It's Better to Laugh

God has given women the power to move on in life thorugh the contagion of laughter.  I've spent the past several years collecting quips about laughter and sayings that make me laugh.  I have a lot of quotes about dieting, middle age, motherhood, husbands, wrinkles, love -- you name it:  all those hot spots in a woman's life that would kill us if we let them get us down.  The secret is to not let them get you down.  The secret of not letting them get you down is to laugh about them.

We can sigh about things, or we can laugh.  Both these responses release pressure, but which is the most fun?  Whatever it is probably won't go away, so we might as well live and laugh through it.  When we double over laughing, we're bending so we won't break.  If you think your particular troubles are too heavy and too traumatic to laugh about, remember that laughing is like changing a baby's diaper.  It doesn't solve any problems permanently, but it makes things more acceptable for a while.

Barbara Johnson

Promises About a Happy Heart

You have made known to me the path of life, O Lord; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.  Psalm 16:11


Be glad ... rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness.  He send you abundant showers, both autumn and springs rain, as before.   Joel 2:23


Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.  Psalm 30:5


You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.  Psalm 30:11-12

Laughter is Good Medicine

If you laugh a lot, when you are older all your wrinkles will be in the right places!

God's Grace in the Midst of Tough Times

How do we enjoy God's grace in the midst of tough times?  First we have to make a habit of drinking deeply of the grace God promises, every moment.  We have to uncover our soul and let grace soak us to our roots.

Second, we have to keep our sense of humor.  I find it helpful to have a few things up my sleeve for those tougher-than-usual days when the melons are landing on my head.  I have several funny videos that just knock me over.  Photographs of my friends and family always cheer me up.  So does getting out into the fresh air and walking.  Sometimes I read one of my favorite Psalms.

God is all around us, longing to talk to us, to love us, to lift us up.  Make up your own survival kit.  Find things that you know can lift you above the hubbub in your house and in your head.

written by Sheila Walsh

Surviving Struggles

Let your joy out. One way I do that is to give people something to laugh about.  How?  I collect jokes and write down everything I hear that makes me brighten up.  I make amusement a ministry because chuckles are better than a therapist.  They are aloe vera for he sunburns of life.  When the dumps take their toll, laughter provides the exact change to get you through. 

Whatever your troubles, try looking at them by the light of another source or a different star.  Go ahead; don't be afraid.  Find a wacky angle, a new twist.  Offer trouble a little serious thought, then turn it upside down and look at it through God-colored glasses.  Chew on trouble's possibilities for make you smarter, better, stronger, kinder.

Sample some weird and wonderful Jelly Bellies, Gobstoppers, or Sweet Tarts while you do that.  Then take the curved weapon I call joy and toss trouble by its funny side out into the world.

written by Barbara Johnson

Laughter is Good Medicine

I feel encased within a timepiece that can at times rob me of my peace.  Left unto ourselves, some of us would race and others of us would rust.  Either way we would speed past or sleep through the joy.  We need to make peace with the timepiece so we don't spend our time beating our heads against the clock.

Here are some tips.  I'll try them if you will.

1.  Don't cram everyday so full you can't enjoy the journey.
2.  Don't under-plan and miss the thrill of a fruitful day.
3.  Don't underestimate a nap, rocking chair, and a good book.
4.  Don't become a sloth.
5.  Do offer your gratitude for the moments assigned to you.
6.  Do celebrate even the passing of days.

Patsy Clairmont

Finding Eternal Good Humor

Genuine versus counterfeit.  Real versus fake.  Joy versus happiness.  Joy gives me calm assurance even though I go through the valley of the shadow of death.  Joy enables me to hold my peace when people say and do ugly things to me.  When we go through troubles, afflictions, persecution, danger, illness, and distress, when the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, we can have genuine joy in our hearts.

Joy is permanent.  Once you have it, you never lose it.  It may be overshadowed by human frailties, but real joy lasts for eternity.

Thelma Wells
Laughter for a Woman's Soul

Looking For Laughter

Giggles in life usually come from little things.  If we train ourselves to see them and then giggle with them, we get a "perk."  Giggle potential is everywhere;  we just need to slow down long enough to see it.

Marilyn Meberg

Promises About the Fun of Laughter

A wife of noble character who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies.  ...She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.  Proverbs 31:10, 25

The Sovereign Lord says, "My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts."  Isaiah 65:14

Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.  Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.  Psalm 97:11-12

Praise God with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with the tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.  Psalm 150:3-5

Promises About a Laugh Lifestyle

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart.   ...For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.  Luke 6:45

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.  Proverbs 15:30

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Psalm 100:1

Satisfy us in the morning with the unfailing love, O Lord, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.  Psalm 90:14

Laughter For The days Ahead

A laugh lifestyle is predicated upon our attitude toward the daily stuff of life.  When those tasks seem too dull to endure, figure out a way to make them fun; get creative and entertain yourself.  If the stuff of life for you right now is not dull and boring but instead painful and overwhelming, find something in the midst of the pain that makes you smile or giggle anyway.  There's always something somewhere... even if you have to just pretend to laugh until you really do!

You need that joy break, so take at least one every day.  Hey, how about twirling and flourishing in your kitchen, grocery store, or office?

Dear Father, you provide our safety, our security, our eternal hope.  Because of those loving assurances, enable us to see the joy, feel the joy, and even twirl with joy.  Thank you that you are our reason for joy each day.  Amen