I don’t know what’s got you awake at this waaaaay too early hour.  If you’re up worrying about some situation, I want you to know you are loved.  

I want you to know you are not alone.  

I want you to know there is hope.

I want to remind you things look worse in the dark of night than the light of day.

I want you to rest.

I want you to rest in Jesus.

I want you to trust the Lord with whatever has you bugged.

I want you to realize God is greater than any trouble.

I want you to cast your cares on God, our Heavenly Father, because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

I want you to remember you aren’t meant to carry your burden alone.

I want you to talk to God.  Pray.  Have faith.  Let go.

I want you to walk in the Lord’s strength.

I want you to experience the peace of Jesus.

I want you know you are loved, cared for, and never alone.

And I want you to sleep easy, confident in our Father.

Rest, dear friend.  You are loved.

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24 (KJV)

Be glad!  The Lord God is your Heavenly Father.  He is not some theological construct.  Not an idea.  He is very real – the One Eternal Designer, Creator and Sustainer of All.

Including you.

God our Father is not only real, He is personal.  Jesus called Him Abba, which roughly translates to “papa”.  Our Father made a way by faith in and through Jesus Christ for you to be His child.

And God loves you.  That’s not some lofty ideal but the absolute truth. God sent His Son to die for you.

God loves you.  God cares for you.  God is with you.  Let Him be your comfort.  Find your joy in Him.  Go to the Lord with all your troubles and needs.  Trust in Him.  Stay in tHis Word.  Follow His voice.  

Rejoice in the Lord always!  Let His grace and mercy and love pour over you. Live in peace.  And be glad!!

Rest in Jesus and sleep well tonight.  There’s no fear in God.

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. – Proverbs 17:22 [KJV]

I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.

I’ve prayed.

I’ve wrestled.

I’ve started.

I’ve stopped.

I’ve fussed and fidgeted and wrangled and thought and thought and thought…

You get the picture.

You see, for a long time, I’ve wanted to write a humor blog.  Something to make people smile, laugh, chortle, until milk comes out their noses.  I really enjoy making people laugh, bringing them a reason to chuckle.

The problem has been a question of balance.  How do I balance ministry and humor?  What if the Humorist overtakes the Diarist?  What if, by being comical, I lose street cred?  What will the Old Time Religionists say?

Then it dawned on me.  What a hypocritical moron am I?  Street cred – what on earth?  Where did that come from?  And since when did I care one bit what the religious-at-heart think of me?  Who am I to write about not having fear while being afraid of what others might think?

The truth is, this is me.  I am an armchair theologist.  I am an encourager.  I am a teacher.  And I am a humorist.

And I need to use all of these gifts.  Otherwise they go to waste.  And isn’t it a slap in the face of God Almighty not to put the gifts He’s given each of us to good use?

Besides, it occurred to me while trying to find a comedy special on TV that wasn’t oozing with profanity and “f”-bombs that there’s no reason the devil should have all the laughs.  God created humor.  I want to use it for good.

For now, the Bouville Humorist will only be available on Facebook.  Eventually it will be expanded to WordPress and Twitter and other outlets.

The first post is out there.  Please find The Bouville Humorist on Facebook (@bouvillehumorist).  And please let me know what you think.  (Not that I’m pandering for approval, mind you.  But a bunch of “likes” and “follows” never hurt anybody right?)

And, don’t worry.  The Bouville Diarist isn’t going away.

Street cred.  Seriously…