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Abstract

ugh or a new diet that could rock my world, but a simple admonishment to remember thatA joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22, ESV)I believe in serendipity or synchronicity or whatever you prefer to call it but here I was standing in the alpaca gift shop hearing the same words I had heard that morning in the doctor’s office.And, the least of all this not being that my favorite ride at an amusement park has always been the carousel. We used to call it the Merry-Go-Round.Again, the alternate name is not lost on me. It seems fitting that as 2019 comes to an end these are the words I’m given — ushered to me by a benevolent God through servants of all shapes and sizes and beliefs.After all, my word for 2019 was JOY — in capital letters. Oh, I’ve been happy and I love my life but God was clear in 2019 that He wanted me to experience JOY like I’d never done before.<a href="https://www.carouselofhappiness.org/about/the-story-of-the-carousel/">The Carousel of Happiness</a>, as I learned it was called, had a deeper story. The idea was birthed in a foxhole in Vietnam where a combat soldier named Scott Harrison wondered if he’d survive and return h

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ome. As they say, there are no atheists in foxholes, so he made a deal with God — or perhaps it was simply a request.He promised God if he made it home he would do something good for humanity. At the time, he had no idea what that looked like but during his time in Vietnam, he became transfixed with a tiny music box carousel his sister had sent him.Back in the states, he learned of a carousel that had been stripped of its horses but was still in working order. He bought it and donated it to the town of Nederland, Colorado.Then he proceeded to hand carve a happy assortment of animals to bring the carousel back to life.I rode the camel.And I smiled all day.If life is too serious for you right now, or you’ve lost your joy, why not make a list of 365 things that make you smile and then do one every day in 2020? Maybe this is your year of JOY!I have found that simplifying my life has led to more joy. I have more time for the things that matter and less stress because I am not striving for the things that don’t. Care to join the simple movement? Check out the Facebook group <a href="https://facebook.com/groups/simplelifesimplefaith/">Simple Life Simple Faith.</a></article></body>

The Carousel of Happiness

Do one thing each day that will make you smile for the rest of the day

“Is there anything in town that we should not miss while we are here?” I asked the sales clerk at the gift shop.

“The carousel,” he said without missing a beat.

With that kind of certainty coming at me, I was all ears!

“It’s only $2.00 and all proceeds go to charity.”

Then he added the line that nailed my decision:

“You will smile for the rest of the day.”

I had just been at the doctor that morning, feeling a little blue about some chronic health conditions that despite my desire to eradicate and my efforts at eating healthy and trying new things to support my body, just stubbornly refuse to budge out of my life.

“Do something every day that makes you smile,” the doctor advised. Not a major medical breakthrough or a new diet that could rock my world, but a simple admonishment to remember that

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22, ESV)

I believe in serendipity or synchronicity or whatever you prefer to call it but here I was standing in the alpaca gift shop hearing the same words I had heard that morning in the doctor’s office.

And, the least of all this not being that my favorite ride at an amusement park has always been the carousel. We used to call it the Merry-Go-Round.

Again, the alternate name is not lost on me. It seems fitting that as 2019 comes to an end these are the words I’m given — ushered to me by a benevolent God through servants of all shapes and sizes and beliefs.

After all, my word for 2019 was JOY — in capital letters. Oh, I’ve been happy and I love my life but God was clear in 2019 that He wanted me to experience JOY like I’d never done before.

The Carousel of Happiness, as I learned it was called, had a deeper story. The idea was birthed in a foxhole in Vietnam where a combat soldier named Scott Harrison wondered if he’d survive and return home. As they say, there are no atheists in foxholes, so he made a deal with God — or perhaps it was simply a request.

He promised God if he made it home he would do something good for humanity. At the time, he had no idea what that looked like but during his time in Vietnam, he became transfixed with a tiny music box carousel his sister had sent him.

Back in the states, he learned of a carousel that had been stripped of its horses but was still in working order. He bought it and donated it to the town of Nederland, Colorado.

Then he proceeded to hand carve a happy assortment of animals to bring the carousel back to life.

I rode the camel.

And I smiled all day.

If life is too serious for you right now, or you’ve lost your joy, why not make a list of 365 things that make you smile and then do one every day in 2020? Maybe this is your year of JOY!

I have found that simplifying my life has led to more joy. I have more time for the things that matter and less stress because I am not striving for the things that don’t. Care to join the simple movement? Check out the Facebook group Simple Life Simple Faith.