Laughter is Really the Best Medicine

Every Thanksgiving choice changes those around changes us to joy grows best in the soil. I wonder if you need a change in perspective today our guest Phil Calloway can help you with your hostess focus president Dr. Jim Daly and Anjan Fuller Phil Calloway is a Canadian humorist and author and I know you will be blessed by his presentation today. He hosted daily radio featuring podcast called laugh again that there is across North America, the United Kingdom and even in Africa. He's authored several books on finding joy in life, including his latest laugh like a kid again. I love that title. And even though Phil makes it a habit to be joyful. His life is not perfect as you're going to hear today. And with that, here's Phil Calloway speaking at the Parker church in Sherwood Park to Canada on today's episode of Focus on the Family laugh we got a face and laughter can be hard some of you know that all of us, to 1° or another, know that sadly Christians are not always the most joy filled people I know that some looking around some of them like prunes and thinking to myself I don't think I want to spend the sum of joy joy joy joy in my heart down in my heart filled with joy. I thought that joyful Christian was a moron like jumbo shrimp and airline food and Microsoft Works, but thank God I saw joy in my despite all through my mom could be a very funny down. I was a child I was so skinny I was swimming alike. One summer in a document eventually three times when my mom's sons.

That way you're harder to get to know she could be signing. Mom laughter was a windshield wiper. It didn't stop the rain but it allowed her to keep going to survive in abusive childhood abuse his childhood.

Five miscarriages. Her first son died in her arms. At nine months, my mom suffered from deep depression. As you might expect that in those days we didn't know about the words she was just that's all I knew. I got him to come cheer my mama I went down to the bedroom I make funny faces. I'd say funny things anything to coax a smile if I got it right. She would laugh. She would probably go to the kitchen and make me breakfast was my first paying that same year, a friend and I found a way of getting a stone into my neighbor's trunk was a good man.

He did not deserve. We have found this and that was in the middle of the road and just lying like that and we thought certainly still serve some purpose. So we found a way of getting it into a bag of our neighbors my neighbors know nobody locked anything in those days it was an easy thing relaxed on a Saturday morning from behind some shrubs is that man came out of his house with his wife and his two children, one of each. The family thing going. Life was going well for them. I think that he was my Sunday school teacher. Did I mention I don't think that he played the accordion and also carried a beeper which I always thought was optimistic for the court compared to think that someone might call him, but that's beside the point, why these two children in the car and about 60 feet. I reckon I'm thinking squeaking to a halt and there was conversation in the car. I think she was blaming him for the smile I don't know what was happening. The car open the trunk and we watched some teacher completely loses my wonderful thing to see happen is that lady company began using words. He had not taught us in Sunday school is taken me years to have perspective on this, but I started to realize that for every single one of us in this room. There comes a long time. When a skunk or trunk, my right time when something comes along that we definitely would not have chosen.

But what separates those who resign from those who rejoice in that bumper and curse from those who were able to find little choice. There wrapped years later.

What is I hope you want to know. Today I want to give you four secrets of the stump four secrets that are absolutely essential to living life with joy. Are you ready many of you are taking notes. Not a single one of four secrets that are absolutely essential to Saturday's success and significance in turbulent changing time for things that every kid knows every adult needs to be reminded of writing.

There we go. Point number one sat with me. The world is full of cacti, but we don't need to sit I write in a UK newspaper, a most fascinating story of a girl I brought a hamster to the vet. It had three days it would not meeting would not drink. It was just leaning up against the side of the cage to the vet. Turns out the vent open the cage and pull that hamster out it was walk around around on the table. Kind of wobbly. She stopped her and she really smiled and pulled out a French all this have to rip it out on leave for a few minutes on the kitchen floor and start up a fridge magnet and spent three days stock personality*I know I'm happy work. Thinking about and I thought you know that lately that's me. I swallowing the wrong thing. Where is your focus. Where is are you feeding on the wrong stuff. Bad news and gloom and doom, whatsoever things Scripture things are pure and lovely and of good report excellent praiseworthy are we thinking on those things. Maybe I like to go home and flip on the television you watch news for three news anchor bid you a good evening then spends the entire three hours telling you why it is that seems to about some things. What are you swallowing, where's your focus lately.

I gotta tell you I have been noticing all that's wrong. I started whining I know is we cancel more than 100 speaking events well past that many drink open when all started. Someone said to me right away, man. Stay safe thanks I get it, but what I want to do during this however long it lasts to stay thankful he said how I said by going looking for stuff I'm thankful for. Can we do this. Yeah. In April of that first year I said in my life. Thank you for my car. We just got 43 days to the gallon. I was able to go into a bank with a mask on and not get arrested.

Tell your grandchildren one day radical is the great secret to a contagious joy filled first Thessalonians says this, rejoice all pray continually give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Verse what a true radical gratitude is that you I where kids were small, my wife Ramona was tested for Huntington's disease. I don't know if you heard of it, it's fatal. It's genetic. It's hereditary for three of her siblings had enough time we found out on Valentine's Day.

After 10 months of waiting for the results of a simple blood test that she did not have.

It was the happiest day of my life. Before long, things took a turn for the worse. I was in my office one day and I was working on a marriage magazine article and I just written outline my visa card is missing, but the fee for spending less than my wife so we have that in the phone rang. It was not funny at all. It was Ramon on the line saying help.

I don't know what day it is. I don't know where I am the phone Wednesday I took off running for home. I found our three kids in the kitchen making their own breakfast and a stainless steel bowl and then looked up at me and Stephen are elbow said that his mama going to die.

I didn't know I knew all about Ramona.

She moved in next door to me back in 10th grade and I made it my life Bible verse to love my neighbor as myself.

She's the second best thing in life never happened. My relationship Christ became into our living room.

She was unconscious on the floor lying in a pool of blood large gash in her legs just had the first seizure of her life. The first of many, many, many come some of you are in a similar spot. You don't know the way. Three words changed me over time. Three simple words CO is a comedian but laughter vanished and bitterness took its place one Thanksgiving day. I was trying to think of stuff I was right before I could not think of one single thing with the thing. Things that were going on.

Ramona was down to 90 pounds people and recognize some of the people in our town having seizures every half an hour grand mall seizures. I finally got everybody in the bed and I was asleep to and suddenly there was little kid in our room. It was one of our children.

Thankfully Jeff tapping on the shoulder will be up to inform me that he could not sleep at night and be up and about the hours anyway so I don't go across the hall. I talked to me. I suggest I want you think of some things you're glad to looked up at me says that you stopped dead you start three words I thought of those verses that we just went over rejoice always pray continually give thanks in all circumstances, all circumstances, I thought, if the person who wrote that was in prison like he was. I can do this. I started on my thankfulness.

What are you thankful for this morning. I am thankful for someone to thank.

Above all, I think. I'm thankful for the darkness. The only time I can see the stars. I'm thankful that I get to make breakfast. Now Ramona sleeps in a little more often. So we find ourselves cake and ice cream for breakfast occasionally contain the four basic food groups, sugar, eggs, artificial flavoring and cholesterol.

Yes, I'm thankful for three wonderful children to surround us with laughter and energy and mischief in love and I think I'll go to sleep now. Like all of them. Don't get me wrong, I still wine. Sometimes I am most accomplished. I am line the other day about our butter asked Ramona Harper what it does to the bread say all know you're surprised you feel sorry for me. I went to the bathroom with my socks on the floor was wet and now my socks are wet my hand is too jumpy to shove into the Pringles chip container so I have to container my seedless watermelon last summer in Sacramento, California. I women of faith event a weekend event was oversold by 1500 seats, which is a wee bit of a problem if you're organizing something so they began to get volunteers to phone all of the women coming and apologized. Want to get everybody in moving smaller chairs sitting.

Some of you very close my former sorry about one hour into that weekend meeting people were upset the complaints began to arrive, so they asked the next speaker if she would bind just apologizing again, on behalf of the organizers and she said they would. That she will so you know this lady is her name is Johnny Erickson, Todd.

I been blessed to spend time with her on two occasions. What an amazing she was paralyzed for those of you who don't know diving accident Chesapeake Bay when she was 16 years of age. Her life forever changed but all over the world. She is known for her joy for her gratitude. Despite what is happened to her. She got up in front of these ladies, she was wheeled up there and she said yes I understand some of you are comfortable sitting in the seats you're sitting in tonight when neither my mind for more than 40 years, smiling her beautiful smile said I have thousands of friends would give anything to sit where you are sitting if just for many of those women said that was the pivotal moment in their lives when they changed from bitterness to gratitude what it can friends what you think or say. Every day lots that are default the Thanksgiving choice that changes those around him changes us to join grows best in the soil of thanks for listening to Phil Calloway on Focus on the Family and you can get Phil's book left like a kid again, and a CD of this entire presentation when you call 800 K and the word family 800-232-6459 or donate and request those@focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. Let's return now to Phil Calloway on Focus on the Family. The world is full of We Don't Sit on Second Point Is Don't Jump from the Train When You're in a Tunnel. Every Kid Knows This Right but Sometimes We Adults Seem to Forget This Means Different Things to Different People Here. I Know It Makes Me Think of My Marriage. A Recent Study Shows That You Can Live for Years Longer by Staying Married. I Mentioned That a Marriage of It and I Came up to Me He Would Look Pretty Pretty Sour for Years Longer. Things That I Disagree. I Think It Just Seems Longer or More Years of Misery Is How Long You Been Married 35 Years.

At That Time for Us. 35 in a Row As Possible.

How I Said Oh God's Grace God's Grace My Life. She She Loves Me despite Ridiculous Things I Have Done. She Knows the Worst about Me and Loves God's Grace, Repentance and Forgiveness Right Here in a Band, We Laugh Together We Just Do.

I Remember Trying to Go around the House Packing Jar for All Land and Left a Stifled Lab Will Back up on You and Spread to Europe Next Go, Let It Go. Don't Jump Makes Me Think of the Disunity I'm Seeing so Many Relationships, Families like My Prayer for You Is That You Would Love One Another As I Have Loved You Those the Words of Jesus. We Can Do This despite the Things We Disagree about. Let's Come Together over Him above All, We Are to Be Known by Our Love, Ramona Seizures Continued. She Was Not Doing Well. I Had a Man Say to Me You Called Himself a Christian. He Said Kellan Clarissa Some Advice, Put Her in a Home and Get on with Life. That Was What Comes from a Culture That Were in the Throwaway Culture It Was Broken. We Don't Fix It. We Began to Pray and Ramona, I Gotta Tell You Is Doing Unbelievably Well That's a Long Story in Itself. But Thanks Doctors in the Healing Power of Our Savior Jesus Christ Is Doing so Well, but I Look Back and Wonder What Would've Been like Had I Followed That Price. Contrast That Invite My Brother-In-Law Bill and Jim Brothers-In-Law.

They Were My Heroes in Life and It's Simple. Why These Guys Have Nursed Their Wives through Decades of Huntington's Disease When They Didn't Know Them.

They Were There. My Wife's Eldest Sister Was down She Well She Just Was Doing Very Early, but She Was Visiting a Doctor in Vancouver.

I Said Miriam Worst on 25 Years with Huntington's Your Attitude Is Amazing. He Said We Can Understand That You're Only Showing 50% of the Symptoms Associated with Huntington's We Think or Believe in a Higher Power Might've Helped Miriam Started to Laugh. She Said That Would Be God, She Said.Life Is Falling Apart up yet Not at the Core Right at the Core. I Know That I'm Loved by. I Promised Eternal Joys of Heaven. And I Have a Husband Who Loves Children Who Love Me to Beautiful Fridge Magnet. It Says, Lord, If You Can't Make Anything Make My Friends Look Know Something Nurses in the Care Center.

She Was in Told Us When Were Discouraged We Go and We Talked to Miriam She Was down to 40 Pounds and Women Were Showing up to See Her to Be Encouraged. How Is That How Is It Is the Joy of the Lord.

That Was so Evident in Her Life and the Hope of Heaven Were All Are? He Straightened up!'s She Was Going. I Don't Man Was on a Flight Were Turbulence Was Terrible, People Were Screaming, Praying, I've Been Twice on Flights like That Don't Want to Do It Again. Besides, This Man a Little Girl Was Their Feet Were Curled up underneath Her She Was Reading a Book amid All the Terrible Turbulence Scared yet, Worry and Fear Seem to Have No Place in Our Thoughts to This Plane Eventually Land Safely. The Pale Passenger Sitting There Stunned His Passengers Smiling over the Girl. He Said the Storm Was She Bowed Her Head but but You Seem Afraid.

How Come She Smiled and She Said My Dad's Pride Is Taken. Storms I Suspect One Has Entered Her Life Recently, Darkening the Horizon, Tossing You around. Do You Feel like Running My Friend What You Focus on This. We Have a Pilot Never Once Missed the Runway. He Sustains All Things As Hebrews 13 No Human Wisdom or Understanding or Plan Can Stand against the Lord Is Proverbs 21 Isaiah 4610 My Counsel Shall Stand, I Will Accomplish All My Purpose. Heaven's Throne Is Occupied and Always Well so Don't Jump Stay Committed to That Spouse That Pass Kids to Try for Crazy.

Your Faithfulness May Not Seem like a Big Deal Right Now, but Trust Me, Were All Leaving Footsteps Everywhere We Go. That's up to Us Whether Those Footsteps Will Be Worth Following God's Grace Is There for You. If You Have Fallen Away. If You Have Jumped Sketchy.

Is There Don't Jump from the Train When You're in the Tunnel Third Point Courage but Is Set Its Prayers. Fear Is Gone.

Rather, Viral Recently. I Think You Notice That Jesus Never Said, Be of Good Fear Be of Good Cheer, I Have Overcome. I Love Those Words from Jesus Shortly before He Was He Was Headed to the Cross When I Was a Kid, I Didn't Have Much Use for Prayer. I Don't Know about You, My Mother Taught Me How to Pray If I Should Die before I Wake I Pray the Lord My Soul Taken Thing. What I'm Part of the Arteries, Osteoporosis, and My Older Brother Threatened to Kill Me and My Prayers Took on New Urgency and so It Is in Life Right. Courage Is for You, Said His Prayers.

Finally, before I Sit down Live so the Preacher Won't Have To Live at Your Funeral.

Yeah Most Funerals Wonder about the Guy in the Unit of Love My Parents, My Mama Told Her Story. My Dad Was Part Scotch and Part Club Soda. Jesus Got a Hold of His Life and Changed Him and He Was Such a Man of Both of Their Funerals. People Told Me They Were People of Integrity. They Were the Real Deal for Best-Selling Authors Told Me That My Mother That They Never Would've Written One Paragraph without My Mother's Encouragement. They Were Those Kind of People They Didn't Leave Much behind Them When They Passed Away. We Have Looked Everywhere with so They Left behind in the Example of Two Godly People Just Love Jesus Love Their Kids Enough to Tell Them so Jason Stuff over Jason Things That Are Eternal and As a Result, I Am One Very Very Rich Boy Supporting I Turned 35 Years Ago My Son Stephen to Bed. You Know Companies That Only 35 He Said Well You Have To. So I Calmly Went across the Hallway and Remove Them from the Will Accent. I Think I Can't Believe How Fast Life Goes and I Thought I Better Find out What I Want on My Tombstone.

I Started Looking There Funny Ones out There. See I Told You I Was Sick Your Life. An Atheist, All Dressed up, No Place to Go into Florida Terrible One Put There by a Lady Whose Husband Was Known As a Womanizer. At Least I Know Where Your Sleep Tonight. I Hope I Will Speak of Any of Our Lives. I Know One of My Two Just Wanted to Say This, He Found God's Grace to Amaze to Keep to Himself. Each of Us to Live That Way for God's Glory. Stephen Was Five Headed past the Graveyard on a Sunday Afternoon He Pointed out the Window Hole in the Ground in a Pile of Dirt beside His Dad Look One Got out Those Words, the More I Hung on Because That's Our Reason for Hope. This Morning for Great Joy. That's Fine We Can Laugh like a Kid Again. One Got out.

Jesus Christ Is Risen, He Is the One That Gives Us Strength for Today Right the One God What I Give You a Blessing This Morning from Romans 1513 Says This May the God of Fill You with All Joy and Peace As Trusting so That You May, by the Power Think Her Guest Phil Callaway John, This Is Been so Refreshing and I Really Appreciate How Phil Share Scriptural Truths with Stories That Display His Unique Sense of Humor and I Gotta Tell You, That's a Great Combination. When You're Going through a Terrible Time and Let Me Recommend That You Follow up on This Broadcast by Getting a Copy of Phil's Latest Book Laugh like a Kid Again Live without Regret and Leave Footsteps Worth Following.

It's a Collection of Heartwarming Short Stories Rooted in God's Truth. That Will Really Encourage You to Get a Copy from Us Here at Focus On The Family, Where the Proceeds Go Right Back in the Ministry, Not in the Shareholders Pockets and We Can Send That out to You for a Donation of Any Amount Employee at This Broadcast Is Brought up Some Painful Issues for You. Please Give Us a Call Our Friendly Staff Would Be Honored to Listen to Your Concerns and Pray with You and If Your Situation Warrants It Will Have One of Our Caring Christian Counselors Give You a Call Back for a One Time Consultation, and That's a Free Service We Provide. Thanks to the Wonderful Donor Community yet. Just Give Us a Call If You Need to Talk or to Request a Copy of Laugh like a Kid Again. Our Number Is 800 the Letter a in the Ward Family 800-232-6459 or Follow the Link in the Show Notes and I Know Were Kind of Midway through Summer but If You're Going to Be in Colorado Springs at Any Point in Time Stop by and See Us a Great Welcome Center Stretch Her Legs Shot Her Bookstore and Enjoy Our Children's Play Area Soda Shop. It's a Pretty Cool Place Coming up Next Time Help for Busy Moms Who Want to Get Closer to God and by the Time I Had Turned Out Of Our Street. I Was Already Distracted and I Saw Someone Walking by with a Cute Tank Top and I Thought Maybe I Would like That to Happen. I Wonder Where You Can Buy Such a Tank Top and 20 Yeah, I Can Focus on Jesus by 22nd Half of Jim Daly and the Entire Team.

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I Was Desperate for a Shred of Hope. So I Called the Hope Restored Team at Focus On The Family They They Listen to Me and They Asked about What Was Happening in My Marriage. They Encouraged Me and My Wife to Attend One of Their Marriage Intensive's for Couples in Crisis and They Prayed with Us. They Help Me Believe That My Marriage Could Be Saved Agreed to Go but Was Skeptical That Anything Can Help Us but the Whole Environment Was so Safe and Nonjudgmental. I Felt My Heart Open up As We Went with the Counselors. Both of Us Still Have Work to Do in Her Marriage but for the First Time in a Long Time We Have Hope Again Focus On The Family's Hope Restored Marriage Intensive Program Has Helped Thousands of Couples Who Thought That Their Marriage Went over Find out Which Program Is Right for you@hoperestored.com