Breast-feeding in the Back Pew - I subscribe to CT’s updates, but my husband beat it to the punch with an e-mail stating this was a “good, solid” article.

“How widespread the no-breast-feeding rule is in U.S. churches is hard to say. But one thing’s clear: Our squeamishness over breast-feeding has little precedent in the church. Instead, Christians have long celebrated this aspect of Jesus’ early life. Church father Ephrem the Syrian wrote a collection of hymns on the Nativity, including this, which connects the humble picture of Jesus nursing from Mary’s breasts to Jesus’ generous provision as King of all creation:

The Lofty One became like a little child,
yet hidden in Him was a treasure of
Wisdom that suffices for all.
He was lofty but he sucked Mary’s milk,
and from His blessings all creation sucks.”

Martin Luther celebrated the physical bond between Mary and Jesus, noting in his famous Christmas sermon that Mary “nourished the child with milk from her breast and not with strange milk … her breast being filled by heaven, without injury or impurity.”

Following in the footsteps of the church fathers, our sacred spaces should likewise embrace the human body in all its mess. In a culture where breasts are perennially on display—but where breast-feeding is often regarded with disgust or at least embarrassment—allowing mothers to breast-feed in worship would counter how sexualized breasts are in modern culture. It would also communicate respect for mothers, many of whom feel shunned or outlawed when asked to use segregated rooms to feed their babies. The earthy eloquence of breast-feeding, even in church, would also remind us of both the humanness of our Savior and of God’s loving sustenance of us through all the seasons of our lives.

I think, too, that much of the problem with our contemporary squeamishness can be found in what this commenter points out, and one on which we are often oblivious of how it clouds our perspective:

“God created women to feed their young by way of breast-feeding and we did it for thousand of years without thinking twice about it. It wasn’t until someone introduce [sic] unnatural means of feeding our children that people started thinking breast-feeding was awkward, uncomfortable and embarrassing.”

In Wake of the Tragedy – Johanna offers her thoughts of entering into this national sorrow.

“I can only love my neighbor as myself. And right now that means putting my arms around those mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters who have just faced a most unspeakable tragedy, and weep with them.

Jesus said weep with those who weep.

Today I weep.

Later there might be more words to offer. But today I simply weep.”

“Today I wrap my figurative arms around my neighbors in Connecticut. I shed tears with their tears. I love them because they are my fellow-man.”

Christian Responses to Child Massacres - Also following this tragedy, there have been many statuses, tweets, and statements made that are using the tragedy to push an agenda. Yet now is not the time to politicize; it is the time to grieve. Wendy Alsup addresses the use of opportunism at this time, and the need for comfort, not criticism, for those grieving.

“But the removal of prayer from schools is not the issue at the heart of Friday’s headlines. That was simple opportunistic exploitation of a horrible tragedy.

What people long for in such tragedy in my experience is COMFORT. And our response according to Scripture in such moments should be COMFORT. This is not a moment for us as Christians to seize to make a point on morality or sinfulness or politics. This a moment when an entire nation is hurting, when people at least in that community are naturally turning toward churches with a pain beyond imagining. And God instructs us clearly to comfort.”

Social Media Is Eating Our Lives (And Pinterest Is Chewing Fastest)  – This is interesting, if nothing else.

“If you find yourself spending an inordinate amount of time on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, thank your smartphone and tablet: Americans’ social media use is on track to spike 37 percent this year, driven by a near doubling of consumption on mobile apps, according to a new Nielsen study.

The biggest social networks are seeing mobile use explode while desktop computer use remains relatively flat, according to a year-end Nielsen survey of social media consumption. Mobile app usage spiked 88 percent on Facebook this year and 134 percent on Twitter. In contrast, desktop use shrank 4 percent on Facebook and grew just 13 percent on Twitter.”

“Pinterest, meanwhile, emerged in 2012 as a growth sensation on all platforms, increasing unique visitors 1,047 percent on the desktop and 4,225 percent on mobile. (It probably helps that Pinterest came out of invitation-only beta only this past August.)”

NYPD Boot Homeless Man - For several years, we lived in a run-down neighborhood where we saw homeless people almost every day. When the weather was in the extremes of cold or hot, it was a stark reminder of some of the particular hardships that are prevalent when this is the way of life. It’s easier for me to forget this is life when I don’t encounter it as often, but it is nonetheless reality for many Americans. This is a neat article about a police officer who, apparently unaware he was being photographed, showed a random act of kindness for a shoeless homeless man.

“On Nov. 14, NYPD officer Lawrence DePrimo, who was on counterterrorism duty in Times Square, saw the older homeless man without shoes sitting on 42nd Street. DePrimo, 25, left and then returned with a pair of $100 boots he bought at a nearby Skechers store.

“It was freezing out, and you could see the blisters on the man’s feet,” DePrimo, a three-year veteran of the department who lives with his parents on Long Island, told the New York Times. “I had two pairs of socks, and I was still cold.”

Do Jews Have a Divine Right to Israel’s Land? – In light of the recent increase of conflict between Israel and Palestine, Christianity Today’s two-part article series from June proves a timely read.

“Do Jews have a divine right to the Promised Land? Are American pastors dismissive of Arab Christians in Israel? Should Christians treat the Israeli-Palestinian dispute differently than other conflicts? As pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, John Piper has been addressing these contentious questions for years. After he began informally discussing them with David Brickner, executive director of Jews for Jesus, we invited them to share some of their discussion with our readers. We begin today with Brickner’s response to some of Piper’s recent writings and sermons, and will continue…with Piper’s response.”

• Part 1: David Brickner of Jews for Jesus
• Part 2: John Piper’s response

Why Ditch The Infant Cereals? – It seems the push for infant cereals is beginning earlier and earlier (though, it’s certainly not new; I’ve heard of stories of infants in my own and my parents era having cereal put into their bottles at just weeks old!), and the early introduction of food is usually done with grains. This article explains a few reasons why that is not a good idea and suggests alternatives. (Note: I do not advocate for all of the alternative starter foods given here, and prefer to primarily extend breastfeeding when possible; it is the first part of the article I concur with, rather than the latter half.)

“Undigested grains wreak havoc on your baby’s intestinal lining. It can throw off the balance of bacteria in their gut and lead to lots of complications as they age including: food allergies, behavioral problems, mood issues, and more.”

“If you feed your baby cereal or other grains, you’re doing more than simply sticking them with an indigestible food. You’re feeding them an indigestible food in place of something more nutrient-dense. You’re feeding them something their body can’t really use and starving them of the nutrients they need to grow a healthy brain, nervous system, and bone structure”

Meanwhile Justus has introduced himself to two-solids: tissue paper and magazines, neither of which I’d advocate for, either.

Waiting Is Usually Better – If we could just grasp this concept, we would save ourselves, our families, and our children a boatload of frustration and trouble. From womb to tomb, our culture (and others) seem to be lived at emergency room pace. Johanna shares some helpful insight on learning to patient in teaching our children:

“We’re in a hurry. As an entire culture, we are consumed with how we can make things go faster.

From technology to, and here’s the pitiful part, our children, we are desperate to rush the normal cycle of life. Faster. Everything needs to be faster and sooner. ”

“Are you having a difficult time waiting for your child to mature at his own rate and in his own individual way? Are you impatient with the normal cycle of life?“

“I fight this tendency to rush my children along, but one thing I have learned is that waiting is usually better.

When you start something too early, before the child is physically, emotionally, or intellectually mature enough to handle it, you will eventually teach him what you want him to know. But it will be a long process. It will be slow work. And there will probably be some frustrating tears in the process.”

Panicking About Preschool - While searching for another article (that I forgot to save), I came across this one, which is very much in line with the theme of the above article, as well.

“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with printing fun activities and crafts for your preschooler. Not at all. There are a lot of wonderful resources out there that simply weren’t available to former generations of homeschoolers. If you and your little person are having a blast then keep up the good work.

Just don’t panic. Don’t feel that you have to do so many forced “educational” activities with your very little one. Don’t let the pressure of mastering the basics stress you out. Preschoolers eat and breathe the basics. If you create an environment of creativity and availability your preschooler will pick up the skills they need simply by living.”

A Literal Epidemic of Crutch Words - A fascinating look at the use of crutch words. After I noticed myself ending sentences with “but…” and “so…” (picked up unknowingly from my parents, who weren’t aware of doing it until I brought it to my mom’s attention), this has been an interesting phenomenon for me to observe. (And, of course, now I observe my two-year-old and four-year-old using crutch words they’ve picked up from their parents. )

“Another commenter points out wisely that crutch words aren’t all bad; they give people clues about the speakers. “If you pay attention to some of these words, they can tell you quite a bit about how someone communicates and how to get them to truly listen to you,” writes morbyk. “When a person says ‘I Hear you,’ or ‘that’s telling em’ or other references to the spoken word and sound, they are telling you that speech is the best way to communicate  and that you need to be sure they know you are hearing them…. If you regularly say ‘I see’  to a person who says ‘I hear you,’ it can be a barrier to communication on the most basic level. And boy, was it hard to write this without saying actually.  Basic shouldn’t count because basically is the crutch, word, right?!”"

In the corresponding article written previous to this, the same author writes:

“Crutch words are those expressions we pepper throughout our language as verbal pauses, and sometimes as written ones, to give us time to think, to accentuate our meaning (even when we do so mistakenly), or just because these are the words that have somehow lodged in our brains and come out on our tongues the most, for whatever reason. Quite often, they do little to add meaning, though. Sometimes we even use them incorrectly. Almost always, we don’t need them at all, which doesn’t mean we won’t persist in using them.”

As Children’s Freedom Has Declined, So Has Their Creativity - Continuing along a similar thread of other articles shared here, this article shares some of the consequences of our society’s

“If anything makes Americans stand tall internationally it is creativity.  “American ingenuity” is admired everywhere. We are not the richest country (at least not as measured by smallest percentage in poverty), nor the healthiest (far from it), nor the country whose kids score highest on standardized tests (despite our politicians’ misguided intentions to get us there), but we are the most inventive country.  We are the great innovators, specialists in figuring out new ways of doing things and new things to do. Perhaps this derives from our frontier beginnings, or from our unique form of democracy with its emphasis on individual freedom and respect for nonconformity.  In the business world as well as in academia and the arts and elsewhere, creativity is our number one asset.  In a recent IBM poll, 1,500 CEOs acknowledged this when they identified creativity as the best predictor of future success.

“Creativity is nurtured by freedom and stifled by the continuous monitoring, evaluation, adult-direction, and pressure to conform that restrict children’s lives today.  In the real world few questions have one right answer, few problems have one right solution; that’s why creativity is crucial to success in the real world.  But more and more we are subjecting children to an educational system that assumes one right answer to every question and one correct solution to every problem, a system that punishes children (and their teachers too) for daring to try different routes.  We are also, as I documented in a previous essay, increasingly depriving children of free time outside of school to play, explore, be bored, overcome boredom, fail, overcome failure—that is, to do all that they must do in order to develop their full creative potential.”

How to Buy a Daughter - Gender selection isn’t just something “made in China” (or elsewhere around the world). It’s happening here in America.

Nurturing children: Why “early learning” doesn’t help - The title of the article may be misleading, but the “early learning” referenced in the title refers to away-from-the-parents schooling or daycare during the early years of a child’s life. This article takes a look at some of the detriments of trying to “socialize” young children with their peers too early, and has some direct and indirect implications regarding homeschooling, preschool, daycare, and parent-to-child attachment. Although long, this is a helpful article in understanding child development within the context of children’s ”early learning” programs.

“With regards to small children, Dr. Neufeld clarifies one thing that socialization is not: “Probably the greatest myth that has evolved is this idea that socializing with one’s equals leads to socialization.””

“Premature socialization,” says Dr. Neufeld, “was always considered by developmentalists to be the greatest sin in raising children ….[w]hen you put children together prematurely before they can hold on to themselves, then they become like [the others] and it crushes the individuality rather than hones it.”

“One of the issues with large numbers of little people in group care settings is the issue of peer orientation. This means having small children attach to their peers, rather than to adults.”

“And importantly, our high priority attachment figures (aka the people we see the most of and really love) are intended to be enduring. These are not people who should disappear from our lives, neither are strong attachments something small children should “grow out of.” 

This is one reason why daycare employees can never imitate the potent power of the parent: A job is a job, and employees change cities or jobs with some regularity.”

“If parents aren’t aware of this, they may interpret negative developments as positive. The three-year-old who can’t wait to be with his friends in daycare may in fact be on his way to becoming peer rather than parent attached, because being attached makes us want to be with those we are attached to.”

“When small children spend too much time with their peers, they will imitate the features of those they see around them. Dr. Neufeld speaks of a “flatlining” of culture as a result. “We have a children’s culture of today. In Europe, there is a crisis, which is that youth are not integrating into mainstream society and people believe it is happening in North America as well.”

The question might also be whether they are integrating into a newly mainstream culture that is not altogether mature. “Children have become fit for a society that does not reproduce itself and does not contribute to the larger society as a whole,” says Dr. Neufeld.”

“Back in 1988, child psychologist David Elkind wrote The Hurried Child, saying, “we are going through one of those periods in history, such as the early decades of the Industrial Revolution, when children are the unwilling victims of societal upheaval and change….Today’s child has become the unwilling, unintended victim of overwhelming stress.” 

“When asked what are the gains from early learning for small children, Dr. Neufeld simply replies: “I don’t think there is anything to be gained except parental emancipation. And certainly not parental fulfillment. That’s a totally different issue.”

“For Dr. Neufeld, the capacity for healthy relationships is meant to unfold in the first six years of life. “It’s a very basic agenda,” he says. “By the fifth year of life if everything is continuous and safe then emotional intimacy begins. A child gives his heart to whomever he is attached to and that is an incredibly important part….The first issue is always to establish strong, deep emotional connections with those who are raising you. And that should be our emphasis in society. If we did this, we would send our children to school late, not early.””

Minimizing Suffering Minimizes the Cross - Sometimes the easiest thing to do when encountering suffering is to offer trite answers and hollow platitudes. Others want to force fellow believers to have only “positive expressions of suffering.” But neither of these responses see the depth of suffering and the power of the cross. This has been on my mind often, and it was helpful to read this recent article by Tullian Tchividjian (the entirety of the article is excellent.)

“It is ironic that one of the most beautiful and encouraging verses in the Bible is also one of the most dangerous. You probably know which one I’m talking about. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Continue Reading…

Confused by Complementarianism? You probably should be. - Carl Trueman shares some thought-provoking words on an issue garnering much discussion within conservative Evangelicalism.

“Why, for instance, is this issue of more importance than, say, differences over baptism or understandings of the Lord’s Supper?  Historically and confessionally, those have been the issues that divide, so it is strange to see the adjective ‘confessional’ applied to movements which actually sideline the very doctrinal differences which made Protestant confessions necessary in the first place.

One answer is that egalitarianism as a position is usually accompanied by lower views of scripture and the presence of other, more serious errors and heterodoxies.   That might well be true in some, perhaps even many, cases but it is not necessarily so, any more than it is true that all complementarians are thoroughly orthodox on all other issues or hold the position for biblical reasons.  I have known quite a few complementarians who seem to be such less because of the Bible and more because they apparently watched Conan the Barbarian a few too many times in their early teenage years.” Continue Reading…