Be Wise, Man
I have read somewhere that there are literally millions of “bloggers” around the country, just like us on Realiteen. Especially at this time of year all these blogs on variations of the same theme become redundant, to say the least. It is a time of year that travels the spectrum of emotion for many and depression is rampant. Many people see this time of year as the worst time of all. There are pressures to contribute to so many causes, beginning at home, for me anyway. That poses a big problem when your heart is bigger than your wallet. There are so many needs and so many requests for help. As the days progress, it seems the people that mean the most to us “rise to the top of our lists of love and concern”. Honestly, I have a deep affection for my Country and for my friends and I am terribly empathetic, by nature, for anyone that
Masterminds
Peer pressure is unquestionably one of the most powerful forces we will encounter in our lives, regardless of age. That being the case, the force of peer pressure coupled with the normal vulnerability and naivete of the average teenager can be devastating on the one hand, or the greatest thing they could encounter on the other. It all depends on who they allow to be in their Mastermind Group. Napoleon Hill wrote the book “Think and Grow Rich” in 1937, inspired by Andrew Carnegie, the steel manufacturing magnate. What is a Mastermind Group and how does it apply to our teenagers? First of all, Hill defines a mastermind as “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” In simpler terms, it defines your circle of friends and associates and what benefit you bring to each other,
The Dickens you say
John and Drew got their grades recently and they were good! Both guys made the Honor Roll as sophomores in predominately honors classes and they both made me very proud. I think that both of them realize the importance of hard work and enjoy making good grades. As their dad, closely observing each of their study habits, I assure you that it’s not unreasonable for me to encourage they aspire to the Principals List. They continue to impress me and I am proud of them. I am not satisfied with them, not in the least, I can’t allow myself. This feeling has so many Freudian “angles” that Euclid could get confused. “When you are given much, much is expected. When you are given much more, much more is expected!” That’s how Luke 12:48 looks at it and it’s fair, don’t you think? If I talk too much about the “student” I was,
Opinion and Knowledge
How many times in your life as a parent have you answered your child with “because I said so?” Maybe that rings a bell with some of you. For me it begs a question, does that answer benefit either party? Maybe in the short run it does. In the “long run”, you would hope that the child would have questioned the answer for the knowledge instead of accepting the parent’s opinion. I believe it is incumbent on me to arm my children with “curiosity”, I want them to question authoritative answers, with respect, to get to the truth. If they leave the familiarity of “the nest” only armed with my opinion or that of their close relatives and teachers, we will have done them a great disservice. Acceptance of another person’s opinion as fact is intellectually lazy, in most cases. I answer a lot of questions around my house with questions. Many
Servant Leadership
I was raised in the Richlands United Methodist Church. It is my understanding that a Mills (Mama’s family) has been a member of that church since its earliest beginnings, even donating land for its benefit in the 1800′s. My mother and father are still members in good standing. My children are aware of and very proud of that part of their Richlands heritage. My children and I attend Trinity United Methodist, where their mom was a member. I am very fond of Trinity for many reasons, to include Pastor Chris Aydlett’s leadership. Attending Trinity has formed a bond between my children and me that would have otherwise left a tremendous void. The church has helped me raise them with its inherent “unspoken rules.” I love the fact that people at Trinity still wear their “Sunday best” to honor God. I love the formality and dignity with which they conduct the services. The music is compatible with the traditional tenor
