I am a fan of laughter.
I look back over my life and some of the toughest seasons were made a little more bearable through laughter.
July 2010– My 4th daughter was born with half of a heart. I remember after her first open heart surgery, things had gone “okay” and we were waiting to see her, but I was a bundle of nerves. I was about to see my child with a large cut down her chest, a breathing tube in her mouth, and all sorts of tubes protruding from her body. I was scared out of my mind. Our new pastor came to visit (literally, I think this was the first time I’d actually met him), and I have this vivid memory of sitting in the waiting area, talking with him and my sister, telling funny stories about our past and laughing way more than was appropriate for the situation. I later worried he would think me some crazy, emotionally disturbed woman.
But I needed that laughter SO BADLY in that moment. God knew that, as the days to come got so very, very much worse.
April 2011 – That same daughter was STILL in the hospital. She’d never gotten well enough to come home, and she’d been on the heart transplant list for the past 4 months. We’d received a call that morning that a heart was available to her. That evening, she was in surgery, and my family and I had the whole OR waiting room to ourselves. It was late and my other kids were stretched out on chairs asleep and all I could think about was the fact that doctors were literally taking my child’s heart out of her body and putting the heart of another child, who had just died the prior day, in. There is NOTHING funny about that. But my sisters? Oh I love them so much. They did crazy photoshoots to make me laugh, told jokes, and one of my goofy sisters even used the OR room intercom to make a slightly crude announcement about the other.
While I know this sounds wildly inappropriate, it got me through that night and the laughter was sweet medicine to this momma’s soul.
Those months, I INHALED books that were funny. I literally threw at least one book across a hospital room because it was about a dying woman, and I just couldn’t think about dying right then when my child might very well have the same fate.
A few months ago, I received a message from a grandmother. She was busy watching her grandson while her son and his wife were at the hospital with their baby daughter who had the same heart defect as Annabelle. She sent me a long message, but here is a tiny part I wanted to share with you. “I snuck time out to finish your delightful story “A (Sorta) Southern Serenade”. It just felt so good to get caught up in a spunky, fun, novel that made me laugh out loud. We need laughter these days!”
This. This is why I love writing fiction that makes people smile. Because on hard days, sometimes the very thing we need is laughter. It’s a vent for the soul, just like crying is, in my humble opinion!
AND in honor of laughter today, I’m SUPER SUPER happy to announce an upcoming box set filled with 100% romantic comedies!! The level of comedy will vary in each, some with make you smile, some giggle, and hopefully some will make you grab your side as tears of laughter roll. That’s our hope anyway. Whether you’re having a good or a bad day, we aim to AT LEAST bring a small smile to your face and point you a little closer to Jesus.
It will release in March, but here is a sneak peek of the cover!!
Let’s Chat! What are some of your favorite “funny” romance reads? Or a story about when laughter helped you through a tough time?
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Krista Phillips writes inspirational romance with a dash of smiles. She believes a sprinkle of laughter (and a wee bit of chocolate) makes everything a little better! She blogs regularly about life as a wife, mother, follower of Jesus, and mother of a child with a rare congenital heart defect at www.kristaphillips.com. She is represented by Sarah Freese of WordServe Literary.
Thanks for sharing Krista. When my mom passed at the age of 86, some of my colleagues could not understand why I was not falling apart, but was sharing funny stories. She had lived a good life and God granted her wish to not suffer her final two weeks of life. She was in a better place, so why fall apart. A cheerful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22
Many of us read for entertainment. Life is difficult enough so why would I want to read about pain and suffering. Your Christmas novella A (Kinda) Country Christmas with the fallen Christmas tree made me smile. Thanks for incorporating humor into your stories. Looking forward to Love at first Laugh. When can we preorder this delightful set, which includes three selections from Inspy Romance authors.
Best wishes to you, your daughter, and family.
When my grandmother passed before her 80th birthday, I remember after the service all of the family gathered in a tiny restaurant in West Virginia. We shared funny stories and laughed so loud, I thought we would be asked to leave. Laughter certainly can carry us through some tough times. Thanks for sharing your story, Krista, I look forward to reading the collection.
I love a good laugh. My husband can usually make me laugh at small things in life, even when I’m dreading what’s in front of me. Much like your sisters, he brings joy to many life moments.
I haven’t read many stories that make me laugh lately… usually they make me cry. Love at first laugh sounds promissing.
Thanks for sharing your story, Krista. What a journey! I remember when my niece was killed in a motor car accident at the tender age of seventeen, it was the laughter at things like wondering what she was up to in heaven, and imaging how she’d ask the Lord if she could twist her heavenly robe into a knot at the side to give it some shape, that got our family through a tough time. And, of course, most of all, our faith in God. I love it when our family gets together because it’s always a crazy time filled with crazy laughing–it’s like a release to the soul.
Hugs, Krista! Glad your little Annabelle is growing up so cute and funny herself.
Laughter is definitely a huge blessing!
I’m excited to see the cover of this set and can’t wait to read it! What a WONDERFUL group of authors!!! I deal with things better through laughter, also, and my daughter just wrote a blog about doing the same thing. So you are NOT alone, Krista!
Krista, what an amazing story. Laughter is truly a wonderful medicine and it helps to brighten those dark times in our life. Can’t wait to read your amazing stories.
We all need laughter so much, don’t we! Even when it may seem inappropriate to those around us. When my sisters and I were planning our dad’s funeral, we suddenly realized how many ‘jokes’ refer to death, dying, or killing even (I’d kill for that…) We looked around the table at each other and made a pact to let those words come out uncensored between us, not to worry, and not to be offended.
Dad was a fan of lame jokes himself. I’ll never forget the time he asked a sales girl why the potting soil on sale was ‘dirt cheap.’ The girl just stared at him, but that was Dad’s brand of humor.
I know I’m going to enjoy this box set with many of my favorite authors in it!
I remember when my Daddy died. At the end of the week, after the funeral and my sisters and I had to go back home, my mother said “We laughed more than we cried this week, which is a good thing.” We laughed over memories and it was so needed.
Thanks for writing and sharing. I love funny romances. Life can be hard at times, so funny books are a release valve. One time I was reading a book by Patsy Clairmont and I was laughing so much my teenage daughter made sure I didn’t bring it to read in a public setting. ?
Agreed!! I’ll admit, I have my moments now that it’s nice to read something raw about someone dealing with pain and suffering… but I usually can’t hand a WHOLE book of it that has no emotional relief valve! I know many who love that type of book though, so totally a personal preference!! And I’m glad that Sadie’s destroyed Christmas tree made you smile!!!!
The set releases March 6th!
I have similar experiences at my grandparent’s funerals! Someday, when it is my time, I would MUCH rather people be sitting around telling fun stories about me and laughing than just a bunch of crying!!
I love those people in our lives who can make us smile JUST when we need it!!!
Oh, that is tragic, Marion!! I’m so glad you all could find some smile moments and remember her well!! YES — laughter is definitely a release to the soul, just like crying is. I think our problem comes in when we focus only on one and have too little of the other.
Wonderful post. Humor is great medicine. LOL just as I was writing this my contractor showed me a funny FB post. Just goes to prove your point. :)
YES, she definitely fills our life with laughter now!!!!!!! That girl is hysterical :-)
Thanks! I am SO excited about this set and am honored to be in such amazing company with it!!
I’m glad I’m not alone!! Thank you!!
Thanks, Mary!!!!!
I love that you all made that pact — I remember a heart-momma friend and I were talking in the PCICU, both of our kids were longtime residents… and we made some joke about life there and were laughing and I just stopped and was like — crap. That was so verrrryyyyyy inappropriate and not a joke I should ever make in front of anyone else because they would think I’m the most insensitive person in the world! But it’d been a hard day… and it was so needed at the time!!
That is definitely a very good thing!! Memories and laughter can be very good medicine to a hurting heart!
HA!! My husband has been like “Dude, what’s so funny” many a time and I wave him off and am like “Eh, you wouldn’t understand.” Or worse, I try to explain it to him and he’s like…. uh I’m going to the other room. HAHAHA!
HAHAHA! Fabulous timing!!!!
I’m so glad you posted this. I’m preparing a workshop on Christian fiction for a women’s retreat at our church. I’d been thinking of authors whose books make me laugh (Mary Connealy, Margaret Brownley, Jen Turano, Regina Jennings, Karen Witemeyer). I’m so glad for the reminder that I need to add YOU to this list. I love your books. Sometimes we really need books that make us laugh. I also enjoy reading books that are more serious, but I also like to read books that just make me happy! We are so blessed to have such a diverse selection of genres now in Christian fiction.
Yes, I love a good mixture!!! Thank you for adding me to your list!! I am honored! :-)
I love books that can make me laugh. There are so many sad things going on in the world today, that I think we need laughter to just get through the days. Thanks for your post.
I don’t know if I’ve ever considered whether a book makes me laugh, but I appreciate it more after reading your post. Thank you for putting so much of yourself out there and I’m adding this set to keep an eye out for in March. I also went on over to Amazon and got your Kinda Country Christmas so I can have some laughs! Thanks for what you do!