God's Humor

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I do know I open up the show every week with that comment. But I'm incredibly glad you're with us this week. I enjoy having you guys out there would love to hear from you. You can reach out to the ministry@masculinejourney.org or.org as some people would say you could reach out to us there and if you have any topic suggestions any great movies you seen any questions you might have the follow-up on something just let us know we'd love to hear from you and again it's masking journey that RG Jim you have a topic for us this week. That's like two out of three weeks. Well that I keep opening my mouth and you guys seem to like it might think you're getting less and less picky so we really need to go back to that call and if you have any show I we had such a good time last week with forget what it was. Helen Pinkerton as abstract. There was never some some good chum last time, but we had a blast doing it.

It was funny inside just throughout their God sense of humor and it took squirrel was a squirrel that you couldn't hear because while squirrels don't talk but this guy is the smallest one in the so old, so don't scroll is easy to catch. We live a terrible type that it was over. Talk about God's humor so you're stating the God as a humor sideman asked them in researching this topic in great depth for 15 or 20 minutes on Monday. I ran across the fact that there is nothing in the Bible about Jesus laughing and so much of what he said really was to me.

Funny.

If you if you put a smile on his face. The Bible reads totally differently recognize that many years ago, but Hollywood is that is that this service in making God and God is serious, but he also created so much, including us, that is funny that wherefore in his image.

He has to have the divine and as I like to say that infinite sense of humor and that has been quite often how he spoken to me in my life. As for me as well. An agreement get to some that I go ahead and play a clip from one of those Hollywood movies that portray God in a humorous life, though this is from Bruce Almighty, and in this exchange versus been given God's powers is heading for a sum total of about a week. I think it says in the clip and that there overlooking a very beautiful view and Bruce's not really sure where they are and we kind of pick up the clip with him asking about where they are is I guess you Now aimed at in all voices like I can understand the listening. See also little over a week. A few things I okay the others in the world will start so that you need me to comment before the show started, this is your favorite God character is portrayed in the before him. It was George, but that's been a long time past, but you really had that he has a sense of humor and yet he's always working towards straightening Bruce and then Evan out later really appreciated that the showing of it. I also like the shack got quite a bit but were not go say she she was my favorite mess with people there were still some humor in that as well and it that's why God's chosen to to work with me a lot of the time is with humor names. I think it's probably what I really like Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty. So much was just you get to see the playfulness of God in I am in you touched on you if were made in his image in. We also should have some playfulness. We should also have a sense of humor. You know like I got dozen in and I think that it's fun just to kinda think about that but want to go ahead and get to another short clip because I want to talk about what this humor actually do for us physically in the body and this comes from from patch Adams and what this is is patches sitting on a bed that he's having the fee come up in the had come up in the feet come up and had come up in his boss for lack of better term, walks in and says what are you doing right is not supposed to be visiting patients, but is there trying to lift their spirits and I want you to listen to what he says about what humor physically does to the body you want to tell me doing if you max and American General medicines from the laughter increases increase to catecholamines and endorphins which in turn increases oxidation of the blood relaxes the arteries speaks at the heart decreases blood pressure, which is a positive effect on cardiovascular and respiratory ailments as well as overall increasing immune system response laughter does your body good, literally right you know that we talk about what we really enjoyed being together on Tuesday nights.

We do share were what were going through. We share some of her struggles and assures him that but mostly a lot of well-wishers us (and Jim, absolutely it is a minutes enjoy being here for me godly perspective and a earthly what it's a lot of fun and it is that's filled with God's joy. Would you like to kick us off on the story of God's humor with you. I love I'll start with the ancient ones and their quick my wife and I decided we were to have two children one boy one girl and got laughed and they did give us the girl and she was wonderful and my wife was pregnant again two weeks. Well, it was actually on were very close to the anniversary of that on Valentine's Day. There was a problem with the pregnancy and this was many years ago so there wasn't a real common ultrasound everybody to get what you got one that there is a problem and going to the hospital and had her ultrasound and came out crying and sitting in my police car waiting for us at all know something terrible is wrong and she came out and got McCartin to have twins so we had twin boys so God gave us what we wanted to have good slob. I always found that quite humorous and the other thing was I literally swore to God when I was 16 years old. I never step foot in another Southern Baptist Church because I was mad at the hellfire and brimstone, and some 3040 years later, he had me not only a Baptist Church Baptist seminary that was God and that was to me quite funny to God's humor tends to look like me eating my words. That happens a lot more frequently it it's really change how I phrase things. I don't use words like never that I try to avoid those because I learned those ones end up usually having to eat. Amen brother yeah that one for me and assured in the air in the past. I remember going through a time when I was really just down on myself. I was struggling to systems in nature and not liking whereas handling some things in and so you know I'm sitting in my car. It's at lunch and meeting my lunch and kinda praying, kinda not praying and answering God, you know, I just I'm sorry you know I just tend always just blow it and I end up where I don't want to be right and I know it I need to build avoid getting here.

Those types of things in I just hear them say the word grace and it's got II don't deserve grace. I mean I'm I knew this long dialogue I knew were this road would and I knew that I would end up here a minute obviously made choices that I should know made it to get here right I don't deserve grace and in the announcement that I pleaded my case pretty well.

And then there was a long pause is like and not how it works and I literally just started laughing like yeah I get it there. Grace is by definition I don't deserve it right but it allowed me to just take the pressure off myself and then turn him it's okay. What we need to do to fix it because I don't feel like this again. I don't want to be here again. How do we fix this in turn back into him. It is that that that self-righteous behavior is not deserving grace are taking Grace was keeping me away from the one thing was God help me get healing right and it sounded like boy deftly the right religious thing to do is just no hold knew no white knuckle it not give myself any grace, but like no that's not what it is here and again for me that's just the whole humor that that really makes me let down my guard and in and it pulls me closer to him and again as we talked about Morgan Freeman character as he plays God.

He's very good at that.

Making the subtle points that make you laugh, but also get the point needs to be meaningful because I keep wanting to shove this over Robby usually is not quiet. This is when it's working it's a test to see how long you can go without speaking give you one of the story get a minute going to break and it reminded me Jim of having kids right Heidi Knight had our oldest son Caleb in it and then you know five years and some change and we're going to have another one in and so well I tell you what you finish that story back because I myself enough time in case. Literally holding up thing. Tell me 30 seconds left Tabasco journey.org. We hope to have a boot camp announcement coming up in the next week or so just wait to confirm some things that were planning on late April or early May so kind to keep that on your calendar calendar masking journey.org sales.

If it feels like everything is fine. We can listen to the masking journey and find out why we use clips like to illustrate the story, God is telling in the lives of truth is God designed you which flights do we pay will grab your gear and come in every Saturday I this assumes masking journey. I'm here with my son. We talk about ways to help his ministry smiled at him and smiled@amazon.com's information on website there on how to do that to Facebook.com and click the donate button you can get a masculine.org and find masculine.org mail PO Box 552 728 gave me a hard time about my books, I would make a list of open one of the goggles balls that reflect the light we were ranting to nobody.

I got off that would be called gospel now yeah okay BVU winds and premise of the name that the gospel that's only maybe, but I actually enjoy that's on right next time we do showing God's humor. You can find a laughter that I did like the way it did save the company do when I wanted to play a few moments longer. It's is left is like medicine night we heard that from patch Adams clip a minute ago but let it heal your broken heart rate and I think there's some things that you can't heal it to the point makes feel a lot better when you can just laugh through some things in. I think a lot of times we get some stressful points in our life. We either go in one direction or the other and when we can learn to laugh at them seems to go a lot better times in your life have you said I had to laugh or cry. Yeah me that for me is very common how get to the point of breaking.

And then just laugh about it because God's got it, so upset as mine gets more stressful.

I tend to get more cynical, not really the word that humorous about it. Just because I don't really know what else to do with it. I realize you're not Paul Harvey. But I'm waiting on the wrist story. Only I did have a story to yeah okay so before the break was about where talk talking about my wife and I was married we were going to. We had a son and then there'd been a period of time. We hadn't had any more kids. This is her with Artie had three at that point and sides puts pressure and select return in 40 right if we can have another one. We need to have another one right because I don't want to be. My dad was 49 when I came along I don't want to be that dad right you know that your clock was ticking. My clock was ticking and also you guys have a clock in on some of them don't you know that I definitely had a clock ticking because I grew up with an older dad. I didn't want to write my son's group with an older dad and Seth said okay were going to go ahead and start trying to have a baby like well, we definitely want to avoid Caleb's birthday. That was our whole goal and avoid Caleb's birthday with you to get it. You know a couple months away from his birthday, just so we don't have to take to go there and not so you know we started doing what you have to do this lecture your kids to grow was that involved okay just checking. Okay, I think you have probably enunciated something so anyway, long story short we tried everything to avoid it and then all of a sudden Heidi kept his journal of you know, everything happened with Caleb's birthday and she's looking longer and so it was coming up on the date when she found out she was pregnant and so she did the test on the day that she found out before and said she was pregnant when I got a coincidence, it could been really criminally Going all the way along. Long story short we get towards the end of the. The that the. Where she's carrying the baby and it's time for the birth come up here pretty soon and sorting and everything to get the baby.

Come early work eating spicy food around on swing sets even tinier centrifugal force. Anything we can get the baby, right medically. Other than breaking the water. Anything to get the baby to come by, so literally the day before Kayla's birthday on my click do not do anything today. Kayla's birthday is tomorrow we could just rest.

I don't don't get off the couch. I don't care what you do right. She goes into labor on Caleb's birthday and the boys now share the boys love it now, but it was just like as much is retracted to see God laughing on you really think that you can control anything in this whole exchange you.

You did very little of the whole process.

It elevated and now you think you can control when the baby comes in and so that was a long story. Not much of a payoff.

But that was Mr. we got there were a beacon talking okay alright so my clip it is II just think that what God what you Artie talked about is you know he just laughs when we think we know. And as we get to be adults and we really begin to think that we know what we're doing and where often taught by children and so if you've ever seen the movie Pollyanna. Actually, this young girl teaches the whole town and this is actually the turning point of the movie is when she is going to instruct the pastor hear the minister of the town on know and if you seen the previous part movie. He is one of those hellfire and brimstone pastors to the max and he's been upset and everybody in town and so she just has his casual conversation with him totally changes every surveillance being allowed to ask a thing like that and what did he say sounds familiar. I suppose every minister of God faces the same problem coming did your father ever solve the problem in the Bible. May I when you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find you surely will Abraham Lincoln and yes I know that I never heard that before the text on no I didn't you think how much did God enjoy you know that moment of this pastor think she's can straighten out the whole city you know gives us opportunity begets school by this little girl so talk about being schooled by little girl my older daughter. We took fishing in Colorado years ago and she one day, you know, after her daughter was born my granddaughter Lila. She said you know daddy what would mean more to me than anything else in this world. Was it if you would take my daughter fishing know you took me fishing in Colorado with your dad. The neat things. My dad was alive and once when I was about eight years old. We decided it was time. So I began the process of teaching Lila how to fish don't recall when I taught her this particular lesson, but at some point. Apparently I did.

So we finally get to go to Colorado and my daughter went with us and she hadn't fished in years and years and years. And Lila, you know, was somewhat learned that she was so impatient little kids might be in so they were constantly getting snagged chats in Colorado more than a lake in North Carolina and so I was having to fix the rails and why would this is my granddaughter. She would just put the debate in water for like 20 seconds or maybe 10 seconds and I got when I got one she really back and forth, get snagged to get looped around the wheel real it was off, so something like that and it went on like this for a day and 1/2 and I'm starting to get aggravated you know me well know happens and so she was just probably 10 times she done it. I got when I got when I got one in an alert was so finally I got miffed and said Lila you have got to leave your bait in the water long enough to catch a fish and she says Poppa you have violated the first rule of fishing and all is racing through my mind, who taught how would she know the first rule of fishing Emily Perth, the first rule of the fishing and I was like why what's up first rule of fishing and she said, have fun, said oh I see I see in the course. You know I'd known that intellectually. But I don't think I've ever experienced in my heart like Lila taught it to me that day and so what happened, actually, as I said, Lila, why don't we pray Saddam pray to God gives me patience with you and that all have fun, and I'm a private you have patients fishing with the fish have enough time to get on the on the hook and meanwhile when we pray that you catch some fish. And so we stood there on the back of the waterfall right there is most picture seen at this beautiful, we prayed she put a bait back in the water writers casted a minimal bit. I looked out of Carmine my daughter test now has a snag and she's swinging a pole like you would whenever snagged on like a where we go I start walking down the pan thank I'm not gone five seconds I hear this I got when I got one turned around and Lila has a huge trout and she is and I'm seeing the ball bandage I got you little Dickens and I see the fish eat. She catches the next forecast. She catches the fish and mother started catching fish and it was just like the whole adventure completely turned around all you know.) You know God was just laughing it up. I mean I've laughed about it for years. Some of those lessons he taught me understand that if we pulled the room there's eight of us inherent in Keith in the other room. How many people actually seem Pollyanna.

I think that's that's over and over hundred three know that heard about. Typically, I feel like I've seen, I have seen it more than one okay and I really don't think I ever liked. It means a lot to do is allow us to what we just obviously just touched on this topic to talk more about it in the after-hours program.

So if you if you don't how to get that good. Your favorite podcast location. Look at masculine radio. You can find a podcast there and you can go click on the after-hours talks about God's humor and you found in certain record that now to be available to you here about now is this actually recorded it so you can go get it right away.

Masculine journey.org and again we hope to have an upcoming Boot Camp announcement within the next week or so. So pay attention and check out the website talking next week.

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