What potential does this day of life hold? Could the things you do today out live you? Could memories be made today that you still treasure 10 years from now? Could you do something today for the first time?

Here’s the truth, today is the day all the other days of your life have brought you to. You know what that means? That means you’ve been waiting your whole entire life for this day. Now it’s here. What will you do with it sister?

Whether you treasure it or not, it shall pass. Whether you seize the opportunities of today or not, this day will come and go and so will it’s offerings. This Thursday is filled with a whole lot of nonsense that really doesn’t matter, but hidden in it all is an invitation to live in a way that will wake you up to see what is truly being offered today. What is being offered is a priceless, one of a kind 24 hours of living, now let’s make sure you’re living.

Our God is a God of joy. He is a God a creativity and wonder. He is a God of play. His intentions were never for you to spend this one precious life you have been given stuck in a grind. Honey, he didn’t create all of this beauty so that you would never be able to enjoy it. He didn’t place dreams and desires within you just so you could feel bad about never getting to step into them. His hand is extended to you today with an invitation to come and play. Come and live fully with eyes wide open and joy set to high.

Watch a child and you will see playfulness is in our DNA. We are designed to naturally find joy in play. To laugh when something is funny and linger when something is delightful. Hmmmmm … why have we stopped that? Why have we grown so serious and put play on the back-burner and allowed joy to be overwhelmed with obligations and long lists?

God’s creation shows us his desire to delight us, his most prized creation, with fantastic sunsets, beautiful sunrises and gorgeous scenery. Isn’t the peacock to display beauty? Isn’t the butterfly emerging from a cocoon to show amazing transformation? Isn’t the dolphin to show the magnificence in play? And us with a sense of humor and wonder, isn’t it to enjoy life?

Doesn’t all of this prove that God wants us to enjoy his creation? I look at his creation and I come to the conclusion that we are here to play and laugh in what he has given to us to experience.

Nehemiah 8:10 “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

No wonder your ability to enjoy the offerings of the day is under attack. No wonder you get caught up in the details and try to control it all. No wonder you are tempted to sit it out in fear. It’s because your joy is a threat to the enemy and it has a big bullseye on it. Without joy, you become weak. When you are weak, you become weary. When you are weary, you stop living up to your full potential. In the end it is the POTENTIAL IMPACT of your life that is of greatest concern, so you’re attacked on the lifeline to your strength … your joy.

Have you stopped enjoying life? Have you decided joy can only be experienced when this is different and that is done? Have you tied strings and expectations to your joy, and those strings only hold you back as the rest of the world goes on?

Last night on the houseboat we turned on spa music, put on silk robes, dimmed the lights and did facials and hair treatments together. Then we had a full on dance party and laughed into hysterics because we couldn’t figure out who was who in our masks. Then came the invitation … the invitation to do something we wouldn’t normally do. The invitation to jump off the houseboat into the water at midnight, wearing silk robes, and wash our hair.

In that moment we were fully alive. We were filled with energy. Our joy was on full display savoring the offering of play and fun given to us by our Creator, and we were strengthened. Strength isn’t received by plowing through, doing more work, and figuring out how you can fit more projects into your days. Strength isn’t received by planning future fun or considering what you could do when you lose that weight, meet that goal, or go on that vacation. Strength is received right here in a less than perfect moment when you choose joy.

Where are my tired girls at? I’m not talking about the 4 hour of sleep club, I’m talking about the bone tired and weary. You wake up dreading the tasks of another day. That’s tired. Maybe you feel tired, not because you’ve done too much, but because you’ve done too little of what sparks a light in you. You’ve been alive, but not really LIVING.

Could this be a season of intentional JOY for you? Could you make joy a priority? Afterall, it is the joy of the Lord that gives you strength, and God has proven in his creation that he is playful.

Everyone admires that 80 year old playful woman. Guess what … that didn’t just magically happen when she became old. She was probably a playful 40 year old too. It has been her way of life. You can’t save up your joy for when you get older … heck girl, you may not even get the opportunity to be old. You have been given today. This is your limited offering. God wants to know what you will do with all he is offering you today.

Here in BIG Life we have created a Summer Bucketlist. This is a list of 100 ways to create fun and live in joy for this new season of life. Most are completely free, can be done alone, and require nothing more than your willingness to play. You will find as you play, your joy will increase, and as your joy increases, you are strengthened.

Could you take a jumping photo today? Could you have a ‘Just Because Party’? Yes, I’m being serious … could tonight’s dinner include streamers and party favors, with fun music and games as you celebrate just being alive? Could you eat dinner outside or have a picnic lunch? Could you blow bubbles or play with sidewalk chalk? If it’s sunny, could you do yoga outside, go for a little hike in the woods or a stroll downtown? If it’s raining, could you play in the rain? Could you eat dessert first or hit up the icecream truck?

You think you don’t have time to play … well sister I think you don’t have time to reluctantly and dreadfully drag your butt through another day doing things you hate and delaying things you could be enjoying. Dread doesn’t honor your creator. Your overworked butt, stressed out face, and joy deprived soul doesn’t draw others in to a loving God. And isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing?

Let your joy be on full display today. Live this day like it matters, because it SOOOO DOES. Seize the opportunities, accept the offerings, and do the things that spark life in you.

You’ve been waiting your entire life for this day … here it is. Now, what will you do with it? Will you live it in a way that brings you strength?