The Power of Praise

When meeting with someone last week for some parenting tips Steve and I were challanged to be mindful of the number of times we praise our children during the day. I thought about that and realized that I had been so focused on how "naughty" my son could be that I had neglected to focus on all the wonderful things he does and to praise him for the times when he does listen. My sweet three year old Matthew is seemingly constantly getting himself in trouble through the choices he makes. But when I focus on outrageous praise by blowing the good stuff way out of proportion those are the things that become central instead of the number of times he ends up in time out. (The other part of the equation of course is firm limits on what I will and will not tolerate in his behavior and quick consequences so there is no confusion. )

It's a good exercise for me as I am not very good at giving verbal affirmations to my husband or others. Once again, God knew what he was doing in making me a Mom becuase in order to be a "good" one I can't stay the same. I have to keep learning and growing myself so that I can give my children what they need to learn and grow as well.

Distinguishing Truth from Propaganda

I'm tired. Tired of having to be so discerning every second of every day of what I read on the Internet, hear on the radio or see on TV. I'm tired of the American press getting away with saying whatever they want under the guise of "reporting" the news. I'm tired of having to pick out and unravel the social messages in every sitcom and TV drama. Michael Crichton stated it best when he said "the greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda". Where are the people reporting the truth about what is happening in Iraq, the real agenda of the US Senate, the reality check on global warming? Why does finding the other side of the story take so much more work?

I'm thankful for the few places I can go to get a different spin, opinion or facts. One I like is
http://www.pearceyreport.com/ It is a great repository of news articles and commentaries that allow me to draw conclusions with, what feels like, a broader view of the story. Perhaps you'll like it as well.

Politics - Dare I Venture???

To be honest, I don't usually get very involved in politics. Partly because I don't like to debate, plus I often have a hard time combating a quick tongued individual to be able to get my point across or feel that I have adequately researched an issue to have a strong opinion. But I guess I've decided to come out of hiding. Plus I have read a few paragraphs in the news lately that I strongly disagree with or couldn't believe how the individual was talking out of both sides of his mouth with no awareness of the contradiction. Here are a couple examples.

The first is from a Yahoo News story:
"Edwards, wearing a purple tie to match Sojourners' signature color, promoted himself as the candidate most committed to the group's mission of fighting poverty. He said he doesn't feel his belief in evolution is inconsistent with his belief in Christ and he doesn't personally feel gays should be married, although as president he wouldn't impose his belief system on the rest of the country." Read the rest of the article.

Do you read what I read??? Why the separation between private and public? Why is this dualism so widely accepted?

The other is from The Washington Post:

"I want a president who believes in empirical fact, whose understanding of spirituality is complete enough to know that faith is "the evidence of things not seen" and who knows that for things that can be seen, the relevant evidence is fact, not belief. I want a president -- and it's amazing that I even have to put this on my wish list -- smart enough to know that Darwin was right." See the rest of the article here.

Darwin was right??? What about Intelligent Design? It is amazing to me how much Darwinism has influenced every element of life.

That's all I dare to put out there for now, but I have a feeling it won't be the last.

Happiness In Red and Black

A couple years back my mountain bike was stolen out of our garage, presumably in broad daylight. Thanks to craig's list I found a practicaly brand new bike for a great price along with a double kid carrier. It's great to go bike riding again, especially when all four of us can go together. Our little extrovert Matthew says "hi" to everyone we pass and gets quite perplexed when they don't respond. Sweet boy, he just loves to talk to people.