iShine Updates

In this crazy Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, social media, technology driven world that we live in…I am finding myself creating friendship online with people that I have never “officially” met face to face!!

And so today’s guest post come from one of those friends.

His name is Matt McKee.

Matt and I seem to run in some of the same circles, but all of our conversations have been via Twitter, Facebook or email.

Just from hanging online with Matt, I know that he loves his wife more than life…and he is an amazing, committed, Jesus focused dad!

Matt is also an aggressive, hungry, Kingdom Entrepreneur!  He has been involved in many projects, but his latest is ROAR.  ROAR is quickly becoming famous for  iPhone and Android apps for non-profits and those who serve non-profits.

You can friend Matt on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.

Here’s Matt!!

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” – Samuel Beckett, recipient of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature
“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure.” – Thomas J. Watson, chairman & CEO of IBM 1914-1956
“Only those who are asleep make no mistakes.” – Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA

The quotes from these great and successful men bring to light a truth that may be hard to understand and accept. This truth is that failure brings about success. And maybe the real truth behind that is that the FEAR of failure hinders success. Every person who has ever been considered a success would be able to go back and outline to you a huge failure, maybe a whole series of huge failures, that brought them down the path to where they are today. And I think they would all agree to the fact that before you can succeed, you first have to be able to fail.

So what does this have to do with parenting? Well, I think one of the absolute hardest parts about parenting is letting your kid fail. You want to protect them from the pain of failure, and so you intervene instead of letting events play out for your kid to learn from them.

My 7-year-old son, Patriot, tried to plug in a MacBook laptop but didn’t know how. All he knew is that he normally plugs his iPod touch into another computer using the cord that you use to connect and power it. He grabbed the only cord he knew and tried to make it work on the MacBook. He plugged one side of the USB cord into the computer. The other end that would normally go to the iPod Touch he couldn’t figure out how to plug into the wall, so he put it in the SD card slot of the same MacBook computer. I watched as he tried to figure it out. I could have stepped in but of course then he wouldn’t have to think or solve a problem. Instead I let him fail. When he finally asked me for help, I didn’t laugh at him or judge him. I simply taught him about the new cord and where it goes. He will never make that mistake again because he learned from his failure.

So when it comes to parenting, I say let your kids fail. Let them struggle. Teach them when they are young that failure is not something to be afraid of. It is very hard to do but they will learn valuable skills and mindsets that will set them up for success in life.

What is 1 THING you need to let your kids try today??

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Ok moms…

Settle in and enjoy!

Here are the TOP “Mom Post’s” from the past year.

• 5 Important Conversations Every Mom Must Have With Her Daughter
• 5 Important Conversations Every Mom Must Have With Her Son
• 5 Things Every Son Needs From His Mom
• Spaghetti, Breastmilk & The Fight I Wish Never Happened
• Are You A Workaholic Stay @ Home Mom
• 6 Tips For Mom’s Running On Empty
• 15 Things To Tell Your Teenage Daughter Before She Closes Her Eyes

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It was June 14th and my wife was hell bent on NOT showing up to give birth until it was time!!

We think Jodie hit labor at some point in the night, but we just weren’t sure if this was really the JackHammer (our 3rd son) making his way into the world, that Braxton Hicks thingy or just spicy gas from Mexican food!!?!

So as I am snoozing my morning away, all of the sudden I hear a…

“It’s time!  He’s here!  Chris, wake up and get me to the hospital now!!!!”

I jumped out of bed, threw on yesterday’s clothes and we split!  I’m talking 100 MPH straight to the hospital!

Jodie was hollerin at the top of her lungs, bossin and tellin me to take her to the ER!

Like a calm, cool and collective hubby, I told her I had the situation under control.

While holding her vijay – j, Jodie screamed…

“I said; take me straight to the ER!!”

It was at this point that my calm and cool had split!

I slammed on the brakes, looked Jodie in the eye and said…

“I am the leader of our home and…”  YEAH, I really did say that and YEAH, that was a big time idiot move!

So we pulled up to the hospital at 9:00AM.  Jodie, still holding her vijay – j,  runs into the hospital and informs everyone within a 10 mile radius…

“I am having a baby and having a baby now!!  Can someone help me?”

We were standing near the cafeteria when she yelled…and everyone dropped their grub, scrambled for a wheel chair and wheeled us off to the labor and delivery area.

Only to find out that there was “no room in the inn”!!?!  Literally, every room was taken up, except for a little supply closet with a make shift bed!!?!

So they wheel Jodie in the room, place her on the bed and the pushing begins.

So the doc, me, Jodie’s mom, Jodie’s friend and a couple of nurses are crammed into this tiny room and The JackHammer is on his way out!!

Jodie is asking for drugs, the nurses are saying a room just became available; Jodie’s mom was bossing everyone and the doc screams out!!!

SHUT – UP!!  EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!!

And that’s when it got really quiet.

The doc changed the game and said, “This room is too small, it’s just not going to work.  A room just came available and we are going to wheel this bed into the hallway, into the new room and deliver this baby.”

So I took over!

I started to push the bed out the door, but there was one little problem.  The bed was too big to fit through the doorway.  So I picked it up, turned it sideways and pushed the bed into the hall…the only problem was that Jodie (half naked at this point) started to slide to the end of the bed and almost plopped onto the floor!!?!

So a nurse comes to the rescue, puts Jodie into a wheel chair, wheels her to the new room, puts her in the bed and within 60 seconds, at 9:14AM the one and only Tifton JackHammer Spradlin was born!!

Remember…we pulled up to the hospital at 9:00AM and he was born at 9:14AM.

So…

Mom’s, I salute you!

You are worthy of honor, respect, adulation, gifts, prizes, money, shoes, your own mansion in heaven because you have gone through hell and high water to give birth!

You have endured the pain!

You had to suffer through your husband’s well intentioned attempts to get you to breathe “right”.

You had to watch your body transform into a beautiful God given oval shape!!

You pushed, fought, screamed, cried and God used you to do the miraculous!  God used you to give life!  God used you to bring a special gift into this world!

GOD USED YOU!!

I know our birth story is over the top and out of control.

But I would love for you to leave a comment and share the good, bad and ugly of your birth experience?

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SO I’m having lunch with a group of long time Christian radio industry dudes, at a questionably healthy mexican joint named “Nacho’s” in Franklin TN. These men will need to remain anonymous as it’s not within the general policy of the universal ”man-code” to nark on your bro’s to the women…. but here goes.

Note the migration of the buttocks to the belly button

All of us are well over thirty… how much so will remain a mystery. All of us have varying degrees of manly decline, some of us are softer than others, rounder than others and generally less than we may have once been in the gym. Suffice it to say, we’re middle-age dad’s… and the discussion migrated to the summer heat and  unusual level of humidity this year. I made the innocent comment that I recently found myself avoiding the beach and visits to the pool these days.. in a serious effort to keep my shirt on in public at all costs. This was met with a hail of manly solidarity from my fellow chip dipping salsa bro’s.

A discussion ensued in which each of us shared various stories of our own issues with finding modified bathing attire and our newly discovered modesty in middle age. It seems that we all had noticed a certain movement of our muscles from the chest to our guts and our butts to our belly buttons … something we’re not terribly proud of, but nonetheless true. Now given the weather had turned to HOT, our uni-sex pull over fleece one piece – hide all our fat-  draping attire wasn’t going to work much longer and the need for tighter fitting polo’s and tee’s were suddenly a concern.

The hip- slick tuck in the front of your shirt behind your large belt buckle look… no longer had much fashion appeal to us and it seemed the darkest – deepest despair was always right before we had to make a belly bulge reveal, usually occurring around swimming or public water recreation… the dull dread of a chance meeting with someone you knew well from church or the neighborhood. The shame of them seeing you hanging out by the side of the pool in three foot deep area that lamely covered your white stick legs while your superbly inflated life raft of a belly bobbed at the water line for all to see and admire… SHUDDER

We discussed the variety of ways to cover one’s growing mid-riff when one of the brothers, shared he had worn a tee-shirt to bed for six months after he first got married (NO WAY !!!) , to save his wife the grief of seeing his over-developed table muscle. Which after he said it, the supportive man club… roundly applauded this poor man for his transparency and honesty, then snickering to ourselves.. we all quietly decided it was time to move this conversation along. What’s my point?

We change, we age, we decline… but at a pace that we can largely determine.

Marriage, fatherhood and middle age are potent mixes of all kinds of pressure for men. We find ourselves often caught with the mind of a 20-year-old and the knees of a 50-year-old and the aches and pains and Advil bottle in our car to prove it. What happened to us? When did our studly vigor start to go south…and why? 

Middle Age Hipster

The answer is not just a medical one, low hormones, reduced metabolism, increased dietary intake and reduced activity all make up the answers. Throw in heredity and environment, self-esteem and job stability and you’ve got a hundred reasons in a heartbeat. The reality is this… we take great pains to try to stay the same, when in reality we’re not going to succeed. We’re going to change, the body is going to fail us eventually and we are going to have to adapt our actions accordingly.

1- We can stoically accept it and continue to passively eat, drink and sleep our way to an early grave, with lots of extra long t-shirts and elastic waist band pants, or..

2- We can step back and look closely at the life we have and modify it for the better. Choose to eat less, walk more and go to the pool with our kids, if for no other reason than to share that day with them without too much shame and distraction. No we are not going to be 20 something again, but we can be a healthy 40…something

Guys, don’t forget to take care of yourselves, life is precious. It’s fleeting and it’s ours for the living… but passivity and avoidance are choices too. Skip the second helping… sweet potatoes are your friend, fried is a “four” letter word for your wardrobe and diabetes’ is a real thing.  Our wives, our kids and our communities of faith are counting on us to love ourselves as much as we try to love them… they need us to be here when it really counts. Let’s do our best to push back from the table and walk with our ladies around the block at night, you might just find you feel a whole lot better and your bride might just think you look a heck of lot more… uhmm- “Nice”

No great spiritual insight here, just a lighthearted reminder to myself and my Nacho eating compadre’s to work a bit harder this summer to return to our shirtless days and parent on with a bit less under the hood !

Peace out, RTP.

brad.

Tagged: Battle of the bulge, brad mathias, Dads, Exercise, faith and family, fathers, Men’s Health, Middle age, Middle Age health, Weight Loss

I remember hearing my friend and pastor, Craig Groeschel, tell a story about a friend of his that was OC (obsessive – compulsive) about the cleanliness of his house.

His specific passion was having clean, smudge free, paw print free, sparkling, heaven like windows!

To the point that this guy would break out the windex, water and vinegar…any MacGyver like combination of chemicals that would leave his windows lookin pristine and pimped.

So time flew, the clock ticked, his kids grew up, graduated and flew the coop!!…and left dad to stare out his pristine, pimped and sparkling clean windows all alone.

And Craig remembers the guy saying something to the effect of…

“I wish my kids were still around to smudge up the windows I worked so hard to keep clean”

So mom’s…

The clock is ticking and time is flying!

You better learn to CHERISH the smudges, sippy cups and dirty diapers, spaghetti in the nostrils, pee on the seat, crayons on the wall, watching your kids eat their boogs in the rear view mirror, Dora, Blues Clues, a thousand questions about the moon, crushes and broken hearts, acne, skinny jeans, sick high tops and Justin Bieber songs.

You better learn to CHERISH drivers ed, the first date, the first break up, working at the mall, broken arms, skid marks in the undies, crusty oatmeal stuck to the bowl, driving them to youth group and all the basketball, football, cheer, chess, music lessons, rock climbing events and snow board competitions!!

A day is coming when you to will say…

“I wish my kids were still around to smudge up the windows.”

Mom!!  Cherish ” the good, bad and ugly” of being a mom before the days vanish!

“You, indeed, have made my days short in length,
and my life span as nothing in Your sight.
Yes, every mortal man is only a vapor. Selah”  Psalm 39:5

Do you take time for granted?  What is 1 thing you want to do with your kiddos before they leave the house?

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I would like to dedicate today’s post to my smokin hot, Jesus lovin, super resilient, tough as nails, reverently irreverent wife…

The one and only

Mrs. Jodie Spradlin!!

Three years ago Jodie decided that she wanted to go back to school and get her nursing degree, and that’s exactly what she did!  So for the past three years she has studied, traveled, poked people with needles, cleaned up vomit, studied, wrote papers, worked in hospitals, traveled, studied…and this past Saturday she graduated.

And can I just say that I was a freaking mess during the entire graduation ceremony. 

I laughed.

I cried.

I remembered when.

I cried some more.

Words really can’t describe all the emotions and how proud I am of Jodie!!

So…since this is Momalicious Mother’s Day week, today I am celebrating Jodie.  (And she has no idea this is today’s post…she’ll find out when it hits her inbox)

20 Reasons why I love Jodie…the most amazing wife/mom on the planet!!  (I’m just a little biased)

• After loosing her leg at 16 years old to a drunk driver, she has committed her life and story to helping others walk through trauma and pain.
• After spending hour after hour on her prosthetic leg…she didn’t quit or say “I can’t do it!”
• She learned how to bless Team Sprad with her “presence” even when she wasn’t “present”
• She loves me irrationally
• Her strong sense of “mothers intuition” is always on the money
• She doesn’t take herself too seriously
• She chased her dream
• She loves me even when I am being a “you know what”
• She gives me grace instead of instruction
• She loves another man more than me…his name is Jesus
• She gets our oldest son and knows he just needs some quantity/quality time
• I have never heard her gripe or complain 1 time about loosing her leg…she is thankful for the God opportunities it presents
• She is my daughters best friend
• She knows how to love my youngest son
• She’s hilarious and makes me laugh
• She’s not bound up with pleasing people and truly lives for an audience of one
• She followed me to Steamboat, to OKC, to Phoenix, back to OKC, back to Steamboat and now back to OKC
• She looked hot graduation night!!  You should have seen her
• She loves people over everything
• I get pretty good parking spots when we travel together    (see #1)

Now it’s your turn.  Leave a comment and tell me 1 reason your mom/wife should be celebrated!!

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Oh the rush of a serious infatuation, sigh… the full-blown magnificent high that seems to only exist in the early days of another instant attraction ! That “one in a million“ personal connection to someone else!  Remember how intense your emotional high was? How deeply it moved into your heart, re-wiring your mind and… well, maybe caused you to go crazy for a while?

Some of us may have pushed caution to the side and  rushed headlong into that sensational blast of instant attraction many times in our past, or possibly right now! We are tempted to jump with abandon off the cliffs of reason to chase wildly after a whirlwind courtship that ended or will end soon after, leaving us dazed and disoriented from a hangover of confused emotions, broken promises and dashed dreams.

Remember?

It hurts, it embarrasses us…even pains us to think of our relational mistakes, our horror stories of lost love and rejection… we chew our lips nervously, wondering how it was that we could have acted so foolishly, rejecting basic reason and the wise advice of those who love us… in exchange for the instant rush of immediate and intense pleasure, revving us up like some kind of emotional crack.

pic – courtesy of awarenessoftheheart.com

Why do some of us still battle this pattern of life, condemned to run in a cycle of hope, euphoria and despair? I’m not a licensed psychologist, so my thoughts are purely personal, but they reflect the experiences of pastoring, parenting and 20 years of marriage and by God’s grace, could be helpful.

I believe the battle for intimacy is rooted in our Identities. Yes, our basic understanding of who we are, why we are here…

1) If we believe we are simply survivors on the battlefield of life, we look desperately for the next foxhole to jump into and take cover. We move desperately from one relationship to the next… hoping it will last longer than the one you just got out of. This by its very nature is intense living, intimacy is a long lost dream that can never be found here.

2) If we believe we are basically bad… then we’re criminally guilty and condemned to live out a life of penance. We may wander in a series of pre-determined, expected and monotonous life moments to preserve our cultural Christian identities… we stick our marriages out, but never grow in our relationships. We’re stuck,  trapped in our decision to marry. Eventually we become so desperate to find an “escape” , a place to run to and leave our empty world behind that we relentlessly crave the greener grass somewhere else and feel guilty and excited at the same time. This drives the world of infidelity… creating pressure and frustration so deep it eventually decieves us into thinking someone or something else would satisfy…would put color back into our lives. This must have intensity to exist… intimacy cannot.

3) If we believe that God has created us to be unique and vital expressions of life, then we will move in directions that reflect our true self, our purpose will direct our actions… slowing the need to escape or survive long enough to actually navigate our lives with intentionality, with direction… with confidence. This creates a foundation for intimacy to grow from, even better… it doesn’t require intensity to exist, it’s stronger than that!

It’s this third option of identification that I believe will save the day for those of us who find a growing addiction to intensity.  The intense relationships, the intense hobbies, the intense goals we crave, give us a brief sense of purpose, a false sense of identity and a  momentary sense of excitement that can only exist for short bursts… it’s like a narcotic, euphoric and beautiful for a short period, but quickly fades to black in time. To continue to “FEEL”  we chase it more and more, over and over until we can’t stop the urge to take another hit, another rush… except it leaves its scars within our hearts, not our kidneys, liver or  brain.

Our world feeds this need into us, demanding that we do more, experience more, buy more, sell more, eat more, smell more, have sex more, travel more, get more stuff… it hounds us to run with the wild and happy ones, sucking the marrow out of life until we are no more. If that’s all we truly have, if our basic identities are only stuck on option one or two above…this may become a tempting offer.

My encouragement to us all is this… PULL BACK, move back, further away from the edge of the INTENSE and consider the path of  true Intimacy… yes it’s a slower, calmer way. It lacks the rush of new and exciting emotions and pleasures, but it offers something much deeper, something much truer than simple momentary ecstasy. It promises… stability, strength and peace…and ironically, delivers to us a much more expansive pleasure and purpose than any “intense” momentary excitement could conceive of.

We need to stop… pause and remember the reality of true intimacy… in our marriages, in our homes and in our world. It takes TIME to grow into intimacy, not something that can be rushed… it’s a slow burn, but once it’s lit… it won’t easily go out. As still water runs deep, so our lives will reflect the maturity of our identity and as we mature so will our capacity for being real, for trusting completely…for being intimate.

pic – courtesy of – ocawonder.com

We would do well to consider the truth of our faith and family, of the promise of God to meet all of our hearts desires, to satisfy our longing souls with goodness. Our creator is the ONLY one who knows us the way we crave for others to appreciate…. quit looking for perfection, for eternity  in any one other than the creator of your soul. They simply don’t exist… not like Hollywood portrays them…instead, look for a faithful authentic helpmate who has discovered their source of love and purpose and peace outside of the intense and has a real capacity to be intimate with their faith and savior… Wait patiently for God to direct your path forward, into someone who is prepared and ready to share and be shared. That’s the stuff of real life.

Our kids need to know their parents are more mature than they are… our kids need to see that we are wise and confident in our identities, growing and gaining in intimacy, fearlessly living out lives… Remember the truth of the bible, read it, trust it… watch it grow in your life. Like this amazing passage in Proverbs chapter 3: 1-8 … English Standard Version (ESV) – Source:  Biblegateway.com

Tagged: brad mathias, Co-Dependence, faith and family, Intensity, Intimacy, Love, Marriage, Proverbs 3, relational addictions, relational psychology, relationships, Road Trip Parenting

By KATHERINE ROSMAN (WSJ article- repost)

Celina McPhail’s mom wouldn’t let her have a Facebook account. The 12-year-old is on Instagram instead.

Her mother, Maria McPhail, agreed to let her download the app onto her iPod Touch, because she thought she was fostering an interest in photography. But Ms. McPhail, of Austin, Texas, has learned that Celina and her friends mostly use the service to post and “like” Photoshopped photo-jokes and text messages they create on another free app called Versagram. When kids can’t get on Facebook, “they’re good at finding ways around that,” she says.

It’s harder than ever to keep an eye on the children. Many parents limit their preteens’ access to well-known sites like Facebook and monitor what their children do online. But with kids constantly seeking new places to connect—preferably, unsupervised by their families—most parents are learning how difficult it is to prevent their kids from interacting with social media.

Children are using technology at ever-younger ages. About 15% of kids under the age of 11 have their own mobile phone, according to eMarketer. The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project reported last summer that 16% of kids 12 to 17 who are online used Twitter, double the number from two years earlier.

Parents worry about the risks of online predators and bullying, and there are other concerns. Kids are creating permanent public records, and they may encounter excessive or inappropriate advertising. Yet many parents also believe it is in their kids’ interest to be nimble with technology.

As families grapple with how to use social media safely, many marketers are working to create social networks and other interactive applications for kids that parents will approve. Some go even further, seeing themselves as providing a crucial education in online literacy—”training wheels for social media,” as Rebecca Levey of social-media site KidzVuz puts it.

Last week, 20 companies pitched online and mobile products for kids in Pasadena, Calif., at the 6th annual Digital Kids Conference. This summer, Microsoft and Scholastic  will help sponsor the first Digital Family Summit in Philadelphia. Scholastic will preview a new version of Storia, an interactive e-reading application aimed at kids ages 3 to 14. “As kids migrate more to devices, we don’t want to be left out,” says Deborah Forte, president of Scholastic Media.

“Digital media is a great thing for kids; even a 12-year-old can have a personal brand,” says Stephanie Schwab, the founder of the Digital Family convention. Her 3-year-old uses an iPad every day. When Ms. Schwab recently wondered out loud what the weather was like, her son responded, “Ask Siri.”

KidzVuz is a social media start-up aimed at teaching kids how to create content at an early age. Kids create a profile with a handle (say, “GossipGirl”) but no name, and parents have to approve the account. Kids then create video reviews of books, films, food and clothes. There is no private messaging, and comments are actively monitored for nastiness.

The site was launched by two technologically active mothers in New York City. One co-founder, Ms. Levey, says the idea is create a safe place for children to learn how to communicate effectively and politely on a medium that will be key to their social, academic and economic li

Autumn Miller, a 10-year-old, has nearly 6,000 people following her Facebook fanpage postings.

Faith King, a 9-year-old third grader in Red Bank, N.J., says since she starting posting video reviews to KidzVuz, she has learned important lessons of film production. “You need to make sure the lights are on so people can see you,” she says. She also has learned to focus on interesting content. “Don’t review a dictionary,” she advises.

Her mother, Cristie Ritz-King, says her daughter’s love of the site has prompted many conversations about the importance of being skeptical about strangers online and questioning the accuracy of information. She wants her daughter to learn early on to be agile with social media. “It’s never going away,” she says.

Alexa Ashley, 14, is on Instagram.

The University of Southern California’s Annenberg Innovation Lab has created “Playground,” a social platform for school-age students. The idea is for kids to learn how to create Internet content—and to consider the implications of privacy, the permanence of a Web footprint, the basics of brand building and a little about online manners. Educators need to teach Internet literacy at an early age, says Erin Reilly, Playground’s creator. “Kids are always going to find a back door for communication and collaboration,” she says.

Along with established social sites for kids, such as Walt Disney Club Penguin, kids are flocking to newer sites such as FashionPlaytes.com, a meeting place aimed at girls ages 5 to 12 who are interested in designing clothes, and Everloop, a social network for kids under the age of 13. Viddy, a video-sharing site which functions similarly to Instagram, is becoming more popular with kids and teenagers as well.

On KidzVuz, a new social media site, there is no private messaging and comments are actively monitored.

Some kids do join YouTube, Google, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter, despite policies meant to bar kids under 13. These sites require that users enter their date of birth upon signing up, and they must be at least 13 years old. Apple—which requires an account to download apps like Instagram to an iPhone—has the same requirement. But there is little to bar kids from entering a false date of birth or getting an adult to set up an account. Instagram declined to comment.

“If we learn that someone is not old enough to have a Google account, or we receive a report, we will investigate and take the appropriate action,” says Google spokesman Jay Nancarrow. He adds that “users first have a chance to demonstrate that they meet our age requirements. If they don’t, we will close the account.” Facebook and most other sites have similar policies.

Still, some children establish public identities on social-media networks like YouTube and Facebook with their parents’ permission. Autumn Miller, a 10-year-old from Southern California, has nearly 6,000 people following her Facebook fan-page postings, which include links to videos of her in makeup and costumes, dancing Laker-Girl style.

“Autie’s Freestyle Friday Dance Channel” on YouTube has nearly 13,000 subscribers and hosts 39 videos that have logged in excess of 3.5 million views. (article continues at WSJ )

Where the Kids Are

• KidzVuz. Social-media site where kids create video reviews of books, films, food and clothes.

• Instagram. Photo-sharing app being acquired by Facebook. Some kids worry it will lose its cool.

• Viddy. What Instagram is to photos, Viddy is to video. Tweens say their friends are flocking to it.

• Playground. A site intended to teach kids how to create and be responsible with social media.

• Club Penguin. Disney-owned site with safety controls embedded in its technology. Kids can connect and chat but only type certain words and phrases.

• FashionPlaytes.com. Girls ages 5 to 12 meet here to talk fashion. Site lets them design and order custom-made garments.

Write to Katherine Rosman at katherine.rosman@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared May 2, 2012, on page D1 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Tweens’ Secret Lives Online.

——————— (RTP)————————————————– (blog notes below) ———-

So…wow, it’s clear that the digital revolution is creeping into younger and younger territory in our homes. Parents, we need to stay “Up” on the digital and social media trends, sites and patterns that our kids are plugging into…. if we don’t someone else most certainly will. One of the reasons we’re working so hard at iShine to provide a Faith Based alternative to families for online content and social media. To see what we’re up to… (Shameless but rare plug, goto www.ishinelive.com)

Faith Based Online Media for Tweens

Peace Out and be encouraged fellow RTP’s….  remember the words of truth in scripture, as you seek to lead your families forward in faith,

PS – A huge “Thank You” to my mentor, friend and boss…. Tom Johnson for the great “heads up” on this article…

Tagged: Club Penguin, Facebook, faith and family, Fashionplaytes.com, iShine, iShine Live, KATHERINE ROSMAN, Kids online, KidzVuz, Parents and Social Media, Road Trip Parenting, Tweens and Technology, WSJ

Last year I had the awesome opportunity to be a part of the D6 Family Ministry Conference and I was absolutely blown away.  The speakers, leaders, staff, volunteers, breakout communicators as well as vendors eat, drink and sleep empowering parents and churches.

So here is the deal!  You need to be at D6 2012.  The location is Big D (Dallas) and the dates are September 26 – 28…and you can find out more info HERE. 

This is a conference that every Pastor, Parent, Youth guy/gal and volunteer MUST attend!

You will laugh, cry, experience Jesus, make friends, hear life changing communicators and your family as well as your church will be changed.

Want to know more?  Here is a “best of” video from 2011.

I will be at D6 2012 leading a couple of breakout sessions called “Workaholics In The Name Of Jesus” and “Lust, Sex & Triple X”.  I would love to connect with you while I am in Big D so give me a heads up if your headed that way.

If your planning to attend D6, leave a comment and let me know!

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Loved this blog so much I’m just reposting a portion of it for RTP and linking it to the original author/post….

“Why childlike imagination is the key to mature faith”…. (repost from Relevant.com and “Don’t Grow Up” article author John Van Sloten – May 2 2012 )

“I have a friend named Lillian. Even though sheʼs in her seventies, sheʼs younger than me. She is so alive and she always seems to be laughing out loud. Every time I talk with her, sheʼs brightly attentive and exudes this wonderfully genuine sense of joie de vivre. She refuses to act her age. When I see her this way, she reminds me of God.

Writer G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “It may be that [God] has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”

Our capacity to be amazed and to wonder seems to diminish with age. We donʼt look behind, beyond and beneath things as much; nothing surprises us anymore. Weʼve grown old, and our imaginative vision fades along with our cataract-clouded eyes. This malady, this loss of our childlikeness, is a huge impediment to seeing God in the world. Our lost innocence deadens our senses.

We canʼt go through life as though everything is brand new. But we have to be very careful about how much we think we know. We need to know things, while realizing at the same time that we really donʼt know much at all, and that there is still so much more to learn.

Children are naturals at knowing things this way.

Leaving room for the new and unknown

Children are young enough and still humble enough to realize that what they know isnʼt everything there is to know. Of course, none of us ever really knows that much, relatively speaking, yet we tend to lose touch with this grounding perspective. We lose this healthy humility of childhood. We think we know how God works. Or we think weʼve seen all there is to see of God in life. We go to church, sing a few songs, help at the local soup kitchen, read the Bible once in a while and think we know something. We settle for what we think we know and, by doing so, leave little room for a greater knowing. Maybe itʼs because weʼve never experienced God in ways other than the narrow confines of our own lives.

But what if God is new every day?… post continues on Relevant.com “

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Mimi today

Closing thoughts from Road Trip Parenting;

Working each day with my 70 something mom is a daily dose of Joy and her inner child is definitely alive and well, so much so that she brings fresh energy and ideas to every situation of life she encounters. She is a genuine delight to be with, and represents the truth of this article to such a degree that I would simply point to her as “proof positive” of this articles main point.

Grandparents out there… its time for you to revert to your childhood and rise up We need you desperately in our lives!

Thank you Mimi for being SO YOUNG, your a blessing to us ALL…

Peace out, RTP

Tagged: brad mathias, Childlike Faith, Christian parenting, Faith, Grandparents, John Van Sloten, Relevant, Relevant Magazine, Road Trip Parenting