Happiness, not all what it’s cracked up to be

Time to fire up the blog again, I have found a book that I think is very good, a book that besides the Bible I can use as a daily devotional. The book is Note to Self by Joe Thorn, so each day I will share the scripture passage a expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts.

Scripture passage Pslam 100

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
² Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.^[a]
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation

Section from the book

But let’s be honest, the reason you do not experience the joy you read about in Scripture is because your heart is divided, and your interests are spread thin.

Simple thoughts

I have said it before but it is worth repeating that there is a huge difference between happiness and joy, happiness is so very temporary. Happiness is much like a drug once we get it, the more we want and it usually takes more to get the same high that you experienced before. Therefore it’s hard to stay happy. One the other hand joy is much more lasting and maybe even in a sense permanent. If the truth were to be known everyone would be searching for joy and not happiness. It is joy and not happiness that we read about in the Bible. When we are searching for happiness we miss out on joy. In most cases the happiness we seek does not contain the LORD and joy is found in the LORD. A divided heart is a vulnerable heart and a heart focused on the LORD is a joyful one.  Ask yourself is it happiness you seek or is it joy? In the face of trouble happiness runs like a coward but joy will stick with you still the very end, happiness is not all what it’s cracked up to be. If you do want to experience joy just remember you will find it in Jesus.

How to love the unlovable

 

Time to fire up the blog again for a while. I have found a book that I think is very good, a book that besides the Bible I can use as a daily devotional. I have been looking for a daily devotional for 10 years now and none of them worked. The book is Note to Self by Joe Thorn, so each day I will share the scripture passage a expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts.

Scripture passage 1 John 3: 11-18

¹¹ This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. ¹³ So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters,^[c] if the world hates you.

¹⁴ If we love our Christian brothers and sisters,^[d] it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates another brother or sister^[e] is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

¹⁶ We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister^[f] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

¹⁸ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

 Section from the book

But for love to continue and grow, and for you to love the unlovable, it is important that you meditate on the gospel. Get this—you only know what love really is by looking to your Savior. And we learn it from him continually, not just once. You must daily go to the cross and see your Savior’s love for the unlovable (that means you).

Simple thoughts

Before becoming a Christian I had no idea what love was. I truly thought that love was something that was reserved solely for those living under your roof. There is so much truth in the statement that you only really know what love is by looking at Jesus and thinking continually about the Gospel message. Because not only are we commanded to love God we are also commanded to love the unlovable and trust me for a guy who at one time could only love those under his own roof it took being able to love God first not only to love the unlovable, but anyone outside of my house. Being able to truly love is something that is impossible in our own power and something we have to look to the cross everyday to be reminded that we too were unlovable but Jesus overcame that and with His help we can too. Who do you  need to love today? The answer is everyone.

Book Review: Note to Self by Joe Thorn

In the last 25 books I’ve read on Christianity this is one of the best. I am the type of reader that likes to highlight the good parts of a book. After about 10 chapters of Note to Self I decided highlighting was pointless because of how much I was marking. When I started this book my thoughts were this would be good for anyone, because it was so simple and the chapters were so short. But as I got into it the deeper and deeper and more convicting it became. I have never been able to find a daily devotional that I liked in the 10 years I’ve been looking, with Note to Self I think I just found it.  When reading “Christian” things we need to do read for more than just information, we need to read for transformation and this book does that for me.  

Mike's Iowa Resturant Guide

Time to share my master Restaurant list sorted by town and rating. Bon appetit!

The 5's get their very own picture.

John's Shamrock Barbecue	Ainsworth	2
Hickory Park	Ames	2
Gators	Burlington	3
Martinis	Burlington	2.5
Thirsty Camel	Conseville	2
Wigg N Pen	Coralville	4.5
Wildwood Smokehouse	Coralville	4
Bandana's	Coralville	3
Cosi Cucina	DesMoines	5
Jethro's	DesMoines	5
Skips	DesMoines	5
Simons	DesMoines	4.5
Tumea & Sons	DesMoines	4.5
Bambinos	DesMoines	4
Royal Mile	DesMoines	4
The Flying Mango	DesMoines	4
Miller High life Lounge	DesMoines	3.5
Monterrey	DesMoines	3
Bang Bang	DesMoines	3
Fongs	DesMoines	3
Smokey D's	DesMoines	3
Tasty Tacos	DesMoines	3
Woody's Smoke Shack	DesMoines	3
Zombie Burger & Drink Lab	DesMoines	3
Taqueria Sonora	DesMoines	3
Felix & Oscar's	DesMoines	2
Ginos	DesMoines	2
The Q	DesMoines	1
Torinos	Fairfield	3
Top of the Rock	Fairfield	2.5
Black Stone	Iowa City	5
Jimmy Jacks	Iowa City	5
Shorts Burger and Shine	Iowa City	4.5
Linn Street Café	Iowa City	4
Brown Bottle	Iowa City	3
Hamburg Inn	Iowa City	2.5
Deano's Place	Lockridge	3
Mount Hamil Tap	Mount Hamil	3.5
Little Mexico	Mount Pleasant	4
Costos	Mount Pleasant	3
Keos	Mount Pleasant	3
Papa Georges	Mount Pleasant	3
Press Box	Mount Pleasant	3
Mi Pueblo Real	Mount Pleasant	2.5
Jerry's	Mount Pleasant	2
Butch's River Rock Café	Oakland Mills	2.5
Goldie's	Prairie City	3.5
Throttle  Down	Tiffin	2
Casa Tequila	Tiffin	2.5
Johnnie B's	Wapello	3.5
Café Dodici	Washington	3
Denos	Washington	3
Rubes Steak House	Waukee	3.5
Tinders	Wayland	2
Uncle Ronnie's	West Burlington	3