And…the night was capped of by a surprise appearance by Santa and his #1 elf! Here are some pics of our special guests from the North Pole, along with some of the couples who were there…
And...Santa and Me...
Before... and ...after
I love so many things about our fun and “THRIVING” class (see last week’s blog post for more). But one of the things I love the very most is how much we laugh together. As you can see in the Christmas Party pics, we laugh…act silly…and enjoy life together.
As a self-professed realist (I’m actually a pessimist, but realist sounds so much better!) it’s especially good for me to laugh and have fun. My husband has a much more fun and optimistic personality than I do, and he is the always-on naturally gregarious people person. But living with him for 12 years has helped me to come out of my "realistic" shell and embrace relationships with others in a new way! And laughter and fun is a great benefit of that.
By the way, did you know that Jesus endorsed laughter?
In Proverbs (17:22), He calls a cheerful spirit, “good medicine.” Since, as I write, my oldest son has a terrible case of the flu, the thought of “good medicine” as a cure to illness certainly strikes a very relevant chord with me! And the book of Job nods to God’s intent for joy in our life in chapter 8 verse 21, when he says, “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy!” Sound good to you? Yeah, me too!
In the busy state of all of our lives, I think sometimes we have forgotten how to laugh and have fun…we stop thinking of ourselves as lively, exciting people who love to live life and instead, think we need to be serious and mature all the time. Sure, bills and mortgages will do that to you, but life can still be very much enjoyed while living it responsibly! Instead of looking back at our college days with nostalgia over all the fun we had (and we now miss), why don’t we begin to have some fun and enjoy our journey in this stage of our life, despite all the challenges and stressors?!
I’m in! How about you?
Now is a great time to add one more “resolution” to your list for 2008: LAUGH! But rather than looking to do it over the next year, resolve to do it without an end in mind. I’m trying to do more of it lately…and the more I do it, the more I like it!
I did a lot of it at the Christmas party this week. I have to say, the Elf tunic, sash and shoes were probably enough to keep me laughing all night! (Thanks, Mike.) :) I can’t wait to post the pics from our BIG event in May. (Which remains, as of now, still a secret.) Now THAT will be some seriously, serious fun! :)
Lisa
P.S. Ok…a few more photos of a different kind. Elf and Santa (aka, Mike and Scotty, respectively) just completed a half marathon on Saturday, along with their buddy, Ashley. See them at the finish line. Yep…I’m just a little proud! :) Lots of fun stuff this week. (Easy for me to say, right guys?)
