One day I was talking to my husband and a friend who teaches at a university. I said, “You know, I think kids have a better chance at life if they grow up in a happy home full of joy and laughter, even if that home was not a strong Christian family (of course it is better if it is) rather than a strict Christian family that tells you how to fold your hands, how to kneel, and full of daily devotions, but has no joy.”
The professor chimed in, “I think you are right. I hear homeschoolers at the university tell me that they left the faith as soon as they could to get out from under the rigidity of it all. It was all about the exterior and how they looked. What lacked was joy!”
Joy and laughter are so important. It is mentioned numerous times in the bible. Children need to grow up with joy in the home. There needs to be fun, goofing off and roughhousing, playing games, fun projects, going outside for fun like running through a sprinkler, playing Wiffle ball, etc. Let kids be kids.
When my younger children were still at home, I used to dance at night between two of my kids’ beds to part of a song called “Kokomo.” The song was on a toy motorcycle that we had. When you pushed the button the song came on. I would jump around acting silly, doing the old dances like the twist, etc, from my day. This went on for a couple of years till it was clear they outgrew it.
Recently I was at my son, Justin’s, wedding. At the reception, guess what song we danced to for our mother/son dance? Yep, “Kokomo,” by the Beach Boys. It had meaning to us both and we had fun dancing it together.
(You can enjoy watching the video if you’d like.)
Devotions are good as long as there is lots of laughter in the home. Joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
God bless you,
Mary Ann / Mother Hen
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