Family Faith and Fun Fridays: Guessing and Giggling
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. -Hebrews 4:12
Welcome to Family Faith and Fun Fridays! As the week winds down and I anticipate more family time over the weekend, I often ask God for one good idea that will enable me to bring the Word to life and bring our family together. Usually, the activity overflows out of something the Lord has been teaching me through His Word during the week. I’d like to invite you to join me and my family in the adventure. Sometimes I’ll post things we’ve tried; other times I’ll post an idea in the works. If you’ve got thoughts to add or suggestions on how to adapt or improve the activity, please don’t hesitate to comment. Enjoy!
With five kids ranging from toddler to near-teenager it’s difficult to find family activities that we can all enjoy together. This silly twist on the game of charades seems to work, especially if Mom and Dad lead the way with a spirit of fun. And, of course, it paves the path for a sweet discussion about God’s personalized plans for each of us. Give it a try if you’re in the mood for some family silliness this weekend. I’d love to know how it works at your house.
Guessing and Giggling: A Game of Creative Charades
Set up: Gather an eclectic assortment of “junk” to use as props and set it in the middle of the playing space. We used an old vacuum hose, a spatula, a rope, a plastic bowl, a ping pong paddle, a few random tools and broken pieces of things from the garage.
Playing the game: The purpose of the game is to think of a use for the random accessories and then use the prop to act out the idea without any words. As soon as your family guesses what you had in mind, you can move on to a new prop and a new idea or use the same prop with a new twist.For example, I might grab the vacuum hose and put one end in my mouth and hold the other end above my head while I “swim” around the room and pretend to snorkel. I will continue to act out my idea with the vacuum hose prop until someone guesses “snorkeling.” Then I’ll move onto the next item of my choice or simply to a new idea for the prop I’m using. The vacuum hose might become a guitar next or I might use a piece of rope to “floss” my teeth.
When we play, we set a timer for two minutes and invite each family member try to act out as many ideas as possible in the allotted time. We allow the person acting to use only one prop at a time to simplify the guessing. With each correct guess, the actor/actress moves on to a new charade. We have kept score to see (one point for every charade that is guessed correctly), and we’ve also just played for the sheer silly fun of it.
Technicalities: An item can be used over and over, but it must be portrayed as something new each time. It may not represent something that has already been acted out by anyone else. So, the spatula may be dramatized as a tennis racket and then a baseball bat and then a sand shovel, but it cannot become a tennis racket again when a new player takes a turn. In other words, the actors/actresses have to keep coming up with fresh ideas.
When is the game over? Whenever you want it to be. Laugh much and play as long as the fun lasts!
What’s the Point? As we wrap up our game, we talk about all the various ways we used the items in the game. We marvel at the many different ideas that were represented during the course of our play and we point out that even the same item was used in different ways. Then we discuss how God uses his children in different ways, too. Just like the vacuum hose could be a snorkel or an accordion, so a child of God can be a dancer or a reader, a teacher or a scientist (Or BOTH!) Just like the spatula was a tennis racket or a sand shovel, a boy who loves Jesus can be quiet or noisy, shy or forthright— God can use His children in many ways and for many purpose. He is far more creative than we are and He may have a use for our life that we haven’t even dreamed of yet! He gives all of us the Spirit, but the Spirit shows off in our lives in different ways. Aren’t we glad?
Together, read: 1 Corinthians 12:4-12, The Message–
God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:
wise counsel
clear understanding
simple trust
healing the sick
miraculous acts
proclamation
distinguishing between spirits
tongues
interpretation of tongues.
All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.
Have a wonderful weekend, dear friends!
Fun idea! We’ll have to try it!
~Robin