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Work, Play, Love: A Visual Guide to Calling, Career and the Mission of God
Work. Play. Love. Most of our life is spent in these three areas. But all too often, our work is frustrating, our play is exhausting and our relationships are challenging. What would it take to have a life of meaningful work, refreshing fun and great relationships? Mark Shaw paints us a vivid picture of human flourishing, where a convergence of work, play and love brings delight in life. By pursuing wisdom rather than folly, we can have a renewed sense of vocation. Guarding against cultural pitfalls of money, sex and power, Shaw invites us to discover instead a deeper calling to playful work and faithful love. There we can find our place and experience life as it?s intended to be lived―playfully, with freedom and joy. Filled with engaging visual illustrations, this friendly guide will help you discover a life where your work, play and love are all in alignment with God's purposes for you and a larger mission in the world.
- GenresChristian
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 2014
6 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Mark Shaw
8 books4 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. ^6
Mark Shaw is professor of historical studies and director of the Centre for World Christianity at Africa International University. He studied World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh, UK, (MTh), and church history at Westminster Theological Seminary, Pennsylvania, USA, (ThD).
Also publishes as Mark R. Shaw.
Mark Shaw is professor of historical studies and director of the Centre for World Christianity at Africa International University. He studied World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh, UK, (MTh), and church history at Westminster Theological Seminary, Pennsylvania, USA, (ThD).
Also publishes as Mark R. Shaw.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 9, 2020
The beginning is a fantastic and fresh look at the idea of play - but after chapter 3 it lost a lot of my interest. I'd call it a book worth borrowing but not worth buying.
October 19, 2014
How do we attain a sustainable work-life balance? That question is one that the book Work, Play, Love: A Visual Guide to Calling, Career, and the Mission of God seeks to answer. In the book Mark Shaw provides a unique approach to that answer and to the ongoing discussion of calling and vocation. His answer is to use Proverbs 8 as a focal point from which the overarching narrative of Scripture is interpreted. As he delves into the passage of Proverbs 8 and its emphasis on Lady Wisdom’s existence before God spoke creation into being, the reader discovers that a crucial interpretive key is that Lady Wisdom, as a craftsman and worker at God’s side, “delighted” in all things. Mark Shaw refers to this delight as important to recovering a sense of play and enjoyment in all that we do, everyone we are with, and everywhere we are. All of this he summarizes as Lady Wisdom’s call to play.
From there he examines our call to work in Genesis, how things went awry, and several other callings that find their ultimate dependence on and fulfillment in the call to play, the call which “precedes” the beginning of the space-time universe. These other callings are revealed over the narrative history of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures and include the Exodus call to freedom, the David call to relationships, the Isaiah call to “wow”, and the Jesus call to dance. If the calls I just listed seem a little unusual for a book on calling, it makes much more sense when the reader interprets those passages of Scripture in light of Proverbs 8. For example, God’s leading of the Israelite people out of slavery and providing them the Ten Commandments was in fact His way of keeping them free from slavery to other things and their passions with the practice of the Sabbath as a way to practice their freedom from work. However, that is only one example and Mark Shaw goes into more depth than that.
Overall, I found this book to be delightful, combining depth of though with straightforward prose. Of course, Mark Shaw sought to do that intentionally when he quotes Milan Kundera, a Czech novelist, in stating one of his goals for the book: “My lifetime ambition has been to combine the utmost seriousness of question with the utmost lightness of form.” I would also like to comment on the unique feature of this book and that is what the author refers to as “back of the napkin” drawings. Work, Play, LoveThis might seem juvenile, and one individual even commented to me that it looks like a kid’s book. But Mark Shaw was intentional in this respect as well, perceiving that “doodles” can free the mind in ways that heavy-handed writing cannot. This is yet another example of combining lightness of method with seriousness of thought.
While I am a part of the millennial generation toward whom this book is targeted, I believe the author’s approach, both in method and in theological thought, is effective. In fact, I believe it is so effective that I would recommend it also to the generation of whom the person who said it looked like a kid’s book belonged: the Baby Boomers. Yes, many of them have the majority of their working days behind them, but it’s never too late to discover new depths to God’s calling on our lives, including the call to play. And that’s a feature that this book embodies very well even as it stimulates the mind. It is a creative incarnation of Lady Wisdom and her call to play.
To read additional book reviews and related thoughts on calling, check out my blog at http://stadtmenschblog.wordpress.com/.
From there he examines our call to work in Genesis, how things went awry, and several other callings that find their ultimate dependence on and fulfillment in the call to play, the call which “precedes” the beginning of the space-time universe. These other callings are revealed over the narrative history of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures and include the Exodus call to freedom, the David call to relationships, the Isaiah call to “wow”, and the Jesus call to dance. If the calls I just listed seem a little unusual for a book on calling, it makes much more sense when the reader interprets those passages of Scripture in light of Proverbs 8. For example, God’s leading of the Israelite people out of slavery and providing them the Ten Commandments was in fact His way of keeping them free from slavery to other things and their passions with the practice of the Sabbath as a way to practice their freedom from work. However, that is only one example and Mark Shaw goes into more depth than that.
Overall, I found this book to be delightful, combining depth of though with straightforward prose. Of course, Mark Shaw sought to do that intentionally when he quotes Milan Kundera, a Czech novelist, in stating one of his goals for the book: “My lifetime ambition has been to combine the utmost seriousness of question with the utmost lightness of form.” I would also like to comment on the unique feature of this book and that is what the author refers to as “back of the napkin” drawings. Work, Play, LoveThis might seem juvenile, and one individual even commented to me that it looks like a kid’s book. But Mark Shaw was intentional in this respect as well, perceiving that “doodles” can free the mind in ways that heavy-handed writing cannot. This is yet another example of combining lightness of method with seriousness of thought.
While I am a part of the millennial generation toward whom this book is targeted, I believe the author’s approach, both in method and in theological thought, is effective. In fact, I believe it is so effective that I would recommend it also to the generation of whom the person who said it looked like a kid’s book belonged: the Baby Boomers. Yes, many of them have the majority of their working days behind them, but it’s never too late to discover new depths to God’s calling on our lives, including the call to play. And that’s a feature that this book embodies very well even as it stimulates the mind. It is a creative incarnation of Lady Wisdom and her call to play.
To read additional book reviews and related thoughts on calling, check out my blog at http://stadtmenschblog.wordpress.com/.
August 16, 2015
The premise is that people dream of an integrated life where work, play and love flourish together, but instead they clash--our work often consumes, play exhausts, relationships suffer. I appreciated that Shaw made a thoughtful attempt to write about vocational issues at an undergrad level by so-called "vivid" means. Some of the word pictures he chose to convey certain ideas easily get strained and confusing after a while though, and the simple illustrations all throughout the book kind of give it an unnecessary children's book feel. But the content is not childish. Shaw provides a biblical survey toward a theology of vocation and concludes we are to find our place in the mission of God by becoming a wisdom worker who hears and obeys a number of calls: the Eden call to playful work, the Abraham call to believe in God's mission, the Exodus cry to follow that mission into freedom, the David call to fight for delight, the Isaiah call to experience the wow, the Song of Songs call to multi-layered love-making, and the Jesus call to dance (wherein discipleship becomes dance steps...you get the idea). He recognizes multiple calls not just workplace. I thought the chapter on the call to pursue a life of wisdom (using Proverbs 8 at the center) in playful partnership was inviting, and the chapter on how the call of God is broken (or unheard) was practical and effective.
November 28, 2014
This is another very pleasant surprise published by IVP. There are many books on "calling" and vocation in the Christian world, but this one takes a refreshing, light-hearted approach (which is smartly incorporated into the overall theme). One of the most pleasant surprises is the fact that Shaw bases his overall thesis in Proverbs, an oft-overlooked book in popular Christian writing. He combines this with a, big-picture, Bible-metanarrative approach that is interesting, and honestly quite fun to read. This will likely make you think, and possibly make you take a second look at some familiar stories, something that makes this one worth reading through.
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FA
If smbrw strange dwnmi da dabmia. Fab.
Tamki fw Franki fwnkiyw GTA koi
Gano fwnki fwnkiyw cdw uuiwbuiw c
Tamkiva Frank's Frankie vfankiya v
Yalu a fanki fanki fwnkiyw utensil
Jamming fw
Moons get fw mki vfsnkis fanjiA Franki v
Ha Hutus gfyankiuy fabkigga ha
Keanu faniuavffa gankuyya ftA mk
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2015
the most interesting, engaging and well rounded book for young adults, millenials, and anyone else feeling the burnout of trying to keep pace in modern times. excellent exegesis in every chapter. the illustrations that encapsulate the main ideas of every chapter really enhanced my comprehension.
February 27, 2016
Very thought-provoking read, presented in a fun and engaging way. After years of career advising, I would say this is a great book for all to read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews