Some more interesting thoughts from Last Child in the Woods.

In the late 1800s the Census Bureau declared an area settled if it had more than 6 people per square mile. Based on that, they said the frontier was "closed". Then, in 1993, it was discovered that about 200 counties of the Great Plains no longer met that criteria. In five states of the Great Plains there were more counties with fewer than 6 people per square mile than there were in 1920.In Kansas such counties cover more territory than they did in 1890. Even the number of counties with fewer than 2 people per square mile is on the rise.

Based on what we are studying in school right now I found that amazing. Lewis and Clark explored that area in 1806. 30 years later it was beginning to settle. So in about 60 years the land was declared settled. Then, less than 100 years later, it was no longer settled. How terrible we are sometimes. The loss of a people (Native Americans) was extreme. The loss of wildlife and natural habitat, devastating. And all for a temporary fling. Humans are a very selfish race.

Then were these thoughts on spirituality and nature.

"Grasping the Grand Scheme is demanding for adults; for kids raised on Disney, it's simply shocking to discover that it takes a bunch of Bambis to feed a Lion King, and that Mowgli's wolves would eat Thumper and all his sibs. Eventually, most of us figure out that it's people, not nature, who create morality, values, ethics- and even the idea that nature itself is something worth preserving. We choose to be shepherds and stewards, or we don't."

And then, this 1995 study from MIT: "A substantial majority of people surveyed justified environmental protection by explicitly invoking God as the creator, with striking uniformity across sub-groups. It seems that divine creation is the closest concept American culture provides to express the sacredness of nature. Regardless of whether one actually believes in Biblical Creation, it is the best vehicle we have to express this value."

That sounds a lot like Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

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We started a jigsaw puzzle last night that was a Christmas present for the boys. It is 600 pieces of the world- countries shaped like they are, not like jigsaw pieces. It is set up on an extra table in the dining room and we will work on it for quite a while I am sure.