Friday Media

Laughter is good medicine...and parenting includes a lot of laughter!

Take a few minutes and enjoy!

New School Year

This day is always a "guilty-pleasure-type-of-day" for me. For months, I've had to live through the constant facebook statuses and other reminders that there is a whole group/population of people who are out of school/work for three months. I'll be honest, for three whole months, I'm kind of jealous of their statuses about "going to the pool" or "got to sleep in today." You get the point. While the rest of the working world continues to plod along, they seem to be in the blissful "summer" state.

Well, today, all of that changed. That's right...It's back to school day! There's almost a sense in which I'm kind of secretly thankful that they won't be able to rub their "summer fun" in my face anymore.

I know what you're thinking...that's a little petty, Robert. I'm not denying it...welcome to my wicked, sinful heart. :)

Confession time...ever been jealous of students or teachers during the summer? Ever secretly been happy that they have to go back to school? Or is this just me?

Best Toys Ever!

I had some pretty awesome toys growing up in the 80's. G.I. Joe, Nintendo, Hot wheels, and many others. But, there's one thing I knew how to do...and that was go outside and completely invent a game with almost no "raw" materials.

It's in that vein, that I present to you the top 5 toys of all time...

The 5 Best Toys of All Time

I absolutely love his list, and think we should introduce more and more kids to this list...rather than huge piles of video games and the like.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Fun (With a Point): Cosby Style

When it comes to classic American TV, it's hard to get any better than the "Cosby Show." If you lived through the 80's, you know you watched it and loved it. Here's an old clip from the very first episode. Enjoy!



It's an interesting interaction in this video that could happen in any of our homes. In fact, it might have already happened in yours.

So, here's the question...

How should parents balance "pushing our kids to their fullest potential" and "accepting them for who they are even if it's not what they're capable of?" There may be a danger at both of those extremes. Which end of the spectrum do you tend to lean toward?

A little Thursday humor...

Here are a few videos that I found amusing.

The first one puts a whole new light on the family "camping" trip. I've been on a few, and he might be on to something here.





These are some classics from Tim Hawkins on moms and parenting.





Enjoy!

Not Me! (a little Monday humor)

My dad always told me that if he ever caught that "Not-Me" guy, he had a number of spankings coming his way. You see, my sister and I had a way of, when something was broken, misplaced, etc, the answer to my father's question, "who did this?" was always "NOT ME!!!"

One day, my Dad discovered that the creator of the famous cartoon "Family Circus" dealt with the same issue. Enjoy!



This one always makes me laugh!

A Little Monday Fun...

Apparently, "Rock, Paper, Scissors" isn't a game of chance. There's a strategy to the whole thing. You better believe I'm putting this stuff into practice with the kids. I'm going to be so dominant!



Click picture for larger view

Churched...

I recently picked up a book off the bargain rack at Mardel. The title intrigued me, I spent the $3, and took a chance. I was so glad that I did. "Churched" is the story of a young boy (now adult) who grew up in a fundamentalist, Baptist Church.

As I read this book, I wasn't sure if it was a comedy or a tragedy. There were times when I was laughing so hard, my side hurt. And yet, there were other times when my heart sank (mostly because I resonated with something he said) because I "grew up" in church, too.

It got me thinking about the danger of "growing up" in church. Whether you realize it or not, there is a real danger for kids who grow up in the church. It's a completely different kind of danger...but danger nonetheless. Reading this book, got me to start thinking about what some of those dangers are.

What do you think the "dangers" are for kids that grow up surrounded by "church"?

Another article on the same topic for your benefit - Too Much Church

Two Great Things Combined...

I just love it when someone gets the idea to put two things together that you wouldnt' normally think would go together.

Below is the newest of these products. Here's the question...how many of you would give this a shot?

The Scooter Stroller...looks like a lot of fun!

Just for Laughs: Jesus or a Squirrel?

Jesus or a Squirrel?

The story is told about a pastor who was into telling stories to the children. He'd bring all the children up, and they'd sit on the floor, and he'd tell them a story. One day he said, "Boys and girls, I want to tell you a story about someone who likes to live in the woods, but sometimes we can see him in our yards. Anybody have any idea who I am talking about?"

No takers. He said, "I want to tell you about a creature that lives in the woods and sometimes in our yards, has a big bushy tail, likes to eat nuts. Anybody have any idea what I'm talking about?"

No takers. He said, "I'm talking about a creature that lives in the woods, sometimes in our yards, big bushy tail, eats nuts, likes to climb trees, jumps from tree to tree--now, does anybody know what I'm talking about?"

One kid raised his hand to take him out of his misery. The pastor said, "Do you know what I'm thinking about?"

The kid said, "Yeah. I know the answer should be Jesus, but it sounds like a squirrel to me."

Where did they learn that?

There's no doubt that you've been face-to-face with your child (after a particular "mid-doing") and wandered in your head...

...where did they learn that?
...what kind of heathen child spoiled the innocence of my precious, innocent child?
...I bet it was the TV?
...public school is the devil?

Ok, that last one might have gone a little too far, but the point is the same. We're always wondering how our children learn something. I recently read a post from another blogger. He called it "CSI-ing where your kids learned bad stuff."

CSI-ing where your kids learned bad stuff

The really hard question to face is, "Maybe they learned it from me."

Some Fun for Friday...

Great Commercials!

Can you laugh at yourself?

Christians do some funny things. For a guy who has grown up always being involved in church, I've seen some stuff that will just make you laugh. I think that's how this website ("Stuff Christians Like") started. I don't know the authors whole story, but I'm almost positive he grew up in church all his life.

I love it when someone can poke fun AND have a point!

Make it one of your favorites...you won't regret it.

Stuff Christians Like

Why Boys Need Parents...

Saw these picture floating around the other day on the web. If you haven't noticed yet, boys and girls are very different. God made them that way, and there are just some things that we are "born" with. [Evidence below]

A little humor for the weekend...

MOSES AND THE RED SEA

Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School.

'Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely.

Then he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.'

'Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?' his mother asked.

'Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!'

Are you overprotective?

Many parents can fall become extremely "overprotective." I saw this book the other day, and although I haven't read it personally, it looked like a neat concept. I'd love to give it a read one day.

You can't protect your kids from everything in life...so let them have a little fun!

(I'm not endorsing the book 100%...just trying to have a laugh)

Creative Discipline [funny]

You have got to hand it to this mom...she is taking her job seriously. This is what I call "creative discipline."

Just for laughs

My dad always told me that if he ever caught that "Not-Me" guy, he had a number of spankings coming his way. You see, my sister and I had a way of, when something was broken, misplaced, etc, the answer to my father's question, "who did this?" was always "NOT ME!!!"

One day, my Dad discovered that the creator of the famous cartoon "Family Circus" dealt with the same issue. Enjoy!

Just for laughs

I'm considering implementing this strategy at Firewheel. What do you think?