More William. My boys cannot get enough of him. He's a British version of Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes). He is naughty, has an excellent vocabulary, and is annoyed with adults in all the appropriate ways. In a word: hilarious.

So your life experience is different than hers, and her life doesn't make sense in light of your own. It doesn't have to. They way people manage their own suffering only has to make sense to them.

I appreciate your honesty and candor. But even a cursory look at your own life should lead you to the conclusion that we all live in some sort of disconnect (a place where our thoughts/feelings don't match our behavior). Do you think this person is happy being obese? Does it enhance their life? Do you think they have any impulse to change this aspect of their life? Have they ever tried and failed? The answers to these questions should tell you if this is a place where this person has mastery or not. So ask yourself, is there a place in your life, where you repeatedly do something you wish you wouldn't? This may lead you to the psychological answers (or empathy) for which you are looking. But with eating issues there is also a profound confluence of biological issues. While some people might be lazy, and overeat, they may also have a very high resting metabolism. So the same behaviors might yield a different outcome than in your friend's case. Your friend wears her Achilles' heel, everyone "knows" what her issues are (or at least they can guess). Good for you for trying to understand.

The best part? You booed him. Hilarious.

Anytime a pastor offers healing and reconciliation, I can only say, "Amen."

Apparently. I'm not sure of the exact quote, but in that clip he says something like, "You know you have a Christian on the run when they start doing a word study." Really? Surely he knows he's reading a translation of another translation?

You all made me do it. Mark Driscoll at his "best." "God hates you....personally, objectively....." You can listen to the rest of it by clicking on the link. When I listen to him talking in this clip, what I really hear him talking about is his own congregants. He would more accurately say, "I hate you...personally, objectively..." Because after all, all theology is biographical.

I just need to say, I'm desperate for a piece of cake. I know that doesn't help you, but I really want some. Even bad cake. (The weird part isn't the cake, it's that she made him take it home.)

It would help me to think of it in terms of $360 a year. What could you do with that money that would improve the quality of your life more than Pandora and GPS?

We have one hour of quiet time every day. They can have books (audio or not) or any other quiet activity that doesn't involve a screen. I really couldn't live (sanely) without it.

Since I started a whole thread about this book.... A History of the World in 100 Objects, by Neil MacGregor. My husband fight for turns to read it.

Thanks, I will.

My disdain of Marc Driscoll begins (but doesn't end) with this . I've watched the whole thing, but I've linked the seven minute excerpt where Mark, (Pastor Mark) let's you know that "God hates you." I know he's preaching fire and brimstone here, and it isn't new. But it might be sermons like this that make him the most quoted preacher in America.

I think we found the same link. My husband has listened to the whole BBC series, but I want to read the book first.

Glad to help. I plan to use it with SOTW, somehow.

My husband and I are currently fighting over turns reading this book. It is written by the Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor and it is an absolute delight. It is based on a series on BBC radio; you can listen to it here.

I can't have a rational conversation about anything related to Mark Driscoll. I could barely read SWB's rational, even-handed approach in her book review. He. pushes. my. buttons. All of them. At once.

Jonah. Because I often feel I've been swallowed up by a big fish and spat out right where God wants me to be. And I'm about as cooperative with God in my life, as Jonah is in his story.

Yes, this. Also, there is no such thing as safe. Period. Blaming the mother, is an easy way of insulating yourself from the natural anxiety this kind of story produces. If this is the direct result of poor mothering, then your children are PERFECTLY safe. Lock 'um up or wrap them in bubble wrap, you still won't provide a world that doesn't pose dangers. But I think it helps to keep in mind, that worst case senario, isn't the first case. We live in a world where this kind of thing doesn't happen more often than it used to, we just hear about it more. So in other words, this thread needs a good dose of Free Range Kids.

There are two kinds of drops for swimmer's ear. An older antibiotic, that doesn't work as fast, but is thoroughly effective. Or an newer RX that works faster, and is equally effective. My doctor recommends them equally. We always choose the older antibiotic, because there is a generic equivalent and it is waaaaay cheaper (even with insurance). My son has had several bouts of swimmer's ear. Home remedies are good prophylactics, but they are no cure. And swimmer's ear can get very painful, very quickly. I'd call your doctor back and see about an alternative treatment.

Christmas is a moveable celebration. Can you move your (or their) celebration to another day?

I haven't been through your exact senario, but I did spart ways with a homeschooling friend. Our kids were very close, and we did a lot of trips together. It was really hard at first; my kids really missed her kids. But it forced me to really rethink what we do, and the kinds of communities we're involved in. As a result, we have tried things I never thought I would have, and I think we are all in a better place as a result. This time will be hard, you have to grieve your loss. But you may find, it will push you to activities, or support groups you might have never otherwise found. I'm sorry this is hard. And for what it's worth, her life is cushier. She just quit her full-time job, she got a lot of free time on her hands. But she's in the honeymoon stage. Having kids in public school isn't a perfect senario--nothing is.

Which is just another argument for adapting the apparatus.

I appreciate that, thanks. I'm also happy to hear that you don't consider me a SWR heretic! :lol:

I hear you. But the program has that problem all over the place. How do you know when /er/, /ur/ or /ir/? While /er/ is the most common, this doesn't exactly help. Or how do you know which "aw" sound to use? O's second sound? A's third? OUGH's fifth? Because according to the rules, "saw" could just as easily be spelled "sa." While you can "reason" through spelling in some ways, lots of it just has to be memorized. ETA: I hope my tone isn't snarky--I don't intend it to be. I appreciate you posing an honest question.