It was suggested I check this out: http://warriorshepherd.com/blog/boys-need-an-initiation/
...and as many times is the case in doing so, I find something else that caught my attention. Funny how that happens. See below:
Upon first glance, this appears to be something that may relate VERY directly to previous discussions we've had.... Take a look! http://www.theworldrace.org/
PABAMA!!!
-Mitchem
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Psalm 95
Adoration isn't always easy, it seems to turn into Thanksgiving, here is a great Psalm of Adoration.
Come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
Let us sing him psalms of praise.
For the Lord is a great God,
the great King above all gods.
He owns the depths of the earth,
and even the mightiest mountains are his.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
His hand formed the dry land too.
Come let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
for he is our God
We are the people he watches over,
The sheep under his care.
Adoration, Thanksgiving, what the heck? It's from 'Too Busy Not to Pray' by Bill Hybels, an AWESOME book. A model for prayer:
A - Adoration
C - Confession
T - Thanksgiving
S - Supplication
'For the Lord is a great God, the great King above all gods!' - Pabama!
Friday, May 13, 2011
The Pabama Knights are my friends......
Hey Guys, Here are some words that hit home with me about friends....and in many cases the lack thereof. We have the opportunity to be a friend to each other and to others....and it makes a difference! I cherish the friendship I have with you guys! Read below the words from a mentor of mine, Orrin Woodward:
-Mitchem
True friends give the most when they receive the least - Orrin Woodward
Friendships are not what they used to be. The quality and quantity of friends, according to the 2006 study of the American Sociological Review, is declining. In the study, 1,467 people were surveyed and compared to data collected 19 years ago. The data found the average number of people with whom Americans can discuss matters of importance had dropped by nearly one-third, from 2.94 people in 1985 to 2.08 in 2004. Lynn Smith-Lovin, one of the authors, a Professor of Sociology at Duke University, stated, “"The evidence shows that Americans have fewer confidants and those ties are also more family-based than they used to be. This change indicates something that's not good for our society. Ties with a close network of people create a safety net. These ties also lead to civic engagement and local political action.” The study also revealed that the number of people who have no one with whom to discuss important matters more than doubled, to nearly 25% of survey respondents. Another of the report's findings was the percentage of people who talk only to family members about important matters increased from about 57 percent to about 80 percent, while the number of people who depend totally on their spouse has increased from about 5 percent to about 9 percent. To summarize, both family and non-family confidants dropped over the 19 year period, but the most significant loss was in non-family connections - friends. Sociologists believe the "discussion networks," a person’s friends and family, to be an important social resource, providing encouragement, counseling, and support in people's lives. Some may argue that FaceBook or Twitterconnects people in “discussion networks,” but the high-tech world will never replace the warmth of high-touch relationships. In fact, Robert Putnam, in his seminal work, Bowling Alone, ask, "What is the single most common finding from half a century of research on the correlates of life satisfaction?" His extensive research can be summarized in one sentence, “that happiness is best predicted by the breadth and depth of one’s social connections.” C.S. Lewis described the change in the value of friendship, writing, “To the Ancients, Friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves; the crown of life and the school of virtue. The modern world, in comparison, ignores it. We admit of course that besides a wife and family a man needs a few ‘friends.’ But the very tone of the admission, and the sort of acquaintanceships which those who make it would describe as ‘friendships,’ show clearly that what they are talking about has very little to do with that Philia which Aristotle classified among the virtues or that Amicitia on which Cicero wrote a book. It is something quite marginal; not a main course in life’s banquet; a diversion; something that fills up the chinks of one’s time.” Sadly, if true happiness is based upon a person’s friends and social connections, then the future of the Western world is dismal at best. But perhaps, with a little self-discipline and character development, the principles of true friendship can be restored, turning the tide of Western decline.
-Mitchem
True friends give the most when they receive the least - Orrin Woodward
Friendships are not what they used to be. The quality and quantity of friends, according to the 2006 study of the American Sociological Review, is declining. In the study, 1,467 people were surveyed and compared to data collected 19 years ago. The data found the average number of people with whom Americans can discuss matters of importance had dropped by nearly one-third, from 2.94 people in 1985 to 2.08 in 2004. Lynn Smith-Lovin, one of the authors, a Professor of Sociology at Duke University, stated, “"The evidence shows that Americans have fewer confidants and those ties are also more family-based than they used to be. This change indicates something that's not good for our society. Ties with a close network of people create a safety net. These ties also lead to civic engagement and local political action.” The study also revealed that the number of people who have no one with whom to discuss important matters more than doubled, to nearly 25% of survey respondents. Another of the report's findings was the percentage of people who talk only to family members about important matters increased from about 57 percent to about 80 percent, while the number of people who depend totally on their spouse has increased from about 5 percent to about 9 percent. To summarize, both family and non-family confidants dropped over the 19 year period, but the most significant loss was in non-family connections - friends. Sociologists believe the "discussion networks," a person’s friends and family, to be an important social resource, providing encouragement, counseling, and support in people's lives. Some may argue that FaceBook or Twitterconnects people in “discussion networks,” but the high-tech world will never replace the warmth of high-touch relationships. In fact, Robert Putnam, in his seminal work, Bowling Alone, ask, "What is the single most common finding from half a century of research on the correlates of life satisfaction?" His extensive research can be summarized in one sentence, “that happiness is best predicted by the breadth and depth of one’s social connections.” C.S. Lewis described the change in the value of friendship, writing, “To the Ancients, Friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves; the crown of life and the school of virtue. The modern world, in comparison, ignores it. We admit of course that besides a wife and family a man needs a few ‘friends.’ But the very tone of the admission, and the sort of acquaintanceships which those who make it would describe as ‘friendships,’ show clearly that what they are talking about has very little to do with that Philia which Aristotle classified among the virtues or that Amicitia on which Cicero wrote a book. It is something quite marginal; not a main course in life’s banquet; a diversion; something that fills up the chinks of one’s time.” Sadly, if true happiness is based upon a person’s friends and social connections, then the future of the Western world is dismal at best. But perhaps, with a little self-discipline and character development, the principles of true friendship can be restored, turning the tide of Western decline.