Ann Spangler - She Who Laughs, Lasts!: Laugh-Out-Loud Stories from Todays Best-Known Women of Faith

ZONDERVAN

She Who Laughs, Lasts!

Copyright 2000 by Ann Spangler

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ePub Edition June 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-86030-3

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

She who laughs, lasts! : laugh-out-loud stories from todays best-known women of faith / compiled by Ann Spangler.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-10: 0-310-22898-0

ISBN-13: 978-0-310-22898-1

1. ReligionHumor. 2. Conduct of lifeHumor. 3. WomenReligious

lifeHumor. I. Spangler, Ann.

PN6231.R4 S54 1999

818.540208dc21

99052293

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Interior design by Michelle Espinoza

S pecial thanks to Christine Anderson, whose wonderful sense of humor and carefully honed editorial skills were put to good use sniffing out stories for this book. Christine, you are a superb detective, especially when it comes to ferreting out tales that make us laugh! Thanks to Liz Curtis Higgs, who introduced me to the humor of her delightfully funny friends, Nancy Coey and Hope Mihalap. Thanks to my editors, Sandy Vander Zicht, whose sense of humor acted as a barometer for the stories in the book and whose many helpful suggestions strengthened it, and to Bob Hudson for his careful editing and his words of encouragement.

Thanks also to Steve Arterburn, Mary Graham, and Christie Barnes at Women of Faith for their work behind the scenes, helping hundreds of thousands of women learn to lighten up and enjoy their lives with God. Special thanks to Thelma Wells, Sheila Walsh, Luci Swindoll, Marilyn Meberg, Barbara Johnson, and Patsy Clairmont for putting tears of joy into our eyes week after week at Women of Faith conferences across the nation. They have shown by example that laughter can be faiths best friend.

Thanks also to the publishers and individuals who gave permission to reprint the material that follows.

O ver the last several years, books blending humor and faith have been increasingly popular, sometimes establishing themselves on best-seller lists for months at a time. Such books testify to our need to season our lives with laughter, remembering the wisdom of Scripturethat a merry heart doeth good.

Still, some may wonder whether laughter has much to do with belief. After all, the Bible contains not one reference to Jesus laughing. But neither does the Bible mention Jesus sneezing. Surely we cannot conclude that Jesus was a man in every respect except when it came to sneezing or laughing? And is it really so hard to imagine him with his arm around Peter or John, laughing at a story he has just told or heard?

I believe that humor is a gift God has given us to enable us to respond to life creatively. Sometimes it can be one of our most potent weapons in times of difficulty or tragedy, allowing us to practice a kind of one-upmanship in which we gain the upper hand over our troubles. Perhaps thats what makes Barbara Johnsons books so appealing. Barbara is able to write about her personal tragedies in a way that reflects her hope rather than her despair. By doing so, she spreads that hope to readers, many of whom feel engulfed by their own troubles. James Thurber, the American humorist, put his finger on this dynamic when he said that humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.

Between the covers of She Who Laughs, Lasts! I have attempted to collect the funniest stories by todays funniest women of faith. Though tastes differ, especially in matters of humor, I hope you will find more than a few stories, quips, and commentaries that will tickle your funny bone and do your soul good, whether life right now seems hard or pleasant. Let God remind you of the funny things that have happened in your own life, the twists and turns that have taken you by surprise and delighted your heart. If you look for opportunities to laugh, you will surely find them. And if you cultivate what some have called a laugh lifestyle, you will soon discover that she who laughs, lasts.

For those who love God, laughter isnt optional, its scriptural.

Liz Curtis Higgs

If you are not allowed to laugh in heaven, I dont want to go there.

Martin Luther

A ny woman who can, as the Hebrew declares, smile, laugh, make merry, celebrate, rejoice, and have no fear about the future is my kind of role model. The lady described in Proverbs 31 didnt just smile, she snorted. She didnt just giggle, she guffawed. She didnt just snicker, she roared. What a woman!

Society values a sense of humor, consistently ranking it in the top five desirable attributes for an employee or a spouse. Among the Navajo Indians there is a tradition known as The First Laugh Ceremony. The friend or family member who witnesses the babys first laugh is given the privilege of throwing a celebration in honor of the occasion, considered to mark the childs entrance into society.

I like George Burnss philosophy: If I get big laughs, Im a comedian. If I get little laughs, Im a humorist. If I get no laughs, Im a singer. Believe me, when I perform, I have a song ready, just in case!

Of course, to be like our Proverbs woman and smile at the days to come, we need to do more chuckling in the present. Our modern sisters are not doing nearly enough merrymaking, I can tell you that. When I encourage women to laugh more, they tell me in tight-lipped, terse tones, Im too busy to laugh. I dont have time to rent a funny video, and even if I did, I dont have time to watch it. I dont have time to buy a funny book, and even if I did, I dont have time to read it. I just dont have time for foolishness!

Thats us, all right. Poor dears, we are missing the big picture, which is that all work and no play makes Jill not only a dull girl but also a sick one. Laughter is good for our hearts, souls, and minds. It costs virtually nothing, yet its therapeutic effect tops many an expensive medicine.