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There certainly is a lot of unhappiness in the world. Employees are unhappy. Students are unhappy. Marriages are unhappy. It’s so pervasive that there are unhappy corporations, unhappy families, unhappy teams and even unhappy churches!

Faith is our Advent theme this week. I’ve been fascinated for a long time by the phrase “little-faith.” Jesus used that term when the disciples were afraid, doubting or uncertain about how to proceed. It’s an interesting Greek phrase. It means, “lacking confidence,” but “little” seems to mean that we need “more.” Would it be better if we had “a lot” of faith rather than a “little?” Apparently it’s not about the amount of faith.

Do you ever say that? The phrase works in many different contexts; hunters use it, shoppers use it, parents use it and kids use it, because we all have hopes. If we are honest, we often have more hopes than certainties. Our plans are so fragile because our lives are fragile. Sickness, weather, entropy and the choices of others all affect our personal hopes and desires. The first theme of the Advent Season is hope and we plan to study this subject this coming Sunday.

When someone asks us, “How are you doing?”, it’s common to answer with how we are doing physically. Why? Because our physical health is something that affects all of us and something that matters to all of us. God gave us a body and expects us to take care of it!

Have you thought much about your thoughts lately? Scholars from psychology to spirituality write about the importance of thinking about what we are thinking about. Some refer to what’s going through our brain and inner life as an “inner narrative,” or simply, “self-talk.” Our narrative is formed by many different sources, some of them are out of our control. Our narrative becomes the story we tell ourselves about what life is about and how to live it.