Day 8: What is the most important room in a home and why?—R.P.M.

In all honesty, I think it depends. The most important room in my attic loft as a single person is different from that of a family's ranch-style or two-story home simply because of occupants and space. For me things are classified more as areas then as "rooms". I have my dining area, my reading area, my kitchen area, and my sleeping area. Realy the only part of my home that could be classified as a room would be the bathroom. It is the only area in my house that has a door seperating it from the rest of the house. So if I were to have to name the most important room in my home it would have to be the bathroom by default. But if I were to name the most important area of my home I should have to say the reading area. My Wilbur chair takes up the majority of the space in my reading area left over after a bookshelf went on either wall, but books and chair—strategically placed by the front door which can be swung open on beautiful days—are enough to define my home as the peaceful place of respite that it is.

But in general I would say that the most important room in a home should be whatever room reflects best what the family or individual holds dear. If it is family then probably the living room or dining room. If rest and retreat then probably a bedroom or library. If it is productivity then probably an office or bathroom. But as for me and my house, I will say the reading area!

Day 7: How to parent children without spanking them or telling them "no"—R.P.F.

My favorite example of positive parenting was when a child was about to run out into the street and the Mom yelled, "Danger!" Well, I'd probably get corrected—by verbal affirmation, of course—for using the word "yelled". I'm sure the mother actually said it in as close to her normal voice as possible. "Danger" was an attempt to tell the kid to stop and tell him why he needed to stop all at the same time. There is a distinct need in the process of positive discipline for the parent to feel that they are being straightforward with their child, calmly giving their child all the reasons why something is wrong or why something could hurt them, often without taking into account that the kid could care less and has already started plotting how they can go about the same endeavor in a different manner or, if he or she is a rather compliant child, thinking about moving on to the next toy to be played with. "Danger" is itself negative. It brings ill tidings, it bodes ill consequences. It strikes fear while cloaked in the guise of logical reasoning and explanation. Reasoning cannot take place at the climax of an emotionally charged event. A mother fearing for her child's safety is probably going to end up yelling "danger!" in the same manner she would holler "stop!" or "no!". So why not simply shout a command that will cause them to actually stop, gather your wits, and then explain to the kid that they could get hurt by running out into the street, rather then trying to issue the warning and the explanation all in one foul swoop.


There are many reasons why we should not spank our children. One takes the approach that our parents did it that way and we should find a better way. Along a similar line of fallacious reasoning I found this tid-bit on why not to spank:

"Spanking is seen as punishment for a crime or payment for a debt. In other words, once paid, they have a clean slate. Spanking gets in the way of allowing a child to develop a conscience. The guilt that follows misbehavior is a prime motivator for change. Spanking takes away the guilt, because the crime has been paid for."

Hmmm. I fell like that's the key to why young children turn into men and women who wallow in shame and live with guilt they constantly try to medicate away. Don't spank him, let the kid wallow in his guilt. Guilt is a prime motivator for change, the kind of change that causes a teenager to cut or a college student to binge. But for the sake of positive parenting let's just hope that from the depths of your child's contrition one day will bloom the flower of conscience. And while you're waiting for that lovely bloom, experts tell us to "let your child know that you know he wants to do the right thing and you are here to help him learn how".

Day 6: Ice Sculptures...a worthy artistic endeavor, or not?—C.E.F.

Ice Sculpture Pros:

Pretty
Takes great skill and knowledge to work in freezing temperatures
Pretty
Has the potential to show craftsmanship in form
Pretty
Memorable
Pretty
Can bring in a good chunk of money for the artist
Pretty
Can be practical/functional
Pretty
Fun and unique
Pretty

Ice Sculpture Cons:

It melts
It's cold
It melts
It's not lasting craftsmanship
It melts
You have to take a picture to remember it
It melts
You can't keep it on display past a few hours
It melts
Can be highly impractical
It melts



One of the primary stories in Scripture that speaks to artistic endeavors is in Exodus 31. The flight from Egypt is a not too distant memory for the Children of Israel. They have been given the 10 commandments, laws about alters, slaves, restitution, sabbaths, and festivals. Now they are making plans for how to live out the mandate they've been given. They have consecrated priests and are tallying up the needs to make the tabernacle a reality. It is here that we meet the two chief men God put in charge of seeing these great endeavors through to the end, Bezalel and Oholiab. These men have been given knowledge and craftsmanship, ability and intelligence "to work in every craft" (Exodus 31:5). But the crafts that are listed are works in "gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood". These are things that last through generations. And the result of these works of craftsmanship are things that ended up being used for the edification of the covenant community and the glorification of God.

But then there's "the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place". Oil and incense are not lasting. And yet it took skill and craftsmanship to produce them in the prescribed way for the desired affect and aroma. And seeing as these were intentionally used for the purpose of worship and sacrifice, it was probably someone's express job to make the oil and the incense. But I would venture to guess that the folks who mixed the oil and incense did not have the same skills as Bezalel and Oholiab.

Conclusion: We shouldn't squander the gifts we have, use them in their proper place and for their proper purpose. If we have the ability to create a sculpture it seems that it would be of more lasting import to carve from wood, to chisel marble, to work with gold, silver, or bronze. But then there's the fun and unique, pretty, and memorable aspect of ice sculptures, and to that I echo Solomon: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might..." whether it's something lasting or something that's just darn cool!

Day 5: Living—M.L.S.

Every day that passes should be lived in light of the past, in light of the future, and in light of eternity.
—Thomas Chalmers

Living is an action. That means it's more than just not being dead. But that does not mean that the act of living is to always be in motion. The act of inaction is itself an act. The first question of the Westminster Catechism is, "What is the chief end of man?" The answer of course is, "To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." This is not an act we can achieve in a day, rather it is a long process over time, even after the occasion of our deaths. It is a journey to learn how to glorify God. We do not want to all the time, our hearts are sinful and our desires selfish. The journey takes us through repentance before we come to the place where we are able to glorify God, and repentance itself can be a long hard road. One encouraging thing is that the answer the Westminster Catechism gives—which is truly in line with Scripture—is full of intentionality and purpose. From the time in Genesis 2 that it was said that Adam "became a living creature" until his dying day, Adam knew his purpose in life. Likewise, we too are not left to wonder, "What is our purpose in life?" We have our purpose, clearly stated and marked out for us. To be sure this purpose will look a bit different from person to person depending on calling, giftings, time, and place, but we all have a common goal, "To glorify God and to enjoy him forever". Within this goal there is both the surety of individual calling and the security of corporate calling. Thus the act of living is the act of being in community with intentionality. Or to paraphrase Chalmers, our duty in living is to recall the lessons of the past and stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before so that we may be better informed, better prepared to strive along side our fellow laborers towards a future work, so that in the end we may have done all we can do for the Kingdom. It is a good end, it is a worthy purpose, this act of living.

Day 4: Pens—M.L.M.

Pilot Custom 74
There are some things in life I care passionately about. Craftsmanship and quality are two of those things. Pens are a third.

This afternoon, ironically enough, I spent a good hour and a half flipping through a stack of magazines and perusing through on-line catalogs to find the next pen worthy enough to have the Franklin Classical School font and crest emblazoned on the barrel. Mass produced custom pens have a reputation for being cheap and gaudy. And when you need them most they fail to work properly if at all. And the last thing I want is a faulty, poorly designed pen giving our good school a bad image. But at the same time we do not have the money to invest in 500 Watermans just to make our image more respectable, nor do we want folks saying, "Wow, they must have spent a small fortune on these pens!"

Pens are a tool. They enable us to better accomplish the work we are called to do. Just as it is true with computers when we say that our technology does not need to rule our lives, rather we need to rule over our technology, so it is with the use of our more ordinary and common tools such as pens. The moment a pen stops writing mid-sentence it stops fulfilling its created purpose: to be useful. As with any tool, pens are designed for functionality. But is that all God had in mind when He told Adam to subdue and take dominion over creation, to simply make sure things run as smoothly as clockwork? No. God intended beauty to flourish, creation to be enjoyed, fun to be had. He threw an element of creativity and joy into the process.

Aurora 88 Demonstrator
Tools are made to be functional, durable, of good quality, but some tools such as Macs and pens have room for the creative element of craftsmanship to go into the very tool that will in turn produce quality and craftsmanship when properly used. As Christians, we believe that God imparted purpose into all of His creation. We, as sub-creators under The Creator, have no less a responsibility to create with intentionality everything we set our hands to make, and to pattern everything we do after the craftsmanship and quality that God Himself instilled in Creation.

Let me be frank. I love pens. The Germans make pens that are both functionally dependable and simplistically creative. I probably own more varieties of Lamy than any other brand of pen. I love fountain pens. From the surprisingly smooth Pilot Varsity disposable to the upper scale Waterman Phineas, fountain pens are a delightful tool to use in the pursuit of intentionality. Who all do you know that would sit down and have a photo shoot with his or her pen collection. Hmmm. I hope I'm not the only one. Please don't think that I am staunchly against buying a pen that cost anything less than $25 to $100. As you can see from this snippet of my collection, I have some cheaper pens that I take great delight in writing with as well.

Craftsmanship and quality are two of my great passions in life, but imbue those two qualities into the embodiment of a pen and boy howdy, watch me get real excited!

Day 3: Thubron's Travel Works on Central Asia—D.L.R.

Four days from now, on June 14th, Colin Thubron will celebrate his 70th birthday. Born in 1939, this Eton College grad has for the last forty years been one of Britain's premiere travel writers and novelists. His journeys, across Asia especially, have been vicariously lived through many of his generation who have shared his curiosity to know more about the countries whos politics have dominated the world stage for so long.

"My travel books spring from curiosity about worlds which my generation has found threatening: China, Russia, Islam (and perhaps from a desire to humanise and understand them)." —Colin Thubron
source: British Council Contemporary Writers


"I have been afraid of Russia ever since I could remember. When I was a boy its mass dominated the map which covered the classroom wall; it was tented a wan green, I recall, and was distorted by Mercator's projection so that its tundras suffocated half the world. Where other nations—Japan, Brazil, India—clamored with imagined scents and colors, Russia gave out only silence, and was somehow incomplete. I grew up in its shadow, just as my parents had grown up in the shadow of Germany. Journeys rarely begin where we think they do. Mine, perhaps, started in that classroom, where the green-tinted mystery hypnotized me during math lessons."
—Colin Thubron, Among the Russians

The wonder of Thubron's travel writing is that he does not simply wish to travel to all the politically taboo lands of the world and write about their political alienation, but that he is able to see past the fears, tyranies, and deprevations of politics and can paint pictures of lands and peoples that remind us of our common humanity. Behind his own curiosity there is a suspician that behind every tyrant there is a substantive culture, behind every regiem there is a rich history, behind every politician there are simply people. So while Thubron's generation, and that of his parents, were often left to cower and quake because dots were shifting on a map, little flags were advancing across lines, or because printed headlines cast shadowy fears across their hearts and minds, young Colin sat staring silently up at the wan green mass anticipating the people he would one day encounter there.

Day 2: Is Golf a Sport?—R.M.

sport. \ˈspȯrt\ noun. an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. (source: Oxford American Dictionary)

There is a reason Tiger Woods drinks Gatorade. He sweats a lot. The concentrated effort it takes to trek to and from the golf cart just to get to the next hole is more physically taxing than the average Joe understands. There's the mental anguish and wrestling involved in plotting a strategy two, three, even five holes out to surpass an opponent, but there's also the added strain of physical exertion during the process of handing his driver to his caddie before he even sets foot on the golf cart. So clearly, if we were even just to take a look at the first part of the definition of the word sport—"an activity involving physical exertion"—we would see that golf does in fact meet the primary criteria for being an actual "sport".

individual. \ˌin-də-ˈvi-jü-əl\ noun. a single human being as distinct from a group, class, or family; a person of a specific kind. (source: Oxford American Dictionary)

Continuing on with the examination of our current topic, it would be good to point out that the endeavor of golf does in fact consist of individuals. Whether or not they all may be classified as human beings is of little relevance to our present discussion, but we can rest assured that Tiger Woods is in fact a human being. And he is most assuredly "a person of a specific kind". So clearly, we can see that golf also meets the criteria that it can be an individual endeavor.

entertainment. \ˌen-tər-ˈtān-mənt\ noun. amusement or diversion provided especially by performers. (source: Merriam-Webster's)

Golf pants are amusing. No one can deny that football is a sport, so John Daly is simply proving a point when he chose a pair of pants that could rival the 2008 Oregon Ducks' uniforms. Let's take the viewer's perspective for just a second as we seek to strengthen our argument for golf as a sport. Let's say you're a hard-working-paper-pushing-stapler-hoging-long-day-at-the-office man. You're greeted at home by your wife who wants you to take out the trash. You flick on the TV. John Daly's on the 12th hole, your wold is saved! "Honey," you cry, "look at these awesome pants!" The diversion is a success. The trash is forgotten and you are able to see the tournament through to its completion. Undeniably golf is a "diversion provided especially by performers".

So clearly, having met all the criteria stated in the definition, golf proudly and boldly henceforth and forever more carries the name of sport!

Day 1: Love—J.L.S.

Love. What a perfect example of the inadequacies of the English language! The Hebrews have multiple words for the concept of love. C.S. Lewis wrote about four kinds of love just to make up for the fact that in English we just have the one word. To say "I love this meatball sub" is certainly not the same as saying "I love Kenneth Branagh". The love of the meatball sub and the love of Kenneth Branagh are two different things, and yet we use the same word. To say "I love my friend Reba" is certainly not the same as saying "I love my Mom". They are both people which make them more similar than the love of a meatball sub, but still are two different things, and yet we use the same word. To say "I love Aunt Matilda" is certainly not the same as saying "I love my husband Toby". While Aunt Matilda is obviously marked in difference by the fact that she is a woman and Toby is a guy, there still is a little similarity once again in the fact that Aunt Malitda (as far as we know) and Toby are human, and further similarity still in the fact that both are related to you. But again, the love for Aunt Matilda is not the same as the love for your husband, Toby, and yet we use the same word.

And what about Rumpelstiltskin? I LOVE Rumpelstiltskin. I don't love him like a meatball sub. I don't love him like Kenneth Branagh. I don't love him like a friend. I don't love him like my Mom. I don't love him like my aunt. I don't love him like a husband. Come to think of it, I can't even love him really. He isn't real. I suppose I could love the idea of him. I suppose I could love his fairy tale story. Then what's in the love of Rumpelstiltskin? I suppose here lies a common thread between all the different kinds of love in the English language: love is both tangible and intangible. It is both a manifestation and an expression. It can be manifest in an action or a gift. It can be an emotion that is expressed through words. Its object can be the person you spend the majority of your life with or it can be the visionary ideas you spend your life living out. Yet with all things pertaining to love there is a sense of the tangible and the intangible. Maybe I just love the name Rumpelstiltskin. But until we find a better way of expressing all the different kinds of love in the English language, I'm just going to say...I love Rumpelstiltskin.

20 Days of Randomness

You never get too old to learn the lessons of discipline. Not the punishment kind but the kind of discipline that consists of structure, endurance, and intentionality. These are hard lessons, but in my own life I'm hoping that once learned they will become habits that will carry me through the end of my days.

I've never been a very structured soul. I do appreciate a good "heads up" every once in a while, but for the most part I've always been pretty fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. Structure is something I'm discovering more and more will help me be a better steward of the time and giftings God has given me.

I've never been one for endurance. I'm pretty good at getting things started, but the "long haul" is rarely something I can last through. I get impatient. I want to move on to the next thing. I take short cuts. I don't finish at times much less finish well. Endurance is something I'm discovering will whittle away at my own self-sufficiency.

Intentionality on the other hand I can do, but often do not do as much as I should due to the simple excuse of laziness. I don't feel like putting in the extra effort, so I don't. I don't feel like doing something I should do to help me grow, so I don't. Intentionality is something I'm discovering is more a matter of chipping away the selfishness and realizing that there are bigger issues in life than what I do or do not "feel" like at any given time.

That being said, I am working on these disciplines for the next 20 days. In my pursuit of honing my writing skills and working on my utter inability to meet a deadline, I had the idea for 20 Days of Randomness. I gave 20 friends and family each a blank notecard and envelope. On the blank notecard I asked them to simply write their name and a topic for me to write about then seal it in the unmarked envelope and give it back to me. I have no idea what these 20 friends and family wrote on their notecards, nor will I know until the day I open them up and write about the topic they have assigned. I will randomly select one envelope per day, post the topic and initials of the contributor, and then write about whatever randomness they have generously bestowed. I'm rather excited about it actually!

So tomorrow...let the fun begin!

Z is for Zzzzs

Sleep is a good thing. We need sleep. We need sleep to aid our metabolisms. We need sleep to restore our bodies. We need sleep to help our brains function. Some researchers say we need sleep to help us loose weight. If only that would take inches off the love handles...oh well. Nightly sleep in the comfort of our very own bed keeps us from falling asleep behind the wheel of a car. It keeps us from biting the head off of our little brother. It keeps us from getting into trouble in the wee hours of the morning by preventing us from going to Waffle House and singing Lady In Red at the top of our lungs. It keeps us from seeing things that aren't really there. It keeps us from saying stupid things in public. Ok, so it's not a sure-fire cure to keep us from saying stupid things in public, but it sure helps. I promise.

For all the ways that sleep is preventative, you've got to admit that it's just plain 'ol therapeutic. At the end of a hard days work, with back aching, mind burnt out, and legs limp and noodly, there's nothing better than collapsing into the comfort of your favorite pillow and your favorite down comforter. Comforter. That does seem to describe it. It's comforting to have a place to lay your weary head. A place to sigh away the cares of the day and rest in the knowledge that though all is not right with the world just yet that it will be...some day.