Escape Before You Explode (Plus, Play This Game!)
I’m a believer in planning out breaks and vacations and day trips in order to give all you’ve got where you live. After the 15 months or so we’ve had in this global pandemic, I’m going to guess many of you have planned a vacation or time to see extended family over the next few months.
“God knows what you need. It’s up to you to escape though. And do so before you explode. Escape when you are healthy and in need of a break, rather than on fumes leaving town. Make these escapes habitual and model this to your team and church. They will all know when you’ve escaped. It will be freshly spread all across your face. ”
We spent family time on the best little island in the world where no attraction was vying for our attention, but one another. That’s what I missed most this past year…not being able to escape to be in the company of others.
Now’s the time to get ahead with your escapes. Go ahead and look way out through the rest of this year. Calendar a day away a month to enjoy a hobby, finish a book, go on a drive, venture out with friends. Even if you don’t know how you’ll send it, go ahead and account for it.
Sabbath once a week because Jesus tells us this day was made for us, not us for it. (Mark 2:27) Set aside tasks, shut down devices, turn off work mode and be present with your people and honor God our Creator and Sustainer. Here’s an idea.
How will you spend the holidays? Yes, the ones that come 5-6 months from now! What will you need during that time of year? I guarantee if you’re pouring out, you’ll need something to fill you. Ben and I have found that making plans in advance help us to stick to commitments and guard dates because we know we’ll need it when the time comes.
And when you gather with others, play this game called Empire! This is best played in a group of 10 or more. Our ages have ranged from 4-70.
Rules: Everyone writes down a famous person on a piece of paper - a name recognizable by a majority in the group. Do not share what you wrote. Names are handed over to the Reader. To start, everyone is their own team. The Reader reads every name out loud one time only loud and clear. The Reader chooses one person to start. This person tries to match a famous person read aloud with a person playing the game. If they miss, the Reader chooses another person to guess. (The Reader never guesses and never reads the names aloud again.) This continues until someone makes a match. At this point, the person who was guessed teams up with the person who guessed them. They have become the first EMPIRE. Together they make another guess. As long as they make accurate guesses, the people join their empire. Otherwise, the Reader chooses another person to guess. Other Empires get built as someone makes a match.
The Goal is to build the biggest Empire by making matches with the famous people written down to the people in the game. It is possible to win over another empire by guessing the leader’s match!
The biggest empire wins the game.
Reading, Book Clubs, and Joining the Neighborhood also keep us from exploding!
Keep scrolling!
Books I’ve Read So Far This Summer {photos will take you to shop}
Make Love Where You Live your next book club or start one this summer and let it linger into the start of the school year! Click on photo for a free PDF of assembled book club questions. Now it’s your turn to invite neighbors to the club!
Love Where You Live BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS