Geocaching helps cure couch potato syndrome

I once went to a seminar in Branson Missouri where the guest speaker was Lt. Col. Dave Grossman.  He is an amazing speaker, and will scare the fire out of you all at the same time.  He had a lot of opinions about the use of Game consoles in a house with children.  It seemed that the only viable link on major school violence was in fact the game console.

I had the opportunity to speak to him about on particular book he wrote called
"Stop Teaching Our Kids To Kill", it was a very powerful message.  I actually own an autographed copy of it.  I read it intently, and was really amazed at the statistics listed.  I had to consider what all was said.  Lt. Col. Grossman had made this book as his "call to action against, TV, Movie and Video Game Violence". 

I sat and though of the content of what he was saying in the book and looked back at my own parenting skills.  I really felt bad about the whole mess, I was just as guilty of having the electronic baby sitter.  I looked at my children and realized, that I was making a new bread of couch potato in my own home!  I can recite every episode of most all the programming on Nickelodeon! 

A year had passed since I went to the Seminar, and I swore that I was going to do better.  I gave in to reality TV!  I am a sucker for it all.  I got to fall back into the routine of doing the same thing over and over again.  I had really became the big slacker again, and my children fell into the habits again.

I was looking for a book to take into the man cave (bathroom), and stumbled across Lt. Col. Groomsman's book again.  Flipping through the pages made me remember my fear again.  Once again I had to evaluate my own true skills as a parent.  My daughter Lyndsey was trying to watch TV one day and came to me.  She said "Daddy you know this is Noggin's Big Wide Day of Play day."  I said "it is!  How do you know?"   She said "it is on my TV."  So I got up and went and looked at her TV, and sure enough it was!

I turned off the TV in the living room and we got up and went out to go geocaching.  we spent most all day outside, and we had such a wonderful time while doing it.  The sun was shining, the wind was perfect, and the smiles were being delt like a fine poker hand.

In retrospect I see that geocaching had in effect taken my children and I off of the couch and put us back outside.  I looked to Geocaching as the presciption for a couch potato, a cure to an old ailment.  No TV, No video games, me, the kids and the world.

If you or someone you love suffer from couch potato syndrome, GO GEOCACHING!  I guarantee results the same day you go.  Have a wonderful time, and hide new cache this week in memory of someone you love.

Geocaching an experience like no other!: In an ugly world, the simplest things brings out b...

Geocaching an experience like no other!: In an ugly world, the simplest things brings out b...: I have been very blessed with many things in life. I can not make much of a complaint about anything. I can brag about lots of things, ...

In an ugly world, the simplest things brings out beauty.

 

I have been very blessed with many things in life.  I can not make much of a complaint about anything.  I can brag about lots of things, especially my wonderful wife Stephanie.  She takes me for who I am, and just loves me right through it all.  I tend to do everything full throttle in life, and I can only imagine that I am a very difficult person at best.  Steph as I call her, just rolls right along with me.

Steph is by far the best part of me.  I can find anything that you hide really well, but if you sit it right in front of me, well lets just say I would miss it.  She finds all of my obvious geocache, and they end up being the coolest ones.  I lumber through the woods to find the most difficult ones, but she finds that little bunny at the book store.

In all my endeavors I never take much time to look around me to see things.  Always rushing around for the , next big thing, but my Steph, she makes me slow down and look.  When I get ready to give up, she kicks it in high gear and makes me dig in deeper and to not quit.  I have worked many jobs in my life, but none reward me as much as being a family man.

I didn't get out and take the big adventure that I had hoped I would this weekend.  I would have loved to cache away to the seven seas.  I took this weekend to really appriciate my wife.  She is my heart, my sould, my smile, my joy, my driving force, my spiritual guide, my true love and most of all my best friend.  I wanted to get things done around the house for her.

My youngest daughter Randi (age 5) spent the night with my mother last night.  She called me to come pick her up today.  I drove to mom's house and Randi was waiting at the door with a bag in her hand.  I said "what ya got kiddo?"  She smiled and said "I got you some geocache containers daddy!"  I was so happy to know my baby was thingking of our sport.  It warmed my heart to know how much she thought of me when she was gone.

I looked in the rearview mirror and could only smile.  Steph had made a little mini me!  My children all 6 of them, yes all 6, are my truest form of joy.  I hope to one day reward my wife with a job that we can do from home, or travel.  My beautiful wife Stephanie....I am a husband, father, helper, son, leader, amd a geocacher, and you are all that shines, all that is beautiful in this ugly world....I love you.

 

Geocaching an experience like no other!: The Gps, the Geocacher and the preacher!

Geocaching an experience like no other!: The Gps, the Geocacher and the preacher!: There was this geocacher that was walking through the woods on one of his hardest geocaches to date. He cautiously looked at his ...

The Gps, the Geocacher and the preacher!

There was this geocacher that was walking through the woods on one of his hardest geocaches to date.  He cautiously looked at his GPS unit trying to pinpoint the location to the tee.  He waked further and further into the wilderness as it grew darker from the gigantic trees overhead, he began to notice that his batteries were fading fast. 

"Lord I have come such a long way to find this geocache I haven't been the first to find anything ever, and as you know I really want to be the first to sign this one.  If if you can find a way, please help me before my batteries die!  PLEASE lord."  said the geocacher.  No sooner did he say this than his GPS unit went dead.

"Lord I begged you, and I have not given up on you, please find a way to let me get to the geocache and be the First to find this one, as I have told you I have never been the first to find one."  said the geocacher.  A rustling noise came from the tree line to the side of the geocacher.  The Geocacher became very cautious and nervous, after-all he was a long way out in the woods.  A preacher came out of the woods holding a bible, and seemed to be really happy to see the geocacher.  "Well hello my friend!  I am the preacher at St. John's Christian Church and  I came this way because God told me that I was going to meet someone in this desolate woods!  Someone who was going to need my help."  said the  preacher.  The Geocacher replied "Preacher I just prayed that God would lead me to a geocache where I could sign the log as the first to find, as you see I have never been the first to find anything! 

The preacher was puzzled, he had never heard of a "Geocache" and scratched his head.  "What are you talking about?" he asked  "Well preacher a geocache is a hidden treasure the we put the longitude and latitude in our GPS units and we travel and look for a hidden treasures, and we sign the log that is inside to indicate that we found it.  Being the first to find is , "well forgive me preacher" is a rush as good as sex." 
"Wow" said the preacher, "that all sounds very interesting, but how am I going to help you?  I don't have a GPS unit to help, as my flock grows smaller by the week, I am all but poor, and I know that the lord will provide!" 

The Geocacher thought for a minute and asked the preacher "What kind of phone do you have?"  "Well my wife bought me one of those IPhones so I would not be technologically impaired." said the preacher.  "Great!!" yelled the Geocacher, "I can put what I need on your phone and I can help you out!  Let me borrow your phone."

The geocacher went straight to the apps store and locate the free geocaching intro app and installed it.  The app seemed to take forever to load, but it finally loaded.  The Geocacher clicked the app and the geocache showed up, he quickly pushed the "lets Go!" button, and there it was that song that lets you know that you are close!  Pushing the compass button next he eagerly looked at the arrow to see how far he was.  "20 FEET!"  He and the preacher walked the 20 feet an searched all around, and the geocacher found it!  What a beautiful ammo can it was!  He handed the phone back to the preacher and said "We did it Preacher!"

Opening the ammo can he found it to be full of treasures, one of which was a first to find 5 dollar bill!  "Preacher for your troubles, and to help your church, I want you to take this money and put it into the collection plate on behalf of my geocaching club!  My family and I have been looking for a good church, so because you helped me in the woods, we will come there on Sunday, and I am going to invite my club as well!"  The preacher was amazed at this, and said "WOW!  This trip was really a gift from GOD!  I was able to help you, you helped me amazing!" 

There was a rustling in the woods nearby, sounding like wild animals running through the woods!  The Preacher and the Geocacher hid behind a tree just in time to see about 15 people run out of the treeline towards them, all intently focused on their GPS units.  The all came to a stop when the noticed the ammo can was already opened.  "Awe man!  Someone else got here first!"  The preacher and the Geocacher came out from behind the tree replacing the log to the ammo can.  the 15 other looked envious as the preacher and the geocacher walked out of the woods.

"Preacher, you have inspired me to make a cache in your honor!" said the goecacher.  "How is that?" asked the Preacher.  "I will show you on Sunday at church!"  said the geocacher.  The Preacher being patient as he was know that stranger things had already happened shook the hand of the geocacher and headed to his car.

Sunday came and the Preacher stood outside the church inviting his flock inside.  He stood and wondered if he would ever see the Geocacher and his crew again.  About that time the preacher looked up and there was the geocacher and several strange cars pulling into the church parking.  It was the geocacher and the Geocaching club!

The Geocacher came to the preacher and said "Preacher I have made a geocache in you honor, and hopefully it will be helpful to the church as well!"  The preacher said "Where are you going to hide it?" asked the Preacher.  "Preacher I hid it last night!  I caught your wife here while you were gone to the store and introduced myself to her and she told me that you had told her the story.  I told her that I was here to hide a geocache in your honor and she led me in to do it."  said the geocacher.

All was quiet as the preacher thought about this.  Then the rumbling of engines grew louder and louder, until it sounded like a NASCAR event.  50 cars came to a screeching stop at the church and men, women and children all armed with GPS came running to the Preacher.  "Are we the first to find it?" they asked the preacher.  The preacher was shocked and did not know how to answer this.

The Geocacher spoke up and said "Today, all finds will be first to find, you have came to the right place.  If you want to log your first to find and collect your reward, go inside have a seat.  You will find the log in the hymnal on page 233.  To help get part two, sing the song out loud when the piano plays, you will find your clue in the song."  The visitors all went inside, and the preacher said "I don't understand!?"  "You will in time" said the geocacher.

Inside the visitors were all signing the first to find logs, as the preacher walked in.  The geocacher walked to the piano and told the preacher to watch carefully.  As the preacher  looked over his flock he smiled.  The pews were full for the first time in memory, and it was good.

The geocacher sat at the piano and began to play.  The visitors began to sing.  "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I ONCE WAS LOST BUT NOW I'M FOUND!"  The preacher understood!  It was a call to the woods where he found the geocacher!   When the service was over, the visitors took off as fast as they came.  The preacher looked around and did not see the geocacher or the members of his club.  The preacher's wife said "honey you need to go back to the woods and meet the goecachers now." 

The preacher arrived at the place that he first met the geocacher only to discover a huge pick-nick and a woods full of geocachers.  "Preacher I think that was a pretty cool idea to make each hymnal a first to find geocache, and it was cool to give this wonderful pick-nick as a first to find reward!!" exclaimed one of the other geocachers.  The preacher said "Today, you were the first to find many things, a geocache, a pick nick and most importantly....the beautiful things that GOD can do.  Your forever reward can be found each Sunday at the church.  A child asked "What is a forever reward?"  The preacher said "each week you come sign the log for a new clew, and in the end you will find Jesus.  Jesus will give you eternal life, and geocaching fields in heaven."                       The End.

When you go geocaching take time to bask in the the beauty that others are showing you, but most of all be thankful that GOD sent that person to take you to a place HE created, and gave you the strength to find it.  Pick up  any trash if you can in the area, cache in trash out!

Geocaching an experience like no other!: For the love of it all,

Geocaching an experience like no other!: For the love of it all,: (Left Zack with his favorite find to date! To the right Kyle the Geo hunter with his first travel-bug) There are many things ...

For the love of it all,

 (Left Zack  with his favorite find to date!  To the right Kyle the Geo hunter with his  first travel-bug)

There are many things that you can do in life that make memories.  I am talking about memories that last a life time.  We look back and what we can remember most is the looks on peoples faces when they find true joy.

I have always know that watching children smile is a special event.

One of my things is to introduce as many people as I can to Geocaching.  I was in the local dollar store, when one of the employees had asked me if I had done any hunting lately.  I had to think about it for a second, I wasn't too sure if it was geocaching or deer hunting (which I don't do).  I simply responded "No but I need to".  The cashier said she has been going and pointed to a co-worker. 

It hit me!  I got caught by the muggle workers at this store, and had to go into detail about it, explaining all I could!  The other worker that came up said "I take my kids every chance that I can.  We often go on weekend trips to different places and it really helps to break up the trip if we stop and go geocaching.  My kids love it so much!   I really love doing it to, thank you so much for showing us!"

I was really happy that this young lady and her family enjoyed hunting for geocache as much as I do.  It is for the love of it all that I share my passion for all things.  I am a D.A.R.E. Officer and I share my passion to do good with all my D.A.R.E. students, I share my passion for GOD and Jesus with all that will hear the gospel.  I share my passion for truth with all, and I share my passion with geocaching with every person that I can.

I share for the love of it all!   I enjoy teaching people new things, I enjoy the mind that GOD gave me, and I enjoy my favorite sport of all times Geocaching.  Please share your passion or geocaching, and incorporate another passion in with it, just for the love of it all.