"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh." -Luke 6:21
Last week was a pretty stressful week for me. Anytime my to-do list quickly fills before an out of town conference, I get stressed beyond the max. Oh the packing, making sure everything is in line for dog sitter, placing classes online, and then printing posters or preparing presentations, I quickly begin to shut down which sometimes leads to tears. Yeap, I think I just admitted one of my weaknesses. When stressed I sometimes become teary eyed. I might not be weeping as in the Luke verse, but stressed, yes. So the thought of a 6-7 hour van ride to Atlanta was not exactly what I looking forward to on my Saturday.
One of my greatest joys in life is the fact that I LOVE my job. Every day I get to work with some of the greatest students and colleagues! Little did I know that one van ride to Atlanta would yield endless hours of laughter. Within the first thirty minutes on the road, the teary eyed, stressed out Joy from the night before was doubled over with laughter.
"Then our mouths filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting......" Psalms 126:2
For the next four days, everyday brought new laughter.. ab workout laughter. From a bright yellow jacket that similar to a safety vest, to the proper way to tag an individual in a facebook post, my friend Gary. And did you know how long it takes the front of a 15 passenger van to have the same conversation as the back of the van.... approximately 2 hours.
This made me think about the family vacations before cell phones, dvd players, and tablets. What did we do? I think we actually talked. If all of us had sat on the van with our headphones in and constantly checking our facebook posts, these unbelievable memories would never have been made.
I try to add laughter to my everyday life. Typically that starts as soon as I arrive to work. A five minute conversation with one of my close friends starts my day off on the right foot. Somehow every morning we manage to laugh about something. In my classes I know the importance of creating a "happy" atmosphere. A "happy" atmosphere is one that adds laughter to our lives. So then my class challenge is how can I add smiles to the faces of my students.
God wants to fill our lives with happiness and laughter. However, we are responsible for filling our lives with those joyful memories that last a lifetime. I challenge you to put away the cell phone and go back to car rides where conversations were the center of attention. Also, be the responsible individual who adds your own happiness to your life. We must first love ourselves before we can truly love others. So my teary eyed night was made into a joyful day. God placed a group of remarkable individuals in my life. These individuals bring happiness to my life only because I took advantage of the opportunity. I chose to be excited about a 6 hour van ride instead of my original negative thoughts.
I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy to do good while they live." Ecclesiastes 3:12
We are each responsible for our part of that inspiring task. Be the individual that brings laughter and happiness to your friends, families, and coworkers lives.
Love to you all! Hope you're having a great week that is filled with laughter!
**By the way, my friend Gary asked if my blog post would be about the trip. Originally I thought oh no, but the more I thought about it my mind changed. This by far has been one of my favorite conference trips and it was because of the van ride.
Last week was a pretty stressful week for me. Anytime my to-do list quickly fills before an out of town conference, I get stressed beyond the max. Oh the packing, making sure everything is in line for dog sitter, placing classes online, and then printing posters or preparing presentations, I quickly begin to shut down which sometimes leads to tears. Yeap, I think I just admitted one of my weaknesses. When stressed I sometimes become teary eyed. I might not be weeping as in the Luke verse, but stressed, yes. So the thought of a 6-7 hour van ride to Atlanta was not exactly what I looking forward to on my Saturday.
One of my greatest joys in life is the fact that I LOVE my job. Every day I get to work with some of the greatest students and colleagues! Little did I know that one van ride to Atlanta would yield endless hours of laughter. Within the first thirty minutes on the road, the teary eyed, stressed out Joy from the night before was doubled over with laughter.
"Then our mouths filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting......" Psalms 126:2
For the next four days, everyday brought new laughter.. ab workout laughter. From a bright yellow jacket that similar to a safety vest, to the proper way to tag an individual in a facebook post, my friend Gary. And did you know how long it takes the front of a 15 passenger van to have the same conversation as the back of the van.... approximately 2 hours.
This made me think about the family vacations before cell phones, dvd players, and tablets. What did we do? I think we actually talked. If all of us had sat on the van with our headphones in and constantly checking our facebook posts, these unbelievable memories would never have been made.
I try to add laughter to my everyday life. Typically that starts as soon as I arrive to work. A five minute conversation with one of my close friends starts my day off on the right foot. Somehow every morning we manage to laugh about something. In my classes I know the importance of creating a "happy" atmosphere. A "happy" atmosphere is one that adds laughter to our lives. So then my class challenge is how can I add smiles to the faces of my students.
God wants to fill our lives with happiness and laughter. However, we are responsible for filling our lives with those joyful memories that last a lifetime. I challenge you to put away the cell phone and go back to car rides where conversations were the center of attention. Also, be the responsible individual who adds your own happiness to your life. We must first love ourselves before we can truly love others. So my teary eyed night was made into a joyful day. God placed a group of remarkable individuals in my life. These individuals bring happiness to my life only because I took advantage of the opportunity. I chose to be excited about a 6 hour van ride instead of my original negative thoughts.
I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy to do good while they live." Ecclesiastes 3:12
We are each responsible for our part of that inspiring task. Be the individual that brings laughter and happiness to your friends, families, and coworkers lives.
Love to you all! Hope you're having a great week that is filled with laughter!
**By the way, my friend Gary asked if my blog post would be about the trip. Originally I thought oh no, but the more I thought about it my mind changed. This by far has been one of my favorite conference trips and it was because of the van ride.