If we humans are created in God’s image and He gave us the full range of emotions, don’t you suppose His emotions also included joy that overflows into laughter? I do. In fact, I think it would be profitable for all of us to take a few moments and imagine God smiling at us in love and pleasure. Galatians tells us that we are God’s handiwork and just as He reviewed His works of creation as recorded in Genesis and said, “It is good,” I believe He looks at us and is pleased with His work of creation.

The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us in Ecclesiastes 3: 4 that there is a time to laugh. St. Iraneus wrote that the glory of God is man fully alive. I believe that a fully alive individual knows how to laugh!

It is appropriate for all of us to stop and evaluate our ability to laugh and have fun. Sometimes life’s painful circumstances have taught us that we don’t deserve to have fun. Religion can teach us that fun isn’t holy. If you are one of those individuals who have difficulty playing and having fun, today is the day you should begin to challenge that mindset. Allow God to bring healing into your heart through fun and laughter.

Laughter is an important part of life. Proverbs 17: 22 says that “A merry heart does us good, like a medicine.”  Laughter brings healing. It is music to our souls. Laughter connects our soul and spirit.

So today I want to make you smile and laugh!

The following is a clip from our children’s presentation at church on Dec. 20. The little star of this clip is Caleb Bullard, son of Todd and Amy Bullard. Todd and Amy weren’t sure Caleb would actually go up on the stage, but oh, did he ever. He not only went up on the stage, he took over the stage.  His performance seems to have said, “Here I am world! Enjoy me!” I rather think God loved seeing his little son enjoy himself. This clip doesn’t show his full body which would have made it even better if you could have seen his little side steps, but click away and smile.  

I often use Proverbs 24:16 when I teach about the Christian life. This verse tells us that even though a righteous person may fall seven times, they shall rise again. It then goes on to contrast the righteous person’s response to failure with the wicked person’s response to failure and states that the wicked are overcome by their failure and calamity. I love to use this verse to teach believers that even though we may fall and stumble, the ongoing direction of our life should be toward godliness. I often draw a graph which illustrates the highs and lows of the Christian life.

 

So with a backwards glance at 2009, I look now to 2010. What are my goals for this year? I think of the old adage which says, “If you aim at nothing, you are sure to hit it.”

So here is my aim:

 

1.    To know myself more deeply, because in knowing my own heart I gain the ability to know God and others in real ways

 

2.    To pursue a deeper understanding of God’s grace

 

3.    To face my shortcomings and failures truthfully with a willingness to change

 

4.    To have a goal of progress, instead of perfection

 

5.    To give love and support to others and receive the love and support of others

 

6.    To recognize things that keep me from growing, such as denial and fear, and then move through and beyond them

 

7.    To use the influence I have on others in ways that lead them into a deeper relationship with God and others

 

8.    To be increasingly less religious and more Christ-like

 

9.    To continue to break the power of the past

 

10.To live within my limits

 

11.To learn to easily identify what I am feeling inside

 

12.To allow Christ to change me

 

13.To resolve conflict in clear, direct, and respectful ways

 

14.To admit when I am wrong and ask for forgiveness

 

15.To be able to enter others’ worlds and feelings, connecting deeply with them

 

16.To truly listen when others speak and sincerely try to hear their heart

 

17.To love well, beginning with loving myself as Christ taught

 

18.To read and receive from others who are life-giving

 

19.To enjoy myself

 

 

Well, maybe that list is a little long, but it is a true reflection of my heart and is a reflection of what I learned in 2009.

 

Journey on my fellow pilgrim! 2010 awaits us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I sit here at the beginning of a new year, coffee in hand, heart full of emotion, meditating on the new year and the old year. Time is a dimension I can’t control.  Marked by days and weeks and months and years and decades and centuries. Marked by seasons. Telling a story.  On wide-screen the world marches by. And there in midst of a world full of human stories is each one of us and our story.

 

As I reflect on 2008 and look forward to 2009, I bring with me the fullness of my story. Lessons learned.  Moments of glory. Moments of failure. Moments of pleasure.  Moments of pain.  Seasons of beauty and seasons of struggle and grief. 

 

I usually don’t make New Year’s Resolutions because I am not very good at keeping them, and I don’t like to fail.  When I do make resolutions, they are so typically normal.

 

    1.  Lose weight

    2.  Exercise more

    3.  Budget my time and money better

 

And on they go…

 

But this year I am making a new kind of resolutions. Not in a particular order.  I am giving myself permission to resolve to resolve imperfectly. Here they are:

 

1. Make time to enjoy life

2. Focus on what makes my heart come alive

3. Spend more time with people and less time on tasks

4. Play more

5. Care more

6. Be kinder to myself for I am human

7. Be kinder to others for they are human too

8. Breathe deeply

9. Smell my coffee

10. Eat slowly

11. Care for my body because it has to last for a long time

12. Enjoy the treasure of my family, my friends, and my spiritual community

13. Listen to more music

 

In 2009, I hope my story will become less of conquering lists of jobs and goals and more about living each moment with an awareness of the work of God in humanity –beginning with mine.