All Saints
In our All Saints reading this week, we returned to the text of the beatitudes - sometimes used as the blueprint for pinning down what "Gospel Values" actually are. This year, we take the theme of happiness as our focus. Scientists tell us that smiling is really important - when our brains are happy, we smile. When we smile, we help our brains to feel happy! It's a beautiful, perpetual cycle.
One of the big challenges of our modern world is the degree to which we make our lives very comfortable and convenient. We are not so used to hardship as our ancestors were and we can find it difficult when situations are outside of our control. A beautifully supportive message we can take from the beatitudes is that the way we respond to challenges in our lives always remains within our control - we can face difficulties with a smile. Finding opportunities to be happy and grateful, in all the challenges life throws at us, is a great way of pointing others to Christ.