May 29

Beloved of Good Shepherd Church,

Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!

Are you happy? My deepest hope for you is that you are given the spiritual gift of happiness. I don’t mean that I hope everything goes your way and thus you become happy. Happiness for followers of Jesus comes from being rooted and grounded in love. When you are sure beyond doubt that you are God’s beloved child, and you discover your core identity rooted in that love, and you then ground all your actions in love, then true happiness is possible. As you move along the spiritual path you will discover the gift of joy. Joy is an even deeper rootedness in God’s sustaining, life-giving love. When you have happiness and then proceed to joy, nothing can touch you. Your entire well-being is wrapped up in God’s love. That is happiness.

I do hope things go your way, but my even deeper hope is that you are given the gift of happiness. I dream of Good Shepherd Church being a collection of Christ-centered happy people. That is, people rooted and grounded in the sacrificial, peace-drenched love of Jesus.

Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!

Love is all,

Hendree+