Sons and Warriors
  • Home
  • Practical Activities
  • Bible Studies
  • Articles
  • Other Resources
  • Contact

Articles

Range Therapy

29/11/2017

0 Comments

 
I love shooting. It has a calming effect on me. The time that I'm on the range affords me the option of being totally focused on the moment. Shooting safely requires your full attention. You can't be thinking about bills or appointments or chores. Just shooting. It's great.

I forget where I first heard the term "range therapy", but it's stuck with me. I'm pretty sure it was used tongue-in-cheek, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it wasn't far off the mark. Shooting has a therapeutic effect on me. That realization got me thinking, how many times do we pass on doing things we enjoy because we feel guilty about spending time and money on things we perceive to be simple entertainment? What if we thought about those things not only as being fun, but also as a form of therapy? Would we feel the same guilt about it then?

Therapy is something that people generally acknowledge as important and helpful and are willing to make time for. If shooting a rifle can have a similar effect on a person as talking with a counselor, why not?

In addition to the therapeutic effect, range time also provides an opportunity to connect with other people. Typically, I go to the range with a friend, but he had to cancel last time and my oldest had the day off from school so he joined me instead. He did pretty well.
0 Comments

You can fix it, or I can fix it

22/11/2017

0 Comments

 
I'm trying to teach my kids to take ownership for themselves. I want to teach them to be responsible and independent people. There are many different situations which provide me the opportunity to turn a mistake into a teachable moment.

One technique for teaching that I've had some success with is the "You can fix it, or I can fix it" approach. It's very simple and I've found it very effective. It doesn't work in every scenario, but when it's an option, it's one I tend to favor. Here's how it works:
Me - "Hey, kiddo, you need to clean up your room."
Kiddo - "Ok, Dad."
10 minutes later, room still a mess
Me - "Hey, knucklehead, why aren't you cleaning up your room?"
Kiddo - "Oh, sorry. I'll start now."
10 minutes later, no change
Me - "Alright knucklehead. You can clean this room, or I can clean this room."
Kiddo - *blinks*
Me - "I'm coming back in 10 minutes with a box. Everything that's not put away properly goes in the box and you'll have to earn it back. Ready, go!"
Kiddo - *frantically starts cleaning his room*
I've had to "clean" the room a couple times, but the whole process takes me maybe 5 minutes.

The technique can be applied in many situations where the kid needs to take some corrective action that perhaps they don't want to take. Offering them the opportunity to take that action and solve the problem in a way that they prefer gives them ownership in the solution and teaches them how to solve problems. If they don't take you up on your offer, then you get to solve the problem however you see fit.
0 Comments

Be The Helper

15/11/2017

0 Comments

 
One of the better pieces of advice that I've heard about dealing with tragedies like natural or man-made disasters comes from Fred Rogers. Well, I guess it technically comes from Fred Rogers' mom.

Fred told a story about a time when he was a kid and something scary happened that made its way onto the news. Fred and his mom were watching TV to keep updated on whatever was going on and Fred tells how his mom tried to comfort him.

She told him, "Look for the helpers."

This is an outstanding piece of advice that puts the focus on the recovery and not on the tragedy. It reminds us that the situation is not outside the realm of action. Something can be done to make it better.

I want to take what I see as the next logical step both in supporting that plan and in strengthening our own intestinal fortitude. Looking for the helpers is great, but being one of the helpers is better.

Be the helper that others are looking for.
0 Comments

Veterans Day

8/11/2017

0 Comments

 
I had the opportunity to speak at my son's school today during their Veterans Day assembly and thought I would share my notes here.
Ladies & gentlemen, students, veterans, good morning.

My name is Ben Bradley and I served in the US Army from 2004 to 2008. I’m humbled to be speaking with you today and doubly so because I get to talk about something so important to me.

Around Veteran’s Day, we hear a lot about the service and sacrifice of veterans and certainly that’s something to be acknowledged and honored. I want to take a moment to recognize another group of people though, whose service and sacrifice to our nation is less well known, but no less important.

The families and loved ones of those veterans.

Perhaps some of you here today have loved ones that are far away keeping us all safe. To you, especially, I want to say, “Thank you.” The weeks and months that you’re apart from your loved one are not unnoticed or unappreciated.

I hear that “Courage” is this year’s theme here at Riverview.

There’s a funny thing about courage. People seem to think that being courageous means not being afraid. I want to challenge that idea. In fact, I think it’s not possible to be courageous unless you’re first afraid.

If you aren’t afraid to do something, then it takes no courage to do it. If, however, you’re afraid to do something and you move out and get it done anyway, even though you’re afraid, that takes courage.

Students, when you feel that fear creeping up on you, when you start to feel afraid, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to say to yourself, “Good.” I want you to be excited for the chance to be courageous. I want you to move forward and do the thing that scares you.

Be courageous even though you’re afraid.

Be courageous because you’re afraid.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Archives

    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    Categories

    All
    Book
    Choice
    Conscience
    Control
    Decide
    Embrace The Suck
    Family First
    Focus
    Goals
    Initiation
    Insignia
    Language
    Legacy
    Manhood
    Militant Parenting
    Mindset
    Money
    Motivation
    Obituary
    Participation Award
    Plan
    Priorities
    Protector
    Questions
    Reaction
    Responsibility
    Sacrifice
    Science
    Self Care
    Shame
    Sheepdog
    Struggle
    Threats
    Time
    Tips
    Victim
    Weekly Challenge
    Worship

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Practical Activities
  • Bible Studies
  • Articles
  • Other Resources
  • Contact