Habits for life » Habits for a Happy Home

The Healthy Habit of Laughter

May 142013

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” Psalm 126:2

Studies have shown that laughter is healthy, healing. It may even have benefits similar to a light workout! And we all know the verse ”A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Prov. 17:22)

How can we bring laughter into our homes?

Laugh at yourself– I do this on many occasions, because I am by nature a klutz. I trip over my own feet, spill things, and knock full glasses off tables regularly. Laughter helps to diffuse the situation and any tension that might arise with it.

Laugh with your children– What you are in essence doing is teaching them to laugh at themselves. When they do funny things as mentioned above, have a good laugh with them, but not at them. Make them feel better by sharing a time something similar happened to you.

Laugh in the good times– that’s easy. When a prayer is answered and I just didn’t see how it was going to happen, when Dad gets a raise, when we finally book that trip to Disneyworld after years of saving… we laugh. Not a long, lingering laugh such as when you witness something hilariously funny, just a short, happy laugh, reminding you that God is good.

Laugh in the bad times– when we have had financial trials, when several things around the house are broken and we can’t afford to repair them all, when we are under a tornado warning… my husband and I often resort to light joking about our situation. In our family, it is ok to make jokes about serious things. We tread lightly here, cautiously. This would not work for some families but it has helped ours make light of what would normally be stressful situations.

Make jokes! Nice ones, clean ones. Just to let a little laughter into your day. Read jokes– I love to read “Laughter, the Best Medicine” in Reader’s Digest.

Watch funny tv shows in your leisure time– My all-time favorite is I Love Lucy. I often insert one of my dvds after a tiring or “down” day. Who wouldn’t laugh at that? My family does… even though we’ve seen each episode multiple times!

Watch Christian comedians– we have our favorites. Sometimes I will just pop over to YouTube and watch a two-minute segment of one of them. Ah, that relaxes me and helps me get on with my day.

Play board games with your family– want to have a long laugh session? Play Balderdash. I still have the picture I took of my parents, sitting at our kitchen table when I was in college, with red faces and tears running down their faces because what someone had just written as a “definition” in Balderdash was hilarious. I treasure this memory!

Never laugh at another’s expense– if it does not edify, we don’t do it.

Laughter heals– One of my favorite memories of the terrible, yet beautiful ordeal we had with our daughter’s accident was the 5th day she was in the ICU. Her youth pastor had flown up to visit us, and brought her a number of homemade cards from the youth group. All were sweet and caring, with Bible verses and artistic drawings. Except one. One young man, known for his precociousness, wrote a funny anecdote. Having been cooped up in the ICU for too long, I probably thought it was even funnier than it was, and started laughing so hard tears ran down my face. I took a break and then read his card aloud again, and laughed again. My daughter soon joined in with me, and as I looked at her precious, bruised face under the oxygen mask, my heart swelled with joy. My little girl was healing.

Ah, the power of laughter.

~ Written by Kim A.

What are You Living For?

Habits for a Happy Mom, Habits for life 2 Responses »

May 092013

Monday morning I sat down with my two oldest boys and asked them this question. I told them I didn’t need an answer right away, but I wanted them to take a little time and think about it. I said, “I know you both know what the right answer is, but what is the real answer?”

“What are you living for?”

One of them chimed in with, “I’m just trying to get all my schoolwork done so I can do what I want to do.” I think he wanted me to believe he was living for school. So I said, “And which of those things are you living for? School? Or doing what you want to do?” He answered honestly.

So I reminded them of this week’s Bible verse, Matthew 22:37-39, which says:

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

I wasn’t trying to make anyone feel guilty or sad. I was just trying to make them think. Our conversation made me think, too.

What am I living for?

Truthfully, many days I am living for that brief moment in the afternoon when the house is quiet and I can sit and enjoy a cup of coffee without interruption. When my six-year-old is on my lap reading aloud to me, I’m thinking, “Hurry up. Stop looking at the pictures. We’re almost done for the day.” Or when my oldest is struggling through his math and it is 3:00 and we’ve been at this for hours, and all I want to do is be DONE, what am I living for? Most of the time I’m living for me.

I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with enjoying a moment of peace and quiet. And I’m certainly not saying there is anything wrong with coffee. But in my own life, I can see how sometimes the desire for “me time” casts a shadow over everything else, causing me to rush through things and miss the opportunities God has put in front of me to love the people around me.

So I’ve been repeating this question throughout the week, to myself and my children. What are we living for right now? God, what would You have us do with this day?

~written by Kendra

Are You a Funnel or a Jar?

Habits for life, Heavenly Habits 2 Responses »

May 072013

Bet you never thought you would be compared to a funnel or a jar, did you? Well as believers we have the choice to be either one or the other. Both the funnel and the jar were created for a purpose, but it is up to us how we use them.

Jars hold things; water, food, juice, nuts and bolts, medicine–I could go on and on. Funnels on the other hand were not meant to hold anything, they help us to pour a substance from one container to another. You can’t pour something into a funnel and expect it to stay there; it is going to flow out the bottom and if there isn’t a vessel in place to catch it, you will have a mess. Jars on the other hand are great for holding things, but if it isn’t properly sterilized, liquids or food that stay too long will spoil and grow all sorts of terrible stuff.

It’s the same with us; God created us for a purpose, but it is up to us whether we fulfill our purpose or not. Are you being a jar; just letting Him pour and pour into you until you are full. That’s alright for a while, but what happens when God wants to put something new in you? Are you so full of old stuff, that you can’t hold the new?

On the other hand, if you are a funnel, then you are allowing the things God pours into you, to flow out to those around you who are in need. Paul tells us, “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 Cor. 4:7) We are a vessel created to be a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Our purpose is to spread the Word of God and His love to everyone we meet. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ep. 2:10)

When God comforts you, it so that you can comfort the hurting around you. When he blesses you financially, it is so you can be a blessing to those in need. He heals you, whether it is physically, mentally or spiritually, in order for you to tell others what He has done for you and give them hope that He will meet their needs also. Some people will go anywhere, anytime just to hear the Word preached or taught. They take notes and have all kinds of books and CDs, filling themselves with knowledge; but, what good is all that knowledge if it is never shared. Sooner or later it becomes stale and dry. When you are a funnel you don’t have to worry about running out. When God sees you are allowing Him to flow through you, instead of trying to hide Him away, then He will continually pour living water through you and refresh the thirsty world.

So what’ll it be, funnel or jar? Let’s all sing together, “let it FLOW, let it FLOW, let it FLOW.”

~ Written by Beth, “My husband of 46 years and I recently retired from full time ministry and we are looking forward to discovering what God has in store for the next part of our journey. I am a very proud mother and grandmother and I love to encourage others through the word and my life experiences. My life verse is Psalm 118:24 – This is the day that the Lord has made; I choose to rejoice and be glad in it.”

The “Job Jar”: just the thing to get the “Job” done!

Habits for a Happy Dad, Habits for a Happy Mom, Habits for Happy Kids, Habits for life 1 Response »

Apr 252013

You know how sometimes you just need to mix things up a bit. You might need to do something new or it might be something you just haven’t done in a long time. The point is it’s something different from what you’re doing at that very moment. Well, a couple of weeks ago I was at that point. That point of knowing something needed to change. The change needed to effect the good or bad consequences I may or may not be handing out depending on my boys behavior or attitude.

I knew I needed to be more intentional with my boys about pointing out their good choices, you know those times they were submitting to the spirit, that is why I am using the Fruit of the Spirit Jar again. I also knew I needed to mix things up a bit when it came time to decide on what to do for their not-so-good choices.

You see my boys love video games, so I got into the habit of only taking video games away when the boys made a not-so-good-choice. I just felt like that I needed to add some variety into this type of parenting situation. So, for these not so good choices I put out a “Job Jar”. The Job Jar consist of strips of paper that list out different activities that my boys would consider jobs.

You know actual work such as:

sweeping
vacuuming
dusting
cleaning toilets, tubs, sinks, baseboards, etc.
math worksheets, copy work, practice multiplication tables, etc..

If they have to pick something from the job jar, they have to put their initials on the strip of paper. That way if they pick it the next time, they will put it back and pick another one that they haven’t done.

This has worked:

to add some variety
give a little surprise factor
for me to get a little extra help with house work
for them to get in a little practice in on some important educational skills

I am very pleased and thankful for the prompting of the Holy Spirit to use both of the jars I have mentioned above. As I said, sometimes you just need to mix things up a bit!

~written by Angie