Learning to Stick Up for Himself

An ongoing concern that I've had with Lucas is in regards to sticking up for himself. He reminds me very much of myself when I was little - a heart of gold that wouldn't hurt a flea. That's generally a good thing, except for one little problem - not everyone else is like that. In fact most? little boys are just the opposite.

Maybe I'm being a little dramatic by saying this, but the world as a whole (as well as little boys) likes to play rough and tries to push you around. Well Lucas' normal reaction (as was mine) to a challenge or rough playing is to be scared, shy away and/or cry.

A recent example is when a visiting little boy tossed our big red exercise ball at Lucas, which he said hit him on the head. While it's a big ball, it's also rubber and filled with air. So while I didn't actually see it happen, I don't think it actually hurt him. He cried though for a while, probably out of fear and intimidation of the other boy.

Well, I've tried only once or twice since then to teach Lucas to stand up for himself and for his sister by making a mad face and saying forcefully "YOU LEAVE ME (OR MY SISTER) ALONE!" Then I also tried to teach him to give them a push if that doesn't work. We then practiced this a little bit, but certainly not enough for me to be convinced that it had sunk in or been absorbed into his behavior at all.

Then a friend of Amanda's came over with her kids on Friday. Her son is a few months younger than Lucas, but about the same size as him. They were both in our plastic backyard playhouse when I heard Lucas say very loudly "DON'T HIT ME ON THE HEAD! I DON'T LIKE THAT!". Then there was a brief pause, followed by "SAY O.K. LUCAS!" Then the other little boy obediently complied and said "O.K. Lucas."

Wow! I don't think I could have handled it better myself. He stuck up for himself, didn't have to resort to violence, and even got the other kid to acknowledge his request. I was surprised and proud of him, and later that evening I made sure to let him know it.

One Way Conversations

In this morning's 6 a.m. men's group, we were discussing prayer. We looked at several verses, including Matthew 6:5-15.

One of the questions was about Matthew 6:7, which says this:

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

The person who was leading asked what we thought babbling meant in this verse.

After thinking about it for a minute, here was my input:

When I think of the word babbling, I think of my grandmother. I love her and I try to call her once in a while because I want to maintain my relationship with her. But conversations with her are usually not very enjoyable to me, because she talks a lot but is a horrible listener. It's not uncommon for her to ask me a question, but then start talking again before I've had a chance to finish my answer.

I think perhaps this verse is talking about us praying to God like that, which admittedly I am guilty of. A lot of talking and not enough listening, or even no listening at all. And while God still loves us and wants to talk to us, I think He would probably prefer us give Him the time and the listening ear to at least try to hear his answer.

Cranking This!

My current favorite songs:

• Travis Barker remix of Crank That (Soulja boy)
  For an awesome video of his drumming, check out the link below:
  http://www.craveonline.com/videos/music/00007651/travis_barker_on_drums.html
  
  
• Foo Fighters - The Pretender
  

Honorable Mention go to

• Chris Brown - Kiss Kiss
  
  
• Santana (feat. Chad Kroeger) - Into the Night

Pictures that Persuade Poorly

I was browsing the "Housing Wanted" ads on Craigslist, looking for an ad to really stand out as a potential match for us as a roommate, when I came across two ads that made me crack up. They're linked below:

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/sha/625112208.html

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/sha/624439153.html

What are these guys trying to do - intimidate any prospective roommates? Or maybe seduce them? Because they sure don't look like anyone I would want to talk to, hang out with, or heaven forbid live with. Learn how to smile guys.

Then there's this one that's "420 friendly" (smokes pot) and absolutely cannot speak/type proper English, despite the fact that he looks completely white American.
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/sha/621837061.html

I'm not trying to be mean or make fun of people. I just found them a bit amusing and am noticing that a good roommate is hard to find.