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Hello Friends, Best of wishes to you all and I hope and pray each of you are doing well. Today I am not going to talk about my day as usual. I am writing this blog about "The Adventure Club" this is a small youth group I formed about 6 years ago. It started with my nephew who was age 4 at the time and another little cousin the same age. I would take them hiking, fishing, climbing, nature walks, etc. Well since then the club has gained members from ages 5-13, We have roughly 10-12 active members and one Senior Blazer age 16. The Adventure Club is designed to basically help build these kids up in many positive and educational ways doing all this under "fun and adventures" I try my best to instill faith,morals,self-esteem,positivity, and much more into the kids. They have different levels similar to boyscouts and girlscouts, except the Adventure club is FREE and some of the children do come from broken homes, those ones i give a little extra attention to. So each member gets badges and points for many good deeds and adventures. An example of a typical "Adventure day" would begin in the late morning with first going over the schedule of the day with the kids, then off to the first adventure such as going and taking an airplane ride. After the first adventure we move on to the next, which may be sail boating, a typical day with the Adventure club usually consists of 2-4 "Adventures" keep in mind while they are having a lot of fun doing these activities; they are also being taught many things during the actual adventure. They have a Motto that they memorize in the very first Level(pioneer) it's " With God's Help, We can do anything." That simple little motto has went very far in these childrens lives in many positive ways. Now i understand and respect when they get older they may chose a different faith, but that isn't the point. The point is to instill a faith period and to show them it works. Many of the parents and kids have told me positive feedback pertaining the club such as grades at school improving, better behavior at home, and a lot of other nice feedback. It delights my heart to watch these children grow and learn, to put to use what they have been taught. Overall the kids have transformed into some peace-loving, smart, sharing, loving, kids. Now I will get to what bothers me...POP CULTURE POISONING THE MINDS OF OUR KIDS! I see it more and more each day with kids. Even as young as 9 or 10, young girls dressing like they are 21! My nephew is like a son to me and I watch and filter A LOT of what he watches and listens to. This immoral culture we now have more than ever is not going to poison my nephew if I can help it! This is yet another motivator for me to stay doing the Adventure Club and showing them the Poisons of this world we live in...One of my favorite parts about leading the little club is when the kids are on a nature walk or bon-fire and they begin to sing songs like "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine" kind of a quintessential theme of living to your fullest potentiality. And "I've Got the Joy Joy Joy Joy Down in my Heart" is a message of hope for everyone really. This makes me happy they aren't singing the latest Miley Cyrus songs LOL! Sometimes, when life gets too complicated, it's comforting to realize that a few resounding themes or songs offer sustenance, in a way provide food for our spirits. Most of the wisdom which has stood the test of time--and has crossed cultural, ethnic and religious lines--is accepted by almost everyone as just that: timeless wisdom. Time-honored truths which are self-evident. You don't have to attend a church--or put your kids into my little youth group--or be a citizen of my country or even live in my generation to appreciate them as such. Being honest has always been a treasured virtue. As has being pure and genuine in heart. It's especially now--with the constant overkill of over-sexualization by our culture practically smacking our kids in their collective faces; lack of commitment to ideals and values, to spouses and friends; political corruptness; and materialism.--A wake up call of the notion that instilling moral excellence into our children is arguably one of our biggest jobs as parents and adults! And it has never been a more urgent responsibility! At the risk of sounding like an alarmist lol, today's kids face issues of monumental importance. That kids of previous generations never even had to think about.I remember how much different it was when I was a child, and that wasn't that too terribly long ago. It's quite another to realize that half of all sexually active teens suffer from STD's...and that the majority of teens, are ALREADY sexually active. Or that one in five teen girls suffers from an eating disorder. Or that even the sweetest girl can find herself in intensive care for alcohol poisoning....SO SAD! It's not just the same old "drugs-sex-and-alcohol" drumbeat that parents have been sounding for generations. The cultural gap has never been wider and more dangerous in my opinion... Generation gap? To be sure. But changes in the way we view cultural norms have never been more pronounced; this generation faces the reality of witnessing--firsthand--the total collapse of morality. And I'm seeing it with my own eyes. Flip through any fashion magazine--it doesn't really matter which one--and study the images running rampant in clothing and cosmetics ads. Sex, Materialism, etc. Over and over again. It's no wonder that moms of eight-year-old girls--time and time again--ask me how to keep their daughters from dressing like Miley Cyrus. And now I read somewhere we're getting parenting advice from Madonna!? LOL! Oh, please! The same Material Girl who brought us public prancing and dancing in her underwear? I will uphold with unapologetic fervor my desire to raise morally excellent children. I will always--ALWAYS!--set the highest bar for them. Regardless of what the media or celebrities or PopCulture or New York Times bestsellers, movies, MTV, or peers etc. deem as OK or "Cool" or "In". I still preach to them That character counts. Always and always will and much more moral and positive things to carry with through life. There are some things in parenting that deserve compromise in my opinion. And some things that don't. I urge you to instill values into your children that leave zero room for compromise when it comes to VALUES. I believe--very strongly--that our kids' very futures depend on it and more.
"O be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little ears what you hear. Be careful little feet where you trod. Life wisdom distilled into thee" --Unknown
Well Friends, I hope the blog today made sense and helped someone out there. Thank You all for reading and stopping by feel free to leave a comment, send an email, follow, or just enjoy the read (hopefully lol) Truly, Dennis Kelly
