HopeForYourFamily

Check out my “Parenting 101″ page for the latest update from my October 30th interview on WAFB - How Parents Can Promote a Healthy Holiday Season (Including Tips for Coping with Grief).

Click on the image to watch the video:

“The Golden Compass” may look fun, but it has a VERY SINISTER DARK SIDE! No surprise, since it is based on the first book in a bold atheist’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy.

I may very well be writing more about this in the coming weeks, as the release of “The Golden Compass” approaches. Folks, I don’t know what you’ve heard about this film which presents itself as a kid-friendly adventure, not unlike the fantastic world of Narnia. This one is bad news - very bad news! I would urge you not to go, not to let your kids go, persuade your friends and family not to go, and do the same with the books on which the movie is based. I know in the world of internet hoaxes, it is easy to tune out things such as this post, which may ring of conspiracy theory. Do what I do when you hear something along these lines, check it out on www.snopes.com. In fact, here is the specific link regarding this movie: http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp   Or check out this Wikipedia article about the “His Dark Materials” trilogy.  Here is the information straight from Snopes.com, which has proven true every time I have checked it:

“The Golden Compass, a fantasy film starring Nicole Kidman that is scheduled to be released into theaters on 7 December 2007, has been drawing fire from concerned Christians. The film is based on Northern Lights (released in the U.S. as The Golden Compass), the first offering in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy of children’s books, a series that follows the adventures of a streetwise girl who travels through multiple worlds populated by witches, armor-plated bears, and sinister ecclesiastical assassins to defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God.Books of the trilogy have sold more than 15 million copies around the world, with Northern Lights winning the Carnegie Medal for Children’s Literature in 1995 and in 2007 being awarded the ‘Carnegie of Carnegies’ for the best children’s book of the past 70 years. The Amber Spyglass, the final book of the series, won The Whitbread Prize in 2001, making it the first children’s book to do so.

The series’ author, Philip Pullman, is an avowed atheist who has averred that “I don’t profess any religion; I don’t think it’s possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words ’spiritual’ or ’spirituality.’” Critics of Pullman’s books point to the strong anti-religion and anti-God themes they incorporate, and although literary works are subject to a variety of interpretations, Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that “My books are about killing God.” (Conservative British columnist Peter Hitchens labeled Pullman “The Most Dangerous Author in Britain” and described him as the writer “the atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed.”)”

Nothing ever gets done “later!”

This simple statement is the foundation of a radical change that has been occurring in my life over the last few weeks. Procrastination has long been one of my great weaknesses, and the source of much needless stress in my life. Well, I recently had an epiphany - one of those moments of clarity where you suddenly see things from a whole new viewpoint of meaning. I was listening to a cd from a motivational speaker named R. Duane Huff when it occurred to me how often I say to myself in so many different situations, “I’ll do it later.” I could see this mentality as one of the biggest roots of my procrastination problem, and decided then and there to eliminate the phrase “I’ll do it later” from my vocabulary. So far, so good.

I realize there are times when more than one thing need my attention, and I know I can’t do everything right now. So, here is the second part of my new approach to life, and this was the part Duane was addressing that turned the light on for me: (more…)

Beginning in the upcoming November/December issue, I will be a regular columnist for Southern Families Magazine.  My column will be an “ask-the-expert” piece entitled “Hope For Your Family.“  It will include my email address so readers can submit questions for me to address in forthcoming issues of Southern Families.  I am impressed with this new magazine, which has a distribution throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and would encourage you to become a regular reader.  It is available for subscription, or on free displays located at a growing number of locations throughout the region.  If you like it, be sure to recommend it to your pediatrician, doctor, hairstylist, or other such professionals who provide magazines in their waiting area.

Thanks to my mother-in-law for sending me this YouTube link! What a great song - can any of you mothers relate? (Or even fathers, for that matter.)