Christian Humor and Laughter – Joy Comes in the Morning
Humor, laughter, joy - It’s all part of being a Christian. So, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been writing about some pretty serious stuff lately. All of this soul searching is hard work. But we all know that all work and no play is not good for the soul, so I’ve decided to blog on a much lighter note today.
John 15:11 says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” And then there’s Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” It seems that it’s not only through the Bible that God is trying to talk to us. He’s purchased some billboards to get our attention.
A while ago a friend sent me these billboards that appeared on a stretch of highway in Dallas. Each billboard gets better. Even after watching these over and over again, they still make me laugh. God does have a mischievous sense of humor. En-JOY!
Are You Paying Attention? God can Answer in Funny Ways
Perhaps you’ve heard this joke before, but it bears repeating even if you have.
A town was being pelted by rain. The local river was in danger of flooding so the authorities went door to door to tell the inhabitants that they needed to grab their belongings, leave and move to higher ground.
One gentleman was indignant and refused to leave. He told the officers, “God will take care of me.” After trying to convince the man that he had to leave, to no avail, the officers left.
Soon the water was coming fast and furious and the water began flooding over the gentleman’s porch. Several of the local neighbors came by in their row boat and urged him to get in the boat. The man refused saying, “God will take care of me.”
Quickly the water rose up to the man’s roof. He climbed to the top of his house in order to escape the rising waters. A helicopter came by and urged the man to grab hold of the ladder. The man refused saying, “God will take care of me.”
Do Otters Meditate?
I absolutely love otters. I remember as a kid watching Disney stories on Sundays and one particular episode showed a family that had two river otters that played and created havoc throughout the house.
Any time I visit a zoo, I immediately look on the map to see if they have an otter area. I finally got to see an otter up close and personal for the first time this past summer. Robert took this picture of a sea otter and every time I look at it, it makes me smile. It makes me feel instantly calm because it looks like this otter is meditating.
Why do I like otters so much? Because they are always playful and mischievous. To me, otters exude joy. They act as if they have no cares in the world.
As Christians, we are also supposed to exude joy. Jesus says in John 15:11 – “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
I love animals, so I am always interested in watching animal documentaries. One documentary talked about animal behavior. I had never given it much thought but man is the only animal that worries and dwells on an event. No other animal does that.
Take for example, an antelope living in Africa. It’s quietly eating grass when a lion comes out of nowhere. Continue reading
Busyness Addicts Anonymous – Could you be a Member?
Oh joy! As a manager at the radio station group where I worked, we were all given a brand new BlackBerry. Technology had never been my thing, so I was forced to learn all of the nuances of my new gadget, or monitor, as I liked to call it.
One of the managers, who was almost half my age, was kind enough to show me how to use it along with direction from the chief engineer. In no time I was beginning to build up my thumb muscles. It’s no surprise that I learned so quickly because I was easily receiving 100 messages a day.
Every time a message would come in there would be a sound like a moo of a cow. This went on all day. Moo, moo, moo, over and over again. As time went on, it also went all night. It seemed like a contest of who could send a message at the most outrageous time – two in the morning, four in the morning, moo, moo.
When I first had the device, it was like an addiction. Since it was constantly mooing, it was hard to put down. Plus, having a competitive nature, I was driven to keep up with the never ending stream of emails.
I remember driving and texting at the same time. As if that wasn’t stupid enough, I was coming up on a train signal. The crossing gate was coming down right in the middle of a response I was typing. The absurdity of the situation made me fling the BlackBerry onto the passenger seat. At that moment, I vowed to never read or text another message in the car.
Christmas Ideas Start a Christmas Ornament Collection by Purchasing one Every Year
Every December I let the hustle and bustle steal my joy. Not this year! I’m celebrating Christmas with a new idea every day. This idea Number 13 is to start an ornament collection.
Robert and I are celebrating our sixth Christmas together. Since we married five years ago, we combined our households and Christmas ornaments. Throughout the years I had theme-based Christmas trees, meaning coordinated ornaments with styles and colors. Robert, on the other hand, had a collection of ornaments that he had received from his family. Each ornament held a special meaning.
As a wedding present, we received a set of ornaments as a gift. At the time, Robert and I looked at each other after we opened the present and thought it was kind of weird. We had gone the wedding register route through our local department store asking for cutlery, wine glasses, china, and the like, but Christmas ornaments? Continue reading
Christmas Ideas – Family, Children – Read Christmas stories – Don’t spend money, go to the library. Pick books out together. Add Christmas songs to your nightly lullabies
This is Christmas idea number 9 in my countdown to Christmas. At the beginning of the month I was determined not to let the hustle and bustle steal my joy. It’s working! I am celebrating Christmas every day with a new idea.
From the time my son was born, I read to him every night. I am passionate about literacy and teaching children to read. So, what better way to celebrate Christmas than to read a Christmas story. It can be “the” story from the Bible or books like The Polar Express or How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss, yes, the latter two stories started as books and are not just movies.
You don’t have to go out and buy these books either, although they are not expensive. A free alternative is to go to the library. Why not take your children and let them pick out some books. There’s no budget to think about, so they can pick what they want.
This activity will also get children – and adults – away from the television. I heard a staggering statistic yesterday on the news that Americans watch a whopping 31 hours of television a week!
Something else I did when my son was little was sing him lullabies every night. I had an entire repertoire. At Christmas time I would add some carols like Away in a Manager or songs like, I’ll be Home for Christmas. It was funny too, because he knew every song. One time I proceeded to tip toe out of the room after I was done singing. From the bed I heard him say in a very small voice, “Mom, you forgot to sing the song about the horses.”
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulder. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6
Facelift Without Plastic Surgery
Next month I will be acknowledging another birthday. As time marches on, the years begin to show on lots of areas on my face and body. Each day brings a new sag or wrinkle as the law of gravity does its magic. I can be sad about this. I can take drastic action, like getting plastic surgery. Or, I can accept the natural aging process and take the cheap and safer route by creating an instant facelift without plastic surgery – how? By smiling more. It’s amazing! This smiling stuff really works!
As Christians, we have a lot to smile about! God watches over us and has us in his care. The Bible verse in Isaiah 51:11 says, “Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
If you never thought about God having a sense of humor, check out this real picture of one of his creations – an eel taken from a visit to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. It made me smile.
Women, especially, are bombarded with images of beauty. My husband, Robert, and I will laugh at all of the television commercials with wrinkle creams and related anti-aging products all demonstrated by women in their 30′s, maybe 40′s. Robert will say, “Show us the product on a 60 year old. Now I want to see that!”
I love the wisdom of the Bible. I Samuel 16:7 says – The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Our self-esteem doesn’t come from looking in the mirror. Being obsessed with our appearance robs us of our joy.
When I was little, my mother always told me to smile more because smiling made me pretty. Smiles are kind of like joy meters in a sense. They are a transfer of joy from the inside out.
When you need a facelift, smile more. You’ll find just like yawning, smiling is contagious.
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| Monday |
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May 14, 2012 |
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But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. |
| Tuesday |
| May 15, 2012 |
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And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. |
| Wednesday |
| May 16, 2012 |
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Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. |
| Thursday |
| May 17, 2012 |
| Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1 |
| Friday |
| May 18, 2012 |
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Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. |
| Saturday |
| May 19, 2012 |
| For the Lord takes delight in his people. Psalm149:4 |
| Sunday |
| May 20, 2012 |
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Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. |
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