The Glad Game 2

Being the loser that I am, I was looking at a few titles of blogs from the past. I came across "6 Happy Things--The Glad Game" and decided I would again like to list 6 things for the glad game. They aren't necessarily things that make me "happy" or "glad." Mostly, they are comforting and alleviating. They produce good feelings--sometimes they even make me happy. ;)

1. Food. I'm an emotional eater. Food maybe shouldn't be on this list, since it often makes me upset when I consider how much I eat, what I eat, and how little I exercise. But, I enjoy it. I've been on a pizza binge lately and I don't think I'm done. I've also boiled a lot of eggs. Interestingly enough, when I posted the first Glad Game blog on Nov. 6, 2007, my number was making hard-boiled eggs for the first time.

2. The Bible. For a season, I was a fine reader and studier of the Bible, in my own estimation at least. I could have been better, sure, but I did alright. Then I somehow got out of the habit. I've been reading more, but not well. The past few days, I've done a much better job. It isn't always easy--neither is the text and the reflection it brings--but it is good.

3. Reflection. This happy thought is another bitter sweet aspect of my life. Sometimes introspection is really hard. Sometimes it makes one sad, angry, guilty, anxious, or some slew of dark emotions. Sometimes it evokes lighter emotions. Either way, I am glad I do it as much as I do it. A friend recently told me he hates it when people tell him he thinks too much. Probably, he told me, other people don't think enough. I have to agree with him. Thinking is a good thing.

4. Writing. At the end of Joan Didion's essay, "The White Album," she says writing hadn't helped her handle or understand life. The statement seemed odd, since she wrote it and since she is an author and since her topic is so reflective. The process did something, because she attempted it and published it. Maybe she means writing didn't make it all clear and writing didn't make it all better. I can't help but agree, because, often, writing makes things hard because it is so reflective. But it can be so cathartic.

5. Forts & Physical Closeness.

6. I think I could lift the whole paragraph from the last number six of " The Glad Game" for this glad game number six. It is, perhaps, the most important. It is the place in which I see, hear, and feel God the most. I am so glad I can talk and be talked to; open up and be opened up to; comfort and be comforted. I still ask the questions I asked in the first number 6, but today I have more confidence in the answer. If you visit that old blog, you'll notice I have a comment and two kudos, although they have been removed from the blog (not by me). I remember what the comment said--it might as well have been straight from God. It was very short, perhaps one sentence with neither adjectives nor adverbs. It still encourages me today. In fact, it is extra encouraging with some new thoughts I'm having on faith and faith-words. I save the best for last in the glad game.

Will you play the glad game?