Created to Play: How Taking Hobbies Seriously Grows Us Spiritually

What If You Saw Your Hobbies as a Form of Worship?

Maybe you're an athlete or collector, a chef or film critic, a painter or video gamer. Your hobbies aren't arbitrary passions. The same God who formed your muscles and nervous system also formed the specific ways you love to play. He understands the delight you feel in your garden or your excitement as you open up a new board game. And he calls it good.

We often view play as a distraction from life's serious responsibilities, but in Created to Play, Brianna Lambert reveals the ways God blesses your hobbies and uses them to form and pull you into worship. Lambert explores ten different titles you may inhabit in your play: Beholder, Curator, Maker, Herald, Restorer, Connecter, Nourisher, Mover, Caretaker, and Historian.

This book helps you view your hobbies as opportunities not just for individual expression but also for communal enjoyment. With winsome practicality and theological reflection, Lambert draws you to glory in the God who loves and teaches you through play.

With Created to Play, you will:

• Explore how hobbies shape your spiritual formation, offering a fresh perspective on the theology of hobbies and leisure.
• Identify yourself among ten unique roles we take on through hobbies, uncovering how play shapes your identity in Christ.
• Learn to embrace rest and joy through hobbies, reenvisioning leisure as life-giving rather than wasteful.
• Challenge your guilt around play by learning how hobbies can form you spiritually, draw you into worship, and help you reflect God's character.

You can experience how God is already participating in your hobbies with you, sharing in the joy they bring. If you are seeking a biblical perspective on your hobbies or struggling to enjoy leisure amid the demands of a busy life, this book can help you reclaim play as a vital part of spiritual formation.

Play isn't about what you get or achieve but about who you become in the process.

Brianna Lambert is a writer and author from a rural community outside Indianapolis. Her articles and essays have appeared in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Common Good, Mere Orthodoxy, and elsewhere.Brianna also serves on staff at Gospel-Centered Discipleship and writes for the women's ministry at her local church. You might find her backpacking, camping, waterskiing, or starting a brand-new hobby with her husband and three children.