A young mother baked some cookies and put them on the kitchen table to cool. She had to play in a softball game, so she grabbed her bat and glove and went out the door, leaving her husband in charge of their two-year-old son. When she got home, she discovered a disaster. The little boy had been in the cookies. He hadn't eaten just one or two. No, the little rascal had taken exactly one bite out of every cookie on the table. The whole batch was ruined and could not be served to guests. Meanwhile, where was her husband? Asleep on a couch. As the woman looked at the bat in her hand, she may have wondered where to use it first, on her useless husband or on the little cookie monster. But rather than explode in a rage, she just shook her head and burst out laughing.

Healthy families know how to laugh. Not everything in life is a laughing matter, but life has plenty of funny moments. You just need to see the humor. Don't react to every little problem like it's a tragedy. Instead, see it as a comedy. If you run into a situation where you're absolutely furious and can't find anything to laugh at, go look in a mirror. The red face, the swollen veins, and the bulging eyes you see in that mirror ought to be good for a laugh.

PRAYER--Father, thank you for the gift of laughter. Give us cheerful hearts. By make us slow to snarl and quick to laugh in the joy and freedom of your Holy Spirit. Amen.