Vulnerary

Proverbs 17:22 "A cheerful heart is good medicine..."  

I may or may not have woken up on the wrong-ish side of the bed this morning.  To be safe maybe I'd better go back to sleep and try again.  But I guess it's appropriate to be thinking about happiness now.   Maybe I'll talk some sense into myself.

I want to have a joyful heart.  It's always been relatively easy to make me laugh - maybe too easy at times - but that doesn't always translate to having a cheerful heart.  

Over the last few years I've been more conscious of my internal attitude.  Sarcasm, a downfall of mine, (seriously?) (ok, that was the last time, I promise) has got to go for good.  It just isn't beneficial.  Funny - but mostly to me and not the type of funny that creates a long lasting cheerful heart.   Grumpiness, worrying, self-pity all need to leave too.  Those blah attributes are WAY reduced in my life now but I'd like there to be zero trace of them.

 

Babies are drama experts.  Ever noticed that they laugh with abandon?  Like nothing in the world is funnier?  I'm talking real laughs - not the fake ones (which are still cute but I digress).  But about 3 seconds later little mr. giggles is screaming with every ounce of his being.  

There's not a lot of middle ground with these kids.

I'm pretty convinced that one of my main jobs as mother is to teach our kids how to live toward the lighter side of that spectrum.   Life doesn't have to be perfect but living with joy is still essential.  Even more so as things seem to crumble around us.  

Jon and I have talked at length about the atmosphere we want to build in our home.  Aside from exuding warmth and welcome we want it to be a place of joy - somewhere that lets people relax.  Where people leave feeling a greater sense of wholeness then when they came.  

 

I've always had this desire to help heal people.  Deep jungle medicine in Zaire (back when there was a Zaire), art therapy, substance abuse rehabilitation for the homeless on a working farm - so maybe none of these jobs were meant for me but I still believe there is something I can do.  And I'm fine if it's just helping to ease someone's burdens by providing a light sanctuary of rest in a warm, cheerful home.   

So, to start things off right I'll leave you with a laugh.  Call me corny - but I love Readers Digest jokes.  Classic.

The 16th tee featured a fairway that ran along a road. 

The first golfer in a foursome teed off and hooked the ball. 

It soared over the fence and bounced onto the street, where it hit the tire of a moving bus and ricocheted back onto the fairway. 

As they all stood in amazement, one of the golfer's friends asked, "How did you do that?" 

The golfer shrugged.  "You have to know the bus schedule." 

Feel better?