when all is said and done

I was thinking about Last Child in the Woods this morning and remembered the song that comes from Psalm 96 "the trees of the field will clap their hands!" Verses 11-13 (NIV) actually read:

"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
they will sing before the LORD, for he comes . . ."

Exciting! but I missed this part that follows:

"he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his truth."

Do you recall Romans 8:19-21(NIV)?

"The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." I wonder if that's what Genesis 1:26-28 (NIV) is all about.

God created a wonderful and amazing place, a place where we almost can't help but worship Him, a place that speaks of Him. He made man and stuck him smack dab in the middle of it all, without our technology. You get creative when you're bored. When you get tired of back breaking work that has to be done you start looking for a better way. Maybe God made us that way. But He was probably hoping to meet us in the garden each night.

Ecclesiastes 2 (NIV) . Verses 4-6 specifically tell us that Solomon created gardens and parks among all his other wonderful accomplishments.

Yet after all of Solomon's accomplishments, in his profound wisdom, he adds ( 2:11 )

"when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun."

Every day we live and walk with God. We make choices. We won't all make the same choices because we're each unique. God made us unique with the freedom to make choices within His jurisdiction. We make our choices but there still remains a certain futility about life. Maybe it's a God-shaped space. Maybe it's that walking time at the end of the day.

In Ecclesiastes 12: 9-14 Solomon concludes his thoughts. He says, in the end, the only thing that really matters is to fear God and keep His commandments. Then God, of course, sent Jesus and left His Holy Spirit. Maybe that was His way of helping us reclaim that walking time.

Kids need walking/talking time with God, too.

LCW: not the end...

Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods has a surprise ending as all well-written works should - a surprise, but not.

I found all these blog tags in this book: generations, inspiration, justice, kids in community, language, puppies (because they're creatures), questions, random, relational, resources, pondering, roots, stewardship, story, teaching learning, worship

Paul Gorman: (founder, director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, Amherst, MA) "To the extent that we separate our children from creation is the extent to which we separate them from the creator - from God..." (LCW p. 293)

"Just as many places of worship are going green, environmental organizations are increasingly likely to evoke the spiritual...Faith-based environmentalism can create strange bedfellows and powerful unions. . . Potentially, places of worship could be more important institutions than schools in connecting the young with the natural world. 'More and more people of faith, as they grow in their awareness of the connection between nature and religion, are bringing nature into the discussion,' says Gorman. 'But you have to start with parents. First and above all is for parents to understand this connection itself. The future is not about designing curriculum. It's about awakening to creation. Kids have to feel that this connection is vital and deep in their parents. They see through us all the time . . . as the connection becomes more vivid to us, our commitment to it becomes more authentic, and children respond to that authenticity. The most important thing is the awakening. That joy of awakening and discovery is what it's like to be a child." (LCW p. 295-6)

Do you hear the connection? Mr. Louv sites a lot of research to support his position, and you can use research to say whatever you like but there are some interesting observations. I'm more impressed with the wisdom. There's a lot of catch 22 - in order to change this, you have to change that. We don't always know what the consequences will be. I also like the fact that Louv is quick to listen to the other voices who join in the discussion, though he may not agree. He's spoken with lots of parents and children and teachers and leaders of organizations.

There are always cross-roads. There are always choices to make. There's always something we take for granted. It's easier than we think to turn around and discover that the thing we took for granted is suddenly gone. It really wasn't sudden. We made choices and no one warned us - or maybe someone warned us but it wasn't a priority at the time. Maybe it wouldn't be gone if we'd been better stewards - if we hadn't taken it for granted. Maybe whatever we lost wouldn't be gone if only we'd . . .

LCW: Fear and Trust

Ok. I'm about 20 pages from the end of Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. It takes me a while but I finish them either because of this blog or because I promise the book to someone when I'm done. I mentioned it to a new-friend-also-Mom-to-an-8- year-old (yes, and-a-puppy-mom). They like to spend time outside. I mentioned it when I first starting reading it. Now, every time I see her she asks me if I've brought her the book and every time I see her I'm not done. Next time I'll be done.

Here is an example of the parent wisdom woven through these pages. Again, as he's advocating that we find ways to get our kids outside as individuals, as families, as schools, and through other organizations you'll also discover thin golden threads about parenting in today's world.

I was impressed with this:

"Don't just tell your kids about evil; teach them about good - teach them to seek out adults who can help teach them about good - teach them to seek out adults who can help them when they feel threatened. Teaching appropriate trust is more difficult than teaching fear, but just as important." (LCW p. 181-182) Encouraging healthy social interaction with good-hearted, trustworthy, caring adults will help kids learn to recognize the people they can trust.

He goes on for a couple more pages talking about parent-child relationships. He believes that children who are emotionally vulnerable are the children most at risk. (LCW p. 183-186) He says that although the physical dimensions of parenting and protection are important, the emotional bonds can offer even greater protection. Isolation isn't what will protect them, but socialization and healthy ongoing love, communication, and availability from their grown ups. It will help kids learn to discern good and evil. It will help them have the courage and emotional strength to say "no" when they need to and to know who to trust. A difficult task, indeed.

Don't laugh. The same applies to puppies.

Play is a blessing

Apparently play is a blessing. I understand it's a way to process life and create, a way that young members of a society learn the skills they will need as adults but I didn't know that it's tied to God blessing His people.

I looked for "play" in Bible Gateway. I didn't look up "amuse" or other words like that. Most of the "play" passages have to do with playing musical instruments.

There are only a couple of places that tell of children or young animals playing. What's interesting is that in Zechariah 8:5 (the NIV adds the title "The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem") it says, "The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there." That may be the only place in scripture where this passage occurs but if you're talking about children, it's significant because it's part of the picture of God blessing His people.

Children playing in the streets is part of the picture of God blessing His people? Off the top of my head it must mean that the land is at peace and all is well. Must be people are secure and there's a measure of trust and trustworthiness in society, in neighborhoods, on city streets. It will be so safe that children will be able to play outside in the streets. Another time in history, another culture you say? I don't know that children were given a whole lot of respect in ancient cultures. And my grandfather's brother got run over by a horse cart watching a parade with his father. It may not have been any safer in the streets hundreds of years ago than it is now.

My own generation and generations before me played in more places than my children did or my grandchildren will. My mother-in-law used to tell us how young moms would bring their children to the parks in NYC on weekdays. The parks were full of moms with kids. My husband and his friends used to play stick ball in the street in the 1950's. By the time we got married and had kids and went to visit the parks and streets were pretty empty. So much so that she noticed and commented about it. And from what my husband says NYC became much safer when Guilliani was mayor. I walked and played in my father's workshop, old barns, pear trees, fields and woods - mostly alone. Two parents working, you say? Maybe. Could be with people employing more nannies that parks are full again, I don't know.

But think about it. Even here, you rarely see groups of children playing outside anyplace besides a school yard or someplace other than an organized kids sports event anymore. Even schools keep their kids inside a lot more than they used to. It's just interesting. Ask your parents and grandparents whether they're from the country or the city or the suburbs. Ask them where they played.

Next Saturday or Sunday afternoon or some weekday between the end of school and sundown. Count how many kids you see outside - don't count play sets, count kids.

But not during vacations...

Ok. The museum is still worth visiting but very crazy and very loud.

Oh yeah, this week all the kids are out of school!!!

So don't go Spring break unless you don't mind mild chaos or walking a block or two when all the parking spaces are taken. And next time I'll stop and read all the quotes about "play" on the wall so I can share them here!

My friend and I had a really good time trailing her 3 and 6 year olds around. So much to see and do and hear. I'm out of shape keeping track of kids in wild stimulating environments. I haven't visited the museum in a very long time. They've added so many activities and spaces. I haven't been around ALOT of kids having a really good time going in all different directions in a very long time either.

Did I use to have 5 kids 2 years apart give-or-take? Did I use to take all five of them to wildly stimulating places like that on a regular basis by myself without blinking an eye?

And how did I do that? Good question.

Probably at off hours, not at rush hour. Probably in lifeguard mode counting 1-2-3-4-5. My math skills stink but I was really good at counting to five.

And I didn't lose anyone?

Well . . . only a couple of times. It was usually momentary - give or take 30-40 minutes. My daughter will probably never forgive us. Ever. She loves to tell the stories. And do you think there's a reason that it was usually the same child?

We didn't lose anyone - not permanently, anyway. We still have the same five we started with. Ok, they've changed a little.

I may be spending too much time alone with two quiet puppies and I may be enjoying those long periods of quiet aloneness WAY too much!