Shepherding Outdoors: Three Dog Days

Best Books

      

‘For a long time now, I’ve been trying’ to figure out this ole rigamarole…’ (one of my favorite Chris LeDoux lines). That rigamarole being how to bond and connect with my girls as their father. They were locked into “Girl Meets World” and Taylor Swift. Then, add to that YouTube, bloggers, and apps, and I was lost, and beat. I had been robbed of too much of the influence over my children. Maybe I wasn’t assertive enough. Maybe this… maybe that… maybe, the Lord was leading me down a path because, one day… and for a story for another day… I bought a kayak. Not for the girls, but for me. I paddled. And paddled. And like Forrest Gump, I just “kept on going” until one day… one of the girls wanted to go with me. And we paddled. And paddled. 

I was not raised to be an outdoorsman. Fact is, I am a regular guy, who happens to kayak across the Everglades and cross the Mobile River Delta with his daughters. The more I paddled with the girls, the more I realized I was regaining some of my influence over them. Then, the Lord started working on me. He opened my eyes to see that I could use the natural media he provides… nature’s interweb… as common ground with my girls. But I was scared. I’d never camped much. I silently refused His lead. Thankfully, He never gave up on me. He won’t give up on you either… ever. And, so, it began… our first few trips were simple and easy. We tore plenty of stuff up. Set a few things on fire. But we smiled and laughed the whole way through it, and we have some great stories. Now, we are a little more adventurous and a little more experienced, but we are still not experts. 

I now feel burdened to help other men and women do the same with their kids. We must regain the influence we’ve lost to modern distractions. I don’t command my kids to put down the iPod. I take them to a place where it won’t work because there is no electricity… that is half the battle won. The other half comes with a lot of help from the good Lord and some good practical advice from some of my buddies. So, through Shepherding Outdoors: Three Dog Days, I want to encourage you to get outside with your kids. Regain your God-ordained influence in your kids’ lives. I am not an expert outdoorsman or father… but I sure don’t mind sharing my experiences… the good, the bad, and the ugly… with the hope that it might help some other dad fare better than I. God bless… now let’s go, shepherding outdoors.

-Walt Merrell 

www.shepherdingoutdoors.com