There are way too many homes in America where there is no laughter. There is only stress, conflict, fear, and loneliness. The Bible says, "A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones" {Proverbs 17:22} Science has proven that laughter is good medicine; imagine that! "Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. Laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use."
With divorce way too common, both parents working outside of the home, children being bullied at school and not learning much to make them happy about, and listening to a daily diet of news, no wonder our homes and families are in crisis. Our homes need to be founded upon the Rock. We need to dwell on the lovely and the good. Look for the beauty around you. Love your husband. I mean really LOVE him! Be affectionate and warm towards your children. Laugh together with them. Sing praise and worship songs showing to them the joy of the Lord!
The very first assignment I give women when I mentor them is to begin smiling at their husbands. The husbands usually respond to this VERY quickly. They begin to feel as if their wife actually likes them! Begin laughing at your husband's jokes! Watch funny shows on TV, if you can find any decent ones. No one enjoys being around a pessimist! Optimistic people are so much more fun. Your children will fondly remember growing up if there is a lot of fun and laughing in the home.
My Dad always said that my Mom's middle name was 'fun!' She loves to laugh and have fun. She still does at 84 years old! She thinks of life as one big playground. She's generous and loves to share with others. She hates anyone to feel left out or excluded. She's always included everyone!
God commands that we be joyful and the first step to being joyful is being thankful. Many times marriages are turned around when the wife begins dwelling on all of the good in her husband instead of his faults. Do the same with your children. Encourage them consistently and praise them when they do good.
Doing things as a family brings joy. Eat dinner together. Go to church together. Be together! Don't allow arguing and fighting in your home. Make your home a place of peace.
Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
and our tongue with singing:
then said they among the heathen,
The Lord hath done great things for them.
Logging you in...
Katie · 518 weeks ago
Doctors think the reason he has it is because of harmful chemicals and pesticides he was exposed to when he had his own crop-spraying business for farmers years ago. He has probably had this disease for decades already, now the symptoms are showing up as he is beginning to have trouble walking and writing his name. I don't think people realize how harmful chemicals are. It makes everything worse to know this may have been prevented. I always knew you were right taking about how toxins and chemicals are bad for us. Last night confirmed it in a way I'll never forget. I refuse to allow my family to be exposed to chemicals and toxins if I can help it. At the same time, maybe this is just Gos's will, but it still angers me.
So it impossible at the moment, but I will try and smile and even laugh today if I can. I am fortunate to have a caring husband who prayed with me and held me last night and even cried with me (he and my father have always been close) and a little girl who gave me the sweetest hug and kiss this morning because she knew something had been bothering me.
Thank you for this post as I will remember it and lean on my faith even more. I am determined to love and support my parents and family through this.
Lori Alexander 122p · 518 weeks ago
zbexrel 13p · 518 weeks ago
Tiffany · 518 weeks ago
FREEINDEED! · 518 weeks ago
Tiffany · 518 weeks ago
Ken · 518 weeks ago
I am so sorry to hear about your Dad has Parkinson's. It is not a fun disease at all.
In your Mom's defense, she has probably gone through some of the grieving already, and may well be covered by the natural shock of the news and/or by the Spirit. She will have plenty of times to cry and you will need to be strong and optimistic for her.
No disease is welcome, but what your Mom is maybe saying that now is the time for her and Dad to travel the world and do the things they always wanted to do together instead of the normal wait of 5-10 years. Let her and Dad make the most of their time while he is mainly healthy and pray that he not lose his memories as memory would be the last thing I would want to lose. There is so much research and things that can be done, it could be that on the drugs he will be given you may see a remarkable improvement at first.
Let's all learn to enjoy the days we are given, and you only have the choice to add joy to your Mom and Dad's difficult circumstances or depress them further knowing that you are distraught over this. At times life is what it is, but how we look at and deal with those circumstances defines us, not the circumstances themselves. As Lori has well said, let us let love, joy and laughter define us, even in the most difficult of circumstances, knowing that the end is the same for us all... standing before our Lord and Savior.
"Count it all joy" ... James 1:2
Katie · 518 weeks ago
anon · 518 weeks ago
Katie,
im so sorry about your dad. Its ok to cry about it for a time and im sure your parents had their own time of grief, but have now worked thru it. But as Lori pointed out just dont live in the grief. In some ways its healthy for your daughter to see you cry.
Katie · 518 weeks ago