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12月31日 Handling ScrupulosityOften, being scrupulous is a character trait that helps a person. A scrupulous person will be more honest and more moral. When faced with a decision they will be able to sift through the moral issues and make a good decision. They also often do good work. They will look at their writing and, in a scrupulous manner, find and remove the errors.
On the other hand, there are problems with being scrupulous. For example, a scrupulous person may be so concerned about moral decisions that they will be too afraid to act. In work a scrupulous person might be very slow to get their work done.
Scrupulosity can be an idol of our hearts. It is our way to be proud for being perfect, highly moral, or a thorough worker. Indeed it is a huge hindrance to faith and trust in God because the scrupulous person may trust so highly in his own strengths and thinks he does not need God.
If you know a bit of church history, Martin Luther struggled with such scrupulosity. It is part of his genius as Luther realized that under the Roman Catholic system a person could never be scrupulous enough. No matter how "perfectly moral" a person was, he could still never measure up to God's standard. This brought him to the brink of despair until he learned that "the just shall live by faith." After that point, he still struggled with being scrupulous, but he learned to deal with it by deliberately resisting the temptation to be overly scrupulous.
Read this quote and realize this is the wisdom of the man who started the Protestant Reformation, one of the genius' of the Christian faith. To all overly scrupulous people (and I am speaking to myself), learn from this statement:
The point? Lighten up. It is good for your spiritual health. 12月30日 Resolutions"Resolved, never to do anything which I would be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life."
12月29日 College "Gap Year"According to a John's Hopkins study (link to article), people who take a "gap year" ( a one-year break to work or study) between their senior year of high school and college are far less likely to graduate from college. 51% of people who start college right after high school will graduate as opposed to 10% of those who take a year off between high school and college.
These statistics show that significant decisions about vocation - God's calling for a person to work - happens earlier than one might suspect. This is an important consideration as parents and leaders guide students through the decision making process about their career goals. The USA WEEKEND article I linked to above suggests that a couple types of students could use a gap year - good students who are burned out, and students with family difficulties. 12月28日 What Kind of Perfectionist Are You?In his book Perfecting Ourselves to Death, Richard Winter says there are two types of people: perfectionists and non-perfectionists. Perfectionism is a normal thing according to Winter, and even a good thing as it allows people to accomplish significant things. Perfectionists are driven to succeed and to accomplish and thus see many successes in life.
Still there is a breakdown between two types of perfectionists. Some are healthy and some are unhealthy. When a person is a healthy perfectionist they will succeed and live normally balanced lives. An unhealthy perfectionist will live out of balance and their perfectionism makes life and relationships very difficult. Want to know which one you are? Look at this list provided in Winter's book:
12月23日 Children's BiblesI want to highlight some children's Bibles with my recommendations. We read a lot of Bibles with our kids and have some favorites and some that we don't really like. The best Bible I have is my NASB Bible that I read for myself everyday. If you are reading for children though, sometimes children's Bibles are the best bet as it puts the important Bible stories into the minds of our kids. Remember as you read these that they reflect our reading of the Bible to our children over the last five years. It might not be as relevant to parents with older children who can read. Our list: The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes by Kenneth N. Taylor. Five out of five stars. This is my favorite bedtime reading Bible. Every one of the approximately 190 stories is a single page (a paragraph is length) with an application point and "comprehension questions" at the end of every story. The stories are fantastically summarized and well expressed. It is a delight to read these books. The pictures are good too.
The Children's Bible in 365 Stories by Mary Bachelor. Five out of five stars. This is our family devotions Bible. It is comprehensive with good pictures and detailed stories. Almost every Bible story can be found in this book and it is written in a "storybook" flavor. Again, we have found that this is the best Bible for teaching the Bible stories to our children. It is so good that with a bit of effort, the reader could apply the passage to the lives of the family. I really like how the author thought through some of the details of the story and brings them to light in the writing of the story. I have learned things that were in the Bible by the way this children's bible highlights them.
Mommy and Me Bible by Tracy L. Harrast. Four out of five stars (small children only). I love this Bible for one year olds - maybe two year olds. The stories are short and every story has a little activity to do with the kids, things like rocking a baby, running in place, putting hands in the air. Both of our kids loved it, and I liked reading it with them, even if I am not a "Mommy". I thought it was a good place to start Bible reading. This is Julie's favorite as she claims it is "developmentally appropriate for one and two year olds".
Early Readers Bible by V. Gilbert Beers. Three out of five stars. We use this book to teach Liam how to read. It is an excellent book to teach children to read the Bible. The stories lack a sense of majesty to them and seem abbreviated for elementary school children. There are good questions at the end for application and comprehension.
Rhyme Bible by Linda Sattgast. Three out of five stars. What do you get when you try to take 35 of the best stories in the Bible and put them in simple rhyme? A bible story book that is high on fun and low on content. Still, for you young children, it is worth reading, just for lines like "Oh, oh, Jonah, you better go to Nineveh!"
Read and Learn Bible published by Scholastic with the American Bible Society. 2 out of 5 stars. This is the one I am reading now with the kids. I am suffering though it. I really don't like it. The stories are abbreviated and lack a point. The illustrations are contemporary, but a bit cartoonish (which seems to take away the seriousness, realism, and fun of reading for me). I hit my limit when I read that the Fifth Commandment was the commandment about the Sabbath (pg 371). The Sabbath commandment is the fourth commandment! There are 107 stories. 12月21日 Christmas LetterMerry Christmas. We posted our annual Christmas letter on the web. Click here for the letter. 12月11日 Videos...Videos...Videos12月5日 RegiftingThe first "regfiting"
Satan gave Eve the forbidden fruit. Eve then "regifted" the fruit and gave it to Adam. The result? The entrance of sin into the world. |
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