A Cheerful Heart

By Judy Davis –

Laughter is good for the soul. Barbara Johnson author of “Mama, Get the Hammer! There’s a fly on Papa’s Head!” encourages the reader to look for laughter in the face of adversity.

It’s how you respond to the difficulties in life and Barbara Johnson has had her share. She lost two sons: one in Vietnam and the other in a car accident. Her third son vanished after informing her that he was a homosexual. Through the pain, she started a ministry of love to help other parents on the road to recovery.

She has staked her life and her ministry on the healing power of a positive outlook. She zeros directly in on the therapeutic benefit of a smile, a giggle, and a good old-fashioned belly laugh. She insists that laughing in the face of adversity is not a form of denial, but a proven tool for managing stress, coping with pain, and maintaining hope.

Barbara wrote, “Humor is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles.” Enjoy the little things. One day you may look back and realize…they were the big things.

Karl Menninger, a well-known psychiatrist, was answering questions from the audience after giving a lecture, and one man asked, “What would you advise a person to do if he felt a nervous breakdown coming?” Most of those present expected Menninger to reply, “Consult a psychiatrist.” But to their astonishment he said, “Lock up your house and go across the railroad tracks to find someone in need. Then do something to help that person.”

We have been friends with Linda and Bill for over 40 years. Linda had a stroke several years ago and is on oxygen. She loves for me to come and sit with her. We go over and over the many memories of long ago. She can remember things that I can’t. She said, “You are like a ray of sunshine and minister to me in so many ways.” I try to make her laugh at some of the things we did in the past when we were much younger. But she is the one who makes me laugh most of the time.

Always remember: for everything that goes wrong, there are 50 to 100 blessings. Count them. One word or note brings more encouragement than a thousand thoughts never expressed. “God has not promised sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain.” (From the hymn What God Hath Not Promised, words by Annie J. Flint.)

If you need a good laugh, go to the book store and buy any of Barbara Johnson’s bestsellers.

Laughter is to life what salt is to an egg. Take time to laugh at your mistakes.

“A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick” (Proverbs 17:22).

In Your Anger Sin Not

By Judy Davis –

Recently my husband bought a new Nook reader. To hook this reader up to our router he needed a password. He asked, “Honey, I need the password for our router, can you pull it up on the computer?” I thought to myself, “Where is this password?” as I looked in my file of passwords and it was not there. Oops, I hated to tell him I had no idea where this password was. After searching all day on two computers, I found absolutely nothing. Needless to say he was upset.

To make matters worse, our daughter, Cindi, walked in the door. She searched diligently looking for the password to this router. She said, “Mom, dad is so mad, you need to find the password.” I told her, “Cindi, I have searched every document looking for it and cannot find it. Dad is just going to have to get over it. He needs to take the Nook back to the place he bought it and buy his books from their site.”

My husband and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary that same week. It was a blessing to receive so many beautiful anniversary wishes especially from our Facebook friends and family. God has blessed our marriage with three children, five grandchildren and a great granddaughter.

Later, we took Cindi out to lunch trying to forget the whole situation. We went to her favorite Japanese restaurant. When she left to go home she looked back at me, and said, “Happy Anniversary, Mom!”

On top of everything, our dog got a hold of my ballpoint pen. She got ink all over my new carpet. After trying to clean it I finally had to call a carpet cleaner costing $71.00.

What do you do when anger sets in? And it can quickly. The key is to forgive, move on, and learn to cope with the situation. Also, after it is all over, take a few minutes to laugh at the whole thing. Have you ever had to forgive your dog?

Never did find the password. We even tried installing the CD for the router and this did not work. However, we learned a valuable lesson: Always write down any passwords. We ended up taking the Nook, laptop, router and CD to a computer shop and the problem was resolved costing us $75.00.

It has not always been an easy journey, but we know the importance of not holding on to anger. It causes bitterness, unforgiveness and illness. Later, my husband apologized for getting so upset over such a trivial matter.

Knowing the importance of beginning our day with devotional and Bible reading, we also know the importance of praying for our day.

Our marriage has been an adventure! We make sure before going to bed to not have any anger in our heart towards each other and any one who may offend us. “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” Ephesians 4:26.

A Christmas Story

By Judy Davis –

Christmas, what a wonderful time of the year!   I’ll never forget the memories of our grandchildren celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.  Each Christmas Eve I baked a cake and lit a candle as we all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. After we finished singing, I would read the Christmas Story.

As I read the Christmas story once again, I was captivated by the simple words that there was no room in the inn.  On the morning our Lord was born, there was no room for Him.  In many lives today, there is still no room for Him.

Billy Graham stated in his message Christmas: God with Us, “that many cynics will blame God for the troubles of the world.  We should blame ourselves.  We have a spiritual disease, and that disease is called sin.  Until sin is conquered, the world will not be a better place in which to live.”

Christmas is more than tinsel and lights.  It is more than gifts under the tree.  Christmas is a time to experience the touch of Christ, to have our needs met and help meet the needs of others.

When our younger grandchildren Connor and Noah visit us during the holiday season, we always have a joyful time of celebration.

I’ll never forget the Christmas Connor started to open a present when he saw my little olive-wood manger scene I had purchased in Bethlehem.   He slowly picked up Baby Jesus, then the manger, a donkey, and a camel, holding them in his tiny hand.  He laid down his new gifts that were still wrapped and started playing with Baby Jesus.

It was not long when he ran to me and said, “Nana, where is Baby Jesus? I can’t find baby Jesus…” and we both got down on our hands and knees looking for him under the rug, the sofa, the table.  Finally Connor saw the little replica of Baby Jesus.  “I found him, I found him,” squeaked Connor.  It was at that moment I thought of the verse, “Suffer not the little children to come unto me….”

As we prepare our homes for this festive holiday let us also prepare our heart.   Make room for Christ in Christmas.

When the holidays seem hectic with all the shopping, gift-wrapping, decorating, baking, addressing Christmas cards, and cleaning house, take time to plan. Start early with a list.  If you do, you can get ahead and be ready to enjoy this most wonderful time of the year.

With all the bad news surrounding us, when the festive holiday seems too stressful and you start feeling down, look up.  Celebrate! The joy of Christmas begins in the manger as the story of Christ’s birth unfolds.

Believe in the Savior, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”  (John 3:16).

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