Why I Don't Mind...

I've taken a brief break from this blog over the end of last week/this weekend. I had friends in town, for one, and also, CSMSG is in the middle of finishing this year's new curriculum and a lot of it comes down to Isaac finishing all the typing of guides and activities I promised to have for it. In the fall when everything kicks off, it's easy to get swamped, and that's what happened.

In any case, I don't mind that a light, fun, fellowship event was the biggest thing I've led so far here. 63 students came out to SkyZone with us yesterday afternoon-- active kids, friends, and several students who are on our lists but inactive up until yesterday. My dear friend and colleague Marty C had ten RSVPs on Saturday night and we picked up another 12 Sunday morning, and by church time we were both a little stressed trying to make sure we had enough drivers (turned out we did with no problem, thanks parents!) and that SkyZone's trampoline court could handle the whole group of us.

And I don't mind, even though there was no Bible study, no service project, no youth-led worship, because the message we set out with this event was that there are still so many things to do that we can enjoy without having to confess afterward. We didn't come home and say "God, I jumped on a trampoline today, and I know that was a sin, and I ask forgiveness." In fact, it was even good for us-- our bodies were tired, our faces all shiny and red and we were set for calming, restorative sleep to help us start the week.

I think sometimes we talk too much about all the things we can't do. We put ourselves into a mindset of "I can't do anything because I'm a Christian" and because, in truth, a lot of things we are supposed to abstain from are so much in front of us day by day, we forget about the huge number of enjoyable, healthy things we can still try out. Like SkyZone. And 63 students remembered that yesterday.