- Take a deep breath.
- Clean up your mess.
- Can you ask nicely?
- What a bummer.
- Look at me.
- I know you don't like the taste of this, but it's for your own good.
- I got you.
- You're safe.
- You can do it.
- Keep trying.
- We make rules because we love you and want you to be safe.
- Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do.
- Keep your pants on, you're not gettng naked. (OK, not this one so much - just seeing if you're paying attention!)
- Hang on with me.
- Take a bite. You'll like it.
- Give me a kiss and a hug.
- That's too bad, there isn't a choice.
- Be gentle.
- No hitting.
- It's not time to play, it's time to ______ (work, eat, sleep, etc.)
- Excellent job, buddy!
- What a sweet baby.
- Shhh.
- I love you.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Things I Say To My Children That God Is Really Trying To Say To Me
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
God's Will?
I just found this study on the Internet...be careful when citing God's will as your reason for doing anything...it turns out that's a pretty malleable concept...
Creating God In One’s Own Image For many religious people, the popular question “What would Jesus do?” is essentially the same as “What would I do?” Through a combination of surveys, psychological manipulation and brain-scanning, researchers found that when religious Americans try to infer the will of God they mainly draw on their own personal beliefs. They use their own beliefs as a starting point, which colors their final conclusions about what God wants.
Researchers even manipulated people to change their views on God by getting them to read a speech that either supported or went against their (and God’s) stated position. The task shifted people’s attitudes towards the position in their speech, either strengthening or moderating their original views, and altering their estimation about what God’s attitude was.
People may use religious agents as a moral compass, forming impressions and making decisions based on what they presume God as the ultimate moral authority would believe or want. The central feature of a compass, however, is that it points north no matter what direction a person is facing. This research suggests that, unlike an actual compass, inferences about God’s beliefs may instead point people further in whatever direction they are already facing. If the first link is too academic, here’s another link to an article about the research.
Creating God In One’s Own Image For many religious people, the popular question “What would Jesus do?” is essentially the same as “What would I do?” Through a combination of surveys, psychological manipulation and brain-scanning, researchers found that when religious Americans try to infer the will of God they mainly draw on their own personal beliefs. They use their own beliefs as a starting point, which colors their final conclusions about what God wants.
Researchers even manipulated people to change their views on God by getting them to read a speech that either supported or went against their (and God’s) stated position. The task shifted people’s attitudes towards the position in their speech, either strengthening or moderating their original views, and altering their estimation about what God’s attitude was.
People may use religious agents as a moral compass, forming impressions and making decisions based on what they presume God as the ultimate moral authority would believe or want. The central feature of a compass, however, is that it points north no matter what direction a person is facing. This research suggests that, unlike an actual compass, inferences about God’s beliefs may instead point people further in whatever direction they are already facing. If the first link is too academic, here’s another link to an article about the research.
Movie Review: The Visitor (2007)
We just watched The Visitor (2007) for the first time this week. I was riveted by this movie. The characters were real and nuanced. The direction really allowed the actors to settle in and embody the characters. The cinematography and editing really let you feel New York in an unflinching manner vs. the glitz and glamour in which large studios usually cloak the city. The story was compelling without being sugary-sweet or formulaic. In fact, I was continually surprised by the way the story kept evolving with new layers being revealed and highlighted throughout. In that way it was very much like life. It was also similar to life in that everything wasn’t sewn up neatly at the end. This shows much courage by Participant productions, and was quite refreshing, though a bit unsettling.
I think that was really the point of the movie – to leave the viewer unsettled and upset, just as its characters are. It leaves you with many more questions than answers – how can injustices such as this one happen in modern-day America? Is the episode an injustice, or justice? It also illustrates how issues that are so black-and-white when you’re dealing with abstractions become nuanced, sticky, and difficult when the issue is breathed to life in the form of an actual person.
The other theme that screamed at me was the plight of the main character, Professor Walter Vale (played brilliantly by Richard Jenkins), who hadn’t been really living his life for some time. The complications of the plot call him to truly connect with others for the first time in decades, and force him to care about subjects that were completely off his radar previously. It’s an amazing illustration of just how many aspects of life are transparent to us until we are confronted by them.
If you’ve seen The Visitor, what are your theories about how Prof. Vale’s life changes from the end of the movie forward into his life? I have my theories, but I’ll keep them to myself until I hear from you.
I think that was really the point of the movie – to leave the viewer unsettled and upset, just as its characters are. It leaves you with many more questions than answers – how can injustices such as this one happen in modern-day America? Is the episode an injustice, or justice? It also illustrates how issues that are so black-and-white when you’re dealing with abstractions become nuanced, sticky, and difficult when the issue is breathed to life in the form of an actual person.
The other theme that screamed at me was the plight of the main character, Professor Walter Vale (played brilliantly by Richard Jenkins), who hadn’t been really living his life for some time. The complications of the plot call him to truly connect with others for the first time in decades, and force him to care about subjects that were completely off his radar previously. It’s an amazing illustration of just how many aspects of life are transparent to us until we are confronted by them.
If you’ve seen The Visitor, what are your theories about how Prof. Vale’s life changes from the end of the movie forward into his life? I have my theories, but I’ll keep them to myself until I hear from you.
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