Anthony Weiner. . . A Little Exercise in Cultural Discernment. . . .
For the last several days, I’ve been mulling over the most recent chapter in the ongoing saga of New York City Mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner. No doubt, Weiner’s story offers a peek into just how fast our culture is changing.…
Read More
The Lost Boys. . . Some Much-Needed Perspective On All Our Stuff. . .
Yesterday I chatted with a good college friend about life. . . . specifically, the in-between time that began when we graduated and ended yesterday. Lot’s has happened for both of us and God has blessed us both so deeply…
Read More
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and the Cover of Rolling Stone. . . Talking Points. . .
Certain things I encounter in life trigger the juke box in my head and the repository of images stored away and long-forgotten in the disorganized file cabinet that is my brain. The juke box and image files both kicked into…
Read More
Death By Text. . . .
This morning I was reminded once again of just how much our world has changed thanks to technology. I was heading down the local interstate to meet a friend for breakfast in Lancaster. While I didn’t look at the drivers…
Read More
A Youth Culture Peek Worth Watching Tonight. . . .
We used to call these “VCR alerts” here at CPYU. That was back when the VCR was cutting edge technology. I’m not sure what we are supposed to call it now that technology is changing at breakneck speed. For now,…
Read More
A Little Primer For Parents on Teens and Peer Pressure. . . .
The only “hunting” I’ve ever done in my life took place on our annual family vacations to Florida. When we weren’t fishing, swimming, or visiting tourist attractions, I would venture out on a “lizard safari.” Although I knew the little…
Read More
The Spirit Knows. . . And A Prayer For Those Who Are Stressed. . .
I want to share some of the treasure that I’ve discovered with anyone who will take it or needs it today. It’s a treasure that twenty years ago or so I would have taken for granted. . . perhaps not…
Read More
Watch Your Mouth. . . Spiritual Health and Political Correctness. . .
“This lady gets it.” That’s what my buddy Marv Penner enthusiastically told me when he called me for the sole purpose of asking me if I had read Miriam Grossman’s Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her…
Read More
Not Good Enough. . . Teens And Plastic Surgery. . . .
A few months ago she caught my eye as I scanned the magazine rack at Barnes & Noble. Everything about her looks absolutely perfect as she stares off the cover of Seventeen magazine. Her name’s Nikki Reed, and every 12…
Read More
How To Listen to Kids. . . A Helpful Little Practice For Youth Workers and Parents . . . .
In my work with kids over the last three decades, I have learned that the most powerful conduit to understanding young people is listening. Through one-on-one conversations, reading their poetry, visiting their Facebook pages and tweets, digesting their journals or…
Read More
Kissing My Kids Goodbye. . . I Never Thought I Was Up To It. . . .
It’s been just about four weeks since our house emptied itself of children for the first time since 1983. There have been kids in this place for almost thirty years. We stood in the driveway with our youngest, Nate, as…
Read More
Gay Marriage. . . What Hangs in the Balance? . . .
With the Supreme Court set to rule on Gay Marriage issues today, my head is spinning. Gay marriage, homosexuality, same-sex attraction. . . these are difficult, complex, and confusing issues. They are also very recent social issues, which means that…
Read More