I love to laugh

One of my all time favorite songs is from Mary Poppins. It is called "I love to laugh". When I start cracking up about something, this song always comes to mind. Take a look at the lyrics...

I love to laugh (Ha, ha, ha, ha)
Loud and long and clear
I love to laugh (Ho, ho, ho, ho)
It's getting worse ev'ry year

The more I laugh (Ha, ha, ha, ha)
The more I fill with glee
And the more the glee (Ho,ho, ho, ho)
The more I'm a merrier me
It's embarrassing!
The more I'm a merrier me!

Some people laugh through their noses
Sounding something like this "Mmm..."
Some people laugh through their teeth goodness sake
Hissing and fizzing like snakes

Some laugh too fast
Some only blast - ha!
Others, they twitter like birds
Then there's the kind
What can't make up their mind

When things strike me as funny
I can't hide it inside
And squeak - as the squeakelers do
I've got to let go with a ho-ho-ho...
And a ha-ha-ha...too!

The average child laughs 150 times a day. The average adult laughs 15 times a day. This isn't just my amazing knowledge... I got this from a study done at the University of Michigan. Somewhat sad statistics don't you think?

I also read that laughter aids in digestion. Yes, you read that correctly... it aids in digestion. So around your dinner table make sure that you joke a bit with the ones you love.

My favorite part of the song is the last stanza. So to all of my blogger friends out there... when something strikes you as funny, don't hide it inside... bust your gut with laughter. Be loud with joy!

Proverbs 17:22 says "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." I really like how The Message phrases this verse, " A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired."

Enjoy your day and find something to laugh about... it's good for you! There is always something in every day that you can smile at or laugh about.

Sad Moments

Today a sad moment came to mind.

I drove to the regional/territorial Bible Bowl playoffs at Camp Longpoint. It is about a five hour drive each way, so I had ALOT of thinking time. There were moments as I reflected on my current appointment and simply could do nothing but laugh. It has been an absolutely amazing and wonderful appointment.

Then came the tears, realizing that things are going to quickly change. I think of all the wonderful young people who have been used by God to change me. I think of all those teens who have allowed me to see the reality of true faith, grace, mercy, love, compassion, laughter, joy, and hope. I am so much better off for being able to have been a part of this appointment. I realize it has been my job to minister to the youth of the division, but the reality is that I have been ministered to by each of them. I have grown closer to the Lord because of the young people of NEOSA. That of course is not sad at all!

Life goes on and things will be fine. I will continue to grow in new ways in my faith and in my walk with the Lord. I am very excited about all the newness of our new appointment and know that I will experience the same joys and moments there too.

All of this isn't even what I would have considered the "sad moment" for which I titled this post. What made me sad was that I counted 14 officers kids from this division alone that were being affected in this move cycle. 14 kids are being taken from what they know as "home" and being sent with their parents on their way. I know 1 1/2 of my kids are okay with the move (Emily is the 1/2 depending on her mood each day). My son (age 8) actually appeared to accept the news gracefully. We found him about 10 minutes later hiding in his room crying. He doesn't remember our last move, seeing that he was only 2. All he sees is that he won't be with his friends from camp anymore and that he won't have his "boys only, password protected club house" that he and his dad built. These are sad moments for them.

Please pray for all of the officer's kids. Some are going as far away as Puerto Rico. These are difficult and scary days for them. The Lord will protect them, but they are walking into a whole new life in a lot of respects.

God's Word to Me

I was given a verse by General Paul Rader upon my commissioning as a Salvation Army officer. It was taken from 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

I actually found that verse several years before my commissioning. It was a verse that I memorized and leaned on heavily. I was (and still am) a bit shy and quiet. The whole concept of God not wanting me to be timid in my faith and service to Him stuck with me.

Commissioning can be quite intimidating. When the General ordained me and spoke that particular verse I knew it was God's reassurance that I would be okay if I just leaned on Him.

In recent days I received farewell orders from the appointment I have been in for the last 5 1/2 years. In all honesty, when I received my new appointment I was fine and didn't feel any pressure. I still don't feel the overwhelming need to "check things out" and see what I will be doing. I do know though, now that I have actually had a moment to catch my breath and reflect, that I will face aspects of Army work and ministry that I have never experienced. I realize that I will be stretched. I realize that I am going to be both changed and challenged by this next appointment. I realize that I will need that Word from God now more than ever..."For God did not give YOU, Sue B, a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

I praise you Lord for searching me and knowing me. I praise you for knowing my actions and my thoughts. I praise you for knowing all of my ways. I praise you for knowing exactly what I need, when I need it, and where I need to be to both grow as your child and to be used by you to minister to others. Amen.

Song #205

Lt. Colonel LaMarr gave a devotional on Wednesday and used this particular song from our Salvation Army song book. I was so blessed by the words. This is my prayer for today and everyday.

Blessed Lamb of Calvary,

Let thy Spirit fall on me:

Let the cleansing, healing flow

Wash and keep me white as snow,

That henceforth my life may be

Bright and beautiful for thee.

Burn out every selfish thought,

Let thy will in me be wrought,

Fan my love into a flame,

Send a pentecostal rain,

That henceforth my life may be

Spent in winning souls for thee.

Teach me how to fight and win

Perfect victory over sin;

Give me a compassion deep,

That will for lost sinners weep,

That henceforth my life may prove

That I serve thee out of love.

Barbara Stoddart (1865-1915) SASB

>I praise God that He is giving me a renewed desire to serve Him and those He loves. I pray that in coming days I walk in His strength and through His courage so that "my life may prove that I serve HIM out of love."

Priorities

"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large milestone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost."

Mt. 18:5,6, 10-14

Mk. 9:3637, 42

Lk. 17:2,3a

I read this passage several weeks ago for my devotions. It has stuck with me. I have lived by these words regarding children for years. I remember as a kid thinking that I had to stay true to God and not let the sin my parents were enticed with sway me. I feared that if I would go astray, they would be totally condemned.

The part that really stands out to me now is the part I highlighted in red. "In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." It is my responsibility to guide the young and keep them close to God. I think of those that refuse to pick kids up for church because their parents should be bringing the kids on a Sunday. We don't want to enable them or become a babysitting service after all! I think about those really bad kids we come across at the corps... the ones we typically end up kicking out of the program. I think about the lice kids that we ban from the corps until they are clean again, which they never get cleaned because their home is invested too.

I am challenged today to go after that one that is "lost", whether they are bad, have lice, or live out of our range of pick-ups. I pray God constantly reminds me of this verse in the coming months and years that I live and minister.

Have you ever had those times in your life when you just feel numb?

I feel like I do not have the capacity to function in life at the moment. I have so many things on the table that I don't know where to begin in order to get moving and get organized.

I am not trying to be negative. I am just experiencing a time where I am going in a million directions and when I take the time to evaluate, I realize that I am a bit lost. I don't have a plan... this proves difficult for someone who lives each day with a plan.

So enough with the pity party... the Cavs won, and for a moment, who cares if I have a plan!!

We had our Youth Councils last weekend. I pretty much cried through the entire event. Our kids in NEOSA are AMAZING!!! They partipate in 90% of the meetings. They do everything from the prayers to the sacred dances to the camera work. Sometimes I feel bad because we don't really use the special guests from THQ very much. Our thought is that if the weekend is for the kids then they need to be the ones participating in the worship experience as much as possible.

The dramas we do run throughout the weekend. They all relate to the theme. The drama on Sunday was amazing. It dealt with Satan being briefed by a demon. This demon was trying to destroy the "walk" of a young man all weekend. In the drama the young man was praying and Satan and the demon were talking about what they could do. I really can't explain the entire thing but it ended with the young man standing and kicking Satan while dancing in a dance he was doing. Three of our young people were doing this dance when all of a sudden groups of kids from the division came up and stood at the front as a sign that they were willing to be part of the Revolution for Christ. To see our kids up there was just too much for me. I have never felt so secure in knowing that the fight for souls would go on as I did when I saw our kids (probably 30 of them) standing up there in different poses. They were all part of the drama, but knowing that those kids believed it was remarkable to me.

God has blessed me so much. My heart hurts for some of these kids, but at the same time I have such joy in knowing that many are totally commited to Christ. Please pray for NEOSA. I know that these kids are making a difference.