You Just Gotta Laugh

Christians aren't usually known for their sense of humor. At least, I never knew of any that had one. Growing up Southern Baptist (sometimes), I saw mostly dour, pearl-necklaced ladies with white gloves who ate cucumber sandwiches and discussed their Lord and Savior with whispered reverence. Looking back, I realize that that these ladies seldom got more exercise than the flapping of their jowls as they whispered, with the same voice and tone used for Jesus Christ, the latest gossip of other church members and those sandwiches weren't very lo-cal. My memories are of pastel-colored, double-knit clad barrels with lipstick and rouge.

I have known for a very long time that God has a sense of humor (platypus, anyone?), and I found not so very long ago that there are Good Christian Women who enjoy the same. It's OK to laugh! It's OK to find things funny (just not at someone else's expense)! And you know what? It's perfectly fine to laugh loudest at yourself.

Our weekly phone call from Claire's therapist assumed we knew of an "incident" that occurred Sunday afternoon. Claire had apparently had it up-to-here on short jokes (heh - get it?) and gave the ultimatum, "I'm leaving if anyone makes one more joke about my height!" Of course, someone did, which put Claire into a huffy stomp from the dining hall. She spent the rest of the evening crying alone in her dorm room, a result of her self-imposed edict. By Tuesday, when we received our call from her, she had apparently worked through it enough that it wasn't even an issue she wanted to discuss with us.

Now, let me say, this child does not come from vertical stock. When her dad and I got married, we didn't walk down the aisle as much as we followed the yellow brick road. We are not tall people. I learned the best defense was to beat people to the joke ("You must be 'this' tall to own and operate The UPS Store"), and I find it makes most people grin just a little.

So, how does this even come close to tying into this week's lesson? I prayed for an answer, and here's what I got.

• Step One - I can't. I am human and fallible.
• Step Two - God can. Without Him, I can do nothing and nothing I do matters.

Only God can change my stature, and I'm pretty certain that He made me this height for a very good reason. But God and I together can change my weight and my outlook.

Look at the Stepping Stones chart on page 30. It relates to how "pouting puts pounds on." Check out the list on the right - the "What God Says to Me" verses. Can you see reason for joy? Reason to laugh? Yeah, me, too!

So laugh - find things to laugh about (like the image of Johnny Depp swooning at a Justin Beiber concert and claiming to the world that he is a "Beleiber"). We are surrounded by God's humor! Laughter chases away depression. It works out those abs, too!

I'll be posting the chapter summary later this week - hope you are all well and enjoying your time with God!

BTW: this blog is entirely different than I intended when I started it and saved the draft this morning. He is amazing, isn't He? (Maybe the original idea will pop up some other time - it really is a funny story....)

Week 1 Review

Julie has given me permission to post her chapter summaries to help us stimulate some discussion. I look forward to seeing how your week went!

~myra

Chapter One

*1st Quiet Time (QT) Page 10 Jesus says that we need to seek him first--that's the most important thing we can do. Have you asked Jesus to be your savior?

*1st QT Stepping Stones (SS) ACTS prayers (page 11). Have you tried this? How does it help you to pray?

* 2nd QT God made us all different. He created us just as we are. For some, it's harder to lose weight, but that's okay because God doesn't make mistakes. Did you think that God made a mistake when he made you? How is that changing now?

2nd QT SS Low-fat foods you need to keep in your kitchen. What is your favorite low-fat food to keep on hand?

*3rd QT The 12 Steps are small steps from the Bible that make it easier for us to be guided by him. They really help! How have the 12 Steps helped you so far?

3rd QT SS Difference between starchy and non-starchy vegetables. What is your favorite non-starchy food? How do you prepare it?

*4th QT Live your life one day at a time--Don't worry about what you'll do tomorrow or regret what you did yesterday. What happens when to you when you don't live life one day at a time?

4th QT SS Exercising just 30 minutes a day makes us stronger and healthier and gives us more energy. How do you have fun exercising?

*5th QT Jesus tells us that we will be blessed (satisfied) if we hunger now. In other words, the ones who are constantly eating will be dissatisfied. When we are hungry and it's not time to eat, it's probably because we are worried about something. Did you have a time this week when you stopped to ask yourself, "Am I hungry? or am I stressed?"

5th QT SS When we overeat, our bodies make feel-good brain chemicals that make us feel better--the same chemicals that an alcoholic gets when he drinks. When we turn to food to make us feel good and fix our problems, our problems grow and so do we! What has happened to you when you cast your cares on the refrigerator?

Summary: Which of these things have helped you most?

Fruit - it's what's for dinner

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

If you've gotten Julie's book, you now know the flow of the lessons. If you don't have the book, let me explain. Every week, there is a Bible verse and a brief lesson tying it into the Twelve Steps adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous. Then, Julie presents a few "stepping stones" - suggestions for you to take or leave, whatever works for you.

This week, I want to look at something that isn't a take-it-or-leave-it stone. I want to talk about the Fruit of the Spirit, from Galatians 5:22-23, and how good this Fruit is for us.

Notice, first, that this Fruit is singular. It is not plural, as in "fruits of the Spirit." All of these characteristics are taken as one whole; they are parts of one Spirit.

Think about this: if we were to feel even one of these characteristics, in Spirit, wouldn't it be enough to sustain us emotionally? Now, imagine feeling the full Spirit! Makes my heart speed up in joy at just the thought! Makes me want to run laps around my living room! Makes me want to dance!

Wait a minute - would that be activity? in addition to feeling satisfied? Can it be?

To check the "flip side" of this train of thought, how often have beaten yourself up over bearing "bad fruit"? Hatred, anger, depression, anxiety, selfishness, just-plain-rudeness. And what about that last one - the lack of self control (well, Myra, if I had just *this* one, I wouldn't be here... yeah, I know). Any one of these will leave you feeling like you found half a worm in the apple you just bit into - bad fruit, indeed. But start stacking them up. Hatred leads to anger, which makes you ashamed (you're a Christian, after all). Shame then leads to depression and anxiety. You see how it goes. And if you can't break it somehow, you find yourself in an unending cycle which includes chocolate chip cookies by the box and Ben & Jerry's Phish Food by the pint (it would be more, but they don't sell it in bigger cartons).

Want to know a secret to stop running in these circles? Drop to your knees. For every characteristic you feel lacking, Christ has it abundantly. Enough for all of us. Take the time to fall on your face (there's self-control - you broke the cycle), feel the peace come over you as you speak to God from your heart, revel in His love washing over you, wiping away the anger, the hatred, the black spots, bruises and fungi that have grown on your own fruit. You can't help but rise up in joy!

Think back on this past week's Quiet Times in "Guided by Him" (GBH). Was there one that spoke to you? I'd love to hear your thoughts - did it comfort you or confront you?

Alright, let's do this thing together...

Those are the words of encouragement provided by a talking punching bag in my daughter's Wii Fit video game. I hear them echoing frequently through my head as I pray through this idea of an online small group. Who knew God's voice could sometimes sound like that?

I am not sure how we're going to do "Guided By Him" (GBH) here, but I am very open to ideas and suggestions - even your criticisms! My goal is to prayerfully support you as we walk through this life lesson together. God has called us here for a purpose - let's make the most of it!

I'll start with a brief introduction (and I'll ask you to do the same!). My name is Myra. I'm a 40-coughcough-something mother of two and I own two The UPS Stores with my husband Jeff. My children are Jake, 18, a freshman at the University of Alabama (and on the Dean's List for his first semester, thankyouverymuch) and Claire, 16, a junior at Wellspring Academy in Brevard, NC. She's my inspiration for becoming who God wants me to be and really where my story starts now.

Some of you may have seen the show "Too Fat for Fifteen: Fighting Back" on Style Network - it is about this current generation of children who will not live to be as old as us, the parents, because of childhood obesity. Wellspring began in California as a boarding school for these children, then spread across the country to North Carolina. Here, the students have not only their curriculum (they are accredited) but they learn how to live more active lives. They have three activity periods each day, are required to wear pedometers (goal = 10,000 per day) and have culinary classes to help them learn to eat in the big bad world outside the campus. But to me, the most important part of the program is the counseling. Students meet once a week with a therapist and twice a week with a peer accountability group.

We took Claire to Wellspring in October. She weighed in at 212 lbs (she's 4'10"), carrying emotional baggage that the scales couldn't measure. She is severely learning disable - ADHD - but also extremely bright - formerly in the gifted programs. She also has bipolar tendencies and social issues.

To say she isn't the same child I dropped off on that cool fall morning is an understatement: Her transformation is nothing short of miraculous. Within three weeks, she was baptized at at a small community church. She has become team captain for this semester and is an A/B Honor Roll student. She is working on getting her Varsity letter in Field Hockey (previous activities, at home, consisted of walking to the kitchen, then back to her room, to spend hours on the Internet). The 40+ pounds she has shed are minor when taken into the whole of her metamorphosis.

So, now we come to why I'm here. When Claire comes home in May, I want to have a support group in place - you - who can help keep her whole. Her counselor suggested we call on Claire's faith to use as a basis for her after-care, and I'd love to use this group as a springboard to launch a similar group for teens who have struggled like Claire has. I plan to use our trial and error, our successes and failures, to develop a group for girls who need a place to vent, rant, elate, exalt, and be loved unconditionally, as we are called by Christ to do.

My prayer, as a leader, is Ephesians 4:29 - 32 (NIV)

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

So join in by posting your comments below (click the "comments" link - I hope it takes you to a block). Be patient with me as I work through the kinks - I'm new to all this stuff, too!