We are so allowed to have fun, and even we'll find it in the Bible when I want to take us to it. Ecclesiastes 3, 12 through 13. It says, There's nothing better than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live to eat and to drink and to find satisfaction in all their toil. This is the gift of God. When I found that verse, I was like, I have not read this. Eat and drink, say no more. Hi friends, welcome to Team Not Tired. I'm so glad that you're here today. My name is Ashley Earwood, and I'm Shereen Crawford. And we are here to help you find the grace to run your race at a sustainable pace. We like to talk about a lot of different things here at Team Not Tired. And today we are talking all things fun. Yeah. I will say that I kind of found myself in this situation. I was with my mentor, and I was just telling her all the things that I was responsible for and doing. And like it was like this long list. And we're not surprised. We're not surprised at all. Because you're not an overachiever. No, I'm not. I'm just out here doing my best. But I was talking with her and I was telling her like all the things that I was responsible for, all the things that I was doing, all the things that I feel like God put on my life and what I would like to do. And you know, the list goes on and yada yada. And she just kind of looked at me and she was like, Shireen, what do you do for fun? And I just remember like sitting back in my chair, crossing my arms, and I didn't have an answer. Because although I think I am lovely, yes, you're super fun. You're so sweet. But I don't think that I am I'm like a fun person. You know, there's some people that just literally are fun and they're so much fun to be around, and they have like this contagious joy. But I remember her telling me, like, you're allowed to have fun. And so I want to kind of take that moment that I had of like being on mission, having heavy things that I have to carry, and then permission to have fun. Like it didn't even cross my mind. Yeah, that's how much I'm not fun. But I think that I have wrestled with that question of like what do you do for fun? And then that permission that goes with it of like, hey, like because it it's not really a personality thing at the end of the day. Making room for fun in our lives applies to everybody, regardless if everybody, you know, you're an introvert, you're an extrovert. If you're outgoing, you're not outgoing. If you know you you've got that walking party personality, right, or you're more serious and focused. Like the fact of the matter is we're made for joy. We're made to have fun. But I think many women, as we get older, right, find less and less bandwidth and less and less time to make time for fun. And not even just rest, just fun. Fun. F-U-N, fun. Like oh, that's how you spell it. Yeah. I I had to look it up. But it's not a distraction from your calling. It's often where our soul gets restored. And I I think that that's something that we need to kind of shift our mindset. And we'll talk about that. But like we're really good, you and I, and and our listeners, of like being responsible, always thinking ahead and like being productive and optimizing all of the things. And so we've we've kind of normalized this concept in this striving world of like exhaustion and burnout, and so much so that it feels kind of like irresponsible to have fun. And like if I'm having fun, I feel behind. If I'm having fun, I should be doing something else. If I'm having fun, I feel guilty and like I feel like I'm kind of off mission. This is just a sneak peek into my head. Or or like we're wasting time. Yeah, because this isn't productive. This isn't productive. And I I know that I am not alone in this. And so I want I want to talk about this. And I think that we are so allowed to have fun. And even we'll find it in the Bible and I want to take us to it. Ecclesiastes 3, 12 through 13. It says, There's nothing better than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live to eat and to drink and to find satisfaction in all their toil. This is the gift of God. When I found that verse, I was like, I have not read this. Eat and drink, say no more. Exactly. And like that's where I want to kind of take this like verse by verse of like joy is a discipline. It's not a mood, it's something that we have to kind of rectify within our brain of like, there's nothing better than to be. You have to be. It's a decision, it's a discipline to be joyful, regardless of what you're facing, what regardless of what season you're in. But it is something you can be and find that discipline. And I I will say that I I feel like I'm a joyful person. There are moments. I'm like, there are moments where I am not joyful, but I think that we can start there and then it goes on to do good. Do good as long as they live. And that's in the mundane of things. That's not like you're off mission, like you're you're living, you're doing things, you're actively doing good. And that is that's important, but it's important to know like I can be joyful in doing the mundane things. Yeah. And so then it goes on to my favorite part of the verse is to eat and drink. Yes. To eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil. Like every one of us is working incredibly hard. And I I've I'm guilty of not doing the things of like the enjoyment of eating and drinking and just having that moment of satisfaction. Of like Well, and it's a great sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. No, go ahead. It but it's a it's a great reminder when he, you know, he says to find basically find joy in the eating and drinking. I go. We're eating and drinking every day. Yeah. It's most of us three meals a day. It's like it's this great reminder of going in the everyday things, in the habits, yes, in what feels like mundane, that's actually where the joy is. That is where the joy is. And I think that we have it on our board in our whiteboard. It says, be wise enough to enjoy the simple things. And I I have to remind, I think my husband put that on there for me. But I I think that this is where we can come back to God, is not anti-pleasure, right? Like he wants us to find joy, but he's not in the striving, he's anti-striving, he's he's wants us to find joy, and he built such a beautiful, complex world for us to live in. And if we just, you know, it's a cliche, but take the time to smell the roses, yeah, stop and smell the roses, yeah. Then we can find satisfaction in the mundane things and find great joy in those things. And I love this part because again, this is the gift of God, and he's so good in his mercy that he freely gives so much to us, not only like in the grand scheme of salvation, right? Like, what a beautiful gift, but he also gives us all of these other things that we can find great joy in. And for me, I'll just say for me, it's a huge mind uh shift, like a mindset shift that I have to do of like I don't have to earn anything. I just need to be really good at receiving. And with it being a gift, it reframes my mind of like, oh, this is from God, this is from my father, this is from someone who loves me. And he wants me to find enjoyment in my life, even in the toil, even when things get hard, even like it's the duality of life that we kind of are really good at, like, you know, like me running my list of like these are all the things I'm responsible for. Like, and like I have to do all of these things, and and we talk about even like the invisible load of like in that episode of all the things that we carry, but then what a beautiful thing it is to care for the people we love and to nurture them and find them as a beautiful gift that the Lord has put on loan to us. Like, well, it's a it's a gift we access, and then I just can't help but be reminded that it's of fruit that we have access to. Like a gift we're given, but it's a it's a fruit that we can produce in our lives as well. Because of all the ingalations, right? Of all of the fruits of the spirit, yeah, which are, you know, if we abide in Christ, He's the vine, we're the branches, we're producing fruit that's reflection of Holy Spirit in us. One of those fruits is joy. And so I missed that fruit. What was that? Love joy. Okay, peace. I always skip over that one. But but it's true. We do tend to skip over that one. Right. We go, oh, I I want to be peaceful, I want to be patient, I want to be kind, I wanna, you know, God is love, so so we extend love to others, and yet we kind of forget like joy is one of the fruits of the spirit, which is why it's a discipline to produce it in our lives, right? And I think again, this is I I wouldn't constitute that I am like the fun friend. I'm not the fun sister, like because you hung out with the fun sister, like you call me like the responsible one, you know? So like there's there's many parts of the body of Christ. And like you said, like it is a a fruit of the spirit, it is a discipline that we we can find joy in this beautiful gift of life that God has given us. And so look, let's let's enjoy it. Let's you're allowed to have fun and it doesn't take you off of mission. So yeah, like a good reminder. Yeah, stop feeling guilty for for finding pleasure in simple things that you enjoy. Is this why is this why you're trying to find a hobby? Oh my gosh. Can we talk about that for a minute? My husband says they're not called hobbies anymore. Oh, what are they called? They're leisurely activities. What? So bougie of you, Blake. So if you don't know, my husband, producer Blake, he helps with our podcast. And we were sitting at the table one night, and he was saying, like, you don't have a hobby, you need a hobby. And I was like, and all my free again, it's like all my free time, I'm responsible for this, that and he was like, No, no, no, like you need one. And I was like, so I asked people, like, do you have a hobby? And most people don't. Most people don't have a hobby. And so my goal for for this summer is to get myself out there, and and I've always wanted to learn how to play tennis well. Oh, yeah, okay. No, I'm not out here for just the cute outfits because let's but they are cute, they're adorable. So I I I want to not just be a beautiful outfit on the tennis corner, I want to have depth and a great backhand, a great one, but I'm terrible, I'm so terrible at it, but I'm willing to be terrible at something that I've always wanted to do, and I find I do find enjoyment. I love that, and so yeah, my husband put me on blast and was like, you need a hobby. I talk, I like actually talked to someone and was like, Hey, I know that you play tennis, I know that like, can you direct me and where we should go? Like, he's setting me up. Yeah, I know his like love language is like, you're not gonna do it for yourself. Yeah, so I'm gonna do this for you. And then I'll find enjoyment and I'll find joy. But I I think that is something that I'm really trying to work towards of having a hobby of my own or a leisurely activity. I love that you guys did that and have gone through that practice to identify something because my husband and I were just having that a similar conversation because he's getting ready to to have some some time off. Nice and was kind of we were both realizing that we have found ourselves now in career mode for so long and raising child mode for so long that he he said the same thing. He looked at me and he's like, I don't have a hobby. Yeah, he's like, I think I need a hobby. Or now I'm gonna go home and say, you need a leisure activity. But it but it's true. And for those of us who are going, okay, I need I need just some more fun in my life. I just need some more joy in my life. It's gonna help me balance, it's it's gonna bring joy to the Lord, it's gonna make me a better friend, it's gonna make me a better spouse, it's gonna make me a better mother, it's gonna make me a better coworker when I can walk with with more joy. Right. And we're and risk it's restorative to your soul. And so, like, how do you have fun on mission? Or what I'm now calling mission fun. Because I I have to do things with intention because I'm so type A. I love it. Tell us the answer. Uh yeah, I mean, some of my fun friends that listen to this podcast, I'm sure they'll give me notes. But, and I welcome them, but I think the number one thing is reset your mindset in this season. Ask yourself, where am I lacking fun? Where am I lacking joy? Where where is it? And again, if you're if you find yourself in that same position in that same seat of like, these are all the things I'm responsible for and going down the list, and then it's like, but what am I doing to find fun? Where am I lacking in joy? Ask yourself that that question. I I love that question, and it it brought to mind before you continue. It it brought to mind there was a season in my life years ago now where I was walking through some real serious burnout and likely depression. And I remember having to really account for when I felt joy and what brought joy. Like it was like kind of, I really need to to consider, you know, any moment that I felt joy or happiness to go, what was the impetus for me feeling this? Right. And how can I do more of it? And I think for for some people that might find themselves there today of going, like, there is no joy in my life. Right. Like, A, I would encourage you to lean into Jesus because he's going to bring, you know, the the deep joy and healing that you desperately need. But also, it's not always just as simple as finding a hobby. Sometimes you need to go, I felt joy today because I looked outside and saw flowers. Right. I felt joy today because I could take a deep breath. Like celebrating the little things and and recognizing being self-aware enough to realize what actually brings you joy is a is a discipline in and of itself. Right. And and that's one of my points is like the micro moments of there there has been very similar to you of heavy and long seasons where there I had nothing that I felt like brought me joy except for being in the house of the Lord. Like I loved going to church at that point because I felt like that was the only thing that was bringing me joy because everything just felt like all hell is broken loose. And so I've I have found that in those micro moments of okay, this brings me joy and recognizing that. And and some people might not even be in that in that season, but I think even in in the micro moments of like, hey, let's have a pool day. Let's hey, let's go get ice cream, like for me, it's probably like, let's read one more chapter. It's it's pretty late, but we're doing it, you know? And like one of the questions I've been asking myself too is what did I used to do as a kid that brought me joy? I used to draw and like draw cartoons a lot when I was a kid. Really? Yeah. And like that brought me so much joy. I loved doing art. I love doing painting. I love doing, you know, those types of things. And so actually, I went I picked up a water like color paint kit. And so I I picked it up. I started. Am I great at it? No, absolutely not. But like it reminded me of like when I was a kid, like this brought me so much joy and you know, stopped my brain from like thinking. Yes. And so I would also say the other thing is rest without guilt. You don't have to earn it. Like, and we talk about Sabbath uh Sabbath and just Jesus with naps, and like so we're a huge proponent and champion of of rest without guilt. And then the other thing is schedule, make room. Make if your schedule's so overpacked of like if a friend calls you, right? And it's like, hey, what are you doing? What you like? Let's go grab coffee or you know, whatever that moment is. Like, if your schedule's so packed with so many different things, it doesn't leave room for fun or joy or the spontaneous moments. I don't have spontaneous moments because again, I'm type A and I schedule everything out. So I schedule fun. Like I know, like this is my block of time, of like I'm gonna go have fun with my friends, or I'm I'm going to like be very intentional about this is when I'm going to, you know, hopefully be cute and on a tennis court, you know. Like that's that's something I really want to to find for myself of making room on my schedule. And I know some of us all have them. Hang out with your fun friend, like schedule that in. And the last thing I would say is less pressure on yourself, lower the bar. It doesn't have to be this big crazy vacation. Because I've been in seasons where it's just like there's no way that I could get away and have fun on a vacation. And so I had to reset my mindset and lower the bar to can't even see it because in this moment my daughter is doing a silly dance in front of me. Right. And it's not about spending money, right? It doesn't have to be that way, but as she's doing her silly dance, I can do a silly dance right after, you know, and like we can turn on the music and we can dance around the house and and we can find joy and recognize that God is a God that delights in us and wants us to delight in his splendor and his wonder. So, sister, if you were listening, you have permission to have fun and you can do that on mission. It does not take you off track. I love it. And if we're, you know, if we're trying and sh and not not striving, but we're on mission to be more like Jesus, then I think there has to be the reality that we name that he had to have been fun. Like if you want with your boy, yeah, like if he's invited to these parties that he's getting, you know, shade for by the religious leaders, like he had to have been fun to hang around with. The life of the party. Yes. And so I just as we wrap it through today, go like you know, I I hear you, Shireen. I'm probably not called the fun friend either, but I think all of us can have permission permission to be a fun friend. You know, we can live with joy, we can live with intention, we can still live on mission, but we can be a fun friend. And so that's what we're I think you're a fun friend. Okay. That's what we want for each other. That's what we want for you today, friends. So you've heard it from us. You have permission to be fun, to have fun, and to be the fun friend. So share this with a friend who is fun or who needs a little more fun in her life. We'd love to hear from you. We'd love to just ask you to rate and review Team Not Tired so that we can continue to just help and minister to more busy Christian women who don't want to wear burnout like a badge of honor. We'll see you next time.