The Antidote To Sadness

As the New Year begins, we pack away our Christmas decorations.
Pack them away and bring them back to the attic.
Back to the attic until the day after Thanksgiving.

Some may say that is a bit Scrooge-ish!
Some may say that is too soon to take them down.
Taking them down this early was out of necessity.

Having my boys home from school provides more strong arms to hoist boxes and bins.
Having an early January birthday for my youngest son, causes me to switch gears.
Knowing that back to school will be upon us, it is a good thing to start fresh.

Packing away decorations doesn’t mean that I am packing away Christmas.

I like the idea of starting fresh!
I like clearing the cobwebs of December.
I enjoy dusting off the distractions of busyness.

Fresh start.

New Year.
House swept clean.

Some people do not enjoy the short days of winter.
Some people dread the dreariness of January.
Some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during these months.

This a a very real problem for so many.
With God’s help, it can be turned around.

What if we turned the acronym SAD into something new?
What is each letter stood for some other word?
What is we turned SAD into praise?

The new S-A-D.
Say Alleluia Daily!

Alleluia (Greek) or Hallelujah (Hebrew) is a song of praise to God.

After this I heard what sounded like a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God for true and just are His judgments”…The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!” Then a voice came from the throne saying: “Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him both small and great!” Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and loud peals of thunder shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!” (Revelation 19:1,2,4-7)

Only God can turn our attitude upside down!
Only God can turn SAD into praise!

With His help, we can all Say Alleluia Daily.
With His help, we can truly mean it!

Look for ways to praise Him.
Look for things that are right in your life instead of what is going wrong.
Look for the praiseworthy deeds of other people God has placed in your life.

Say Alleluia Daily.

Find glorious aspects of creation for which you can rejoice.
Find snippets of His glory in the most mundane things.
Find His image in every person that you meet.

Say Alleluia Daily.

Listen for His voice as you read His Word.
Listen for His voice in the sound of your loved ones.
Listen for His Whispers even in your enemies.

Say Alleluia Daily.

Ponder His goodness in the everyday.
Ponder His Truth in His Word.
Ponder His presence in your dreariest days.

Say Alleluia Daily.

Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness. Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre, praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with strings and flute, praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
(Psalm 150)

Say Alleluia Daily.

Saying Alleluia Daily will sound like a symphony of praise to God.
A cacophony of praise that the world will hear.
Melodies of praise that linger in the air long after we are gone.

Praise changes things.
Mostly praise changes us!

Praise turns the frown upside down.
Praise turns circumstantial happiness into deep-down JOY!
Praise is the antidote to sadness.

Say Alleluia Daily.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!