Medal Rounds: August 16 (Duets); August 19 (Team)
Get Out and Play!
Gather:
sprinkler or hose
portable stereo
your favorite music
Go:
1. Pair off into teams. Each duo creates a short dance (1 minute or less) for their favorite song.
2. Practice dancing to the music, making the same motions at the same time.
3. Turn on the sprinklers.
4. Each team performs their dance around the sprinklers. Points are awarded for creativity and synchronicity (how closely your moves match each other).
A Champion’s Heart
Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it. —Psalm 34:14
As you watch the medal-winning routines on TV or online, pay attention to the water. The surface will be still and smooth (except when teams splash for effect). Sometimes the water looks so peaceful, it seems like the swimmers aren’t even moving.
But if you watch the same routine through an underwater camera, you’ll see that each swimmer is constantly kicking, using a special movement designed to lift her body out of the water without creating waves. It takes a lot of work under the surface to keep things still and quiet up top.
We tend to think of peace as “the absence of conflict.” And while that’s one of the perks, that kind of thinking leads us to believe that the best way to make peace is to do nothing. (As long as you don’t attack me and I don’t attack you, we are at peace.)
God’s peace is so much bigger than that. It’s not about the absence of conflict; it’s about the fullness of love. God’s peace calls us to embrace our enemies and pray for those who have hurt us. Just like synchronized swimming, it takes a lot of hard work that most people won’t notice.
Have you “pursued peace” lately? What kind of things can you do to help spread God’s peace within your family? Your neighborhood? The world?
