Is It Okay To Laugh When Life Is Tough? (MINISODE)

Heavy headlines. Quick offense. Thin patience. This is our world today! 

I reflect on a joyful conversation with Pastor Michael Dennis—a local pastor whose humor invites us to breathe, connect, and remember that joy can be a holy experience, not as escapism, but as a grounded practice that softens hearts and strengthens community.

Chapters

• 0:00 A Needed Lighthearted Break
• 0:21 Stress, Culture, and Rising Tension
• 1:52 Humor, Faith, and Christian Joy
• 3:35 Check Out Michael Dennis’s Comedy
• 4:10 Choose Joy and Go Have Fun

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hey friends, welcome back to another mini sode. What did you think of this week's episode with Pastor Michael Dennis? I don't know about you, but I needed a lighthearted episode. And this was perfect. It was just the right amount of funny, but also inspiring. To think that your local pastor could just get up on stage and make people laugh is probably something you never thought you'd have on your bingo card. It's been really stressful lately, not just as a mom and someone who's got a podcast who's also learning a second language, and also trying to start up a new thing, which at some point I will tell you all about. I'm just not ready to do it yet because I'm still ironing out the kinks of it. But I am pretty busy. But that's not what I'm talking about when I say it's been stressful. I'm more talking about the climate of our country right now, if you're in America. And if you're in listening in other countries, hi, I'm glad you're here and you're listening. I'm sure you've got some tension in your country as well for other issues. There's so much hate going on lately. It's really sad. And I know it's hurting God. I mean, if it's hurting us, clearly it's going to be hurting God. And I'm just tired of all the hate. We've lost our sense of humor. We've lost our ability to just enjoy each other's company, to put our differences aside and just be there for each other. And I'm guilty of this too. So don't think I'm just calling you, you all out who are listening. I am guilty of this too. We need, as Christians, to be working on this, to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to be there for those who need a shoulder to cry on, who may be having a bad day, and they could just use a pick-me-up, a laugh, a chuckle. Laughter is such a great medicine. It is helpful for the soul, and we should, as Christians, be able to be lighthearted enough to help people with that too. We shouldn't be so stuffy. There's people out there who say Christians don't know how to have fun. And maybe that's true of some of us, but I know how to have fun. But my version of fun might not be someone else's version of fun. And that's okay as long as their version of fun does not go against what the scripture says is right. But we all need to learn how to get along. It reminds me of Steve Urkel from Family Matters, if you're as old as me to know what that is. Can't we all just get along? But it's true, it's true. We don't have to condone things, but we can get along. We can agree to disagree. We can be kind and respectful to each other. We don't have to hate, we don't have to cancel, we don't have to be rude. And there is so much rudeness going on, so much quick offense. It's just frustrating. And that's why I was glad that this episode was very lighthearted. It's as if God knew that we could use a little bit of a mental break from all the evil and hate. Michael Dennis is a fun guy. I loved how he just was funny without really being funny. And that's a skill for sure. To any of if you haven't listened to any of his stuff yet, go on Instagram, Michael DennisComedy, and check it out. Have a laugh. Just take a break from all the negativity, the things that you listen to in the news, your podcasts, the things that are keeping you up at night worried. Just take a break and enjoy life. God gave us this life. And as it says in Ecclesiastes, there's a time to be sad and there's a time to be happy. It's okay to be happy. It's okay to have fun. Even when things seem dark and things are sad and maybe you're hurting, it is still okay to have some fun, to do something that lifts your spirits. So, yeah, that's all I have for you today. Find something that makes you happy, that is God honoring, and do it. And just be happy today. Don't worry about the troubles of tomorrow, for today's troubles are enough for today. And just enjoy yourself. Do something to laugh. God created laughter. I think we're not honoring him if we just push it aside and we don't use it. A good belly laugh is fun for the soul, and I am sure that it makes God happy too. So do something fun today. This is the easiest challenge I could give you. Go do something fun today that makes you happy and laugh. All right, everyone. God bless. Talk to you later.