Pura Vida

It seems as though everyone is talking about "pura vida". Garrison Keillor is the latest to write about it. "Pura Vida" literally translated means pure life. "Pura Vida" is the unofficial national motto of the country of Costa Rica. The Costa Ricans use the phrase to express "strong community, perseverance, good spirits, enjoying life slowly and celebrating good fortune of magnitudes small and large alike."

So, were can a person go to experience this kind of life? Is strong community and the enjoyment of life only available to Costa Ricans? If you are to believe Garrison Keillor, pura vida is best defined by those who live in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles! Garrison, you are kidding me, right? Now, southern California is a beautiful part of the country with some spectacular natural resources. It's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Los Angeles has a lot going for it, but I'm sorry, it's not the source of pura vida.

What is Garrison Keillor thinking about? Perhaps he was referring to Los Angeles violent crime rate that is twice the national average for murder, robbery and aggravated assult. Perhaps he is thinking about the fact that Los Angeles is ranked the most polluted city in the US according to a 2007 American Lung Association report. Or perhaps he is thinking about the cost of living in Los Angeles that is the third highest of any major US city. In case you're interested, the cost of living in Los Angeles is 75.0% higher than in Cedar Rapids.

And tell me this, if LA is such a great place, why is Kobe Bryant demanding to be traded from the Lakers? Why does he want out of Los Angeles?

If Los Angeles isn't the keeper of pura vida, where do we turn? Where do we go to find pure life? Is life found in a particular city or country?

Life in all its fullness is found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the "way, the truth and the life." He is the one who came that we may "have life, and have it to the full." He is the one who reminds us that a "man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Jesus is the giver of all life - life that is full and pure!

Following Jesus and being on mission with Him is the essence of real life. To follow Jesus is to live life to the fullest. People like John Sage have discovered the difference a relationship with Christ can make. At 36 years old, John Sage had accomplished it all. He was a millionaire entrepreneur with a devoted wife and two fine sons. But 100 hour work weeks at Microsoft left him empty and burned out.

A conversation with friend and missionary, Chris Dearnley, resulted in the two of them starting Pura Vida Coffee. The mission of Pura Vida is to create good by using capitalism to empower producers, motivate consumers, inspire business leaders, and ultimately serve the poor. To date, Pura Vida has distributed over $1.5 million, which helps provide clothes and food to street kids, job training, libraries, computer centers, and scholarships to children in Costa Rica and other coffee growing countries.

John Sage and others like him have learned that real life is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ and by being on mission with Him. Aligning our life around His purposes is the way to a life worth living. Jesus is the way to a full and engaged life - pura vida!

Let's Shape Up

American teens are heavier and more overweight than other teens throughout the world. Not a recognition to be proud of. Much has been written regarding the problem, and it's a serious one.

One-third of children and teens in the USA — about 25 million total — are overweight or obese, which puts them at risk of type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and other health problems. "Never before has there been a generation in which so many kids are so heavy so early in life," says Dr. David Ludwig.

In September 2006, the prestigious Institute of Medicine cautioned that about 20% of children in the USA will be obese by 2010 if dramatic steps aren't taken. Dr. Ludwig, the director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, has done more than 40 research studies, including reports that show:

• If childhood obesity continues unabated, it could shorten the average life span of today's children by two to five years.
• Overweight teens eat about 400 more calories on a day when they consume fast food compared with a day when they don't.
• Highly processed foods, which are low in fiber, can cause weight gain because after eating these foods, children's blood sugar often rises quickly, then crashes. This stimulates hunger and overeating.

Dr. Ludwig has worked with over 5000 overweight children and their families. He has just published a new book titled, Ending the Food Fight: Guide Your Child to a Healthy Weight in a Fast Food/Fake Food World. The book offers a offers a proven 9-week program that can turn your children’s health around. The program includes a six-step plan:

• Working together as a family, make a “clean sweep” of your home, removing all the "fake" food, replacing it with "real" food.
• Introduce your children to nutrient-rich, low-glycemic real foods.
• Start replacing refined sugary cereals and processed breads with whole grains.
• Go for family walks. Teach your kids that walking 30 minutes a day at a moderate pace would burn over about 50,000 calories in a year or about 15 pounds of body weight.
• Learn “The Power of Ten.” Encourage your children to get active for 10 minutes at a time. They can walk, jump rope or play outdoors in three 10-minute blocks over the course of a day or two 15-minute blocks.
• Let your child participate in menu planning and food preparation. You’ll find that if your kid cooks it, he or she eats it.

Our societal trend toward childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes can be swayed. But it will take re-education and a change of eating and exercise habits. American, let's shape up!

Call Me Boring

The National Basketball Association playoff finals are going on right now. Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs are playing LaBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers. I don't watch NBA basketball but the finals are sometimes fun to follow.

I'm intrigued by all the media hype LaBron James has received and all the negative criticism that Tim Duncan and the Spurs have received. LaBron is new, exciting, confident, and brash. He has been anointed the next savior of the NBA. Wow! Pretty big shoes to fill.

Tim Duncan aka "The Big Fundamental," is described as old (he's 30!), dull and boring! Watching the Spurs play basketball has been likened to watching paint dry. And what has Tim and the Spurs done to deserve this kind of criticism? All they do is win basketball games and championships in a professional, team-oriented style of play. The Spurs have been recognized as the model NBA franchise that all others should seek to emulate.

Please spare me! Isn't this what professional sports is supposed to be all about? Isn't success measured by championships? I don't know about you, I don't mind being called boring as long as you also call me "Champion!"

The problem is that athletics have become more about entertainment and less about competition. Big egos, large super-star contracts, charismatic personalities, and unfulfilled expectations litter the sports landscape on the way to championship rings. In the end, it's almost always the team who quietly plays good defense, executes on offense and plays together well as a team who wins championships.

And what has Tim Duncan accomplished during his 10-year NBA career? Tim Duncan is a three-time NBA champion and a three-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. He has also won the NBA Most Valuable Player twice, and was voted into nine All-Star games, ten All-NBA teams, and ten All-Defensive teams. Many basketball experts consider him to be one of the greatest power forwards in history

In addition, as a college player, he was named ACC Male Athlete of the Year, won the John R. Wooden Award and was named Naismith College Player of the Year (all 1997). In his rookie year in the NBA (1998), he was voted Rookie of the Year and elected into the All-NBA Rookie Team. Duncan is one of only four players to receive All-NBA First Team honors in each of his first eight seasons (1998-2005), along with Hall of Famers Bob Pettit (10 seasons), Larry Bird (9 seasons), and Oscar Robertson (9 seasons), and is the only player in NBA history to receive All-NBA and All-Defensive honors in his first nine seasons (1998-2006). Duncan was also named by the Association for Professional Basketball Research as one of "100 Greatest Professional Basketball Players of The 20th Century", being the youngest player on that list.

Not a bad resume' for such a boring guy! You won't be reading about Tim Duncan being arrested for animal endangerment. You won't be reading a newly released book by Duncan criticizing his teammates and coaches. You won't be hearing his name associated with a steroid investigation. And you won't be seeing his mug shot on national news regarding felony charges related to weapon possession at a local strip club. How boring!

Tim Duncan is a classy, stand-up guy who quietly goes about his business and wins championships. He knows that winning is more about substance than style, team-work rather than individual accomplishment. In this age of super-star egos, Tim Duncan is a flat-out winner.

So go ahead, call Duncan boring if you must. But just remember, you also must call him Champion!

Cy-ber Victory!

After five weeks, more than 8 million votes and thousands of e-mails and internet message board threads, Cy emerged victorious in the battle of the mascots! 64 college mascots vied to be the Most Dominant College Mascot on Earth, a contest sponsored by CBS sportsline.com.

In a contest that captured the hearts and minds of college sports fans across the nation for more than six weeks, Cy the Cyclone emerged as 2007's Most Dominant College Mascot on Earth. On its way to the top, the violent windstorm overcame several mythical creatures and inanimate objects before finally taking on and defeating the Spartans and Razorbacks.

Check out the YouTube video above that gives an overview of Cy's road to victory. Way to go Cy and the entire Cyclone nation! You dominate!

Faithful Endeavor Relocation Journey

Our church family gathered together on Tuesday evening to listen to an update from the Relocation Leadership Team regarding our architectural master plan. It was an exciting meeting as we:

• Recalled our history and how we embraced faith to move from G Avenue to our present location in 1982


• Reviewed our design values and our desire that our new facility be welcoming, comfortable, functional, expandable and flexible


• Listened to Tom Smith from CDH Partners present the master plan and phase 1 design


• Heard a presentation from John Maurice regarding the total project cost and funding


• Reviewed the timeline regarding the relocation project


• Dreamed of what God could do through a people who are totally devoted to Him and what part each of us can play


• Had a time of Q and A with the Relocation Leadership Team, Tom Smith, Steve Emerson (our owners rep), and representatives from Rinderknecht Associates


• Had time to review the drawings and ask further questions in the lobby after the meeting was over

It was quite an evening! What's the next step? Our relocation journey is all about God and His glory. We need to pray for direction and discernment. We need to continue to give faithfully to the Embracing Faith stewardship campaign, and pray about what God would have us give toward the second campaign in January 2008. And lastly, we need to continue be involved in prayer, care and share. Leading people into a growing, personal relationship with Jesus Christ is what we are all about.

We handed out a Faithful Endeavor Newsletter at the end of the meeting. You can read an online version by clicking here. Please be patient - it's a six page newsletter and it takes a while to download. You can also see a short slide show of the evening by clicking on the picture above.

Our new property has been purchased, our master plan has been designed and our Phase 1 drawings are prepared. We are ready to embark on the next step of our relocation journey!

Switch

Cedar Rapids is in the news! The National Institute on Media and the Family recently announced that its community and family-focused pilot program showed that a substantial number of kids turned off their televisions, engaged in more physical activity and ate more fruits and vegetables.

The eight-month pilot program called Switch was conducted with more than 600 children in five elementary schools in Cedar Rapids and two elementary schools in Lakeville, Minnesota during the 2005-2006 school year.

Switch is the first childhood obesity prevention project to incorporate the amount of screen time component as a factor for the overall health of children. The program purpose is to Switch what children Do, View and Chew. This MediaWise program seeks to give parents and communities the tools they need to address all three major contributing factors to childhood obesity: activity level, diet and screen time.

And why is this needed?

Kids today spend more time in front of a screen than any other activity except sleeping. On average, they clock close to 45 hours a week fixed to electronic screens. Not surprisingly, Institute research and other studies demonstrate a link between the amount of time kids spend in front of screens and their risk of becoming overweight or obese.

The study showed that after eight months of participating in the program, the children most at risk of being obese or overweight substantially improved their physical activity and eating habits. In fact, at the end of the program, the most obese children cut their screen time by 5 1/2 hours per week, and more than four out of 10 kids in Switch reported watching less television and spending less time playing video games.

"This study provides the most concrete evidence to date that excessive amounts of screen time vastly increase the risk of childhood obesity," said Dr. David Walsh, president and founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family. "Every parent needs to understand the link and take significant steps in turning off their child's television and computer."

I written in the past at Watch What Your Kids Watch and The Smart Thing To Do about the link between excessive media consumption and childhood obesity. This is a problem that's not going away soon and needs to be dealt with.

Kudos to MediaWise and the Cedar Rapids School District. This is a step in the right direction. But it's just a step. Healthy, life-style behavioral change needs to be continually reinforced by families, schools and the community.

It's time to turn off the television, pause the video gaming system, log off the computer, and get some exercise. What good can we do if we redeem even half of the 45 hours a week that the average child spends in front of a screen? It's time to make a switch.