Rite of passage

What America needs in 2012 is an honest conversation. Many people will agree that America is "off course" and that she has "lost her way." But is the solution to getting back on track a political one?

Just a couple days ago, I was listening to an interview program airing on my radio stations. The host of this particular program was discussing the new movie Monumental with producer Kirk Cameron. Monumental tackles the subject of America and where we are as a nation opposed to where we were at the beginning. One question from this interview got seared into my mind. The host asked Kirk, "where will change begin?" Kirk's reply was that real change in America will not come from the White House, but rather real change in America will come from parents talking with their kids around the dinner table.

A few months ago, I was interviewing Jim McBride, executive pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia and executive producer of the movie Courageous, about his book "Rite of Passage". The message of this book was that parents today are failing to usher our children into adulthood, thus failing to prepare them for the rigors of life. His suggestion is that we need to create a rite of passage for our sons and daughters that are unique to them. For boys, this would mean creating a moment when you tell your son that he is now a man your eyes, and for girls that they are now women. Fathers need to be involved in each ceremony if they have sons and daughters.

Jim also suggested that as a part of this "rite of passage", that you surround your children with hand picked adult mentors that they can rely on throughout life, including yourself. Doing such a thing would insure that whenever they have questions they can always feel they have a source of wisdom to tap.

I couldn't agree more with Jim McBride, or Kirk Cameron for that matter. Coming from a background where my dad was distant and not involved in any sort of a "mentoring into manhood" capacity, it is my goal to be that sort of father to my daughters. So often I hear people complain about the way America is today, but it is my sincere belief that we are where we are because parents have failed their offspring.

Some may disagree, but if you take a good look at the economy today and the rise in poverty -- I dare say one can draw a correlation between the rise in poverty and the breakdown of the traditional core family unit. Divorce, having children out of wedlock, families where the parents would rather shove their kids into daycare than take the responsibility of raising them properly -- all this contributes to the economic mess we are in today. Look at the debt crisis that brought about the most recent economic collapse. Did families really need all that stuff that was bought on credit? Or ask yourself this, could we have focused more on our families living on less, but having each other? Certainly that can be done.

One of the biggest lies that we bite into as parents is that we need to provide our children with the things we didn't have when we were children. Hogwash. The only thing I am providing for my children that I didn't have is an involved father. The material things I didn't have, well, I never missed them. I never wanted them, but I do remember wanting parents that were involved. You have to think like a child. I dare say children today would give anything for the attention they deserve from a parent. Turn on the news and you can see children who longed for an involved parent acting out in society in many harmful ways.

So my message to America is in line with Jim McBride's and Kirk Cameron's. Be that involved parent you need to be. Step up to the plate of responsibility and start taking care of your own. Engage your children, talk with them, guide them, instruct them. Set up a "rite of passage" where one day at the appropriate age you hand them the baton of adulthood and surround them with wise counsel. This is where real change in America will begin. 

GA Legends

One of the things I love about my line of work is all the interesting people I get to meet. At NewLife FM one of the programs I produce/host is the Georgia Town Crier (GTC). GTC is a fun interview program that is about a half hour long and focuses on issues, events, and the people of Georgia.

A couple weeks ago, Georgia legend Okefenokee Joe sent me his latest single "A little more Sunday everyday". The song deals with the crazy times we currently find ourselves in and how we need to focus on Jesus to get through. I liked the song and thought the music video on youtube was clever, so I decided to see  if he would come on GTC to discuss the song and talk about his life -- which he was more than happy to do.

Okefenokee Joe is quite the character. Back in the 1990s, he made an award winning documentary on the Okefenokee swamp called "Swampwise". You can still watch it online on the Georgia Public Broadcasting website. But before that Okefenokee was actually known as Dick Flood. This was back in the 1950s-60s when he had a career as a country singer/songwriter. Although he wasn't well known, some of his songs were picked up by Roy Orbison, Porter Wagoner, and other contemporaries.

Later in life Dick Flood moved to the Okefenokee swamp and lived on Cow House Island with his dog swampy. It was here that Dick Flood changed his name to Okefenokee Joe and had sort of a religious experience living off the land. Today Okefenokee Joe travels Georgia doing snake shows at schools and teaching children that mankind can live in harmony with God's creation.

During our visit on GTC, Okefenokee shared his heart about the state of America and how he is concerned with the direction we've taken politically -- how we've parted the path our forefathers. And how we've thrown morality and faith in God out the window. Then we discussed wise stewardship of creation.

Okefenokee Joe shared his take on how we can live in harmony with snakes. "Leave them alone," was his advice. They don't want to be your friend and they don't want to be bothered. Even the poisonous ones -- just leave them alone. Don't kill them and they won't bother you.

His advice on nature in general -- everything serves a purpose and works together the way God created it too. If you can't use it, leave it alone. Only use or take what you absolutely need.

My final question was one of personal curiosity coupled with a bit of soul searching. I asked Okefenokee Joe, "you've seen some difficult times and you've been on this journey called life longer than  me, what would your advice be to the next generation of Christians following in your footsteps?" His answer was simple, he clarified the fact that he was not a preacher and stated that his advice would be to stay in contact with Jesus, keep your faith strong, and stay as close as you can to Him.

Just a little bit of "Swampwise" wisdom.

Mountain top reflections

If you stand on the roof of my house facing south, you can see the ridge line that eventually turns into Pine Mountain, GA. Pine Mountain is one of my favorite places to go for a day trip, or for a weekend camping trip. Just a 45 minute drive by car and one Sunday afternoon I did the Meriwether-Pike scenic route (which included a run through Pine Mountain) on my motorcycle.

As far as Mountains are concerned, Pine Mountain is not very tall only reaching about 1400 feet. However it offers some of the best views this side of Atlanta. (There is another Pine Mountain on the north side of Atlanta).

Pine Mountain offers a vast array of hiking trails with primitive camping, mountain bike trails, and picnic spots -- not to mention a great selection of stone cabins built by the CCC during the great depression. In 2010, I took the family there for a weekend and we stayed in one of the cabins. The cabin was completely furnished with a kitchen and large fireplace. The girls had so much fun and we took them swimming in the spring fed pool that FDR used.

Pine Mountain and the nearby town of Warm Springs played a huge role in the life of FDR. It was where his Little White House was located, and the photo above is of the very bbq pit his people made on Dowdell's Knob. FDR would come there a lot during the Great Depression and during WW2...making 41 trips between 1924 and his death. I can see why he liked it too. Often I like to sit and reflect on life from Dowdell's Knob.

Going back to the camping trip we took in 2010, it was so much fun. The girls had so much fun making s'mores on the campfire and Noelle caught a lizard. Just a short hike from the cabin there was a great place to watch the sunset on buzzard's roost. At the end of the camping trip my car battery decided to die and I had to be jumped. It was a Sunday so no place was open to get a new battery and I was also running on fumes, but glory to God we made it all the way to LaGrange where I found an open Auto Zone.

Now that spring of 2012 has arrived, my wife and I have decided to purchase the $50 yearly pass to all GA state parks. I'm looking forward to going back to Pine Mountain and tent camping with the girls. Staying in cabins and hotels is fun and easy, but the expense is for the birds. Folks who can't enjoy roughing it in a tent and waking up to campfire cooking and cowboy coffee seriously don't know how to enjoy life. Same goes for folks who have to bring all sorts of junk with them on a tenting trip...keep it simple. Unplug, unwind, and get back to the basics. And a few chiggers never killed anyone...just remember to bring the clear nail polish.

Country Kitchen Recipes: Grits revisited

A couple weeks ago I decided to take an adventure and bought some quick grits. Originally I wanted to buy real hominy grits, but couldn't find any at Ingles. The difference, for any yankee readers, is similar to the difference between quick oats and steel cut oats.

After reading and comparing several recipes for breakfast grits, I decided to try my hand at cooking. The first and only (to date) recipe I tried was simple. Water, salt...boil...then add grits and cook for 5-8 minutes. Despite what many may be thinking grits are not "gritty". These grits turned out rather creamy, sort of like cream of wheat. To add my own twist I topped the grits off with sharp Cabot cheddar cheese, a perfectly poached egg (yolk was runny), and a dash of pepper. It was really good! A couple days later I even made the same recipe for my wife.

Needless to say, I'm hooked on grits now and I can't wait to try some other recipes.

This dry and barren ground

I feel the closest to God when I'm in my garden. It's a spiritual experience to take a patch of dry and barren ground, work it, and then see the fruits of your labor spring forth.

“Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread..." Genesis 3:17-19


This curse is brought forth in fullness in a half acre patch of my backyard. The area in question is thick with  thorns, weeds, poison ivy, and all sorts of ilk. But last summer I was astonished to find that growing in the midst of Adam's curse were the most beautiful and fragile flowers -- passion flowers. It was like they were breaking through the curse and offering hope to a hopeless stretch of ground. Their beauty seemed to overshadow the ugliness just a few inches below. How could something this beautiful survive this treacherous landscape?


In some sort of spiritual fashion, nature was playing out the salvation story. When God cursed the ground and dealt the punishment Adam deserved for his disobedience, it was God who also provided a means of salvation and hope. He promised Adam that one day his seed would rise up against the curse and conquer it. That happened when the passion of Christ led him to the cross and in the cursed ground he spent three days only to rise in splendor. Much like these passion flowers.


Later that summer the passion flowers turned into the most incredible and sweet passion fruit. And as I savored the fruit I was reminded yet again that the best things in life are freely given to us by God.

Front Porch Conversations: Back Deck Memories

Recently my wife has taken up the art of knitting. One of the items she has knitted for each of us in the Chagnon household was a toque (if you're french-canadian), or a toboggan (if you're southern). Still have no clue as to what I'm talking about? Take a gander at the photo to the left and the item on my head.

March can be a surprising month in Georgia -- much the same as it was in Vermont. Just two days ago it was 76 degrees, but today it was pretty nippy. So naturally I wanted to wear my toque before heading outdoors this afternoon. As I was trying to get the toque to fit properly on my head, I looked in the mirror and was reminded of a funny childhood memory.

My dad used to smoke Marlboros when I was a kid. However, my mom didn't let him smoke inside -- so it was a common site to see him on the back deck of our house taking a cigarette break. Again I refer you to the photo above because in the winter that is how my dad used to wear his toque. I always thought my dad used to wear his hats funny. Anyway fiddling with my toque this afternoon reminded me of my dad's funny toque wearing style.

But even funnier than the way he wore hats, was the one time he came out on the back deck to smoke and as he was lighting his smoke, he slipped and slid head first down the steps cursing all the way. It was hilarious -- the toque thing just made it even funnier. I always knew smoking was bad for your health.

Country Kitchen Recipes: Kiss my Grits

After 15 years of living below the Mason-Dixon Line, I finally found enough nerve to buy grits. Okay, so they are not hominy grits -- but baby steps okay?

Lately, and due in part to rising food costs, I've been curious about cooking cheaper foods that I normally wouldn't pay attention too. The 2lb bag of quick grits in the photo to the left was found at WalMart for $1.26. As soon as I got home I browsed the Internet trying to find some simple yet out of ordinary uses for grits -- you know other than slathering them with butter and cheese, which by the way I heard was a good use. I mean come on, being from Vermont sometimes the only coaxing I need to try a new food item is to be told it goes good with cheese.

But this time the thinking needs to be outside the normal "cheese box". So I put forth this personal challenge. The challenge is to find three recipes that incorporate grits as a breakfast item, a side dish, and as an intrinsic part of the main course. The next challenge will be getting my entire family to sample the dishes.