More than a Backpacking weekend

So, I have to admit, right off the bat, this is a little weird for me.

I'm going to give you the background and history of what I am linking to.

We look good after hiking 10 miles.

Elijah and I have wanted to go backpacking for a long time. Katie has been wanting me to have "THE TALK" (dun, dun, duuuuun) with Elijah for a long time. So she picked up the Passport 2 Purity weekend kit produced by Family Life Today. It is Dennis Rainey's ministry similar to Focus on the Family.

I decided the hike and the P2P program would go good together. We would get away for a weekend, get to go back packing, get in the woods, just be the two of us. The hike was humid, the mountains steep, the views incredible, the food awful, the blisters hot, the water fresh and cold, the sleep was hard. All of the good stuff that goes into a great hiking trip. I loved it. Even the 5 mile detour we took on the second day. I loved every step of it.

Elijah, well, he might of thought it was tough. I haven't challenged myself this way in a long time, physically or relationally. I pushed myself and came out on the other end of the trail with jello legs and felt incredible.

But let me back up.

Eating breakfast and listening to P2P

We were doing the Passport 2 Purity program. It is a really good product. It is funny at times when it needed to be. It also gets series. It went into a good amount of depth and left a lot of unnecessary stuff out. From a Christian father's point of view, I was relieved and thankful for how it was made. Before we went, I sent a message to Family Life Today and asked them to pray for us as we were doing their program that weekend. They assured me people would be praying the entire time we were out and to let them know how it went.

A few days afterwards I did. I thanked them for their prayers and for providing a good quality, memorable weekend for us. They asked me a couple of questions, which I answered and that was it. Well, until a lady contacted us named Mary. She said they shared our story with their staff and everyone wanted to know more about it, because as far as they knew nobody else had done it this way. So a few questions turned into an embarrassing interview and that interview turned into an interview with Elijah, and all of that turned into an article written about our backpacking weekend. Which is right here.

"More Than A Backpacking Weekend" on Family Life Today "The Family Room" ezine

Now it says it's written by me, but it was written by Mary based on our interview. (I wrote what you are reading now, she wrote that, there is a big difference in the quality and refinement.) It also includes a blurb about how the program is structured. Which I am totally fine with.

What Eastern Kentucky Looks like from Pine Mountain on a beautiful June day. 

Now to the dads and moms out there.

If you are unsure about how to have "THE TALK" (dun, dun, duuuuun) this is the way to do it. It is a really relaxing and safe way to have the talk (dun dun duuuuun). It gives a guideline of how to relate your thoughts and experiences within it. It has suggestions (which I kinda changed to match us and hiking). It has a whole parent pre-weekend guide and cd/mp3s to listen to. It has books so you can stay on topic. It has music and stories, and interviews, and all the stuff that makes a good quality resource. It has separate guy/ girl sessions. AND it isn't full of any "Christian Cheese", over spiritualization, disgusting pictures, or other things that have made tools like this terrible. Don't try to be a tight wad and just get the student journal. Buy the whole P2P Getaway Kit. It's worth it. You will be glad you did. You will have more fun and they will remember it better.

If you have questions, contact me. I would love to encourage you in this little adventure, however you choose to do it.

Until then, try to stay on the right trail. Climbing back up is a whole lot of unnecessary work.

Still trying to be worked into something useful,
Mitch

Earth Day in the Mountains

"Earth Day" has passed again amidst all the cries of "How dare you turn a blind eye to the catastrophe" and "we must do our part for the next generation". In the Estep house, we have always practiced "earth day", not once a year, but our whole lives realized as a need and use of what God has created for us. We teach our kids to plant and raise food. We learn how to care for animals for eggs, furs and meat. we clean up our area of trash and replanting to make the woods healthier.

We have always reused. Our grandmother's make salsa and pickled peppers in Tostito jars, green beans in mayonnaise jars and "leather Britches" dried on thread. There are two egg cartons that are constantly being refilled. We make bird feeders and houses from garbage. We have always recycled and retooled, we called that "been esteped" long before upcycling was a trend. My grandfathers made things work with what they had laying around, which wasn't much.

You see, we are mountain people. We climb these hills looking for mushrooms, ramp, ginseng and poke. We cut down trees and use all of it, for furniture, building, and heat. Then plant more. Our furniture was functional, before considered "rustic". It has necessary before considered "artisan".  We dig up the coal and re-shape the hollows for homes, business, and parks. We hunt these mountains to keep it balanced. We hike these streams to enjoy God's beauty. He gave us these hills and valleys and all of its bounty to use and subdue and work and benefit from. We have known the earth and celebrated what come from it with hard work, callused hands and bent backs long before skinny jeans and hipsters.

We are mountain people. Our hands are dirt stained, not from the sin of harming the earth, but from being in the earth. My heritage has dug, and moved, and shaped this hostile frontier home for generations to come. The gardens where planted by our parents and plowed again by grandkids who know the depth of potatoes and the rock in the soil. Our ground is fertile, not by chance, but from shoveling manure and the grazing of animals. Our cellars are full, not from handouts and supermarket finds, but the breaking of beans, heat of the canning fires and power of sweat tea. We have saved our seeds and shared our harvests. We have practiced community gardening and neighborhood efforts for survival not fad.

We are mountain people. We have lived with the earth. Our vehicles have bigger tires because they work hard on harder ground and we play as hard as we work. Our tools are stronger because they have to cut the rock and break against a force we built on. Our tools are sharper because they have to cut deeper with the force of our arms. Our boots are heavier because they have to dig in and climb. Our backs are bent forward because they work with strength.

We are mountain people. We know the earth. We celebrate as God gives. We pray over his work. We take care of the earth, because he told us to use it. We love the earth and celebrate what God has provided.

We are mountain people. We wish you would celebrate, care for, and use the earth with us every day.