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Take a Day in the Country, July 21
Family Companionship
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside
the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psalm 23:2, 3
Let several families living in a city or village unite and leave the
occupations which have taxed them physically and mentally, and make
an excursion into the country to the side of a fine lake or to a nice grove
where the scenery of nature is beautiful. They should provide themselves
with plain, hygienic food, the very best fruits and grains, and spread their
table under the shade of some tree or under the canopy of heaven. The
ride, the exercise, and the scenery will quicken the appetite, and they can
enjoy a repast which kings might envy.
On such occasions parents and children should feel free from care,
labor, and perplexity. Parents should become children with their children,
making everything as pleasant for them as possible. Let the whole day be
given to recreation. Exercise in the open air for those whose employment
has been withindoors and sedentary will be beneficial to health. All who
can, should feel it a duty to pursue this course. Nothing will be lost, but
much gained. They can return to their occupations with new life and new
courage to engage in their labor with zeal, and they are better prepared
to resist disease....
But few realize the constant, wearing labor of those who are bearing
the responsibilities of the work in the office. They are confined within-
doors day after day and week after week, while a constant strain upon the
mental powers is surely undermining their constitutions and lessening
their hold on life....
They should have a change frequently, should often devote a day
wholly to recreation with their families, who are almost entirely deprived
of their society.
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