A frozen parrot

“A man buys a parrot but soon finds out all it does is whine and complain. He tries everything to make the parrot talk nicely, but nothing works. Frustrated, the man puts the parrot in the freezer.

“After a few minutes the whining and complaining stop. The man opens the freezer and asks “Okay, did you learn your lesson?”

“The shivering parrot stammers, “Y-Y-Yes, I’m s-s-sorry for c-c-complaining. Please f-f-forgive me.” Then, after a moment, the parrot softly asks, “C-C-Can I a-a-ask you a q-q-question? W-w-what exactly d-d-did the turkey do?””

If you are at least smiling, this (bad) joke has served its purpose.

Today I was tired and discouraged about something, but realized I needed to work on some blog posts. As I sifted through my ideas I came across this joke and thought that, if I needed a reminder to smile and laugh, maybe someone else does, too. So….a few scriptures to focus our thinking:

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 NIV)

Yes, there are hard things in life. But there are also times for laughter, dancing, and outright celebrating!

After all, “A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22 AMP)

God of Joy and Laughter,

Today we thank you that you have given us seasons in life and that there are times for laughter and rejoicing. Help us remember to smile and laugh even when we are in times of struggle. Help us to seek your joy for healing and good medicine for our hearts. Help us to weep and mourn when it is the time to grieve, but to laugh and dance when it is time to celebrate. Pour more of Holy Spirit into us so we can be filled to the full with the Fruits of the Spirit – especially your JOY!! We ask this in Jesus’s name, Amen.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV)