Ready for summer? It’s here – with an invitation to things we often neglect.
I’ve got 2 “assignments” for you today.
One. If you’ve got 10 free minutes and want to challenge your core beliefs and understanding of play, in a way that is dynamic and energizing, listen to Stuart Brown’s TED talk sometime this week. Steeped in science, it’s a game changer.
Two. Dream.
What simple summer joys can be yours, if a tad of intentionality is factored into the weeks that lie before you?
Make a list. Post it on your fridge. Share it on this post. Engage. Enjoy. Don’t delay. Don’t wait for a convenient time. It will never transpire. The operative word is N O W.
Here’s a “starter” list to put you in the mood.
Eat an ice-cream cone. Chase down an ice-cream truck. Pick a dandelion. Lay out under the stars. Learn to skip stones. Dance in the spray of a sprinkler. (Let a little one lead the way.) Blow bubbles on your porch . . . every day. Walk through the grass barefoot. (How long has it been?) Build a sand castle. Mimic a bird; see if he talks back. Sit on your porch. Linger. Do something you haven’t done in years Ride a bike. Go canoeing. Roast a marshmallow. Nap in a hammock. Let cotton candy melt in your mouth. Dance with your shadow on a sunset walk . . .
Friends, this is just the beginning!
Make this a summer of white space, Margin. Breathing room. It will tap into something mysterious and miraculous . . . for you, yes! But also for those you love.
I had a chuckle when I read this. Just yesterday I rode a bike – for the first time in 8 years.
“Run Hard. Rest Well.” wrote:
You, GO, girl !!! Have a blast this summer. Jesus is smiling.
(Are you sore this morning?!)
I didn’t ride too far, just wanted to see if I still could. I borrowed the bike to use at our family camp in July so figured I’d better see if I could still ride. Didn’t fall or crash 🙂 Sent from my cellphone.
Brenda wrote:
Whewwww. Weeeee!
Love the ideas! Go to a shelter and play with a pup or kitten.
If clover flowers are around make a clover necklace. One for you and one to share.
One suggestion…..leave your watch at home.
Yes, leave the watch at home – and all electronics. Be in the moment with the ones you love and make wonderful memories!
I think I’m going to get some bottles of bubbles at the dollar store – well, have someone get them for me – and when the sun goes down in the desert and it “cools off” to below 95, I will sit out on the porch and blow bubbles. I used to take wire hangers and see if I could make HUUUGE bubbles for my kids! Did they love those! Memories!! 🙂
Many, perhaps all of you, could do any of the things that Brenda has suggested, given the right setting and equipment. Give thanks that you can and GO DO SOME OF THEM! You never know what’s around the next corner. I never in my life expected to be disabled at 62, researching powered wheelchairs! WHAAA??!! LOL 😉 (I’m actually excited about the prospect! WHAAA??!!!!) No pity party here because this is the path that Jesus has for me and it has given me countless opportunities to share my faith with others! However, in a family with incredible longevity (grandmothers both lived well into their 90s and one grandfather passed his 106th birthday!!), I thought I was only halfway through my life when diagnosed with a rare incurable autoimmune disease in my mid-50s! Many like me die within the first 5 yrs after diagnosis. I am blessed to be into my 7th year and to have this extra time with my children (obviously grown) and an entirely different perspective on life – and death! 🙂
Why share all this? I guess I would just encourage all of you who can walk a few blocks or run after a kite or ride a bike or swim laps (ah, my old favorite!) – MAKE TIME FOR WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO! MAKE TIME TO MAKE MEMORIES! Stop working all the time! Our society says if you’re busy, you are accomplishing something important. Really? … Seriously, really? I beg to differ … If you can’t slow down for yourself, then do it for your walk with Jesus and for those you love! S L O … W D O W N! You’ll find that being less busy lets you accomplish things ETERNALLY important! 🙂
Thank you for indulging me. I’ll step down from the soap box now! 🙂
I can’t wait to hear the reports of your summer activities (or lack of them!)!
Preach it, sister, preach–!
Wendy, thank you.
Thank you for words that leap off the page into our hearts today.
Sorry for the delay, I’ve been in Nebraska celebrating our nephew’s wedding – with two of our boys, Joe and Noah, in tow.
What a blessing this weekend was in so many ways.
With the wedding on Friday evening, we had a mini-family reunion on Saturday. So many highlights!
27 holes of mini-golf with 27 people ages 6 to 75. We laughed and cheered and contorted our bodies, willing the ball to do its thing.
We’re still all grinning!
/Wendy’s words for us all. “S L O … W D O W N! You’ll find that being less busy lets you accomplish things ETERNALLY important! :-)”
Amen.
/
Wendy, thank you so much for the encouragement. It’s been a few really hard weeks in the middle of hard weeks. I’m find God closer. I’m listening. He is speaking. He brings comfort, and creativity to my life, that I would have never thought possible before. I don’t like to be knocked down, but looking up is sure a blessing! I’m with you, girl. We’ll make a difference. He will see to that!
Betty — yes, yes, yes !!!