Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Dinner Topics FAQ

Dear Readers, I have been perusing your comments. Thank you for your kind words. I see that many of your questions center on a few common questions, so I will try to answer them in this post. If you have

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Saturday, December 15, 2012

School Shooting: a Bible Study Perspective

A Bible Study Perspective from Commentary Magazine **Also see added note by C.A. Davidson at the end of this article Gehenna in Connecticut John Podhoretz Gehenna, a synonym for Hell, is a real place, or so the Bible tells us.

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/school-shooting-bible-study-perspective/

Friday, December 14, 2012

Compare: Christian Traditions and Kwanzaa

How does Kwanzaa compare to Christmas? Gary DeMar Coulter gets to the heart of the distinction between Kwanzaa and Christmas: “Kwanzaa liberates no one; Christianity liberates everyone, proclaiming that we are all equal before God. ‘There is neither Jew nor

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/compare-christian-traditions-and-kwanzaa/

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Christmas Music, Joy, and Tchaikovsky

Dinner Topics for Thursday Watch and Listen to Christmas Music and the Nutcracker Experience variety of Tchaikovsky’s enormous talent in the 1812 Overture from Wikipedia Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky  Pyotr Ilyich Chaykovsky; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893),[a 2] anglicised as

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Christmas Music and the Nutcracker

Dinner Topics for Thursday

Russian Dance from the Nutcracker



Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy 

 

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Nativity, Dr Seuss, and the Meaning of Christmas Story

Dinner Topics for Wednesday Nativity Christmas Story Video “Maybe Christmas Doesn’t Come from a Store” Jeffrey R. Holland, “Maybe Christmas Doesn’t Come from a Store,” Ensign, Dec. 1977, 63 You will recall from Dr. Suess’s holiday “horror” story, How the

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Nativity: Christmas Story

Christian Dinner Topics for  Wednesday

Nativity Christmas Story Video

Monday, December 10, 2012

Christians, Jews, and Christmas Trees

Christmas Trees Ben Stein: On God, Christmas Trees and symbols I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish.� And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up,

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Saturday, December 8, 2012

President Obama, Vacations, and Your Taxes

People homeless and hungry in Staten Island for Christmas, and the Obamas take extravagant vacations, during the last year alone, at taxpayers expense, that make the royal family of England look like paupers. News item from Glenn Beck Another vacation

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/president-obama-vacations-and-your-taxes/

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Stress Management, Classical Music, and Sebelius

Dinner Topics for Friday Be Still My Soul Listen to this Lovely Hymn, Be Still My Soul, music by Sibelius (text by Katherine von Schlegel b. 1697) From Wikipedia Jean Sibelius 8 December 1865 – 20 September 1957) was a Finnish

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Stress Management and Music for the Soul

Dinner Topics for Friday

Hear this lovely hymn, Be still my soul, music by Sibelius,
 text by Katherine von Schlegel,b. 1697 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Parenting: Teaching Chastity and Fidelity

Parenting Value: Chastity and Fidelity

Dinner Topics for Thursday



Parenting Value for December: Fidelity and Chastity




Fidelity and Chastity

The value and security of fidelity within marriage and of restraint and limits before marriage. The commitment that go with marriage and that should go with sex. A grasp of the long-range (and widespread) consequences that can result from sexual amorality and infidelity

Introduction
In the age of AIDS it is easier than it has been for many decades to agree as a society on the desirability of fidelity in marriage and the good sense of abstinence before marriage. Those who now agree practically are added to those who have always agreed philosophically. 

Whether or not you agree morally with this value, you do, as a parent, have the responsibility to deal in your own way with these critical issues. 

Many parents who did not practice chastity or abstinence in their own youth are nonetheless hopeful and even anxious that their children will. This is not hypocrisy and shouldn't cause guilt. Today is its own time - with its own concerns and its own reminders. And the fact that some of us have learned from our mistakes ought to be the best reason why our kids do not have to do likewise. 

It is hard to argue against the mental logic and the emotional benefits of fidelity within marriage. And positive commitments toward it can start to form in very small children. 


I sat in the library one day, researching some quotations for a manuscript I was working on. I was having a hard time keeping my mind on my work because I was thinking about one of my adolescent daughters and about my efforts to help her understand why chastity and sexual morality was something to be sought or valued. She was not rebelling against the notion or even disagreeing with it. But she was at the age where any restriction bothered here. She had asked, the night before, why there were so many limits on so many things. 


And I had wanted to tell her that chastity, like any true value or virtue, is a positive thing that you gain, not something you give up. 


I was looking through some G. K. Chesterton essays and I literally fell onto the words I was wishing for. They were in an essay called "A Piece of Chalk," in which Chesterton uses the metaphor of an artist who was sitting on an English hillside drawing on brown paper. He had all his chalk except white; he had forgotten to bring the white. Could he do without it? No, because white is not the absence of color. White spaces are not blank, they are put on by the artist and can be the most important element in his canvas. Should he return home for a piece of white chalk? Then he realized that he is sitting on chalk - England is made of chalk, he said. He broke off a piece from a white chalk rock and completed the drawing. 


Virtue, in Chesterton's mind, was not a void or the absence of a wrong. It was the presence of a right. And he felt that values or virtues are the light and the key to putting beauty into the rest of life. In Chesterton's words: 


The chief assertion of religious morality is that white is a color. Virtue is not absence of vices or the avoidance of moral danger, virtue is a vivid and separate thing. . . . Mercy does not mean not being cruel or sparing people revenge of punishment; it means a plain and positive thing like the sun, which one has either seen or not seen. Chastity does not mean abstention from sexual wrong, it means something flaming, like Joan of Arc.

- Richard


The two most important reasons that parents should be the ones to teach children about sex and sexual morality are: (a) parents can teach in a warm and loving way that avoids the sterile, factual, academic tone that predominates in school discussions and the silly or "dirty" connotation that often accompanies peer discussions; (b) when a parent teaches a child about sex, the intimate and personal nature of the subject creates a mutual sharing of trust and forms an emotional bond between parent and child.


"Parenting-by-Objective"

Review the activities and stories that go along with this months value. Make sure everyone in your family understands the value so they can see how they can apply it in their own lives and situations.


Talk about the Monthly Value every morning and remind your family to look for opportunities to use the value throughout the day. They may also observe how others don't understand the value. Get your children to share their experience with the value each day at the dinner table or before you go to bed. Be sure to share your experience each day as well. It will help your children know that you are thinking about the value too.

Action Big Alert: Last Chance for Liberty?

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Israel News: United Nations Recognizes Palestine

Israel Right to Downplay UN Vote Commentary Magazine After more than a year of campaigning for it, the Palestinian Authority will have its moment tomorrow when the General Assembly of the United Nations will vote to upgrade the PA’s status

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/israel-news-united-nations-recognizes-palestine/

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Stress Management, Classical Music, and Paderewski

Dinner Topics for Friday   View videos and listen to Paderewski music HERE From Wikipedia 18 November [O.S. 6 November] 1860 – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/stress-management-classical-music-and-paderewski/

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Children: Does Anyone Care?

Protect the Children By  Dallin H. Oaks None should resist the plea that we unite to increase our concern for the welfare and future of our children—the rising generation. I pray that we will humble ourselves as little children and reach … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/children-does-anyone-care/

Stress Relief, Classical Music, and Paderewski videos

Dinner Topics for Friday

Hear Paderewski's own Minuet in G


Jan Paderewski Fantasie Polonaise for Piano and Orchestra

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Abortion, Eugenics, and Genocide

Behind the Birth Control Propaganda of Planned Parenthood She called it “racial betterment” The ugly history of Planned Parenthood From American Family Association Journal By Stacy Long Margaret Sanger was no child advocate, but on October 16, 1916, she gave … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/abortion-eugenics-and-genocide/

Monday, November 26, 2012

Capitalism and Andrew Carnegie

Dinner Topics for Tuesday Today capitalism and producers of wealth are much maligned by people and groups who are afflicted by what can only be described as envy. Andrew Carnegie was one of those captains of industry to which we … Continue reading →

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Friday, November 23, 2012

Christian Dinner Topics: Free Download

Monday Dinner Topics: Dinner Talk, the Universal Parable Monday November 26, 2012 Free Download for Cyber Monday Kindle: Christian Dinner Topics Everyone wants to strengthen moral character and values in their families, but how do you find time in your … Continue reading →

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Bible Study: Compare Word to Gospel Seed

Dinner Topics for Friday Slide show of Parable of Sower The Parable of the Sower The scriptural passages are in italics. Bold Italics are Jesus’ interpretation. Commentary from Understanding the Parables of Jesus Christ, by Jay A. Parry, Donald W. … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/bible-study-compare-word-to-gospel-seed/

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Socialism and the First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Dinner Topics The Real Story of Thanksgiving Rush Limbaugh “Long before Karl Marx was even born, the Pilgrims had discovered and experimented with what could only be described as socialism.” And they found that it didn’t work. The true … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/socialism-and-the-first-thanksgiving/

Atheists Bully Christmas Display

Atheist Bullies Shut Down Christmas Displays With the liberal interpretation of church-state separation — a concept not found in the Constitution — the courts are effectively installing a state religion in violation of the First Amendment. As more and more … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/atheists-bully-christmas-display/

George Washington: Thanksgiving Proclamation

Thanksgiving Dinner Topics Before the mad rush to shop for Christmas on Black Friday, let us pause to give thanks to God–not the government– for our daily bread. Many of our ancestors came to America for liberty. If it weren’t … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/george-washington-thanksgiving-proclamation/

Monday, November 19, 2012

Thanksgiving Traditions

Dinner Topics for Tuesday Parents, would you believe this? Here’s a bit of nostalgia for you. I am a grandmother. I went to elementary school in the 1950’s, before the Supreme Court decree in 1963 that God was no longer … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/thanksgiving-traditions/

Friday, November 16, 2012

President Obama and Voter Fraud

President Obama and the Massive Voter Fraud Machine From Political Outcast CORRECTION: After further consideration, it might be helpful to recount for Allen West, but pointless for the national recount. Evidence of massive voter fraud is very convincing, but a … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/president-obama-and-voter-fraud/

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Stress Management, Classical Music, and Rodrigo

Dinner Topics for Thursday Listen to and watch� John Williams play the lovely Concierto de Aranjuez Rodrigo, blind since age three, was a pianist. He did not play the guitar, yet he still managed to capture the spirit of the … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/stress-management-classical-music-and-rodrigo/

Stress Management, Classical Music, and John Williams Guitar

John Williams plays Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Gratitude Letter

Stress Management and Attitude of Gratitude Dinner Topics for Wednesday Notes from a wise teacher: For many years in December, I’ve written “Attitude of Gratitude” letters. This tradition has changed my life and the lives of people I know. For … Continue reading →

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Children’s Literature and Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote classics in children’s literature like Treasure Island and Kidnapped Dinner Topics for Tuesday Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/childrens-literature-treasure-island/

Monday, November 12, 2012

Prophecy and the Constitution

Dinner Topics for Monday Ezra Taft Benson, former Secretary of Agriculture and Christian leader, in 1986 shares thoughts on the U.S. Constitution, stating it is a Heavenly Banner inspired by God for this nation. That the federal government is trying … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/prophecy-and-the-constitution/

Washington DC or Constitution?

Constitution-- Will it be saved?

Ezra Taft Benson, former Secretary of Agriculture,
in 1986 shares thoughts on the U.S. Constitution,
stating it is a Heavenly Banner inspired by God for this nation.
That the federal government is trying to destroy it but at last
it will be saved but not in Washington.


 

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Billy Graham Supports Mormon Traditional Values

Billy Graham’s Organization Removes Mormonism from List of Cults By Stephen Feller October 18, 2012 The Rev. Billy Graham is signaling to evangelical Christians that they shouldn’t hesitate to vote for Mitt Romney because of his Mormon religion, further cementing … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/billy-graham-supports-mormon-traditional-values/

Friday, November 9, 2012

Life Quotes: America, Pride

Quotes to Live By Dinner Topics for Friday America The danger to America is not Barack Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the … Continue reading →

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Thursday, November 8, 2012

Parenting: Teaching Self Discipline

Parenting Value: Self Discipline General Methods for teaching Self-Discipline and Moderation 1. Maintain a family schedule. This can give children the security of certain things that are predictable and the discipline of being sure that they are there when expected. … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/parenting-teaching-self-disicipline/

Parenting Value: Self Discipline



Parenting Value: Self-Discipline and Temperance

Dinner topics for Thursday

Self Discipline


Physical, mental, and financial self-discipline. Moderation in speaking, in eating, in exercising. The controlling and bridling of one's own appetites. Understanding the limits of body and mind. Avoiding the dangers of extreme, unbalanced viewpoints. The ability to balance self-discipline with spontaneity.


Introduction

This year, as he approaches fourteen, our most undisciplined child is beginning to show great progress. Three years ago he simply could not remember to do his homework. On occasion when he did do his work, he couldn't seem to remember whether or not he'd handed it in. His thoughts were immersed in model airplanes, snakes and gerbils, and computer games. Nothing else mattered much to him. I was constantly nagging him to clean his room and "get his act together." 

Then two fairly significant things happened to him: Our family moved to England, and he was enrolled in an extremely disciplined school for boys, complete with a school uniform that included black wool pants, black leather shoes, gray socks, a white shirt, gray V-neck sweater, school tie, and blue blazer. Any boy lacking any part of his uniform was severely reprimanded. Not only that, each boy was required to take thirteen subjects, which included physics, chemistry, classical studies, and mythology. Not a bad schedule of classes for a seventh-grader! Each boy was required to carry an assignment notebook in the left-inside pocket of his jacket. Each class and the assignment for that day were to be carefully printed inside. Any teacher could stop any boy and ask to see his notebook at any time. If the notebook was not there or was not complete, the student was doomed to detention. 

At about the same time, I decided that my relationship with this child was suffering because of my incessant reminders to practice, to clean his room, to get his homework done. I eased off, and decided that my communication and friendship with him were more important than the tidiness of his room. 

This year this boy was transformed from a caterpillar to a lovely moth. (He can't really be classified as a butterfly, because his room still looks about the same -- even though he cleans it up at least once a month now without being asked.) 

I find little homework lists in the jumbled place he calls his room, and he just became an Eagle Scout and a member of the National Honor Society. Instead of thinking of him as a thorn in my side, I now regard him as one of my favorite people. -- Linda 

Self-discipline means many things: being able to motivate and manage yourself and your time, being able to control yourself and your temper, being able to control your appetites (and here the companion word moderation comes into play). 

Self-discipline and moderation are two sides of the same coin. Self-discipline is pulling up and away from the laziness of doing too little. Moderation is pulling in and away from the excesses of trying to do or to have too much. 

Discipline and moderation are profound and universal values because their presence helps us and others and their absence inevitably causes short- or long-term hurt. 

These are values on which all parents must work personally. And it is our example, more than any other method or technique, that will teach this value to our children.

"Parenting-by-Objective"

 
Review the activities and stories that go along with this months value. Make sure everyone in your family understands the value so they can see how they can apply it in their own lives and situations.
Talk about the Monthly Value every morning and remind your family to look for opportunities to use the value throughout the day. They may also observe how others don't understand the value. Get your children to share their experience with the value each day at the dinner table or before you go to bed. Be sure to share your experience each day as well. It will help your children know that you are thinking about the value too.

Methods for Teaching Self Discipline to Pre-School, Elementary, and Adolescents

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

President Obama and a Native American Legend

“But You Promised” Many years ago, Indian youths would go away in solitude to prepare for manhood. One such youth hiked into a beautiful valley. There he fasted, and on the third day he decided to test himself against the … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/president-obama-and-native-american-legend/

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Truth about Socialism from Experience

Russian Immigrant calls Rush Limbaugh Radio Show: �She Thought She had Outrun Socialism RUSH: The schools in this country do not teach the evils of socialism. They teach just the opposite. They sing its praises. Little kids in America today … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/truth-about-socialism-from-experience/

Friday, November 2, 2012

Liberty, Election Guide, and Traditional Christian Values

Vote Traditional Christian Values November 6 Christian Values Voting guides American Family Association Christian Coalition Video: “We the People” again confronts President Obama

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/liberty-election-guide-and-traditional-christian-values/

Election, Integrity, and Presidential Candidates

How to Identify Candidates’ Core Values by C. A. Davidson This story appears to be told for children, but it is really a brilliant and very famous satire. Sometimes children are more honest than adults. “The Emperor’s New Clothes” (Danish: … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/election-integrity-and-presidential-candidates/

Thursday, November 1, 2012

President Obama vs. We the People again

"We the People" again confronts President Obama

Vote for Liberty on November 6
 
Values voting guides



American Family Association




Traditional Dinner Benefits Include Prevention of Drug Abuse

Welcome to Epicworld Dinner Topics! How Family Dinners Help Prevent Substance Abuse So, you turn off the TV and sit down to dinner—Now, what do you talk about? Many parents are aware of the need for character education at home … Continue reading →

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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Bible Study: Christian Election Guide

Christian Election Guide from Bible Study Old Testament The Proverbs Chapter 29:2, 12, 18 When the wicked rule, the people mourn—The righteous consider the cause of the poor—Where there is no vision, the people perish. 2 When the arighteous are in … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/bible-study-christian-election-guide/

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Romney and Hurricane Sandy

He was here in Kettering, Ohio, and he was meant to make a campaign stop, but he changed it into more of a rally to help the devastation that has occurred on the East Coast.  “Ye shall know them by … Continue reading →

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/romney-and-hurricane-sandy/

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Stress Management, Classical Music, and Johann Strauss Jr

Johann Strauss Jr: Waltz King

Dinner Topics for Friday

Voces de Primavera
 


Vienna Waltz






Johann Strauss II (October 25, 1825 – June 3, 1899), also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son (German: Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. In his lifetime, he was known as "The Waltz King", and was largely then responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna during the 19th century.