A Happy Face - No. 48

Isaiah 3:9, “The show of their countenance doth witness against them.” Or here is a more modern translation - MLB,  “The expression of their faces witnesses against them.”

Most mornings two of my daughters, Evangeline and Serene, join me for our one-hour morning walk. We walk fast but we talk fast as well.

One morning I asked them the question, “How can we have a heavenly atmosphere in our homes?”

“Wear a happy face,” Evangeline immediately answered.

I didn’t expect that answer, but it was a good one. The face we wake up with will determine the atmosphere in our home for the day. Even if you are feeling depressed, it is important to put on a happy face – for your children and for your husband.

“But that’s not being real,” you answer.

I guess that depends on whether you prefer to give into your feelings or live by the power of Christ who lives within you! There are some who think that reality is living according to how you feel. This is actually deception. True reality is Galatians 2:20 – not living according to the dictates of my flesh or my emotions, but by faith, living the life of Christ who lives in me.

You will be amazed how your actions can change the way you feel.  Perhaps you have been up all night with the baby. You feel tired. Put on a happy face anyway. Smile at your husband. Smile at each of your children. You’ll begin to feel better right away. Yes, you will. Just try it.

Perhaps you are in a negative mood. Everything is going wrong and self-pity is taking over. It’s already showing on your face! Stop. Look up to the Lord and smile at Him. Thank Him for your blessings. Thank Him that He is near you and will never leave you or forsake you. Now show your happy face to your children. Your gloominess will soon leave.

A downcast face will lock you into your tiredness or anxiety. A happy face will ignite a spark of joy in your heart.

A miserable face will sink you into self-pity. Put on a smile, even if it is the last thing you feel like doing, and you will feel your heavy burden lift.

Proverbs 15:13 says, “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance.” The MLB says, “A happy heart makes the face look sunny.”

I like Proverbs 15:15 in the Living Bible, “When a man is gloomy, everything seems to go wrong; when he is cheerful, everything seems right!”

And what about Proverbs 17:22 in the Good News Bible? “ Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.” Gloominess not only brings death to you, but to your whole family. It casts a shadow over your home.

Dear mother, just as you look to the Lord and are changed into His image, so your children look to you and their lives are affected by your countenance. (Wow, that is a powerful truth!) Yes, they will grow to be like your countenance. I know you have heard the expression, “Looks can kill!” The expression on your face can bring death or life to your home.

A smiling face and a positive attitude can become part of your life. Make it a habit. Show it by example to your children. Don’t allow your children to get into moods, to be grumpy, or to pout! We never allowed this for one second in our children and they don’t battle with any of these attitudes today.

Last Sunday Evangeline arrived at our home after church. She had a breast infection and had such a high fever that she could no longer feel her fingers. She could hardly walk but she still confessed that she was “terrific” even though she was wiped out with the fever! She had never learned the habit of being miserable.

Dear nation changer, put on a happy face, and change the atmosphere of your home.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“O Lord, I look up to you and behold your face. I want to be changed into your image. I want to be changed from glory to glory. Shine the light of your countenance upon me so that it will shine from my face to my children. Help me to remember that there is a higher truth than my feelings. It is the truth of your life in me, and this is the life I want to live.  Thank you, Lord. Amen.”

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