Play

I am currently re-reading one of my favorite books about faith: Dangerous Wonder, by Mike Yaconelli. This morning's chapter is all about play and God - I love it! I wanted to share some quotes with you - I hope you enjoy them, too!

"Time for a reality check, right? Playfulness is not a welcome idea for most of us. It sounds frivolous and shallow, distracting and irrelevant, inefficient and unproductive. That's because we live in a technological culture that worships busyness and activity. Under the guise of saving time, we now are inundated with email and cell phones. We end each day smoothered by the demands of our time and are greeted each new morn with more to do, not less. Play? There's no time to play. How can we play when the mountain of work and problems we are faced with each day get higher and deeper? How can we play when the world is overcome with poverty, famine, and war?
"Play is an expression of God's presence in the world; one clear sign of God's absence in society is the absence of playfulness and laughter. Play is not an escape; it is the way to release the life-smoothering grip of busyness, stress, and anxiety. (Playfulness is a modern expression of hope, a celebration of the flickering light of the gospel that plays with the dark by pouncing on the surrounding darkness like a cat toying with a mouse.)"

"God does play with our souls. He hides (in difficulty, suffering, and sadness) and He seeks and His laughter heals our hearts. When God plays with us, before we know it, we are playing: playing with our neighbors, our church members, and even our families."

I love these images of God and Jesus being playful! Celebrating the world and all that is in it, celebrating life itself! How are you playful? How do celebrate God's goodness in your life? How do you share your joy with others?

I'm going to go play hide and seek now... Happy Wednesday!
Megs

Things I am thankful for today:

1. All the well-wishes for Ireland!
2. Nice notes from my confirmands.
3. Getting a LOT of work done!
4. Coffee with Kelsey - always results in lots of giggles!

5. A good night's sleep.
6. My parents taking care of my dog while we're gone - she'll be spoiled rotten!
7. A "warm" sunny day - 40 degrees!
8. No meetings tonight! :)
9. Leftover soup for dinner.
10. One last night of cuddles before the dog goes to Grandma's!