College doesn't make sense financially these days

I have to agree with what he's saying here.

It's amazing what God can do

It's amazing what God can do in such a short amount of time.

I recently directed a 3-day workshop for college students and young professionals. The theme was, "Building a God-centered Lifestyle, one step at a time". Going into this workshop, I was really nervous. Not only was it my first time directing a workshop, but I didn't know all of the participants coming. I didn't know what their perspectives were, why they were coming to this workshop. I knew I don't have the power to control how people think, and not having control over a situation can be a very scary thing.

Looking at the audience, it was apparent that people were coming in from all walks and stages of life. What was important, though, was what my mentors told our staff team. "Allow God to work through you."

Fast forward 3 days. It was hard to believe what I was hearing. Some participants realized the importance of thinking about God in their lives. Participants created action steps to build their relationships with God. Some started to recognize who they are as God's sons and daughters. Some found explanations for what they had been going through over the past year, and realized what God was asking them to do next. Myself included.

Some participants admitted that when registering for this workshop, they had their doubts. "What kind of outcome could come about in just 3 days?" So how did all of that happen? The workshop itself wasn't particularly extraordinary. The only thing that can explain it is that God exists, and is constantly present and working in our lives. This workshop was proof of that to me.  

-Maruko Breland

Capitalism in a nutshell

In our society, money represents value. So generally speaking, the more money you are making, the more value you are adding to society. In this perspective, it is basically your fellow man that determines how much value you are adding, not by lip service but by actually giving you their hard earned money in exchange for the value you are providing.

In this sense it is a bit strange that in a capitalist country like America people would accuse those who are rich of being greedy. Because in actuality those rich people are the ones doing the most for others.

Window shopping

A dynamic life and personal responsibility

The interesting thing about practicing free will and having the ability to make your own decisions is that you also become responsible for the outcomes. And yet the tendency in our society is to try to limit human freedom because we don't like the outcomes that we see, so we impose an excessive amount of regulations to limit freedom to make these bad decisions. Yet the way I see it, these regulations do not end up actually helping the situation - they don't trust people with responsibility and thus they try to set up physical barriers without addressing the root issue. 

In the end the only way to improve outcomes is to have people to learn from their mistakes. This means giving them the freedom to make mistakes but then holding them accountable for the outcomes. Not only is this the natural way that people learn, it is also what allows for a dynamic life where one can realize their full potential. 

It's the Little Things

When it comes to family life, the little things matter. In order for the family to be healthy, it's important for each person to contribute, to serve and live for the sake of the other family members. And it’s not just about doing it once - it's doing it consistently.

My best teacher in this area has been my husband, Nathan. Ever since I first met him, I could see he was a hardworking person. But I've also seen that a lot of times, people appear a certain way in public, but we see a different side of them once they're at home - a more laidback side. To be comfortable in one's home environment is natural. But what impressed me about Nathan was that he worked hard regardless of where he was.

Now that we're married, it's something I appreciate so much about him. Although I'm sure he comes home tired from a long day of work, the first thing he does when he comes home is smile at our young son. He understands that when he comes home, it's not just about relaxing. When he comes home, he's a husband and a father. This entire week, since I've been busy at work, after he comes home from work he's been cooking dinner every night for our family. He stays up late washing the dishes, and putting our son to bed.

In a family, these acts of service are so crucial. They may seem simple, because they need to be done daily, but they're not easy to do consistently, especially when you're tired. I thank my husband for being my example of what it means to serve your family, in both the big and small ways. How important that is to build a healthy, happy family. I have much to learn!

-Maruko Breland

Don't take it personally

When we face challenges that stretch our mental and emotional limitations, it becomes easy to become defensive and to perceive every criticism as a personal attack. More often than not, however, it is our perception that has become warped to be hyper sensitive in those situations rather than the criticisms having malice in them. To deal with these situations, besides simply waiting for the tense emotions to subside, I find that the fundamental outlook necessary to see beyond my personal situation is to be motivated by a higher purpose. Without having a higher purpose as a solid foundation with which to view such situations, it becomes near impossible to view them objectively and deal with them properly.

A tense snowstorm in Washington, Winter 2019

Fatherhood: a noble institution

Today on a call with my parents and younger brother, we discussed about the unique role of fathers. An interesting point that was brought out is that the concept of fatherhood is not as innate and automatic as the concept of motherhood, for clear biological reasons. Thus we discussed how from a purely anthropological perspective it requires a higher ethic for fathers to stay involved as committed caretakers within a family.

Given the abundant social data on the importance of two-parents homes for the rearing of healthy and successful children, I would say that uplifting the institution of fatherhood is all the more important for the continued prosperity of humanity.