Category Archives: Uncategorized

January 18, 2008 · 6:30 am

Things that make you go hmmm


This blog runs on WordPress. WordPress gives me certain data about my blog. I get to see how many people come each day, what posts get the most activity, and who refers people to this site (e.g., if someone puts up a link to me on their own site and then someone clicks it). There is one other interesting piece of data that gives me pause: entries that people type into search engines like Google that result in their clicking a link to this site. Here are some searches that people (I do not know who) search who then decide to come here:

These make sense: “wordpress psychologist”, “Ed Welch”, “Christianity Bi-polar disorder”, “Mindfulness Bible”, “Phil Monroe”

But what should I make of this? “Reformed theology + oral sex”

I guess someone wanted to know whether Calvin thought oral sex was okay. I have to admit I ran the same search in Google just to see why I cam up. And there I was on the first page. I wrote about Reformed and sex (not oral) in a blog posting and voila, Google finds me and puts me up front an center.

There are other doozies in this wordpress data on searches that end up here but I can’t print them here…   

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January 7, 2008 · 5:44 am

elementary school math is the root of all evil


I am now convinced that public schools have figured out that they can destroy society in one fell swoop by employing “new” ways to do multiplication. My 4th grader is multiplying 3, 4, and 5 digit numbers. Easy, right? WRONG! You have to use “partial products” and “lattice” multiplication methods. Take the lattice system:

Lattice split into sections showing 183 x 49

Looks good. But when you are either dyslexic or ADD, you lose track quickly of which lattice you are on. Or now consider the partial products system:

trad_vs_pp 

 Clearly, this system is designed to infuriate fathers and sons, create more opportunity for conflict and tear the entire fabric of society to shreds!

Can any of my math loving readers tell me what was wrong with the old method (also depicted to the left of the partial products)? By the way, I saw one website telling me that some person in the 15th century first created the lattice method. So? Someone also came up with the great idea of blood-letting and phrenology. But we learned those things wouldn’t work.

Sigh. Deep breath. Okay, hissy fit over. 

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December 21, 2007 · 9:52 am

Christmas begins today


No really, it does…at least at my house. Tomorrow we leave for points north and so instead of lugging presents we will have our family Christmas this afternoon when the kids come home from school. Not only does it mean we get to have our own little Christmas celebration but it also means the kids get 2 more Christmases (one with my wife’s family and another with mine).

So, last night I was putting together a gift my mother-in-law got for the boys: A Foosball table. Have you ever put a present together? The directions say it should have taken 2.5 hours. But it was 3.5 hours–and with my wife’s help–before I finished. Maybe I took longer because I didn’t start until 9 pm when I was already a bit tired. But, I don’t think I’m that incompetent, though I did use the wrong color screws at one point. I wonder how they test these things. How many human trials do they employ to come up with that number?

As I went to bed, satisfied but tired and sore from being bent over, I remembered a gift my father made for us when I was 3 or 4. He built a working garage for our matchbox cars. It had gas pumps and a little motor that ran a car lift to the roof of the garage. He built and painted it out of materials he had at home. My little effort to follow directions gives me renewed appreciation for that creative gift so long ago.

Do you remember a gift from your childhood?

*******

Merry Christmas and see you in the new year.

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December 14, 2007 · 5:46 am

The Christmas letter


To write or not to write? That is the question. As a couple, we’ve done letters most years but not for the last 3. My lovely wife decided to wrest the writing responsibilities from me and do one without me. “We have to let them know we are still alive.” So, this week I was folding, licking, and stamping.

Here’s some of my thoughts about those annual letters:

1. I love getting them from friends. I’ve lived in too many places and have friends (former?) I never see or talk to anymore. As a kid, my parents got letters from their college friends. I never met most of them and many were doing ministry in foreign countries. But, I enjoyed reading about their kids and what was happening. Still today, I go home for Christmas and read the cards and letters my parents get.

2. Some letters are over the top. Either its all about a tragedy or all about how fabulous the year was. Not particular realistic in presentation. But then, do I really want realistic? I don’t take pictures of my kids when they are grumpy (though I threaten to). I’d prefer the smiling angelic shot.

3. Addressing the letters reminds me of loss. We sent one to a couple who functioned as surrogate grandparents in my Vermont hometown. None to highschool friends. One to a friend made on a summer mission trip. One to a college classmate even though I had many at one time. A couple to folks we met in our tenure in Illinois and New Hampshire, my Aunts and Uncles (only one though to a cousin since I never see the others), and then my wife’s friends and family. Doing these letters reminds me of those I’ve lost touch with and that I’m not particularly good at keeping up with people.

4. Life is pretty boring if you don’t intentionally make memories as you go. We get up, relate to family, go to work, eat, come home, pay bills, and then do it all over again. It’s good to have a time of the year when we force ourselves to recall good moments, milestones from the past year. Actually, it is better to be mindful every day. Otherwise, it’s all a blur and likely filled with regret.

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December 11, 2007 · 11:12 am

Reading about the English language for fun?


Its end of the semester time so I’m back to reading fun things instead of grading papers. Actually, I already finished my grading–I’m just avoiding other important work like prepping for next semester and administrative tasks. On my nightstand is this book by Bill Bryson: The Mother Tongue: English and how it got that way (HarperCollins). Believe it or not, this book is interesting. Maybe I’m only interested because I have two children trying to learn spelling and pronunciation, but Bryson gives ample evidence of the insanity of the English language (e.g., how bough and though and tough are pronounced so differently; why we use teller as in bank teller; how words like brave now mean something opposite of what it used to, etc). He also helps explain how the English language developed and its connections to other languages. This may be his most interesting point: that it is clear that most European languages have the same parent as seemingly strange languages such as Sanscrit. Though he does not defend this point, it seems that linguistic study supports the idea of all languages coming from the same parent.

One interesting chapter details how English words get formed (adopted from another language as English is noted for, made up, adapted from other words, mistakenly written and carried on, etc.). He tells the reader that Shakespeare gave us 1500 plus new words–that 1:10 words he used in his writings were created new by him (or first appeared in his writings). That got me thinking of my 7 year old. He is nuts about football. Each week, he asks me who the Eagles are “versing.” Maybe a new word on the way?

I’m hoping this book will help expand my vocabulary and even help my poor understanding of grammer. But, if it doesn’t, please treat me with ruth. (look it up in the dictionary) 

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December 7, 2007 · 10:19 am

Check out these thoughts on christian hero worship


Check out this good read on our propensity to put certain Christian leaders on a pedestal. Cavman has some insights into this problem and a reminder to read widely.

http://cavman.wordpress.com/2007/12/07/considering-christian-hero-worship/

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December 3, 2007 · 3:27 pm

Ebola outbreak in Uganda


Our church and World Harvest Mission (started by our founding pastor many years ago) have connections to mission work in Bundibugyo, Uganda. The medical team there is in the middle of an Ebola outbreak and some of their staff are sick with the disease. The team has sent the non-medical staff and children away for safekeeping but the missionary docs may have been exposed to the illness or are at least at risk of it.

Consider praying for the team each day for the next 3 weeks as they labor to control the disease and treat those suffering. It is very deadly. Here’s a link to a blog by one of the doctors. You can read and pray specifically for their needs. http://www.paradoxuganda.blogspot.com/

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November 26, 2007 · 4:33 pm

New banner wanted


I’m tired a my current banner pic and am seeking a new one. I thought of making a collage of my worlds (wife, kids, school, outdoors, books, etc.) but that is beyond my talents. So, I’m seeking something (not copyrighted or something I can have permission to use) that would be a bit more fitting than my current banner picture.

Any ideas.  

FYI, that picture is a shot from the house we lived in Southern Nova Scotia.

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November 21, 2007 · 1:35 pm

Body image, eating disorders, and Thanksgiving


Just before most Americans binge tomorrow I want to post a couple of thoughts about the crazy, insane American way of dealing with food. We all should be thin with perfectly proportioned bodies and yet we want to indulge in our supersize me world. What do we end up with? Overweight adults and children who hate themselves for not being like the people they see on TV.

Consider a few statistics presented in a recent staff meeting. 9% of 9 year olds have used oral laxatives to lose weight. 40% of 9-10 year olds describe themselves as fat. 50% of middle school girls are on a diet (or have been recently) and also report feeling better about themselves because of it.

Want to do something about this crazy culture?

1. Eat healthy and enjoy food without making comments that others here (comments about weight, fat, who is eating too much or too little). Remember, God made food for your enjoyment.
2. Choose appropriate portions. Don’t skimp to send a message or to be prideful. Don’t overindulge just because you can and sit in judgment because you don’t like your shape.
3. Separate your value from your shape and looks.
4. If you have kids, show them (and discuss) some of the movies on this website by Dove which shows how much the beauty industry modifies photos to glamourize looks that are impossible even for the models: http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/inside_campaign.asp
5. Remember to be thankful for God’s good gifts to you this year.

See you in a few days.

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November 15, 2007 · 9:07 am

State Board Meeting


On Tuesday I got a an up-close-and-personal look at how one of our state’s boards work. I and my program coordinator attended the meeting to answer questions about being a seminary providing an professional counseling masters program. Were we just providing religious education (we do teach bible and theology to our counselors!) or did we actually teach professional counseling. The Board members asked me many questions about theology, epistemology, diversity and whether we were paying enough attention to issues such as classism, sexism, sexual identity, race, immigration, etc. They wanted to know why we were teaching theology to them. They wanted to know what books we were using in our cultural diversity classes and in our human development. Because we mention that we teach these classes from a Christian perspective, I guess that made us suspicious.

I’m happy to say that they voted to approve us “as a program in professional counseling”. But, it was interesting to see the thinking and decision-making processes on the board. A bit of the blind leading the blind. I must say they were all respectful even if suspicious.

And I’m happy I don’t have to go back!

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