Today’s sermon borrows heavily from the book, “She Who Laughs Last.” It was recommended by my wife several years ago when I was preparing my very first Mother’s Day sermon. Laughter is a great thing. This sermon lifted my spirits even as I prepared it. I hope that it brings you some encouragement.

By now, most of you have heard every possible Mother’s Day sermon you can imagine. To preach an original Mother’s Day sermon is a challenge, because not only do you want to preach a message that is timely for mothers, but also for the rest of the congregation. I wonder what all of us could use this morning. This morning there are probably more preachers preaching from Proverbs 31 than you can count. We do want to take a look at it, but we are going to look at other passages as well.

Proverbs 31:10-31
10Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?She is more precious than rubies.11 Her husband can trust her,and she will greatly enrich his life.12 She brings him good, not harm,all the days of her life.
13 She finds wool and flaxand busily spins it.14 She is like a merchant’s ship,bringing her food from afar.15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her householdand plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;with her earnings she plants a vineyard.17 She is energetic and strong,a hard worker.18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;her lamp burns late into the night.
19 Her hands are busy spinning thread,her fingers twisting fiber.20 She extends a helping hand to the poorand opens her arms to the needy.21 She has no fear of winter for her household,for everyone has warm[b] clothes.
22 She makes her own bedspreads.She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.23 Her husband is well known at the city gates,where he sits with the other civic leaders.24 She makes belted linen garmentsand sashes to sell to the merchants.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,and she laughs without fear of the future.26 When she speaks, her words are wise,and she gives instructions with kindness.27 She carefully watches everything in her householdand suffers nothing from laziness.
28 Her children stand and bless her.Her husband praises her:29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,but you surpass them all!”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.31 Reward her for all she has done.Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Wow! Just reading this scripture makes me tired. Is guess the Proverbs 31 woman was the original “supermom.” She bakes and cooks and takes care of the house, sews the clothes, takes care of her husband, is energetic, strong, has compassion for the hungry, her husband is a pillar in the community, she knows when to speak and when to be silent, her children and her husband adore her! This is one serious woman! When we read this, it is easy to fill guilty for all the things that we don’t do. That’s not my purpose in reading it. I do want to pull out one verse which is the key to today’s message. Look at verse 25: 25 She is clothed with strength and dignityand she laughs without fear of the future. The point being is that she laughs – and there is no fear of the future. Only a person with joy can do that. A person with joy, laughs and you can smile at the things to come.

Now, I know what you are thinking, that’s a real biblical message. It really is. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” Think about it, which one are you like? Are you a cheerful heart or a broken spirit? Both are contagious. Which one will you spread? What does a cheerful heart spread? A cheerful heart spreads joy.

Did you know that joy is mentioned over 200 times in the scriptures? The psalmist writes in Psalm 98:4, “Shout to the Lord, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy!” It’s very possible that the Israelites were shouting to the Lord that some began to laugh or had cheerful hearts or even had joy. They were going to declare “Hooray for God!”

So how do we apply this to our lives? How do we have joy? How can we spread it to those around us?

First of all we know that we can have joy in our earthly relationships. I know this is world is a place of relationships and they are not always filled with joy, especially between parent and children. Ephesians 6:4 tells us, “4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”

Parents we are instructed to bring them up in discipline and instruction that comes from God. This is one of the commitments that parents make when they bring their child to be dedicated or baptized. Yes, raising children can be difficult, but as one song writer says, “This pill will go down easier, if we will just lighten up.” Not always easy to remember, but good advice. With this in mind I want to share few short quotes from mouths of children. These are from the book, “She Who Laughs Last.”

My five year old ran into some difficulty while trying to put on his full-body pajamas. “Jesus,” I overheard him say, “will you help me get these pajama legs on?” A few silent seconds later he repeated more loudly, “Jesus, I said will you help me get these pajama legs on?”
After another brief silence, he said, “That’s it! I’m telling your father!”
***
Kelsey, my niece’s five-year-old daughter, listened attentively to her Sunday School teacher read the story of the Good Samaritan.
“They stripped him of his clothes, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.” The teacher then continued with the rest of the story.
When Kelsey got home, she needed to clear up one thing. “Mamma, which half of the man was dead -the top half or the bot­tom half?” – Donna Garrett
***
My wife, Kelly, overheard our five-year-old daughter, Jordan, talking in a corner.
“Who are you talking to?” she asked.
“Myself,” Jordan replied. “Mommy, can God hear us when we whisper to ourselves?”
“Of course,” my wife said. “God hears everything.”
“Oh boy,” Jordan sighed. “I’m in trouble.”
– Michael Amedick
***
The other night at the supper table my husband and I were talking about a personal matter. We began spelling some words so that our two-year-old son would not hear.
He had recently begun learning about the alphabet and appar­ently he did not appreciate being left out of the conversation. He turned to us and nonchalantly asked, “Have either of you seen my L-M-N-O-P?”
– Beth Strong
***
My husband and I had done our best to prepare our three-year­ old son, Andy, for the arrival of his new sibling. We anxiously watched his reaction that first afternoon at the hospital when he met his little sister.
To our delight, he showed some brotherly interest. Then he turned to me and announced, “Okay, Mommy, put that baby back in your tummy and let’s go home.”
-Susan VanAllsburg

Children really are a gift from the Lord.

The scriptures also speak of the relationship between a child and their parents. One of the ten commandments goes this way. Exodus 20:12, 12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Each one of us who is a child need to remember this commandment. It also offers us a promise that if we honor our father and mother, we will live a long and full life. I know that every child has times when mom or dad seem to get the best of them. Chonda Piece shares one such story.

It was a dark and stormy night. Okay, it really wasn’t stormy. In fact, the night was rather peaceful. The children were sound asleep, and the cat and the dog were curled up on the pillow in the garage. My husband, David, turned over on his side and told me goodnight. I lay on my back, ankles crossed, covers pulled up beneath my chin. Sigh.
I was passing over into dreamland, when I saw the flashing red clock on the nightstand by the bed. I opened my eyes wide. Big, red numbers were flashing twelve-twelve-twelve. Then I remembered the power had blinked off earlier in the day, which meant that every clock in the house had been knocked out. What time was it? I wondered.
I know, I thought, the Weather Channel always has the local time. So I flipped on the TV, but the only thing showing were maps of the country with big swirls, and Hs and Ls pasted all over the Midwest. My wristwatch was around somewhere, I thought, but it could be in about eight different places, and I didn’t want to start tearing the place apart.
Then I did what I always do when I need an answer-just any answer. I called Mom.
“Hello, Mom,” I whispered. “I was trying to set my clock, but I don’t know what time it is. Do you know?”
“Oh, honey, are you having trouble sleeping again?”
“No, I’m fine. I just need to know the exact time.”
“I’m not sure, honey.”
“Well, look at your clock,” I said.
“This one doesn’t glow in the dark,” she said. “I thought it did when I bought it. That’s the only reason I did buy it. I may take it back to Wal-Mart tomorrow. I sure need one that glows in the dark for times just like this. I’ll exchange it tomorrow.”
“When did you buy it?”
“Oh, two years ago, but I’ve been wanting to take it back for along time.”
“Sorry your clock doesn’t glow in the dark, Mom. But can you just turn on the light and tell me what time it is?”
“Oh, darling, Sammy’s sleeping so soundly. If I turn on the light, I know he’ll wake up. Can’t I just call you in the morning, after the sun comes up, and tell you?”
I didn’t want to disturb my stepfather, but I sure did want to know what time it was. “Well, what about that bird clock I bought you for your birthday? What does it say?”
“It’s in the kitchen, and besides, it doesn’t work at night.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t work at night?”
“I mean, it doesn’t chirp at night,” she explained. “That’s so you can sleep without the bird sounds waking you up. But the last bird I heard was an oriole.”
“And what time is it when the oriole chirps?”
“Eight o’clock.”
“Mom, that was a long time ago.”
“I know. We went to bed early.”
“Maybe you can go in the kitchen and see what it says.”
“The clock?”
“The clock.”
“Well…”
“What is it, Mom?”
“You see, I love the cardinal’s song.”
“Yes.”
“And the cardinal sings at nine o’clock.”
“Yes.”
“Well, I never seem to be home at nine in the morning because that’s when I get my hair fixed on Tuesdays; I have Bible study at that time on Wednesdays; I like to shop then on Thursdays; and on Fridays I like to come over to your place and drink coffee.”
“So?”
“So by nine at night, we’re usually in bed, and the clock stops chirping. That means I never hear the cardinal. That’s why I set my clock up four hours. Or was it back four hours? I’m not sure. Anyway, now I can hear the cardinal”
“So I’ll just add four hours or subtract. I’ll figure it out.”
“I may have messed up the minutes too. As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure I moved it four hours. I just kept turning it until the cardinal sang. I love to hear the cardinal sing-”
“Goodnight, Mom.”
“Goodnight, darling.”
I had just hung up, when the phone rang. “How would you like to have one of those clocks for Christmas?” Mom asked.
So Mom was making a dent in her Christmas list (in Febru­ary), but I still didn’t know what time it was. Now the Weather Channel was showing snowplows pushing through four-foot drifts and cars sliding on icy streets into the backs of other cars. Where was that little time code they always ran at the bottom of the screen?
I looked in three of the places I thought my watch could be, but it wasn’t in any of them; So I sat on the edge of the bed in the dark and listened to David breathing deeply (not snoring, but close). It was so dark, so lonely, so empty, so . . . timeless. So this is what the middle of the night feels like, I thought.
I couldn’t stand it. I grabbed the telephone and punched in seven numbers-just random numbers. The phone rang four times when someone snatched it up on the other end and growled out a rough, “Yeah?”
“Yes, I’m sorry to call so late-and I know it is so very late-but I’m taking a survey and-”
“Lady, do you have any idea what time it is?” he growled. “No, sir, I don’t.” I was as matter-of-fact as I could be. “Well. . . it’s. . . it’s.. . it’s the middle of the night!” Then he hung up on me. Just like that. He was no help at all.
My phone rang immediately, and I picked it up before it could wake David. “Yes?”
Mother whispered, “Honey, I just went into the kitchen to fix myself some water, turned on the lights, and the mockingbird sang me the prettiest song. I’m telling you, you’re going to love this for a Christmas present. And, by the way, it’s 12:23.”
“The mockingbird sings at 12:23?” I asked.
“Oh, no. It sings at 7:00. But the clock on my stove says 12:23.”
“Thank you, Mother. I appreciate that.”
“You’re welcome. If you want, I can call you in an hour and let you hear the yellow-breasted, tufted titmouse,” she added.
“That’s okay. Maybe the next time around.”
I went through the house and set all the clocks: the microwave, the oven, the telephone, the fax machine, and finally the clock by the bed. It was 1 :00 A.M. before I crawled under the covers. David offi­cially was snoring now, so I turned on the fan and that helped some.
It seemed like I had been asleep forever when my phone rang again. I answered it. (David just grunted.) “Hello?” I said.
“Honey,” Mom said, “I know you said you didn’t want to hear the tufted titmouse, but I don’t think you really want to miss this.” Then I heard lots of whistling and singing, like something you would hear on one of those New Age nature tapes. I could picture Mom in the kitchen, probably standing on a dining room chair and holding the phone up to her bird clock.
“Mom, do you have any idea what time it is?” I asked, once the singing stopped and I listened to what sounded like her climbing down from her chair. Just for effect, I made my voice as gruff as I could.
“Sure I do,” she answered. “It’s 12:23.”
“Twelve twenty-three?”
“That’s what my oven says.”
Then I realized that’s what her oven always says. But I wasn’t going to let this beat me. And I wasn’t going to be ugly like that mean man who had hung up on me. “Mom?” I said.
“Yes, honey?”
“What time is it on your microwave?”
“Well, let’s see. . . it says 7 :34.”
“And the clock on the VCR?”
“Umm . . . it says 6:08.”
I paused for a while before finally caving in. “Mother, does your bird clock have a chickadee song by any chance?”

Most of us can relate to having a conversation like that. It’s in time like that, that we need to laugh and see the humor in the situation.

We can have joy in our earthly relationship. And believe it or not, those relationships can cause pain and we can still have joy in the pain. Look at what the psalmist writes in Psalm 30:4-5 and 126:5.

Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.

Jeremiah writes: “The young women will dance for joy,and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration.I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.”

Barbara Johnson shares this story about joy in pain.

God gave us this capacity to be tickled way deep down inside. Giggles are as contagious as a viral disease. And y’know what? You don’t have to be happy to laugh. You become happy because you laugh.

One day when my boys were little I came home from shop­ping and heard all four of them in the kitchen shrieking with hilar­ity. They were flicking huge spoonfuls of gooey raspberry Jell-O with bananas against a white wall at the far end of the kitchen and watching it ooze down to the floor.
I walked in and asked nonchalantly, “Where’s my spoon?” Tim promptly grabbed a soup ladle and handed it to me. I loaded it with a glob of goo and fired off. It hit the wall with a giant splat. Hey, this was fun! I started to laugh, scooped up another load, and let it fly. My boys joined in, and soon the wall was a red drip­ping mess. We were laughing hysterically-yes, even two hours later as they finished scrubbing the wall and cleaning up the floor.

Today, I wonder if my two oldest boys are laughing in heaven. I think they must be cooking up all kinds of jokes and games around the throne of God. And as for the rest of us here on earth, I think about how the many hours of laughter we shared with Tim and Steve helped prepare us for their deaths. Laughter is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles. It won’t take the potholes out of the road, but it sure makes the ride smoother.

When the losses of life became unbearable for me, I coped and learned to move on by cultivating a sense of humor. Later, seeing everything in a humorous light became a way of life to dissolve dis­appointment. It works every time. One day, when I ran into a high school classmate, I realized she had aged so much she didn’t even recognize me! (See how humor turns everything around?)

There is nothing like a mouthful of laughter. Get some for your­self and everyone else you know.
Joy and laughter has a way of lifting our spirits like nothing else. Believe it or not we can even have joy in the church and our relationship with God. Paul writes in Romans 14:17-19

17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. 19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

I thank God for laughter and humor. I believe that God has a chuckle at our expense many times. Have you ever watched dogs at play? Sometimes they can be so humorous. I believe that’s what we look like to God at times – people rolling around playing in the grass. “And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

In my pastor’s opening remarks last Sunday, he said that every day is a new day: “We all make decisions from the moment we get up. We decide whether to have breakfast or not. We decide what shoes to wear. We decide whether to wear pants or a skirt – ­well, women can decide that anyway-because most men don’t wear skirts. . . at least those who belong to this church. . . I hope. I, uh, probably should continue with my sermon before I get in more trouble.”

The lesson topic was earthly possessions and how we put too much value on them. My husband was listing some of these possessions, such as money, fancy homes, recreational toys, and even living possessions such as pets. He said, “Yes, even our pets can sometimes have more value than they should. But what am I talk­ing about, when I sleep with a dog!” Suddenly there was a heavy silence. He thought to himself, I wonder if anyone thinks I was referring to my wife? He cautiously looked across the room and there were a couple of people holding in explosive laughs. He quickly said, “No, no, I don’t mean my wife. I mean JoJo, our dog!” Too late.

As an usher passing the collection plate one Sunday, I waited while a couple who had given their daughter a dime struggled to get her to let go of it. As they pried it from her fingers, she angrily yelled, “I don’t see why I have to pay anything, I didn’t want to come here anyway.”
See, even church can be humorous. Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit that should exude from God’s people. What are they again?

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
This morning we come from many point, each one of us carrying different burdens – maybe for your children, for our own life, for a difficult year. I want to encourage you this morning that God wants you to have joy. A godly joy that starts in your inner being and radiates outward and then is spread to those around you. Our culture needs people that can laugh with no fear of the future. We need to remember that “Our Redeemer Lives.”