The Blog: Ministry, Music, Media
You Amazing and Precious Life posted on February 27, 2010
Thanks to digital technology we can be reminded of how amazing and precious life is even in the midst of the chaotic everyday world, through video and music.
Take a look at this video, narrated by Deepak Chopra, and sink into the awe with gratitude.
Music on Common Good Radio that speaks to gratitude as a spiritual state: What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong, Count Your Blessings, Peter and Ellen Allard, I Love You, Robin Blair, Common Threads, Bobby McFerrin, Happy Girl, Beth Nielsen Chapman, So Glad I’m Here, Sweet Honey In the Rock - this list could go on for a long time.
Being a person who journeys with gratitude certainly contributes to the common good. I hope your path finds gratitude in your way, on your path.
Thank you.
with blessings for the common good,
Pastor Robin
There are 2 comments “You Amazing and Precious Life” was posted by Pastor Robin
Parenting in the 21st Century posted on February 23, 2010
For all of you who are trying harder than ever to help your kids become the self-reliant, well-adjusted, loving, compassionate human beings you believe they were born to be, thanks! I am sincere. I thank you.
What do you think it will take? How will you love your children as the captain of the ship navigating them into life? The waters can be murky, stormy, calm and crazy.
In our US consumer culture, the world seems stacked up against your best efforts. Fast food as the norm, immediate response at the grocery store (can we lobby to get the candy bars out of the check-out lane?) 
and toys, toys, toys. All of this and commercially supported media that sells stuff directly to the children as they watch TV, listen to the radio, play video games….even PBS and their children’s programming seems like one long commercial for the characters as stuffed critters, sheets for the bed or diaper branding.
I understand the key is balance; how are you accomplishing this? I found this list of do’s and don’ts on a parenting website, called, indiaparenting.com for building self-reliance in children and hope it is helpful.
Regarding media, remember to monitor the children’s media habits. 
You need to know what they are watching, hearing, playing and interacting with online. If modeling kindness is important to you - then your effort is supported when you share media that offers programming themed with kind characters, story lines or in the case of Common Good Radio, songs.
We always hope that you talk with your kids about the songs and stories you hear, here, on our Internet radio project. Remember to listen for good stuff like: Stand by Me by Playing for Change, Put a Little Love in Your Heart by the Sugarbeats, and Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson.
With blessings for the common good,
Pastor Robin
There are 4 comments “Parenting in the 21st Century” was posted by Pastor Robin
Earning Power in the Family - Women Earning Over Men? posted on February 17, 2010
I have been reading various reports and studies lately that talk about the way we live in the American family. What is the make-up of your American family? The Shriver Report caught my attention. It was issued four months ago and if it is old news to you, thanks for reading at least this far.
It seems that American women 
now outnumber American men and also earn more income for the household. Some men are staying home to care for the kids, where it was a woman’s assumed domain just a generation ago. The way we live into our families is being demanded by a variety of factors that may (or may not) include: education, economic downturn, marriage or not, and more. 
Here is a quote:
This report describes how a woman’s nation changes everything about how we live and work today. Now for the first time in our nation’s history, women are half of all U.S. workers and mothers are the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in nearly two-thirds of American families. This is a dramatic shift from just a generation ago (in 1967 women made up only one-third of all workers). It changes how women spend their days and has a ripple effect that reverberates throughout our nation. It fundamentally changes how we all work and live, not just women but also their families, their co-workers, their bosses, their faith institutions, and their communities.
Quite simply, women as half of all workers changes everything.
How does it work in your family, American, or anywhere on the planet, as you read this entry? Are you a two parent household? Do you share responsibilities with chores and jobs? Are the men intimidated if the women bring more income into the home? Is this a sexist question in the first place?
We are interested in the common good; caring for one another is certainly part of the answer to the question: how do we help the common good become realized?
This media can be shared quickly and by many, which is part of being a media literate, informed family in the 21st century. No matter the make-up of your family, who brings in the income and who does not - these statistics mean something to the kids in the classroom, people in the pew next to you, or how food is advertised to you as you watch the television at night. So, what is it like in your world?
One thing we do know, you can listen for music that supports caring for one another on Common Good Radio with: Love Makes a Family, Cathy Fink, Glad to Be Me, Peter and Ellen Allard, Put a Little Love in Your Heart, the Sugarbeats, and Better Man, Keb Mo.
With blessings for the common good,
Pastor Robin
There are 4 comments “Earning Power in the Family - Women Earning Over Men?” was posted by Pastor Robin
What Toys Did the Kids Actually Like? posted on February 8, 2010
After all the advertising, media hype and news reporting on the economy and Christmas spending, I had a question of the parents and grandparents: what did your kids like, 
play with or just plain leave alone after the wrapping paper was tossed and dinner dishes put away? What toys were worth it to them and you? Is there anything they received that has lingered and become important for play, imagination, education or faith formation? What toys were tools which helped you as a family become closer?
I read this article http://toys.about.com/od/hotnewtoyreleases/tp/TenHotHolidayToys2009.htm” “Top Toys of 2009"and if your kids liked any of these toys or others - let us know how it all worked out? 
Thanks to the brilliance of digital communication we can share these ideas and insights and use the technology rather than it using us. How cool is that?
blessings for the common good,
Pastor Robin
