Chapters from the book "Laughter!" by Richard Bimler and his son Robert Bimler

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Laughter!

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Holy Hilarity

Let there be Laughter in the Scriptures - TA-DA!

What a wonderful testament to our faith in the Lord.

God calls each of us to be a light, a hope, a promise of His presence in our lives. We share our lives, our dreams, and ourselves with those around us. And as we walk and talk our faith, we bring a celebrative lifestyle to others because we know what life in Christ Jesus is all about. What’s more, we know how it will turn out. Christ is alive!  He has risen for each of us. In taking away the fear of dying, Christ has also taken away the fear of living!

We can and do laugh and celebrate because Christ has already done everything for us to assure us of life eternal – and life in Him every day.  Now that really is something to celebrate!

This book is a father and son effort.  More accurately, it could be called a father, son, with lots of help from the Holy Spirit effort!

Rich, the father, and Bob, the son, have shared joys, tears, struggles, and laughter and have attempted to help each other focus on the fact that we are called to “let there be laughter” in all that we do.  In the following pages we hope to share some of our laughter with you.  And as we share our hopes and joys and struggles and stories with you, we hope and pray that this will entice you to do the same with those around you.

This is not a joke book nor is it a book that encourages you to “whistle a happy tune” and “don’t worry – be happy.”

Instead it is a resource that seriously encourages you to focus first of all on the fact that God loves us in Christ Jesus and forgives and frees us to be His celebrating people in our daily lives.  It is a book that exclaims loudly and boldly and hopefully humorously the fact that we need the Lord Jesus in our daily lives to celebrate life as holy and as a gift from God.

May these pages bring many joy-filled thoughts and feelings to you and encourage you to tell and live your stories of Good Friday and Easter!

May the power of the Spirit tickle you each day!

Let there be laughter – in Christ Jesus!

HOLY HILARITY

Laughter is an example of “holy hilarity.”

For us Webster-lovers, we know that “holy” means “to be set apart for a special purpose.”  Mr. Webster, whose wife, during conversations, could not get even a word in edgewise, defines “hilarity” as “boisterous merriment”!

      Holy hilarity, then, is affirmation of the fact that God gives us a life to live – and live to the fullest (John 10:10).  He wants us to see our life as “set apart” from the standards of the world so we can celebrate the joy of the Easter resurrection with those around us.

      I remember many years ago at Trinity, in Mission, Kansas, when we celebrated Easter by putting balloons throughout the church.  For many, it was a positive visible sign of the resurrection and joy in the Lord.  For some, it came off as too secular and worldly.  But for the authors, it pointed our the fact that there really are balloons of joy and resurrection in out lives each day as the Spirit gives us power and hope.  We just don’t see them!  Many times the problem is that we are so involved in the struggles of our Good Fridays that we fail to notice those Easter balloons flying all around us.

      Holy hilarity is about seeing those balloons soaring and bringing the power of the Spirit to us each and every day.  It’s about celebrating our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  It’s about realizing that people of God live on “this side of the resurrection.”  It’s about dealing with the hurts of our Good Fridays because we know in faith about the hoorays of our Easters, in Christ Jesus.

      So enjoy, laugh, reflect, share, and especially celebrate the “holy hilarity” that the Lord gives to us as a gift each day.  Celebrate and affirm the fact that we are indeed set apart to live life to the fullest, as we laugh with the Lord because of what he has done for us!

     LET THERE BE LAUGHTER IN THE SCRIPTURES – TA DA! 

There are more than 800 passages in the Bible that deal with “joy.”  God must be serious about celebrating life! 

      There is a story of a little boy who came home from Sunday school on Easter Sunday very excited about what he had learned.  He raced into the kitchen and shouted, “Wow, I learned what Jesus said when he burst out of the tomb on Easter morning!”  His mom and dad were excited too, and they asked him, “Well, what did He say on that first Easter morning?”  And the little boy ran up to them, threw his hands up in the air, and said “TA-DA!” 

      Now that was probably a loose translation, but the little boy certainly captured the essence of joy and celebration in the Lord.

      And we, too, live TA-DA! lives because of that first Easter morning.   

         Have a TA-DA!  day in the Lord!

SHARE YOUR LAUGHTER.  Have there been instances in your life when a sense of humor defused tension in quarrel with your spouse, boss or friend? Has humor played a role in making a business or church meeting more productive? Have you ever raised the spirits of someone who is ill or depressed by making them laugh?  Email your story to us. We'll publish the best examples on this website and share your laughter with a world that sorely needs it.

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