Hello, Everyone! Since my last posts we have had the annual Bishop's Committee retreat, Dixieland Sunday and a Sunday School overnight at church. A really fun theme has emerged grounded in a truly unusual source: "Presidential Prayers" was the theme for the BC retreat, and we took particular notice of this conclusion to Andrew Jackson's second Inaugural Address: "Finally, it is my most fervent prayer to that Almighty Being before whom I now stand, and who has kept us in His hands from the infancy of our Republic to the present day, that He will so overrule all my intentions and actions and inspire the hearts of my fellow-citizens that we may be preserved from dangers of all kinds and continue forever a united and happy people." Happy? what about a happy people? "What is the cornerstone of our country?" I asked. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," was the ready response.
We quickly discovered that happiness was referenced -- not only in other prayers, but in the Scriptural pages Bibles were open to as presidents have taken the oath of office. (Several presidents chose Matthew 5, and in modern versions these Beatitudes are translated "Happy are the ..." which is especially interesting in light of the civic context of our discussions.) Sure, there were plenty of connections to help in times of danger, to liberty and justice -- but what was this happiness thing that kept surprising us? We began to think about the ways happiness is easily trivialized or ignored, and that the things that make us smile often seem too silly to share. Songs began filling our minds, too -- particularly as we moved past "Happy Birthday" -- "Don't Worry, Be Happy," and "Happiness Runs" (check out Christine Lavin's version of this Donovan hit -- thanks, Bob!) were the top two hits.
Meanwhile, Lent has begun so I'm trying this instead of giving up soda, chocolate or video games: I'm installing the question, "What about Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" right in front of my nose (for me that means on the bathroom mirror). I'm going to make it my query when we're making plans at church, and I'm going to ask it with respect to how I treat the folks in the world around me.
I'm also bookmarking happynews.com-- it's not a glitzy site but it yields tons of joyful perspective along with links to all sorts of gladsome stuff -- check it out! Today it led me to a story I loved a while back on Extreme Makeover, Home Edition about Patrick Henry Hughes. Patrick was born with no eyes, and with no ability to fully extend his arms or legs. Do you know about Patrick? You won't regret it if you take a few moments at the site for his new book http://iampotentialbook.com/ (where you can watch a synopsis of his story) or at his personal website, http://www.patrickhenryhughes.com/.
Hey, you clearly have figured this out. Hurrah. I find it a little hard to read on my mac, but. . . . are you getting hits and things?
Posted by: bibliochef | March 07, 2009 at 02:47 PM