Parting words...Live Joyfully - Work Heartily

What can I leave behind for my coworkers to help them remember me and more importantly give some inspiration?  I started jotting down short sayings and thinking of ways I could leave behind something worthwhile.  Then it came to me - Jenga!

If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you haven't played this popular game of strategy.  It involves 54 wood tiles stacked on top of each other in rows of three tiles, each row rotated 90 degrees from each other.  The object of the game is to see how you can remove tiles from the base and add them to the top of the tower, trying to make it as tall as possible.  When the tower falls, the players shout "Jenga"!

The name "Jenga" comes from the Swahili word "kujenga" which means "to build".   That seemed fitting also for Drawform at a time of rebuilding.

I've had a thousand ideas that never 'got legs' but this isn't one of those.  I went to Target and bought two Jenga games, enough for each employee that works at a desk.  I decided to draw the line with "office" employees because that's who I engaged with the most.

Now, what to write on the tile?  Not much space to write and most of the phrases I had considered were 4 words.  Lots of options but nothing seemed quite right.  I received my inspiration later in the day at an unlikely place, a funeral service.  My wife's aunt had died on Christmas on her 93rd birthday (pretty remarkable to come and go on Christmas day).  After singing an old hymn in the service a new combination came to mind:  "Live Joyfully - Work Heartily".

Live Joyfully -  Romans 12:12
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer".  See my next post for more about this.

Work Heartily - Colossians 3:23
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters"
  (Heartily = with all your heart)


I decided to split the phrase and put two words on each side of the tile.  This was a bit time-consuming (but most gifts of love are made with that precious resource - time).   I put their name on the end of the tile and setup the game so the names were exposed.  I took some pictures of this to show how each person plays a supportive role in Drawform.  Everyone is valuable and should feel valued.

  

(if you don't see your name in the tower it's because I only bought one game first, took the photos and had to go back and get a second game to include more friends)

The tiles were delivered to the desks of my coworkers.

I'll be sending an e-mail out explaining the tile with a link to this post.

So my friends - keep your balance!  Build the tower to new heights!