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Welcome!! Below you will find an article written by Erma Bombeck that I personally wanted you to enjoy as much as I did. 

JOY IN THE LORD ILLUSTRATION

Today, I would like to stir up your Joy.  Your Joy.  Not your love, and I know that's first on God's list.  If He were to award us with ribbons, it would be the red ribbon.  Love would get the blue ribbon.

If He gave out medals, it would be the silver medal, for joy, and He would give the gold for love.  Maybe the bronze for peace. 

My concern is that Joy is fast being erased from the Christians life. We are notorious for our grim and gloomy view of life.

There is a true story of a man standing behind a woman at the checkout counter of the Grocery store.  He was well dressed, rather solemn looking.

She was putting her items onto the moving counter from her cart and glanced over her shoulder and said to the gentleman, "excuse me, do you happen to be a minister?"  He said no mam  I'm not I've just been sick for a couple of weeks.!!!

I've been in enough pastors conferences to know that he would probably pass for a pastor.  We are notorious for our grim straight look.   That concerns me.  

It bothers me about Christians that we are the only ones on earth with every right to laugh at the future and to smile at life are often the last ones to do so.  It's as if we have the responsibility of carrying the weight of world around on our shoulders.  When in fact we don't have to worry about the weight of the world.

Proverbs 15:13 says:  "A joyful heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit."  Vs. 15 "All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast."  Proverbs 17:22 says:  "A joyful heart is good medicine.

Literally Proverbs 17:22 says "A joyful heart causes healing" What is it that brings healing to the emotions, healing to the soul? It is a joyful heart.  Do you have a joyful heart this today?

A couple of times a year I go back to the old theologian, Erma Bombeck.   You remember her.  She's the one who won't tell you how much she weighs but when she measures her girth she says she should be a ninety foot redwood. 

She writes:  "In church the other Sunday, I was intent on a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone.  He wasn't gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals or rummaging through his mothers handbag.  He was just smiling.

Finally his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard in a little theater off Broadway, said "Stop grinning, you're in church!!!

With that she gave him a whack and as the tears rolled down his cheeks she added, "That's better", and returned to her prayers.

We sing "Make a Joyful noise unto the Lord" while our faces reflect the sadness of one who has just buried a rich aunt who left everything to her pregnant hamster.         

Suddenly I was angry. It occurred to me  the entire world is in tears, and if you're not then you'd better get with it. I wanted to grab this little child with the tear stained face close to me and tell him about my God.  The one who is happy, the smiling God. The God who had to have a sense of humor to have created the likes of us.  I wanted to tell him He is an understanding God.  He understands little children who pick their noses in church because they're bored.  He understands the man in the parking lot who reads the comics while his wife is attending church. He even understands my shallow prayers that implore Lord if you can't make me thin, make my friends look fat.

There's really no reason for a life of sadness if Christ is really enthroned over your life!!

God Bless!!!

Pastor George Sova