"Laugh Your Way to Grace" is one of the best books I've read and I wanted to share how special it is with you, so that you in turn will read or purchase a copy. Each and every page is full of wit and wisdom and of course for some quirky reason I've always been drawn to analogies and this book is full of them. The author began her career as a trial lawyer and then gave it up to travel the world to find herself. She found that every culture has included humor into their lifestyles and also their religious beliefs. After reading this book it finally all came together for me....God has a sense of humor!!!! That explains why he made men and women so different, why some people are left brained and some right brained and for some reason they often end up together. I so enjoy a good belly laugh. My dad didn't nickname me the 'gigglebox' for nothing...I earned that title! It's good for the soul and what better day to read this book than today when I was feeling puny and when I would have to forego my ritual of my daily walking in the park. Laughter is good medicine.
After completing her travels, the author went back to school and became an ordained minister. She is now the senior pastor of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in NYC. She is the recipient of an award from Intersections International for her interfaith work to promote justice, reconciliation and peace among diverse communities. You can read more about her at www.susansparks.com
Some of the Chapter titles and subtitles are: Humor and Holiness are Not Oxymorons; Eating Dessert on the Titanic (The Opportunity for Joy is Now); We're All Hell's Angels (Using Humor to See Past Our Differences); Burping in the Pulpit (Rediscovering a Fresh Spiritual Practice Through the Eyes of a Child); And God Smote Them with Hemmorhoids, etc. etc.
Have a beautiful day.
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| Laughing with a mouthful of food can cause the dreaded "food up your nose" syndrome. |
Most of you who follow my blog know me personally through papercrafting and other creative endeavors. You also know that I encourage everyone to share their talents and crafts with others. There's nothing like that smile that comes from someone's face when they see you are sharing a small bit of yourself and that you took the time to say "I care about you".
It's also important that we include some humor into our lives and pass it on to others. I began feeling a little under the weather yesterday (fever, aches, chills and all that stuff) and so today I thought there was no better day than today when I was feeling yucky than to sit down and read the book "Laugh Your Way to Grace" by Rev. Susan Sparks. My church's UMW circle just started a reading program and purchased some recommended books. I gave myself a goal of reading one of these books each month until they run out and then I'll move over to the church's libary to continue reading from that collection.
"Laugh Your Way to Grace" is one of the best books I've read and I wanted to share how special it is with you, so that you in turn will read or purchase a copy. Each and every page is full of wit and wisdom and of course for some quirky reason I've always been drawn to analogies and this book is full of them. The author began her career as a trial lawyer and then gave it up to travel the world to find herself. She found that every culture has included humor into their lifestyles and also their religious beliefs. After reading this book it finally all came together for me....God has a sense of humor!!!! That explains why he made men and women so different, why some people are left brained and some right brained and for some reason they often end up together. I so enjoy a good belly laugh. My dad didn't nickname me the 'gigglebox' for nothing...I earned that title! It's good for the soul and what better day to read this book than today when I was feeling puny and when I would have to forego my ritual of my daily walking in the park. Laughter is good medicine.
After completing her travels, the author went back to school and became an ordained minister. She is now the senior pastor of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in NYC. She is the recipient of an award from Intersections International for her interfaith work to promote justice, reconciliation and peace among diverse communities. You can read more about her at www.susansparks.com
Some of the Chapter titles and subtitles are: Humor and Holiness are Not Oxymorons; Eating Dessert on the Titanic (The Opportunity for Joy is Now); We're All Hell's Angels (Using Humor to See Past Our Differences); Burping in the Pulpit (Rediscovering a Fresh Spiritual Practice Through the Eyes of a Child); And God Smote Them with Hemmorhoids, etc. etc.
Some of my favorite people in this world are the ones who make me laugh, who maybe have a quirkiness about them (as I do also). Yes, God does have a sense of humor and it's important that we embrace it, enjoy it and share it with others.
When I look back to some of my friends who have passed away, or people I had previously worked with I always remember the funny and quirky things about them that set them apart. Time and again I came upon funny or unusual situations when I had to make a snap decision and try to handle it with care and sometimes humor. One such case was when I was the HR Director at the rehabilitation center where I worked for many years. We had just hired a young-ish aged man to work in job placement (where he would be calling upon business leaders to find job opportunities for our blind and visually impaired students). His first day on the job he came to my office to complete his employment paperwork (insurance, withholding forms, etc.). When he was leaving my office I couldn't help but notice that he had a long piece of toilet paper about 15 inches long, hanging up and out from his pants at the waistband. He had said he was going straight from my office to visit with a prospective employer so I knew it was important that I handle the t.p. situation quickly....without knowing him well enough in how to tell him that he had a "t.p. tail" waving behind him. It was quite comical and resembled a flag waving as he walked by. Anyway, he was a fast walker and was already down the hall and almost out of the building by the time I caught up with him! What could have been an embarassing moment for both him and myself turned out to be a bonding moment after he laughed and said "Well, no one can say I don't follow through with my paperwork!" Not only did his response turn the moment into a lighthearted situation, but from then on we joked back and forth with quips about the importance of leaving a paper trail, etc. etc. And who says God doesn't have a sense of humor!
I plan to order a copy of this book to add it to my personal library. I hope you will take time to read the book and most importantly, to share God's gift of laughter and humor with your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc. And of course, it's very important that we remember those who are shut-in, ill and/or are not around other people. Your humor may just be the best medicine you can give to others.
