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

Promises About Worry

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
Psalm 55:22

Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.  Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.  Consider the ravens:  They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.  And how much more valuable you are than birds!"
Luke 12:22-24

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

Promises About Peace

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."   John 14:27

The Lord blesses his people with peace.  Psalm 29:11

You, Lord, will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.  Isaiah 26:3

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.  Isaiah 32:17

Finding Peace

The accent may be on youth these days, but the stress is on adults.  Always reflecting on the things we haven't done, we start each day worrying earlier and stay up later to worry every night. 

A certain parish priest patented a method for making holy water.  I figure it's a good way to deal with worries, too.  He took a big pot, filled it with water, turned up the heat, and boiled the devil out of it. 

And guilt?  Why not boil the devil out of that, too?  After all, we'll always have those things we shouldn't have done but did anyway.  So we end up wasting time dragging our burden of guilt in the dirt instead of getting it washed.

Cares are the tools God uses to fashion us for the better things.  He uses reverses to move us forward.  Reverses and cares bow us down low until we finally drop to our knees.  But a lot of kneeling keeps us in good standing because it brings us closer to God.  Being close to God, we find peace.

Barbara Johnson
Laughter for a Woman's Soul

Promises About Hope

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.  Proverbs 13:12

Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?   Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 42:11

Everything that was written int he past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.   Romans 15:4

Never Give Up Hope

Hope is a precious gift of our salvation.  While w can "hope" that our kids don't spill their soda, we must remember that our only reliable hope is in what we cannot see or control:  the outrageous faithfulness of God.  Our responsibility to him as his children is to study his character so we will know, without a doubt, that whatever way he deals with our circumstances in life, it's the right way.  Even when things don't work out the way we planned or desired, he is all-knowing, all-loving, the beginning and the ending.  Hope is acting on the conviction that despite what we see with the natural eye, God is working in the spiritual realm to accomplish his perfect will in our lives.  His hope does not disappoint!

God's Word declares hope. God's promises proclaim hope.  We must think hope.  Speak hope.  Pray hope.  Sing hope.  Act hope.  Share hope.  In other words, get our hopes up.  Because hope has been given to us, we can expect the best, even in the worst conditions.  Praise God!

Sheila Walsh
Laughter for a Woman's Soul

Promises About Your Life's Direction

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6

This is what the Lord says-your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." 
Isaiah 48:17

God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.   Psalm 48:14

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the way; walk in it."   Isaiah 30:21