Many times a parent will respond to the question “What do you want your child to do when they grow up?” with the statement “I just want them to be happy.” What is happiness? Is it the same for everyone? Is it a realistic and respectable goal? These are the questions that Gretchen Rubin tackles in The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. Rubin decided to spend a year researching the concept of happiness and strive to increase her own happiness. Early on she determined that setting measurable goals would be essential. She designed a Resolution Chart to keep record of these goals. Each month she focused on areas of her life that she felt would increase her happiness. Beginning with her energy level, marriage and family, Rubin refined the areas in her life that brought her happiness. She found that as her happiness level increased, so did the levels of those closest to her. As the year continued, she returned again and again to the concept of happiness. She found that happiness can be increased by your actions, but that your attitude was most important. She also found that trying to be happy was a lot of work. She determined that being happy is a daily decision.
I found much about this book that appealed to me. Although I do not anticipate setting up a chart to measure my happiness, there are many elements that I can apply to my life. I need to be more deliberate with my goals and ambitions. At this time in my life I do not have a lot of outside responsibilities. It is easy to spend the day reading or watching tv with a puppy on my lap. As much as I thought I would find happiness doing that very thing, I realize that if that’s all I do it loses some of its appeal. I need to fill my “to do” list each day and mark off each item as I accomplish it. This simple act gives me a sense of fulfillment. I need to push my comfort zone and try new things. I probably won’t have a theme for each month, but I will try manageable projects and look for short term opportunities to help others. But most importantly, I will chose each day to be happy. To get up, get moving, is the very first step.

As I continue this journey through my kindle books, I came upon a book recommended by Sarah Bessey on her blog. It is one of the books who shaped her spiritually. The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and Woman’s “Work by Kathleen Norris details the way that our society dismisses the every day work that often falls to women in our society. She examine how such “work” can truly be an offering to God. A good friend of mine works as custodian at our church and he often says “worship is work, work is worship” He takes on the mundane work of maintaining our church building as an act of worship. This is the attitude that Norris puts on as she discovers that laundry, cleaning house and doing the dishes can become a type of liturgy.
This book spoke to me during this season of my life as I spend most days at home caring for the house, the dogs and my husband. I am in a waiting time in my life and as I read and reflect I realize that God is using this time to let me rest and renew myself and my spirit. It’s difficult to have your days work wiped out each night and to have to begin again each morning. The high of planning big events and meeting with a variety of people has been replaced with laundry, floors and picking up dog poop. This book reminds me that all I do is an offering to God. It also reminds me to take the time that I have each day to be in God’s creation and notice the beauty. Norris’s writing is beautiful and precise and I enjoyed settling in to this work while reading it.

Years ago a friend recommended that I read Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott. I’ve been hooked on her writing ever since. When her newest book Help Thanks Wow: Three Essential Prayers came out at the end of 2012, I purchased a hard copy immediately. Now, I tend to read a lot of my books on my Kindles or Apple devices, so purchasing a hard copy indicates an importance that used to not exist. I purchase “real” books when I know it’s one that I want to own, possess, share. As usual, I did not read it right away. A friend from church has been encouraging me to lead a book study group for some time and after the holidays we got together to discuss what that might look like. I knew that I did not want to reread any books since I have so many new books that I want to explore. I looked at my piles of “churchy” books that I have yet to read and picked a dozen or so that might be good for a wide range of ages and theological backgrounds. I knew right away that Lamott’s newest would be the perfect pick for our first book. When I introduced the book to our group I had only read the introduction. I was a little surprised to realize that not everyone was drawn to her writing in the way that I am. I was a bit discouraged to think that I may have been off base in my choice.
However, after a great discussion about reading with an open mind and an open heart everyone went home to begin reading. I must admit I have a difficult time writing in books. Must be left over from being the daughter of a librarian. Therefore, I did not read the rest of the book until the weekend before our next meeting. This time frame coincided with my father’s neck surgery and I found the readings exceptionally comforting.
I just love the way Lamott writes. Her words just resonate with me in every way. She is brutally honest and shows great respect for the reader. In this book she breaks down prayer into three simple categories. So many times I hear people say that they struggle with prayer. When this is the case, I think they must be working too hard at it, or maybe are putting too many qualifications into their prayers. It’s as simple as she says – Help Thanks Wow. Ask for God’s help by being authentic in what your needs are. You can’t hide anything from God, so why pretend. Then be thankful for all that you’ve been blessed with. Even in the darkest time there are things to be thankful for. As long as you have breath you can be thankful. Then WOW! Relish in the beauty of creation and just enjoy with praise.
When we met again as a group to discuss Lamott’s work, I was thrilled to learn that everyone in the group enjoyed the book. Those who are comfortable writing in their books came back with ink filled copies. Our discussion was energetic and left us ready to tackle the next book.

Lent has taken on a different mood for me since I stopped working in paid ministry at our church. For many years Lent meant pancake suppers, special studies, getting ready for Holy Week, gathering eggs for the Easter bunny, Good Friday rehearsal and sprucing up the building for the big day. After a frantic Christmas season and a busy January, I needed to reboot my Spiritual discipline with Lent. Several years ago I had downloaded Chris Seay’s Lenten study, A Place at the Table: 40 Days of Solidarity with the Poor. I opened it on my Kindle a few days into Lent and started the daily practice of reading these reflections and prayers. Seay has a heart for the hungry and this study challenges the reader to devote the 40 days of Lent to eating along with the hungriest in our world. A type of fast, he asks the reader to eat simple meals of rice, beans and other grains. I did not follow this part of the devotional, but did spend time reflecting on my abundance and how I treat my blessings. Seay weaves scripture and personal refections together to remind the reader of the meaning of preparing ourselves for the coming of Easter. Each day he lifted up someone in a third world country and the way that ministries are helping them through education, clean water and other proactive help. I wish that I had chosen to follow the fast. Food is such an important part of my life and I feel that a sacrificial act would be to give up the wonderful tastes that I experience on a daily basis. There is a lot in this devotional that challenged me to be more diligent in my diet, my spending and my prayer. It helped me stay grounded in the season despite upheavals in my daily life during this time.