After three days of flu...it actually is very good to be on the up and up! Kids are loving the gifts, I'm loving the food (especially after living on lemon water & soup) and yeah - merry xmas!
G
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Friday, December 24, 2004
NFC North Champions!
That's right Favre & the Packers once again defeated the Vikings making them the NFC North Champs - this time on Minnesota's home turf! Gotta love NFL football! Made my Xmas Eve a fun one!
G
G
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Exploring Play
Blogs often reflect personality - in fact the better ones reveal much about the blog author. As a teacher, I tend to wander down rabbit trails in the classroom and I realize I have done the same in my Musings blog intentionally. I am a fairly random person and look for teachable moments throughout conversations and experiences. But I also see the need for focus and I recently have decided to begin this sideline blog dealing with the concept of play and its role in our lives. I am considering creating a Leisure Studies class for the college I am currently employed at and perhaps this new blog would aid in the research & design of such a class.
Some goals for this blog would be to create: a definition of & philosophy of play, from there I see the need to explore the role of play in education, in the workplace, in spirituality, in relationships, and of course life management. I would love to hear any thoughts or suggestions my current reading audience may have in this regard.
I recently "amazon-ed" myself a copy of Pat Kane's The Play Ethic (a thick manifesto that I am working my way through) and I also have Jerome Berryman's book Godly Play which I have briefly scanned through. Are there any other books you might recommend that would help me in my research? Perhaps the creation of a theology of play would be an interesting endeavour as well. Any ideas, suggestions, banter, title ideas, etc. are greatly appreciated. Obviously play is a strong component of lifestylism that my friend Jer has been exploring, and I should credit him for inspiring me in investigating this particular aspect of lifestyle.
As always - exploring!
G
Some goals for this blog would be to create: a definition of & philosophy of play, from there I see the need to explore the role of play in education, in the workplace, in spirituality, in relationships, and of course life management. I would love to hear any thoughts or suggestions my current reading audience may have in this regard.
I recently "amazon-ed" myself a copy of Pat Kane's The Play Ethic (a thick manifesto that I am working my way through) and I also have Jerome Berryman's book Godly Play which I have briefly scanned through. Are there any other books you might recommend that would help me in my research? Perhaps the creation of a theology of play would be an interesting endeavour as well. Any ideas, suggestions, banter, title ideas, etc. are greatly appreciated. Obviously play is a strong component of lifestylism that my friend Jer has been exploring, and I should credit him for inspiring me in investigating this particular aspect of lifestyle.
As always - exploring!
G
Change
Quote of the day:
In reflecting on this quote, I realize that often I am so passionate (as a teacher) in the changes I hope to see in my students that I forget that they will sooner change if I model change in my own life. Whenever we are in positions of influence - it is not our instructions or words that cause change, it is how our lives communicate change by our actions and lifestyle.
My college students just handed in their personal philosophy of youth leadership papers this past week and I was pleasantly surprised how many of them thanked me for the assignment as it caused them to think and change in someway. Part of the assignment was to create both a mission & vision statement, as well as list potential strengths & weaknesses they have in student leadership.
G
In the words of Sheryl Crow, "A change will do you good!"
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
~ Leo Tolstoy
~ Leo Tolstoy
In reflecting on this quote, I realize that often I am so passionate (as a teacher) in the changes I hope to see in my students that I forget that they will sooner change if I model change in my own life. Whenever we are in positions of influence - it is not our instructions or words that cause change, it is how our lives communicate change by our actions and lifestyle.
My college students just handed in their personal philosophy of youth leadership papers this past week and I was pleasantly surprised how many of them thanked me for the assignment as it caused them to think and change in someway. Part of the assignment was to create both a mission & vision statement, as well as list potential strengths & weaknesses they have in student leadership.
G
In the words of Sheryl Crow, "A change will do you good!"
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Exploring Play
I've decided to start a new sideline blog with a more specific purpose from Musings - exploring the concept of play and its role in our lives. Here's some questions to those faithful few who actually visit this blog: is it a good idea to explore the concept of play? What aspects of play should be explored? It's role in leadership? in education? in lifestyle? in spirituality? I hope to come up with some sort of definition & potentially a philosophy of play so I'm hoping for some interaction from others in this exploration.
I recently amazoned myself a copy of Pat Kane's The Play Ethic (a thick manifesto that I am working my way through) and I also have Jerome Berryman's book Godly Play which I have briefly scanned through. Are there any other books you might recommend that would help me in my research? Perhaps the creation of a theology of play would be an interesting endeavour as well. Any ideas, suggestions, banter, title ideas, etc. are greatly appreciated. Obviously play is a strong component of lifestylism that my friend Jer has been exploring, and I should credit him for inspiring me in investigating this particular aspect of lifestyle.
As always - exploring!
I recently amazoned myself a copy of Pat Kane's The Play Ethic (a thick manifesto that I am working my way through) and I also have Jerome Berryman's book Godly Play which I have briefly scanned through. Are there any other books you might recommend that would help me in my research? Perhaps the creation of a theology of play would be an interesting endeavour as well. Any ideas, suggestions, banter, title ideas, etc. are greatly appreciated. Obviously play is a strong component of lifestylism that my friend Jer has been exploring, and I should credit him for inspiring me in investigating this particular aspect of lifestyle.
As always - exploring!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Tis' The Season
I've been a little slack lately in the area of blogposts but tis' the season of xmas parties, banquets, and in my case marking papers and by the end of this week marking exams. I challenged our student body to examine their personal character over the next few weeks. I asked them if who they feel called to be lines up with who they are currently? Tough question but a good one to ask.
Christmas as a holiday obviously has its roots in Christianity and ultimately celebrates the gift of Christ's birth and life. Who was Jesus and how did he lead His life? How did he manage his life? How did he influence those around Him? There are many aspects of Jesus' character that we can learn from whether we are Christians or not. Are we living lives of integrity? Do we live a life of balance or one of extremes? Do we bring hope to others? Are we reaching out to those in need or are we consumed by our own lives?
If one takes a look at the Gospel's account of Jesus' three-year ministry - you can divide it into three focuses. A third of Jesus' time was spent reaching out to the crowds, the community, those he came into contact. Another third was spend with his disciples, family & friends. The final third, it appears, he spent alone in reflection with God away from it all.
When I reflect, I view my life through a paradigm or lens which I call the four C's: they refer to Character - who I am and who I seek to be; Community - my relationships with family, with friends, with acquaintenances; Communion - my time of spiritual reflection (means to commune with God), & Commission - how am I reaching out to others (perhaps within my community or globally)?
Hopefully, Christmas will be a time in which we get to celebrate the gift of life as a country, in our communities, in our churches. My guess is that most of us will celebrate socially as friends and family. My challenge is for us to actually spend some time quietly reflecting on who we are as people - are we living a life that reflects what we are called to do, a life that is intentional?
G
Christmas as a holiday obviously has its roots in Christianity and ultimately celebrates the gift of Christ's birth and life. Who was Jesus and how did he lead His life? How did he manage his life? How did he influence those around Him? There are many aspects of Jesus' character that we can learn from whether we are Christians or not. Are we living lives of integrity? Do we live a life of balance or one of extremes? Do we bring hope to others? Are we reaching out to those in need or are we consumed by our own lives?
If one takes a look at the Gospel's account of Jesus' three-year ministry - you can divide it into three focuses. A third of Jesus' time was spent reaching out to the crowds, the community, those he came into contact. Another third was spend with his disciples, family & friends. The final third, it appears, he spent alone in reflection with God away from it all.
When I reflect, I view my life through a paradigm or lens which I call the four C's: they refer to Character - who I am and who I seek to be; Community - my relationships with family, with friends, with acquaintenances; Communion - my time of spiritual reflection (means to commune with God), & Commission - how am I reaching out to others (perhaps within my community or globally)?
Hopefully, Christmas will be a time in which we get to celebrate the gift of life as a country, in our communities, in our churches. My guess is that most of us will celebrate socially as friends and family. My challenge is for us to actually spend some time quietly reflecting on who we are as people - are we living a life that reflects what we are called to do, a life that is intentional?
G
Monday, December 06, 2004
Soundtrack...
Hmmm...well i'm stuck marking papers so no time for a deep musing at this time. Instead - here's the current soundtrack (done in pairs) of my life - Death Cab For Cutie's "Expo 86" & "Transatlanticism" - two emo tunes I'm just loving! Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" & "The World You Love" give me some great drivin' tunes! Of course - U2's latest - in particular "Fast Cars" & "All Because of You" - great upbeat rock numbers...Then there is the ethereal electronica category of musik - Andy Hunter's "The Wonder of You" & "Go" along with Moby's "Everloving" & "Love of Strings." Coldplay's "God Put A Smile" and "Clocks" still give me musical chills! I'll top it off with a new shoegazer listen for me from the Radiohead-like band Muse "Time Is Running Out" & "Sing For Absolution."
Hmmm - I think i'll make a burn of this current soundtrack of my life!
Hmmm - I think i'll make a burn of this current soundtrack of my life!
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