i know, i know, i had to pick 7…lame. :)
7. when something good happens, don’t try and figure out why. just accept it!
6. writing a book is really really hard work.
5. just when you think you’re comfortable, get ready for stuff to shake up!
4. take chances.
3. if someone doesn’t like you, tough cookies.
2. you can always find something positive to say.
1. shut up and listen.
you?
23 Comments
Musings/Poetry
sorry things have been slow lately…i have some posts scheduled to go up this coming week, but it’s been a little crazy with the move. we’ve made it after hitting only a little traffic…are totally digging the new place (even though we are sans couch/loveseat for a while…)
anyway, here’s to the end of 2007…and the beginning of 2008. thank you all for being a part of this…you rock!
what’s your favorite flowerdust post of 2007?
11 Comments Moving · Oklahoma
an apartment full of boxes somewhere in dallas…chris and anne are discussing final moving things, including the new living room furniture they picked out last week.
chris: so, when is our furniture getting delivered?
anne: um…i thought you said we were going to wait until we moved up there to order it…
chris: yeah, i said that, but i thought you’d get it anyway!
anne: (mouth hangs open overdramatically)…i was just being a submissive wife! i’m not going to spend a bunch of money without us being on the same page.
chris: i just assumed that what i say has no meaning!
anne: so you want me to order it?
chris: it would nice to have furniture when we get there.
lesson: wives, don’t be submissive to your husbands. evidently what they say has no meaning…
17 Comments Dangit · Family · Lessons in Marital Communication · Marriage · Moving · Oklahoma
“christians like info porn”
one of my friends, who’s been working in research and statistics for the last decade or so, wrote that in an email to me.
what led us to that conversation were some statistics many of us have seen before. i know i have, and i was hoping to use them in my book. but having been recently influenced by my brilliant stats-minded friend, i knew i had to track down the source and make sure it was indeed scientific and unbiased before claiming it gospel truth.
the stats i was looking up:
1500 ministers leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, burnout, or contention
50% of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce
80% feel unqualified and discouraged
50% would leave ministry but fear they couldn’t make a living
70% constantly fight depression
40% have had an extramarital affair while in ministry
70% say their only time reading the Bible is when they prepare sermons
i looked around and was able to track most of them down to an informal survey focus on the family did. sounds legit, right?
not so.
the survey was conducted at seminars for pastors/marriages. something i’ve learned in the course of writing mad church disease is just because you have a group of people answer questions, well, that doesn’t make it real research.
unfortunately, these stats cannot be considered accurate for a couple of reasons:
-it’s not a representative sample. the group is pastors who went to a FOF event. totally idiosyncratic.
-the wording of the questions are biased. and grouped. you can’t ask if they feel something AND something.
it would be like getting a group of 20 and 30 year old pastors together and then saying a majority of pastors are young. that’s just not the way statistics are done.
97% of christians get 80% of their stats from unreliable sources, and 73% of them will pass it on as truth. and yes, that whole sentence was a bunch of bull. christians like info porn!
moral of the story? take a stand against info porn. don’t spread bad stats!
on another note, i do have some scientific research that was conducted legitimately. and because i want you to wait a year and buy the book, i won’t put it up just yet… :)
but please let me say…things are not as bad as they may seem.
26 Comments Dangit · Hmmmm · Leadership · Mad Church Disease · WHAT?! · Writing
on top of the merryment of christmas festivities, chris and i are moving this week! i’m not sure how much i’ll be around…family stuff, cleaning out my office, and one final mavs game on thursday night. HOLY SMOKES!
so, i’ve never done this before, but i thought i’d highlight a few posts for you to visit…some of my favorites from days past.
perfecting the art of not being a perfectionist
three reasons i’ll fancy your feed
three reasons i’ll ditch your feed
AND…some REALLY old stuff:
weekend thought: superman’s dead
15 Comments Blogging
