Friday Tidings

Last century when I was attending school, life seemed simpler and I didn’t give any thought to global competition. I recently read that Chinese students are snatching up even more seats in US colleges because American students have a tough time beating those foreign students' perfect SAT scores. College tuition isn't the only thing increasing...check out how many college students speak with a foreign accent.  Life as I once knew it no longer exists. Middle class jobs that were once available and didn’t require a college degree are far fewer. Now global competition for high tech jobs makes having a college degree even more vital. College costs may be high, but lack of employable skills can cost far more over a lifetime. This means that what students learn in elementary and secondary education is critical.  Looking at what our competitors overseas are doing in school to prepare their students shows an academic regimen that is “foreign” to our way of thinking.  Serious aca...

Listen while driving I used to be in the teen parenting trenches. I survived. My kids did too. I half-jokingly tell them I hope one day to make enough money to pay for their counseling. Some parents have it easier than others. They have firm handles in place in case the teenage wheels come off and they’re able to stop the raging hormonal craft before it crash lands. Others, like me, learn as we go. Hear and Be Near I learned some critical things: ·       Your teen will remember all the words you wished you hadn’t said. ·       They may have selective recall of the words you really meant. ·       They seem to have little need for your advice, but they do listen. ·       No one likes living in or around a battleground. ·       Older teens have good BS Detectors. Honesty works both ways.   After a decade working with communit...

Religion can be a tricky topic. Probably even more tricky than politics. Sometimes people's zealous Bible believing exuberance can be an absolute aversion to those they want to reach. Well intentioned words seem judgmental. I should know. My finger is experienced at pointing. My words have had the same bulls-eye effect. Facebook has become one more platform for religious platitudes and preaching. It’s so easy to post those one-liners about how God will do this if you do that. Even though I think I have the right heart, I can actually be digging a deeper trench between me and those I am trying to help. I am supposed to share how God is working in my life, but I’m not helping anyone if I make it seem like I’m attending a private party that requires an exclusive invitation that is hard to obtain. God invites you to join him anywhere, anytime. First Century believers traveled on foot to share the Good News. I have a computer and modem. Which  can make me a reckless nuis...

Bad news. Sometimes it’s a phone call. Other times you hear it directly. Once I hear the news, my mind races to categorize it. Life threatening. Challenging. Temporary. Sometimes it also falls into these categories: Untimely. Unfair. And isn’t bad news always Unwanted? This time the news was all of those things. Someone in their prime who chose to live a life for others now has an inoperable tumor. Life threatening, yes. Challenging, yes. Temporary, yes—for him. For his family, it’s going to last their lifetimes. It’s also Untimely, Unfair and Unwanted. In my rabid sense of trying to figure things out, I know I could supply God with plenty of other names for potential tumor victims. God doesn’t need these thoughts, but He understands me. Unless God chooses to perform a miracle, the verdict is sealed. The difference between my friend and me is that he knows how his story ends. I'm still busy making my own plans. I wake up with my plans. I like circling dates in the future. I pl...