Friday, February 22, 2013

Blog posts- why there haven't been and won't be many

I haven't been posting very much, as you may or may not have noticed, depending on who is paying attention to what is posted.  I'm guessing that's not very many people. 

As you might have noticed I try not to share personal details online "in public," therefore it's sometimes hard to write about life in general.  Because of that, I will probably be only posting once in a great while about something I want to "spout off" about, or about food and cooking.  Sometimes I run across articles online that don't fit under the Common Cents categories and so I'll probably be using this blog as I place for those. 

If I write something that bothers you, please take it in the spirit in which it was written: I have strong opinions and sometimes the anonymity of the internet is the best place for those.  I may or may not be correct about them, and I realize that.  Please respond if you want, and I will look forward to reading your thoughts.  (Oh, and it goes without saying that any comments should avoid personal details.)

If you're still reading, thank you!  

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Kids in Church

I ran across this piece and thought it excellent.  It's from a Catholic perspective, so there are some obvious points about which I would differ from the author.  However, in the big picture I think she makes some excellent points about bringing children to church. 

It does bother me that it has become so automatic to so many to drop their children off in the nursery every Sunday.  I won't go so far as to say there shouldn't be a nursery.  I know there are cases where it might be best. I'm sure some days the parents just need a break, or the baby needs a nap.  But in general, I think it would be ideal if using the nursery were the exception and the occasional circumstance rather than the rule. 

Certainly children aren't good at sitting still for so long.  But if they aren't made to try sometimes, how else are they going to learn?  Young children won't understand everything.  I wouldn't say they have to sit and listen the entire time as if they did.  I think coloring books and Bible story books are perfectly acceptable ways to keep children quiet during a sermon.  As they grow and mature, more will gradually be expected of them.  But I do think that if it is at all possible they should be there.  Worshiping as a family is an amazing blessing that is available to us.  Many people don't have that, and I think that can be easy to forget.