The best praise

Advice for parents:  train your children in goodness with this simple suggestion.

First generation faith

(cont'd)

Author Rod Dreher (The Little Way of Ruthie Leming) as a teenager
rejected his parents' Christianity along with their small town point of view, but he chose genuine faith later - on his own, starting with an experience in the cathedral of Chartres, France.  

photo:  destination360.com

He sensed there that God was challenging his view of reality, the one overwhelming impression that stayed with him after that first trip to Europe.  It's not a common track to faith, but God doesn't shrink from using whatever you give Him to work with.   Rod eventually became Catholic.

So where does he stand today?  From his blog last week:  

"I pray that the choice is never put to me, but if I am ever forced to make that choice [between serving the state or God], I will always and everywhere choose God, without apology. I am a Christian first, and an American second."

He is a first generation Christian.

Small town, good life

(cont'd:  The Little Way of Ruthie Leming)

Author Rod Dreher contrasted his life with that of his sister Ruthie and saw, from the position of adulthood, things of value that he didn't notice as an awkward teenager.  Her friends, teaching colleagues, children she'd taught, all came to honor her life when she died.  News spread, and there was food, a cleaned house, her daughter's car fixed, all there when the family came home drained from the hospital.

He had to take note that Ruthie's family had a "deep bench" of meaningful connections.  In their big city life, his own family had friends but not deep roots.

That's where stories like this usually end.  Roots are better, the rebellious boy comes back home.  But it's not the end of this story.

Some of that discontentedness he felt as a boy was due to genuine failures among the hometown people, including Ruthie, and he doesn't flinch from telling that part of the story.

Home in small town USA

It sounded like a sentimental, mushy story line.  But Erik Metaxas strongly recommends the book.  That carries some weight for me, so I read The Little Way of Ruthie Leming and I'm glad I did.

Conflicted feelings abound because the author left his small Southern hometown young  - he rejected everything about it and couldn't wait to get away. He gladly left his family and the town, went to the Big City, and built a career.

His sister Ruthie loved the little hometown and its people, and they loved her.  She stayed and raised her own family close to them.   When cancer took her life at the age of 42, it drew her brother Rod (the author) back into the environment he abandoned and he saw goodness in the community that he'd never appreciated.  

He brought his family back to the small town.  He says:  "The familiar used to feel oppressive; now it feels comforting.

Travel + $100k

Jauntaroo.com is a two-year-old travel website that matches your interests and budget to travel destinations.  Travel websites, it seems, is a crowded field so Jauntaroo has come up with something to catch your attention:  "Best Job Around the World" as Chief World Explorer.

They're partnering with organizations to include some altruistic features.

The job starts next January and will pay $100k/year.  Jauntaroo will share expenses of your travel with the localities, who will of course also benefit from the resulting publicity.  If you get this job, you will write stories about your adventures for the website.

It may be the best job opportunity ever - for someone.  Hopefully I'll remember to check in to the website and follow the unfolding of this job.

ACT perfect score

Three of Eden Prairie MN high school seniors earned a perfect ACT college placement test score of 36 points.   One of these students, Ella Johnson, was interviewed.  She was excited and blessed, she said, to get the perfect score, and she shared some tips with future test-takers.

When asked if she had anything else to add to her interview, she said, " Colossians 3:17."  It's from the Bible:  "and whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and [in dependence] upon His person, giving praise to God the Father through Him."

She's a great student who knows that there are greater things than being a great student.

Jobs / Kutcher

First there was the biography, now there's the biopic of Steve Jobs that came out last week.  A legend in his own time, Jobs came up with many technology break-throughs and co-started that icon of Silicon Valley, Apple Inc.

Steve Wozniak was his partner in the starting of Apple Computer.  He hasn't been shy about his opinion of the film:  he thinks it was too easy on Jobs.  

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Ashton Kutcher delivered a "compelling performance" as Steve Jobs but the movie didn't do too well on its opening weekend and the critics haven't been especially kind.

Kutcher / Jobs

photo:  digitalspy.com

Christian Egyptian girl killed

One of the many victims of Egypt's current violence was this Christian Copt girl.  Nervous about walking home from her Bible study, she asked her teacher to go with her.  Making their way through the market, her teacher turned around to make a purchase and turned back to find her student Jessica Boulous on the ground in a pool of blood.

photo:  morningstarnews.org

"Nasr Allah Zakaria, Jessica’s uncle, said the killing has devastated the girl’s family.

“I just can’t believe she is gone,” Zakaria said. “She was such a sweet little girl. She was like a daughter to me. I can’t believe she is gone.”

"No one has claimed responsibility for the killing. Zakaria, pastor of an evangelical  church in Egypt, said he didn’t know for sure if the shooting was religiously motivated but quickly added that violence against Christians “seems to be normal” in Egypt now."

Christians a target

Christianity has had a significant presence in Egypt since the first century A.D.  Today, 10% of the population is Christian, around 8 million people.  Violence toward their homes, churches, and shops has escalated during the current conflict.

photo: Catholic World Report

Something like sixty churches have either been burned or attacked, "and the people are scared," says Father Rafic Greische, Catholic spokesman.  Many believe that the organization Muslim Brotherhood is behind the attacks.

“First they stole the valuable things, and then they torched the place,” says Sami Awad, a church member who lives across the narrow dirt alley from the church. “Whatever they couldn't carry, they burned.”

They need our prayers, and they deserve that we speak up.

Must see TV

About three minutes of beauty and truth show up completely unexpectedly on reality tv.  Audiences have been surprised on reality talent shows before, so this isn't the first time for a surprise. But a group that is performing for the first time in front of an audience is not so common.

The group "Forte" performs an Andrew Lloyd Webber arrangement of a Latin prayer from the Requiem Mass, and celebrity judges join with the audience in sheer joy.

John Stonestreet has comments about it at breakpoint.org.

Breaktime

This second week of August, I'll be taking a break - and will be back posting on Monday, August 19.  Enjoy the last month of summer!

Atheist students

Interviewed by a Christian group doing research, atheist students answered the question:  "What led you to become an atheist?"  

Their answers were often the rational/scientific objections you might expect.  But there was more. 

Many had a church background.  But it sounds, in this article from The Atlantic, like many were disappointed in their church by a lack of belief, commitment, and serious engagement with the important questions of life.  Some actually said that they would not respect any Christian who didn't try to recruit them to faith.  

Dawkins tweets

Militant atheist and Oxford professor Richard Dawkins has fans, and one of them is begging him to be quiet.

A self-described worshipper of Dawkins wants him to stop tweeting about Muslims.

Why not to arm the rebels

Paul Johnson, famous British historian and author, has a case to make for America not arming the Syrian rebels.

While researching a new book on America's post-WWII President Dwight Eisenhower, he's found that the former general was very reluctant to intervene in global crises during his presidency. Johnson thinks this was wise because intervention usually fails to produce positive results, in his opinion, though there's often pressure from human rights activists to do something.

There's pressure to provide arms in the Syrian civil war now. But:   a) which group, if any, is democratic? b) any U.S.-backed group may fall to terrorist penetration, c) there's every chance that any weapons we provide will end up in terrorist hands.

Middle East common ground

Finding points of common interest between Israelis and Palestinians must be challenging, but they do have a “common language: tech management.” Commerce passes the borders regularly, startups are beginning to transform the Palestinian economy, and business partnerships grow among parties of both sides.

John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, and other American tech executives also “push their Israel subsidiaries to outsource research and development projects to Palestinian startups or to hire local Arabs.”

Creating inter-connected prosperity could be a big part of the lasting peace that is in everyone's best interest.

Cris Carter gives credit

Former Vikings Football receiver Cris Carter was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, last Friday evening.  His "Hall of Fame Enshrinement Speech" was full of gratitude for the people in his life who helped him.

First mentioned was his mom who raised him and let him know that she believed in him. “Every child needs at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about him or her"  (say psychologists and people of common sense) and she seems to have been that adult for him.

Other credit went to his brothers, sisters, coaches.  Hear his heartfelt speech here.

(Ideas from Dr. Bill Bennett)

Fruit nuitrition

Maybe you've heard the argument that the sugar in fruit is still sugar, so it can be bad for you and you should not eat too much fruit.  That argument is being countered.

There are some important advantages to eating whole, fresh fruit.  You can gulp down a glass of juice in less time, but that puts a lot of sugar into your bloodstream pretty quickly.  Whole fruit's fiber slows down the absorption of that sugar.  The fiber is in the cell walls, and it slows down that absorption most efficiently if the cell walls are not ground up in the blender.

There's more depth to the case for eating fruit in this NY Times article.

Ruins of Detroit

Churches, schools, theatres, homes, it's amazing to see buildings of all types abandoned for many years now. So many treasures, so much old wealth, just gone.  It's sad and eerie.

Untypical Chinese restaurant

Jason Wang, now 25, was born in X'ian, China.  He is now co-owner and operator with his father of X'ian Famous Foods in New York. Holding a business degree from Washington University in St. Louis, he spends 13 hours a day on his feet making noodles, taking orders, and keeping the store going.

Their food is not the Cantonese style that Americans have known for decades, but a distinct style that comes from Northern China.  Authenticity, moderate prices, and a handle on both Chinese and American tastes have made the place popular.  Jason's business training seems to be guiding his choices regarding their future growth and the decision to eschew franchising.

Go here for more stories about young entrepreneurs.

Evolution in fossils

(cont'd)

So macro-evolution claims that all forms of life we see on earth today could be theoretically traced back through their millions of evolving ancestors to one living cell that appeared somehow about 3.8 billion years ago.

Picture what that would look like if we could see those fossil remains.  Try to imagine layers of rock showing sea worms with a bump on their lower side, then rocky layers of fossils with two bumps, then fossils of worms with three bumps with a division of toes, then fossils with one true leg, then a layer of fossils whose legs have toes, then fossils of worms with four legs and claws, then fossils of legged worms with lungs instead of gills (wait - that's huge genetic change), then lizards with eyes feet and lungs, then . . .

You get the idea, picture innumerable slight variations leading to elegant organs like lungs and eyes and to wildly differing life forms.  This was Darwin's vision of what he expected would be found in the fossil record.  But the fossil record doesn't look like that.

Instead, what scientists have discovered (in the 150+ years since Darwin's book) is a fossil record that shows this:   the sudden rather than gradual appearance of animal/plant species, and usually stable body design which does not morph into other designs.

photo:  pe.com

Macro-evolution

(cont'd)

Survey after survey shows that Americans largely do not believe that last meaning of  "evolution" is correct. But public (government) schools, from elementary to university level,  uniformly teach that it is correct.

Both public schools and government are committed to avoid supporting any view whatsoever that involves God, so their options are severely limited.  There's only one theory about the origin of life that doesn't involve God at all, and that is evolution (see the third meaning of this word, macro-evolution, in yesterday's post).

Here's how it works.  Offspring retain the characteristics of their parents almost entirely, but random small variations can occur.  Among all the offspring, if an individual has an advantageous variation, then that individual may have more offspring bearing the inherited advantage. Over time, the species evolves in that direction, resulting in new life forms.

It's called natural selection.  The individuals in every generation who survive to reproduce were the most fit to survive and reproduce.  Nobody disagrees with this!

There is only disagreement with the claim that this process alone produced all life's diversity:  whales, spiders, palm trees, cats, tulips, dinosaurs, butterflies, wolves, roses, salmon, worms, moss,  etc., etc.

photo:  statedclearly.com

What is evolution?

The word is often used, and its meaning can be pretty fuzzy.

First there is the general meaning which no one argues about:  just change over time.  In this sense, you evolve as you learn and experience life; your job evolves as you add or subtract responsibilities.  Change occurs in almost everything as time goes on.

Then there is micro-evolution, which no one argues about:  all life species change somewhat in relatively minor ways.  The size of a bird species' beak can change with changing circumstances, for instance, so that most of the birds in an environment have stronger/bigger beaks when the seeds available to eat become tougher.  An apple is developed by horticulturists that is sweeter and juicier than others.

photo:  mrjacksfarm.com

But it's the third type that does get argued about:  macro-evolution.  This theory says that changes in a kind of animal/plant happen over generations to the point that the later animal/plant is actually a different kind than its ancestors were, and all the kinds of life on earth came about this way.

There are lots of implications to this meaning of evolution.

More for the 20-somethings

Jason Nazar started a company in his 20's, is now 34,  and employs an "amazing group of 20-somethings." He has some things he'd like his employees, and all 20-somethings, to understand about how to be successful at work.  So he wrote this article, "20 Things 20-Year-Olds Don't Get."

Here's a sample:  use more personal & phone contact, keep building your "technical chops", take responsibility for your mistakes, go ahead and try things (and make mistakes), be the first in and the last to leave - and your reputation is priceless so take good care of it.

Jason blogs about business and Los Angeles here.

(For more insights on how to get traction, see "Your Defining 20's.")

photo:  levoleague.com

Fuel prices rise again

T. Boone Pickens thinks that the market for crude oil is not a free market, but is controlled by OPEC.

They have a price they want to make on their oil, and they're going to get it if we keep importing it from them.  He makes his case here.

Quiet but interested

(cont'd)

Maybe the main point of the book Quiet is that America ought to stop trying to make introverts more extroverted.  I agree, don't try to make everybody work in groups (as she emphasizes in her TED talk).

But let's admit that introverts, if they are Believers, will have to deal with their tendency to keep people at arm's length because people are God's idea and they are important.  My friend Dave sets a good example.  A quiet person, he's yet really interested in people and engages when he's in a one-on-one situation.

Here's a suggestion:  though author Susan Cain doesn't like the old self-help classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People, it has practical advice for how to relate to people.  You don't have to be in sales to learn how to be more of a blessing to just about everyone who encounters you.

Introvert

When I reserved Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking at the library, there were 500 people ahead of me!  It took about six months to finally get the book, and Hennepin County Library system (Minneapolis and suburbs) has 109 copies.   It was on the  NY Times bestseller list.  And Bill Gates counts the author's TED talk as a favorite.

Somehow this self-identified introvert woman has really made headlines, and it cannot have happened by accident.    So, she put herself out there in uncomfortable situations by speaking in public and promoting and doing whatever she had to do, all to affirm that it's really ok to be an introvert who likes to do none of this.  Interesting.

Author Susan Cain says on her website,  "I’m actually not sure if I went to the cafés to write or wrote so I could sit around in cafés, which is my favorite activity."

Here's her TED Talk, which has been viewed by 4.7 million people  She says that introverts should be allowed to do what they do best (see my post "Strengthen Your Strengths"), and that is to think and create in solitude.  

Personality

Extrovert or introvert, it's a Personality thing that you're mostly born into; it's not a Character thing.   In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, author Susan Cain says that American culture transformed from a Culture of Character to a Culture of Personality early last century.

Character refers to high standards that anyone can choose to live up to:  diligence, honesty, duty, loyalty, compassion, these are character qualities.  Personality is more limited to what your genes give you:  whether you prefer to talk or think, whether you like loud or quiet environments, your natural ability to tell jokes (or your total lack of said ability), these are personality traits.

The kind of personality that made it big in 20th century America was the extrovert.  Author Cain traces the developing trend in books:  Masterful Personality in 1910, How to Win Friends and Influence People 1936, Organization Man 1956.  The ideal became the extrovert who dominates, charms, talks the most, entertains, and usually gets his/her way.

Introverts can feel they don't have much to offer in comparison.  For a classic story told from an introvert's point of view, read Rebecca through to the end and enjoy her paradigm shift.

Chinese farming unproductive

Farmers don't own the land they work in China.  The government owns it all.  The land cannot be mortgaged to make large purchases, so small farms use less machinery and are more labor intensive.  

In fact, this article at Business Insider makes the case that Chinese farmers are some of the most unproductive in the world (includes a beautiful photo essay).  The author quotes Deutsche Bank as saying that South Korean farmers are 40 times more productive.

Maybe this non-productivity has something to do with China's plan to take hundreds of millions out of the countryside and put them into cities; maybe there will be a transformation of the whole agricultural picture.  But I haven't yet read anything about a grand plan for agriculture.  I would love to see these farmers own their farming business, make it vastly more productive, and enjoy the results.

Walmart response to critic

As an observer of the retail industry, Walter Loeb has credentials:  20 years at department stores and then 16 years as a senior retail analyst at Morgan Stanley.  So when he roundly criticizes a Walmart store, it's with authority.  But from the description, anyone could have criticized it.

He reports that the store in Pittsfield MA was "in total disarray," with merchandise on the floor, empty shelf space, filthy restrooms.  All of this was disrespectful to customers and out of line with standards of the founder, Sam Walton, whom he knew.

Walmart's response to the criticism is so good.  Senior VP of New England, Julie Murphy, affirms that the store doesn't adhere to their standards, affirms Mr. Loeb and his report, lists their prompt corrective actions, and re-affirms that they are committed to high standards.

China urbanization - an excuse?

Another note to China's urbanizing project  (posts June 24 - June 27):  The South China Morning Post (see the photo caption as the reason for this post's title) reports that there is still a lot of uncertainty about how it's going to work out.

The government aims to relocate 250-300 million rural citizens to new cities (which they are building so fast that many stand empty).   "To accommodate them, China would have to build a new city the size of Shanghai every year for the next 20 years."   
Got to wonder where they are getting their money.   As a comparison, the U.S. can't even pay for our current spending (we won't be building empty cities any time soon). In fact, we are at a historic debt level - and China loaned us much of that money.

Again, the rationale for urbanization is that city people spend more money than country people so the economy will grow. Ummm, are there going to be jobs for them so they can buy lots of goods and services?  Will they be passive about their uprooting?  The world is watching.