Dog Tired

"Parenting is not a sprint. It's not even a marathon. Parenting is a dogsled trek across Antarctica in the middle of winter, and you're the dog."

~ Dr. Michael J. Svigel

@Svigel

God's Power, God's Goodness, and God's Wisdom

Three main features of Christianity that attract many people:
God's Power, God's Goodness, and God's Wisdom.

Dr. Diogenes Allen, Spiritual Theology, 1997, pp. 43, 111.

"From the Spark may burst a Mighty Flame" ~ Dante

"From the Spark may burst a Mighty Flame"

~ Dante Alighieri,  
Italian poet, writer, and philosopher, (1265-1321)

Meditation as a foundational requirement at Princeton Theological Seminary

quote:

[When] the founders of Princeton Theological Seminary established guidelines for student conduct in 1812, they listed meditation as a foundational requirement for all seminarians:

It is expected that every student in the Theological Seminary will spend a portion of time every morning and evening in devout meditation, and self-recollection and examination; in reading the holy Scriptures solely with a view to a personal and practical application of the passage read, to his own heart, character, and circumstances, and in humble fervent prayer, and praise to God in secret. 

David B. Calhoun, Princeton Seminary, vol. 1, Faith and Learning 1812–1868 (Banner of Truth, 1994), 425.

In commending meditation like this, the leadership of old Princeton was simply following the broader Reformed tradition, throughout which we find a constant commitment to meditation as a key means God has chosen to build us up in faith.

quoted from:

How Exactly Do I Meditate?
Protestant and Catholic Visions in Tension
by Matthew Bingham, Professor, Phoenix Seminary, September 17, 2025
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-exactly-do-i-meditate  as of 9/17/2025

Are You Really Listening?

In his book Directions, author James Hamilton shares this insight about listening to God: 

"Before refrigerators, people used icehouses to preserve their food. Icehouses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut, hauled to the icehouses, and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer.

One man lost a valuable watch while working in an icehouse. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn't find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. 

A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch.

Amazed, the men asked him how he found it.

“I closed the door,” the boy replied, “lay down in the sawdust, and I kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking.”

"A proud man is always looking down on things and people . . . "

"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down, you can't see something that's above you."

~ C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”

“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good,
but that God will make us good because He loves us.”

~ C. S. Lewis

“Deal with it. Get over it. Or get help.”

"Deal with it. Get over it. Or get help."

"In moments of crisis, the initiative passes to those who are best prepared."

The Laws of the Public Policy Process

by Morton C. Blackwell

1. Never give a bureaucrat a chance to say no.
2. Don't fire all your ammunition at once.
3. Don't get mad except on purpose.
4. Effort is admirable. Achievement is valuable.
5. Make the steal more expensive than it's worth.
6. Give 'em a title and get 'em involved.
7. Expand the leadership.
8. You can't beat a plan with no plan.
9. Political technology determines political success.
10. Sound doctrine is sound politics.
11. In politics, you have your word and your friends; go back on either and you're dead.
12. Keep your eye on the main chance and don't stop to kick every barking dog.
13. Don't make the perfect the enemy of the good.
14. Remember the other side has troubles too.
15. Don't treat good guys like you treat bad guys.
16. A well-run movement takes care of its own.
17. Hire at least as many to the right of you as to the left of you.
18. You can't save the world if you can't pay the rent.
19. All gains are incremental; some increments aren't gains.
20. A stable movement requires a healthy, reciprocal I.O.U. flow among its participants. Don't keep a careful tally.
21. An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.
22. Never miss a political meeting if you think there's the slightest chance you'll wish you'd been there.
23. In volunteer politics, a builder can build faster than a destroyer can destroy.
24. Actions have consequences.
25. The mind can absorb no more than the seat can endure.
26. Personnel is policy.
27. Remember it's a long ball game.
28. The test of moral ideas is moral results.
29. You can't beat somebody with nobody.
30. Better a snake in the grass than a viper in your bosom.
31. Don't fully trust anyone until he has stuck with a good cause which he saw was losing.
32. A prompt, generous letter of thanks can seal a commitment which otherwise might disappear when the going gets rough.
33. Governing is campaigning by different means.
34. You cannot make friends of your enemies by making enemies of your friends.
35. Choose your enemies as carefully as you choose your friends.
36. Keep a secure home base.
37. Don't rely on being given anything you don't ask for.
38. In politics, nothing moves unless pushed.
39. Winners aren't perfect. They made fewer mistakes than their rivals.
40. One big reason is better than many little reasons.
41. In moments of crisis, the initiative passes to those who are best prepared.
42. Politics is of the heart as well as of the mind. Many people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
43. Promptly report your action to the one who requested it.
44. Moral outrage is the most powerful motivating force in politics.
45. Pray as if it all depended on God; work as if it all depended on you.

Morton C. Blackwell, President, Leadership Institute

http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/resources/resourcesmain.cfm?section=speeches&s=11 as of 6/17/2006

"It may look like a crisis, but it's only the end of an illusion."

"It may look like a crisis, but it's only the end of an illusion."

The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice, by Gerald Weinberg, 1986

a Brilliant German word "Enttäuschung" means: Ent(fernen) = Remove, Täuschung = Illusion, Remove the Illusion

Enttäuschung (pronounced ent-TOY-shung)

following quoted from Inc.,
"Emotionally Intelligent People Use a Brilliant German Word to Turn Disappointment Into Motivation,"  by Justin Bariso, Feb. 25, 2024,
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/emotionally-intelligent-people-use-this-brilliant-german-word-to-turn-disappointment-into-motivation.html  as of 9/4/2025.

Maya Watson was thriving at Netflix. Her team was crushing it. Everyone told Watson how great she was, that she was knocking at the door of the most senior level of the company. Yet, years went by. Plenty of promises and no action. . . .

Then, one day, Maya ran into one of her mentors, a well-respected VP at the company. Seeing that Maya looked frustrated, he asked if she was OK.

“No, I’m not OK,” Maya replied. “What more do I need to show? How much longer do I have to wait?”

Maya’s mentor chuckled. Looking her dead in the eye, he said:

“I have more than 200 people in my organization. It’s not statistically possible for me to think about their development or road map for their life and career. You have to take matters into your own hands or you’ll be waiting forever. No one is coming to save you.”

Maya stood there speechless.

“He was absolutely right and I couldn’t believe I never saw it that way until that moment,” says Maya. “I have always believed that frustration comes from a gap between expectations and reality. It set me free.”

That conversation set Maya on a new path. Within a couple of years, she left Netflix. And less than two years after that, she had co-founded a company and was working–-and living–-on her own terms.

All of this because Maya was able to finally see reality. She was able to “remove the illusion.”

This story reminded me of a . . . brilliant German word with a fascinating meaning.

The word is Enttäuschung (pronounced ent-TOY-shung).

Enttäuschung is officially translated “disappointment,” but there’s a deeper meaning. . . .

Disappointment, as defined by Oxford, means “sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one’s hopes or expectations.” . . .

The word Enttäuschung literally means:

Ent(fernen) = Remove

Täuschung = Illusion 

Remove the illusion.

In other words, we often feel disappointment when the illusion of our expectations is removed, and we are forced to face reality. But this feeling can prove useful if you learn to harness it effectively. . . .

“‘Negative’ moods summon a more attentive, accommodating thinking style that leads you to really examine facts in a fresh and creative way,” writes [Harvard psychologist Susan] David. “When we’re overly cheerful, we tend to neglect important threats and dangers. … It’s when we’re in a bit of a funk that we focus and dig down.” . . .

You can change the relationship you have with disappointment. It doesn’t have to be saddening, or frustrating, or paralyzing.

You can make it motivating. Liberating. Empowering. . . .

Use that newfound knowledge to help you make better choices–-decisions grounded in reality. . . .

The illusion is gone. Now it’s time to act.