Big Fish. Giant Ones.

Hi Amy!

Funny that you should mention fish because I am feeling like Andy Samberg in a room full of giant ones. Yeah, I know I've used that line before, but I'm calling it a classic. Perennial. I'm just gonna keep bringin' it back.

Why, you ask, do I feel like Andy Samberg in a room full of giant fish? My dear friend, it is because I have discovered the Secret to Living Well. (Hint: it has nothing to do with eating dessert first, although that helps.)

Did you know that only a small portion of our overall happiness is directly related to circumstance? And that a much larger portion is directly related to an intent to feel happy? I happened upon this information in a documentary I was watching the other night called Happy, and I've included this lovely pie chart complete with cited source just in case you thought I was making this stuff up.

You're probably asking, Erin, what does any of this have to do with fish? Well, I will tell you! I have discovered tangentially that fish enjoy pie, especially in the form of charts. Furthermore, upon closer research, I have unearthed that pie charts about happiness are most likely to attract fish. In sum, if we collect all the pie charts about happiness and bring them on down to the pond, we'll catch enough fish to make dinners for a week!

NO.

Um, that's lie. What I did discover is that when I spend more time in dialogue with God about the good gifts He has provided--i.e.: appreciating what I have--I spend less time despairing for the things I don't have yet. Intentional Contentment! I think Priscilla Shirer described the phenomenon well when she said:

Contentment is the equilibrium between the enjoyment of life now and the anticipation of what is to come. Contentment serves as a guard against desires gone wild. It is the key to unlock you from the bondage of unrestrained longing that wells up in your heart and inevitably begins to control your life, making you a slave to what you don't have instead of a fully engaged participant in what you do.

I haven't stopped hoping for the future yet, for there are so many good things to come, but it occurred to me that, at 25, my life is just beginning. I think in a culture in which youth is valued above most else, 25 can seem pretty old. But 25 is young! I am newly married. Newly employed. Newly engaged in God's purposes. This is not a time for despair; it is a time for celebration!

Okay. That is enough. Enough celebration. On to the next topic.

Christian music: Have you ever listened to Andrew Peterson? I think you would like him.