Comments on: Two books https://www.thduggie.com/thduggies_blog/2011/two-books thoughts and family activities in an industrial suburb Sun, 25 Mar 2012 20:03:21 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.7 By: thduggie’s blog » Blog Archive » Everybody’s Normal… https://www.thduggie.com/thduggies_blog/2011/two-books#comment-64401 Sun, 25 Mar 2012 20:03:21 +0000 http://www.morbidcornflakes.ch/thduggies_blog/?p=332#comment-64401 […] I recently finished John Ortberg’s “Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them,” which I had already referred to in my brief review of Ortberg’s equally phrasally titled “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat.”  The link on the “Normal” title takes you to Sursumcorda’s review, which mentions the aspects of the book I dislike (and which seem to be endemic to Ortberg’s writing).  The one habit of his I most regret is his propensity to interrupt serious material with a cheap laugh, which instantly undercuts his argument.  In many cases I end up remembering the dumb joke and not his point. […]

]]> By: thduggie https://www.thduggie.com/thduggies_blog/2011/two-books#comment-47361 Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:03:09 +0000 http://www.morbidcornflakes.ch/thduggies_blog/?p=332#comment-47361 Ortberg didn’t give a nice list of reactions to fear, but here are a few I can come up with:
– Reacting with worry
– Reacting by pretending the cause of fear isn’t there or will just go away
– Reacting by acting fearless to save face
– Reacting with trust in fate (or her cousins, such as Kondratiev waves)

]]> By: thduggie https://www.thduggie.com/thduggies_blog/2011/two-books#comment-47301 Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:21:41 +0000 http://www.morbidcornflakes.ch/thduggies_blog/?p=332#comment-47301 Also, let me know how you like that “Everybody’s Normal…” book!

]]> By: thduggie https://www.thduggie.com/thduggies_blog/2011/two-books#comment-47300 Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:21:21 +0000 http://www.morbidcornflakes.ch/thduggies_blog/?p=332#comment-47300 I think there are two ways in which my reaction can have an impact. First, there’s the very direct way you mention: my reaction in the moment can trigger a similar reaction from my kids. But more important to me is the pattern formed: If I react to fear with cowardice instead of trust in God, my kids will likely learn the same pattern. For instance, I tend to avoid conflict instead of addressing the issue / person with a trust that the Holy Spirit will give me the right words. That’s not a good approach to model.

]]> By: joyful https://www.thduggie.com/thduggies_blog/2011/two-books#comment-47273 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:21:16 +0000 http://www.morbidcornflakes.ch/thduggies_blog/?p=332#comment-47273 That Everybody’s Normal book is going on my library request list…

]]> By: joyful https://www.thduggie.com/thduggies_blog/2011/two-books#comment-47272 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:19:11 +0000 http://www.morbidcornflakes.ch/thduggies_blog/?p=332#comment-47272 “How I react when faced with danger or failure will have a strong impact on how they react in similar situations”

Those are good things to think about. This is where having younger cousins helps prepare you for your own children. I remember a specific example when I was in college, losing my control over my fear in front of K and B and frustrating Aunt N to no end because my fear infected them. (That was the car on fire in the toll booth episode.) I hope K has no lasting scars from that (nor Aunt N) though I think B might have been too young to remember. It was a good lesson to me, though.

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