Laughing On The Way To Heaven

“Between Heaven and Mirth will make any reader smile. . . . Father Martin reminds us that happiness is the good God’s own goal for us.” —Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York From The Colbert Report’s “official chaplain” James Martin, SJ, author of the New York Times bestselling The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, comes a revolutionary look at how joy, humor, and laughter can change our lives and save our spirits. A Jesuit priest with a busy media ministry, Martin understands the intersections between spirituality and daily life. In Between Heaven and Mirth, he uses scriptural passages, the lives of the saints, the spiritual teachings of other traditions, and his own personal reflections to show us why joy is the inevitable result of faith, because a healthy spirituality and a healthy sense of humor go hand-in-hand with God's great plan for humankind.

Don has lots of opinions: On being a buffoon: I hate being a buffoon, but it seems like I'm always messing up. Not long ago I got in the car with my wife to run some errands. I took the TV remote with me just in case I had to make a cell phone call. Nancy made fun of me, and I tried to use the mute button on her, but it didn't work. On his 37th Anniversary: "We returned home and wandered off to bed at 10:00. Nancy donned her "Born to Sleep" PJs and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. When we were newly married this is not the way we would have anticipated our 37th anniversary ending, but in 2004 it was just fine. So much for romance. It's still there; it's just different. On fasting: Fasting is a fundamental Christian practice, and it is mentioned 33 times in the Bible. Now, let me ask a question. When was the last time you heard a sermon on the subject of fasting? You'll hear a hundred sermons on eschatology, a thousand on tithing or how many angels you can stack on the head of a pin before a preacher will suggest a Christian forego his or her staple of donuts, fried chicken or baked beans. Actually, I don't mind fasting; it's just the hunger I object to. On remodeling the house: "What on earth do we need a new toilet for?" I protested. Nancy's response was: "The old toilet was the wrong shade of white." The wrong shade of white?! You got to be kidding me! Our 401K is in the toilet due to the economy, and now I'm spending my kid's inheritance replacing a toilet that is the improper shade of white!!

It's Okay to Laugh with Jesus is about a God who loves to laugh because he's proud of his perfect world and loves the people he put in it. He laughs at the folly of humankind that rejects him and rewards faithfulness rather than success. He laughs at a mother as she cuddles her newborn, a baby's giggle, a father tucking a blanket under his son's chin and praying him to sleep. God laughs at the folly of humankind that rejects his love and at the devil knowing his doom is sealed. Those who laugh with Jesus enter a world of smiles and surprises. Starting the adventure costs nothing; living it costs everything. It's easy to become a Christian and difficult to live like one. Once the adventure begins, the awareness shifts from ownership to service, from selfishness to sacrifice, from world-thinking to heaven thinking. Goals change, values deepen, and variables that make no earthly sense develop eternal significance. Where did we ever get the idea that sorrow, sadness and skepticism represent the Christian religion? Not from God. He laughs with a world of people who live and die laughing all the way to heaven. When we laugh with God, the sorrows of life blend with joy; anxiety is calmed with forgiveness; and heartache balances against happiness. In a book of fun and surprises, It's Okay to Laugh with Jesus reveals how, and what, sharpens the faith that brings us closer to our God than we ever thought possible. And when we laugh with him, he knows we're getting it. What a delightful way to spend an hour, a day, a lifetime laughing with Jesus.

In Laughing at the Days to Come , Tessa Thompson shares a poignant story of physical suffering and her journey to not only understand God's hand at work in it, but to face the future with laughter. This book is gospel centered and hope-filled. Page after page, the author directs our focus to Christ and his work for us. We all face suffering in this fallen world, but we are not without hope. In Laughing at the Days to Come, readers are equipped to face their own stories of suffering with joy because of our present and future hope in Christ. Tessa Thompson was fifteen years old when she was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease that took away her hearing and would eventually cause chronic pain and other health complications. Faced with a future of uncertainty, she encountered Proverbs: 31:25: "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." The godly woman of Proverbs 31 had something Tessa lacked- a vision for life that allowed her to laugh at the future. Tessa recognized she needed this laughter in order to endure lifelong suffering in a way that honored God. In this warmly personal account, Tessa insightfully considers what she calls the Christian's "peculiar perspective on suffering" and shows you how the hope of God's Word will enable you to laugh at the days to come even in the midst of tears and suffering. Table of Contents: PART 1 – Laughter: Its Definition Chapter 1 – Her Trial: He Gives and Takes Away Chapter 2 – Her Vision: A Woman Who Laughs Chapter 3 – Her Reality: Living in a Vale of Tears Chapter 4 – Her Dilemma: A Peculiar Perspective on Suffering PART 2 – Laughter: Its Doctrine Chapter 5 – Her Necessity: A Sober-Minded Suffering Chapter 6 – Her Comfort: God’s Fatherly Sovereignty Chapter 7 – Her Guide: Christ’s Perfect Example Chapter 8 – Her Guarantee: The Spirit’s Enduring Preservation PART 3 – Laughter: Its Doing Chapter 9 – Her Prayers: The Humble Expectation of a Daughter Chapter 10 – Her Practice: The Selfless Love of a Sister Chapter 11 – Her Prospect: The Heavenly Aim of a Pilgrim

DOES GOD HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR? How often that question has come up in discussions from Bible Studies or from people just sharing their faith! Does God have a sense of humor? For years, friends and relatives have told me I should write a book about funny things that have happened throughout my life as a priest. These events have kept my life from being anything but boring. Most of these moments have taken place over the past twenty nine years that I have been a priest. All of us are on a journey. This journey leads us to heaven. Along the way, each of us have encountered funny and interesting things that make our life exciting and full of laughs. In this small book, I hope to capture some of the funny things that have happened to me on my journey to heaven. I have changed the names to protect the "innocent." I truly hope this book helps you to reflect on the funny things that have happened to you during your lifetime. I believe everyone needs to laugh more. Laughter is the key to a healthy life. I have often said that in life we need three bones to have happiness: We need a Wish Bone. We need to have dreams. I really like dreamers. We need a Back Bone, We need to be strong to achieve our dreams and goals but most importantly, we need a Funny Bone. We need to laugh at ourselves more often. Jesus, I am convinced, must have laughed with his friends. I am certain that Peter must have put a smile on his face many times. Finally, I want to dedicate this book to my Mom. She taught me that laughter is truly a gift and a blessing. My Mom died last year. She had Alzheimer's, but we continued to laugh each day that we were together. Her sense of humor and her ability to make us laugh were hergreatest gifts to me and to my family. (All Scriptures passages are taken from The New American Bible)

The full powers of Chaos are revealed as the Horus Heresy blazes towards Terra. For too long the Vth Legion had ranged out beyond the sight of the wider Imperium, remaining ignorant of the Warmaster’s rebellion and the war that inevitably followed. Only once their primarch, Jaghatai Khan, had satisfied himself that the path before them was just and true did the White Scars choose a side, taking the fight to the traitors on every front. But, four years later, the Legion’s unfettered spirit has been broken by relentless attritional warfare against the Death Guard and the Emperor’s Children. The Khan’s Stormseers must find a clear route to Terra if they are to take part in the final, apocalyptic battle.

In classic Barbara Johnson style, these hilarious pages will show readers how to put life's trials into perspective and remember that there is a wonderful life awaiting them in heaven.

"All of us ought to be ready to laugh at ourselves," wrote theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, "because all of us are a little funny in our foibles, conceits, and pretensions." Yes, to a greater or lesser extent, we all belong to Hypocrites Anonymous. Laughter helps us to preserve sanity in a crazed world; provides the lubrication we so desperately need to deal with irritating people and situations. Furthermore, it accents our need for humility by pricking the balloons of vain pretension. These vivid poems are thick with allusions to literature, theology, spirituality, history, and legend. They range from sentimental impressions of the Iowa State Fair to a fantasy visit to All Saint's Night in Dublin; from musings on the extinct dodo to a whimsical take on the pranks mischievous angels play; from a litany of the likely suspects in a murder mystery to a beatnik's view of the ascension. In life, no doubt we will become the butt of many well-deserved jokes. As Don Quixote's sidekick, Sancho Panza, once acknowledged, "Master, I confess that all I need to be a complete ass is a tail." Laughter, then becomes, in the words of Niebuhr, "a vestibule to the temple of confession."