 hours. Add cooking and running errands we have 4 to 4,5 hours remaining. In that time we are supposed to find time to play. BUT WHAT HAPPENS, THERE IS A SNEAKY DEADLINE THAT CREEPS IN OR A SNEAKY ASSIGNMENT THAT CREEPS OR A LONG CALL FROM HOME THAT JUST COMES TO STEAL YOUR ME TIME. HOW CAN I FORGET PART-TIME GRADUATE STUDIES OR A PARENTS OR FAMILY MEETING?

Now what does the Bible say about that?

Habbakuk 3 Mess

17-19 Though the cherry trees don’t blossom

and the strawberries don’t ripen,

Though the apples are worm-eaten

and the wheat fields stunted,

Though the sheep pens are sheepless

and the cattle barns empty,

I’m singing joyful praise to God.

I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.

Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,

I take heart and gain strength.

I run like a deer.

I feel like I’m king of the mountain!

Habbakuk 3 NLT

17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,

and there are no grapes on the vines;

even though the olive crop fails,

and the fields lie empty and barren;

even though the flocks die in the fields,

and the cattle barns are empty,

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord!

I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength!

He makes me as surefooted as a deer,[f]

able to tread upon the heights.

-Who is your Father? Who is your source of happiness? Maybe we are giving too much focus in this stage that we are forgetting about the Lord our maker.

I would like to challenge you to make appointment with happiness? Make time daily to happy. You adult the full 24 hours. Make deliberate appointments with your happiness. Feed your happiness hormones.

• Dopamine: Known as the “feel-good” hormone, dopamine is a neurotransmitter that’s an important part of your brain’s reward system. It’s associated with pleasurable sensations, along with learning, memory, and more. Take a book and read.

• Serotonin: This hormone and neurotransmitter helps regulate your mood as well as your sleep, appetite, digestion, learning ability, and memory. Try not to break your sleep.

• Oxytocin: Often called the “love hormone,” oxytocin is essential for childbirth, breastfeeding, and strong parent-child bonding. It can also help promote trust, empathy, and bonding in relationships. Levels generally increase with physical affection. Call your sweetheart.

• Endorphins: These hormones are your body’s natural pain reliever, which your body produces in response to stress or discomfort. Levels may also increase when you engage in reward-producing activities such as eating, working out, or having sex. Work out.

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