Nikki: Christian recreation...a time to draw together without drawing away from God. Why is it that so often, when people get together, there is so much jesting, foolishness, and un-Christlike behavior, but it doesn't have to be that way. We can have wholesome, uplifting recreation.
One of the characteristics of Christian recreation is that it re-creates. In the words of one of my favorite authors, "We can and should conduct our recreations in such a manner that we shall be fitted for the more successful discharge of the duties devolving upon us...We can return to our homes improved in mind and refreshed in body, and prepared to engage in the work anew, with better hope and better courage." (AH 496)
The morning after recreation are we ready for the tasks of the day...or are we hitting the snooze button five or six times? That is a good barometer for deciding whether a gathering is good or not.
Daniel, what is another characteristic of Christian recreation?
Daniel: Christian recreation is cross-generational. People of all ages can work and play together and enjoy it. Often when people get together, the adults sit and talk while the kids go play. Christian recreation includes both the parents and the children. Like peanut butter, separation is natural, but when God takes part, it has the same effect as stirring.
So Nikki, do you have an example of good recreation?
Nikki: Well, I actually have lots of examples, but there's only room for a few. One of them is the garden clean-up at church. About six families got together and weeded the flower beds there, which was quite a job let me tell you. They hadn't been weeded since the previous summer, so there was quite a congestion!
We weeded for three hours, took a break for a haystack lunch, and weeded for another hour. After we finished weeding, we went down to the river...but that's Daniel's story.
During the clean-up, it wasn't the children working in one area and the parents in another- everyone worked together. It was also a time to socialize while helping the church be a more beautiful place, not just getting together for fun (but it was a lot of fun!).
Daniel: The river was very cold. That was probability the thing that struck me the most when I fell in by accident! Other than that it was very fun time to spend time with friends. We splashed each other and played "Hat Swap" (It was invented by my 11 year-old friend). All in all, it was a good example of Christian recreation.
Nikki: Even though this post is probably too long already, I just had to add this one story. At the New Jersey Family Campmeeting (if you weren't there, you really missed one of the best campmeetings ever), we were able to get together a bunch of friends and play a special music on chimes. Some dear friends let us borrow their hand chimes for the weekend, and in the afternoon we got some other friends and played through the chime choir folders, just for fun. It was a great Sabbath afternoon activity, and provided some "good, wholesome comedy" in Daniel's words. All in all everyone enjoyed the Christian recreation.
We don't just want to give you good stories to read...we want to inspire you to invest some time in recreation- God's way. It is time well spent.
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Kaija, Nikki, and Ani- coming up from the lilly bed
Walking though the culvert
Christian and his stick (one of the many)
Daniel refusing to get wet (he later got soaked)
Wading...those rocks HURT!
Chime Jam @ NJFCM
Another Chime Jam pic
Last Chime Jam pic
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