sgallan

Pretty funny..... let me illustrate the difference between so-called concerned Christians, and the LDS. Despite everything I have said over the years.... I have never been banned from an LDS site. There is one where I am not welcome but they are upfront about it. So, I went sign in over there and I was banned. Heck..... I don't even remember ever posting there so I couldn't have lasted very long. Fundamentalist love..... where they say they love you, and what they really mean is they hate you, because it is the same thing. That is hilarious!

RED - FWIW, despite the good work of folks like Snow, it is people like you ,and more than a few others, who have this godless heathen thinking it far far better to raise a child in a secular household.... perhaps to be non-religious. Oh, and since you are apparently so anti-science might I just suggest the next time you or a loved one get ill or hurt.... JUST.... pray about it. Don't see the doctor. Because that would be hypocritical. Modern medicine is very much science, and you would be relying on the arm of 'man' to get well. FWIW again, I one time joined this particular faith thinking it was a religion that had outgrown a fundamentalist take on science (especially since they graduate so many scientists).... had given up the reliance on mythology and so forth. Yet despite the terrific 'scientist' demographic, I found this to be mostly not all that true among the rank and file. That was the beginning of the end with regards to my last shot at religion or religious beliefs. Just a couple of observations and comments.

Amazon. And I'd wonder about the morality of the 4-5 dollar mark-up. Really.

Pushka - We have just under four hours here. I am not sure I'll be awake that long. :)

Happy New Year Pushka!

I resolve to make no New Years Resolutions..... .... how about that for painting oneself into a corner.

Been a tough year. I will probably stay home and get slammed. Then go to bed.... probably before midnight.

I think the Jewish have you beat.

I can relate to the survival mode thing. Between that, coaching, working out, and nurturing a gifted child with no mother in the house...... I keep busy.

We know that Noah would not have wanted to cart the dinosaurs along on his boat. And since Noah was just following God's orders, it follows God had it out for those poor Dinosaurs. Reason number one why I wouldn't raise a child in a conservative religion..... it (often but not always as illustrated by Snow) fosters ignorance.

What flood?

That poor little one. But kids are resiliant.

Yeah, that is over about 4 years and other than my recent activity here, and an Arizona board, it is the only board I post on anymore.. It is several boards in one. And since I am a fan of all aspects of wrestling..... international, college, HS, little kids, and women/girls, I post on most of the various sites. The non-topic one gets traffic all year. The others go up and down with the seasons. Wrestling folks are a community, and a breed, of their own. I've set up matches on that board. Others have done fundraising for a child with cancer there. A really nice gentleman died on Christmas a couple of years ago. The nice things we had to say about him made the newspapers and his memorial. A lot of those people are friends I've met personally. And when I am hurting.... it is a place I can go to for a little unconditional love. I also moderate, and do rankings for an Arizona board. I lay a little low and watch what I say on the Arizona board as there are a lot of kids posting.

Minister - You can always google her.... Reni Gallan. Or Reni Gallen. She comes up. You'll even see a couple of times when she isn't so super. Katie beat her good a couple of years ago when the girls were seven. Last year was a good one for Reni though. She got her paybacks in an exhibition (they both easily won their classes) against Katie in San Diego. It was a great match as Katie is tough (and sweet as can be as well). FWIW, when you are raising a national level kid (any sport or activity) you tend to know who your competition is. In girls wrestling there isn't much as far as girls go. But at this age you track the boys too, because the girls do well and often beat them. Anyhow, these kids stand out early on. Reni's competition at her age is Katie and Kayla. She is a bit better than Katie. Kayla and Reni is a pick-em match. Often these kids become very close friends because they relate to each other. This is true among the boys too. The kids in big tournaments compare accolades and results at first, as an ice breaker. Maybe trade some stuff. Or as the years go by renew acquaintances. And the girls often become inseperable for their time together - girls are girls even in non-traditional girl sports. For them it's like "wow", another girl like me.... as they have the same stories in different geographies. They root for, and watch each other wrestle. And when they compete...... there is no quarter given. They get after it in a big way. When it's over they give each other sincere hugs. The winner is happy. The loser cries and is temporarily inconsolable. 20 minutes later you would never know what happened.

Jason - If you get the chance and can pull it off.... volunteer afternoons, or regular time, in your kids classes. It rocks. All the grades are good, but Kindergarten is the best.

Sgallon, your story is a sad one. I have nothing but admiration for the difficulties you have faced, and how you have put child first, and poured your energies into her, and into other volunteer work. Sad is only an interpetation. Life just moves along and most of it is good. The sad part is her mom. But the rest is a success story so far. As for my "little fallacy"--perhaps you are misunderstanding my point. Your child will likely be well-rounded, regardless of her religion, because of your healthy, resilient approach to life. And the point of religion would be? Even if she becomes a fundamentalist, she'll probably see her God much like she sees you, and feel reassurance rather than fear. But this is not the definition of the fundamentalist god. That I will educate her about the various religious defintions of god.... and compare and contrast this to how she is being raised..... is my trump card. She is a smart kid, and the difference will become quickly apparent to her. Given she is logical yet tends to wear her heart on her sleeve like dad..... she'll catch on to this logic. Spin doesn't work as well with the critical mind. And to illustrate the point... she is already a diest.

I am at the age where what I want/need costs too much. So Christmas is for kids. The kid got an electric guitar (she has a full drum set already - it's homeschool music). A skateboard with skateboard shoes she is getting good.. Plus some art and crafts, and a chemistry set, that will be incorporated into her schooling.

Agnostics says that God may exist, but that he is unknowable. Those children who had dads in their home, often found them stoic, self-absorbed, and generally "unfathomable." Interesting little fallacy. Let me give you a glimpse into one agnostic/athiest world..... The estranged wife came over for Christmas on Friday. She looked skinny and had been acting odd. On Saturday she disappears for a couple of hours "shopping"... twice. On the second act I know what is going on and rumage through her stuff.... find a meth pipe and alcohol (she is a hardcore alcoholic). I warn the kid. Then send her to a friends house. And give the estranged one the boot. As well as (maybe) convince her I get full custody. I doubt it will be an issueas she is on probation (I had her arrested) and will doubtless be in jail or dead soon. I feel bad for her but I have a child to protect. After all the trauma I put the kid back together. And we had a wonderful Christmas morning and day. Went to a skateboard park. Shot some air rockets. And ate a nice dinner over at Reni's friends house. And she got to do a sleep-over and the day after Christmas shopping thing. Oh FWIW..... she is a Christian. Her general Christian beliefs would be generally described as LDS.

1. Nel Noddings (100%) 2. Jean-Paul Sartre (94%) 3. Nietzsche (78%) 4. David Hume (72%) 5. Epicureans (68%) 6. Jeremy Bentham (64%) 7. Spinoza (63%) 8. Stoics (59%) 9. Thomas Hobbes (58%) 10. Ayn Rand (58%) 11. John Stuart Mill (58%) 12. Kant (57%) 13. Aquinas (55%) 14. St. Augustine (54%) 15. Aristotle (51%) 16. Cynics (45%) 17. Prescriptivism (41%) 18. Plato (24%) 19. Ockham (14%)

We live on different coasts of this country with different crime statistics. Where I live we routinely get calls from the local police advising us of new neighbors that have sexual predator/offender status and by law when one moves into the area, we are to be advised. I don't know if they have this where you live. You find a way. It's one thing to be concerned. It's another thing to be so concerned that the future health of your children might be at stake. In your situation self defense type activities might be advisable. Judo, Tae Kwan do, Wrestling, Ju Jitsu, are all activities which stress self defense, discipline, control, good manners, and sportsmanship.

So does anyone have any ideas about what to do or say to youth that might help them become more physically active??? Or about what to do or say to parents that might help them WANT to share ideas about what to do or say to youth that might help them become more physically active??? It is not what you 'say'. It is what you do. Heck, when Reni was months old we'd take her to the gym with us, let her play with the baby in the mirror, while we did our work outs. She went on hundreds of miles of hikes in a baby backpack and did her first 11 mile hike while still five. Swimming lessons as an infant. Wrestling practice as a toddler.... no she didn't practice yet LOL. It's endless. The kids who hang around here..... activity is the game. A trampoline. A tree house. They dug a hole in the backyard. Swimming at the pool and the river. A punching bag in the house. Rough housing in the house. Bikes. Skateboards. Roller blades. A lot of it unsupervised as I am not the paranoid micromanage type.... let kids be kids. How did I know to do these things? It was the way I was raised.

I been on and off this board since 1999. My last foray in religion was this one about six years ago (time flies). But I've been a non-believer most of my life. It is not unusual for many believers to be unable to view things outside the paradigm of desiring a belief system. But not here. I don't see any additional values in god based belief systems, and there are values in some of those faith systems I am not a fan of. :)

Maybe we could enlist your dogs to have some of the porkers go for runs. Dogs nipping at your heels would be a great motivator.

I'd bet on Dogs too!

Euro-gal sporting a thong (everything is covered however) Dang it! FWIW, there is some research out there which suggests a belief in a Higher Power is at least somewhat genetic. Perhaps as a coping mechanism in a world that in earlier times was far more harsh than it is today. In my family I am pretty sure my dad is a non-believer. As am I and one of my brothers. The other brother is a believer. Though not a religious family as kids we did attend church occasionally and my mom is a believer. On my dads side, one brother is religious, a sister and another brother are non-believers. My late granma was a believer. My granpa occasionally went to church because my granma made him, but was only "religious" to keep the peace. About half of the kids I coach come from poor or dysfunctional families. As do most of the kids that hang out here. We set the example.... the parents don't care much.