Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts

Monday, January 13, 2014

Book Review: RE: Memos on Faith and Life by Timothy Palmer

Tim Palmer has been a friend of mine since the Fall of 2005 I have known him to be one of the most authentic and passionate individuals imaginable. His life and faith have been an example to me that I try to live up to. When I found out he was writing a book I couldn't wait to crack it open.

I had no idea what to expect.


Re: Memos on Faith and Life is truly that, a book of memos. Short Stories and poems from everyday life that cause you to stop and reflect on things that are important. Tim writes, much like he speaks, in a way that is easy to identify with on a personal level. Occasionally (yet intentionally) Tim has you wondering "where is he going with this?" and at just that moment he brings the idea full circle changing your perspective on the whole subject. 

I do not recommend buying this book to read it in a day, although of course you could do that with some ease. Instead I recommend buying this book and reading a story or two a day. Think about what is being said, pray about how the truth told in the stories can be true in your life, then use the the given lines to take notes. This is a great book to be used as a devotional and is cheap enough that you can get a group of friends together and buy 10 copies and use these stories as discussion starters. (Click Here To Get Your Copy)


My Favorite Story

Re: Jesus
I know Tim to be constant in word and deed with regard to caring for those in need. Which is something that I think we as Christians all wished we could do better on. In this story Tim gives an accounting of just one of those instances where he interacts with a man in need of assistance. Yet he frames the story in a way that makes it easier for all of us to live out love. In the spirit of Matthew 25 he replaces every instance of the man who was the least of these with the name Jesus. I am certain that you will find this story to be true, to be inspiring, and to be convicting. I have read this particular story at least 10 times already.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Affluenza: Why parents should let kids Fail

Recently a 16 Year old was sentenced with only probation after pleading guilty to four counts of manslaughter by intoxication and two counts of assault by intoxication.



What in the world would lead a Judge to make that decision? What kind of legal defense do you have to not end up in prison?

Well it turns out you just have to have "Affluenza." If you want more detail on the case you can read about that in this Time Magazine article.

The point that was established during the trial was that Ethan Couch's life suffered because his "wealthy" parents had never let him experience a life consequence. To quote a psychologist in the case Gary Miller "He never learned that sometimes you don't get your way."

It is easy to look at the case and see it as a life of luxury enabled by lots of money. Please understand that the fault is not in the wealth, its that the parents covered for him all his life. As a Youth worker, and simply an observer of life around me, I have seen this happen no matter what the family financial situation.

As a parent you have 2 main responsibilities:

  1. Teach your child values that enable him/her to add to the world around them.
  2. Do your best to keep them alive.
As a parent you must let kids experience the consequences in life. When you take the consequence away you take the life lesson away and handicap your child in the long turn. 

In no way do I mean parents should not help their children, but there are situations where the best way to help them is to let them hurt in the short term.

When you child never starts a homework project till the night before its due, DO NOT finish the project for them after they fall asleep. Let them get a bad grade and if you have taught them that grades are important then they will be more likely to start the next project sooner.

When your child complains about being disciplined in class, do not participate in bickering about the teacher. You teach your child that no matter how they behave if they can argue it then they can get away with it. There are basics about how to behave in life and being able to argue well does not mean that your child is well behaved, usually it means the opposite.

If your child wants a car, and you can provide that for them, then sure let them have a car. If your child wants a car that has more features than getting them from one place to another then make them get a job to pay for it. If they wreck the car, let them ride the bus for a while instead of just getting them a new one. 

Let your kids fall,  let them experience that sometimes life hurts. Let them know that even if it is within your ability, they should not always get what they want, especially not when they want it.

You should let kids fail so that they can learn from life. When you can learn from life around you then you set them up to continue to learn even after they grow up and move out. Letting them fail will help to keep them alive and teach them values that will help them the rest of their life.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Bridges

The most beautiful scenes in life are from bridges built, not burned.