Now, having prepared and delivered a sermon, I was puzzled by his comment and said that, in fact, I had. I said, "Didn't you notice that I stood up and talked for about 10 minutes straight?"

He answered, "Yeah. I heard that. But you said things that were funny. You cracked me up, and I don't remember ever laughing in church before!"

Could this possibly be accurate, I wondered, incredulous. If knowing the joy of the Lord is what the Christian life is all about, then how could it be that some churches would cultivate an atmosphere where smiles and chuckles were frowned upon, literally? Laughter is from God, just like all the other emotional responses human beings were hand crafted to emit!

Did you know that "a good hearty laugh can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure, elevate mood, boost the immune system , improve brain functioning, protect the heart, connect you to others, foster instant relaxation, and make you feel good?" Did you know that "when we laugh, natural killer cells which destroy tumors and viruses increase, along with Gamma-interferon (a disease-fighting protein), T-cells (important for our immune system) and B-cells (which make disease-fighting antibodies). As well as lowering blood pressure, laughter increases oxygen in the blood, which also encourages healing?" Did you know that "humor changes our biochemical state. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases infection fighting antibodies. It increases our attentiveness, heart rate, and pulse?" (All quotations gleaned from www.helpguide.org.)

If I knew where that boy was today, I'd call him up and extend an invitation to the wonderful event you'll read about when you turn the page. But since I have no way of reaching out to him, I'll reach out to you. Please come to Family Festival Night here at EHMC and laugh out loud the way God intended you to!