Fun: The 4th Essential You Need to Flourish!
“A cheerful heart is good medicine.” (Proverbs 17:22)
“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice… shout for joy.” (Ps. 32:11)
What spells FUN to you?
When did you last enjoy the good feelings that laughter brings?
I collect funny stories, and every now and again, I pull out my “Humor” file and have a good laugh. I wish I had space to share many of them with you because you’ll probably laugh, like I do, until tears roll down. Just for fun, here’s one I’ve saved.
“Our family had just joined a new church. My husband has trouble remembering names, so he often called our new minister “the preacher.” We were relaxing at home one afternoon when the doorbell rang. Our 4-year-old daughter, Molly, ran to get to the door.
“Who is it?” I called out from the kitchen.
“It’s the creature!” she exclaimed.
“What?” I said, heading for the living room.
“The creature,” she shouted. “It’s the creature that lives at church!”
Our red-faced pastor stood on the threshold, “I’ve been called a lot of things, but this tops them all,” he laughed.”
Joy and laughter are part of God’s plan for our wellbeing. Whether you enjoy sweet doggie or cat videos on YouTube, a good joke, or funny cartoons, laughter lowers our stress hormones and raises positive emotions.
We are designed to feel lighter, happier, and more joyful when we smile or laugh so:
Make it your goal to smile and laugh every day if possible because:
- Playing Pickleball?
- Hiking alone, or with friends? Being outdoors?
- Creating something beautiful? A garden? A piece of art? A room?
- Giving gifts? Bringing joy to others?
- Playing with your pet? Your children, or grandchildren?
When did you last enjoy the good feelings that laughter brings?
I collect funny stories, and every now and again, I pull out my “Humor” file and have a good laugh. I wish I had space to share many of them with you because you’ll probably laugh, like I do, until tears roll down. Just for fun, here’s one I’ve saved.
“Our family had just joined a new church. My husband has trouble remembering names, so he often called our new minister “the preacher.” We were relaxing at home one afternoon when the doorbell rang. Our 4-year-old daughter, Molly, ran to get to the door.
“Who is it?” I called out from the kitchen.
“It’s the creature!” she exclaimed.
“What?” I said, heading for the living room.
“The creature,” she shouted. “It’s the creature that lives at church!”
Our red-faced pastor stood on the threshold, “I’ve been called a lot of things, but this tops them all,” he laughed.”
Joy and laughter are part of God’s plan for our wellbeing. Whether you enjoy sweet doggie or cat videos on YouTube, a good joke, or funny cartoons, laughter lowers our stress hormones and raises positive emotions.
We are designed to feel lighter, happier, and more joyful when we smile or laugh so:
Make it your goal to smile and laugh every day if possible because:
- Laughter relaxes us
- Laughter helps us cope with frustrating or hard situations
- Laughter gives us positive physical benefits and is “good medicine.”
Much as we all enjoy fun times, life is never one long laugh! There are hard times in everyone’s life, so what then? Is it possible to have joy, rejoice, and experience delight when we’re grieving, in pain, or longing for our situation to change?
Dr. Catherine Hart Weber, author of FLOURISH, states, “Joy is mentioned in the Bible about two hundred times, and the term rejoice is also used frequently. Joy can also be translated as “delight”.
A sense of joy is what God wants for each of us, no matter our circumstances. Ezra the priest told the Israelites, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) This isn’t primarily physical strength, it is spiritual and emotional—an ability to cope, to be resilient, to persevere without despair, to face challenges with hope and optimism.
How do we rejoice, no matter what? Not in the circumstances, but in the character of God who promises I am with you; You are mine; I will guide you, lead you, teach you, and fulfill my purposes for you.
God-given joy, the ability to flourish, also comes when you:
Smile, laugh, flourish, and enjoy your one life, my friends.
Blessings,
Poppy
Dr. Catherine Hart Weber, author of FLOURISH, states, “Joy is mentioned in the Bible about two hundred times, and the term rejoice is also used frequently. Joy can also be translated as “delight”.
A sense of joy is what God wants for each of us, no matter our circumstances. Ezra the priest told the Israelites, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) This isn’t primarily physical strength, it is spiritual and emotional—an ability to cope, to be resilient, to persevere without despair, to face challenges with hope and optimism.
How do we rejoice, no matter what? Not in the circumstances, but in the character of God who promises I am with you; You are mine; I will guide you, lead you, teach you, and fulfill my purposes for you.
God-given joy, the ability to flourish, also comes when you:
- Spend time focused on worship and praise, glorying in Who He is.
- Serve and care about others.
- Speak words that encourage and build others up.
- Share what you have, whether it’s time, resources, or helping meet a need.
Smile, laugh, flourish, and enjoy your one life, my friends.
Blessings,
Poppy
Scripture links:
Proverbs 17:22
Ps. 32:11
Nehemiah 8:10