LOL by jim hart

I read last week that sales of humor books fell by 5% from 2014 to 2015. Does this signal that humor is fading in our culture? It does seem to me society is slowly losing its sense of humor. Or maybe the political and hot-button topic books are more attractive to readers. Or perhaps it's just that no one is writing anything that's funny right now. It does bring up the question of why we read what we do. To be entertained? To be informed?  To be motivated? All of the above?

Here’s where I think balance is a good thing. If we’re reading such serious content on a regular basis, at the expense of some more light-hearted material, what does that do to us as a person?  How does this affect us as people of faith, and followers of Jesus Christ? Most of us are familiar with the scripture “A cheerful heart is good medicine” Proverbs 17:22  NLT.  The benefits of laughter have a positive impact on both our physical and mental well-being. I think we should want to laugh more.

So what do we, as Believers, find funny?  Paul wrote to the Ephesians “Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”   Ephesian 4:29 NLT “Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes--these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.”  Ephesians 5:4  NLT

Jeff Allen is a Christian comedian that my wife and I thoroughly enjoy. We drove half-way across the state of Pennsylvania just to see him in person.  He is probably the funniest comedian we have ever heard.  And my wife loves to laugh. I think our first date was to a Pink Panther movie.  I had to marry her because she was the only one who repeatedly laughed at my jokes!

Some humor, though not particularly offensive, gets its laughs at the expense of a particular grouping of people and at our individual actions and habits. I think the current wave of extreme political correctness has served to censor some humor.  And humor often pokes fun of a sacred cow, or two. And we all can define lines that we’d rather not see crossed when it comes to what is presented as humorous. There is humor that appeals to a more lowbrow audience, and there is humor that engages our intellect just a bit more.  It seems like our culture tolerates, and even prefers, humor that includes “obscene stories, foolish talk and coarse jokes.”  But we are told in the Bible to be salt and light to the world. Good (clean) humor can bring some much needed flavor and freshness to our culture.

Laughing disarms people. Getting people to laugh can be like knocking on their door, giving us the chance to move the dialogue to something more serious.  Jeff Allen, while very funny, also uses his platform to testify how the Lord saved his marriage and from his drug habit. He gets people laughing hard while still modeling Paul’s instruction to “let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” 

Sometimes humor is how we deal with difficult issues and circumstances. I never considered myself a cat person until a cat adopted us. Years later when her kidneys shut down it fell to me to have her put down. The timing was horrible – two days before Christmas. Several years after that, here’s the song that came out. 

So my point in all of this is how can we use our God-given sense of humor to bring Jesus’ light to others?  How can you, as a writer, bring more humor to your work and encourage those who read your words?  I know that writing humor is difficult for many people to write well, but there are those who God has gifted in this area. If that’s you, I encourage you dive in and write something that makes us all LOL. Maybe you’ll be the one to write a truly funny book that will lead to a rise of book sales in the humor category!

And I’ll leave you with this deep thought: if cows laugh, does milk come out of their nose?

Open & Close by Jim Hart

 A start and an end – everything has one. Our day has one – we get up, we go to bed. We start work, we stop work.  And in between the start and the stop there are countless details that compete for our attention. How we deal with these details has an effect on how productive we are during the day.

For many years I’ve tried to use an ‘open and close’ practice to my workday to stay on track with what needs accomplished. This simple approach can be applied to our entire day, or just our work day. Here’s how it works:

Open your day by simply creating a to-do list. I use a notebook and a pen. I’ve used a day planner in the past. And I’ve tried a computer based note taking  program – like Microsoft’s OneNote –  but for me, a piece of paper at arm’s reach is easier to reference repeatedly during the day. And isn’t there something satisfying about putting a line through an item to signify that it’s been taken care of?

I open my day by reviewing my current ‘to do list’ before I try to do anything else, including checking e-mail. Now that I have fresh eyes (and coffee) I may want to re-prioritize my list. I can get easily overwhelmed when I realize the amount of things that need my attention in a day. But the exercise of arranging them in priority removes some of that stress.

This page stays with me all day, so I can add to it as things pop up – and you know they will. By jotting it down I don’t have to commit another thing to memory. A productive day finds me both crossing items out, and adding items to my list.

Close your day by reviewing the page you opened your day with, and note what items were completed and which were not.  Then decide which of those tasks need to be carried into tomorrow. And from that information compile your to do list for the next day. It works best to give thought to the priority of each entry, rather than just adding random items. That's one of the greater benefits of intentionally opening and closing your day. Now you're better prepared to start tomorrow.

There are items on my list that will need done now (yesterday would have been better) such as sending a specific proposal to a specific editor. And there are tasks that do not absolutely need to be addressed today, but would still make for a productive work day if I did. Such as tackling that 100,000 word manuscript. You will always find tasks that you did not complete or resolve, and that’s ok. Things will always present themselves at the end of the day and there may not be time to deal with them. Use that information when you close your day to make you productive when starting again tomorrow.

The practice of opening and closing your day becomes circular and perpetual. Each day you can start exactly where you left off the previous day. At the end of closing my day on Friday I find it comforting to know that I already have a plan for Monday morning. This jump starts my Monday morning and keeps me on track for the rest of the week.

I’ve found three great benefits from the open and close exercise:

1.      I don’t have to rely on my memory alone to keep track of details.

2.      I can see the progress I’ve made during the day.

3.      I start the next day with a plan already in place.

This practice is a very simple way to manage the details of both life and work, and it takes just a few minutes each day. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Hitting the Pause Button by Jim Hart

Many of us find it difficult to take a break from our work, even sometimes for lunch, let alone taking the afternoon, or (gasp) a day off. We are so driven to complete the task at hand that we often neglect to take a well-needed break. I find I'm often more of a 'Martha' than a 'Mary' (Luke 10:38-42).

We can easily forget that God Himself created rest and then modeled it for us by resting after He creating the universe.

  

A tired mind is often not a creative or imaginative mind. As writers and creative types, all that we do is fueled by our imagination. Many studies show we remain the most productive when we take time to recharge.

When we rest, and more to the point, when we rest in the Lord, there is something deeper at work. There is a soul rest that cannot be found anywhere else, but in the Lord. When we pause we gain clarity, focus, strength and renewed passion for our work and our lives. There’s a great spiritual and mental benefit in being intentional about allowing our attention to shift away from our work for a period of time. We find stress diminishing. For Christ followers, the point of rest is ultimately to grow closer to the Lord.

Exodus 33 and 34 are among my favorite portions of Scripture. In these passages The Lord reveals Himself to Moses in a special and powerful way. In Exodus 33:14 we read “The Lord replied, My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” To me that suggests that there is no greater rest, than in the Presence of the Lord.

Here are just a few things that help us in the activity of resting:

·         Take a walk in the park. Or the woods. I’ve been reading how nature can have a calming effect on us. As Christians we marvel at what God has created. This is a form of worship that brings us closer to the Creator while refreshing our spirit.

·         Meditate on Scripture. God’s Word has the ability to calm us, to give us hope, to inspire us, to discover more of God’s character. A number of years ago I took a long stroll the book of Psalms. I would read, meditate, and re-read the same passages for a day or two. Sometimes a whole chapter, other times just a handful of verses. My intention was to just take my time and linger.

·         Make a cup of tea. Even the simple act of brewing a cup of tea can cause us to slow down.

·         Enjoy some music. Personally I’ve found Phil Keaggy more restful than Demon Hunter. Worship music (of all genres) is a big part of my life. A steady diet of God focused music helps to keeps my attitude positive throughout the day. But often I also find that jazz from 1959 helps me to disconnect from the world and put a smile on my face.

·         Journal.  Just don’t let a journaling session lead to returning to complete that unfinished chapter in your current WIP.

·         Go to a museum. Or the zoo, or a botanical garden. Sometimes a radical change of scenery is just what we need to help us slow down.

·         Stetch. The simple act of stretching has many benefits. You can stretch sitting in your chair, or standing up. Google it!

·         Take a deep breath. This is also a great stress reliever and rushes fresh cool air to your brain to help wake you up and focus.

I Kings 19 relates the fascinating story of Elijah standing on a mountain before the Lord. There was hurricane-force wind, fire and an earthquake, yet according to Scripture God was not in any of those. He came to Elijah as a still small voice. Elijah responded to God’s voice by pouring out his heart to the Lord. And the Lord was faithful to respond and point him in the way that he should go.

How many of us need to hear that still small voice today?

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:9-11)

So let’s make time to unplug, step back and relax! If rest is not in your routine, make it part of your day and week. There are triggers that can be part of our daily or weekly routine that can remind our body that it’s time for a rest.

How do you find time to rest, and what does that rest look like? A 15 minute coffee break? A day off? A full vacation?

Here are a few Bible verses for more study and reflection:

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”  (Isaiah 30:15)

For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish. (Jeremiah 31:25)

Psalm 62:1 Truly my soul finds rest in God, my salvation comes from him. (Psalm 62:1)