Developing Your Belief in God

by Randy Petersen

In the book The Happiness Principle we learn that there is no magic trick for developing a basic belief in God. Belief comes by way of prayer, study, and a real desire to know the truth. While some may search for answers in scientific facts purporting to prove God’s existence, a lasting faith and belief is found in an intuitive building of spiritual proof within the heart. It is a gift that is gradually revealed to those that truly desire it and to those that make it a personal priority. As you develop or strengthen your current belief, an accurate and positive view of Father is essential. If you are struggling with belief then prayer may be an unfamiliar practice to you. 

If this is true, start out by trying to talk to God. Instead of an eyes closed, head bowed, prayerful approach; go somewhere alone, uninterrupted and talk to God. Eyes open, out loud, have a conversation with Him. Ask Him questions, voice concerns, request assistance, and just begin an ongoing dialogue. It must be ongoing because doing this once and then waiting for results will not work. If you will do this once or more every day, in time real belief will start to blossom and a personal connection with Father will begin to be established. These could be the most important conversations you will ever have. If you already have belief you can strengthen that belief through this process or through heartfelt daily prayers that are focused upon the desire for a more certain knowledge of God’s existence. This is the most basic foundation for lasting happiness so once you’ve begun to build it, don’t allow anyone or anything to take it from you. Protect your belief like your most valuable possession, and you and your family will receive Father’s blessings and care for generations to come.

 To learn more about the importance of having a strong belief in and understanding of God, check out the new book The Happiness Principle at the web address below.

www.happinessprinciple.net

The Wisdom of a Small Child

The following is an excerpt from the book, "The Happiness Principle" by Randy and Elise Petersen:

It would be hard not to notice that I refer back to my childhood quite often when evaluating spiritual concepts.  While I'm not entirely sure why this is; I think it may be because it was one of the happiest times of my life and I believe that my perceptions were innocent and pure at the time. These were truly my first impressions. Our little angel Lilly Ann operates from this perspective and her perceptions concerning God and life are simple and truthful.

In the 13th chapter of the book of Mark, Jesus indicates that certain qualities of little children are the embodiment of those that work and dwell in God's kingdom when He said:

14 ...Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Now if this is a core component of angelic figures and others that work and dwell with God, then striving to adopt such character traits might just be another way to strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father. So what are these heavenly, child-like characteristics? Well let's see… little children tend to be:

Trusting: Children have faith that their parents and teachers will take care of them and protect them. With the same childlike purity we must have faith that God is guiding us on our best life course. Even if things are still a little bumpy we must trust that He knows where we are headed and that there are smoother roads ahead.

Teachable: Children are open and receiving. Young children don't tend to be as rebellious and opinionated as adults so they by their very nature are teachable. If we will be open and receiving of God's guidance in a humble and pure child-like manner our personal growth and happiness will skyrocket.

Care-Free: Children don't have much use for yesterday or tomorrow because they pretty much live in the now. They don't excessively stress and they don't habitually worry but they are usually focused on the joy of the game or activity at hand.  If we follow their lead and resist care and worry, with the knowledge that Father will safely see us through difficulty, we will in time eliminate much of the stress and fear that encompasses many of our lives.

Innocent: Little children are pure and innocent. When we as adults lose all or part of our innocence we have lost a very valuable possession. Without innocence we can tend to become jaded, bitter and untrusting. Innocence is the pure spiritual energy of hope and forgiveness and unconditional love and limitless possibilities. We should strive to be wise through Father while preserving as much of our childhood innocence as possible.

Loving: The love of a little child is almost unmatched by any other type of love. Childlike love is sweet, devoted and unconditional. This is another pure form of love that we should all strive to cultivate.

Joyful: Little children are naturally happy and fun. This seems to be their calling and career, and most work very hard at it. It's a great priority to them and they won't let anything get in the way of it. We should follow their example and make joy a high priority. Even when we are having a bad day, we should strive to find happiness somewhere or in something just as a little child would. 

www.happinessprinciple.net

The Greatest Love of All

By Randy Petersen

 In the book The Happiness Principle we learn that the greatest love of all is the love that we have for God. It is the embodiment of the principle in that we must make God our highest priority if we wish to find true happiness and fulfillment, so loving God is a big part of this equation. In fact we are promised that if we will develop a close, loving relationship with Him, we will be blessed in great and unimaginable ways. In the second chapter of first Corinthians, the Apostle Paul makes an amazing promise:

⁹ But it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

So by truly loving God we are literally opening the door to great blessings, even blessings that have not been previously experienced, and to unlimited possibilities for peace and contentment. We can begin by always expressing our love for God in prayer, and by asking for divine help and a true desire in making this connection. Of course love is more than just words. It is our actions and attitudes that really demonstrate our love for God. In order to really love someone deeply and completely, we must be true to them. If they are worth loving then we should be consistently committed to them through the good times and the bad. 

So when times get tough do we blame God? When faced with great difficulty do we participate in behaviors that are rebellious and destructive in spite of Him? Do we lose faith in Him when things aren’t going our way? Conversely, do we ignore Him when things are going well and only talk to Him when we are in need? If we treated a spouse or a family member in this fashion, not only would they not feel loved, but our relationship with them would be on shaky ground. So don’t be a fair-weather friend when it comes to your relationship with God, but instead love Him consistently and completely through the good and the bad and you will be blessed with the greatest power for healing and happiness in the universe.

 Love of God is at the very center of what The Happiness Principle is all about. Check it out at the web address below:

www.happinessprinciple.net

Balance through Moderation

 by Randy Petersen

In the book The Happiness Principle, we learn that the path to a balanced life is through moderation. For instance, you can become very rich and successful by working at your career 60 or 70 hours a week. Unfortunately, by investing so much time in just one area, other facets of your life must suffer. If you have a family, they will surely feel the results of your absence and this imbalance can cause long term problems for everyone involved. Another example might be if you played video games all night, almost every night of the week. While subsisting off of fast food and soda pop, you experience little physical activity other than the exercising of your trigger finger. Again we see obvious imbalance here as such an obsessively excessive behavior would lead to imbalance in the areas of  poor physical and social health, just to name a few. Of course, the best way to bring greater equilibrium to both examples is through the power of moderation. While the above examples are extreme, we all have areas in our life that could use the blessing of balance that moderation can deliver. 

Perhaps you're a parent that has their children on the run constantly from school to dance to music lessons to soccer practice to a pile of homework to bed to the next day, on and on, over and over again. Perhaps your kids have begged for some of the pressure to be taken off of them, but you know that if they stay busy they will stay out of trouble and all of these activities will help them in their adult lives ahead. But what if you moderated their schedule a little and planned more family activities or just gave them more time to be kids. It’s possible that this added balance might benefit them more not only in the future but the present. 

So take a breath and take a look at your life. When you find areas of excess, moderate them. Too much work, add a little leisure. Too much leisure, get to work. Are you stuck in front of the TV most nights? Moderate it. Go visit a friend or family member and brighten their day. Go to the park and shoot some hoops or throw some horseshoes or just take a walk. Most importantly, if you have kids and you are not spending much quality time with them... get to it. In fact spending time with family is the one area of our lives that shouldn't be moderated; it should instead be our greatest earthly priority. This said, with most things, if you’ll mix it up and moderate it, you will find the balance in life that lends itself to real personal peace and of course, happiness.

www.happinessprinciple.net

Count Your Many Blessings

by Randy Petersen

Composer Johnson Oatman, Jr. lived between 1856 and 1922 and was famous for writing over 5000 gospel hymns, many of which are included in most church hymnals to this day. In one of his most famous songs entitled “When Upon Life’s Billows” he encourages us to count our many blessings.

“When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings name them one by one. Count your blessings see what God hath done. Count your blessings name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God hath done.”

In the book The Happiness Principle we learn that we can't be happy if we are unappreciative of our blessings, no matter how small. So how often do you consider, let alone count all of the wonderful blessings in your life? From the time you first open your eyes in the morning do you look around and notice that you have a home around you that has kept you safe, secure and comfortable throughout your night’s slumber. When you walk over to the light switch and flip it on, are you thankful for the instant illumination that you enjoy and the fact that you’re not having to fumble for matches and an oil lamp like those that lived just a few generations ago. Do you think about how your clothes and dishes are washed automatically, and no matter what model you own, you have a car that takes you just about anywhere with ease and in comfort.

Do you have a job? Well even if you're not happy with it; isn’t it great that you have income and a way to support your family? And what about the important people in your life; your family, friends and those who care about you? While you love them, do you think about how grateful you are to have them in your life? And are you exercising this level of gratitude each and every day? Now after reading this you might feel exhausted thinking that such a daily approach would be impossible to achieve, but with a little time and focus it is not just doable but very rewarding. From the choice parking space that greeted you at the grocery store to the beautiful sunny day that follows the storm to the wonderful evening you had last night just playing with and loving your kids, if you will learn to briefly ponder each of your many gifts when they occur and give thanks, something wonderful will begin to happen. 

In time as you become proficient in your daily appreciation it will become harder and harder to be discontent for any extended period of time. It will also help shift your wants and desires from the superficial and spending your hard earned money on things that you don’t need. Finally it will help you in identifying more of the true blessings with which God is currently trying to bless you. So let’s start counting our many blessing.

The First Step to Living a more Positive and Hopeful Life

 The following is an excerpt from the book, 
"The Happiness Principle" by Randy and Elise Petersen:

Do you remember when you were a child and you had a bad dream in the night? You woke up crying and your mom or dad would come to check on you. Once you told them what was wrong, they would comfort and reassure you. They might hold you and tell you that everything was going to be OK. Eventually because of their reassurance and love, you would relax and go back to sleep. Why did their mere presence and soothing words make you feel better? Why did you trust that they could make things alright? You trusted them because they had been your loving guardians since birth. Even if they were not perfect, they gave you a level of love and care that no one else could provide, and they gave you something in which to believe. They gave you a reason to have hope. If on the other hand, you awoke in the night crying out but there was never anyone there to comfort you, how could you ever believe that things would work out or be alright?

I find a similar dynamic in adulthood. Often I’ll work with people that do not have defined spiritual beliefs or do not have a belief in God. Sometimes when they express concerns about their lives and the future, I'll try to comfort them and tell them that “everything will be alright”. When I make such statements, they often look at me like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears. How could I possibly know that everything will be alright? After all, most of them believe that life is just a random series of events. Sure, you can plan and prepare, but then the rest is up to chance. If this is true, they have a valid point. It would make life nothing more than a game of chance. Some will have good fortune and happiness, and some will just plain lose. If this is the case, then being positive and hopeful about life and the future is unfounded, without grounds or justification.

On the other hand, just as the uncertain child in the night relies upon their parent for reassurance and comfort, those that connect with God have a similar perspective. They realize that there is a higher power watching over them and that good will come from whatever happens to them. They know that they are here to face challenges and grow, and that if they stick with it, things will work out. They are also aware that there is a spiritual plan for them, and if they get on board with that program, life will improve. While to the skeptic this may not seem like concrete reason, these individuals believe they have real cause to be positive and hopeful.

So the first step to living a more positive and hopeful life is developing a belief in God, and then through that belief, establishing a connection through which you build trust in him and his plan for your life. Without trust in God, any hope or positivity that you may develop is founded on an always fallible and changing temporal world.

www.happinessprinciple.net

Read the 1st four chapters for FREE... Go on... You know you want to...

Now I could start by prattling on and on about our book, "The Happiness Principle" and how we got started in the spiritual work that we do but hey... why do that when I could have you just read it... well part of it anyway. I am happy to announce that you can read the first 27 pages of the book right now, by clicking on the link below. It's a fascinating tale of modern day miracles that is entertaining yet touching, hopeful and inspiring, and transformatively life changing.

So go ahead and give it a read... go on... you know you want to...

READ NOW!