President Obama, Courage, and Truth

Real Courage: The Benghazi Whistleblower When we make a stand for truth, for liberty,  and for what is right, that, too, is courage

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/president-obama-courage-and-truth/

Muslim: Wives, and Violence

Muslims, Wives, and Violence The mosque Tamerlan attended in Cambridge even gives instructions on how to beat women properly.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, to not show bruises and within the bounds of propriety.  There are proper ways to discipline your

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History, Timeline, and Democracy

Dinner Topics for Tuesday Western Civilization at Risk In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/history-timeline-and-democracy/

Inventions: Morse Code

Dinner Topics for Monday Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor. He contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph system based on European telegraphs, was a co-inventor of the Morse code,

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/inventions-morse-code/

President Obama, Abortion, and Murder, Part 2

The Plot Sickens I am posting these comments by Rush Limbaugh, because he expresses outrage so eloquently on my behalf. The behavior of this president is so despicable as to leave one speechless with horror. My prayers go up always

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/president-obama-abortion-and-murder-part-2/

Stress Management, Classical Music, and Prokofiev

Dinner Topics for Friday Do you have a wolf at your door? Get stress relief from Classical Music. Enjoy these delightful clips as Prokofiev plays Peter and the Wolf for Walt Disney, and also a lovely selection from Symphony no.

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/stress-management-classical-music-and-prokofiev/

Classical Music, Walt Disney, and Peter and the Wolf

Dinner Topics for Friday

See Prokofiev play this delightful clip from Peter and the Wolf. He also plays some lovely, more serious stuff, too ... An excerpt from his Symphony no. 1

Peter and the Wolf




Symphony no. 1

President Obama, Abortion, and Murder

Getting Away with Murder Whoso shall offend one of these little ones  …it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6 RUSH  LIMBAUGH:

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/president-obama-abortion-and-murder/

Gun Control, 2nd Amendment, and Supreme Court

Dinner Topics for Thursday Only 4% of Americans think gun control is an important issue. Edward J. Erler California State University, San Bernardino “Reprinted by permission from Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College.” The Second Amendment as an Expression of

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/gun-control-2nd-amendment-and-supreme-court/

American Culture, Birth, and Marriage

Dinner Topics for Wednesday Welfare and Illegitimate Birth From Rush Limbaugh Radio Show Seventy percent of black babies are born without a father.  Fifty-three percent of Hispanic babies born without a father. Seventy percent of poor white women

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/american-culture-birth-and-marriage/

Earth Day, Truth, and Murder

Earth Day: Left Celebrates Murderer

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/earth-day-truth-and-murder/

Bible Study: Teaching the Creation

Dinner Topics for Tuesday   Bible Study: Teaching the Creation The Test  As to the truthfulness of the creation and fall, it makes sense to take God’s word for it.  After all, He was there when it happened— a distinction

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/bible-study-teaching-the-creation/

Quotations, Creation Stories, and Truth

Dinner Topics for Monday Why do Left-wingers, socialists and their media defend lies so fervently? In times like these, when the regime is trying to blame innocent American citizens for terrorism and reporters are refusing to tell the truth, it

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/quotations-creation-stories-and-truth/

Character Education, Integrity, and Thomas More

Dinner Topics for Friday Integrity: Foundation of a Christ-like Life Tad R. Callister Integrity is the courage to do right regardless of the consequences and the inconvenience. Robert Bolt’s classic play A Man for All Seasons is the story of Sir

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/character-education-integrity-and-thomas-more/

Parenting: Childhood, Mental Health, and Drugs

Dinner Topics for Thursday No one denies that exceptions exist. However, this nation seems to be suffering a man-made “epidemic of childhood.” How many normal children are drugged, simply because adults don’t want to be bothered? I had two very

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/parenting-childhood-mental-health-and-drugs/

Definition: Christianity and Biblical Morals

Dinner Topics for Wednesday Ju•deo-Chris•tian Definition of Judeo-Christian: A term worth defending By Ed Vitagliano We are a nation founded on Judeo-Christian values. Most evangelicals have a Judeo-Christian worldview. Our Judeo-Christian principles are under attack. We hear the term Judeo-Christian

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/definition-christianity-and-biblical-morals/

History Timeline and Freedom of Religion

Dinner Topics for Tuesday History Timeline and Freedom of Religion 90 B.C. Once, many centuries ago in ancient America, there was a man named Nehor. He came among the people of a city named Zarahemla, teaching his system of beliefs.

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/history-timeline-and-freedom-of-religion/

Documentary: Charles Darwin, Ideas, and Eugenics

Dinner Topics for Monday Movie Reviews, Documentary: What hath Darwin wrought? Darwin was better than his teachings. Charles Darwin loved his wife and children. He paid his taxes and he never kicked his dog. But Charles Darwin had a big

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/documentary-charles-darwin-ideas-and-eugenics/

Communism and Lies vs. Christianity

Indoctrination in Army and Universities The United States Army, and this, of course, the Obama administration, lists evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as forms of religious extremism. RUSH:  It

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/communism-and-lies-vs-christianity/

Quotations: Thomas Jefferson and Christianity

Dinner Topics for Friday The media in Thomas Jefferson’s day tried to slander him, saying he was an atheist. The quotations below set the record straight.   Historical Note about Jefferson’s contributions to the Great Seal of the United States

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/quotations-thomas-jefferson-and-christianity/

Action Big Alert: President Obama vs. Christianity

Action Big Alert Take Action: Step 3 is most important To Stop Barack Obama’s War on Faith, Family and Freedom 1. Call your representative in Congress or two U.S. Senators: 202-224-3121, or 2. Email your representative in Congress or two

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Obama Care, Socialism, and Human Nature

I Don

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Parenting: Teaching Kindness

Dinner Topics for Tuesday Parenting Value: Unselfishness, Part 1 Richard and Linda Eyre Methods for teaching unselfishness Becoming more extra-centered and less self-centered. Learning to feel with and for others. Empathy, tolerance, brotherhood. Sensitivity to needs in people and situations.

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/parenting-teaching-kindness/

Parenting Value: Unselfishness

Dinner Topics for Tuesday

Value of Unselfishness & Sensitivity

Richard and Linda Eyre
Becoming more extra-centered and less self-centered. Learning to feel with and for others. Empathy, tolerance, brotherhood. Sensitivity to needs in people and situations.

Introduction
Some children have a natural and seemingly inherent sense of caring and sensitivity. Such cases are rather rare, however, and the self-centered "surrounded by mirrors" perspective of life is typical of most children, particularly adolescents. In fact most of the problems teenagers face (whether taking the form of rebellion or of extreme shyness and withdrawal) stem from their rather intense preoccupation with self.
Nevertheless, children can begin to learn sensitivity and unselfishness at a very young age, and they should learn it as a skill and a capacity as well as a value.
Children have difficulty empathizing and applying their own feelings to others. A child can feel crushed one day because Jimmy didn't invite him to his birthday party and the next day forget to include someone who looks lonely in the basketball game at recess. Adolescents love to borrow clothes, but many hate to lend them and often forget to return them or to "repair the damage." It takes real effort on the part of parents and sometimes a very long time for most children to realize that the world does not revolve around them, that others' feelings are crucial and that there is a great deal to be learned from giving up something they really want for the sake of someone else. 

General Guidelines
Give responsibility. Try to bring out your children's appreciation and empathy for the difficulties and challenges of others. A recent Harvard study pointed up an interesting connection between how much responsibility children were given and their tendencies to be altruistic and extra-centered. Apparently children who are given everything but responsibility not only become spoiled but actually tend to begin to lose their sense of caring and concern.
During this month reemphasize and redefine the responsibilities you give your children and the dependability you expect of them. Discuss, whenever you get the chance, the responsibilities that others have and how we must be sensitive to the burdens other people have.
Teach by example and active listening. Show children the attitude of empathy and the kinds of sensitivity that you want them to mirror. Try to make your own listening and caring more obvious. One way to do this is "active listening." Instead of the normal parental tendencies of directing, managing, and interrogating children, try to really hear what children say. Paraphrase back to them what they have said in a way that reassures them that you heard what they said, have understood it, and are concerned about it. This technique is sometimes also called Rogerian technique after Carl Rogers, the pioneering psychologist who found that people of any age will tell you more if you listen rather than ask. 

The practice of active listening will, in addition to encouraging your children to say more to you, set a profound example of the kind of sensitivity you hope they themselves will develop.
Say, "I'm sorry." Show your children your sensitivity and help them feel sensitive toward you. Whenever you have made a mistake or misjudgment or even been a little insensitive to a child's needs (through your own busy-ness, preoccupation, etc.), go to the child and say you're sorry for not being more in tune and sensitive to what they were worried about or needed.
Make an effort to tell your children how the things they do make you feel. This will help children be more aware of your feelings and be more sensitive toward them. If a teenager tells you that you are weird, tell him that that hurts your feelings. Sometimes children think of parents as people on whom they can vent their feelings without making a dent. Tell them not only the hurtful things but the positive things. For example, "It makes me feel so happy when I see you cleaning things up without being asked or helping your little brother with his homework."
Remember that unselfishness does not come naturally. Try to maintain your patience as you implement this "month." Everyone, although in varying degrees, is born with a certain amount of selfishness. There is no quick fix for learning to be unselfish. It is a process that takes thinking and practicing and a certain amount of maturity to develop. 

Praise. Reinforce -- and cause repetition of -- unselfish behavior. Heap praise on signs or symptoms or even brief glimpses of unselfishness in children of any age! Let's face it, an act of simple sharing in children -- particularly small ones -- is cause for genuine celebration. And it also calls for praise and recognition. When a child shares, or gives, or sees and responds to needs in another, praise him, pick him up and hug him, and point out what he's just done to anyone else who is around.
  "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.

Literature: Quotes about Life Lessons

Dinner Topics for Monday How do I find my way Home?  …There is a Plan. The following excerpt from Wordsworth’s “Intimations of Immortality” suggests that our home is with God in heaven. It reminded me of my own piece, entitled

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/literature-quotes-about-life-lessons/

Biography: Booker T. Washington

Dinner Topics for Friday Booker T. Washington was a great educator.  I read his book, Up from Slavery, many years ago,  enjoyed it very much, and I recommend it. It is classic literature for teaching character education. Rising above victim

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/biography-booker-t-washington/

Truth, Taxes, and Traditional Marriage

Dinner Topics for Thursday And in all this controversy among adults, no one cares about the children! ~C.A. Davidson The Following is an excerpt from the Rush Limbaugh Radio Show   Suppressing the Truth Some reporter here for the UK Daily

http://dinnertopics.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/truth-taxes-and-traditional-marriage/

Dinner Topics: Creation Stories, History, and Parenting

Dinner Topics Newsletter Dear Valued Readers, About our Newsletter (NOTE: The Newsletter is free and digital. There is no paper copy of the newsletter. ) I continue to get requests for the newsletter. You can get the monthly newsletter and

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Parenting, Teaching, and Children’s Independence

Dinner Topics for Tuesday Raising Resilient Children By Lyle J. Burrup LDS Family Services How well children respond to setbacks depends largely on how well their parents helped them develop the attitudes and the skills of resilience. Life is full of

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