Rant of the Exiles

I see a man walking down the street headed towards me All sorts of issues in his life and knows nothing about God A broken man - you can tell these things - probably a dealer He is but he's not My son works on a pumpkin and I offer my help He turns me down and stiffens his upper lip  A rebellious boy - overly sensitive - wants things his own way He is but he's not The wife I love is frazzled and tired I hate it when she cuts me off while I'm talking A fearful woman long burdened with obligation She is but she's not I ride a bucking bronco of emotion Shifting from rested to raging in three seconds flat A tormented soul pushes away those he wants near I am but I'm not Our mortal shell bleeds rupture and weakness Some far away creature that dwells close by We follow the beast, cleaning up it's trail of damage  It is us but it's not Paul says we do not accord anyone to the flesh Because one died for all and w...

I asked my oldest son recently who he thought was more humble -I or a friend of mine. He replied without my hesitation that it was my friend. I laughed. And I get the irony.  A humble person would have never asked the question.  But unwilling to miss a teaching opportunity, I pointed out that just because people draw attention away from themselves doesn't mean that they're humble. That's modesty.  Humility is making others more important than yourself.  Modesty is thinking less of yourself (or at least minimizing attention on yourself) and that's only half of it.  I would argue it's the less important half. It's more valuable to think more about others than to try to stop thinking about yourself.  Asian culture values modesty but that's not the same thing as humility. Eastern culture is much more restrained in emotional expression and individual rights. This promotes humility but it's not a natural byproduct. You can be modest wi...

I read John Rosemond's stuff . He is a so-called parenting expert. It's not a title he likes because he sees parenting as common sense. But common sense is increasingly less common in today's society. I'm totally with him on that. In this month's column, he responds to a parent's question about what constitutes normal behavior. (I've put the entire thing here because his website doesn't have it yet) Q: Several months back, our just-turned 3-year-old son invented an imaginary friend whom he calls Larry. We're worried because he seems involved to the point of being obsessed with him. He plays with Larry almost constantly, talking to him all the while. When we go somewhere, I have to pretend that Larry is coming along too. I've drawn the line at setting a place at the table for him, explaining to our son that I feed Larry after he's gone to bed. When our son is with other children his age, he plays well, but has a sort of take-it-or-leave-...