Blogging about these things is dangerous. It only gives the writer and reader snippets of a complex discussion. Books can be set down, then picked back up allowing the author to move through the complexities.
Blogging does not.
As I went through my morning, I thought of all the things that could have been included in the last post. But one of the big ones was Joy. How fun this all can be! What a light exercise in watching God provide and use us and heal us.
The other thing that permeated my morning was Community. How this is so much better done with heart friends. I sometimes think about the community He’s surrounded my family with and tears instantly come to my eyes. He couldn’t have paired us with more wonderful, challenging, giving friends. They are perfect for us. Not because they let us off the hook on hard things; but precisely because the don’t!
We are open about marriage, parenting, sin, greed, fear, spending, babysittng, tools, cars, clothes, weight, vanity, pride. I never feel like I have to perform for them. They are so gracious.
But they also call me out. I can’t imagine where I’d be if they didn’t.
Thank You, Jesus.
I so hope you have a community like that, too.
One reason is for your own health – emotional, spiritual, psychological.
The other reason is challenges like these take the focus of us and how we’re performing – and put it on God’s Body being His hands and feet.
During Posessions week of this Study, our group took her challenge to give away 7 things a day. Well, we all came up with more than that! My oldest boy got in on the action too.
And then you know what? We didn’t just do a Goodwill run. (There’s nothing wrong with that, though.) As a group we called different organizations in town to see what we had accumulated that they may need. We also had personal relationships in our lives. People who we knew could benefit from our stuff we didn’t need. Then we split the stuff up and went on our merry way.
How fun! Together meeting needs. Together healing our own greed. Together living authentically.
The other thing about community this morning was celebration. I had two separate groups in which celebration was fleshed out today already. But first you should know a memory of a quote drove me to Foster’s Celebration of Discipline last night when the boys went to bed. So here are the words that were ringing through my head this morning:
“It is an occupational hazard of devout folk to become stuffy bores. This should not be. Of all people, we should be the most free, alive, interesting. Celebration adds a note of gaiety, festivity, hilarity to our lives. After all, Jesus rejoiced so fully in life that he was accused of being a winebibber and glutton…
Now I am not recommending a periodic romp in sin, but I am suggesting that we do need deeper, more earthy experiences of exhilaration. It is healing and refreshing to cultivate a wide appreciation for life. Celebration helps us relax and enjoy the good things of the earth.
Another benefit of celebration is its ability to give us perspective. We can laugh at ourselves. We come to see that the causes we champion are not nearly so monumental as we would like to believe…
Thus freed of an inflated view of our own importance, we are also freed of a judgmental spirit. Others do not look so awful, so unspiritual. Common joys can be shared without sanctimonious value judgments.
Joy begets joy. Laughter begets laughter. It is one of the few things in life that we multiply by giving…
One way to practice celebration is through singing, dancing, shouting. Because of the goodness of God, the heart breaks forth into psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Worship, praise, adoration flow from the inner chambers…Children dance when they celebrate…Jesus had a sense of humor – some of His parables are positively comical…
So poke fun at yourself. Enjoy wholesome jokes and clever puns. Relish good comedy. Learn to laugh; it is a discipline to be mastered. Let go of the everlasting burden of always needing to sound profound…
We who follow Christ can risk going against the cultural tide. Let’s with abandon relish the fantasy games of children. Let’s see visions and dream dreams. Let’s play, sing, laugh. The imagination can release a flood of creative ideas and it can be lots of fun. Only those who are insecure about their own maturity will fear such a delightful form of celebration.
Let us also relish the creativity of others. Those who create sculptures and paintings and plays and music are a great gift to us. We can organize art shows to display their work…
Set up regular times to play games or watch movies or read books together…
Celebration gives us the strength to live in all the other Disciplines.”
(Foster, pages 196 – 201)
How lighthearted did reading that make you feel?!
So first thing. My Tuesday/Thursday Fall Avoidance classes have formed such a community. There are a couple of ladies who have been friends since before they retired from the school district together. They’ve seen each other through lots of hard and lots of good stuff.
Anyway, they love to celebrate. Every holiday is a big deal in our classes with those two. They typically bring festive socks for the particular holiday we’re celebrating. Those are for the ladies, and the men get candy.
Today (since we have Break Week next week – no classes) they brought everyone gift bags with 4th of July fun stuff. Including Red, White & Blue leis. So we all (men and women) will wear them Thursday and have our picture taken.
So fun, right?
(It is at this point I wish I knew how to scan a picture I have up on our fridge. It is of the ladies of this class and I posing with our Easter socks together this spring. Hmmm…I’ll have to ask Dan to help me when he gets home.)
Anyway, the second area celebration and community came together was after class. My 2-year-old and I hung out with my friend’s 1-year-old for a couple hours while she had an appointment. And if you don’t think a couple hours with two toddlers isn’t a celebration, you’re not paying attention! Smile.
We ate popcorn on the driveway. Marveled over Rolly-Polies. Actually we just tried to refrain ourselves from smashing them. (Well, that and eating them when they fell into our popcorn.) We played kid-sized band instruments. We read books (the fun of watching my friend’s girl is reading titles like “Miss Lina’s Ballerinas.” You know, instead of Spiderman. He’s fun, too. Just a nice change!) We swung on the tire swing (swung? is that proper grammer?). We ate grapes. We ate chips. We ate more popcorn. (Food is good.)
Fun stuff, right? Joy and celebration and community and love. Father, help us to live and love like Your Trinity. You are so worth any sacrifice or tears or hurt feelings or fears or miscommunication. You love Your Body, Your Bride.
We love you.