Bees in My Bonnet

Dear Readers, I have to address this matter of communication. It is a big bee in my bonnet - dozens of them actually, buzzing to get out. I want to sit everyone down and affirm that yes, communication in all relationships is very important. Without it, I don't believe, we have any real relationship. So let's all agree that working on communication skills is important, essential, helpful and all the rest... agreed? Okay, let's move on. Now, here's the dilemma. In relationships we will all differ. We will not agree on everything all the time. This is what makes each of us unique and special and what gives relationships that wonderful rush - to discover that someone different from me actually cares or/and wants to engage in meaningful relational activities with me (like, communicating, for one). Relationships that thrive allow each person much freedom to be who he/she is, to bring to the table the totality of his/her thoughts, feelings, opinions, joys, sorrows, idea...

The sub-title of this blog includes total randomness, so chalk this one up under that category... I read recently of someone who had quit shampoo. Always on the lookout for how to simplify life and in efforts at being really REALLY frugal, I thought I'd give it a try. (I know, from the sublime to the mundane, this is a multiple-personality blog)... I modified the recipe, since what I first tried made my hair feel almost too squeaky clean. I have gone 3 weeks now with my new homemade shampoo and my hair is less greasy and more manageable than with all the other stuff I'd use. I also like to try to minimize the use of synthetic chemicals on the body, though I don't get too fanatical about that. I make my own creams too sometimes (but I don't usually tell people, lest they think I'm really weird. Oh, too late, anyone who knows me would conclude this!) Here's my recipe: 4 cups water 4 T. Baking soda 4 drops tea tree oil _______________ Optional add in: 1t. ba...

"Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes." Verses from 1 Corinthians 4 I recently read these verses and am astonished that in my 30 some odd years of reading capability I have missed these precious truths! Oh how much grief I would have been spared had I known that Paul a) didn’t judge himself b) had a clear conscience, but still knew the Lord would judge and c) instructs us to wait until the Lord’s return to do any judging. I posted this as my status for today on facebook and someone asked me what it means to me. Of course the question ‘What does it mean to me?’ can lead to wrong conclusions because Scripture has a meaning, the author intended to say something ...

I really have a bee in my bonnet this time. I invite your comments and input here - please, share freely your opinions and insights! We started off as parents agreed that discipline in the home should be orderly, un-emotive, controlled, calm, and firm. We read books such as 'Shepherding a Child's heart' and 'To Train up a Child' among many others. We interviewed other parents whose kids we liked. We talked to kids raised in homes we respected. Many of our conclusions led to a non-emotional approach to discipline. We felt that discipline should always be divorced from expressed anger from the parent. Somewhere along the way I lost my convictions on this matter. I began to believe it was important for my kids to understand that anger isn't wrong, that disobedience invokes anger, that anger can be healthily displayed and controlled, that God can be angry at times - while still not treating us as our sins deserve - and on and on... At the same time...