A church should be a place where you can have fun.
Seriously!
A friend of mine attends a church where laughter is frowned upon. She told me of a time that her dad was singing so loud, and so off key that she and her mom just lost it laughing. Her grandmother bopped them on the ear and told them that it was disrespectful to God to laugh in church. I am glad that I don't attend that church.
Remember folks, when Jesus turned the water into wine; he used cisterns to do it. Lets not forget the time that he walked with some followers after he rose from the dead and let them tell him about Jesus. Jesus walked across the water and freaked out his disciples and told professional fishermen where to catch their fish.
I attend a church full of people that likes to have fun; which makes it an attractive church to people. I like to tell people about the fun things we do, and people's ears perk up. At our church laughter is not an uncommon sound as our ministers are just as likely to tell a funny story as a sad one.
I remember we had a special speaker a few years ago whose wife had just lost a baby. We took them over to an arcade to played video games. We played putt putt golf, rode the bumper cars and played a lot of Laser tag.
By the way, my team (which consisted of my friends wife, my youngest son and that preachers wife) won at laser tag! We'd send my youngest out ahead of us and when the other team would jump out to shoot him, we just stood back and picked them off. After words that minister's wife said that she had a lot of fun and really needed that. I remember watching her laugh and giggle as she shot those laser guns at her husband.
God knew that there would be times that we'd need a good laugh to cheer us up. How many times have you been in a bad mood and read a funny cartoon in the paper and laughed. Then you said to your self ''Man I needed that''
''She who laughs, lasts." At least that was Theresa of Avila's philosophy. Theresa, a Spanish nun who founded the reformed order of the Carmelites in 1562 used to look for novices who knew how to laugh, eat and sleep. She believed that if they ate heartily they were healthy, if they slept well they were more than likely free of serious sin, and if they laughed, they had the necessary disposition to survive a difficult life.
She knew that if God had not meant for us to laugh and enjoy a good time, he would not have given us this emotion.
