Sword in the Fire

Think back to childhood and dredge up some good memories.  For me, my best memories as a kid have nothing to do without getting things.  In fact, I can't remember many birthday or Christmas gifts, but I do remember moments.   I remember being in the front yard shooting cans out of the air with my dad.  I remember the mountain vacations with no TV to entertain, but being left to wander around the cabin and explore with my parents.  We bumped into old-timers with crazy stories, panned for gold, and rafted in whitewater.   I rarely remember a lecture or instructions the adults in my life gave (not that they were not important), but I remember experiences:  a Sunday School teacher taking our class on a prison tour, a high school coach letting me hang at his house, or my father shuffling me through plowed fields looking for Indian relics.   I am sure the lectures and teaching shaped my soul, but it's the meaningful experiences that let ...

I love to go to the movies. I love to go to the movies with my kids. I still enjoy a good animated flick or adventure movie. But I always worry about exposing my kids to something that is not age-appropriate or worse. Previews are not always a good indicator of questionable content. Previews are designed to sell the movie to you. We think it's important to monitor our child's food intake so that they get proper nutrition and not junk. In the same way, we want to monitor the food that enters their heart and minds. So what do you do to insure their entertainment diet is not feeding them junk food or poison? Sometimes I rely on trusted friends and families. Recently my brother went to see the new X-Men movie. We were both excited about it, and thought of eventually taking our kids. He called me after the viewing and sent off warning flares for me to stay away with the kids. This was surprising because it seems to be marketed as a safe movie for older kids and pre-teens...

Over the past couple of months, I have been listening to the Teaching Company's American Identity . It has been excellent. The professor giving lectures is from the UK (not University of KY-but Great Britain for my wildcat-centric friends), but currently teaches at Emory University. You can tell that he loves America and because of his background he has a unique perspective. In fact he often points out characteristics of America with Europe with the statement: "This is unique to America, they don't do this in Europe." Each lecture is a short biography on an American that has been instrumental in the defining the nation. These are not the usual suspects but people that have shaped the character and course of this nation. In listening, I have gained a new respect for the men and women at the end of the 19th century during post Civil war America. These are people that I have known little about but they truly are amazing individuals. What is interesting about the people i...