Are We Having Fun Yet?

I was sitting at Cracker Barrel one morning this past week following a week that just seemed like it kept on going on and kept piling on, if you know what I mean. In the midst of all of the graduation celebrations, end of school year parties, church yard sale and all of the regular week things that go on, we said goodbye to a wonderful woman at our church who had finally succumbed to cancer. Yes it was "one of those weeks" that also consisted of me being bothered by some level of a migraine for much of the time. So here I sat, by myself in Cracker Barrel...phone by my side and a USA Today paper. I turned through the paper pretty quickly with nothing really jumping out at me through the first three sections. I didn't consider it to be a bad thing that nothing caught my eye because the coffee was good and there was no one in front or beside me adding to the pile that I was still trying to dig out from. I kept on looking and then in the fourth section, at the bottom left corner a little cartoon figure caught my eye. What kept my eye focused there was not the figure but the wording of the question that was asked. It showed a chart and asked the question, "How Many Days Ago Did You Last Have Fun"? That question reminded me of an old commercial I use to see when I was younger growing up in Texas. The commercial had a cowboy who was sitting around a campfire with a bowl of steaming hot chili and he asked the question, "How long has it been since you ate a bowl of Wolf Brand Chili"? I pondered that question for a while, not how long it had been since I ate chili but rather how long has it had been since I last had fun. Almost half of the people polled said it had been within a day but nearly 20% said that they couldn't remember the last time they had fun. Life can get that way. I know life is not all about having fun...believe me I know! My youth pastor growing up, Tommy Weir use to take me aside on a regular basis and share that with me, often times with his finger in my face! You and I can get so focused on all the bad things surrounding us that we miss out on the good things and when you miss out remembering the good things, life's not fun! As I left Cracker Barrel, the Lord brought to me a song that I haven't heard in a long time. The title is I Won't Complain and you can see Rev. Paul Jones singing it HERE. I'm reminded throughout the New Testament that when things got heavy, when life became not so fun for Jesus that He would slip off to a secluded place to spend time with His father. Not such a bad idea is it? Going back to the Wolf Brand Chili commercial...When the cowboy asks how long it has been, he then looks at the camera and says, "Well friend, that's too long"...meaning anytime, no matter how short or how long is too long! Has the world and its surroundings got you down? Does it seem that your fun days are few and far between. If it seems that way, let me end with this question, "How long has it been since you spent time with your creator? Well friend, that's too long"! Have Fun Out There...You Need it and so do others around you! See you @ The River...Pastor John