“For bodily training is just slightly beneficial, but godliness is beneficial for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8 NASB).
I think for many people their workload has increased during this time of pandemic. Teachers who have never had to deliver lessons virtually find themselves surrounded by only technological options. Emails that were already overwhelming have increased dramatically as students, parents, teachers, and support staff all struggle to communicate without meeting in person. Each person, whether they work or not, is under greater stress from the sudden changes and increased uncertainty that has rocked our world. Everyone is trying to cope the best they can. At the school I work for, one of the ways they are trying to engage the staff regarding their own well-being is to offer monthly challenges. This month the challenge is to play bingo, but not just any bingo. They gave out a play card that has not numbers but helpful activities such as taking a relaxing bath after a stressful day, starting an exercise program, cuddling a pet, and many more! You do not play against other people, instead you play against yourself. This activity is fun and self-paced. It will be interesting to see at the end of the month, how many times I was willing to stop and de-stress with one of these activities (hint: pet cuddling does happen in my home every day!).
This seemed like a really neat idea to me. So I decided maybe I could take this concept and use it to benefit us spiritually. You can see the Spiritual Bingo sheet I made below as both an image file and as a pdf. Feel free to use it however you wish. Maybe you would like to print it out or maybe you’d like to share it with a friend. I’ve chosen five categories to focus on: prayer, Bible study, giving, self-reflection, and our relationship with others. Some of these challenges might make you feel a bit uncomfortable, some of them might seem easy, some of them you might already do, and some of them maybe you’ve never thought about before. No matter what is going on in the world or even in our own lives it is never a bad idea to spend more time with God! I hope you will find this little activity inspiring and you could even make up your own bingo sheet with different ideas tailored to your spiritual needs. Be creative and keep growing!
