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Hello Hello!!

How’s your week been??

Well last time we met I asked the question: What Makes You Smile?

I do hope you enjoyed reading it and found something in your day to smile about!

If you read that blog you would know by now that I like to smile at roses, but I must admit I was not able to smile at my roses this week. Winter has well and truly set in and my roses have all disappeared. I actually need to prune them – remind me to add that to the job list!

Anyway, continuing along the theme of smiling, I think it’s time we all had a good laugh!

Did you hear the one about…..just kidding!

My jokes are bad. I am really not great at telling jokes. I tend to be the only one in our family who laughs at my jokes so I leave the joke telling up to my husband!

But did you know that laughter does good like medicine!

I am sure you have heard that saying yourself. It is actually a proverb from the bible and also medically proven that laughter is like medicine.

Proverbs 17:22 says this: A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.

Here is a scientific fact: Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, improving your resistance to disease. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

So last week I asked what makes you smile, today I want to know – when was the last time you laughed. Like really, really laughed!

My husband and kids are quite hilarious.  My husband has a very quirky sense of humour and it seems our children have inherited their father’s gift of humour.

Dinner time at our house is a scream……my youngest son, if you get him going will laugh for days. He has this laugh that is from deep within in his belly. We laugh at him laughing. My daughter gets the giggles…she giggles and giggles and giggles until she can’t giggle anymore. And then my eldest son comes out with these pearlers that leave us in stitches!

My daughter loves to play games. She is 13, incredibly creative and loves to create fun moments for us all to enjoy. She began to make her own board games asking if we could all play the games at the dinner table once dinner was finished. We agreed to this and I have to tell you, dinner time has never been the same again. Since the first board games were first introduced, our daughter has taken us to a whole new level of absolute hilarity with some crazy games such as: Charades, Bean Boozled, Pie Face & Toilet Trouble!

If you have never heard of these games – do yourself a favour and go get them!

We have laughed to the point of tears!!

And after a stressful day at work or school – laughing certainly is the best medicine!

Whenever anyone is sick in our house, we still make jokes, pull funny faces (another of my husband’s gifts!) and do silly things so that there is still laughter in the house.  As a family we truly believe in having fun and creating fun family moments where we just laugh.

We know that life is full of trials and stress, but we love to laugh because it actually reduces our stress and helps us look at life with a clearer perspective and gives us the strength to navigate the challenges we face.

Friends, you need to laugh!

Even if life is not giving you much to laugh about and please don’t think what I am saying is flippant.  I know that there are very real concerns in people’s lives and across the world and I know personally how tough life can be, but we still need to laugh!

I love looking at kids play. They play and laugh and squeal with joy!! Then we grow up into adults and life becomes all serious and stressful – how do we let this happen??

So if it has been a while since you have cried from laughter, perhaps switch the soppy sad movies that make you feel sadder and put on a comedy and laugh!

Instead of sitting in front of the TV at dinner, switch it off and sit at the table together and get everyone to take turns telling a joke (or play pie face – seriously it is so much fun!)

Rather than sitting around dwelling on the negative or focusing on the chaos that perhaps is surrounding you, switch your thoughts to thankfulness and gratitude, and give thanks for the simple pleasures of life. Recall a memory that makes you laugh or put on some fun music and run through your house when no one is there and pretend you are a ballerina or hip hop dancer and dance like crazy – that’ll make you laugh!

Perhaps you need to gather some girls and have a fun night in and do what girls do – eat chocolate, talk & laugh!

Some of the most courageous people I know, who have been through the most horrendous things, enduring circumstances they would not wish upon anyone are still able to laugh.

So here is my final encouragement for today…..

Are you sick? Then laugh!

Are you stressed? Then laugh!

Are you afraid?  Then laugh!

Are you sad? Then laugh!

Let me leave you with this final saying from Proverbs 31:25

You are clothed with strength and dignity, and you can LAUGH without fear of the future!

Till next time…..I’m off to watch a funny movie!!

Natt xx