Play

In case you haven't noticed, there has been a theme running through my weekend. Yesterday's post excluded, I have been writing about things in our lives that we sometimes neglect - taking time to be ourselves, and sleep. Today I would like to write about another one of those - play.

Tonight for SUM TEENS, we had a parents time out. I have to admit that I stayed out way later than I should have last night, and it was such a busy day that I could have slept WAY longer than what I had time for. And I didn't have time for a nap this afternoon - at least not the kind of nap I really wanted. So I went to Tim Horton's for a cafe mocha on my way to the church and I pushed through. And I spent my late afternoon/evening playing with kids.

And as I thought about what I wanted to write tonight, I started thinking about this idea of play. You see, kids know how to play. As I chased kids around the room and heard their giggles, as I made things with playdoh with them, as I held a girl who had fallen and made her laugh with silly antics, as I had silly face contests with kids, all of these kids know how to play.

Where do we lose that along the way? I think that's part of the reason I am so grateful for my job. I get to play in my work, and I love that part of it. I wrote Thursday about needing time to be just Katy, and I am thankful that this weekend I got to play outside of my job - that balance is important. But tonight I got to play as part of my job, and I am thankful for that too.

I saw a quote somewhere when I was in college (no idea where) that said, "Life is a playground, why aren't you playing?" So today I am thankful for play. And I hope you take time to play soon if you haven't done so recently.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In need of ideas...

So today it is 45 days until my 30th birthday... or as I have referred to it sometimes, the 1st anniversary of my 29th birthday. But the 6th graders found that confusing and thought it meant I was 58, so that was not ideal... Anyway, the point behind bring all this up is I want to come up with a list of 30 things to accomplish in the 30 days leading up to my birthday. It works out well because exactly 30 days before my birthday is the quarter marathon. Other things already on the list are party like I'm 29, and moving to my new apartment. I took the plunge and joined pinterest today, so I have also been getting ideas there, though I have not started my goal list yet. Some thoughts I have from pinterest include trying a new recipe and creating some of my own art work. But I need more ideas - so let's brainstorm! What ideas do you have?
Read more

Compassion

Matthew 9:36-38 When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Today I am beginning the 30 hour famine. I get to eat lunch, and then I will not have anything but juice and gum until tomorrow at dinner. Considering the craving to simply nibble I have had the past week, that will likely be quite challenging, though the fact that I will be kept busy will certainly help. The point of the 30 hour famine is to give the kids the experience of what it is like to be hungry as they raise money to help the hungry. And the point I always emphasize to them, is that they always know there is an end point - we will have a delicious meal of baked pasta at 6pm on Saturday. The people we are trying to help, those who are actually without food, t
Read more

I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together...

"You can't own the gospel. It doesn't belong to the church. It's too wild to be contained within an institution. Just like you can't truly own an idea, you can't own love, forgiveness of sin, or grace." ~ Adam McLane, "Open Source Theology" found in Immerse: A Journal of Faith, Life, and Youth Ministry I read this article this morning, and as I considered what Adam was saying, I think the church has a lot to learn. It reminds me of a conversation I have been having with a friend recently in which we have been talking about young adults leaving the church. Often young adults look at the church and they see the problems within the church. They see money being spent on buildings and programs instead of people. They see broken people claiming to be fixed and acting holier than thou. I am not saying all churches are like this, but I'm not going to lie. If I had no personal experience with the church, and I had to rely on what is visible i
Read more