Last night a couple of young friends connected with me and ended up coming over to visit. If they only knew how much I “needed” it.
Perhaps it is the season and it is the enemy throwing junk down on people, but it has seemed like there is a lot going on in people’s lives. Maybe there is. Maybe we are more connected than we realize. But, when they said they were coming over, I was encouraged. Continue reading A Hug Changes a Heart – Laughter Changes An Atmosphere
Despite tech issues, I was simply reminded life is not all that serious.
Yesterday I had a simply great day with friends and family at our church gathering in New Hampshire. The music was great and the people were friendly and fun to be with. The message my friend Scott delivered was a joy to hear.
I know for many, church is not always a fun place to be. Words of condemnation coupled with guilt, pain and other hurtful feelings can often keep you from the very place of understanding and joy God has for you. I have to say my church gathering is a joy to be around. (I also need to say not all church was like that for me.) Continue reading Enjoying The Body of Christ
HAHAHAHAHA!
Yep, shorthand for laughter, but it does not properly plumb the depth of the experience. I like to laugh. Ask any friend or family member. I think life is pretty unserious in light of the goodness and greatness. I also think laughter destroys the work of the enemy which is to make you feel pain and lose your joy.
Admittedly when things get tough I look to comedies to change my thinking. I will watch The Three Stooges, Dennis The Menace and other old B&W comedies. And laugh. And laugh some more. Continue reading Laughter & You (Or Maybe Me!)
(Written over 4 years ago)
Over the years one of my life, I have found that the Lord has a wonderful sense of humor and fun. (Have you ever looked at a platypus?) One of my greatest struggles to get into the kingdom, was the sense of piety(Usually false) and dried up faces. “If God is that serious, I think I will wait a while.” That was my thinking. A dried up church with dried up people.
Admittedly, I was prankster. (I still think “pranks” are fun as long as they do not hurt people.) I did not have to wait for April Fool’s Day to pull a stunt. Convincing siblings that the island we were camping on was going to sink, because “look the hole we dug is filling with water. Get in the boat!” Creatures in drawers and refrigerators. Add to the fact I grew up in an era of “children should be seen and not heard,” and you can see I was “oppressed.” I spent a lot of time in my room, coming up with new tricks. (One time I tied fish line to hangers in my sister’s room and ran it through the floor boards, and my parents spent a long time looking for that “animal,” as I gently pulled the string from the safety of my room.)
But, I finally became a believer despite my best efforts. I felt if Jesus was life and I was His representative, then I should bring life where I went. And the more I read of Jesus, the more I came to understand, He was pretty cool. I found as I read the Greek, it revealed a “man” who used sayings and words of the time, and brought about “plays upon the words” in His challenge to follow Him. Think about it…did Jesus know there was storm coming? I think so. Or He could not have berated people about their knowledge of the weather. So was He having some fun…” Am I saying God is all “fun and games?” Not hardly. But if we leave the fun out of the message we have dried up churches. I take a lot of things seriously in the Kingdom, but I am not going to work hard on the things that have been given to me.
I have challenged church gatherings that if they are going to have joy in their hearts, could they tell it to their face.
Why am I saying this? Because the church is starting to lose it’s joy. We are looking at the wold and thinking we have to walk that way. Not me. I am not saying you have to laugh all the time, but you do have a God that laughs in derision at His enemies. My children and grandchildren bring joy…and laughter to my heart. No one will ever convince me that is bad. When out of your mouth comes streams of doubt, unbelief and bad words, it is time to go back to the well. Only Sunday morning I began to think about the laughter of heaven. It was a challenge for me to think about heavenly things and not be wrapped up in the world. When my grandson Jacob laughs, who cares about the rest of the world.
Laughter is good medicine. All along, the Bible has endorsed laughter, all along we have sensed it to be true, and now, now science cites research and observations that confirm the Bible’s claims. How about it: Let’s make today one of joy and one of laughter. Make you feel better–I promise
