L.O.L.

By Mizpah

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

Real Life:

Two of my long-time resolutions that never got to be done are losing weight and getting into a regular exercise regimen. To date, they are just mirages as they stay on my list forever hoping that the next morning I wake up, I can say, “This is it! I’m on!”

Well, one good thing about being 40 up is that you get to loosen up on yourself! Not that I’ve given up hoping on having a 26 inch waistline, flat abs and tipping the weighing scale with 100 lbs. But the Lord surely must have known how lofty this dream may be for me, He showed me something!

Would you believe that I was having a good amount of exercise everyday? In Dr. Don Colbert’s article on “The Miraculous Medicine of Laughter”, he wrote that according to Dr. William Fry, Jr., who has spent thirty years or so in his study on the healing power of laughter and humor compares laughter to a good aerobic exercise. He said that laughter ventilates the lungs and leaves the muscles, nerves and heart warm and relaxed-the same benefits provided by aerobic exercise. It temporarily accelerates the heart rate, increases blood pressure and breathing, enlarges circulation and enhances the flow of oxygen in and out of the body. Laughing 100 to 200 times a day is equivalent to ten minutes of rowing or jogging. Belly laughter is the most therapeutic form of laughter and do you know that ten belly laughs are roughly equivalent to thirty minutes of aerobic exercise?

To add to that, it raises the level of our “feel good” hormone and “growth” hormone. I think I have to laugh some more as the latter hormone has not been activated in me yet! As what the Word of God tells us, “a merry heart does us good like medicine.” It also has been proven to lower blood pressure and produce overall improved health.

Healthy laughter is an expression of delight and joy that springs forth from a sense of well-being and peace. Only those who have known the peace that surpasses all understanding will be able to laugh like this! Only those who have known that they have a Father who is in charge of every detail of their lives can laugh at the days to come.

Life is so short to be lived with heavy hearts and down-cast souls. Let’s not take this life so seriously. This world ain’t getting better, guys! This world wants to bury us alive and eat us up everyday. But it can’t because we have a God who stands and fights for us! So, let’s make a daily, conscious choice to be thankful and enjoy life to the fullest. Let’s laugh out loud!

Praise God for the joy and laughter He has blessed me with! Ummm…I have long been in a regular exercise regimen after all.

I’ll try and ask God if He has an alternative to losing weight. I’m sure He has one!

To Ponder upon:

If you must take an inventory of yourself each day, will the attitude of gratitude outweigh your complaints? Will good words for others overflow more than tearing them down? Will kindness overtake your self-centeredness? Here’s something to think about. A good, pure, hearty laughter can only come from a heart that is at peace with God, with others, and with one’s self.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for the gift of laughter. Thank you that truly no money can buy the times when you make us laugh till our belly hurts. Troubles may be many but thank you for those memories that never fail to bring a smile on our faces as we bring to mind your goodness and faithfulness in our lives. Lord, you are so good! In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Read more on laughter:

http://justlaughter.com/ageless_prescription.htm