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Helping Kids Process Traumatic Events
Living in an information saturated world means we often get bombarded with news events. I recall crying when I read the news on Sandy Hook and feeling sick to my stomach over the events in Paris. And now, the latest terrorism in Orlando leaves us all stunned—CNN is calling it the “deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.” How do we respond to such events? And, how do we help our children process difficult news when we struggle to make sense of it ourselves? Be careful of media exposure—Whenever possible, avoid letting children under 5 view any traumatic news. Many psychologists also suggest that children between the age of 6–11 should…
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A Christmas Lament
O Come Emmanuel, Day-Spring, come and cheer Our spirits by thine Advent here Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death’s dark shadows put to flight In the midst of joy to the world and hark the herald angels sing In the midst of employee seminar/Christmas lunch, taking pictures by the tree, ten minute break Shots rip flesh and fourteen families apart Blood pooling on the floor, water pouring from fire sprinklers, wails of agony War comes to sleepy San Bernardino, much like it came to Pearl Harbor, seventy-four years ago today Much like it came to Bethlehem over…
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How to Gripe in the Spirit
As a new Christian, I read guides that told me to pray using the acrostic “ACTS”: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. And years later when my husband and I experienced seven pregnancy losses and three failed adoptions, I found myself continually drawn to the psalms. New phrases such “How long, O Lord? (6:3) and “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (22:1) filled my prayers. And while echoing these spiritual gripes, I discovered to my surprise that the ACTS formula had left out the most common form of psalm in The Bible—the lament. We find the psalms of lament in 6, 13, 22, 27, 44, 69, 70, 74,…