We are hip deep in elk hunts for wounded military service men in New Mexico while the staff of the New Hope school in Kolkata is also engaged in outdoor activities.
There is something about being out of doors that is good for our hearts and souls. We get refreshed, rejuvenated, refocused even. When we participate in exercise it releases endorphins in our blood. The definition of endorphins – according to the internet – is any of a group of hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system and having a number of physiological functions. They are peptides that activate the body’s opiate receptors, causing an analgesic effect. It was explained to me much simpler – in the blood morphine. It makes us feel good. We forget about our pain – often our emotional pain. Exercise in general makes a body good – to steal a marketing quote. But outdoor exercise seems to magnify or maybe multiply the effect of exercise.
The children of the New Hope school live in the Udayan Pally slum area of New Town, Kolkata, India. They live in a very small, maybe 12 foot square house. Some of the houses are mud, some are masonry, and some are simple cane poles stuck in the ground with a piece of plastic thrown away on a construction site wrapped around the poles. They have a 10 or so foot space in front of their “house” – which is a dirt thoroughfare for the village. So, they have no space. And no place to play. A day or three of outdoor activities is like a trip to an amusement park for folks in the good ole spoiled US of A.
As for the wounded warriors, well they are often limited by what they can do as well. The elk hunts allow many of them to experience something they could never even imagine. I don’t know about you, but through the grace and favor of the Good Lord, I have been able to experience many things that were well outside my imagination. Maybe my vision, or my view, or my expectations, of me and for me have not been big enough, but that is not the case for these military men. They are limited. To give someone the opportunity to experience something they could not imagine and to do it in the name of Jesus has not only immediate reward, but it has eternal as well, and the gift is multiplied when it is done in the name of Jesus.
We sow these Good gifts of simple outdoor activities in the hope that the Father will allow someone else to water, to weed, to fertilize, and that at His appointed day there will be a harvest. I do not know about you, but I enjoy giving gifts. I have a strict principal on gift giving – I strive to only give what I would myself want or value. Let me encourage you as we enter this season of giving in honor of the birth of the son of God to give according to what He has actually asked for, which is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, to love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
May the Father of the Christ child Bless and Prosper you as you look to follow His plan for your life,
mike
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did itto one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Matthew 25:34-40
Cowboy Logic: “The person who wants something will find a way.The person who doesn’t will find an excuse.
Cowboy Logic: “ Going to church makes you a Christian about as much as sitting in a hen house makes you a chicken.”
