Tomorrow is Father’s Day. My friend Mark posted a link to this article yesterday (Dads are Key to Making us Human), and I thought it was worth reading. Here are some things I thought were interesting:
Some 95 percent of male mammals have little to no interaction with their children. Homo sapiens are one of the most notable exceptions, leading some scientists to think fatherhood is an important part of what makes us human.
Even today, in both traditional and industrialized communities, a father’s presence correlates with improved health and decreased child mortality, Geary said.
When children have warm relationships with their father, as well as calm home lives, they tend to sexually mature later. Their bodies intuit they are safe and time is taken perfecting social skills before entering the real world, Geary said. The extra practice gives children a competitive edge. As adults, they are more likely to form secure relationships, achieve stable social standing and become able parents. In this sense, a father who takes care of his children also gives his grandchildren a leg up.
You should read the whole article. It’s really pretty great. If you’re a dad, do your job. It’s important. Have a happy father’s day.
Yesterday Janell and the boys went to Florida to visit our family, so I’m home alone for a few weeks. I was supposed to go to Cuba during this time, but I had issues with my passport so I couldn’t get the visa in time. So, I’m home alone.
It’s okay, though, because I have plenty of work to do. The school year just ended, and I’ve got tons of projects going on. We’re planning a National Youth Workers Conference for November, so there are details for that. Our diploma course has 2 weeks left in the school year. We’ve got graduation coming up. I’ve got papers to grade. I’m working hard on our Spanish youth ministry website. Oh, and I’m taking a distance course for my Master’s degree.
So, needless to say, I’ll be missing my family but very busy. Plus I’ll have to scavenge for food while Janell’s not here. It’s so hard to be alone.
Here’s a video I made the last time I was home alone:
(photo by: cayusa)
I received an email the other day from a church who was asking some questions about a friend who they were considering to be their pastor.
The email included something that caught my eye. Here is part of the email that I found interesting:
We have a strong and very gifted youth pastor who we all love dearly. We know, some day, he will move on to probably, a pastor position. In your opinion, is (my friend’s name) gifted in the area of mentoring?
This was probably one of the worst things you can write in an email to me. I understand that their question has nothing to do with youth ministry, but the wording of the sentence tells me a lot about their thoughts about youth ministry and youth pastors.
It reads like they think that one day their youth pastor will “grow up” and “move on” to a “real pastor position.” This, in my opinion, reflects the attitude of many when it comes to youth ministry. For many, youth ministry is a stepping stone to “real ministry” or a “real job.” It’s something you do as you wait to mature into a “pastor.”
But youth pastors ARE pastors. We are called by God. We do have responsibilities that require pastoral leadership. We are equal in calling and only subordinate in role. God has called us to pastoral ministry.
I strongly believe that I will be working in youth ministry my whole life. Maybe God will change my understanding of what He has called me to, but please don’t make it sound like I’m just waiting around for a real calling.
(Photo by: Aslan on flickr)
There’s no better cultural experience than going to a national team’s soccer game. So, when I found out that “El Tri,” the other name for the Mexican soccer team, was playing in Estadio Azteca here in Mexico City, I had to find a way to go.
I had been to one of these games before, but it was only a friendly match against the Republic of Congo. This time, it’s a World Cup Qualifier. In other words, this one really counted. Especially since Mexico is on the brink of being left out of next year’s World Cup, something that would be unheard of.
So Hube, Edgar, Paco, and I left from the Seminary at 5:30, thinking that we had plenty of time to get to the stadium. Well, we were wrong. At 8:30, we were exiting off the main road to get to the stadium. We put the radio on and heard the national anthems. We knew we were late.
Then, we heard that the game had started, and Mexico scored a goal in the first minute. We were still in line to find parking. As we pulled up closer to the stadium, we realized that the parking lot to the stadium was closed. So we had to park on the road in front of someone’s house and pay 20 pesos more than we would have paid at the stadium parking lot.
We walked to the stadium entrance, and as we were entering, they informed Huberto that he couldn’t bring in his backpack. So he left it at one of the places where they were selling t-shirts. We got into the stadium to watch the final 5 minutes of the first half.
But the in the last few minutes of the first half, Trinidad and Tobago scored a goal, which made everyone in the stadium upset.
We got to watch the second half from our nose-bleed section seats, which actually weren’t that bad. We saw the “golazo” by Mexico and went home happy with a 2-1 victory and 3 more points for Mexico in their quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup (check the video highlights here).
Leaving where we were parked, none of the four of us who were in the car knew which way to go. We finally made it to a recognizable place, but by now, we were starving, so we had to stop to get some tacos on the way home.
Overall, it was a fun night, despite the 5 or 6 hours we spent in the car in traffic and/or lost in Mexico City. I’m glad we went, and I’m looking forward to August 12 when the United States comes to town to play against Mexico for bragging rights and points towards the World Cup.
