How do we keep our family happy?
I actually find the title of this blog post funny. I’m not quite sure why but I do. I don’t know that I’d be writing this post but consider it a challenge (and a chance to earn a gift card from Target – and I need stuff from there!)
Ok, so before we start with the hows, I think it’s important to actually determine IF our family is happy. And thankfully I can report that, yes, for the most part, we are. I’d be lying if I said we’re ALWAYS happy and that we never fuss with each other or have a grumpy, blechy day. Because we do. All of us. Even the cat (she does more often than most of us) has her moments.
So how? That’s not really difficult to figure out I guess. In some ways we’ve chosen to be happy because we’re confident in the One who is in charge of our lives. As bible believing Christians our joy makes us happy. Each one of us knows to the depth of our core that God is in full control and orchestrates our lives. And He does so to His own glory – so no matter what, it’s good. Very good. How can one not be happy with that type of confidence?
But in addition to that as the base, we’ve taken some steps in our family life to make sure that we’re connected. We spend a lot of time together. We talk to each other. We sing together. We read together. We eat our meals together as much as possible. I think that last one, eating meals together, would transform the happiness level in a lot of families if they’d make it a priority.
Notice one work that’s in all of those – together. Although we have our “alone” times and things that we prefer to do that maybe other family members don’t, for the most part, we try to involve ourselves in each others’ activities – for support and just plain fun. It works. We’re happy. And we really do like each other.
I suppose some other things that help us to stay happy are that we eat sensibly (not denying ourselves of any and everything in the name of health, but prioritizing healthy eating as much as possible), we rest sensibly (we try not to overdo so we’re always lacking in sleep) and we prioritize things so we’re not stressed out most of the time. And when we are stressed, we step back, take a look, and make changes.
So maybe, ultimately, happiness is dependent on intentionality. Being intentional about what you do and how you live your life can bring happiness or contentment in itself. Give it a try and see if it works for your family too!
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Farm Rich blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”
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