From my heart

I practice Sonhahm Taekwondo. One of the goals of the ATA is to instill certain life skills in the students, and in so doing build their character. At the beginning of each class or event we recite a declaration or oath. To me, the declarations we make, is also about how we should conduct ourselves as people in everyday life. I have spent a long time in the Defense Force and as a young officer we were taught the skills of Courtesy, Loyalty and Respect. I just wish that we can teach these same skills to the public at large. I am seeing and experiencing the lack of courtesy, loyalty, respect, integrity and self-control that the people have around me. People of a non-profit group being outright rude, children being rude to their parents, senior (in rank but junior in age) people being rude to juniors (in rank but senior in age). What happened to common decency, courtesy, and respect? We do not have self-control, and we do not teach our children self-control and even th...

I came across this post from Bryan Ward this morning: Every day you are beaten :  Beaten by the leaky sink you keep avoiding. Beaten by the applesauce on the wall you keep not scrubbing off. Beaten by the dent in the drywall you keep putting off fixing. You long to conquer mountains, yet every day you are beaten by molehills. All these little problems… they should be so easily solved. Yet they go on defeating you, day after day, until at last you conclude that you are not a capable man: If you are this easily defeated, “surely” you do not have what it takes to win the bigger fights: to become your fittest self, to create a business empire, to create works of art that will outlast you. Hell, you can’t even fix a leaky sink: might as well f*** off and go watch TV. But you’ve misdiagnosed the problem entirely. … One summer day when I went into the workshop, I saw that the plastic gas cans by the tractor were bulging like balloons. I had left the vents closed, and the hea...

It is easy to become discouraged and depressed, when we look at the recent shootings in France, the State Capture in Southern Africa, the seemingly carefree spending and corruption of governments, Europe being over-run by demanding asylum seekers. Where is this going to end? Is it ever going to end or are we hurtling towards another war? Many doomsday preachers say that the end of the world is close. I do not know if it is, too many people have said it is through the ages. However, when we look at certain scriptures it certainly does look like it: Matthew 24   6"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened,    for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.    7"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in  various places there will be famines and earthquakes.… It also said in this chapter that the end will not come until the Good News has been preached...

The heresy of worshiptainment | Mike Livingstone : "More recently, David Platt has asked: “What if we take away the cool music and the cushioned chairs? What if the screens are gone and the stage is no longer decorated? What if the air conditioning is off and the comforts are removed? Would His Word still be enough for his people to come together?” (Radical)"

Christmas is the time of year when families get together and have fun. It is the time when billions are spent by consumers, succumbing to the perfect marketing strategies of the chain stores, just to bring 'joy' to the world!  Christmas is also the most lonely time for the elderly, homeless and orphaned. While we enjoy our meals and presents, please remember those that have not, and remember what the "Joy to the world" actually means.

From the Autism Speaks site This guest post is by Mara Fineshriber a mother, official water bottle bringer, head cheerleader, chauffeur, chief bandage applier, financier, head of complaint department, and homework enforcer.   How my son with autism became a martial arts champion My son, Ethan, was diagnosed with autism at age three. I remember thinking he was more behind on his infant and toddler milestones than his older sister was, but I didn't think too much of it because we are often told that each child is different and the range of "normal" is pretty wide. He didn't begin walking until almost two. He could speak a lot of words at 12 months but they were never his own. He would simply mimic back what others said to him. Communication got much easier when he got to a place where he could answer yes or no, but it wasn't until we completed a lot of therapy before he could answer anything open ended. He is as literal as the day is long and sarcasm,...