Don't Forget......TO LAUGH

Last week I was struck by a comment made by a speaker (who's name I can't remember...lol!) at a conference I was at....what he said was, "Don't forget...." After I heard that, I couldn't think of anything else the speaker said as my brain went on a shoe trail of thinking of all the 'don't forgets' I've done in my life and how if I really remembered those things I really don't need to forget, how much easier my life would be. Oh the joys of being human and having many many 'duh' moments this life brings. I'm one of those people that can make a shopping list and forget to leave my list at home. Now, I do have one good trait of actually being able to 'see' the list in my head and recall what I put on it...well, most everything I put on the list. lol!

So, I want to start a series of what I'm calling, Don't Forget. They'll be funny inspirations and spiritually challenging thoughts of the things we can't afford to forget as we walk closer and closer to our Master. It's the don't forgets that draw us closer to Him.....

Here we go.....

DON'T FORGET - TO LAUGH

Too many things in this life take away our laughter, our joy. When I read in the scriptures, I find a little secret that we must NEVER lose in order to succeed in this life that can be great, miserable, difficult, suffocating, fun, and crazy all in one. That key verse is: "Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10 Did you see that secret - the joy of the Lord IS your STRENGTH. The way we find God's joy is by hanging out with Him - breathing Him in, living every single minute of every single day wtih Him. As we do that, His joy overtakes us and consumes everything we do.

Just the other day I woke up and was literally just not having a good day. My kids were sick, I didn't have a good night sleep, I just felt heavy inside. Even after reading the Word and praying that morning, I still didn't get that lift I was looking for. About 3 hours later, I was driving down the road and talking to God....I asked him, "Why do I literally feel so blah today?" You know what He said, "You have a choice of how you want to respond to all that's going on and how you feel...let it sink you or rise above it." Well, you guessed exactly what I did - I made the choice to seek JOY and when I did, I experienced HIS strength. It was wild! You might be saying, "Yeah, right! How could it be that easy?" I have to say it actually was. I literally, in one moment, made the decision to choose joy over how I was feeling and instantly I felt the heaviness begin to lift off me. Just as you choose to feel and accept the heaviness you are feeling, is just the same as you can choose to experience God's full joy for your life.

So, don't forget - LAUGH, LAUGH, LAUGH!! It's God's gift to YOU that is contagious.

Tracee