A Life of Gratitude

Setting Up For A Long Weekend

Elliott and his mom are busy today preparing the house for a visit from Papa Hoss, Gigi, Aunt Kara and Elliott's three cousins. Uncle Doug has wisely seized an opportunity to stay behind for a quiet weekend at home (the official reason listed on his absence form was working in the fields).

We will try to have a good time without him. We plan to visit the King's Dominion amusement park just 10 miles up the road and spend some time out on the lake boating. The weekend packed with activity comes on the heels of a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study monitored activity levels of 1000 kids, ages 9 to 15, from the year 2000 to 2006. In summary, the study showed that 90% of 9 year olds get a couple of hours of exercise most days. The same can be said for only 3% of those kids when they reach 15 years old.

The study was conducted during years where the popularity in video games and the internet exploded. The article mentioned the connection as a possible influence on the results of the study.. wow, that's going out on a limb. To read one of the largest studies of its kind on this issue Click Here

Aside from the very obvious health implications mentioned in the study, the increasing amount of time teens spend vegetating in front of various electronic screens filled with fantasy, robs them of the opportunity to bond with their family while they experience some of the God given real world. We look forward this weekend to doing just that.

I'd Rather Be Outside

 

   

   

     As I write this, I've just proved victorious in a tug of war match with Elliott who attempted to drag me out of my chair, all the while chanting walk! - walk! - walk! while clutching and tugging on my arm.  It's not that I'm opposed to walking with him, but we spent time at the park earlier today.  Besides, much like our former Labrador retrievers, there really is no quenching his thirst for the outdoors.  I'm not going to complain about it.  The University of Maryland conducted a study and found that in just this decade alone, the time kids spend outdoors has dropped 50%.  If your XBox machine came with a smile, that's the reason. 

     Katie and I both know the value of youth being outdoors.  In our former jobs, we were fortunate to be part of changing the lives of so many kids who needed it.  Parents and program supporters in the community would frequently call our program a miracle.  It's true; there were an awful lot of miracle workers on staff.  But I'll always believe Mother Nature was the unsung hero.

    As much as many of our kids needed a change of scenery, a new environment, it would be wrong to underestimate the value of that change being in the wilderness.  Something about the outdoors lights a fire in a child’s sense of wonderment, especially kids who have experienced the outdoors from the wrong side of a window.  Nature offers enough amazement to keep each of us in awe for a lifetime; it's the strongest evidence of God that my eyes can see and hands can touch. 

     In witnessing firsthand the powerful healing effect of a wilderness experience on kids, I came to believe that the absence of such experiences had to be equally detrimental.  I come from a long line of farmers, Katie from a long line of hunters; Elliott should receive a healthy serving of the great outdoors, leaving at least one XBox frowning.