As I’ve grown in my own awareness in the past few days of my need for a vacation I have been reflecting once again on the faith involved in choosing to cease from one’s labors for a season. Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, the act of taking a break from one’s labors (and/or other kinds of ceasing) can be inherently scary–whether it be for 10 minutes or 10 days.
Posts with an Intended Audience of ‘General’
The Art of Stopping
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 by Sean SlevinIntended Audience: Christians, General
Why Parenting is Difficult: Loving the Hard to Like
Monday, August 10th, 2009 by Kristin SlevinIntended Audience: General, Parents
Have you ever stopped in horror and realized that at that moment of time you are feeling hate towards your child? Or maybe you have found that while you love your child you really don’t LIKE them. Or perhaps somewhere deep down inside you feel disappointed about some of the qualities of your child. (For example, you always dreamed of playing baseball with your son, but you had two girls instead, or your son doesn’t want to play baseball, or your son has physical/mental limitations and can’t play baseball.) These are things that many parents feel but have a hard time telling even a counselor (whom is bound by law to never tell another soul). This is one of the difficult things about parenting: you don’t get to choose your child.
Why Parenting is Difficult: Loving and Letting Go
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 by Kristin SlevinIntended Audience: General, Parents
Parenting is a deeply vulnerable endeavor. Here is this young person who is simultaneously deeply intertwined with the persons of the parents and yet is also separate and who needs to go through a process of separation with the parents. Separation of any kind is painful. The deeper the love and connection between two people, the more painful the separation is. There is probably no deeper connection than that of a parent and their child. No wonder parenting is difficult!
Why Parenting is Difficult: Introduction to the Series
Saturday, July 11th, 2009 by Kristin SlevinIntended Audience: General, Parents
Do you ever find yourself in situations with your child thinking, “Why is this so difficult?!?!” For something that is as old as creation (or nearly) you would think that by now we humans might have figured out a thing or two about parenting. And we have, sort of. It is just that there aren’t any tricks or magic formulas that can make parenting a breeze. There are things that can make parenting easier. This series will: explore some of the things that make parenting difficult; and offer directions that parents can pursue to help make parenting easier.
Internet-Based Insomnia Treatment
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 by Sean SlevinIntended Audience: General
I recently came across an Associated Press (AP) article about an internet-based treatment for insomnia that is apparently netting promising results in an initial study that has just been published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Doodling, Dishes and the Brain
Thursday, June 18th, 2009 by Sean SlevinIntended Audience: General
A while ago I came across a fascinating piece on National Public Radio (NPR) about how doodling actually helps the brain to pay better attention (as opposed to the common assumption that it signals that the individual has completely “checked out”). This certainly fits with my experience, not just with doodling, but in other settings like doing the dishes or driving.
Sleeping Pill Ad Critique: Rozerem
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 by Sean SlevinIntended Audience: General
Consumer Reports AdWatch has an informative critique of a Rozerem sleeping pill ad, along with some good suggestions for alternative ways of improving sleep (link to the video is in the footnote).
Types, Temperaments and Personalities–Oh My!
Friday, May 22nd, 2009 by Sean SlevinIntended Audience: General
Working to make sense out of our own personality and the personalities of those around us can be very helpful. Let’s face it–people are complicated! And with an array of personality, type and temperament instruments available it can be just as daunting to decide on which model to use as it can be to figure out how to understand someone you care about. In this post I’ll share some of my journey down the road of types, personalities and temperaments.
Downtown Harrisonburg and Birds
Thursday, May 14th, 2009 by Sean SlevinIntended Audience: General
We are enjoying being back in downtown Harrisonburg. Kristin and I had lived downtown for the first few years of our marriage. I have many fond memories of our walks around various parts of downtown and the adjoining neighborhoods. So though we don’t live downtown anymore, we are excited about having our office there.
