a re-post: in defense of summer vacation

Kids across the country return to school this week, and it makes me sad.

Granted, there are tons of kids ready to go back, and just because I hated school for 17 years does not mean I am anti-education.

But what happened to the three-month summer? Today’s kids get out in late May, start pencil and scissor shopping in July and are tucked back behind a desk before August even gets going. When I was younger, June, July AND August were sacred, and were spent riding bikes, climbing trees, attending church camp, reading piles of books from the library, scrounging up quarters to pay the late fines, eating popsicles, cannonballing into the pool, sunburning shoulders, and pestering little brothers. Bliss.


Of course, not every child’s summer was so idyllic, and researchers now believe children without access to camps and libraries suffer “summer learning loss.” As a result, more schools, especially in lower-income areas, are extending semesters and school days and shortening summer breaks.

For instance, according to a recent Time magazine article, Cincinnati offered the 13 lowest-performing schools in the city an optional “fifth quarter,” or extra month of classes, this past June. This seems equivalent to offering Guantanamo prisoners an extra four weeks of waterboarding, but Governor Strickland hopes to eventually add the extension to every school in the state.

Others point out our country’s low achievement scores relative to Europe and Asia, and some believe sociological shifts support the extended day. “Our children are no longer working in the fields,” says US Education Secretary Arne Duncan in the same article. “And Mom isn’t waiting at home at 2:30 with a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. That just doesn’t happen in American families anymore.”


This seems like a classic mistake of cause and effect.

For one thing, that mom (or dad) who’s not home to greet the children after work may also be too tired to give much help with homework or attend parent-teacher conferences. I’m not trying to open the whole should-women-work topic, because the issue is more complex—both moms and dads (when present) improve their kids’ academic performance by taking an active interest and involvement in the process. Keeping kids in school longer won’t make the parents less stressed or more on-task when the kids finally get home.

Second, many of our schools are already in crisis, with teachers struggling to manage huge classes and dwindling resources. Extending a child’s stay in some of them is about as productive as giving the mouse a bigger wheel to run. Some educators realize this, and are using the extended time as an opportunity to give extra attention to the kids who need it most. “Clearly, focusing on the students that are furthest behind is where it makes the most sense,” says Chris Gabrieli, chairman of Massachusetts 2020, which helped create an experimental extended day program in 26 low-performing schools throughout the state. “Middle-class kids, they get a lot more learning time outside of school—they get tutors, they get arts programs, they get music programs, they get summer camps.”


And so we return to my own memories of summer, three predictably wonderful months ending with predictably pathetic tears on Labor Day. Because I had the benefit of those enrichment activities, plus a good public school and involved parents, I graduated at the top of a big class and earned a 31 on my ACT. Although the meager bragging rights of that sentence are about the total good the ACT did me, neither did the long summers do me any harm.

A few more hours each week might help our students become more competitive, but our parents and schools also have a few things to learn. Let’s use the time we have more effectively before piling more onto little sunburned shoulders.

things I don’t understand, part 13

<— Any picture, ever, in this genre.

Why companies think a “crazy hat day” will improve employee morale.

Expensive hotels requiring $11 a day for internet access while the Exxon station down the road proudly offers it for free.

Why church secretaries find it necessary to use every. available. font. when designing the weekly newsletter.




Why we are still printing the Yellow Pages.

What is so confusing to Americans about roundabouts.

Writing anything, at any time, on a bathroom wall.

Baby Gap. Who is spending this much for clothes a child will grow out of in three months?

My neighbors who removed their garage door and bricked up the entrance.

The admiration for Katherine Hepburn. Her voice gets on the fringe of the edge of my very last nerve.


Beware of dog signs. If you need that sign, perhaps you should not have that dog.

a list for friday–worship songs I have trouble singing, part 2

Before jumping into my list, we begin with some honorable mentions contributed by helpful readers after last week’s post.


Their picks for the worship song they just can’t sing included Famous One (for a number of reasons, including the line “For all you’ve done and yet to do”), Breathe (“The song just bugs me for some reason. Mainly I feel like we are suffocating”) and How He Loves (“you know, the Sloppy Wet Kiss song”).

Much ire was directed at I Could Sing of Your Love Forever. The whole song is about dancing with joy and it’s usually sung by “a bunch of stoic, middle-class white people, doing nothing that even remotely resembles dancing,” said one. Another person succinctly summed up my feelings when he said, “Why is this song always performed so it seems like it DOES go on forever?”


But the winner from last week’s comments was my college friend Tom who shared the verse from a song that, he said, “makes me want to shower each time I hear it.” Go check out the comments from part one.

And that leads us into today’s list…..


1. You Are My Passion

Objectionable lyric:

Now will You draw me close to You?
Gather me in Your arms.
Let me hear the beating of Your heart,
O my Jesus, O my Jesus.

You are my passion, Love of my life
Friend and companion,
My Lover.
All of my being longs for Your touch.
With all my heart I love You.

Why: If the example from Tom didn’t convince you (seriously, go read it), here’s another example of the “Jesus, my boyfriend with whom I apparently get very physical” genre. And we wonder why there are no men at church.

A good rule of thumb: If you would be too embarrassed to stand up with a microphone and speak the words to your spouse, please do not sing them to your Savior.


2. Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?

Objectionable lyric:

Open up the doors and let the music play
Let the streets resound with singing
Songs that bring your hope
Songs that bring your joy
Dancers who dance upon injustice

Why: How, exactly, does one dance upon injustice? Are special shoes required? And for that matter, why are we going so easy on injustice? Why aren’t we stomping on it? Or kicking it? Or giving it lots of paper cuts and then squeezing lemon juice on it?


3. Above All

Objectionable lyric:

Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

Why: First, I’ve never connected with the image of a rose falling onto the ground and being walked on as a parallel for Jesus being beaten and nailed to wooden beams. Neither does “taking the fall” seem adequate (or even respectful).

But my bigger issue is that in typical American style we have made this song “above all” about us. Yes, Jesus laid down his life so we could know God, but the final chapters of each Gospel indicate he was focused on God’s glory, not Jennifer Taylor. Some worship leaders change “and thought of me” to “and now you reign.” It’s not a bad idea, folks.


4. Worthy is the Lamb

Objectionable lyric:

High and lifted up
Jesus, Son of God.
The darling of Heaven, crucified….
Worthy is the Lamb.

Why: It would only be worse if Jesus was called the sweetheart of heaven. “Honeybunch of heaven” has too many syllables. But “heartthrob of heaven” could work…….


5. Great is the Lord Almighty

Objectionable lyric:

Great is the Lord Almighty, He is Lord He is God indeed
Great is the Lord Almighty, He is God supreme

Why: Simply put, I cannot sing about “God supreme” without thinking of Taco Bell.


Okay, your turn again. Why the erotic subtext to so many Christian songs? Am I way off on “Above All”? And what would you do to injustice?

a list for friday—worship songs I have trouble singing, part 1

There are many, many fine “hymns, psalms and spiritual songs.”

But I’m a words person, and it’s difficult for me to sing a song with lyrics that are silly, untrue or confusing. Unfortunately our evangelical bubble is filled with them—and thus we begin a two-part series of my top ten least-singable choruses.


1. Draw Me Close

Objectionable lyric:

You are my desire
No one else will do
Cause nothing else can take your place
To feel the warmth of your embrace

Why: I think he’s saying, “Nothing can take the place of feeling your warm embrace.” Which is slightly creepy, but could be overlooked if it was anywhere in the general area of grammatical correctness. Which it ain’t.


2. Shout to the North

Objectionable lyric:

We’ve been through fire, we’ve been through rain
We’ve been refined by the power of Your name
We’ve fallen deeper in love with You
You’ve burned the truth on our lips

Why:  a) Why are we shouting in all four directions? b) “You’ve burned the truth on our lips.” Yes, I get the Isaiah reference. But how many people in your congregation do? c) The melody makes me want to punch someone.


3. Trading My Sorrows

Objectionable lyric:

Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes Yes Lord
Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes Yes Lord
Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes Yes Lord, Amen.

Why: Figure it out.


4. Ancient Words (and others)

Objectionable lyric:

Ancient words ever true
Changing me and changing you,
We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart

Why: This song is just one representative of a entire genre using “impart” as the only rhyming word for heart. I am opposed to this in most examples (Watermark was a frequent offender) but this one is our scapegoat because it manages the hat trick of also being grammatically incorrect and confusing. Let the words impart what?


5. Come Thou Fount

Objectionable lyric:

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come.

Why: This is actually one of my very favorite hymns, but for the sake of all Christendom would somebody please rewrite this line? Even if the worship leader explains it before the song, “raising your Ebenezer” still sounds vaguely dirty.


Your turn. What songs do you have trouble singing?

in opinions, censorship

Last week a megachurch that has faithfully subscribed to Christian Standard for years decided to cancel their subscription because of a few recent articles from the “In Opinions, Liberty” column.

To call this ironic is an understatement.

The whole point of this new feature is to spark discussion on ideas in the spirit of the “in essentials, unity” slogan we like to quote. But instead of welcoming thoughtful dialogue on some non-essentials, this Christian church apparently wants to shield its members from thinking about them. And I’m appalled—not as a Standard Publishing girl, but as a believer.


For one thing, it’s a perfect example of the parent/child relationship that tells Christians what to think, not how. Do we discourage people from thinking critically because the ensuing discussions are too much work? Or is it because we’re afraid of the conclusions they may reach?

Aren’t we part of that whole “truth will set you free” thing?

Or perhaps it’s the topics recently covered in the column: Giving more money to global missions. Rethinking the need for expensive church buildings. Studying the doctrine of hell. Working for unity. Cultivating a global worldview. The effectiveness (or not) of small groups.

People are already talking about many of these issues. Others need to be talked about (and just might lead to changes the minister and elders would love to see). Church leaders can either ignore this reality or proactively provide resources that offer a Bible-based perspective. If we’re going to treat church members as children, let’s at least encourage “the kids” to explore risky topics with us.


Whether it’s reluctance to have the messy conversations or lack of faith in the brain power of its members, I’m disappointed by this church’s decision. But I think Christian Standard should feel a certain pride in its recent brush with censorship. When people opposed to thought find you too dangerous, it just might be a sign you’re doing something right.

God does not have a plan for your life

I recently wrote this article for Christian Standard magazine, and I’m already getting lots of feedback on both sides of the issue. Click the link below to read the entire article on the CS site.

“God’s plan for your life isn’t a map you see all at once, but a scroll unrolled a little at a time, requiring faith,” Rick Warren recently tweeted.

“God will accelerate his plan for your life as you put your trust in him. God is giving you victory sooner than you think,” says Joel Osteen.

Less prominent Christians champion the theology as well. In responding to a new believer’s question about his career, a contributor to Bible-Knowledge.com writes, “God will now be the one to fully guide you into whatever jobs he will want you to have. . . . The choice is no longer yours! In the meantime, God will make sure you have enough money and support coming in to keep you afloat until this next job comes through.”

It is comforting to believe God has mapped out our future. It is exciting to think he’s bringing me victory. And I would love for God to make sure I have enough money while I passively wait for it to happen.

But unlike pastors Warren and Osteen, Mr. Bible-Knowledge, and many Christians I know, I don’t believe God has created a plan for my life—or for yours.


Problems with “The Plan”
–We take verses out of context

Jeremiah 29:11 is a cherished verse, frequently used for encouragement in graduation cards, post-breakup pep talks and, yes, job searches. (Well-meaning believers have recited it to me in all three contexts.) Along with The Bachelorette and people who refuse to vaccinate their children, its yanked-out-of-context use is one of the biggest pet peeves of my life.

Somehow we forget the grim reality surrounding this verse: amidst oracles of doom and judgment against Judah, Jeremiah says these words to comfort the people (as a group) with promises of eventual restoration and return from exile.

This is a bit different from claiming it as a guarantee of a fulfilling job, wonderful spouse, or ministry “call.”

Click here to read more, including why I find this theology harmful, why it lets American Christians feel special, and and what I do believe about God’s plan.

what you win them with…..

……is what you win them to.


Church tries pina coladas and kabobs to lure new members

Ocoee’s Elevation Christian Church is attempting to attract the unchurched by giving its Sunday services in June a Jamaican flavor with island music, food, grass skirts and Hawiian shirts.

“YaMakingMePraise” Sundays start with the 11 a.m. service June 5 at the church at 485 W. Silver Star Road, Ocoee.

Elevation Christian Church Pastor Gabriel Padilla said he’s trying something diffferent to appeal to those who don’t normally attend church or think that worship services must be boring.

“The scenery is set, the atmosphere is real, come join us at Elevation Christian Church where the Piña Coladas are cold and the kabobs are on the grill,” says the church flier. “Make sure to wear your Hawaiian and Tropical outfits to make an impression, having you with us will be our pleasure. Don’t eat a big breakfast leave room for our delicious Piña Coladas and Kabobs!”




Three Thoughts:

1. This weekend a friend and I were talking about marriage and how the church needs to better equip couples to make this commitment. Even young couples raised in the church don’t always understand their loving feelings will fade or that serving each other can revive them and the importance of gutting it out in the meantime.

Similarly, we do people a disservice by implying Christianity is about being entertained. Our feelings for the covenant we’ve made with God will also fade, and we are called to serve him anyway, and it’s not about how fun it is.

I’m not trying to be depressing. We really really want people to get married and we really really want them to become Christians because we believe both are really really good. But part of the reason they’re good is they require sacrifice and growth and effort. Some more truth in advertising would be helpful.

2. Either the brochure writers at Elevation or this blogger or both need an editor. Spelling, grammar—good grief. Elevation, spend a little less on pineapple and a little more on proofreading next time.

3. “YaMakingMePraise” is just stupid.

gray matters

I’m still catching up from my trip, so last week I finally read the Time magazine from May 9 with a cover story about the FBI’s progress (or lack of) in the last ten years. In addition to an overview of director Mueller’s operating style, the agency’s old-school culture, and the ways its agents are learning to work together, the article describes Mueller’s almost-resignation in 2004.

“At issue was a highly classified surveillance program, called Stellar Wind, that President Bush approved after 9/11. For the first time since Congress forbade the practice in 1978, the National Security Agency was spying on domestic communications traffic without a warrant. In the second week of March 2004, Attorney General John Ashcroft’s Justice Department ruled that Stellar Wind was illegal. The next day, Ashcroft fell gravely ill with acute pancreatitis. Bush sent two top aides to George Washington University Hospital, where the Attorney General lay in critical condition. White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and chief of staff Andrew Card Jr. asked the semiconscious Ashcroft to sign a document reversing the Justice Department’s ruling. Mueller arrived at the hospital just after Card and Gonzales retreated in defeat. His notes described Ashcroft as ‘feeble, barely articulate.’”

Bush then reauthorized Stellar Wind despite the Justice Department’s decision, and Mueller tells the president he will quit before carrying out this order. “Bush pulled back from the brink,” the story ends, “submitting to the Justice Department’s legal ruling.”


This anecdote wasn’t the point of the article; it was included as a comment on Mueller’s character, not the former president’s lack of it. But it left me wondering: why do we ignore the bad things our favorite political party does and trumpet the errors of the other party?

Many of my Facebook friends lean Republican, so I routinely see rants against Obama. Even this weekend there were angry comments because he golfed on Memorial Day after visiting Arlington, as if everyone else in the country spent the entire day leaving flowers on graves instead of grilling hamburgers and watching people in Indianapolis drive too fast.

I see unquestioning approval of Dubya. I see adoration of Palin and her book. Never, ever have any of my conservative friends ever commented on anything positive or helpful Obama has done.

I’m not the president’s PR committee, but I think it’s telling. If Obama’s administration tried to illegally spy on American citizens, trick a sick public official into reversing a ruling on the constitutionality of it and then ignore his decision, that’s all I’d read on Facebook for a week (and rightly so). Strangely, none of my friends have linked to the May 9 issue of Time.


Both presidents have major faults. They’ve both made decisions to disagree with. What I don’t understand is why we can’t be honest about that.

Bush banned partial-birth abortion, signed legislation to protect our forests and lakes, and changed the Medicare program to benefit seniors. He also lied about weapons of mass destruction, mishandled Hurricane Katrina and doubled the national debt. Obama has continued raising the deficit, he gambled considerable political capital and time on the health care reform issue, and he’s undercut Israel’s position with Palestine more than once. He also got us out of Iraq, expanded laws against hate crimes, and made a gutsy call that led to bin Laden’s capture.

Black and white positions are always more comfortable because they are both easy to understand and efficient to argue. (“The Bible says it, I believe it, and that’s that.”) Trouble is, the black and white perspective is almost always incomplete. Few issues are clear-cut. Few arguments can be blamed on just one participant. And few politicians are all bad or all good.


I’m sorry to my fundamentalist friends, religious, political or otherwise. I’m sorry to everyone who scores an off-the-chart “J” on the Myers Briggs. I’m sorry to those impatient with nuance. I’m sorry to both the reds and the blues who don’t want to think. But it is intellectually dishonest and just plain lazy to vilify one party and venerate the other.

things I don’t understand, part 12

Why churches must add an extra “e” to their names.

Owning a ferret.

The point of PO boxes at my post office. When I receive a package they refuse to accept it.

Driving across town to save $0.02 a gallon on gas.

Graffiti. You’re making your own neighborhood uglier.

Why scantily-dressed women with names like “AriannaVerySexy” find it strategic to follow me on Twitter.

Green tea. It tastes like grass.


Stretch hummers.

Churches offering “Christian sympathy.” Is there some other kind? What makes it different?

Why my grocery store sells ping pong balls.

Why they are displayed by the paper towels.

Death metal.




This. (Hat tip to my buddy Todd who found it.)

a list for friday—thoughts from ten days in Europe

I promise this will be the last post about my trip (although you can see 7,000 pictures on Facebook). It was a wonderful experience, jet lag and all. Here are a few thoughts from my journal.

– Dear Air France: it is legal on both continents to keep the cabin temperature above 55 degrees. Just so you know.

– If you look up “beautiful,” “delightful,” or “charming” in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure it shows pictures of Paris in May.

– French men will flirt with any woman who breathes. We hadn’t showered or slept for 30 hours and a shopkeeper wanted me and Breanne to drink champagne with him. If we’d been clean and non-grouchy he might have proposed.

– Bree is flexible and a ton of fun to travel with. We share a love of museums, an interest in history, a willingness to ruin our dinner by eating apple strudel at 3 in the afternoon, a love of rainy days, AND she can read a map. Which I can’t.

– There are actually people masochistic enough to climb the stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I am not one of them. Neither is Bree—another reason she’s quality.


– If there is a better breakfast than espresso, baguettes, cheese, butter and jam, I have yet to eat it.

– I work too much. Okay, not a revelation. I was practically giddy at the thought of 10 whole days without email, deadlines, errands, chores and task lists.

– The French have a reputation for being rude, and it’s true they don’t much like our attempts at speaking their language. But on the whole we found them much nicer than the Germans. The Deutschland’s waiters are especially grouchy. Local expats said it’s part of the culture since they don’t work for tips. Not wanting to disturb local culture, we just didn’t tip the nasty ones very much.

– The Louvre is stuffy, crowded and hard to navigate.


– The guidebooks imply Berthillon ice cream is so good the world will implode if you visit Paris without trying it. They may be right.

– I’m glad I got a Kindle.

– I wish the US had the cafe culture of Europe’s major cities, where you can sit outside and people watch, read, write or talk as long as you want. I would do most of my work from a cafe table if I lived there.

– Also, America needs more trains.


– French women wear scarves and look effortlessly chic. I look like a woman wearing a really big piece of material around her neck.

–Every store of every size sells beer and wine, and there’s no legal drinking age. Yet we saw very few drunk people, and most of the ones we did encounter were Americans. Make of that what you will.

–Some of Paris is propped up by huge underground catacombs of bones from its 18th and 19th century residents.

– The German people are a paradox. They love rules—more than once we were instructed (without explanation) to carry our bags a certain way in a museum or leave by the exit door instead of the entrance door right next to it. Then there’s the U Bahn and S Bahn trains–there are no turnstiles or barriers to walking on one without buying a ticket, yet everyone stood in line to buy them and validate them in automated machines before each ride.

It’s not surprising to me that this rigid, authority-pleasing group has historically been so easily influenced by dictators. On the other hand, there was also a lot of the random—museums arranged neither chronologically nor thematically, train lines shut down without warning, restaurants without signs. It’s an interesting dynamic.


– Their nuclear shelters are still ready to go. Can’t be too careful.

– If you spend five hours at Dachau, and you see the crematorium, and you walk through the prison, and you see pictures of the liberation, and you read about the torture, you will not talk much on the way home.

–I like sausages and sauerkraut more than I expected to.

– I still don’t like beer.

– Berlin has history from the Renaissance, World War 2, and the Cold War—sometimes all on the same block, along with some of the cheapest food and coolest museums in Europe. I’m in love. Also, unlike Paris, it never smells like pee.


– I need to go more often. I love the USA, but on the whole I think cities across the pond are more beautiful, have better food, and offer a richer culture. I’m already saving for the next trip.