Walking Your Children Through the Information Age
Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley
“Mommy, why is the sun going down?”
“Mommy, why is it winter?”
“Mommy, why do we have to comb my hair?”
“Mommy, why do we poop?”
It’s begun. My son is three, nearly four, and along with his active imagination and excessive energy, is the desire to know everything about everything.
I have had to answer the questions above and, what feels like, millions more. Most of the time, I don’t mind it, but there are moments when I just want the questions to stop. But I realize how important it is that he gets valuable information from me. I want him to know that if I don’t know something, we can find out the answers. I want him to ask why and not feel bad for wanting to find out.
Still, there are some answers that he’s not ready for. Read More »
Article by Make The Days Contributor Marie Monroe
“In our Night Sea we forge ourselves and change our worlds forever. In the mornings of our lives we laugh and remember…”
I have a Cuban friend who came to the U.S. when he was 15. From the 2nd generation of his family to live in severe poverty, he says that one night he stood on the beach in his home country thinking that, at 15, he was a man ready to make his own way in the world and to help his family. He talks only rarely about his actual journey to the United States, but says more about his home country, his thoughts and feelings that night on the beach, and how much he misses his family.
One day, at lunch, we sat with 4 other friends around a rectangular table just big enough for the 6 of us. During our conversation about movies and music, he became quiet - unusual for this gregarious, happy man. After a moment he said “the boat I came in was smaller than this table.” Read More »
Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Bake Cothron
What is the potential for true connection between two human hearts through communication? What is listening with the heart, and does it happen on a regular basis?
When two people communicate verbally to each other, the speaker’s words are translated by the other person, translated and then “digested” by the heart and mind. A reaction and response then arises in the listener. However, to often our words are not deeply heard by the listener/s and the true essence of what we are wishing to express is lost in translation. The same mistranslation often happens inside us when we are listening to others.
Listening with the heart is when we really hear other’s words as a deep expression of their heart and mind … and understand the essence behind the words. This is when real communication happens. Read More »
Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley
Life. It’s the energy that pulses inside of us all. In the Bible, Genesis 2:7 says that God breathed into Adam the “Breath of Life [caps mine]” and that breath has never ceased. It’s the magic that was set into motion from the beginning of time and every single human being is capable of bringing it forth.
There’s a lot of buzz going on in the Mosley household. I am expecting our third child and the excitement is mounting. But lately, I’ve been learning some things that I hadn’t realized in my previous pregnancies. They’re lessons that I want to hold onto and I think they apply to every person on this planet.
Even though pregnancy is a very physically evident way of bringing life into the world, all of us have the force within us to bring out life. It can be birthed by our creativity - how we relate to those around us, the jobs that we perform, and how we deal with our money. Life is inside of us all, waiting to come out and through my own experience. I have discovered some things that may help to guard the life that is growing within you. Read More »
Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Blake Cothron
Creative expression is a reflection of our souls, our inner selves.
I titled this article “reawakening creativity” because we are already essentially creative beings. All of us used to spend hours each day drawing, painting, playing imaginative games, singing happy songs, and greatly enjoying our creative sides. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we were benefiting greatly from this care-free expression and developing skills for life.
Children open up to their inner selves very naturally through imagination and play. As adults we’ve gradually developed walls to close out and silence this inner self. Through reawakening creative expression we can get a glimpse of our inner souls and receive insight into our lives. That insight can help us to recognize our needs and wants, show us hidden desires and even hidden traumas, and allow us to tap into beauty and a depth of experience we may not have known since childhood. Read More »
