Monthly Archives: November 2017

Week #167 – Six Weeks to Happyness: Count Your Blessings!  (30 Days of Gratitude Starts Now!)

Count Your Blessings (www.spreadhappyness.com)

Week #167 – Six Weeks to Happyness: Count Your Blessings!  (30 Days of Gratitude Starts Now!)

Greetings Happyness Tribe — and Happy Holidays!

Isn’t it strange that after our single biggest day of giving thanks — we turn and face the most commercial season of the year?

It’s no secret that retailers thrive on lack to drive their profits.  And as many Americans are trying desperately to simplify the holidays — retailers seem to scream even louder to get our attention.

It turns what many desire to be a season of happiness and contentment into a season of lack and comparison.

And so, I wanted to repeat my challenge from last year…to continue giving thanks into December and give ourselves the gift of gratitude this holiday season!

(This idea was born out of my own lack of gratitude last year.  You can read about it on Week #115.)

So here it is!  A very simple, one-page calendar that you (or your kids) can hang on your wall or refrigerator and fill in each day — and a challenge to Count Your Blessings for 30 days straight!  Think you can do it?!

Your Happyness Challenge for the week ahead: COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!  Give yourself the gift of gratitude this holiday season!  Download the 30 Days of Gratitude printable PDF and start counting your blessings today!  Come December 24th — you’ll have 30 reminders of everything that is going right and well in your life!  (And I will too!)

Spread Happyness — Share Freely!  And start counting your blessings today!

11/24/17 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com

Week #166 – Seven Weeks to Happyness: “It feels like you have forever…you don’t.” (JoCheryl Holcombe)

(JoCheryl Holcombe via Facebook on 11/15/17)

Week #166 – Seven Weeks to Happyness: “It feels like you have forever…you don’t.” (JoCheryl Holcombe)

I’m counting down the last ten Fridays of 2017 — and today, as we head into Thanksgiving Week, I’m simply going to quote JoCheryl Holcombe, who lost EIGHT family members (TEN if you include an unborn child and a close family friend) in the Sutherland Springs, Texas shooting earlier this month on November 5th.

An acquaintance of mine is friends with her and shared her Facebook post from this past Wednesday, November 15th — the day her town gathered together to celebrate the lives of the Holcombe and Hill families that were killed en masse just ten days before.

You can see JoCheryl’s public message on FB here.

I couldn’t possibly add anything to that — except to agree and share it with you.  As you gather together with family this week — if you get along or you don’t get along — remember, it may feel like you have forever.

You don’t.  

(But then again, you do!)

Your Happyness Challenge for the week ahead is this quote from JoCheryl Holcombe:
“So, when you think of those you love and it feels like you have forever, just remember you don’t, but then again, YOU DO! make this life matter, our soul is the only thing we take with us when we are done…it’s worth tending, it’s worth making meaningful deep connections and living each moment in the fullest most meaningful way. BECAUSE everything can change in a holy instant ”
(JoCheryl Holcombe via Facebook — 11/15/17)

Spread Happyness — make your moments matter!  

And Have a Happy Thanksgiving Week!

11/17/17 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com

Week #165 – Eight Weeks to Happyness: Thank a Veteran!

Thank a Veteran (photo credit: Robert Church, Jr.)

Thank a Veteran (photo credit: Robert Church, Jr.)

Week #165 – Eight Weeks to Happyness: Thank a Veteran!

I’m counting down the last ten Fridays of 2017 — and tomorrow is Veteran’s Day!

So, once again, I wanted to repeat last year’s post — because after another contentious election week, there is always one thing we can agree on:

Thanking a veteran is always the right thing to do!

Tomorrow — November 11th — is Veterans Day.  It was originally known as “Armistice Day”, marking the first anniversary of the end of WWI — which came to an end on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.  Since 1954 it has been known as Veterans Day — a day set aside to honor all those who served in the United States Armed Forces, who swore on their very lives to support and defend this great country and her constitution.

Your Happyness Challenge for the week ahead: Thank a Veteran!  That private vote you cast (or chose to abstain from) this week…was protected by a veteran.  That free speech you have enjoyed in your workplace, in your place of worship, or online…was protected by a veteran.  That right to protest…or to protest the protesters…is protected by a veteran.  The freedom to oppose, support, engage in, or criticize our democracy…all protected by a veteran.

So regardless of what side of the aisle you are on…put down your words and your weapons, even if it’s just for a moment, and THANK A VETERAN!

Spread Happyness — and thank a veteran, ALWAYS!

11/10/17 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com

Week #164 – Nine Weeks to Happyness: Vote “YES” to Happyness!

vote-1

Week #164 – Nine Weeks to Happyness: Vote “YES” to Happyness!

I’m counting down the last ten Fridays of 2017 — and here we are coming up on another Election Week!

So I thought I’d repeat last year’s post, because while some decisions come around only once every year (or four years) — there are hundreds (if not thousands) of little decisions that shape us every day!

This Tuesday, November 7th, people all across the country will cast votes once again — this time for Governors, Mayors, School Boards, and local representatives.

Perhaps you’ve supported some of these candidates, debated these choices, or stood up against the ones you don’t believe in.

Can you think of any other decisions you’ve given that much time to?  Or how many “votes” you’ve cast within that time — for or against all kinds of decisions in your own life?

A quick internet search returns multiple sources quoting that people make up to 35,000 decisions every day…from when exactly to get out of bed to when to call it quits for the day.  Some sources say that we make over 200 decisions about food alone!

Each decision is a silent vote:
– YES – I will get out of bed.
– NO – I will not hit the snooze bar again.
– YES – I will floss.
– NO – I will not pick at that blemish.
– YES – I will weigh myself.
– NO – I will not check Facebook before I shower.

The list goes on…and it’s easy to see how we can amass THOUSANDS of little decisions in a short time.

Some of these decisions are quite easy — because we’ve already made bigger, pre-set decisions about them so they fall neatly in line:
– YES – I will go to work and be on time
(therefore, I will get up and out of bed and hit the shower immediately).
– YES – I will take care of my physical health (therefore, I will floss every day, leave my face alone, and weigh myself daily).

When you “vote” early and often for the things you truly want in life — temptations, like really wanting to stay in bed, become small and insignificant compared to the big goals of providing for your family, succeeding in your career, or living a happy and productive life.

Your Happyness Challenge for the week ahead: Vote “YES” to Happyness!  While some decisions only come around once every year (or four years) — there are hundreds (if not thousands) of little decisions that make up EVERY SINGLE DAY of your life.  Add those up — and you have millions of little decisions that shape the course of your entire lifetime.  So what do you say?  Yay or Nay?

Vote “YES” to Happyness — one precious moment at a time!

Spread Happyness — and share your thoughts!  How do you say “YES” to Happyness?

11/3/17 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com