Fun in the Son!!!

Today was filled with fun and sun.  I took the students to Carowinds, helped put together a flower basket for a friend, spent time with Becca (always a joy!) and basked in the sunshine.  I used to love sunbathing.  I did it every spring in hopes to get a little color. I hoped to look more like my mother, my sister, my brothers, all whom have beautiful dark island skin.  In our family we have always been proud of our Hawaiian heritage and with that came the desire to look the part.  Unfortunately I did not get the island skin gene.  Instead I was blessed with the European milky skin.  Though I don't burn as much as one might think, I don't tan either.  Many hours in the sun produces a tan only visible next to the white untouched skin.  So basically unless I bear it all (not something I will ever feel comfortable doing) a tan is unseen on me!  That has not stopped me from tanning most of my life.  Several years back, I decided to honor my milky white skin and stop tanning.  However I still enjoy that feeling of soaking up the sunshine and today at Carowinds I was able to do just that.  While soaking it in, I also was able to do another favorite past time..... people watching.  It is so much fun at Carowinds. I watched family dynamics, contrast in body types, parenting skills and over all levels of fun.  Some parents seemed so stressed that I wondered how they even ended up there.  Others were just having fun with their kids.  Some were disciplinarians and others let their kids boss them around.   One lady right in front of us sat as her son berated her for a good 5 minutes for bringing the wrong goggles.  Then at his insistence she went and bought some new goggles since the ones in the bag were completely inadequate.  It was fascinating to watch.


At one point I was watching a woman sitting in front of us.  She had on a hat and from what I could tell she looked like a grandmother.  Every once in a while a gentleman with a small girl came and said a few words to her and then they would leave again.  She was just sitting there in her hat people watching too.  Then at one point a song came on she liked and she started dancing in her chair.  Hands up over her head, snapping her fingers and swaying to the music.  It was as if she could not control her self, she just had to dance.  I found myself smiling.  It brought joy to see her filled with such abandoned joy! 


I am not that fun, most of the time.  I tend to be a bit sober minded, I like to do what is right, not what is fun.  Now I have my moments, but it is hard for me to be free enough to just cut loose when a good song comes on the radio.  It is hard for me to just leap or dance when I want to.  I think it is hard for me to have fun sometimes.  Just good clean crazy fun!!!!  


As I watched that beautiful woman dancing in her chair with her sun hat on I kept thinking what joy it brought me, just to watch. How it made me wish I had some of that.....that confidence..... that rhythm.....that joy!  I think we should have fun!!! I think we should be filled with joy and laughter!!!! I think if more Christians knew how to have fun,  good belly laughing fun, if we knew how to dance for joy, how infectious it would be.  I keep thinking of one of the songs that made me know I was supposed to start this blog.... Mandisa....

I know to live MtC it is important to have fun in the sun and in the son!  It is important to dance for Him!  It is important to be free enough to put your hands up in the air!!!! Thanks Mandisa.  I know He wants us free enough, filled with enough joy, to be as an infectious example of his transforming joy!!!!