Tuesday, November 25, 2008
bad parenting
i walked into the bathroom tonight at o'charley's and saw a man helping his son with his business at the urinal. no big deal. the little guy needed help, and i am glad his father was there to help. however, what happened next had me questioning the type of parenting that was taking place. upon finishing his task, the son walked towards the sink that was obviously too high for him to reach. *at this point, any decent human being would have picked his son up so that he could reach the sink, because washing one's hands is quite important. however, instead of doing this prescribed task, the father said, "no. that's too high for you" and ushered him out of the restroom. i was appalled. and still am. unforgivable.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
the importance of story
right now, in my life, God is teaching me a lot about the importance of story. the importance of other people's stories. the importance of my own story. the importance of God's story. people understand story. it's how we relate.
in high school, we would sit at the lunch table and just tell story after story after story. that's all we did. people learn who you are through the stories you tell and vice versa. however, i am now seeing a disconnect that i didn't understand then: it is a give and take relationship. we must be listening and connecting to other people's stories as well as telling our own. back then, (and even sometimes now) we would just wait for our turn to top the current story with a zinger of our own instead of listening and understanding.
we all know that jesus communicated with stories. how else would this world understand any of his messages? there would be no point of reference. he came with a message of a better way to live, and explained it in a way that people could relate to. he told stories.
acts 14:27 says, "When they had arriced and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." let me clarify: THEY TOLD STORIES. THEIR STORIES. OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES.
development/change/transformation happens in the context of relationship. tell your story. listen [really listen] to someone else's story. it will change you. let it.
in high school, we would sit at the lunch table and just tell story after story after story. that's all we did. people learn who you are through the stories you tell and vice versa. however, i am now seeing a disconnect that i didn't understand then: it is a give and take relationship. we must be listening and connecting to other people's stories as well as telling our own. back then, (and even sometimes now) we would just wait for our turn to top the current story with a zinger of our own instead of listening and understanding.
we all know that jesus communicated with stories. how else would this world understand any of his messages? there would be no point of reference. he came with a message of a better way to live, and explained it in a way that people could relate to. he told stories.
acts 14:27 says, "When they had arriced and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." let me clarify: THEY TOLD STORIES. THEIR STORIES. OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES.
development/change/transformation happens in the context of relationship. tell your story. listen [really listen] to someone else's story. it will change you. let it.
Friday, November 7, 2008
help!!!
hey guys. i just received 2 $10 itunes gift cards and can't decide on what albums to get. any suggestions?
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