Check this new one out

I'm putting this blog on a break so I can focus on my DrLukePresents blog, about "Dr Luke", the 1st Century Physician and writer of the Gospel and his experiences in the 21st Century. It will include: some humor as he encounters 21st Century life; observations on health and wellness; observations on culture; and news about the great resources and grants from Wheat Ridge Ministries.

I'll be using the Dr Luke character, live and online, as part of my new position as Church Relations Representative for Wheat Ridge Ministries.

A letter to Pastor

I love this letter. Much to take away if you sit in the pew or if you are in the pulpit. Speaks about intentionality for both, and mutual support in the work of the Church.

Brain friendly tips for home and work

Want to help your children (and you) stay more focused? Here are some brain friendly tips to check out. Practical application of current brain research.

It addresses
-multitasking,
-attention, and
-rest/sleep.

It can be applied to homework, home devotions, work flow on the job, etc.

Clicking with Caution

Parents, check out this video on online safety. Watch it yourself first. Then watch it with your kids. (There is a warning on it for content below age 12 - but the kids in the various video sections - many are well under 12... that means it is realistic as to what is happening.)

The point is, you need to talk with them about this stuff. But first we need to be educated a bit about what is really happening - kids aren't going to listen well if they think we don't know what we are talking about.

When you watch it with them you can talk about their experiences online in the context of realistic examples.

Real concerns about real dangers for our children! A dialogue can help keep them safe.

And more living...

I've posted about Connie before. I'd encourage you to check out her June 8th blog, and then come back about once per week. Connie was a teammate at St John Lutheran in Seward. She has terminal cancer but is not defined by that. She is defined by her relationship with Jesus. She is a great example of the faithful saints who encourage by their example.

The Biggest Loser

Check out this blog from Rich Melheim (it is a sobering twist from what you'd expect with the title). Rich is the key guy at Faith Inc. He has for years been lifting parents up as key in faith formation. We have seen him at his home and he lives it as well. Challenging words, but, from my perspective, right on the money.

Faith Inc and Rich get it. Dick Hardel from FaithWellMT gets it. The folks at Vibrant Faith Ministries get it. Ben and Jennifer Freudenburg of the Family Friendly Partners Network get it. It can't be business as usual because business as usual has meant a church centered focus instead of a home centered focus for passing on our faith in Jesus. And it will take a long time to change the culture. It can be changed, with a strong partnership between church and home, and the results are worth it: parents and children talking about faith, living their faith and passing their faith in Jesus on "to the children not yet born" (Psalm 78:1-7).

What Is That?

This short little video could spark some very interesting dialogue between a parent and child of any age.

Twitter as a resource

I'm on Twitter - and should probably post more than I do in order to keep Fitz Family 'out there' in the public eye for p.r. purposes. But I find Twitter to be a good place to just follow people/organizations of interest, for helpful info and resources.

Here are a few places I follow on Twitter. Everyone is forced to keep their posts short. These folks are pretty good at communicating well in the space allowed, so I know if I want to check it out for more info. If you are on Twitter, click the "find people" link and type in these names (if not on Twitter yet, type these names after "http://twitter.com/"):

commonsensenews - helpful info on current media and the family
DrDaveWalsh - Started the Say Yes to No Campaign and Media Wise
SayYesToNo - helpful resource for parents to .... learn how to say 'no'
GetGameSmart - helps parents understand the world of electronic games

You can go to each of their respective twitter sites but I find it easier to 'follow' them and then I get all their tweets, as they tweet, in one place and can click through if I want to, or not.

Fructose

Check out my other blog for a youtube video and pdf on the dangers of fructose (sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup are 50% fructose).

Well worth the investment of time to know what we are feeding our kids and how it affects them, short and long term.

Hope Christian Schools

Check out this 'family' of schools in Milwaukee area: Hope Christian Schools on CBS news. I'd love to know how they involve families in the good things they are doing.

Happens to be one of the projects of Wheat Ridge Ministries. They help lots of organizations do great things.

New Wheat Ridge Resource

Check out a new resource for Congregations from Wheat Ridge Ministries called Equipped to Serve E-Newsletter.

A great organization... You can expect excellent resources on health and wholeness. Be sure someone from the leadership in your church sees this link. Each issue will be chock full of helpful resources for your church.

Sign up to receive the E-News monthly.

In Life and In Death

We are at our daughter's place often these days and will get chances to put our grand kids to bed. Just received a letter about the recent death of an aunt and it included my uncle's words about their last evening together. Kind of like book ends. Put your kids to bed with prayer and a blessing... late in life be put to bed with a prayer and a blessing to wake up with Jesus.

These words from my uncle speak of the blessing of memorization for times such as that (and many other times of faith crisis/challenge that come between childhood and death). So sad when I encountered parents (and by default, their kids) who so strongly fought against memorization in classes like confirmation and Sunday School. Kids (and adults, by the way) are quite capable of doing the memorization. Not doing that discipline leaves them with an empty well when they want/need to draw on it later in life.

Here are the words of the last moments the night before my aunt's passing into eternal life with Jesus:
"That was true last night when I was ready for bed. I leaned over close and said the evening prayer and the Lord's prayer, and familiar Scripture and blessed her goodnight. She didn't respond much but this was her final commendation to the care and love of God. She went to sleep then and never woke up this side of eternity. As she slept the angels took her to God to wake up in Heaven. I shall miss her greatly, but I've done much grieving the past couple months. Now I mainly feel gratitude that God has granted her peace and victory of Eternal life."

What a blessing to have your mind and heart filled with the words of God found in Scripture, and with prayers that can come easily back to be spoken, for yourself, for your children, for your spouse, for your friends and more. And one of the best ways to get it to stay in our brain is to do it with music/song.

Food Revolution

Check out my other blog on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

Brain Awareness Week

Check out Brain Awareness Week and a series on the brain from Charlie Rose at my other blog.

Reading and the Brain

Here is an interesting blog on what happens to the brain when you read to your child.

Lots of good things:
- it helps create a more complex and more defined wiring of the brain;
-it is connected to success in school
-it is a critical intervention in developing literacy skills
-healthy emotional well-being, etc

When we connect reading to our children with reading faith stories to our children we add even more good things as they learn about their faith history and how God has been active in the world - and how God will be active in their lives as well.

Health Care Reform?

Maybe I'm missing it, but in all the heat generated by the discussion about health care reform from the politicians and media I don't see much about the one thing that will make the biggest, longest lasting difference: 'self care' reform.

I saw this billboard on I-88 heading East into Chicago from Aurora. It was sponsored by the local health care provider in the Western Suburbs - Dryer Medical. It said: "Busy yourself with your life. We'll attend to your health". No, thanks. That's how we got into this mess.

Many health indicators are going in the wrong direction - obesity rates, adult onset diabetes among children, Alzheimer's disease, and many more. Even if we could 'fix' the problem of who pays for what coverage we'll never be able to afford it for the long haul as we all get sicker and sicker -unless we change the direction of many trends. We are paying way to much for preventable diseases.

I lead a workshop for school faculty and for parents about brain research, but it is generally about health - take care of the brain and you've taken care of your whole body.

What does this have to do with faith formation in the home? I call the workshop: "Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength" . Parents pass on many things to their children. One of them is a view on stewardship... how we use what we have been given by God. The base gift is life itself and how we care for that, or not, says much about how we are able to worship God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

We continue to be impressed by the approach Dr William Sears takes. He is all about prevention, and gives very understandable information and very easy steps to make significant changes in family lifestyles so we can give God our best. As is the case with many books and web sites, there is often also a pitch. Much to learn from Dr Sears but you will also find a pitch for his supplements and more. We affirm his information without endorsing his products. If I was going to endorse anything it would be the products we have taken since Becky got cancer, way back in 1992. We eat as healthy as we can, we exercise and we take food supplements. And we have both essentially stopped getting sick with the flu, cold bug etc. How's that for a product pitch? ;)

Check out some info from Dr Sears on junk food and the brain.

Boredom

This also comes from the Walsh Twitter.

Interesting evidence from brain research that 'boredom' marks the start of the creative process, of imagination, of some good stuff... if we can let the 'boredom' happen for a while. We are so afraid of the phrase: "I'm bored". Can't wait. Fix it fast. Boredom is bad.

Wait it out a bit and get to the other side. When kids - and adults - learn that there is good stuff on the other side of 'boredom' they'll be more willing to stick it out. Parents, check out my blog on willpower. We need it when the 'boredom' dragon roars.

Countdown to Kindergarten

This is one of the links from the Walsh Twitter. Happens to be based in MD but I think this is bigger than that.

Countdown to Kindergarten - the page has a great link for parents... I like the fact that this gives parents the tools to help their children learn through everyday activities. Kids learn by watching. Kids learn by doing. What better than to learn by watching and doing with their parents. Everybody wins.

Dr David Walsh

Follow Dr David Walsh on Twitter for some excellent connections to practical info and ideas for parents.

"Put on your own oxygen mask first..."

You know what they say in the pre-flight speech about parents putting on their own masks first and then the masks for their kids.

That is a good idea for parents to do in their family life. And the 'oxygen mask' is ramping up your willpower. It takes lots of willpower to be a good parent! When we are worn out and tired and stressed we just don't have the gumption to stick with the "no" that our kids often need to hear.

I came across a very interesting article that is mainly about Alzheimer's prevention. And it is not a new drug. It is a lifestyle change.

Two places to check out:
The web site for Dr Vincent Fortanasce, a neurologist who has written a book called "The Anti-Alzheimer's Prescription" . He is not selling anything (except perhaps his book). Just telling the truth about how costly our lifestyle has become. He talks about "pre-Alzheimer's" in kids... yes, in kids. It is about lifestyle, how we eat, exercise and sleep.

Here is the second link, to a great Q and A session with him. About the second question into the article he talks about willpower and how it is connected to serotonin and dopamine, two chemicals our bodies readily make... when we eat well and exercise.

And once we have our own "oxygen mask" on, we can have the willpower to help our children eat well and exercise too. God calls us to give him our best. Going back to the basics will help.

Shout Out

Thanks to Rich Bimler for mentioning Fitz Family in a recent article he wrote called: "Fewer Gifts, More Presence" as part of The Inside Track from Church Volunteer Central.

Check out the resource (you can sign up for The Inside Track to come to your inbox). And check out Fitz Family Ministries as a possible ministry opportunity in your church or school: performance, workshops, speaking...

Dr Sears - excellent resource on family nutrition

Just happened upon a presentation by Dr Sears while we were in Scottsdale, AZ today and he is right on target. He is an M.D. who "gets it" about nutrition: the best health care is self care; simple things like - 'eat your fruits and veggies' and 'go outside and play'.

He is a pediatrician and has a way of explaining things so kids (and their parents, by the way) can understand... and in a way that motivates them to change the way they do things. Excellent.

Check out his new book "The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood" and one of his web sites on family health (the 'lean' program from the graphic).

Teens and Sleep

Check out my other blog on the connection between teens and sleep and depression.

The basics (exercise, diet and play/rest) make a huge difference in our ability to perform well.

Revolutionary Parenting

I was reintroduced to George Barna's Revolutionary Parenting. Excellent book. Affirms the importance of parenting and of being intentional.

Here is a short synopsis of the book.

Revolutionary Parenting

The Teenage Brain

Check out a post at my other blog on the teenage brain.

Family Legacy Workshop in Ann Arbor

This will be worth your time if you work with children and their parents...

The Family Life Program at Concordia University, the Family Friendly Partners Network, and the Michigan District of the LCMS invite you to a “FamilyShop” called…

Raising Spiritual Parents: Linking Church and Family to Equip the Generations
By Mike Heinz, Co-Creator of the Faith Legacy Series. I know both Mike Heinz and Ben and Jennifer Freudenburg. This day will give a great experience with folks who know and live out a great model for equipping parents to be primary faith formers in the home.

Feb 13/2010. $15 for the day, including lunch.

If you have questions, email Ben Freudenburg at freudb@cuaa.edu.

Screen Time Climbs Higher

Here is some important interpretive info from CommonSenseMedia regarding a study by Kaiser Family Foundation.

The study shows some significant increases in media use and CommonSenseMedia talks about the implications of that on our children. The 7 hours and 38 minutes of media use is more time than they spend sleeping...

Important information and excellent food for thought for parents and those who work with children and their parents. Our brains wire based on experience. More and more of what the brain experiences is media.

What are they searching for?

Wonder where kids go when the "google"?

Check out what CommonSense Media has to say. Checking your child's browser history won't tell you much - if you know how to do that, since they do and likely have cleared it out - but this gives at least a generic look at the top search topics.

It is worth some conversation time with your children... and good reason to have your computer in a very open place. Same thing holds true online... lack of supervision contributes to poor choices.

A Big Win for Babies

Here is an example of the practical and important work that MediaWise and the "Say Yes to NO" people are involved with:

Heard of "Baby Einstein"? It is from Disney. Check out a quick note about Disney reimbursing parents for their purchase because it didn't do what they promised - make kids smarter. (recent research indicates that screen babies end up with smaller vocabularies than their non-screen counterparts) It did, unfortunately, encourage many parents to put TV screens into the rooms of many (28%) of kids under age two.

Here is the link to check it out. As the article says: "Screens don't make babies smarter, caring people do".

MediaWise has changed...

Perhaps you had heard of MediaWise - a great organization equipping parents to use all forms of media wisely. They are closing down as of January 1/10 but the work they did will carry on under a variety of different organizations:

Say Yes to No - a book and parent education program to help parents raise happy, self-reliant kids... Focused on the importance of saying "NO". (Follow Dr David Walsh on Twitter @drdavidwalsh)

Common Sense Media - helping parents with age-appropriate use of media. Also some great information for educators. (Follow them on Twitter @commonsensenews or on facebook here)

Through-U - Media wise training for parents and childcare providers. (This web site may change soon so keep watching.)

Switch - about getting active, managing screen time and choosing nutritious food. "Switch what you Do, View and Chew". (This web site may also change, so keep watching.)

A broad range of help in some critical areas for 21st Century parents. Worth a bookmark and a regular visit. When they have regular email newsletters, sign up and take advantage of the helpful info and advice that comes right to you.