We have two cats (sisters from the same litter) that are a little over 3 years old. They love to sleep most of the day and play all night long…errrr! I have to close my bedroom door at night because they make so much noise playing on the laminate floors downstairs. You might wonder what they are playing with—truth is anything they can find! They love the plastic ring that comes off the containers of milk or OJ. If you give them a crumpled piece of paper they will use it like a hockey puck across the floor. They do have a few toys that were purchased for them, but once I saw that they enjoyed playing more with things meant for the trash, I stopped wasting my money.
Children are the same way when allowed to be free. Parents really get upset when they purchase an expensive toy and their child finds more enjoyment in the box it came in than the actually contents. There’s a great children’s book about that called, “Crispin The Pig Who Had It ALL! by Ted Dewan. When given the chance it is the things that entice us to use our imaginations that we seem to enjoy the most. Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s we were taught at an early age that you had an imagination and using it made life more enjoyable. You weren’t allowed to watch TV all day long, there were no home computers, internet, video games, personal phones with text messaging, and if you wanted to play cards, you pulled out a deck and played solitaire or a game with someone else. It is funny how you don’t see girls playing jacks like we used to. It was a great pastime in my day, in fact I would practice on the kitchen floor so that when I got the chance to play with my friends I was really good. Flipping ten jacks on the back of your hand and catching most of them takes skill! ~Smile~
The more days the Lord gifts me, the more I’m seeing how it is still often the small things that bring us great joy and pleasure in life. We are just fed a constant diet through the media that we must buy and obtain more and more things in order to achieve joy and satisfaction. We have been brainwashed into believing that we need stuff that we really can do without. And that the bigger and more lavished it can be, the better it is. Example, this past Christmas season there was a TV commercial where the dad went outside and his wife had a new car sitting for him with a big red bow on it. At first he was excited until another car drove by…the ad was saying that was the car he really should have gotten. What!!! The media feeds our selfish nature and enriches our covetousness on a daily bases. Am I guilty of being a victim of this brainwashing? You bet I have been, but I’ve been working on getting back to enjoying the little things.
Finances will most surely dictate what we can and cannot do, but it also depends on our attitude how much fun we can have on a shoestring. In other words, if we look at life from the viewpoint of Paul, then we learn to be content when we have a lot or when we have a little. It’s all in the attitude.
Want to have friends over for dinner but your food budget is crying “Help me!” every time you enter the market? Why not ask each person or couple you invite to bring a dessert or appetizer and a bottle of their favorite salad dressing. Fix three different pastas and three different sauces, a salad and garlic bread. This is something you can stock up on when you see pasta on sale. The same goes for the frozen garlic bread, and the meats or seafood you might want to add to your sauces. This meal is not a budget buster, and you can invite several people over and still have plenty of food. Make it a game or card night. The joy will be in the fellowship and gathering of friends or family and a hearty meal.
It doesn’t cost anything to turn the TV off and get everyone together in the family room to spend an hour reading together and sharing what their book is about. And the benefits can be huge —time shared and often a lot of laughter and togetherness. Have you ever had a 9 year old share a book about kids eating boogers? Well, I have and yes while it is gross, it does come with a lot of good laughs and crazy comments!
Most of us have been gifted with a great imagination and when challenged we can be very creative in the things we find to do. So, today I want to encourage you to put your thinking caps on and come up with ways to have fun. Plain old ordinary every day fun and laughs! I think we could all use a little more laughter in our lives. Proverbs 17:22a tell us “that a cheerful heart [laughter] is good medicine”. My paraphrase.
Love & Hugs
Ponnie
See you tomorrow!
Maria Guzman will be back on Friday, be sure to check in
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