It’s been said that the average preschooler laughs about 400 times a day while the typical grown-up only laughs about 15 times a day!!! Wow, what a difference.  On our retreats, we have a prayer where we ask the students where they find God.  Usually one person in the group says laughter, and I would totally agree.  Laughter is so important.  It decreases stress levels, boosts our immune system, and increases endorphins.  These are all very positive health benefits but I think laughter helps solidify that bond between people.  For most of us, our close friends are people we’ve shared moments of laughter where tears are streaming down our face and our tummies ache from laughing so hard.  Those are the moments when you feel grateful for having that person in your life.  That is God being present.

We all need to bring a little more laughter to our lives.  There is a new type of yoga called Laughter Yoga.  It’s a group of people that get together to laugh, and the crazy part is that the laughing doesn’t have be real laughter.  Don’t believe me?  Check out this link http://thelevityinstitute.com/laughter-yoga/what-is-laughter-yoga/

I would encourage all of us to take a little more time to laugh during the day whether it be real or fake.  As Mary H. Waldrip said, “A laugh is a smile that bursts.”  I’ve also included a few cheesy jokes to help us in our laughter.  Enjoy!

Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married.
The ceremony wasn’t much, but the reception was excellent.
What do you call a nun who sleepwalks?  A Roman Catholic.

Why did the turtle cross the road?  To get to the shell station

Why does it take longer to run from 2^nd base to 3^rd base than 1^st base to 2^nd base?  Because there’s a shortstop on the way.

Why is 6 afraid of 7?  Because 7 8 9. (Get it 7 ate 9!)

Anyone that really knows me knows that I love cheesy childish things.  One of those things is the Disney Channel.  I just happened to be watching one of my favorite Disney shows, The Suite Life on Deck, when during the commercial they played a song that was created for their new campaign Disney’s Friends for Change: Project Green.  The song just really moved me.  I think it has a very powerful message.  The message is talking about being the change you want to see in the world.  The change doesn’t need to be anything big.  It can be a simple smile to someone, holding a door, or picking up trash that isn’t yours.  The other powerful piece of it to me is that it recognizes we each have gifts that are meant to be shared with other people and our actions can lead others to take an initiative to help make a difference in the community, country, and even world.  These messages really aren’t anything new…We Christians have been hearing them for ages.  All of this is what Jesus was teaching to us; to love one another, to love the earth, and love God.  I encourage you to think of one simple way you can help make a difference in the world.  Keep me posted and let me know how it goes.  I’ll let you know how my little change is going in my next blog.  For your pleasure I’ve included the lyrics to the song.

Send it On

A word’s just a word
‘Til you mean what you say
And Love isn’t love
‘Til you give it away
We’ve all gotta gift
Yeah something to give to make a changeSend it on
On and on
Just one hand can heal another
Be a part
Reach your heart
Just one spark starts the fire
With one little action
The chain reaction will never stop
Make it Strong
Shine a Light and Send it OnJust smile and the world will smile along with you
That small act of love
Is spent for one to become two
If we take the chances
To change circumstances
Imagine all we can do
If we… There’s Power in all of the choices we make!Lea

I just got back from a road trip vacation out to Montana for Jen, the wonderful chef of TYME OUT’s, wedding.  When I got back to work I remembered this is my week to blog.  There are so many things I could type about from the beautiful scenery, to why maps are still better than GPS’s, and to historical information I learned.  But I felt there was something bigger that happened on this trip.  I’m going to borrow a couple of paragraphs from a speaker I really enjoy.  I’ve mentioned him and his wife on my blog before.  Their names are Kim & Jason Kotecki.

Jason writes, “ If you’re like me, sometimes it’s easy to feel like God is up in Heaven, keeping track of all the good and bad things we do. He throws us a bone when we do something right and screws with our life when we mess up. But that’s not how he operates.

In a world that is broken, with millions of wounded hearts and hurting souls, God is endlessly trying to communicate the message of just how much he loves us. (Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that he actually likes us, too.) If we could ever truly get our heads wrapped around that, our world would look very different indeed.

Signs of this message are everywhere, but we are often too busy to stop, too blind to see, too deaf to hear, and too dumb to understand that his entire creation is whispering three magic words: I love you. Fortunately for us, God sometimes finds it appropriate — and necessary — to shout to get our attention. The shouting works, but life goes so much better when we’re paying attention to the whispers along the way.

I challenge you today to slow your pace and open the ears of your heart to listen for God’s whisper. What is he trying to tell you?” (http://kimandjason.com/blog/)

I just have a few things to add to this sometimes if/when we’re searching for something too hard we don’t get what we want but when we turn it over to God he’ll reveal what it is you’re looking for.  Just like how I searched my entire road trip for big animals and didn’t see one until my last day.  God has a way of showing love in this world and I was able to witness that through the marriage of my friend.  Love really is all around. Congratulations Jen and Dustin for bringing a little more of God’s love to this world!

Did you know?  Independence Day commemorates the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.  However, it was not declared a legal holiday until 1941.

Imagine a warm summer night, kids sitting around a campfire singing “We’re going on a lion hunt. We’re going on a lion hunt.  Gonna catch a big lion!  Gonna catch a big lion!”  That image has been popping into my head these last couple days.  Not just because the weather has been so crummy but because the American Camp Association (ACA) Mid-states Conference has come and gone which means summer is right around the corner.  I just spent 2 ½ days surrounded by camp people at this conference. It was energizing, fulfilling, and informative.  I gained information about how to train teens to become good, strong leaders, how to handle difficult situations if they arise, and of course new games and songs!  This conference is a great way to kick-off the camp season. It’s a great way to network and see what other camps are doing to make their camps a success.  You get to share your excitement and love of camp with other camp staff.  Plus, the conference is a great way to get some free items. : ) 

With the conference now under my belt it is time to switch gears from planning retreats to planning some of the camps I will be directing this summer.  I’ve got some fun new ideas for our Leaders-in-Training Camp, and I’m working with Marc on our Young Catholic Stewards Camp.  Here is my little promo for our camps – So if you know anyone interested in either camps have them contact Nick, our camp director, at nick@tymeout.org or 262-966-1800.  Hope to see some new faces this summer at camp!