Saturday, January 12, 2013

why this blog

Why this blog?  This blog because taking the kids outdoors while living in the city is not an easy thing.  We just can't walk outside and explore nature without being somewhat intentional about it. 


Why this blog?  This blog because I don't want my kids growing up in LA and knowing their only entertainment to be video games, television and movies.
Why this blog?  This blog because there are so many distractions in this vast urban environment, starting with the internet and social networking that it makes it hard to get outside and give our children an outdoor education.


Why this blog?  This blog because I need accountability.  I need a community, even if it's only two friends, who will be expecting me to post about our adventures in the outdoors on a weekly and monthly basis.


Why this blog?  This blog because I don't want to be one of those dads who sees the outdoors as a place where he can get away from the "wife and kids".  Too many marriages have dissolved in bitterness, too many kids have grown up without their dads because the dads were out and gone.  I want to go out, I want to breathe the solitude of nature, but I want to do it with my family.  I'm taking them with me.  Therefore when my boys are adults, they will associate the outdoors with their daddy.  They will say this is where we connected as a family, this is where we played together, dreamed together, experienced adventures together.  And they will know what they are doing, they will have the skills and wisdom to sail across a sea, climb a mountain, camp in the desert, surf a wave, fly in the sky.
Why this blog?  This blog because perhaps it can be a source of ideas and inspiration for both myself and others; a place where we can help encourage each other to take our kids camping, to take our kids into the mountains, the high deserts, the endless miles of coastline, the islands, the forests.  


Why this blog?  "Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia.  Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia the air will thicken.   Take great care that it does not confuse your mind.......(C.S. Lewis: The Silver Chair).




 Every time I go into the outdoors, I feel still, I feel at peace, I feel closer to God and I hear His voice because I'm looking at His handiwork.  When one looks at a painting, one sees and hears the painter's voice.  It is the same in the great outdoors and I want my kids to know how to live and engage with nature because in doing so they are coming face to face with the Creator.


Join me therefore as we leave the shiny lights of the city and take to the road.  On this journey we will encourage each other, inspire each other, and give each other tips, tricks, ideas, and answers as to how to raise Urban kids with an Outdoor education.

4 comments:

  1. Sounds like a plan! See you in the woods.

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  2. Amen to that Josh. Glad you checked out the blog. Would love to have some of your contributing ideas, being the hiker that you are.

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  3. Love the Lewis quote of course ... now, if we could only synchronize our outdoor adventures for once!

    And I love the snowy mountain lake photo - is that Switzerland?

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