The Focus

Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
– Isaiah 41:10

The focus of weekends is supposed to be enjoyment. When the to-dos get too deep, it’s hard to find any happy place of escape on a “day off.”

That’s where I was this morning, when I grabbed my run-around to-do list and took off to accomplish it.

While in the car, I thought to myself…

This is not happy. This is overwhelming. My focus is OFF.

Not that life has to be “happy” along with everything else. It would just be nice to enjoy more life instead of always being…

BUSY. The focus gets lost when there a long list of  “need-to-be-done”s.

So I thought to myself…

What makes me happy?

It sounded like an icebreaker question, and my gut responded: teal blue.

Not a washed out bland sort of blue-green, but deep, bold in-your-face TEAL BLUE.

What else makes me happy? Thinking of things that make me happy is one, so I wrote down a list of 10 things that make me happy and, you know what?

I was happy. My focus had re-adjusted.

The overwhelming to-do list had found its place in my priority list as I contemplated my own happy list and I decided…

I need to do this more often.

I need to put the things that are not in my control in a place where they are under my control, and I need to focus on not being unhappy.

With that – here goes my own list of 10 things that make me happy:

1. Teal blue. I need to wear it more often.
2. Time with God. Church activities, worship, music ministry, working with others, working with our church kids are part of my life and add to the busyness. It’s the silent times, the times that I meditate on God’s Word and thank Him for His grace and mercy in my life that give me peace and joy in spite of the chaos around me.
3. Time at home, in my cocoon. Time with my husband, my daughter, our inner circle of friends, and our church family give me a sense of belonging, purpose and acceptance that the world loves to steal away.
4. Serving others. Helping. Doing something for someone. Smiling at others – and watching them warm up and smile up. Encouraging someone. Being kind to someone. Showing love – even when I don’t like it. Life is very short, and there’s no time for fussin’ and fightin’ my friend.
5. Healthy things. Healthy food. Taking a walk/jog/run. Sunshine on my shoulders. Passing on the candy bar, the cookie and the junk food. Drinking lots of water. Eating my own home-grown tomatoes. Healthy is happy!
6. The world is such a noisy place. There are so many things attacking and vying for attention that being away in silence is refreshing. Running in silence. Standing here typing in silence. Taking time away from the noise to clear my head is a refreshing thing.
7. Inspiring people. Inspiring quotes. Positive energy. Feeling the YES of life.
8. Making something better. Leaving a room cleaner than I went in. Cleaning up typos on a document. Adding value, making my world a little nicer and helping others do likewise.
9. Knocking things off my to-do list. Putting a line through each item that’s staring at me so I can throw it away when it is DONE.
10. Leaving a legacy. Leaving a heritage. It’s going beyond leaving things better than when you found them (#8). Take a risk to reach out to others and be an inspiration. Be an example. Teach a class well. Mentor someone. Write blog posts that inspire others. Take time to grow others.

Those 10 things broke down into 3 steps for me, and I encourage you to find your focus:

Choose to be happy.
Find your own J-O-Y (Jesus – Others – You) things that make you happy.
Encourage others to do likewise.