what do you do with your recreational time?

Last night, at my Bible study, we talked about recreation. We're a bunch of 25-35 year old mostly single people and all have a large chunk of time that we consider "recreational." I define that to mean time that I get to allocate as I want to. Some examples include spending time hiking, climbing, blogging, playing video games, working on the house, etc. We all have ways in which we invest our recreational time.

What we really focused on was: do you feel like God has convicted you in ways in which you're spending your recreation time? When we feel lis conviction the most, and how we focus on using our recreation time productively: to rest, rejuvenate, and reignite our spirits?

At this stage in my life, I invest a significant part of my recreation time back into my work. I am committed to climbing up the learning curve at my office and am really interested in getting a jump on what is slated to be six months of slated transition time. That said, I also get caught up with trips to the dog park, tv shows, hanging out and drinking, sleeping, istock, etc. I really enjoy these things, and to some extent, I have a certain passion for each of them.

None of these activities are particularly bad; however, I do feel convicted sometimes - generally when the time I devote to said activity is taken to an extreme. When I get so caught up in my work that I don't make time to go to church, and when I find myself spending an entire day inside watching tv and sleeping, I really start to think about the giant holes of time I just wasted or experiences I missed out on... And sometimes it spirals out of control: too many late night hours battling in the steel cage lead to a groggy workday, which prompts me to have to take my work home with me, which makes me miss church, which makes me feel crappy, and leads to staying inside all day saturday (and generally sunday) to recover. It's crazy how selfish this is on my part. I think we were all put here with a purpose, and it's in these times that I realize just how much I am not listening to God and working to fulfill His purpose for me.

The leader of our group really made me think when he talked a little bit about this in his own life. He said there was a time in college, when he was spending a good amoung of time focused on climbing: watching others climb, reading climbing magazines, acquiring gear, talking about it, etc. He said he really felt convicted about it, but it was something he was very passionage about. At one point, he prayed that God would give him, for something that would better serve the Lord, the same fire and passion that he had for climbing. Soon after, he started to see that climbing wasn't giving him the same joy it once had, and he found more joy and passion for other things like reading the Word. Amazing. Such a simple demonstration of how God is ever-present and changing our hearts.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."
- Matthew 11:28

I have gotten so far away from this. My ever-downward-spiraling circle of laziness and debautchery really is just a means to use my recreational time for me. And of course one thing leads to another over and over again because I often forget or just don't turn to the One who can fulfill my weary and heavy-laden heart. I've gotten so far away from Him. And this is another conversation for another day, but I came here to draw near to the Lord and I really feel like I could not be farther away. And it is at least somewhat evidenced by how I spend my recreational time.

That said, admitting it, is the first step towards recovery, right?