Sports, sports, sports…and more sports. We can’t seem to get enough. We have 24 hour coverage of every athletic competition across the globe. Sports on television, the radio, the internet. Then there is the conversation before, during, and after each individual event.

I haven’t done the math, but it would probably take a lifetime to consume just one day’s coverage of sports around the globe.

For some, this fact is just an annoyance. But for many others, this obsession with sports creeps into our family life. Wins and losses can affect people’s moods. Over-involvement in youth sports can have a toxic effect on family life and household finances. Keeping up with the Jones’s and the fear of missing out can negatively influence a wide variety of important decisions.

On the other hand, there is much to love and to learn from competition and the requisite need for young people to train and to develop self-control, strength, and endurance. Sports can lay a foundation for healthy living that lasts a life-time.

Join us this week on A Time to Sharpen, as we discuss the need for balance in the wide world of sports. It’s not easy to find a middle ground in a culture that worships professional athletes.

Sir Isaac Newton observed that “an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion…unless acted upon by an outside force.” And while his laws of thermodynamics revolutionized physics, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that this is also true in our lives as parents, teachers, and counselors.

We tend to stick with the same old strategies we’ve been using because they are, well, good enough. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right?

That’s what makes taking field trips so difficult. They throw us out of our routine. Things go wrong. People behave in unpredictable ways. We often have to revisit our budget, tighten our belt, or sell a few extra things on ebay to make it happen.

On this episode of A Time to Sharpen, we’re going to offer some encouragement to plan a field trip. Let’s get out of our offices, schools, and homes. Let’s go do stuff.

And remember, “It's a dangerous business…going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” (Bilbo Baggins)

You are what you eat. If you eat exclusively chicken nuggets, you’ll probably end up looking like a chicken nugget. Literally.

Remember the documentary, Super Size Me? That dude ate only Mcdonald's food for 30 days, and he almost died. It was crazy. Of course, anyone could have told you that was stupid, so I’m not sure why had to risk his life to prove the point that fast food is unhealthy; but it does illustrate the principle of “garbage in, garbage out” quite effectively.

Join us this week on A Time to Sharpen as we address the importance of treating our bodies like they are the temple of God, and the implications this has when trying to satisfy the bottomless pit stomachs of teenagers.