If the walls could talk....

We've all heard the saying "if the walls could talk..." and usually cringe and say we will do better in the privacy of our own home. Last night as Antonio and I did our evening devotions, we were challenged instead to ponder if the walls of our house laugh. Included was the following poem.
LAUGHTER IN THE WALLS by Bob Benson
I pass a lot of houses on my way home. Some pretty, some expensive, some inviting.
But my heart always skips a beat when I turn down the road and see my house nestled against the hill.
I guess I'm especially proud of the house and the way it looks because I drew the plans myself. It started out large enough for us--I even had a study; two teenage boys now reside in there. And it had a guest room; my girl and nine dolls are permanent guests. It had a small room Peg had hoped would be her sewing room, the two boys swinging on the Dutch door have claimed this room as their own. So it really doesn't look right now as if I'm much of an architect. But it will get larger again.
One by one they will go away--to work, to college, to service, to their own houses. And then there will be room--a guest room, a study, and a sewing room--just for the two of us.
But it won't be empty. Every corner, every room, every nick in the coffee table will be crowded with memories. Memories of picnics, parties, Christmases, bedside vigils, summers, fires, winters, going barefoot, leaving for vacation, cats, conversations, black eyes, graduations, first dates, ball games, arguments, washing dishes, bicycles, dogs, boat rides, getting home from vacation, meals, rabbits, and a thousand other things that fill the lives of those who would raise five.
And Peg and I will sit quietly by the fire and listen to the laughter in the walls.

The couple who wrote the devotional went on to say, "when your children leave home, when there are no more lunches to pack, when retirement comes...What will you hear in your walls? Our prayer is that it will be laughter. God created laughter. May your lives reflect joy and laughter."
"And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD." Psalm 40:3
Suggestions by the authors were:
-Buy a joke book and read a few each day as a family.
-Tuck jokes on a little paper in your kids lunches or husbands briefcase.
-when you are done with the book pass it on to another family.
-Think back to times of laughter in your childhood. Make sure you share those memories with your children and friends.
-Remember the percentage of their lives that your children will spend living with you is small! Don't use all that time preaching and correcting. Teach them the joy of the Lord is our salvation.
So...here are the jokes I am going to tell tonight at the dinner table.

Knock, knock!
Who's there?
George Washington!
George Washington who?
George Washington who?!! Didn't you learn anything in history class?!!

Two bowling teams, one of all blondes and one of all brunettes, charter a double-decker bus for a weekend bowling tournament in Atlanta. The brunette team rides on the bottom of the bus. The blonde team rides on the top level. The brunette team down below is partying having a great time, when one of them realizes she doesn't hear anything from the blondes upstairs. She decides to get up and investigate. When the brunette reaches the top, she finds all the blondes frozen in fear, staring straight ahead at the road, and clutching the seats in front of them with white knuckles. The brunette asks, "What going on up here? We're having a great time downstairs!" One of the blondes looks up at her, swallows hard and says, "YEAH, BUT YOU'VE GOT A DRIVER!"

What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?
Nacho Cheese!

Hope your walls are laughing instead of talkin'!