Hello, God. It's me, Mara.

You know, Lord, sometimes one comes across some very interesting reading. Author unknown, but mentioned that Craig and Lizzy had a regular'Joke Night with their four school-age children. Each child brought several jokes they'd read or heard (or made up themselves!) during the week to tell at the dinner table. This tradition created joyful memories of fun shared around the table. Craig and Lizzy noticed that laughter was healthy for their children, lifting their spirits on difficult days.

The benefit of joyful conversation around the dinner table was observed by C. S. Lewis, who wrote, "The sun looks down on nothing half as good as a household laughing together over a meal."

The wisdom of fostering a joyful heart is found in Proverbs 17:22: "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." The proverb offers a 'prescription' to stimulate health and healing - allowing joy to fill our hearts, a medicine that costs little and yields great results.

We all need this biblical prescription. When we bring joy into our conversations, it can put a disagreement into perspective. It can help us to experience peace, even after a stressful test at school or a difficult day at work. Laughter among family and friends can create a safe place where we and they - we both know and feel that we are truly loved.

We probably all need to incorporate more laughter into our life as "Good Medicine' for our spirit. Right? Remember, we have the encouragement from Scripture to cultivate a cheerful heart - so here's best wish for a glorious May Day and may we each be filled with the joy of the Lord.

We thank You, Lord God, for the gift of joy to fill our hearts with love, so we don't end up having dried up bones. Thank You, again!

Love Mara