Investing In Fun

Investing in Fun

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Luke 12:34

My husband loves movies. At night, you can usually find him lying in bed reading a movie synopsis or watching a movie trailer. As a young married couple, we used to have “bed days” where we’d make a big bed on the living room floor in front of the TV and watch movies all day long. Now that we are parents of three young children, those days of lying around doing nothing on a weekend are long gone, but we’ve adapted to the changes. Now as a family, it’s become one of the things we all like to do together on evenings and weekends when we need a bit of a break: we crash on giant pillows on the floor, children tucked between adults, and watch movies about Barbies and LEGOs.

So it came as no surprise to me when Tim had an idea for a church event that would reach into our community: What if our church rented out the local movie theater on a Saturday morning and paid for everyone’s movie tickets and popcorn? What if we invited our neighbors and folks in the community alongside the children from our church?

Our church leaders agreed to try it out, so we chose a family-friendly animated movie and began inviting people. For the children in our church, it became an incentive to learn their Bible verses and invite friends to church, which “earned” them the treat of attending a free movie. But for those outside our church community, there was no requirement or obligation. As a congregation, we just wanted them to relax and feel welcome in our midst. Our church has now done this event the past three summers, and every year hundreds of kids and their parents attend. It seems my husband isn’t the only one who loves movies.

We’re told in the Gospel of Luke that where we choose to put our treasure reveals our hearts. Sometimes I feel like I should only give to “big” or “important” things. Yet something like a community movie reminds me that choosing to invest in fun things—little moments that reveal our heart for others—can bless people too. You never know when these small moments will impact someone for eternity.

—Kristin

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Find a way to share a hobby or passion of yours with someone else who would appreciate it.