GroshLink

Came across Catapult magazine at CCO's Jubilee. Lots of brief, helpful pieces on their site, but A baker's dozen of the top ten rules for parenting caught my attention with Hayley and Ellen turning 7 on Friday and Eden turning 2 on February 22.

1. Have as few rules as possible but stick by them.
2. Do not have the television in your main living area. Limit television (and video games, if not utterly excluding them) to one hour per day and find a show the family can watch together and discuss once per week. Parents must adhere to the one hour per day limit as well. Make exceptions only for fine films . . .

Amen! Good to read Parents Seek Simpler Birthdays. Hard work ;-) Looking forward to Friday when our groundhogs Hayley and Ellen celebrate a perfect 7 with their grandparents, Aunt Susan, Uncle Phil, and my cousins James and John.

But on Saturday they'll head to a school friend's party at Hershey's Chocolate World! Check out Birthdays without pressure if you're seeking advise for addressing

What's out of control about birthday parties today:

Party costs are skyrocketing.
The number of children exceeds what many parents can handle.
Children are getting too many presents that cost too much money.
Gift bags contain more and more junk.
Kids get over-stimulated and difficult to manage.
Themes and venues have to be cooler and better each year.
Birthday celebrations are turning into “party weeks” with several parties: family, friends, and school.
Being on the “party circuit” is stressing families’ schedules and budgets.
There is pressure to make parties perfect, original, and enriching—a once in a lifetime experience every year.

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Dear Friends from 'the Grove,' Have you kept up with Robin (Jueschke) Smith ('96)? In her most recent newsletter from the field of France, with Wycliffe, there is the following update:

Great Expectations – It’s a boy!

Just received this from a faculty friend. Strongly stated truth. Although, I do find it helpful to understand the context/story of those with whom I am speaking (individually or in a larger group) in order to address spoken and unspoken concerns more directly by my own story, film, prayer, the Word of God, larger events, etc. Anyone have thoughts on the postmodern (or hypermodern) hype in the Christian sub-culture?

i think "sophisticated" christian leaders love to hear themselves talk about "postmodernism", and how the planet is now covered with an entirely new breed of animal...forgetting that people are the same old sinners still being created in the image of God, however muted and messed up....needs are the same...emphases may be a little different...but we don't have to bow down to, "oh, but these are postmoderns, you must respect them. they won't listen to you if you don't talk their language"....

I've been enjoying the conversations related to Collins' Language of God, I may even venture into offering it for an Adult Education class later in the year. For those interested in the topic add to the list of readings the Collins & Dawkins Debate from Time. Other pieces of interest are

Ted Davis' ID on Trial, note: he has lots of great article links posted at http://home.messiah.edu/~tdavis/home.htm, including a must read:

A Whale of a Tale: Fundamentalist Fish Stories

Also enjoy:

Stephen Jay Gould, "William Jennings Bryan's Last Campaign." Natural History (November 1987), 16-26.

David N. Livingstone, "Evolution as Metaphor and Myth." Christian Scholar's Review 12 (1983), 111-25.

Eden has been making great strides in speach, expression, and mobility. Most significantly, she briefly walked w/her walker 2x (unaided). Wow! Looking forward to working with her on this tomorrow. We rejoice in your prayers and encouragements during the first years of her fragile life (note: she turns 2 on Feb 22).

Looking forward to hearing Eleonore Stump, Philosophy, St. Louis University, speak on Love By All Accounts at a faculty conference on Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives on Love sponsored by Franklin & Marshall College's (F&M) Philosophy Department. For more on check out Stump, check out Looking into the Mirror of Evil: A Review of the Moral Philosophy of Eleonore Stump. She's posted a few pieces on her faculty page and here's the link to Aristocracy and Obligation: The Medieval Lists of Almsdeeds. This conference looks to be quite stimulating, I've also heard positive reviews of the work of Jeffrey Schloss, Biology, Westmont College, who will be addressing The 'Matter' of Love: Evolution, Religion, and the Internalization of Altruism. Let the conversations flow forth to greater insight, understanding and love directed in a helpful manner!

Did I already rejoice in A call to honor the Sabbath? Not bad for USA Today :-0 Thank-you to Henry G. Brinton, pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia and author of Balancing Acts (anyone read this, looks interesting), for writing:

The problem with ignoring the Sabbath is that it hurts us as individuals, families and communities. Wayne Muller, a therapist, minister and best-selling author, is convinced that modern life has become a violent enterprise. We make war on our bodies by pushing them beyond their limits, war on our children by failing to give them our time, and war on our communities by failing to be kind and generous and connected to our neighbors. To bring an end to this destruction, we have to establish a healthier balance between work and rest..

Later in the piece, he quotes from Marva Dawn's Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting, which is one of several helpful resources found at Calvin's Resource Library. Join me in dwelling in the Presence of the Lord every day, but taking particular moments to rest and remind myself to dial it down and replenish my strength through leaning upon the strength of the Lord

Earlier today, Carl and I washed, scrubed a bonding agent onto, and re-washed the office floor. About 5 hours later I began to stain the office floor. With Theresa's help it's finished. We'll take a look at it tomorrow to see if it needs a second coat and then onto the trim. Looks like the library and filing system will be on the move by next Saturday. Can't wait for the Mid-Atlantic Faculty Office to come on-line, to go beyond the laptop and a few boxes of materials. Thank-you for your prayers, encouragement, and hands-on work. If you have organizational gifts and time/energy to help out with the next phase, let us know.

By-the-way, the plumbing and flooring for the downstairs bathroom is mostly completed. We're just a few days away from finishing off the floor and vanity, but we're still a little further away from the ceiling, ceiling fan/light/heater, and ceiling fan/light/heater exhaust.