One of the Freedom Arts Mobile Workshops is Blues Songwriting. This workshop that my staff and I designed gets kids writing creatively in a musical setting. I imagine that they come to this workshop thinking it’s going to be about music (which it is). But it’s more about creative writing. The blues is simply used as a tool to encourage them to ( Read more... )

"Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.
Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.
Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender ( Read more... )

You have 8,760 hours in a year, 168 hours in a week, and 24 hours in a day. Sounds like time is not the issue at all. Great article:

The Dirty Secrets of Time, Priorities, and Honesty

“I hate excuses. And the one I despise most of all is “I don’t have time.” Bullshit. You can find the time. It exists. You choose not to devote the time, and there’ ( Read more... )

I love reading the ancient writings of Plato. Though I certainly don’t agree with all of his beliefs, I appreciate that his writings force me to think critically and examine my own beliefs about everything. Plato’s dialogue Phaedo gives an account of the final hours of Socrates’s life as he discusses the nature of the afterlife. Socrates has been ( Read more... )

Call it a rant if you want ( Read more... )

I have to watch the Presidential "debate" for a class. Here's the summary:

Romney: Obama sucks. I'll do a better job.
Obama: I'm awesome. I do a great job.
Romney: No.
Obama: Yes.
Romney: Dude, no.
Obama: Yes. Now stop that.
Romney: I don't want to stop.
Obama: Well, I want you to stop and I'm President.
Romney: But you suck and I'll do a better job.
Obama: ( Read more... )

The arts are being cut in our public schools, and this is a great crime against a child’s educational life. Many public schools in the United States are limiting the amount of time that children are in music or visual arts classes while others are cutting them from their curriculum entirely. The arts should not be cut from a school’s curriculum; in ( Read more... )

One of my least favorite words is the word 'tolerance.' I hear it used a lot nowadays. I hear many people preach tolerance as if it's a positive action ( Read more... )

From the book Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller:

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