The Best Medicine

"Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous: sing, all you who are upright in heart!"~ Psalms 32:11

"Hey Ryan! Go look for the hose puller!!" 

"What's it look like?"

"It's real big, you can't miss it. It should be near the hoses"

Took me awhile to figure out that the snickering wasn't them laughing at a joke that was told, but that I was the joke.

"Hey Ryan, you know what a henweight is?"

"What's a henweight?"

"About 2 1/2 lbs" 

Working in the Fire Dept. You learn a lot, there's a ton of information that the average person just does not think about.
Not all of is clean or healthy though. But there is one thing you learn pretty quick in the Fire Dept. You grow thick skin (written in the official Dept. rules and regulations for Bright Fire Dept.) and you learn to laugh and joke around.

I personally am quite the Joker, you can assume that if I'm there there's gonna be laughter. Making people laugh and making their day a little brighter is personally one of my favorite things to do. Whether I'm at work, out and about doing errands, or just hanging with friends. It's gotten to the point where all my camping buddies gave me a special nickname dedicated to my skill of telling stories and making a laugh. TallYarn.

I've earned quite the reputation at camp as the story teller. When a new kid comes in and people are talking around the camps one of the first things that's told them is, "find TallYarn and ask him about the Woodchuck," or "ask him about the Paintball princess" If you've known me for any length of time you know that one of the first things I do when I see you're down is I try to crack a joke and lift your spirits :) 

The Bible actually says quite a lot about laughing and a merry time. Here are just a few. 

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." ~ Proverbs 15:13

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."~ Proverbs 17:22

"He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy."~ Job 8:21

"yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my savior." ~ Habakkuk 3:18

If we are in Christ do we have any reason to be sad when we know such joy as to know that our salvation is assured? Are we not to go forth with singing and laughter and let the world look at us and ask themselves "Why are they so joyful? What do they have that I do not that gives them such pure joy in spite of all that happens to them?"

Keeping a joyful countenance is not just better for your heart (studies have shown that laughing is like jogging ten miles for your heart) But it shows people the absolute joy in Christ that we have! So let's keep a joyful spirit no matter what's going on this week.

God Bless, 

    Ryan