Smile

I used to work at the front desk of the college I attended. One day a friend approached me and said, "You know, when you aren't dealing with a guest and you're focused on your work, your face gets very serious. You kind of look unhappy when you concentrate."

When I was a senior in high school I went to studio to have my senior pictures taken. The photographer was trying to get my "serious" side and he told me not to smile. I did what he asked and he responded with, "You look so angry when you don't smile!"

I've noticed that even now, years later, I still forget to smile when I'm focused on my work. It's not that I'm unhappy. I'm just, well, focused. But I've decided that I need to be more intentional in how I present myself to my family. My husband deserves to come home to a wife that expresses joy and my children deserve to see a smile on my face. Ben knows that I'm happy and has never once said otherwise. But as I looked at these smiling pictures of my daughter I was reminded once again the importance of a smile. It really can encourage those around you and it's contagious - so why not put a smile on your face?

Psalm 9:2, "I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."

Enjoy Today

This poem was written by a fourteen year old boy. He surely has wisdom beyond his years:

It was spring but it was summer I wanted; the warm days and the great outdoors.

It was summer but it was fall I wanted; the colorful leaves and the cool dry air.

It was fall but it was winter I wanted; the beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.

It was now winter but it was spring I wanted; the warmth and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child but it was adulthood I wanted; the freedom and the respect.

I was twenty but it was thirty I wanted; to be mature and sophisticated.

I was middle-age but it was twenty I wanted; the youth and the free spirit.

I was retired but it was middle-age that I wanted; the presence of mind without limitations.

My life was over but I never got what I wanted.

Message by Dr. Charles R. Swindoll, "Who Gets the Glory?"

Northwest Bible Church, Dallas, TX.