“A glad heart makes a cheerful face,
but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
All the days of the afflicted are evil,
but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.” Proverbs 15:13-15
I don’t know what kind of week you are having, or how you faired during the world wide web disaster of last Friday, but I would love to encourage you today. Someone did that for me over the weekend. Her name is Caroline. She happens to be my daughter, but she is so much more than that. She is an artist by vocation and a baker when she has the time. She loves to dance and sing and read and live. Her life is by no means perfect, but she faces life with a smile most of the time. She is cheerful; she is an encourager.
Caroline is the last of my four daughters. When everyone else had gone off to school I worried (and she worried!) that she would be bored and lonely; but she wasn’t. She made ways to enjoy life. From making me listen to comedians, to making me dance with ABBA in the basement, to trying to scare me when I wasn’t expecting it, life with Caroline is an exciting surprise.
I know we all have different personalities and I have taken plenty of personality tests. I know some people are more prone to living life on the bright side than others, but it is still a daily choice to smile or frown. Life is complex for everyone. The truth is, your problems are really not that much worse than a lot of other people’s, they just seem worse because you have to live with them. Everybody has the same decision to make about their life, approaching it cheerfully or grumpily.
I’m not suggesting you make light of serious issues. Our whole world is in turmoil right now. Combining that with your personal issues may add up to negativity, grumpiness, depression, sorrow, anxiety, and anger that seem to be justified. It is normal to feel those emotions, but I’m begging you not to live with those emotions running your heart, mind and face.
Proverbs 15 talks about a glad heart making a cheerful face. What you are feeling shows. We can mask our true feelings, but not perpetually. In the long run, what we are experiencing emotionally will portray itself in our facial expression. If you are grieving or angry or disappointed it can be hard to smile, to be cheerful. It can seem dishonest or phony.
But let’s look at the next verse; “The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.” The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge. The wise person seeks for truth. During intense times of grief and loss, anger and frustration, disappointment and heartache it is crucial to look for truth. Bedrock truth. Truth that never changes or wavers. Truth that can encourage and bring a smile to your heart, if not yet to your face. Truth like Psalm 27:1:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?“
and Matthew 11: 28-30:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
and Psalm 37:3-4:
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
I could go on and on, but you get the point. When you need encouragement go to the truth of the Word of God and listen to God speak. He loves you. He has always loved you, and He will always love you. That is bedrock, foundational truth. How can you look so down when you know that God loves you and that He has promised to be with you?
When my four girls were younger there were times, a few anyway, that they had quarrels. Fights. Screaming matches. Ours was, and still is, a very verbal household; lots of talking. Lots of emoting. While I was not fond of these moments of fighting and disagreement, I insisted on one rule. No one was ever allowed to say “I hate you”. It was taboo because it was false. No matter how bad things seemed, no matter what misunderstanding or miscommunication or altercation had occurred, the bedrock truth of our home was that we loved each other. We still do. The foundation of our home rests on the knowledge that we will work it out until we can smile because the love we share is stronger than whatever issue put the frown on our faces.
And God’s love is so much greater! I want to encourage you today, to look past whatever is putting a frown on your face and remember that God is greater and more loving and more powerful than anything you are facing. There is always a genuine, real reason to smile and be cheerful if God is the foundation of your life.
Caroline encouraged me Sunday by just showing up. It was a surprise visit and a delightful one. She reminded me to laugh, to sing and to play. She reminded me that chocolate brownies and hot tea and just being together can solidify the foundational truth that love can help us smile no matter what is going on in the world around us.
The following recipe is truly Caroline’s recipe for chocolate brownies. I think she found it somewhere, but we have always called them Caroline’s Brownies! They are decadent and rich and will make you smile!
Caroline’s Brownies
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp salted, melted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup melted milk chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup Gold Medal Flour
- 1/4 cup baking cocoa
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions:
- preheat oven 350*
- line 9×9″ baking pan with parchment paper
- pour melted butter into bowl, whisk in sugar until smooth
- add in eggs and vanilla
- whisk in melted chocolate and combine until smooth
- use a rubber spatula to stir in flour, cocoa powder, and salt until just combined. Stir in whole chocolate chips.
- pour into pan and smooth out
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan 30 minutes before slicing
I have given you Caroline’s recipe for the brownies. As you can see from the size of my brownie pan I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9×13″ pan. I did not use the parchment paper and the brownies sliced beautifully and came right out of the pan. The parchment paper does work as well. I used a combination of chips as add ins, milk and dark chocolate chips. It changes the taste quite a lot, but both are delicious.