Routines and Rituals in Family Life
Check out my latest Parenting 101 post from this morning’s show (August 28).
Periodically make time to spend one-on-one with each of your children. Family time is great, but they also need some of your undivided attention.
Dr. Butner's Tips for a Better Life
Running to Battle
If you haven’t read the story of David and Goliath lately, check it out (for the kids, take a look at Veggie Tales’ engaging animated version). What an incredible story! Let me set the stage:
At this time in Israel’s history, their great enemies were the Philistines, a warring people with whom they frequently fought. On this particular day, the two armies once again find themselves lined up for battle. In fact, they have been standing ready for battle on opposite sides of the Valley of Elah for 40 days. In the days of this type of combat, a common practice was to engage in a battle of champions, with both sides agreeing to award victory and defeat to the entire armies, based on the winner of a fight between the two chosen warriors. If you ever saw the movie “Troy,” you will have some idea of the scene.
On Israel’s side, you have…well no one. There is no champion. Instead, there is an entire army of battle-hardened soldiers, along with their mighty king (who was said to stand head and shoulders above the men of Israel), shaking in their armor, listening day after day to the pagan taunts of the Philistine champion. But before you look down on the men of Israel and scorn them for their cowardice, take a look at the monster standing at the battle line. HE IS OVER NINE FEET TALL!!! I live down in LSU country, alma mater of the great Shaquille O’Neal. Try to imagine yourself standing in front of Shaq, who stands officially at 7′1′’. Look up - that’s big, a full foot taller than me, a man of slightly taller than average height. Now, picture Shaq standing in front of Goliath. Shaq is looking way up - at least two feet! He’s standing up somewhere between the belly and the armpits of this ogre. And talk about “swolt up,” Goliath’s armor weighed 125 pounds, and he wore it with the ease of a linebacker in his football pads. Will no one fight this guy? Of course not!
Enter David, younger brother of three of Saul’s finest. (more…)
Armed and Dangerous
(Friday morning) Just a little preview for this week’s post.
Tomorrow I am going out with my best buddy to a big stretch of woods, and we are going to shoot our shotguns. It isn’t any particular hunting season right now, so we’ll just shoot pine cones and dead limbs and such. I got my Remington 870 12-gauge for my 33rd birthday in February, my first ever real gun (the Daisy BB gun of my boyhood wasn’t too dangerous, except to the occasional backyard security light). I was inspired to get a firearm after reading through “The Way of the Wild Heart” by John Eldredge. I still haven’t even fired it once! My friend, on the other hand, grew up hunting in the woods of North Louisiana. So, we’re going out together for a manly experience of shooting harmless forest debris to enjoy our friendship and to give me the feel for firing my gun…
(Sunday evening) Well, my friend and I both survived our testosterone adventure firing lead shot at inanimate objects in the woods on Friday afternoon. I’ve had a busy weekend, and not much time to offer deep reflection on our experience, and so offer any particularly rich life lessons to my website readership. Sorry, that’s life sometimes. For now, I will simply note three important rewards of the little gunpowder excursion:
1. We had a blast! (actually 50 of them) The whole gun experience and the conversations we shared driving out, in the woods, and driving back - all very enjoyable.
2. I found out I am a pretty darn good shot. That was very meaningful to me, as my father was an excellent shot in the years of his early manhood as a soldier and officer in the United States Army. I never really seemed to inherit any of his skills or know-how with tools and such. This turned out to be a very important connection for me to my Dad. I wish he could have seen me. I can’t wait to tell him about it and show him a couple of my “trophies.” (No, we didn’t shoot any animals. I don’t think the piece of paper or empty shotgun shell felt a thing when I obliterated them.)
3. Call me a redneck or whatever you will - I feel a bit more manly today, knowing I can handle a shotgun with no problem. Thanks, John Eldredge. I needed that.