You Have to Laugh. God endowed us with the Gift of Joy, too.

Notice anything different?

I decided to have a little fun.

It was fun to wear the red nose.

I smiled.

People smiled.

There was a little more joy in the world 

because of a silly red nose.

The wine didn't hurt either!

Jesus laughed.

Even though most depictions of Him do not show Him laughing,

I posit that people would not have been attracted to Him if they could not feel His joy.

He went to parties.

He had fun.

That's part of being human,

and,

it's okay to laugh at the appropriate times.

Sometimes, we can't help but laugh at inappropriate times.

I used to get in trouble, as a kid, for laughing in Church.

I had my ear pulled many times for laughing, 

but,

the problem was that when I got in trouble for laughing,

I would only laugh more

resulting in expulsion from the front of the Church to the back of the Church, and

walking the 

walk of shame to the last pew.

Often times, that was not enough to squash the laughter.

Yes, there's more.

A phone call home, well, that stopped the laughter for a bit.

I wonder if Jesus laughed in the synagogue?

I'm sure His joy overflowed onto the congregation.

I think for someone to feel joy,

you have to be receptive to that joy,

then you have to pass on that joy to others.

Dearest Lord,

Fill me with Your Joy.

Help me Always to remember that You are God.

Help me to remember that You were filled with joy.

Help me to remember that YOU ARE JOY! 

Tempt me with Your Joy.

Make me a joyous person so that I may share a little of Your love and joy with others.

Amen!