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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 +% * * EVE SERVICES ( ~- ' in < Service Times: 4 P.M. and 6 P.M. COMMUNION /0 Message by P cll , ... Rev. Jenny Jackson-Adams Child Care Mm Provided 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. w " m L^m |f.7MV • 57229