Archive for April, 2009
Friday, April 17th, 2009
April 18, 2009
Many times it is easy to see differences. Lately, however, I have been encouraged to see similarities. This week I spent a few days doing accreditation work at one of our sister schools. It was an encouraging trip. Having done a number of these trips, I am increasingly encouraged by the similarities between the schools that I see. Many times this is lost on the families at the schools who do not get to see other schools often. Our students are reading the same books. They are wearing the same uniforms—basically we could call the entire experience “Slight Variations in Plaid.” They have the same delightful attitudes. Yet, too often, we think we are alone. This week I am pretty sure that something big is happening—about 225 schools across the country and around the world are producing slight variation on the same sort of student. These students have their default setting in a Christian view of the world and they are academically extraordinary. I am excited to think of what this means for our culture in 20 years. Remember also, we are not alone. We are part of God’s work on earth now. Things might seem to be pulling apart around us sometimes, but He is still working. Many times we can not see too far ahead to see what is coming next. He calls us, however, to be faithful children, to follow His example and to love one another. Be encouraged.
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Friday, April 17th, 2009
April 17, 2009
Here is a fun story about problems in today’s work force:
I guess at the causes of the growing trend of parents stepping into workplace issues of their grown children—calling the employer after a subpar review, threatening the HR department if their child did not get the raise or bonus that they think he deserved.
If this problem were not so horrible, it would be comical. Beware, however, parents, you could be the fodder of next year’s thoughtful article. Make sure that, as parents, you do not make your children dependent on you permanently. If you think your child is being treated unfairly, I would encourage you, as much as possible, to talk to the other adult without letting your son or daughter know that you are taking up his or her cause. Parents main message should be submit to the authorities over them, learn from them and obey them. When they have trouble at their summer job, help them to learn to toe the line or to ask questions of their employer respectfully. When they struggle or fail at things (even at school) find the cause and help them to correct it. Do not quickly assume, as some parents do, that their child’s problems are all external. We are all sinners. God uses circumstances—sometimes tough and unfair circumstances—to make us into the people that he wants to be. The Father loved the Sons perfectly. He did not remove Him from our world. Thank God.
Your children will call you blessed if you help them to learn how to righteously submit to authority. It will make them much more useful adults.
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Monday, April 6th, 2009
April 6, 2009
I just finished the Arbinger Institute’s book The Anatomy of Peace. It is certainly a book worth reading. It is an examination of the causes and solutions of interpersonal problems. It is not written from a religious point of view, so in the end you might find yourself looking at some of these common grace insights and inserting Christ as the answer. Books like this tend to see the problem much more clearly than they see (or at least be able to state) the solution. They do a great job of pointing out how sin destroys interpersonal relationships and how, once it has its roots in you, repentance needs to come before you can really get anything right.
I appreciated the good humor and the style in this book. It is more of a business parable and serves as a prequel to Leadership and Self-Deception. If you have friends who are struggling with their children or with their marriage this book is a great starting point. Again, it will not get you all the answers, but it does a super job of helping you see the damage that you are doing to those close to you.
It is both a hurtful and a helpful read. Enjoy it.
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Friday, April 3rd, 2009
April 3, 2009
It guesses at the causes of the growing trend of parents stepping into workplace issues of their grown children—calling the employer after a subpar review, threatening the HR department if their child did not get the raise or bonus that they think he deserved.
If this problem were not so horrible, it would be comical. Beware parents . . .
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Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
April 2, 2009
Ok, writing the blog is becoming too easy. We, as a people, are having an anthropological crisis. We are becoming flesh peddlers because we—at our core—are starting to be unable to see that mankind is made in the image of God. When we are blind to this fact, we begin to consider and then to practice the buying and selling of humanity. Here is another exhibit of this from TIME magazine:
An
Idaho
teacher is selling ad space on his test . Why? Because he does not have enough money for supplies. Now, I am not against advertisements. We run them in some of our things at school. We ask good businesses to sponsor our events. We do not, however, give unfettered advertising access to our students. Why not? Because ads work and because students are not yet fully trained to be on guard against all of the power of advertising. This vulnerability is, in fact, why marketer desire access to children. They are easy to manipulate. They will buy (or get their parents to buy) junk if it is shiny and full of glitter and cool. Thus, like some parody of the worst of Dilbert, companies can produce junk toys, advertise them to children, jack up the prices and sell a ton of them. Now, children will have to face this assault on their math tests.
Here are a few thoughts to put this in its most horrible (and probably inevitable) outcome . . . .
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Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
April 1, 2009
Without missing a beat the
Lancaster
papers ran a story about the redeeming value of McCaskey’s, a.k.a., the
School District
of
Lancaster
’s, musical Urinetown. Again, by way of reminding, McCaskey is receiving $12 million additional dollars in “stimulus” money. The story in the papers sheds some light on the content of the play. This content, seems innocuous—the paper even calls it “innocuous.” Admittedly, the title and the content (concerning “pee”) are, well, at least meant to be provocative and offensive, but we are encouraged to set aside our small mindedness, get past our “pee” problems and come and see this uplifting musical. Here is the story:
Well, I for one have been convinced by this article…
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