A fishfry and cheerfulness

We had an amazing New Year's Eve. The kids went fishing with Matt and Pop-Pop and caught several trout. It was enough to make into a meal, so they cleaned 'em and fried 'em up and it was absolutely mouth watering. Elijah has been dreaming about catching fish and eating the...even at his young age he knows that there is something so good about providing dinner for the table. We enjoyed every bite of fish with some homemade hush puppies and steamed veggies. By the time we finished eating it was dark and we decided to go for a night walk on the beach. The kids had such a blast running and chasing each other in the dark. It was very exciting for them to be outside, running wild, when the are normally getting ready for bed. Elijah told me that he wished we could live at the beach and go on night walks every night:)
So onto my goals and plans for the New Year...at the very top of my list is Cheerfulness. I was reading an article in the most recent No Greater Joy magazine and it spoke straight to my heart about cheerfulness. The article explained that cheerfulness "is the first and most important quality a child trainer must possess...a young parent that is full of good cheer has 75 percent of what it takes to be a successful child trainer. Everyone is attracted to joy. Children will do anything for one who enjoys them. Once they get in the joy zone, they never want to do anything that will jeopardize that relationship. A parent of good cheer can deliver a more effective rebuke in less time and without damaging the relationship than a legalistic grump could do with a thousand Bible verses and a hundred spankings. If you are cheerful in our Messiah you will be a dynamic child trainer. You will be to children what a flower is to a bee."
These words are so true. Everyone wants to be around a cheerful person, not just children. The cheerful person is so encouraging, uplifting and pleasant to be around that they have the ability to lighten the load of those around them and their joy is somehow contagious. When someone is smiling at you, it is impossible to frown. I have tried this with my children. When they are feeling grumpy I just look right into their eyes and give them the biggest smile and though they try to cling to their grumpiness, without fail a smile comes to the surface. The mother's attitude determines the atmosphere of the home. If I am walking around complaining about everything that has to be done, then they can feel my stress. If I am constantly pointing out their shortcomings and my face shows more disappointment than joy, they feel discouraged. If they are greeted with more frowns than smiles, they feel frustrated and grumpy themselves. How can I capture the hearts of my children when my own heart feels weary. Why weary? The times I feel weary are the times I try to do things in my own power and strength, with my own wisdom and understanding. I allow myself to lose sight of the true source of cheerfulness and joy. In Proverbs 17:22 it says "A joyful heart is good medicine. But a broken spirit dries up the bones". A joyful heart is good medicine for my children and for my home. How often have I dried up the bones with my joyless heart? If we are without joy and cheer then we are looking too hard at our own inward selfishness... what we don't have, what we think we need, ungrateful for what we have...but true joy is born out of a thankful heart. And I have SO much to be thankful for. As I remind myself to be thankful and to stay in the presence of God I realize that, indeed, it is possible to live a life FULL of joy and cheer.