Hi everyone,

I know summer is in full swing when my kids have so little to do that they have time to be bored. Sure, many would think that kids these days are bored whenever their face isn’t buried in a screen, but there is so much extra time during the summer to not be on those screens. So what’s a kid to do?

Well, I can’t speak for all of them, but I know my kids love board games. In fact, they spent a few hours playing Monopoly yesterday. And you might think it’s crazy that kids these days still play these classic games, I should say that this particular version of Monopoly has it’s own virtual assistant to keep track of everyone’s funds and properties (the game doesn’t come with paper money at all).

But all that isn’t the point. The point is that these kids actually like to play together. I see how they realise that they’re not alone in this family or in the world. While they very vehemently deny it, these kids are pretty good friends and they care for each other.

In that, they aren’t really in competition with each other (unless they have to be because they’re playing a game that has winning it as the point). They don’t compare themselves to each other and rank each other from best to worst. The recognise how they’re different, how each have their strong and weak points, and how they fit together like a puzzle to make us, us.

They must get that from their mom though, because I was always competing with my siblings, whether they knew it or not. Sigh, to be young and carefree.

Here are the readings for next week:
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
Psalm 49:1-12
Colossians 3:1-11
Luke 12:13-21
And a video of these readings being read:

As I read these readings, I thought about them as warnings on how not to live life. And while the characters seem to be doing what we should be doing: saving money, planning for the future, working hard for security, etc., there is also a sadness that we might either wonder about or feel is familiar.

In that, these stories and examples remind us that our joy isn’t found in doing those things like saving money and planning for the future. While those things are important and should be done, they aren’t (or shouldn’t be) what defines us. They aren’t as fulfilling as we might think. They don’t bring us peace. Rather they bring stress, worry, and a dissatisfaction (or vanity, if you will) that we can never have it perfect or even right.

Instead, our joy can be found in relationship. In community. In the love that we share with our families, friends, and all those around us.

I think just knowing that we are part of the lives of others, how we can consider and be considered by others, and seeing how their joy adds to our own joy is really the point. Our focus needn’t be on ourselves and our own future alone, but we can broaden our horizons and see how we can contribute to society and humanity in general.

This could mean donating time and resources where feasible. It could mean helping out how you can. Or it might mean just being kind and loving. Whatever it is, we are all part of something larger than ourselves, and we are welcomed into God’s family and kingdom to make up this one body of Christ.

Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!