Thoughts on Play – Part II
Some people seem to think play needs some super special occasion to justify it. It doesn’t.
Celebration is something that can certainly come because something big happened or things are going well. But it doesn’t need some huge hairy reason to exist. Celebration is to be a way of life for God’s people. Sure, some expressions of thanks, joy, play and celebration are in response to some event or experience we’re very happy about. But celebration is not something to be reserved for rare occasions. Jesus is reason enough for a celebration! His way of living teaches us to celebrate life.
This is why at Mountain we set aside some time every summer for something we call Mountain Adventure Week. It’s a week of play, parties, fun, community building, hospitality and friend making. It shrinks our church. It expands our hearts.
At MAW some will play Frisbee or golf, others will go to a concert or ballgame together. Hordes will eat ice cream together at Broom’s Bloom. It’s a week of being together in simple ways, including movie night, a Mommy and me gathering, a boat ride, ice skating, bowling, mini-golf, pool parties, bike rides and a pancake breakfast.
A highlight is a day in the parking lot with a car and bike show, followed by a tailgating bonanza with fun music, good food, dunk tank, kids on scooters zooming, footballs flying, and folks parked on their lawn chairs until we cap it off after dark with ooohs and ahhhhs at an impressive display of fireworks. We go home tired, but it’s a good tired. Check it out and sign up here.
We don’t need a holiday to do any of this. We don’t need Hallmark to tell us there’s some “National Church Fireworks Day” to be observed. We do it because we want to “celebrate life because God is good.” That’s reason enough.
As one blogger put it, “There is a time to mourn, but a Christian does not need extenuating circumstances as a reason to celebrate.”
When I was in third grade I remember a group of kids playing boot hockey on the ice on the playground at recess. (It’s a Minnesota thing.) I was watching, they were playing. Then Eddie Grady invited me to play, too. I was a bit apprehensive – would I be good enough? Would I fit in? Should I say no?
I joined in. Every day until that ice melted we darted out to play boot hockey. We welcomed others in along the way. Those guys became my best friends. I’m glad Eddie invited me. I’m grateful I said yes. I’m thankful for the memories of those days, and for the relationships that were grown because of it. Play became an avenue my life traveled to me upon.
This is your invitation to participate in Mountain Adventure Week at Mountain. Check out the full schedule here, and like I did, say yes to the invitation.
You may be apprehensive or wonder if you will fit in. But I hope you will jump in and be a part. Because MAW can be an avenue upon which Jesus can bring so much joy.
Stay tuned for part III.