Tubular Therapy

Readers Beware!
What readers are saying about Debbie & Denise’s first book,
“Happy Dance”:
• Lydia feels lighter—“This book will lower your blood pressure while waiting in a dentist or doctor’s office…so I keep a copy in my purse!”

• Husbands TOO!—“My husband picked up this book first and said, ‘You’ve got to stop and listen to this?’ He read me the entire first chapter. What a delightful, tender book for women and their listening husbands.”

• MJ’s Hooray—“This is a great book …encouraging and funny. The combination of both ladies is what makes it. I can’t wait for another.”

• Be Warned!—“I laughed until the tears ran down my legs! People stared at me due to the snorting and loss of breath. What a fun, inspiring book.”

• Laughing Out Loud in CA—“This was an inspiring book that had me laughing from start to finish. Easy read. I couldn’t put it down and can’t wait to read the next books! Beware of reading this in public places!”

• Kicking Cancer—“It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will make you laugh until you cry. These words of truth from women to women will feed your soul and calm your spirit.”

• Jail Break—“The women in prison just love these authors. They can’t wait until we bring more books. They are laughing, listening, and learning.”

So, Readers Beware! This book may lower your blood pressure,
Make you laugh in public places, and lighten your load of cares…

Good news girls!! We’re back with more LOL fun! It’s Totally Tubular!!

Preface
Funny Denise
Ever have one of those moments you can’t get out of your head no matter how hard you try? Just the thought of it can cause you to giggle even if you are in an important meeting with doctors or lawyers discussing bookkeeping practices or unpaid taxes. You know it isn’t the appropriate time to laugh, but you really can’t help it. The image in your mind just takes you away to the long forgotten fun side of your brain.
One such moment is stored on my phone for easy viewing on those days when I have simply forgotten how to laugh. This little video was made during a getaway to a lazy river with my co-author and best friend, Debbie.
We were talking and relaxing by the pool with her daughter, simply watching the empty tubes float by. Debbie seemed to grow momentarily quiet as a cluster of tubes came around the bend just above where we were sitting. Suddenly, Debbie said, “Do you think I can jump from here and make it into that tube?”
Now, I am from Texas, so I am accustomed to hearing people saying things like, “Hey, y’all … watch this!” I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew it was going to be good. I am one of the few people on this planet who knows Debbie is one cuh-RAY-zee girl, so not wanting to miss a good show, I said, “Nope, I don’t think you can, but if you do I’ll give you twenty bucks.” This was a long shot and I was feeling pretty safe. I am a reasonable, logical kind of person. Debbie, however, is not. (That is one of the things I love most about her.)
In the next instant, Debbie had blasted off from her chair and propelled herself clear across the lazy river, executing a perfect, tushy-first landing in the nearest floating yellow tube. She floated away hooting with laughter and holding up her arms in a victory salute.
If tube jumping and tushy-landing were an Olympic sport, Debbie would be a contender! We were busting a gut, howling with laughter, and I laugh again every time I think about it.
How many sober, fifty-something women have you seen leaping through the air lately? Exactly! And of that small population sample, how many of those are pastor’s wives? Debbie is definitely one of a kind.
Realist that I am, I asked her if she could do it again so I could capture it on video. I am no fool. I know how much money I could make on one of those shows where you send in a funny home video. This was my golden ticket!
Never one to shrink from a dare, she said, “Sure, I can do it again.”
Everyone has her pegged as the demure little pastor’s wife sitting in her church pew, but she is really more comfortable pretending she’s a member of Cirque du Soleil, flying through the air and aiming for an inner tube. As promised, she did it perfectly a second time with complete abandon and joy, landing her tushy right in the middle of that yellow tube. She was ecstatic! Debbie just loves to push the envelope, or the proverbial tube, as the case may be. All you can hear on the video is me laughing loud and hard. Just thinking about it now makes me chuckle.
I, on the other hand, am the one who can’t get my tushy out of the tube once it has become stuck in there … but we will save that story for another time.
The truth is simply this … we all get stuck sometimes, and we may just need a little push to get us going again. Other times, we just need to let go of our fears and take a leap of faith. Regardless of where we are in life, there are some times when we are all in need of a float, friendship, and the freedom that comes with laughter.
“Tubular Therapy” is the new rage in counseling. Yes ladies, you, too, can trade in the couch for the floating tube. Before you think we are lunatics (you ladies are pretty sharp!) we just want you to consider the possibility that there truly is healing in friendship, relaxation, and laughter. Christian counseling is awesome, but most of us not only need wise counsel, we need a friend who will walk through life with us. We are two crazy best friends who want to share a few ways we have grown in our walk with God, our relationships, and our sanity, while floating ... simply floating through the seasons of life together.
When God reaches down to earth to shower us with His unmerited favor and grace, He often uses human hands. He sent His son to give us His amazing grace, and He entrusted ordinary people to heal the sick and lift up the fallen. God is still in the same business today. His love simply encircles us like a big ol’ inner tube. It surrounds us, insulates us, protects us and keeps us afloat. The Bible calls it “Unconditional Love”; we call it “Tubular Therapy”.
No matter what season you find yourself in, you will be uplifted as we float together. We are going to chat about those funny things that most people would never dare say out loud, especially pastor’s wives. Yet those thoughts are always in the back of our minds. Perhaps if we are honest and real with all of you, then you too will have the courage to share with someone else your struggles. It’s ok to struggle; after the struggle we will experience new strength.
We hope you find hilarity, hope, and healing as we float together.