Pastor Jim Howard, Senior Pastor

First Baptist Church of Cedar Springs

233 S. Main St, Cedar Springs

We have all been there. Everyone has had to deal with the thoughts, inclinations, and desire to do something that we know to be wrong. Is that sin? Paul told the Corinthian believers that “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13 ESV). Everyone who has ever walked the face of this earth has had to deal with temptation in one form or another. Even Christ endured temptation, yet without sin. It is not a sin to be tempted, but it is sin to yield to the temptation!

The Bible doesn’t tell us that we will be free from the tentacles of temptation, but it does encourage us to fight and/or flee from it. Warren Wiersbe shared an illustration that I’ve never forgotten. No matter how fierce the battle or hot the conflict, our God who loves us, has His hand on the thermostat and knows exactly how much heat we can take. And He knows that we can take a whole lot more than we think we can. God has promised us that He will either provide the means to escape the temptation or give us the ability to endure through it!

Below are eight biblical steps to finding victory over temptation.

RESIDE: “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:18 NKJV). This reflects the necessity to remain close to the One Who knows what we’re going through, and He’s the only One who can deliver us—so stay close to Him!

REJOICE: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (Jms. 1:2 NIV). The way to victory is to rejoice and give thanks (Rom. 5:3). I will be the first to admit that this is easier said than done. Clearly we are a people of faith, and until I can do it with my whole heart, I will do it by faith!

REMAIN: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (Jms. 1:12 ESV). Enduring through the test may be God’s plan for me. Remaining spiritually consistent throughout and learning from the experience without grumbling will help keep me from falling into the temptation.

REQUEST:  Before we encounter the test, we ought to be asking Him to prepare us for the challenges that will come. “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”  (Mt. 6:13 NKJV) and again in Mt. 26:41 (ESV), “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

RETREAT: Some temptations we are told to flee from. “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Cor. 10:14 ESV). “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22 ESV). No negotiating, run for your life! We used to use fly paper in our dairy barns as I was growing up.  I’ve often thought of temptation as the fly who flies round and round where his friends have landed…getting closer and closer until he decides to land…and you know the rest of the story!

REMOVE: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Rom. 13:14 NKJV). Remove those things from your path that set you up for failure! The things you read, watch, where you go. What we nurture in our lives is what will be the strongest!

REPLACE: “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Prov. 13:20 ESV). The idea here is to replace those things that are bad influences with those that are good. I used to tell my youth group teens years ago, choose your friends wisely, for you will be identified with them!

REFUSE: “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Cor. 6:12 ESV). “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive (1 Cor. 10:23 NIV). I have many choices that I can make in life. It’s time to realize that the right choice will often be the hardest choice because it will mean not taking the low road, but rather the high road. Don’t settle for mediocrity in your spiritual life!

Temptation need not own you; you can have the victory. Yield yourself today to Christ and follow His instructions. He doesn’t promise to remove the tests, but He does assure us that He’ll walk with us through them and give us the victory!

Rev. Mike Shiery

Pilgrim Bible Church

As I progress through my earthly journey, I find a particular word and concept becoming more precious to me. Peace is such a beautiful word, and when it is a reality it is to be carefully cherished and guarded. Peace, whether it is spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, financial or any other way you choose to define it, is the cry of multitudes of people.

Many of us have our own pre-conceived ideas of what peace is, and we labor valiantly to make it a reality in our world. We feel that we have to have a certain set of ideals, which if met, will create a temporal peace which will satisfy this longing. It could be, that by doing so, we are basically putting God and His plan for our life in a box and missing the peace He is currently offering us.

Just hours before His crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) (NKJV)

Our Lord knew that in a very short time these disciples would feel discouraged, disillusioned, and defeated. He was well aware that their world was about to be turned upside down and yet He promised that His peace would be with them. To some of Christ’s followers, peace was the overthrow of the Roman oppressors with some of them in key government positions and Jesus always around to provide a miracle if the need arose. They were about to learn that peace was not necessarily an idyllic existence, but rather a relying on the character and goodness of God to oversee their lives in unpleasant circumstances. I believe that same lesson applies to many people today.

The story is told of an art gallery that sponsored a contest years ago. A substantial financial prize was offered to whoever would paint a picture that best portrayed the concept of peace.

On the day of the judging the gallery was packed with curious spectators. By popular acclaim one particular picture was expected to take first place. The painting portrayed a little boy romping with his dog in a grassy meadow. The sun was shining, the little boy was smiling, and the dog looked content. To the minds of those gathered at the exhibit it was no contest, this surely had to win first place.

To everyone’s shock and consternation, however, the judges placed the coveted blue ribbon on what appeared to be a dark and foreboding painting. The artist had pictured on the canvas a rocky little island in the midst of a vast body of water. Dark storm clouds hovered above the craggy mass of land.  Lightning streaked the ominous darkness and violent waves beat upon the jutting rocks. It was a scene of desolation and despair.

Curious and even a bit put out, the crowd began to shout questions and comments to the judges. “How could you possibly award first place to a picture like this? Have you lost your minds? This is not peace, this is chaos!”

It was then that one of the judges walked over to the canvas and pointed to a small opening in the rocks that the crowd had overlooked. The artist had painted inside that small opening, the figure of a mother bird with her wings outstretched over her little brood of babies. In the midst of the storm, they were safe and content. The judge announced with a smile, “Ladies and gentlemen, that is peace!”

Friends, in a world that seemingly has gone mad, in circumstances that make no sense to us, the promise of Jesus to His disciples extends to all who know Him as Savior today. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you.”

Pastor Herb VanderBilt

East Nelson United Methodist Church

9024 18 Mile Rd. Cedar Springs

“Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you (I Thessalonians 5:12-28).

Paul’s words of advice to Timothy, over 2000 years ago, are good advice even today. Basically he is reminding Timothy that life is a balance of holding onto the good and avoiding the evil.  Recently we heard a lecture by the noted New Testament scholar N.T. Wright, where he said that the message of the church also has to be in balance or in harmony. He used the metaphor of a quadraphonic stereo with a speaker in each corner of the room and how if one speaker is too loud, it distorts the sound and destroys the harmony. I think that the apostle Paul is also telling Timothy to look for this balance in helping people not only grow the early church, but also those who are just discovering Jesus Christ. We can also use this metaphor in how to find balance in our lives today. We all have people in our lives pulling us one way or the next and we also need to find the balance in our relationships with others. If we use the idea of four speakers we can think of our relationship with our friends, our job, our family and Church as the quadraphonic space that we live in. If one of these speakers is too loud it affects how we hear the others. If we turn down our friends and only listen to the other three, it will distort the melody of life and so on with the other three. All of these speakers keep the spirits fire alive in us; turn any of them off and we put out the spirit’s fire. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Pastor Kevin Reed

Grace Evangelical Free Church

4714 13 Mile Road, Rockford

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

With this week being valentines day, and marriage and love is on everyone’s mind, I thought I’d take the time to share some thoughts on Marriage.  No matter how long you’ve been married, we can all use little reminders at times.  Marriage is one of those things that God has called very good, and God has even designed marriage to provide for one of our greatest needs—intimacy. But marriage is also one of those things that if things aren’t going well, it can become one of life’s greatest pains and an incredible source of frustration. How does that happen?  How can something that God designed to bring so much happiness and satisfaction end up bringing so much pain and frustration?

It’s really quite simple; we forget that God has told us we are better together than we are apart. It wasn’t good for the man to be alone, so God made a helper, a counterpart just for him. And only after man and wife were together as one did God call everything that he had made “very good.” God is the one that established that apart we aren’t as good as we are together.

In a marriage, we face countless circumstances that cause conflict and (if we let them) strife. We go through a process of frustration leading to irritation and, ultimately, we make choices that land us in a very bad place in a marriage—isolation. We become angry, we sin against each other, and we end up holding things against each other. With all this conflict comes Satan’s lie, “You’d be better off without him/her,” or “he/she is just holding you back from being everything you cold be.” Over time many people begin to believe these lies and they start making negative choices that eventually result in an affair, a crappy marriage, or even a divorce.

The key to maintaining closeness in marriage is to never forget that you are better together. God has created your spouse just for you. He/she is designed to fulfill your needs in a way that no one else could do. You aren’t better without them, the truth is you need them, and they need you. When was the last time you told your spouse how much “better” they make you? When was the last time you thanked God for his gift to you in your spouse? When was the last time you chose to focus on the “good” about your spouse and not so much on the “bad”? Each day you make the choice to believe what God has said, “you are better together,” instead of the lies that Satan is hoping you’ll fall for.  Make the right choice!

Take the time to think of the ways your spouse “makes you better”.  Plan a time to sit down with them and share your list with them.

Right now, take a moment to thank God for your spouse.  Don’t ask him to change them, praise Him for them!

Pastor Craig T. Owens

Calvary Assembly of God

810 17 Mile Rd, Cedar Springs

www.cscalvary.org

Many people started out 2012 with a list of things they wanted to do to improve their lives. They made resolutions to stop smoking, eat better, exercise more, reduce stress, lower their cholesterol, and other healthy life choices.

I think all of these are wonderful choices, and if you made one of these commitments, I hope you are following through on it. But just as the saying is true, “You are what you eat,” I believe it’s also true, “You are what you read.”

What are you reading? I have learned the immense value of giving my mind good things to read. Consuming healthy mind food does several things for us –

(1) It gives us a new perspective on our world. It’s always helpful when we can see things from other points of view.

(2) Reading provides support to follow through on commitments we have made. I love reading encouraging quotes, or fascinating life stories of those who have overcome the odds.

(3) Reading – especially biographies – allows you to learn from others’ mistakes and accomplishments. Of course, you could always learn from your own mistakes, but I find it far less painful to learn from others!

(4) Learning new things keeps your mind fresh. More and more studies are beginning to show that a mind that is constantly learning fights off diseases of the brain such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Just as you know you should choose your food diet carefully, you should choose your mind diet just as carefully. I like to use this passage from the Bible as my criteria for my mind food: Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

Here’s to a happier, healthier 2012 for your mind!

by Tim Bauer, Capstone Ministries

There is a popular expression amongst counseling groups today that says, “Hurt people hurt people.” As a result of their own hurts in life, some will turn around and hurt others. Their own inner strife and pain spills over into their relationships with others. With the help of compassionate people, in particular a Christian with the Spirit of counsel (Isaiah 11:2), and a desire to get help, they can be set free. In fact, this is God’s desire for them. He suffered and died to make this possible.

Another expression has come to my mind lately that is just as powerful, if not more. It is this: “Clean people clean people.” What I mean is that only a person cleansed by the blood of Jesus will possess what is necessary to cleanse others. We cannot give in the spiritual realm what we do not possess in the Spirit. This is why there is so much bondage within the church in America today. “Unclean” people are trying to clean people. The results are a church, and therefore a nation, bound up tight with little to show for its efforts. More times than not it’s the blind leading the blind.

In Leviticus 14 the Lord gave Moses the law for cleansing a leper. It required the blood of a sacrificial bird in an “earthen vessel” over “running” or “living” water. The Hebrew word for running is “chay.” It’s defined as “alive, fresh, strong, flowing.” The priest was to take another bird, a “live bird,” which is also interpreted from “chay,” together with cedar wood, scarlet string, and hyssop, all symbols of God’s redemption, and dip it in the blood of the bird that was slain. Afterward, he was to sprinkle the person with leprosy seven times in order to cleanse him, pronouncing him clean. Then he was to let the live bird go free.

The Hebrew for dip is “tabal.” It means “to dip, to plunge, to immerse.” This is also the definition for Christian baptism. When the blood of the slain sacrifice, Jesus Christ, is applied to us through our identification, our immersion in Him through a repentant heart, we become like the “live bird,” the “living creature,” that was set free. John 8:36 says “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,” no longer a slave to the power of sin and death.

In Revelation 1:5, John speaks of “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood.” The Greek for released is “luo.” It is defined as “to loose one bound, to let go, to set free.” Like the live bird in Leviticus 14, after being dipped in the blood of Jesus Christ through repentance we are set free from the bondage of sin, able to soar up into higher realms over the “open field” (Leviticus 14:7).

In this lofty position, we are safe from the demonic, wild beasts that roam about below. From our new vantage point we have eyes to see that which was previously unseen, discerning by the Spirit of God the movements of the kingdom of darkness. This makes us a great threat to the devil. At that height we freely soar out of range of the devil’s flaming missiles with a much better view of the battlefield below. Greater visibility in the Spirit makes life extremely difficult for the demons. This is why Satan desires to bring us down through deceptive tactics to a place where he can overpower us, once again taking us captive to do his will instead of God’s (2 Timothy 2:26). May we all rise through a repentant heart, placing us in a cleansed position where we can be used to cleanse others. Amen.

Pastor Craig Carter
North Kent Community Church
1480 Indian Lakes Rd., Sparta, • Church Phone: 550-6398

I recently spent some time with a friend and his family. He shared a personal story about his son, who recently went through some legal difficulties. We had the privilege of praying for and encouraging his family and his son through these difficulties. Since that time, my friend’s story has profoundly touched my heart and life. It has reminded me of how much I need God and am dependent upon Him.
His story went on to include details about his son’s arrest. He shared that after having been arrested, his son appeared before the judge, where his bond was set.   His son had some money on him personally and was hoping to simply bond himself out of jail. Unfortunately, the judge set the bond amount for $12 more than he had on his person. He found himself $12 short! His financial shortfall required him to call his father for help. Of course, this was not want he wanted to do. His son’s desire was to just take care of his problem on his own.
Does this sound familiar? How many times in our lives as human beings have we tried to solve our problems on our own? We, like my friend’s son, respond the same way. We say, “I can take care of this myself.” The problem with this thought process is that God never intended for us to do things on our own. As a result, we too fall short. I do not like this feeling of “falling short.” It makes me feel inadequate and nobody likes that feeling. However, I have come to realize that is exactly how God planned it. Our “shortfalls” and inadequacies, if we let them, will cause us to rely on God for his help. The Apostle Paul knew this truth when he wrote, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Rom 3:22-24 –NIV). Paul reminds us that trust (faith) in Jesus Christ makes up the difference. We are redeemed from our sin, and our shortcomings, simply by trusting in God and His amazing grace. You cannot earn it, you must simply believe and receive it! In essence, God provides the $12 you need, but you have to ask Him for it. Have you ever asked God to make up the difference in your life? Have you ever acknowledged that you are a sinner and that you fall short? Even if you are a Christian, do you live with the realization that without God, you will always come up short of what you need?  Or do you live a self-reliant life? In another portion of scripture, the Apostle Paul said, “In Him I live and move and can’t get away from him (Acts 17:28 -The Message). We realize that without him we can do nothing. You have to come to realize that your self-reliant nature does not like this truth. That is what I have come to realize in this story.  My self–reliant nature always leaves me $12 dollars short of what I need. However, when I simply acknowledge my complete dependence upon God, He always makes up for what I lack. I just need to humble myself, like my friend’s son, and call my Heavenly Father.

Pastor Ryan Black
Cedar Springs Christian Church
340 West Pine Street, Cedar Springs

The New Year is often a place for fresh starts and new beginnings.  We look to make improvements in our personal lives for the good of ourselves, family, and those we love and care about. We set new goals and make pledges that include diet and exercise, better organization, spending more time with family, careful stewardship of financial resources, accountability and ridding ourselves of bad habits, just to name a few.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with setting and pursuing these goals. In fact, accomplishing these goals will more than likely improve your standard of living here in this world.
While these are great examples of ways to better our lives, there is one goal that I challenge everyone to take a hard look at as we start off this New Year. What I’m speaking of is improving your spiritual life and creating a better and stronger relationship with your Lord and Savior. I’m not speaking solely about increasing the number of times you go to church, although it is highly encouraged. I’m referring more about taking the time to pray (speak with God) daily along with studying your Bible, the Word of God. Take the time to know Jesus Christ at a deeper level. Look at it as building a personal relationship rather than just a religious commitment.
There are many out there who have a strong and confident relationship with God.  There are others who do not have a sound spiritual background and have not come to know or understand who Jesus is.  On the other hand, maybe some have grown up with a Christian background but somewhere along the road they have drifted away from it and no longer feel that strong connection with God. No matter where your level of spirituality is, each and every one of us can benefit from a fresh encounter with God.
What better time than now, at the start of a new year, to begin this fresh and exciting journey?  If you are at the point in your life where you are ready to make a personal commitment to follow Christ, all you have to do is reach out to Him now in prayer. He is listening and waiting to come into your heart and help you live a better life.
We invite you to visit any of the wonderful churches that we have in our Cedar Springs community in order to benefit from the spiritual guidance, the Christian fellowship and the encouragement they offer. A fresh start and a new beginning with God may be the best opportunity for personal improvement you could ever make. Who knows, a revitalized encounter with God may just be the catalyst you need to help you achieve some of those other resolutions as well!

Pastor Dick Nichols
Cedar Creek Community Church
2969 14 Mile Road, Sparta

A new year is much like running a foot race. In order to begin a new one, we need to put the old one behind us, because we can only participate in one at a time.
New Year’s is the time we like to make resolutions that we hope will make our future much better than the past we just left. There are always things we know we can do better; or maybe things we shouldn’t do at all; or maybe there is something we need to change to help us be more at peace in our personal lives.
Most people. whether they go to church or not, know the “Golden Rule.”  Let’s give it a try. Please complete the following sentence: “Do unto others as you __ __ __ __ __ __.” (Answer at bottom of article).  This is a part of our American culture, yet many people have no idea that it came from Jesus’ teaching. Following it, though, is another story.
We read Jesus words in Matthew 7:12: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (New International Version).
We each have our own circumstances in life, where we should apply the Golden Rule, but just to help us better understand the application, let’s look at just one illustration today: forgiveness. Jesus talks to us about forgiveness in Matthew’s gospel in chapter 6, verses 14-15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (New International Version).
God is the God of relationships, and in order to begin a new year, we must first make peace with our past and the relationships that have been broken through a lack of forgiveness. Thank God that because of Jesus Christ and the fact that he is reaching out to us in love, whatever has happened to us in the past can be put behind us. If something happened to you in your youth or in your past or in some other relationship and it continues to hurt in your heart, then that resentment, that hurt, that brokenness is to some degree controlling your life, like a heavy burden that weighs you down.
The bible talks about how to get yesterday off your back. To paraphrase scripture, “forgive and you will be forgiven, if you don’t, you won’t.”  In Romans 12:18-19, the apostle Paul wrote; “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘it is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (New International Version).
From this we can see the purpose of God’s command to forgive others. The burden of unforgiveness is like carrying a 50-pound bag of garbage around all of the time. January 1st is one day, like any other day of the year. When we resolve to do what we can to ease this burden on New Year’s day, and then carry that same resolve into the next day, and the next day, and the next etc., we will find the truth of God’s word.
Now, if we will apply this same principle to other circumstances in life, just think of what your future in following Jesus could hold. Part of this good news is that this golden rule can be applied starting today, and then again tomorrow and so on,  and others did the same, can you even imagine what kind of world we might live in? May the peace of Jesus Christ dwell in you.
(Answer: fill in the blank:  “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”)

Pastor Barry Briggs
The Springs Church
135 N. Grant, Cedar Springs

If someone were to ask you, “What’s the easiest thing to lose?” what would you say? My keys, my cell phone, the TV remote? Do you know what the easiest thing to lose is?  Your joy. You can lose it just like that. One phone call, an email, a letter, a conversation and boom – it’s gone.
David prayed this in Psalm 51:12a (NIV) “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation…”
He had lost the joy. Maybe you have too.  If so, God wants to restore your joy. And one of the quickest ways to get your joy back, believe it or not, is by spreading joy. You can actually restore your joy by spreading joy.
I heard about a guy this Christmas who paid off someone’s lay-a-way bill at Kmart.  They came to pick up their stuff and found out it was all paid for. I’m sure that spread the joy!  How fun would that have been for the person who received it, and for the person who did it? It inspired another guy who heard the story and he went and paid off $2000 worth of lay-a-way items for people!
Don’t just take and take and take.  Find some way in life to give something back.  That will restore your joy.
The Bible says this in Acts 20:35b (TEV) “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”
That’s absolutely true.  There’s more happiness in being the gift, than in getting a gift.  God says, “You need some joy?  Here’s what I want you to do, be the gift to someone this week. Spread some joy. Brighten up someone’s day.  It will brighten your day too.”
Here are 10 ways that you can spread joy this week:
1. Be positive.
With the down economy and bills falling behind this can be really tough to do; but being positive will encourage those around you and bring you joy in the process.
2. Smile at everyone you come in contact with.
Smiles are contagious! Someone can be going through a hard time, really discouraged, and you give them a big smile, and they can’t help but smile back. I love giving the gift of joy because this gift gets passed around so easily! Giving out smiles, looking people in the eye and being super friendly is something that we all are capable of doing.
3. Leave an encouraging sticky note on a few of your co-workers computers. Don’t sign it. Just do it.
4. Give a Thank You card to someone who has made a difference in your life.
5. Run errands for a new mom (or someone who is sick).
6. Say “Please” and “Thank you” – show sincere appreciation.
7. Invite a friend over for coffee or dessert.
8. Give kind words freely.
Honestly, after a day of “You didn’t accomplish this; and you got a D on that test; and your monthly projections were off by a long shot… blah, blah, blah…” we all need to hear something positive.
9. Thank our wonderful military personnel each and every time you see someone in uniform. Look them in the eyes and say “Thank you”.
10.    Write a note to your children expressing how proud you are of them.  Leave it on their pillow or in their lunch box.
There is something deep within us all that knows it is better to give than to receive.  There’s no joy like spreading joy! Start looking for opportunities to spread joy. When you do, you’ll see them pop up all over the place. This week do just one thing a day to spread the joy to the people around you. Each and every act of joy, regardless of what it is, will make a difference. It will give joy to others, and at the same time it will give joy to you.
You can make a difference!  The real question is—will you? How are you spreading joy?