August 8, 2011

Oh Crap, It's My Chance to Shine

Girls, this will happen to you.

Your teacher, coach, boss will say, "I need you to ..." then finish with something like do a presentation on the Pythagorean Theorem.  Or lead today's calisthenics.  Or head up a new working group.  The first reaction for many:  Oh crap, why me?  After that, you have a choice to make.

You can mope and sulk and wonder how it came about that you got stuck with this.

Or, you dive in, ask questions, apply some thought and hard work.  Do your best, add value to what you've been given, and realize that it's not about your own comfort, it's about making things around you better.  Now you have an opportunity to prove yourself.  Show what you can do.

And shine.

August 7, 2011

Traditionally Valueless

Girls,

It's Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter.  Maybe at church, school, or eventually work.  You'll decorate a certain way, say certain things, or otherwise establish your habitual patterns.  This can be good.  Habit patterns make the things we do easier.  By practicing we get better at them.  Through repetition we make fewer mistakes.  And when the things we do have shown to be beneficial to either ourselves, those around us, or our organizations, we should keep doing them.

Here's the rub: When those things aren't so beneficial anymore, we should stop.  Does that Christmas tradition we, as your parents, imposed upon you during childhood make you happy anymore, or is it just a chore you feel you have to continue?  Are you learning from the traditional way of teaching or is more of a hindrance?  Are you worshiping the same way because it still glorifies God or have you become stagnant in your faith?

These are questions you'll have to answer yourself when the time comes.  As much as I (or others important to you) may try to influence the answer, you're going to have to decide for yourself whether or not the things you do are providing value.

Daddy