Family Life 5 O’Clock Report – 2/19/24
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Issues in Education – School Choice, Winter Breaks, and Student-Parents – 2/19/24
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How School Choice for parents makes public schools better
College kids raising their own kids
Will New York make FAFSA forms mandatory?
Why many school districts have Winter Break
Dr. Ralph Kerr at the Teaching and Learning Institute discusses the weighty issues impacting our public schools on “Issues in Education” – airing Monday’s during the “Noon Report”
Kids Corner – Can I love THEM?
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Valentine’s Day is when we tell people we care about them, kind of like God tells us to in the bible; but does that mean we have to treat everyone in a romantic way?
Bible Verses: 1st Corinthians 13, Mark 12:30,
Choices toward planning for college – 2/15/24
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This is the time of year when many college-bound students are finalizing applications for which school they intend to go to in the fall.
Also at issue: how to pay for higher education, whether that is for incoming first-year students or those who are already at a college or university.
For advice on the decision-making processes, we sought the perspective of President Wayne Lewis of Houghton University in Houghton, New York. In this Family Life Interview, you will hear:
- How the federal delays in this year’s one-application for financial aid computations (the online FAFSA form) has affected students, families and the schools — and best “next steps to take”
- Timelines for applying to your preferred school(s), when financial aid determinations are made, and when someone can change their mind about which college to attend
- How current students are great resources for sorting out where a new student can attend a place which fits them — whether they are liberal or conservative or moderate, whether they are Christian or not
- The difference being colleges which teach their students “to think” versus places which teach students “what to think”
Family Life 5 O’Clock Report – 2/14/24
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Inside Out – Thorns – Faithfully handling disappointment – 2/14/24
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The Gift of Thorns
“We have to very careful to distinguish between ‘did God let me down?’ or ‘did my expectations of God let me down?’
What if not getting what we want is one of God’s great gifts?
“God knows what is good for us when we don’t,” says the Rev. Dr. A. J. Swoboda. “To ultimately assume God’s desires for us are the best desires, and believing that, is our first step in being followers of Christ.”
“I have grown the most in my spiritual journey with Jesus in places where I have not gotten everything I want. And what I’m trying to say is, I don’t grow in the great times. I grow in the times when I’m mad that I didn’t get what I want God to do,” Swoboda says.
When we find that we’re disappointed or angry with God, it’s important to figure out what God has promised us. “We have to very careful to distinguish between ‘did God let me down?’ or ‘did my expectations of God let me down?’ We’ve got to be cautious to not assume that God and our expectations about God are the same exact thing,” he says.
It is actually a gift, Swoboda says, to not get what we want.
“Jesus lived a life of willingly giving up everything He wanted. In fact, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he pleads with the Father to not die on the cross. Yet he submits Himself to what the Father wants over what His flesh and emotions wanted. And so I think life is in those places in our life. I think the thorns are a gift. I don’t think they’re a problem, I think they’re a gift.”
“At least in our world, unless you embrace the thorn, you won’t ever receive the rose. And that with every thorn there is a rose. We tend to focus on the thorn, and we forget the rose.”
Hear much more from A. J. Swoboda by listening to our 15-minute podcast.
Swoboda is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and World Christianity at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon. He also leads a Doctor of Ministry program at Friends University. His new book is The Gift of Thorns: Jesus, the Flesh, and the War for our Wants. Learn more about A. J. Swoboda here.
“The Gift of Thorns” also is available as a Bible study series for individuals and groups.
Issues in Education – Fewer students, Higher expenditures – 2/12/24
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Enrollments at public schools continues to drop, drastically in some districts. The causes are numerous: population declines, lower birth rates, and the move to charter, private and home schooling.
Dr. Ralph Kerr of the Teaching and Learning Institute discusses the weighty issues in the news as they pertain to public education in this ongoing Family Life series. This week on “Issues in Education”:
Rethinking Education Aid in NY- The 3 Greatest Challenges Facing PA Schools
- Why Run as a candidate for your local School Board
Kids Corner – That’s So Annoying
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There are lots of things that are annoying in this world, and sometimes those annoyances can be people! But, what does God say about how we should treat them?
Bible Verses: Proverbs 12:16, Proverbs 19:11, Proverbs 29:11, Ephesians 4, 2nd Timothy 2, Colossians 3, Philippians 1, 1st Peter 5:7, Ephesians 3:20, Philippians 4:13, Mark 9:23, Luke 1:37
Capital Connection – 2/09/24
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New York’s lawyers’ group says doctors should assist in suicides.
A gun-rights rally in Pennsylvania draws media attention — and a prominent political candidate
How can parents opposed to the actions of the trans-gender movement stand up for their own families?
Each Friday, Family Life’s “Capital Connection” feature talks with leading pro-family advocates who lobby at the state capitols in Harrisburg and Albany. Listen for this 10-minute analysis from Jason McGuire (executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms) and Michael Geer (president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute).
Both of these organizations have additional videos, podcasts, commentary and position papers. They are available through the tabs below.
NY: 
PA: 
Super Bowl Sunday – A Faith-Based Vantage Point – Paul Asay – 2/09/24
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With 70 percent of American TV households plugged in, the Super Bowl draws millions of eyeballs, adjusts peoples social schedules, and dominates public discussion throughout an early February weekend. It consistently is #1-watched TV show of the year. (Plus all that doesn’t even include the people who listen on the radio, watch through streaming, or just look up the Super Bowl ads on the internet!)
Family Life News talked with movie & television reviewer Paul Asay about how the Super Bowl broadcast has become such a huge event. We especially wanted a faith-based angle on the hype, from this editor of the Christian media site Plugged In.
Paul Asay gives his take on how massive the Super Bowl has become, including its role as one of the few broadcasts which remind us of a “monolithic culture…where people would all watch the same sitcoms and same adventure shows.” There are lessons from the Big Game weekend for Christian individuals and households, as well as for churches.
Another Family Life Interview about the Super Bowl, its commercials, and its hype aired Thursday (February 7). Hear commentary from Robert Thompson, the well-respected Television & Culture professor at Syracuse University. That conversation is available separately on the Family Life news podcasts page.
