Proverbs 17:22 – A merry heart doeth good [like] a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
I love, love, L O V E to have a great laugh with family and friends! My kids have always made me laugh with the quick-wit I attribute as their legacy from my Mom!
Our oldest can be very “dry” in her approach to humor, Whereas our youngest daughter is just down-right goofy. Our son is in a category all to his own when it comes to being funny. No one ever knows what that kid is going to say, but typically it leads to head shaking and someone saying his name in disbelief of his off the cuff comment!
When I have been with my cousin before, we have gotten so tickled, tears were streaming down our cheeks! I know one thing, if we visit one another or travel, the time we go to bed is not when we are going to sleep because one of us (usually it is her, just saying), will make a comment that will start both of us giggling. Once we finally quiet down, it just takes one little residual snicker (that would be mine) to start us up again.
Two of my girlfriends and I go thrift shopping from time to time and we always find picture frames where the person who donated them just left the photo in it, or there are old paintings or photographs from long ago. We started making up stories about the people and claiming them as relatives of ours with wild tales. Boy, to be such sweet ladies, they are great false historians!
As most of you know, I am notorious for pulling “April Fool’s” tricks on my family and friends, so I have to catch all of them pretty early in the morning April 1 to stand a chance at getting something over on them!
It is also my anniversary, so you can’t even believe how mischievous I have been with Jonathan!
One of my favorite was making a “bumper sticker” for his car that said “Honk if you think I’m cute”. When he got to work, I asked if anyone honked at him on the way to work but they had not. I told him I was sorry to hear that and I would have if I were behind him! He had to go out at lunch and take that off so he wouldn’t drive home with that on his car.
Another time I took an (anatomically correct) “real life” baby doll my mom had given me and put it in a basket all wrapped up, set in in our neighbor’s porch swing with a note, asking them to care for him.
Opening the door and seeing this, our neighbors, in their 70’s at the time, were stunned.. and then they heard me rattling in the bushes, laughing hysterically! He talks about that to this day and how much fun we all had together!
I believe the Lord loves seeing His children enjoying one another and having sweet fellowship. I know that there is a time and place to put away silliness, but I do believe that there is much room for great fun and laughter, enjoying Him and each other!
It’s largely accepted that the original version of the familiar smiley face was first created 50 years ago in Worcester, Massachusetts by the late Harvey Ross Ball, an American graphic artist and ad man. Ball came up with the image in 1963 when he was commissioned to create a graphic to raise morale among the employees of an insurance company after a series of difficult mergers and acquisitions. Ball finished the design in less than 10 minutes and was paid $45 for his work. The State Mutual Life Assurance Company (now Allmerica Financial Corporation) made posters, buttons, and signs adorned with the jaundiced grin in the attempt to get their employees to smile more. It’s uncertain whether or not the new logo boosted morale, but the smiling face was an immediate hit and the company produced thousands of buttons. The image proliferated and was of course endlessly imitated but according to Bill Wallace, Executive Director of the Worcester Historical Museum, the authentic Harvey Ball-designed smiley face could always be identified by its distinguishing features: the eyes are narrow ovals, one larger than the other, and the mouth is not a perfect arc but “almost like a Mona Lisa Mouth.”
Neither Ball nor State Mutual tried to trademark or copyright the design. Although it seems clear that Ball has the strongest claim to the second most iconic smile in history, there’s much more to the story.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/who-really-invented-the-smiley-face-2058483/?no-ist
prayer
Sweet Father
Thank You for laughter
We appreciate family and friends we can enjoy
We celebrate You in our smiles
How blessed we are to find enjoyment in life
You allow us amuse one another
There are ways You show presence, Lord
Ways that are so personal
Things only You know about us
That cause us to smile or laugh
Because we know that whatever it was
You brought about as an “inside” joke between just You and us, Father
We are thankful for showing us in those times
Just how involved You are in every aspect of our lives
Oh to see the look on Your face when your children laugh with each other!
How we long to be with You, Father
What it will be like one day for us all to be together
What the sounds of Heaven will be as we praise You and delight in our King forever!
In the Name of Jesus,
AMEN
SONGS
“Oh Happy Day”
“I Smile”
credits: Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Scriptures
verses and chapters from the Word of God
life experiences from personal, family and friends
encouragement from the Lord, family and friends
ability and opportunity to share God’s Word PRAISE HIM
google google images, biblegateway, Smithsonian, blueletterbible
my funny family and friends!
