In a recent blog Rick Warren wrote these words: “You have a fundamental need for joy in your life. Life without joy is overwhelming, overburdened, and oppressive. Studies have actually shown that the more joy we have in our lives, the more productive we are. I read an article in "US News and World Report" that said that corporations hire "joy consultants" to build up the joy in peoples’ lives so that employees can be more productive.” I don’t know how these “joy consultants”

THOUGHTS ARE LIKE TRAINS, they take you somewhere. Our patterns of thought determine our actions and our feelings about life. If we think we are not valuable we will live with a sense of inferiority. If we think God does not really, really care about us, we will live with insecurity and anxiety. Feelings of anger, bitterness, and resentment are a result of our thoughts. The same is true when we feel hope, confidence and peace. When it comes to our thoughts we need to a

Our western culture, unlike many cultures, is very individualistic. The individual is more important than the group. We don’t tend to think that personal happiness and well-being is dependent on group happiness. But this is not the Biblical view, nor the experience of life. For example, we have heard that the marriage bond is so powerful that my personal happiness will be created or destroyed by my marriage. “He who loves his wife loves himself”, Paul tells us. If I tear