7 Things That Help You Smile

7 Things That Help You Smile

“Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces are never covered with shame.” Psalms 34:5

Intro: Today we are going to talk about “7 Things That Help You Smile.”

The most well rounded people you will ever meet have learned to have happiness, and victory,

and to find heartwarming moments in the ups and down and twists and turns of life.

People like this aren’t just born that way.

You can learn and develop healthy habits that will give you the upper hand in this crazy world we live in.

This may take some time.

Depending on how lost you are or

how stuck you feel or

how unaware of how good you really have it.

Truth be told, when hard times hit, and the challenges you face are great,

you can either let your situation define you,

let it destroy you

or let it strengthen you. The choice is yours to make.

In today’s sermon I want to remind you of a few powerful, and easy to remember truths

that will help you choose wisely and grow stronger in your relationship with God and others.

1. Love helps you smile.

There is one thing that every person on earth can give away and that’s love.

It doesn’t cost you a thing to give away love.

In fact the more greedy and stingy we withhold our love the more it turns out it actually costs us.

When you withhold love from your family

then it can cost you that bond between brother and sister, or the bond between father/mother.

It is when you give love freely that you receive love back.

You don’t have to have wealth to bless other people

or give other people material things to be a blessing.

No, the greatest gift you can give someone is the smile that comes from sharing the love of the gospel salvation.

There is no greater love than the love of God.

We are taught at a very early age that love is good.

Yet, as we grow up we often don’t do a very good job at expressing love.

If you are a teenager,

when is the last time you put your arms around your father or mothers neck and said, “I Love You.”

Just imagine the smile that brings to a parents face.

Saying I love you is the most common way we express love.

But using words are not the only way.

What if you as a teenager cleaned up your room without your parents asking?

What if you made your spouse a sandwich and soda and brought it to them?

What if you give flowers and it is not a birthday or anniversary?

If you are married.

How much time do you spend holding and cuddling…, without sex?

Love helps you smile.

You can better deal with real life and true love when you are able to find ways to express love.

The bible says: “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4:16

The more I learn to love God

The more I know God loves me

The more I am able to express healthy kinds of love to those who are around me.

When you can discover and express healthy kinds of love you will never need to cover your face in shame.

Expressing love in a healthy way is not necessarily as easy as it sounds.

Because a lot of what we learn about love comes from bad examples.

Television..., pornography…, divorce…, living together from partner to partner to partner. 7-8

All of these are unhealthy models.

You know there is old saying that I grew up with when trying to teach children and youth

It said: “Garbage in Garbage”---“Garbage out.”

What it was trying to teach us is: what goes into our mind and into our heart becomes who we are.

But what I have learned over the years is that it is just as much what DOES NOT go in,

When we don’t teach our kids to prioritize their relationship with church and God. (When that doesn’t go in)

When we are not modeling the importance of prayer and faith and worship. (When these things aren’t going in)

When we are not allowing the love, hope, joy and peace of God into our minds and hearts we are missing out.

And we wonder why???? Why are people growing up so messed up.

When they have never been taught how to turn to God.

When they have never seen God coming into our own lives as an example:

So we have faith

but we do not feed it

So we cannot access strength…, which we already possess from God.

But when you realize you have the power to turn your wounds and worries into wisdom;