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Hello, fearless one.

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When was the last time you did something simply because it was fun?

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Not because it was productive.

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Not because it would improve your health,

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grow your business, generate content, or help you reach a goal.

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You did it because it made you laugh, because it made you curious, because you enjoyed it.

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When was the last time you danced badly in your kitchen,

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sang loudly even though you did not know all the words,

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played dominoes,

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painted, ran through the rain, or tried something you were absolutely terrible at?

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When was the last time you played?

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Somewhere along the way, many of us became very serious people.

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Everything has to have a purpose.

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Everything has to produce a result.

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Even rest has become something we optimize so we can return to work and perform better.

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We do not go for a walk just to see where the road leads.

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We track the steps, measure the distance and calculate the calories.

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We do not try a hobby simply because it looks interesting.

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We immediately wonder whether it could become a side hustle.

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I am so guilty of this.

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We cannot make a cake without photographing it, posting it.

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And checking how many people liked it.

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Some of us do not even know how to enjoy a beautiful moment without reaching

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for our phones to capture it.

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We are physically present, but our minds are somewhere else.

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Planning tomorrow, replaying yesterday, anticipating what could go wrong.

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Trying to turn every experience into something useful.

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Today, I want to invite you to do something wonderfully unproductive.

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Go and play.

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Before we continue, please follow or subscribe wherever you are listening.

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Share this episode with someone who has been carrying the weight of life for too long.

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And when you finish listening,

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leave a comment and tell me one way you plan to add more play to your life.

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Thank you so much.

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Have you ever watched a young child play?

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A cardboard box becomes a boat, a house, or a rocket going to the moon.

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A stick becomes a sword.

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A puddle becomes an invitation.

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Children do not need perfect conditions to play.

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They use what is available.

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They become completely absorbed in the moment they are living.

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They are not standing in the puddle worrying about

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whether there will be another puddle tomorrow.

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They are not creating a five-year puddle strategy.

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They see the opportunity in front of them and jump.

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Jesus said in Matthew 6,

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34, Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

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Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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We often hear that as an instruction to stop worrying,

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but it is also an invitation to return to today,

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this day,

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this conversation,

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this meal,

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this patch of sunlight coming through the window,

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this unexpected opportunity, this moment with someone you love.

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Life is not only happening in the future you are trying to build, life is happening right now.

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If you are always preparing for the next season, you can miss the one you prayed to enter.

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If you are always waiting for something to change before you allow yourself

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to enjoy life, you may spend years postponing joy.

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I will enjoy myself when the business makes more money you say.

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I will rest when the work is finished.

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I will travel when everything is stable.

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I will play when the children are older.

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I will be happy when I am healed.

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I will enjoy my life when I have someone to enjoy it with.

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But what if joy is available right here?

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Not because everything is perfect, but because God is present.

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Remember, God is with you on the journey.

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Psalm 1611 says,

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Joy is found in his presence,

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not only at the destination,

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not only after the answer arrives,

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not only when the test results change,

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the money comes in, the business succeeds or the relationship is restored.

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Joy is available in God's presence right now.

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That does not mean every part of your life will feel fun.

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Heartbreak is not fun.

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Illness is not fun.

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Grief, disappointment, and uncertainty are not games.

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But even in difficult places, we do not travel alone.

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The Israelites were not alone in the wilderness.

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God was with them.

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David was not alone when he faced Goliath.

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God was with him.

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Daniel was not alone in the lion's den.

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God was with him.

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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not alone in the fire.

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Someone else was seen walking in it with them.

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The presence of God did not always remove the difficult place.

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His presence changed how they experienced it.

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We often assume peace will come when God removes the problem,

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but sometimes peace comes when we realize He has entered it with us.

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You may not know what is around the next corner, but God does.

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You may not have enough information to create a 10-step plan,

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but you do not need 10 steps right now.

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You need enough light for the step in front of you.

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When something unexpected happens,

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you can turn to God and say, Father, I did not see this coming, but you did.

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Show me what to do with it.

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God, I do not know how to solve this.

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Give me your wisdom.

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Lord, I am afraid of what might happen.

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Help me return to what is true today.

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Father, this is too heavy for me.

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I give it to you.

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You do not have to carry every possible version of tomorrow.

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You can ask God for help as each situation arises.

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That is one of the ways life becomes lighter.

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You stop trying to be God and start trusting the one who is.

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I've been thinking about how differently we experience a journey when we trust

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the person leading it.

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If I'm traveling with someone who knows the way, I do not need to study every road sign.

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I can look out of the window.

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I can enjoy the scenery.

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I can notice the strange little shop at the side of the road.

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I can laugh at the wrong turn because I trust that we will find our way again.

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But when I believe everything depends on me, I cannot relax.

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Every delay becomes a disaster.

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Every wrong turn becomes evidence that I have failed.

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Every unexpected event feels like a threat to the plan.

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We need plans.

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I am a strategist.

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I believe in direction, preparation, and wise stewardship.

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But a plan is a tool.

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It is not God.

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Sometimes the interruption is where the story is.

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Sometimes a detour introduces you to someone you needed to meet.

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Sometimes a thing that did not work gives you the information you need for the next attempt.

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Sometimes what looks like a delay is simply protection.

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Sometimes God is doing something entirely different from what you expected and

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And you will only notice it if you stop fighting the moment long enough to ask,

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God, what are you showing me here?

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Romans 8.28 tells us that God works all things for the good of those who love Him

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and are called according to His purpose.

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All things.

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The victories and the wrong turns.

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The finished manuscripts and the ones still sitting in a folder.

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The business that worked and the one that taught you what never to do again.

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The open door and the closed one.

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God wastes nothing.

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That means you don't have to be terrified of making an imperfect move.

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You can try.

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You can explore.

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You can experiment.

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You can learn.

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You can approach parts of life with curiosity rather than fear.

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Instead of asking, what if this goes wrong?

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You can also ask, what might I discover?

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Instead of demanding that every attempt succeed, you can allow an experience to teach you.

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Instead of treating life like an examination you are terrified of failing,

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you can receive it as an adventure you are taking with God.

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Hey, fearless one, this is Nerissa Golden.

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I know you already have a copy of my book,

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Live Fairless,

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A Christian Entrepreneur's Guide to Life and Business on your bookshelf or

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on your Kindle.

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Thank you so much for buying it.

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Let me just say, you are allowed to enjoy your life.

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Some of us feel guilty when life becomes enjoyable.

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We know people who are struggling.

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We remember the things that have gone wrong.

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We are aware that another difficult season may come.

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So even in good moments, we brace ourselves.

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We do not fully laugh because something might happen.

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We do not fully love because someone might leave.

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We do not fully celebrate because the next season might be hard.

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But refusing to enjoy today will not protect you from tomorrow.

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It only takes today away from you too.

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Ecclesiastes 3 tells us there's a time to weep and a time to laugh,

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a time to mourn and a time to dance.

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Scripture makes room for both.

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You do not have to deny your grief to laugh.

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You do not have to forget what happened to enjoy what remains.

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You can be healing and still play.

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You can be receiving treatment and still make plans.

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You can be rebuilding and still celebrate progress.

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You can be uncertain about tomorrow and still enjoy today.

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Play is not evidence that the painful experience did not matter.

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It is evidence that pain does not own every part of you.

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After heartbreak,

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play can help you rediscover who you are outside of the relationship and outside of

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the loss.

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After illness,

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play can help you reconnect with your body without treating it only as something

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to monitor, medicate, or fix.

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After disappointment,

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play can remind you that one failed plan did not end your capacity to imagine.

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After years of responsibility,

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play can introduce you to parts of yourself you buried

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because you were busy surviving.

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Blessed people can play.

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Genesis tells us that God blessed humanity before he gave them an assignment.

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Blessed came first,

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before the work,

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before the fruitfulness,

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before the multiplying, before the responsibility to have dominion.

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You are not valuable because of how much you produce.

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You do not have to earn the right to experience joy.

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You are loved and blessed by God before you complete another task.

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When you understand that, you can work without making work your entire identity.

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You can build a business without turning every waking moment into business development.

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You can create without demanding that everything you make becomes profitable.

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You can learn something without needing to master it.

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You can do something badly and still enjoy yourself Imagine that.

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You can be terrible at karaoke and still sing.

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You can lose at dominoes and still laugh.

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You can paint something nobody recognizes and still hang it on your wall.

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You can start a garden, accidentally kill three plants and try again.

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Not every activity needs to become evidence of your excellence.

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Play gives you permission to be a beginner.

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It teaches you to experiment.

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It builds creativity.

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It helps you become more comfortable with uncertainty.

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It reminds you that mistakes do not have to become identity statements.

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Sometimes you missed the ball.

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Sometimes the cake fell.

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Sometimes your team lost.

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Sometimes you chose the wrong road.

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You adjust.

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You laugh.

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You learn.

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You continue.

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Lately, I've been assessing my life in business.

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I was saddened to realize that I'd lost some of the joy and work I used to love.

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I had become distracted by circumstances and so focused on what needed

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to happen next that I stopped experiencing what was happening right now.

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I had to return to the goal that mattered most,

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being obedient to the call on my life and operating from a place of blessed first,

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not frantic first, not fearful first, not productive first, blessed first.

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I do not want to build a life I am too exhausted to experience.

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I do not want to reach a destination and realize I miss the scenery,

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the conversations, the lessons and the laughter that were available along the way.

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I want to enjoy the journey with God.

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I want to be present enough to notice what he is doing.

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I want to slow down enough to hear when he says, look at this.

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I want to trust him enough to laugh when the plan changes and ask,

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all right, God, where are we going now?

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So how can you add more play to your life?

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Play is anything you can enjoy without requiring it to prove your worth,

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earn you money, or produce a useful result.

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It might be putting on music and dancing badly in the kitchen, as I said earlier.

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Painting, even though nobody will ever buy it.

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Trying a new recipe.

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This is actually what I'm doing more of now.

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Playing dominoes with friends.

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Going to the beach.

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Wearing that very bright outfit.

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Taking yourself somewhere beautiful.

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Learning something simply because it interests you.

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Gardening.

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Gentle movement.

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Singing.

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Swimming.

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Completing a puzzle or sitting outside with people who make you laugh.

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The activity does not have to be impressive.

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It just needs to bring a little life back into the room.

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This week, I want you to choose one thing to do purely because you enjoy it.

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Not because it will improve your business, make you more productive or impress anyone.

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Give yourself at least 30 minutes to enjoy something without it turning

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into content, income, or achievement.

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If 30 minutes feels like too much, begin with five.

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Sing, color, dance, sit in the sun, watch something funny.

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Take the long way home and notice what is around you.

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If you want to play with other people,

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invite someone for dominoes, coffee,

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karaoke,

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a picnic or an afternoon doing something neither of you is particularly good at.

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And while you are doing it, resist the temptation to rush towards the next thing.

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Stay there.

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Experience it.

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Thank God for it.

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Let the moment be enough.

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If nothing sounds enjoyable yet, do not condemn yourself.

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After prolonged grief, stress, or illness, desire can take time to return.

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Begin with curiosity.

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Ask yourself, what feels a little lighter than everything else?

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Here are a few reflection questions to consider.

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What did I enjoy doing before life became so serious?

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When was the last time I laughed without checking the time?

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What have I stopped doing because it doesn't appear productive?

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Who helps me feel lighter and more like myself?

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What kind of play can my body and current circumstances support?

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What would I try if I did not need to be good at it?

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Am I so focused on planning my future that I am failing to experience my life today?

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Where am I trying to control tomorrow instead of trusting God with it?

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What can I hand over to God today so I can become present again?

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I will add these questions to the show notes so you can work through them in your quiet time.

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Fearless one, you are not traveling alone.

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God is with you in the victories,

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the delays, the surprises, the ordinary days, and the difficult places.

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When trouble appears, turn to him.

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Ask for his wisdom.

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Ask for his help.

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Ask him to carry what is too heavy for you.

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Then return to the moment you have been given.

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Notice the beauty.

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Receive the lessons.

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Laugh when you can.

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Try something new.

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Enjoy the people around you.

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Go and play.

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You are loved and blessed by the one who is always with you.

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You are his favorite.

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Live Fearless.

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This podcast is intended to encourage and inform.

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It is not a substitute for medical advice,

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mental health care, professional counseling, or pastoral support.

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If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional or someone you trust.

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If you feel you may harm yourself or are in immediate danger,

(00:16:39.090):
contact your local emergency services or crisis support service now.

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Until next time, remember who you are, whose you are, and live fearless.