Every now and then my daughter introduces her dad and me to reality shows on cable.
The first one was “Duck Dynasty,” which has become a family favorite. I enjoy the Robertson clan, love what they stand for and usually laugh out loud at their antics or cry at their sentiments, and during most episodes, do both. Especially touching is the prayer at the family dinner table, closing every show. I was moved to purchase a pink “Duck Dynasty” T-shirt, something I rarely do! This year, their fourth season opener where Phil and Miss Kay renewed their wedding vows, garnered 12 million viewers, an unheard of audience for a cable TV show.
When I discovered that Phil Robertson had penned a book, “Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander” I bought it, read it from cover to cover and at the present time, have borrowed it out to my family. It’s making the rounds.
Phil’s journey (at times sordid and nasty) and his subsequent conversion make for an amazing story. The power that comes from the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit to completely change a person, making him a new creation, is inspiring and filled me with an expectant hope. No one is exempt from the love of God. No one is too lost.
Phil shares his colorful life and God’s saving grace in this must-read book.
We have a DVR, a little piece of technology that, once you have one, you cannot live without it. Rarely do we watch anything “live”; rather; we tape it and watch at a time that’s convenient, fast-forwarding those redundant, annoying, time-consuming commercials. Once in a blue moon I’m convinced by a commercial to purchase something. Usually they’re so maddening I boycott the product simply because of the mindless commercial aired to sway me to buy it!
At any rate, along with “Duck Dynasty,” my daughter got me to watch, “I Used to Be Fat” with her. (Dad refuses this one!) It’s another reality show, usually based around a young adult just graduating high school, soon to enter college. The format is the same for each episode. The person is overweight, wants to change, but is in dire need of motivation. The producers send an upbeat, vibrant, out-going instructor who revs up the motor of the gal or guy who has the desire to get healthy.
They have a weigh-in, set a goal, and count down the days to the end of summer by tearing off a poster sheet each day, donned with the declining number in large, bold type. There is always some type of drama, the person’s family is involved and personalities come into conflict. We’ve often said, my daughter and I, that the entire family should go on a diet/exercise program with the motivational instructor the show sends. They could all use it!
The instructors get to the heart of why the gal or guy is overweight, inevitably involving the emotional aspect of their lives. Some of the questions the young person is gently asked are, “Why do you overeat?” “What’s keeping you from exercising?” “What is standing in the way of a healthier lifestyle?” “Do you want to change?” They sit down and talk, the cameras are rolling and most of it is brutally honest, which, of course, makes for good TV. At the end of the show the goal is met, the person looks amazing and has gained useful tools to continue to maintain a healthier lifestyle. All good.
One day as we were watching the show, the participant and their mentor were jogging.
I turned to my daughter.
“We could do that.”
She looked at me. Her eyes lit up. “Do you wanna?”
“Let’s go.”
We got our tennis shoes on, stretched a little and grabbing Molly (our yellow lab), snapped her leash on and away we went. That was a month ago and we’ve been keeping up with it since, for the most part, every day after night chores. When my daughter can’t run/walk with me, I take a deep breath and resign myself to the dreaded treadmill. I miss her encouragement terribly. She has become my mentor. (You can do it, Mom! Just a little more!)
Because my daughter introduced me to this show, it forced me to move to act. As a result, I have more stamina and can get through my morning work-out (“Rise-Up” with Jennifer Brindley-Webster, Direct TV Channel 378, 8-8:30am, Monday-Friday) with less effort, as well as contending easier with daily farm work. I just overall feel better. I never thought I could do it. I was never a runner, but you know what? I can do it! I am doing it!
From selectively enjoying good TV, to purchasing clothes, to buying books, to get physically in motion, some things can quite literally, move me to act.
(“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28)
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