Good Medicine from God

Blessings Precious Princess Warriors! Before I continue, I want to give credit for this photo, but can't as I found it on an image search for "laughing princess." I loved it. This lovely princess is literally bent over with laughter. It can't get any better than that. Too often, we're stopped over in pain and heartache. A good laugh can bring some major physical blessings and a sore tummy (good sore tummy, though).

When is the last time you laughed so hard your belly ached? If you can't remember, it's been too long!

I spend a great deal of time on this BLOG talking about the challenges that face us in a fallen world. Today, I'm going to suggest we take some time out to fully experience the "joy of the Lord." He's given us the capacity for great joy, laughter, and fun times. I believe we face so many difficult situations in life that we can forget to have fun. We fail to laugh, and forget to smile. Well, let's put a stop to that, right now, shall we?

We are God's girls and we have reason to celebrate.

Recently, I was asked to prepare a presentation on the benefits of laughter. This was a work project and listing scriptures on the subject wasn't an option. However, I was able to find some very interesting information on the topic. This article made a compelling case for the many unique benefits of laughter. Take a peek and hurry back!

http://helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm

God gave us an all-natural "medicine" to boost our emotional, physical, and social health -- laughter. I've been on a quest lately to add huge doses of laughter to my life whenever possible.

So, go on; read the following CHURCH NOTICES. If you've seen them before, no problem, they're still funny! And remember these sentences actually appeared in printed church bulletins or were announced in church services. Ready, set, laugh!

1. Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Berth Belch all the way from Africa.

2. Announcement in the church bulletin for a national PRAYER & FASTING Conference. "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer Conference includes meals."

Are you chuckling yet? I am.

3. The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

4. "Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands."

5. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict.

6. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community.

7. Don't let worry kill you off -- let the Church help.

8. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs. (the misplacement of one coma ...)

9. Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

10. Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

11. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days. (uh oh!)

12. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

13. Please put your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

14. The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon. (Okay; I'm laughing.)

15. Low Self-Esteem Group will meet Thursday at 7:00 PM. Please use the backdoor.

Last but not least: This evening at 7:00 PM there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin. (Gotta love it!)

I hope you had as much fun reading those as I did. What a hoot.

Here's the challenge Princess Warriors: Today, let's show the world just how much fun it is being daughters of the King. Let's smile. Laugh. And share joy whenever and wherever we can. We truly can make someones day better and brighter, while experiencing new levels of joy in the process.

Please feel free to make comments on this post, including any clean, funny, jokes you might have. I'd love to share them. God bless you!

No pain ... no gain?

I have to agree with the following illustration. So often, I experience difficult life circumstances, sudden turmoil, or emotional pain, and am certain that God has taken a vacation, at least from me. In my head I know that's really not the case, but I'm guessing you understand what I mean. As Christians today in America, the idea that happiness equals godliness is often mistaken for the "Gospel Truth." I guess some folks forgot to talk with Job, or any number of our biblical ancestors. Their quest wasn't for more happiness, but for more of God. Consider the following ...

In his sermon on dealing with trials, Nashville pastor Byron Yawn points out: "For most, especially American Christians, even the remotest suggestion that there could be value in our suffering is viewed as uncaring and insensitive. We have been conditioned by our culture to believe the opposite. A collective attitude that exalts comfort and views personal happiness as the end of all things has blurred our perspective. There is no place for pain in American Christianity. "Because of this distorted perception, we rarely stop to search for the ’hand of God’ in the midst of our trouble. Seeking to understand God’s purposes in our pain is all but foreign. As a result, embracing pain’s role in our sanctification is usually the farthest thing from our minds. As one so aptly put it, ’Most people count it all joy when they escape trials. James said to count it all joy in the midst of trials.’ We need to come to grips with a significant truth: God’s will is not our happiness, but His Glory. The two may, or may not, be directly related."

SOURCE: PreachingNow Vol. 1, No. 20. Tue 9/3/2002.

Just a little something to chew on. May God show Himself to you in mighty ways precious Princess Warriors.

Happy All the Time: More on the Mask

More on the Happy all the Time Mask

(excerpt from Real Women Don't Wear Masks, Carol Van Atta and Dr. Kathy Rodriguez)

Remember the popular television sitcom The Brady Bunch? It’s hard to forget the always-smiling faces of this all-American, blended family from the 1970’s. I never once saw Mrs. Brady yell at the kids. She rarely showed any signs of frustration at her husband, Mike, and she smiled through one family “crisis” after another all while looking super spiffy in her polyester pantsuits and jazzy skirt ensembles. Alice, their live-in housekeeper, smiled even more (if that was possible) than Mrs. Brady. No matter what was going on in the house, her Happy all the Time Mask remained securely on, her smile shining brightly.

Fresh cookies, anyone?

In the Brady Family, a glass of milk, hot chocolate-chip cookies, and a cheery smile solved every problem.

In reality, no one is happy all the time, and unfortunately, cookies aren’t a surefire prescription for problem solving. Yes, I know, cookies seem to do the trick at times, but, seriously, life is full of trials, tribulations, and multiple temptations. We are assaulted daily with challenges that test our faith beyond what we believe we can possibly bear without an understanding of God’s plan for contentment and authenticity — for joy.

When we begin to accept our true identities as daughters of the King of Kings, we will realize that smiling all the time isn’t the real deal. It’s kind of like eating spam rather than ham, or tasting that rubbery fake-seafood-stuff instead of enjoying succulent fresh crab, or wearing pleather not leather … the substitutes are simply no match for the authentic. There’s just something uniquely refreshing about smelling real leather that you can’t experience by sticking your nose into the sleeve of your faux suede jacket.

When we pretend to be happy all the time, we miss out on the genuine joy and freedom that comes from just being who we are: happy, sad, angry, lonely, fulfilled, excited, nervous … but, oh so loved by Christ. Feelings aren’t good or bad. It’s what we do with them. Ultimately hiding them behind a phony face, will not only cause us pain and suffering, but also end up confusing and hurting others.

The truth is that people need more than a feel-good face spouting feel-good anecdotes — they need the truth. So, if you think you’re helping by keeping your ultra-positive façade intact, think again. You’ll make a positive impact like never before by learning to wear authenticity and joy rather than the old, worn-out Happy all the Time Mask.

Wearing Authenticity and Joy

Hopefully, you have discovered that pretending to be “happy all the time” is not healthy, nor is it godly.

There is a striking difference between a phony smile and a joy-filled heart.

We can be afraid, uncertain, and even in deep emotional pain, yet still have an undercurrent of godly joy that flows through us, as we grasp the incredible implications of Romans 8:28 NIV: We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

We can wear a godly joy that is accompanied by truth. Living as a genuine woman of God, a woman who is able to express her true feelings honestly and openly, yet who still can see God’s future promises, is our goal. This level of authenticity and spirit-filled joy will get us through our darkest hours without pretending to be someone we were never created to be. No one is happy all the time.

In fact, only recently, new, intimate information regarding Mother Teresa has come to light via private letters to her close ministry friends and advisors. Maybe some people will see her admissions of doubt and pain as unspiritual, causing them to discredit her ministry. What I see is a woman, like the rest of us, who faltered in her faith and was scared at times to share what was hidden beneath her exterior — her Happy all the Time Mask.

According to a Time article by David Van Biema, her internal struggles were great and extended through much of her ministry. “That absence (of God’s presence) seems to have started at almost precisely the time she began tending the poor and dying in Calcutta and — except for a five-week break in 1959 —never abated. Although perpetually cheery in public, the Teresa of the letters lived in a state of deep and abiding spiritual pain. In more than 40 communications, many of which had never before been published, she bemoans the ‘dryness,’ ‘darkness,’ ‘loneliness’, and ‘torture’ she is undergoing … She is acutely aware of the discrepancy between her inner state and her public demeanor. ‘The smile,’ she writes, is ‘a mask’ or ‘a cloak that covers everything.’”

Ladies, if one of the greatest Christian leaders of this century concealed her pain behind a mask, it is likely many of us have done, or do the same. I believe that God has now wiped every tear from this precious saint’s eyes, however, what a shame that she was unable to remove her mask and find true joy while living.

Let us not make the same mistake.

God’s Word has a great deal to say about joy and authenticity (truth, or being genuine). I challenge you to conduct your own topical search of these topics.

… the joy of the Lord is your strength. — Nehemiah 8:10 KJV —

So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. — Isaiah 51:11 NKJV —

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart. — Psalm 32:11 NASB —

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. — 1 Cor. 13:6 NIV —

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. — Philippians 4: 8 RSV —

To Be Continued ...