It's all fun and games 'til someone gets hurt....

I have a vivid, crazy imagination. There are all kinds of funny stories from when I was little. This can be a great thing...I have all kinds of inventions floating around in my head! But, it can also be very annoying. Because of this imagination, I often have the most clear, seemingly real NIGHTMARES. Sometimes I wake up scared, or angry, and sometimes it takes me a few seconds to realize that I was only dreaming. I'm not sure if they're caused by sub-conscious worries or fears, but I frequently have these vividly cruel dreams. Not being a morning person by nature (as in do not talk to me, and for goodness sake please DO NOT ever sing 'rise and shine' or any of the like, to me until I've had a good 20 minutes to wake up) these nightmares frequently leave me feeling drained and grouchy in the mornings.

So, last week, after a few consecutive nights of tossing and turning and fighting off the bad guys in my head, I prayed that God would give me 'sweet sleep.' Ya'll, I didn't wake up once during the night, and when I woke up in the morning I was LAUGHING. It was the weirdest thing. (And no, I'm not insane. Well, maybe sometimes. A little.) I was dreaming that I was laughing and thoroughly enjoying it, and then woke up because I WAS laughing! Talk about waking up on the RIGHT side of the bed! It was so refreshing.

I LOVE to laugh. I LOVE to hear other people laugh. In middle school my friends ribbed me because when I laughed I would do so with my mouth wide open and suck in air. The only sound was when I breathed in and it sounded like a grating hiccup. You know the kind. Hard to describe in words, but it was AWFUL. Every once in awhile a snort would sneak out. People would stop and just stare at me. I literally had to retrain myself to laugh silently.

In college, one of my favorite sounds was when a friend, Margaret Harritt, laughed. It was like a machine gun firing out giggles. It sounded like peals of laughter in fast forward - they came out so fast that it was just HILARIOUS. If you ever meet this girl, you must tickle her (just don't tell her Lindsay Tyner said so)or tell her a joke so you can hear this.

Most of my friends know that my favorite thing to fall asleep to is America's Funniest Home Videos. I know some of those things hurt those folks, but I just can't help myself. My Dad and I will watch and afterwards my stomach will just ache from the laughing.

I'm going to go ahead and apologize.

I could seriously hurt your feelings here.

If you fall down...I WILL LAUGH.

Ya'll, I CANNOT HELP MYSELF. Hopefully, shortly thereafter I will ask if you're okay and help you up, but my first reflex is to giggle. It happened when my grandma fell! I felt awful, but it just slips out. When Robyn came to visit me in Florence once, she was literally running into my apartment as fast as she could when she tripped over her feet and face-planted into my apartment. It was GREAT! One of the greatest stumbles in recent history was when my friend Brandon Greene (who was home on a short vacation from his AirForce job in Germany) was walking backwards and fell into a planter. Legs akimbo, butt in the dirt, arms flailing in the air...I snicker just picturing it again. His pride was obviously wounded, but I could not stop laughing! If I ever fall, I will probably laugh at myself, so you can, too, and don't feel bad.

The Bible says, "He will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy!" Job 8:21 What an awesome God! He loves it when we laugh and are filled with joy! I don't know about you, but to me, laughter can be like medicine. It's as good as any anti-depressant. So, if you have nightmares, pray for 'sweet sleep,' and maybe the Lord will wake you up with laughter like He did me. If you're having a bad day...these are some things that always make me laugh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMHaiMzgCNA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aemXgP-2xyg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IytNBm8WA1c

It's all fun and games 'til someone gets hurt...then it's hilarious! :)