Health : Do we take it for granted?

Today my brother-in-law is having triple bypass surgery. I am praying this surgery is successful and really makes a difference in his quality of life. This isn't his first brush with mortality. He had an abdominal aneurysm and a brain aneurysm before. Both of these surgeries were very risky, too. He made it through both of them. We were thankful God preserved him and we are praying God will be with him in this surgery as well.

It makes me think though how often we take our good health for granted. Another relative had a heart attack last year and he is only a few months older than I am. I have a nephew whose 18 month old daughter is dealing with leukemia. We don't think about our health unless we or someone we know is sick.

How often do you thank God for your breath? We just breathe because it is a normal function of our body. When my father-in-law went through lung cancer and he struggled for each breath, I became more thankful for each breath I could take. When we have a cold or allergies, we may experience that discomfort to a small degree, but we can still breathe.

Our body is a magnificent creation with so many parts that all have to work together so we can live. God has created us so intricately and so wonderfully. We need to do our part to take care of ourselves. We often don't realize the harm we do to our bodies by not eating right or by not exercising or by doing something bad to it. We take it for granted until we are forced to pay attention to it.

As I age, I ache more when I do something out of the ordinary. My body doesn't respond like it used to, and yet, at times, I know I am more comfortable in it and worry less about it. God made me and I know "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" as the Psalmist says in Psalm 139. I rejoice in that and in my heart know I belong to Him who made me.

Do children play outside?

When I was a child, I loved being outside. I couldn't wait to finish my chores so I could get out and play. I rode my bicycle, went to the playground, went to the beach, ran through sprinklers, and played with my friends. We played Annie, Annie, Over! We would get kids together and play football, kickball, tag, and hide and seek, plus other games. We went for walks. We camped out in our backyard. I had horses for a couple of years so I rode horse all the time during that time.  It was hot. We didn't have air conditioning, but we survived. We didn't have any reason to be in the house. TV was reruns in the summer and we stayed out until it was dark out. I took my dog for walks. I went to the zoo. We had fun outside.

I know the world is a different place than it was. We don't allow our children to go so many places alone. Or at least I don't! But kids just don't play outside like they used to. I went to the Twin Cities last Sunday and as we traveled through some small towns and neighborhoods, I didn't see any kids outside in their yards playing. It was warm out so maybe they were inside enjoying their air conditioning. I only saw one boy riding a bike and then some at a carnival. I saw children out riding those rides. Are the kids inside with video games? Are they watching TV or DVD's? Maybe some were at a beach or on vacation? I actually saw more adults out walking, but no children.

Do we worry about childhood obesity more now because the kids aren't out playing? Why aren't they? What are they doing instead?

I haven't thought about it a lot because we live out in the country and we are blessed to have a place with a swing set, sandbox, and pool. We have room to run and play tag and hide and seek. We have a kids' playhouse. We encourage our children and grandchildren  to go out and play. After a wet spring, we have had too many mosquitoes, and that has hampered our outside play some. But when we can be outside, we are. God's world is so incredible; we should enjoy it. Our summers are so short here; we need to make the most of them.

Do you and your children go out to play? What are your favorite activities outside?

Summer Boredom? Never!

Recently someone commented on their kids being bored in the summer, almost wishing for school to fill their time. I couldn't relate. Bored rarely happens at my house. Sometimes there is a
restlessness when nothing in particular appeals at  the moment... Or when something elusive  is tugging at us to do or try something different. That restlessness often just means we need to get out of the house or we should do something new.

I don't understand being bored. There's never enough time to do all we want to do. Sometimes it's a matter of not being able to choose how to spend any extra time. Occasionally we choose to sit back and relax. We may appear bored, but ahh... to just do nothing is a blessing. We all need to refuel and rest, too.

How do we keep from being bored? First, we love to read. There is always a new book to fall into and explore. There are whole other worlds to be a part of. We can go to other time periods, places, and have experiences with people we would otherwise never meet! We like fiction, biographies, non-fiction, magazines, newspapers, blogs, Facebook...Did I mention we really like reading?

We also like to create. We sew, cook, bake, do crafts, garden some and more. We each have our own specialties and enjoy a variety of activities.

We also like to travel. We camp, visit historical sites, attend local festivals and fairs. We love seeing new places and people.

The outdoors are great to explore, too. We ride motorcycles, dirt bikes, and 4-wheelers. We hike and swim. We boat and go tubing behind it. We occasionally take out a canoe, a paddle boat, or sailboat. Sometimes we fish. The girls like to bicycle. The guys hunt. There is so much to enjoy outside!

Volunteering keeps us from being too me-centered so we look for ways to be involved in our community and church. We are also very politically involved. One of my daughters hopes to help with a local community project; another helped out at the library recently. We like to serve. We meet new people with common interests. It's a great way to use your time.

We also like to have company. Whether it's family or friends, our house is always opening itself to guests. We enjoy people so are blessed by those who come to visit.

Of course, we have the everyday chores to do, too. Laundry doesn't do itself nor do dishes wash themselves. We like to eat so meals must be cooked. The grass keeps growing and the dust multiplies. Our everyday work must happen, too, but we often share the tasks and that helps!

Ohh... We like to write, too! We blog, write in journals, FB, etc.. We play BOGGLE, Words With Friends, Scrabble, Bananagrams, and other word games. We like words.

Bored? Rarely! Indecisive about what to do? Sometimes! There's always something calling to us!

What about you? Do you get bored? How do you solve it?