Hippiemommy

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  • I first started How Would Jesus Raise a Child back in 2004. Its been a long time. I’m about to go into year 3 with this book, and its only 200 pages long, lol. Sad.

    Its not that the book isn’t good. I really enjoy it. I just seem to get on tangents where I read other stuff instead. I can’t really explain it.

    I just finished chapter 7, and I wanted to talk about some of the concepts in there. Mind if I share? I’m going to share.

    OK, so think of all of the times that the disciples were dense. They didn’t get what Jesus was saying. He’d have to say it over and over. Even the Samaritan woman at the well caught on faster than they did. The disciples were still trying to figure out if someone had brought Jesus some food after the Samaritan woman left. Dr. Whitehurst says,

    …they just couldn’t converse with him at his level. This didn’t mean they weren’t bright; it meant only that they didn’t know how to translate his metaphorical language.

    Still, it must have occasioned more than a few sighs on Jesus’ part. As parents, we can’t be blamed for getting exasperated at times. Children often half listen or, within minutes, forget what we tell them. This is where we can learn from Jesus. When a follower didn’t get his message one way, Jesus didn’t keep hammering him with that same parable over and over again until he understood; rather he changed the form of his message and used it when they next “teachable moment” arose.

    Jesus’ ability to change the form of his message can be seen, for example, in the many ways he tried to teach the concept of servant leadership. In the Sermon on the Mount, he taught that God values the meek and the peacemakers. When later his disciples were arguing over who would get top billing in the kingdom, Jesus didn’t shout, “When will you get this through your heads? I told you, the meek will inherit the earth!”

    Instead, he gathered all of them together (not just the offenders) to discuss the issue in broader terms, describing the kind of behavior, or service, that would make them true leaders.

    I sat and thought about this for a while. I think I need to keep this in mind and work on this concept. I am usually pretty good at being creative when it comes to ways of teaching, but it is easy to wonder if I’m talking to myself sometimes, lol. As a matter of fact, when I first started reading this passage, I was thinking about how I sometimes space out when dh is talking to me! Its terrible! I really need to be more understanding with my kids… after all, they are working with my DNA here.
    So, piggybacking on that idea, she talks about how we need to give our kids permission to try again after they fail

    Jesus predicted failure to inoculate his disciples against disagreement and self-blame when they failed or encountered obstacles… After failures did occur, Jesus didn’t berate his disciples nor did he give up on them. After Peter’s three denials, Jesus didn’t say, “Well, it’s pretty obvious you haven’t got leadership potential,” or “I guess I was wrong about your commitment.”

    Jesus didn’t minimize failure, but neither did he hold on to it. Jesus interacted with people in such a way that if someone gave up on a goal or talent, it would be because he wanted to, not because he’d been made to feel so condemned about failures that he didn’t dare try again. This was Jesus’ secret: The moment the person wished to make another attempt, Jesus was happy to receive him. He continued working with his student from there, as if no failure had ever happened. He knew that Peter already felt bad enough; there was no need to rub it in.

    So these are my two points to work on for this week 🙂 I’m really enjoying this book, despite the fact that my leisurely pace might make you assume otherwise, LOL.

  • FOXNews.com – Vegetarian Diet Melts Fat Away

    FOXNews.com – Vegetarian Diet Melts Fat Away – Health News | Current Health News | Medical News

    Researchers have found that people who stuck to a vegetarian diet for at least one year lost more weight than those on a standard low-fat diet. And they shed considerably more excess flab than those who didn’t stick with the meatless plan.

    There’s been a lot of good press recently for vegetarian diets. The biggies last week were that a vegetarian diet reduces your risk of chronic heart disease and lowers your risk of breast cancer. Another study spoke in favor of soy, which is a big deal because soy consumption is something that a lot of non-vegetarians are worried about.

    Its hip to be vegetarian 😉

  • Review of Train Up Your Children in the Ways They Should Eat: OK, but some bad advice

    Train Up Your Children in the Ways They Should Eat
    by Sharon Broer


    When my mother-in-law gave me this book, I was a bit skeptical. Some of her past suggestions included directions on how to pick the proper switch for your child. Thankfully this book wasn’t like that – or at least it was not as outspoken about punitive ideas. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was highly punitive, but luckily that doesn’t change most of what a person would write about healthy eating.

    Overall I agree with this book. She has some great ideas and I think it gives a good kick-in-the-pants for parents who have slacked off in the food department. She comes across a bit militant, but that’s easy to ignore 😉

    My main complaint is that I was not at all impressed with her recipe for “formula”. It reminded me of something L. Ron Hubbard would suggest.I’m not sorry that I read it, but I would only suggest it to my friends who know enough about nutrition to ignore her bad advice and formula recipe.


    See more about Train Up Your Children in the Ways They Should Eat

  • From the Stacks Winter Challenge

    I’ve never done an online book challenge, but I decided to join the From the Stacks Winter Challenge  :)  The idea is pretty simple: find 5 books you’ve bought but haven’t read, and finish them by January 30.  Here’s my list:

    1. Heartfelt Discipline by Clay Clarkson
    2. How Would Jesus Raise a Child by Teresa Whitehurst
    3. The Way They Learn by Cynthia Tobias
    4. Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella (hey, everyone needs something light, right?)
    5. Say Goodbye to Whining…. by Turansky and Miller

    I also have a million bazillion library books, including Blink, The Senator and the Socialite, Memoirs of a Geisha, You: The Owners Manual, Into Thin Air, Facing East, Crunchy Cons, Peace Like a River, More Charlotte Mason Education, Leaving Church, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic,  Dr. Sears L.E.A.N. Kids, and The Mom’s Guide to Meal Makeovers, just to name a few…  Wow, I should be reading.  Why am I sitting here typing?!

  • Autism… I now realize how little I understood

    ..or maybe I should say I’m starting to realize how little I understood….

    I’ve been reading The Only Boy in the World this week, and it has really made me think about my past actions and feel some serious regret.

    Michael Blastland’s memoir of his autistic son, Joe, has truly struck me. I have several friends with children who have an autistic spectrum disorder, much like Joe, and as I read Michael’s words about all of the unhelpful (and hurtful) things that his friends and fellow parents said to him, I feel ashamed. I have said many of the same things. I was only trying to be helpful. This paragraph hit me hard

    “Bless him!” say those who’ve mostly not experienced his stamina. “Chidlren. They do pester, don’t they?” Friends remark that all children like routine, all children like what they know, all are obsessive at times. Such commonplaces offer reassurance: “Don’t panic, mine do it too. Joe isn’t unusual and anyway, how bad can it be? One shouldn’t fret about a little repetitive behavior in children.”

    I’m grateful for the intended consolation but, truly, they have no idea. For there’s the obsession of normal children and there’s Joe… He knows his priorities. Think drug-crazed, fanatical, murderous desperation, think lawless smack habit; think this without exaggeration; think it seriously. There’s a phrase used of Olympic champions and artists devoted to their craft: single-minded. Imagine this with absurd literality: a mind with one objective only, a single thought driving out all others, the thought of an obsessive lover, a glutton on a fast, a drowning man.

    I have often said that my kids are obsessive too, my kids get a little OCD, my kids love routine too… I was trying to help, but I now realize that I was not helping.
    As Mr. Blastland goes on to talk about Joe’s life and the way his brain (and other autistic brains) function, it is really fascinating. He talks about how adults and children relate to autistic kids, and the phenomenon that seems to follow where humans shy away from crazy, loud people (think of a drunk in a public place), and yet kids and adults are often threatened if someone is quiet and won’t move out of the way, or doesn’t understand personal space. Those quiet social differences are somehow much more upsetting to strangers.

    He also talks about the lack of imaginative play in autistic children. He tells stories from now grown men and women with Aspergers, and how they explain that they didn’t realize that other people reasoned and felt the same way as they did. Somehow their mind didn’t make that connection, and even as adults they must focus and concentrate to remember this fact.

    I really recommend this book to anyone, even if you don’t know any autistic children or adults. If nothing else, it will give you an appreciation for all of the things that your mind does without you even realizing it. You make millions of decisions based on how other people think, feel, and will perceive you. You trust what you’ve been told about dangers and possibilities. You are able to use fictional stories and imaginative mind play to think through different scenarios. The brain really is amazing, and this book has made me appreciate it even more.

    To all of my friends with autistic children, I am very sorry. I only meant to help, but I now realize that I said all of the wrong things. Please forgive me.

  • FOXNews.com – Massachusetts Judge Settles Dispute by Ruling Burrito is Not a Sandwich

    FOXNews.com – Massachusetts Judge Settles Dispute by Ruling Burrito is Not a Sandwich – Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

    “A sandwich is not commonly understood to include burritos, tacos and quesadillas, which are typically made with a single tortilla and stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans,” Locke wrote in a decision released last week.

    Thank goodness that we have judges around so that such matters can be resolved!

  • Is it really a “deeper look” at heart issues?

    So, I’m still plugging through Turansky and Miller’s Say Goodbye to Whining… and I am growing a bit more disappointed with each chapter. Its such a bummer.  This is a book that I wanted to love.  It is on the mainstream Christian radar, and I would love for a GBDish book to be out there that didn’t even have to address spanking.  After all, spanking is not the issue.
    So I love the way that they say to get to the heart of issues.  I couldn’t agree more.

    If you discipline your child to change behavior but a bad attitude remains, then discipline is incomplete…  Step back and ask yourself, “Why is this child struggling with a bad attitude?”  This will help you focus your discipline.  One mom recognized that her five-year-old son needed more sleep…

    and so on and so forth.  You get the idea.  They are trying to get to the heart of the issue and not leave their children with a seething anger.  Fabulous!  I agree!

    And then, out of nowhere…

    “Mary, I’d like you to go and clean up the toys in your room.”

    “But Moommmm!” Mary says yet again, rolling her eyes and huffing off to her room.

    “Mary, come here, please.  I can tell you’re having a bad attitude by your tone of voice.  If you can’t obey with a good attitude, then I’m going to give you another job when you’re done with this one.  Now I’d like to hear a different response.”

    Hunh?  That really sounds like dealing with the heart of the issue.  They seem to contradict themselves over and over!  So far, I’d still say this book has more good than bad, but it may be more of a “gateway drug” than a full leap to a grace based life.  It sort of bridges the gap, but is not firmly in either camp.

    Oh well, I’ll keep you up to date on my readings  😉

  • Even economists think Gary Ezzo is crazy

    Isn’t it nice when you’re reading a book that has nothing to do with parenting or Christianity and then you stumble upon a little jewel?

    …Ann Hulbert documented how parenting experts contradict one another and even themselves. Their banter might be hilarious were it not so confounding and, often, scary. Gary Ezzo, who in the Babywise book series endorses an “infant-management strategy” for moms and dads trying to “achieve excellence in parenting,” stresses how important it is to train a baby, early on, to sleep alone through the night. Otherwise, Ezzo warns, sleep deprivation might “negatively impact an infant’s developing central nervous system” and lead to learning disabilities….

    …An expert must be bold if he hopes to alchemize his homespun theory into conventional wisdom. His best chance of doing so is to engage the public’s emotions, for emotion is the enemy of rational argument. And as emotions go, one of them–fear–is more potent than the rest.– Freakonomics p. 148

    Ahh, I appreciate that the authors of Freakonomics agree that Gary Ezzo is scary. That upped my opinion of them significantly 😉 I was also happy to see that they have six children under the age of five, so they have some idea of what they’re talking about. 🙂
    Oh, and shortly after that quote, they said this

    …conventionally speaking, spanking is considered an unelightened practice. We might therefore assume that parents who spank are unenlightened in other ways — Freakonomics p. 171

    Bwahaha. 😛

  • FOXNews.com – Global Sex Survey: Marrieds Do It More Than Teens – Health News

    FOXNews.com – Global Sex Survey: Marrieds Do It More Than Teens – Health News | Current Health News | Medical News

    LONDON — In the first comprehensive global study of sexual behavior, British researchers found that people aren’t losing their virginity at ever younger ages, married people have the most sex, and there is no firm link between promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases.

    I’m not exactly sure why it is surprising that married people have sex more often than teens. Lets think about this – pretty much every married person has someone to have sex with… the same is not true for teens.

    Its interesting to see the myths that were proved false in this study. Contrary to popular belief, sexual activity is not starting earlier, women tend to lose their virginity earlier than men, people in more developed countries (not Africa or other countries with high STD rates) are more likely to have multiple partners, and married women are more at risk for STDs, because they are less likely to have safe sex.

    Interesting.

  • Our book diet – Day 4

    It is amazing to see my children’s attention spans already lengthening after only a week of consistantly cutting back tv and increasing their book intake 🙂 They are begging for more books, and we are now taking daily (rather than weekly or bi-weekly) trips to the library. My daughter (2 1/2) likes to re-read her favorites, but my son (4 1/2) loves the adventure of a new book. He has started checking out non-fiction books about dinosaurs, boats, and airplanes, and now that’s his new favorite category. They are both back to reading books while we drive around town, which was a habit they had started to lose.
    Not only can they pay attention longer, but their imaginative play is increasing by leaps and bounds. They seem to be making up for lost time! My kids didn’t even watch that much, and yet still we are seeing a dramatic improvement. May I also mention that they are much less frustrated and getting out a whole lot more energy. Something about reading for half an hour really calms them down. Watching TV for the same amount of time leaves them all revved up.
    My quote for the day, as I reflect back on the amount of Dora and The Backyardigans my kids were watching , from The Read-Aloud Handbook:

    The vocabulary of television is lower than nearly all forms of print, from comic books to children’s books and newspapers and magazines. A study of the scripts from eight programs favored by teenagers showed a sentence averaged only seven words (versus eighteen words in my local newspaper). Since TV is a picture medium, a fair comparison would be with children’s picture books:

    • 72 percent of the TV scripts consisted of simple sentences or fragments/
    • In Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, only 33 percent of the text is simple sentences.
    • In The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, only 21 percent of the text is simple sentences. (p. 203-204)

    Thus one can say even good children’s picture books contain language that is at least twice the complexity of television’s. Imagine how much more complex the novels are.

    Its only a little past noon, and here’s what we’ve read so far:

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