Saturday, April 21, 2012

Laughter Blessings

"A joyful heart is good medicine."  Proverbs 17:22

In my view, this polar bear at the Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo  has a joyful heart as he leisurely swims on a hot summer day!  Little did he know that he brought joy to my heart when I captured him with my camera at just the right moment.  God has given us so much to enjoy!



What brings your heart joy? 




 What makes you laugh? 

               Photo by Carole S. Amateis 2012


 I have found it to be so true that laughter is one of the best medicines for the soul.  God's Word is pretty clear about it and so there you have it!

Sometimes when life throws me some curve balls that I don't expect, laughing can help ease the pain - even if I don't really feel like being cheerful!

If you ever find yourself feeling sad, think of the times when you have laughed.  Do some memory searching and recall happenings, converstaions, or perhaps some experiences that were not funny at the time but later became so. 

"Laughter blessings" we shall call them - that God has bestowed upon you and me.

Perhaps you may want to pause after you read this to recall some of your own or to write them down.

I will get us started by sharing a few of my own.

Reflecting upon some of my "laughter blessings".

As a child, I ate so many dill pickles before a Christmas Dinner that before we sat down to eat I was covered in hives and itching all over - obviously, I had eaten too many but it required no medical attention.  Just lots of calamine lotion and some chuckles at the table:-)

I once got stopped twice by a police officer for a traffic offense and only got a warning.  But, he kept following me once it was settled and he eventually flashed on the red and blue lights again!  What now, I thought? "Sorry to stop you again mam," he kindly said, "but your purse is riding on your trunk".

Once when my grandkids were riding with me in the car on a starlit night my toddler grandson looked up into the sky and said, "God is a pretty good illustrator, isn't he grandma?" Joy radiated inside me:-)  "Yes, He is," I said.

Living in an old farm house always puts you at risk for seeing mice.  But I did not expect to see one doing the backstroke in the bathtub one morning when I sat down on the toilet.  I screamed and my husband grabbed the plunger and stopped the critter in mid-stroke!

One time I heard my young son talking in his sleep a short time after he had went to bed.  I asked him what he was doing as he sat up feeling around on the bedspread for something.  He said, he was hunting for mustaches. Well, okay then!

After a long day of shopping with my Jr High daughter for clothes we got back to the parking lot and she said - that was quite the es  cape  aid!!!  She meant escapade, of course. Now she's a novelist!

My preschool granddaughter was really concerned about the sun one day.  A cloud had covered it.  "The sun can't breathe!" she said. Her mom reassured her that all would be well.

I have been known to drive vehicles even when the gas gage indicates empty.  One summer,I drove my son's pick-up home packed with his college stuff and was so proud when I made it right to the house. But, the next morning it would not start.  It was completely out of gas. Time to get the gas jug!

I was literally expecting to find plastic tips from needles and thermometers in my bag once I returned home from surgery. Even though groggy,  I swore the male nurse was tossing them in there each time he came to my room. I thought it rather rude really. As he made the throwing motion with his arm, he said, "made it again". I remarked that he should join my son's basketball team; he was such a good shot. He laughed. Guess what?  When I got home, there was not one plastic tip in my bag. He had completely fooled me.

While working as a sub at a local school, it was announced on the news cast for social studies class that elderly people were starting to play video games at an increasing rate.  One fifth grade boy looked very seriously at his classmate and said, "This is not good news!"

As a town girl, I was doing my best to help out on the farm. One night I was out checking cattle during calving season.  Most were lying down in the straw but I was sure a calf was on the way for one cow.  I hurried to the house to awaken my husband.  He came out and when he shinned the flashlight towards the animal, he said, quite frankly, "That is the bull."  Oops!

One day on our farm, my oldest son and his toddler brother rode the three wheeler out to get the mail.  Placing the mail on the kitchen table, my eyes met the oldest ones in shock when we heard the three wheeler take off.  Toddler brother had decided to drive it on his own and ran straight into a hog shed - no injuries reported thank God.   

During a holiday football game between family members, my two year old grandaugther was a little cheerleader.  Standing there watching the game with us, she contiuned to yell at the top of her lungs "Goooo Ball!"  p.s. she later became a high school cheerleader:-)

So used to using modern gadgets, I was in such a hurry one day that I walked up to my house and hit the remote on my car keys thinking it would open the door.  What is wrong with this stupid thing?  Well actually, nothing; just another blonde moment!

Speaking of cars, one day I came out of the grocery store and hit the keys on my remote to open the door on my car - well, at least it looked like my car.  When I got inside it smelled like smoke with stuff about that I did not recognize. The owner had left it unlocked and my car, well, it was down a few stalls! I quickly exited hoping no one had noticed!

As a writer, my first published work is like no other.  I was notorious for writing notes to my friends at school.  During one high school study hall class I was caught passing a note to a friend.  The note was about a boy, of course.  The teacher asked me to make copies and pass it around to everyone in the class. By the end of the day, it was all over the school.  I decided to apologize to the boy.  However, it never stopped me from writing notes. I have written alot since that day - but most got published as newspaper articles in regional papers:-)

And one last moment to share for now. . . . . . If you ever need your house painted, don't call me.  One hot, summer day, I tripped going down the steps carrying a bucket of green paint.  The lovely green color covered the step AND even worse, my nearby car. Reaction?  Panic!!!!  I grabbed the soap, the hose, a brush and moved like crazy.  Exhausted, I finally got it all washed off.  But, I waited a day before I picked up a can of paint again.

Hope you enjoyed this post! 

God bless you and take a moment to recall some "laughter blessings" in your life!

I hope God will  lift you up through this gift
He has given us:-)


Thank you for visiting my blog:-)  Sorry, it has been awhile since I have written!