Book Review: The One Year Devotional of Joy and Laughter

 

Tyndale House has published The One Year Devotional of Joy and Laughter.

It’s not just because I have two in this book.

January 13 and May 7.

Just in case you’re wondering.

But I love this book with 365 day brighteners.

By authors who see deep, yet light, and find joy and humor in the everyday.

Stories that encourage us to smile.

Anecdotes that lift our spirits in the midst of tough settings.

Writings that spill hope and courage.

And goodness knows we need some of that these days.

Mary Hollingsworth has pulled together a collection of devotionals that include scriptures and prayers to help us see and celebrate God marvels in the mundane. She writes:

Perhaps you’re wondering how a spiritual devotional can be funny and serious at the same time. That’s a good question. Marshall Keeble, a great old African-American preacher I knew once said, “If you want people to understand something serious, first you’ve got to get them laughing. Once they’re laughing, then you can slap the plaster on, and it will stick every time.”

These are stories told by well-known (Chuck Swindoll) and lesser-known (me) contemporary writers, and some are “retold from public facts or history,” like the story about Mark Twain. Some “have traveled a considerable path before making their way to this book.”

This made me smile:

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have “ever-laughing” life.~A five-year-old’s version of John 3:16.

And since laughter is proven good for us, I guess ever-laughing can lead to a long life in this life and in the everlasting.

This book would make a great Christmas gift.

I’ve bought several copies, and I might have even if my name wasn’t in it.

That’s on January 13 and May 7.

In case you’re wondering.

A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. ~Proverbs 17:22