Faith & Life

Happiness

Many studies on happiness show a similar result even though study periods, objects, and methods vary. The result says that happiness that is achieved by obtaining materials sustains only until the point where you do not need to worry about feeding yourself anymore. Once your survival is guaranteed, the happiness you felt in the beginning disappears and the level of happiness plateaus though your income increases. This explains how people in countries of low national income can have a higher level of happiness. It is not easy to define happiness as people have all different standards of happiness. However, happy people have something in common: They are confident, have a clear goal in life, and make efforts to live a…

An Amazing Plan for Salvation of Each Soul

Among many things happening in life, some are just simple incidents, whereas some are life-changing experiences. I can say meeting my wife was a once-in-a-life-time event, because I received Elohim through her. She’s from Colombia, a country in South America. When she was in high school, her family immigrated to Canada. They arrived in Windsor first, but soon, they planned to move to Montreal in Québec. However, things didn’t go as they planned, and they ended up in Edmonton instead of Montreal. My wife, then a high school student, entered a school among many in Edmonton—my school. We had a good relationship in school. During college, and even until I left Edmonton and came back, we remained as a couple,…

Joshua Michael Dimm from Edmonton, Canada

Buyable Happiness

Can we buy happiness with money? Happiness is not something sold in department stores or markets, so we cannot buy it with money. If we can buy happiness with money, whoever has more money should be happier. But it doesn’t work that way in reality. There is one way to buy happiness with money. Professor Michael Norton of Harvard University conducted an experiment, where he gave $5 to $20 to two groups of people, and ordered one group to use the money for themselves and the other group for someone else. After this, he surveyed the index of their happiness; those who purchased accessories or coffee for themselves showed no difference in the happiness index, but those who bought or…

Unless We Train Ourselves

When a world-famous singer had a performance in Korea, all the audience there felt disappointed and even upset. They had bought expensive tickets in order to listen to her live performance that would touch their hearts with her outstanding singing ability, but her voice was unstable and so weak that the audience at the back couldn’t even hear her. It was because she appeared on stage without enough practice. Even if you were good at and used to something, if you try it again in a long time, it’s awkward. Even if you were skilful at a certain instrument, if you don’t practice for a long time, your fingers will not move properly. Even if you exercised hard for a…

Warm Words Save the Family

There are the sayings: “Words have no feet, but they travel far,” and “Words can even repay a huge debt.” These show how powerful words are. Words can control the happiness of a family; they can break the family bond, or strengthen family’s love. The way the family members talk shows how strong and peaceful their family bond is. “Is there anything you know how to do?” “You stay home all day, doing nothing!” “You are stubborn-headed!” Love cannot exist in a family if the members use these kinds of words, not regarding the other person’s feeling. Everybody wants a sweet home. Wouldn’t you be very happy if a warm atmosphere fills your home when you come back tired after…

How to Minimize Regrets

“What do you say if I sell things on the Internet?” “It’s a good idea, but will it be necessary to challenge when you want for nothing? It would be better if a jobless person gives it a try.” The person, who graduated from a prestigious university and had a stable job with a high salary, handed in his resignation. Foreseeing the possibility of Internet business, he suggested the establishment of an Internet shopping mall to his boss, but he was rejected. So he decided to start his own business. He is Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, the largest online shopping mall in the world. When he was standing at a crossroads between a stable life and a new…

The LORD Will Make You the Head, Not the Tail

It has been almost eight years since I came to Australia. When I first came to Australia, I was new in the truth; it had been only a few months since I had received the truth. To say nothing of understanding Heavenly Father and Mother’s love and sacrifice, I didn’t even know the basic truths fully. So it was not like I had come overseas for the mission or with the plan to preach overseas like the sincere gospel workers. While I was living in Adelaide for three years, my faith started to grow. While studying the Bible and participating in preaching continually, I could feel my soul grow little by little. After realizing the mission and blessing of the…

Choi Byeong-ho from Brisbane, Australia

A Boast

Those who are healthy are likely to neglect their health care. Since they have no particular part that is sore, they blindly trust their health and may suddenly face a disease just like a bolt from the blue. In actuality, those who looked healthy get ill all of a sudden. On the contrary, those who are weak take great care of their health. Because they know that they are weak, if possible, they avoid the habits that are bad for health, and make efforts to stay physically fit, taking healthy food. “. . . I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” 2 Co 12:9 The reason the Apostle Paul…

The Beautiful Mind of Fathoming the Heart of Her Grandmother

I have a niece, who has a very beautiful mind. She sincerely cares about her grandmother. She sends her grandmother’s favorite snacks, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and oranges from time to time, and remits some money to her three times a year, asking her to eat something delicious. This kind niece had very difficult times last year. She had been childless for long after getting married, so she had been distressed. Then she could barely conceive, but she lost the baby right before giving birth. Upon hearing the news, I went to the hospital where my niece was, without having a time to grieve. Heartbroken, my niece said that she had been only waiting to see the baby in a healthy…

Lee Sun-ok from Changwon, South Korea

The Most Beloved Child

There was a family with five children. The second daughter did well at school and was praised by the people around her. However, she was sad that her parents seemed not to be interested in her while they took good care of her brothers and sister. So one day, she asked her mom, “Mom, who do you love most among us?” Then the mom answered with a gentle smile. “When your brother wandered during puberty, I loved him most, and when you had a hard time after arguing with your friend, I loved you most. When your little brother fell while riding a bike and came back home, crying, I loved him most. When I couldn’t buy your second brother…

Family

Sardinia, the island in the west of the Italian Peninsula, is famous for the highest rate of centenarians in the world. Among its population of 1.6 million, more than 250 people are over 100 years old. A survey team studied the secret of Sardinians’ long life and reported that Sardinians have special genes for longevity, and that those who live long have something in common: They live with their families. The positive family culture that two or three generations live together in the same house and have many conversations with each other acts as an energizer in their life. Our family gives us strength to live on in this world. We have another family. It is the heavenly family who…

Are Cicadas Math Geniuses?

In spring several years ago, cicadas were forecast to come to the eastern United States. How could they have predicted the appearance of a particular herd of cicadas like the weather forecast, even though there is no observation device for it? It is possible because they are the 17-year cicadas that appear explosively in a certain area every 17 years. Mathematical secrets are hidden in the lifespan of cicadas. Cicadas’ life expectancy is a prime number such as 5 years, 7 years, 11 years, 13 years, and 17 years, including the period of time living as nymph under the ground, depending on the species. A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other…

Young Adults’ Passion Cleans the World

On November 30, 2017, we held a cleanup with the slogan “Mother’s Street” behind the Quezon City City Hall. The volunteers were mostly young adults. Whenever we passed by, people asked us where we were from and what we were doing. They seemed to be much curious to see many young people carry out volunteer activities with smiles. “We are from the Church of God. We’re spreading Mother’s love to people. Good morning!” Although the weather was very hot, I was much encouraged that we could shine God’s glory by participating in the volunteer event. Though what we could do was very small, I was filled with joy. We picked up garbage one by one like treasure until we filled…

Sharina Aya Z. Gorospe from Quezon City, Philippines

Throwing Away Greed

“God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them . . . God saw all that he had made, and it was very good . . .” Ge 1:27–31 Humans were very good creatures in God’s eyes. It must be obvious that their real intention (the mind that remains same from the begining) was pure, right, and clean. However, the pure heart became unclean as greed began to fill the heart. The more greed expands, the uncleaner God-pleasing pure heart becomes. Love one another, give thanks in all circumstances, and be content . . . The word of God is the guideline and the compass that enables us…

Grant Your Family’s Small Wishes

Fairy tales often feature someone who grants wishes of the main character. So the main character can live a new life or overcome crises and find happiness thanks to the wish granter. This can happen not only in fairy tales. If you make a little bit more effort, you can easily grant a small wish of your precious family. If that happens, your family won’t be envious of anyone who has extraordinary power in fairy tales. If you grant each other’s wishes with consideration and sincerity, the whole family will automatically be happier. Please be willing to grant your loved one’s “small wishes” this month. Maybe a beautiful story like a fairy tale will unfold before you! Tip Create a…

Joy Earned with Patience

This happened when I was preaching the gospel in Philadelphia, USA, by the grace of Heavenly Father and Mother. I had no fruit for quite some time, so I was worrying, thinking, ‘How come I don’t have fruit?’ Finally, through the short-term mission to Altoona, God gave me a fruit—Sister Carolyn, who is over eighty. Making an eight-hour round trip every Sunday, I diligently delivered the truth of the Sabbath, the Passover, and God Elohim for two months. But one day, I suddenly lost contact with her. So worried, I visited her. I didn’t know what had happened, but in a cold manner she refused to receive the Truth Book I handed to her. On the desk, there was a…

Shin Da-un from Anyang, South Korea

Planting Tree Seedlings

The Canoas Zion planned to perform a voluntary service together with the Department of Environment of the Municipality of Canoas. Our job was to plant tree seedlings in a park. On the day of the event, we met early in the park. An officer from the Department of Environment and an invited environmentalist thanked us for participation and talked about the importance of planting trees. “It is said that we should drink at least eight glasses of water a day. In the future, however, water will be so expensive and scarce due to environmental pollution. Not just water, but air will also become more polluted. Many countries will have to make big artificial lungs to get fresh air. The thing…

Bruna Carvalho de Lima from Canoas, Brazil

Missing Mom’s Arms

At a school in India, a little boy who is walking around the classroom suddenly seems to have a good idea and goes out with chalks in his both hands. Walking through the kids playing in groups, he takes a secluded spot and begins to draw a big picture on the cement floor with chalks. The teacher watching him from afar comes up and looks surprised at the picture. The picture the little kid has drawn is a woman with her open arms. The boy takes off his shoes and lays himself on the woman’s arms. This video ends with the phrase, “Some of us, unlike most of the privileged ones, value and solely desire a mother’s love.” This is…

Smile

Just like a Korean proverb says, “Blessing follows when you smile,” there is nothing to lose to smile. There are, however, different types of smiling. When we are happy, the muscles around our eyes contract and crinkle up. The genuine smile without faking is called the Duchenne smile, named after the neurologist who first discovered it. Duchenne smile stimulates the part of our brain where it feels joy. A university professor in the United States experimented whether the types of smiles have relevance to the quality of life. The professor precisely analyzed the smiles of 111 women from the university yearbook and tracked down their lives for 30 years. The research concluded that the graduates with genuine smiles were having…

After Realizing Heavenly Father and Mother

I was born in Denmark, and when I was twelve years old, my mom and I moved to Malmö, Sweden. As I grew up, I became selfish, and I couldn’t see any meaning in life. I moved back to Denmark and I partied as much as I could. I started working out a lot, wanting to be the strongest and the best looking. Then, I moved back to Sweden and went back to school with intent to start a new life. One day, someone knocked on my door. Two Koreans were standing outside, wanting to tell me about God the Mother. Since they didn’t speak English well, I didn’t really understand what they were talking about, but I was still…

Simon Peter Lindmer from Gothenburg, Sweden