Newspaper Page Text
8B
♦ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2007
Don't let stress affect how you live your life
QUESTION: I have a lot of
stress in my life and just don’t
know how to cope with it. Any
suggestions?
When the roof caves in at
your house, when your little
girl gets the measles or your
teenager flunks a course in
school or your spouse gets laid
off at work, how do you cope
with the stress?
DR. DOBSON: Your question
reminds me of an old baseball story
about Bill Klem, a famous National
League umpire. He used to have a
habit of hesitating a minute before
signaling a ball or a strike. It was
just a quirk of his. One day there
was this hotshot young pitcher on
the mound who would fire away,
and Bill Klem would take his time
calling the pitch.
Finally, in about the sixth
inning the kid was getting irri
New Year's resolutions
Last year as New
Year’s approached,
a reporter called
and asked for my resolu
tions for the upcoming year
m f° r a story
BN?*” .she was
doing.
HP *** have long
- xi the same
old diet
Ronda Rich r e S 0 l u -
Dixie Divas tion to
lose 10
pounds, which was my sole
promise for many years
running. Being the bright
person I am, I finally dis
carded that futile exercise
and moved on to another
fruitless resolve. When I
gave it to the reporter, I was
firm. I meant it. Never have.
I had greater determination
to stick with something. I
was so resolute with it that
I believed that I could do it.
Plus, I welcomed the chance
to publicize. I figured that
would aid me in keeping
my brand new, never used
before resolution.
“I’m putting my foot
down on special favors and
saying ‘No.’ That means
that I won’t be getting auto
graphed NASCAR memora
bilia on a regular basis for
casual acquaintances and
they’ll be on their own for
finding tickets for sold-out
ballgames.”
You’d be amazed at how
many strangers call me up
or email me for favors that
are beyond bold. Sometimes
the brazen fortitude leaves
Origin of some holiday
words is surprising
We all know the origins of
Christmas, but the origins of
words pertaining to Christmas
aren’t always so obvious.
Some expressions that seem secular
actually have links to
Kl religion, and vice versa.
I rummaged through
I my files and diction
ary to explain a few of
Christmas: Literally
| “Christ’s Mass,” of
course, and though we
Glynn Moore celebrate the birth of
Columnist Jesus on Dec. 25, we
glynn.moore@morris.com don’t really know when
he was born. Some say
in the spring; others in the fall.
Christmas Day: The observance of
Christmas took place sporadically for years
until the fourth century, when church
leaders apparently thought it expedient to
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO JOIN US FOR CHRISTMAS SERVICES
Sunday, Dec. 23rd at 10 AM
Children’s Christmas Pageant
Monday, Dec. 24th, at 6 PM, \
Christmas Eve, Family Service / w j§< g
Caroling & Festival Eucharist 11
Tuesday, Dec. 25th at 10 AM -jdjtp'r,
Christmas Day, Holy Eucharist 3
Saint Christopher’s At-The-Crossroads episcopal Church
1207 Macon Rd. • Perry, GA
FOR MORE INFO CALL 987-2190,
VISIT US AT WWW.STCHRISTOPHERSEPISCOPAL.ORG
(kefout SetuMM *7* Ooct
tated. He threw
one crucial pitch
and then just
couldn't help
yelling, “Come
Klem pulled
off his face mask, „ ,
stared the kid
down, and said, Focus on the Family
“It ain’t nothing
‘til I call it something.”
Well, that’s kind of the way it is
in life. We can’t stop the curveballs
from coming our way, but we do
get the privilege of deciding what
to call them.
You can determine whether a
stressful time is the most hor
rible, terrible, unfair thing that
ever happened to you; or whether
it’s just another common problem
that you’ll manage to get through
my mouth hanging open.
One man wrote, “I have
never read your column or
any of your books. Never
cared to. But yesterday, I
happened across your col
umn and saw where you are
a published author. I have
written an excellent novel
and am in need of help in
getting it to the appropri
ate publisher. How can you
help me?”
Now, let’s be sensible
here. If you’re going to ask
a favor from me, you need
to soak up to me really good.
Like my mama, I respond
well to a little bragging
on me. Do not, under any
circumstance, dismiss me
summarily then ask a big,
imposing favor. That e-mail
did not receive the favor of
a reply.
Regularly, I am
approached by people who
want me to donate books
for auctions or use my
NASCAR connections to
obtain signed merchandise.
After I helped a charity auc
tion a couple of years ago
by calling in a lot of big
time NASCAR favors then
received a major hassle in
return, I am now off that
wagon.
Race passes and hard
to-get ballgame or concert
tickets are another area
where my help is often
sought by the casual pass
er-by in my life. A couple
of times, I’ve gotten them
as a way of saying thank
you for a kindness that had
been given to me. But I’ve
always said, “This is a one
time deal.”
move in on pagan festivals that occurred
around the winter solstice. Such obser
vances had gone on for thousands of years
and worshipped various gods; the Romans
especially adored Saturn and the sun and
partied on Dec. 25.
By choosing that date to worship the
Nativity, church leaders were able to trans
fer the celebrations to their own holiday. It
worked; today, we don’t deck the halls for
Saturn or the sun.
Yule: This is another word for Christmas
or the Christmas season. It comes from
Old Norse for a winter month, and is also
the name of a heathen festival during the
winter solstice.
Jolly: Believe it or not, this word describ
ing many people this time of year, especial
ly Santa Claus, is derived from “yule.”
Carol: A song we sing today got its legs
as a dance and a Christmas tune danced
to the flute. It’s affiliated with “chorus,”
See MOORE, page 9B
somehow.
Remember, also, that the way
you react is being watched care
fully by your kids. If we show them
that we can cope, they’ll also be
more likely to handle their stress
more easily.
QUESTION: My wife and I
have two very strong-willed
kids who are hard to handle.
They seem to need to test us,
and they’re the happiest and
most contented when we are
the toughest on them.
Why do they insist on mak
ing us growl at them and even
punish them more than we’d
like to?
It is curious, isn’t it that some
children seem to enjoy fighting
with their parents. It’s a function
of the pugnacious temperament
with which they are born. Many
kids just like to run things and
Still, they have called and
asked again. This from peo
ple I barely know.
Then, there are my
famous friends from whom
people want favors. Finally,
I’ve learned to be protec
tive of those friends and
say “no” when someone
asks me to ask them. I hate
being the bad guy but even
worse I hate being made
to feel rotten over doing
what’s right.
Let me admit this: I’m
terrible at saying “no”.
I’m so tender-hearted that
I just want to help where
I can and pass along my
blessings. There comes a
time, though, when you
have to pull in the reins.
Especially when I’m doing
so many favors that it’s eat
ing up my time and keeping
me from getting my work
done.
So, I resolved to stop
doing favors in 2007. I did
very well for two weeks
then someone needed tick
ets to the Super Bowl.
Then, in the blink of a tick
et scalper’s eye, I was back
in the favor business. I’ve
been much better, though.
I’ve turned down a lot of
requests in recent months.
Still, if you could help
me figure* out a way to stop
completely, I’d surely be
grateful.
I’d consider it a great
favor.
Ronda Rich is the best
selling author of What
Southern Women Know
(That Every Woman Should)
and The Town That Came
A-Courtin ’.
OPINION
HICKS
From page 6A
When those two phrases are
put together, they’ll send
chills down the spine of any
caring parent: “charming
predators” and “naive kids.”
What a horrific combination.
Wouldn’t it just be easier if
the predators were brash,
ugly, offensive people who
stood out in a crowd?
Unfortunately, that’s not
how it works in today’s
online world. Predators
take weeks or months to
“groom” their young victims
into earning their trust and
cooperation.
And there are more dan
gers to our kids online than
just predators and pedo
philes. Pornographers are
targeting our kids as more
and more offensive materi
als are being posted online.
Social networking sites like
MySpace have become an
easy way for users to bully
or exploit one another.
Not to mention how the
Internet is creating an envi
ronment where teenagers
are more comfortable com
municating through the
mask of technology than
+% * *
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in <
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P cll , ... Rev. Jenny
Jackson-Adams
Child Care
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1002 Carroll Street • Perry, GA
478-987-1852
57444
seem to enjoy picking fights.
There is another factor that
is related to a child’s sense of
security. Let me illustrate it this
way. Imagine you’re driving a
car over the Royal Gorge Bridge
in Colorado, which is suspended
hundreds of feet above the can
yon floor. As a first-time traveler,
you’re pretty tense as you drive
across. It is a scary experience.
I knew one little fellow who was
so awed by the view over the side
of the bridge that he said, “Wow,
Daddy! If you fell off of here, it’d
kill you constantly!”
Now suppose there were no guard
rails on the side of the bridge.
Where would you steer the car?
Right down the middle of the road.
Even though you don’t plan to
hit those protective railings along
the side, you just feel more secure
knowing that they’re there.
talking face to face.
The Internet age poses
great challenges to parents.
But the dangers have caught
the attention of educators
who are eager to give par
ents what they need to keep
their children safer from
online dangers.
Georgia Family Council
has worked with several
school administrators, coun
selors and parents to bring
our “Play it Safe” Internet
safety seminar to private
and public schools.
It has been encouraging to
partner with so many who
weren’t content to sit by and
hope that scary headlines
would be enough to solve the
problem, but made the effort
to equip parents.
As the end of the year
Your Right To Know
In this country, politicians understand that the more you
know about government, the better off we all are. So, they
created public notices to be printed in the newspaper.
A S,\i i t.i aro Worth Noticing
Georgia’s newspapers go one step further and also make puhliy;
notices available in a free and searchable database online.
GeorgiaPublicNotice.com
Georgia Statewide Database of Public Notices
- 9my United
Jildfkdidt &iwich
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
It’s the same way with children.
There'is security in defined limits.
They need to know precisely what
the rules are and who’s available
to enforce them.
Whenever a strong-willed child
senses that the boundaries may
have moved, or that his or her par
ents may have lost their nerve, he
or she will often precipitate a fight
just to test the limits again. They
may not admit that they want you
to be the boss, but they breathe
easier when you prove that you
are.
Dr. Dobson is founder and chair
man of the board of the nonprofit
organization Focus on the Family,
Colorado Springs, CO 80995
(www.family.org). Questions and
answers are excerpted from Solid •
Answers and Bringing Up Boys,
both published by Tyndale House.
approaches so does the
impulse to think through
our resolutions for the com
ing year.
May I encourage you to
consider making a difference
in your sphere of influence
just like those I mentioned
above? It could be in your
community, your work, or
your home.
Headlines can be altered.
It’s just up to us to do so.
Georgia Family Council
is a non-profit organization
that works to strengthen and
defend the family in Georgia
by equipping marriage advo
cates, shaping laws, prepar
ing the next generation and
influencing culture. For more
information, go to www.geor
giafamily.org, 770-242-0001,
stephen@gafam.org.
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