Hazardous Journeys Society

Vision Forum - Discipleship and Education for Christian Families

Jonathan Park Radio Adventure Series - Great adventures to educate children on the facts about creation and evolution.

In this episode I quote from: http://atheists.org/content/christmas

“No Adam and Eve means no need for a savior. It also means that the Bible cannot be trusted as a source of unambiguous, literal truth. It is completely unreliable, because it all begins with a myth, and builds on that as a basis. No Fall of Man means no need for atonement and no need for a redeemer. You know it.”

Christians are the only real free thinkers in the evolution/creation debate. Evolutionist have not interest in teaching their kids opposing theories. We as Christian parents are not afraid to teach our kids the unproven evolutionary theories. We know what is at stake. Christians have a eternity with their children to loose if they miss teaching their kids to defend their faith. Building a strong defense requires some degree of understanding about the enemy.

Things for Dad’s to do with boys:

Biking – All my boys like biking even if it is riding in the little pull-along trailer/cart that attaches to my bicycle.

Gardening – This is an awesome place to learn about growing food and how God works in our lives. What is planted in our hearts is what grows up and comes out though our words, actions, and attitudes.

Building – Build a raise flow bed for your home garden. Build a toy or a pice of furniture. It does not matter, just spend time teaching your boys how to use tools safely.

Fixing – Fix those broken toys before you simply trash them t buy new ones. You may think you have more time than money, but no amount of money can replace the time spent with your kids.

Hunting – Many dads and moms start to take their kids hunting at a young age.

Fishing – Every young boy can catch a fish before they are even five years old.

Cooking/Grilling – Teaching your kids how to cook that fish.

Playing Games – I recommend things like chess, Risk, or Monopoly. These games provide a much better environment.

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I am here to help you Dads to be the parents that God intended for your to be.

Yes folks, Things are changing. Regular listeners may have heard from intro that I am changing things up a little. I am refining the focus of the Daddy Life podcast. Feedback continues to prove that dads are hungry for more encouragement on the parenting front. I almost exclusively get feedback from the non-technical content so that is where I am going to focus attention. There are plenty of dads out there covering the things that entertain. I am here to equip and challenge you to rise above the level of mediocrity in your marriage and in your parenting.

I will add tech tips in as subjects questions are raised. As in recent episode, I will only include a tech time in occasionally moving forward.

So what am I talking about this week:

This week I am going to provide you with an audio version of my review of Kirk Cameron’s new documentary titled Monumental: In Search of America’s National Treasure. Only you will get more in the audio because I can bring Kirk into from the trailers and let him tell you about the movie in his own words.

Before we get into that I want to talk about Easter. If you are new to the show you will know that I am very big on relationships. In particular I am big on telling the truth to your kids concerning things like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy. And you guessed it, I am in favor of keeping it real and true concerning the Easter Bunny. We do Easter baskets and egg hunts, but we tell our kids the truth about where the candy eggs and chocolate bunny’s come from. There is no magical bunny. Really! Seriously!

Also mentioned in this episode are some points from David Platt’s book titled Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream.

Monumental is Highly recommended! DEMAND THE MOVIE

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Rachel from over at the blog titled My Baby Sleep Guide is the winner of the latest (2012) edition of On Becoming Babywise.

Speaking of Babywise, there is a new Nap App available for the iPhone from PocketParenting.com. This app has been developed by the same folks that publish On Becoming Babywise. There are demo videos and screenshots on the web site.

Asking your child for Forgiveness and Make it Right

Asking your child to forgive you for something you did to hurt them is hard. If you are a headstrong natural born alpha male leader type, it can be extremely more difficult to master this process. It takes an extra degree of humility.

I recently embarrassed my nine year old son Riley. I raised my voice to him in front of some neighborhood kids. A few minutes later Riley let me know (respectfully) that he had been embarrassed by my tone. I was still hot and sent him to his room so that I could cool off.

After I cooled off I went up to Riley’s room and sat on the bed next to him. I asked him if he would forgive me for embarrassing him in front of his friends by raising my voice. He said yes and gave me a big hug.

This about where things end for how most people deal with forgiveness. Our friends Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo taught us better in Growing Kids God’s Way. They teach that when wrong is done and forgiveness is asked for an give, there is still a need to restore the relationship.

Then I asked Riley how I could make it right with him.

Many people apologize or say they are sorry. Very few ever ask how they can make things right. By making things right I mean that we should try to restore the relationship.

Tech Time

Droid – Angry Birds Ads –  How to stop advertisements while your child plays Angry Birds on your Android OS.

Using your ICE (In Case of Emergency) contacts on your phone.

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Dads are parents and they should act like it. Be weird. Be different. Be more than just a biological father to your children. Be a Daddy.

The transcript from the last half of this episode can be found posted on each of the blogs listed below on Wednesday 3/14/2012. Check them out and add them all to your RSS reader.

Babywise Friendly Networked Blogs

• Monday 3/12: Valerie Plowman, Chronicles of a Babywise Mom 
• Tuesday 3/13: Maureen Monfore, Childwise Chat 
• Wednesday 3/14: Hank Osborne, Daddy Life
• Thursday 3/15: Rachel Rowell, My Baby Sleep Guide
• Friday 3/16: Bethany Lynch, The Graceful Mom

Giveaway – Hot off the press is the Revised and Updated edition of On Becoming Babywise.

Everyone who subscribes for the newsletter before midnight March 21, 2012 will be eligible the giveaway. The subscription form is provided below or you can use the one in the sidebar.

Thanks to Andy from the betterdadpodcast.com
Thanks to my friend Manny for his encouraging words following the last episode.

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This podcast episode contains an interview with a man’s man who is raising a house full of girls. Stacy Ratliff is an independent video consultant, producer, and editor with over 25 years of experience. He has produced a ton of content in the hunting/fishing/shooting categories over the past two decades. Stacy wrote and produced the ESPN Ultimate NASCAR 100 Defining Moments, The Bassmaster Yearbook, Driven to Hunt and much more that has aired on ESPN, the Outdoor Channel, and the Sportsman Channel. He has done camera work on the National Finals Rodeo, music videos, commercials, and industrial films. You can see some of Stacy’s video work on his Vimeo page.

Stacy is they guy who took Dale Earnhardt Jr on his first hunt. Stacy worked with the three time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart on a show title Driven to Hunt. in that episode they were working with some kids through the Make A Wish Foundation. Stacy has also worked with NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt as well as Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, Kevin Harvik, Martin Truex and many more.

Stacy has been married to Anne for 21 years. They have three teen girls ages 14, 16, and 18. They are key couple leaders in the Growing Families International parenting ministry.

Stacy has recently moved into the role of being an independent video consultant, producer, and editor. I am sure he would greatly appreciate any work you can send in his direction. You can connect with Stacy on LinkedIn.

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Dad’s should teach their kids good wireless security practices and configure home wireless networks to be as secure as possible.

This episode provides an explanation on the frequency of episode productions. I also provide an update on our son Caden.

There are two main areas of concern:

1. Your home wireless network configuration
2. Your and your family member’s wireless devices

Home Wireless

Home wireless comes in many flavors. The most popular brands of home wireless devices, also called access points, or routers are Linksys (Owned by Cisco) Net Gear, D-Link, Apple, Belkin, and Motorola.

1. Use good wireless encryption. WPA and WPA2 is the current, common encryption standard you should probably be using — though, of course, you should use something stronger as soon as it becomes available to you. Technology is advancing every day, on both sides of the encryption arms race, after all.
2. Use a strong pre-shared key (password) IhagviW,NC
3. Build a DMZ or add a separate router for guests and leave it open access
4. Easy stuff to keep out the kiddie hackersDon’t broadcast your SSID.
   MAC Filtering
   Avoid WEP

WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) Vulnerability

The following manufactures have published instructions on how to protect your network:

• Belkin
• Netgear
• D-Link

While Linksys routers do have an option to disable WPS…it does not actual disable the protocol.  I expect we will see firmware updates for more major maufatures very soon.

When you or your family members go ut with wireless devices:

• Firewall your laptop
• Limit your Privacy activity
• Use VPNs
• Turn of wireless network cards OFF

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In this episode I have a very special guest. My wife Sherry and I introduce you to the four temperaments. Sherry and I also co-host the Home School Support Network (HSSN) podcast and blog. We have produced a HSSN episode on temperaments as well.

Why temperaments? 

Our understanding of temperaments has been most helpful in understanding what makes our family members tick. This is helpful in a marriage relationship, with understanding why grandma and grandpa do things a certain way, and most importantly what makes our children “tick”… so to speak. We have taught parents on the subject of temperaments for over five years. We have learned over the years from books, observations of parents we have mentored, and from various speakers throughout the country.

Your temperament is God given and does not change. Each temperament has strengths, weaknesses, and one specific area of weakness that is more dominant than other weaknesses. There are four types with many “blends”- most people have a primary and secondary and keep in mind you may have the strengths of one and the weakness of another.

What are the four temperaments we will cover in this podcast episode? 

Choleric (lion): task oriented-extrovert
Sanguine (otter): people oriented-extrovert
Melancholy (beaver): task oriented-introvert
Phlegmatic (golden retriever): people oriented- introvert

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Spirit-Controlled Temperament by Tim LaHaye

Personality Plus: How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself by Florence Littauer

The Treasure Tree: Helping Kids Understand Their Personality by Dr. John Trent and Gary Smalley

Wired That Way: An Easy-to-Use Questionnaire for Helping People Discover Their God-Given Personality Type

Gingerbread Train

I talked about Family Identity in Episode 12. It is important for dads to cultivate a sense of family identity. Getting your family together for a project like an annual gingerbread train or house is a great way to build family identity. Enter your creation into a competition. Have some fun with the project by creating some custom cars. Read more about the annual Osborne Family Gingerbread Train on Grill’n Time.

The Father’s Mandate – Where to learn more?

Best – Take a Growing Kids God’s Way class in a small group setting
Better – Go through the videos as a couple at home (GFI.org sale)
Good – Read On Becoming Childwise: Parenting Your Child from 3-7 Years

Find a Growing Kids God’s Way Class in your local area by visiting the GrowingKids.org web site. Use the “General Ministry or Curriculum” contact email address to ask about classes in your area.

Listen to the eight part series on The Father’s Mandate

1.  A father must cultivate a sense of family identity.
2.  A father must regularly demonstrate love to his wife.
3.  A father must understand and respect his child’s private world.
4.  A father must give his children the freedom to fail.
5.  A father must be the encourager of the family.
6.  A father must guard his tongue and his tone and learn to measure his response against the excitement on their faces.
7.  A father must routinely embrace his children.
8.  A father must build the trusting relationship on God’s Word, not on human wisdom.

Update on Caden – He broke his arm and the next week was hospitalized with pneumonia.

Tech Time:

Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson – Security Now Podcast

Which apps are safer? Apps from the Android market or the Apple App store?

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Fathers Mandate number 8.  A father must build the trusting relationships on God’s Word, not on human wisdom.

The Fathers Mandate Part 8 of 8

http://www.growingkids.org/leaders/gkgw-chapter-summaries/

Reference: Chapter 4 of Growing Kids God’s Way by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo

Mr. Ezzo says that if you don’t get this then everything else in the other mandates does not matter.

From Psalm 118:8 (TLB) “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”

Who is God and what does He mean to you and your family?

Please remember that much more is caught than taught.

Read God’s word in the Bible for yourself. That is how you will be able to determine what God’s wisdom is verses what other people around you say.

Reading Plans

By the numbers

Here are some audio Bibles: (aff)

The Word of Promise: Complete Audio BibleThe Complete Audio Holy Bible: King James Version

Why read? To get a better understanding of who God is and what He means to you and your family.

Proverbs 14:12 New King James Version (NKJV)

12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.

How to become a Christian:

1 John 1:9

New King James Version (NKJV)
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Ephesians 2:8-9

New Living Translation (NLT)
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

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From Growing Kids God’s Way by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo
Scroll down to the reference for Chapter 4

Feedback: Andy from Better Dad Podcast says thanks!

Mandate number 7.  A father must routinely embrace his children.

Sherry and I meet in a hugging community. We meet through Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. Some folks shake hands, but PTK members HUG!

Mom’s touch provides kids with a feeling of comfort and love. Dad’s hugs

Mr. Ezzo warns that if parents, especially dads, don’t embrace their kids, they will eventually seek it from someone else. And they will find the affection they want and you will likely not like it.

Don’t let you daughter’s preadolescence physical changes cause you to treat her any different. She is the same person on the inside. She needs to know her dad loves her as she goes through these changes.

Hug your kids!

Tech Time

Which anti-virus should you use on your Android phone?

Facebook social engineering.

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Technology Safety is more about Behavior than the Technology!

The Fathers Mandate Part 3 of 8
From Growing Kids God’s Way
Scroll down to the reference for Chapter 4

3.  A father must understand and respect his child’s private world.

Public World – What people see and hear when you are out and about in a public setting. The things that can be seen by strangers on the street.
Personal World – The world where your closest friends and family commonly see and hear things you that are never shown in public.
Private World – This is on the inside. People have to be invited in to see what is in here.

Open window phenomenon – Its when your child invites you into their private world. It can come when walking or at bedtime. Be careful because you never know when the open window will come.

I have already covered the following:
1.  A father must cultivate a sense of family identity.

Riley’s birthday trip [audio from a conversation with Riley a few days before his 9th birthday]

2.  A father must regularly demonstrate love to his wife.

In the coming weeks I will share ideas to help dads fulfill the remaining mandates
4.  A father must give his children the freedom to fail.
5.  A father must be the encourager of the family.
6.  A father must guard his tongue and his tone and learn to measure his response against the excitement on their faces.
7.  A father must routinely embrace his children.
8.  A father must build the trusting relationship on God’s Word, not on human wisdom.

Tech Time

iPhone 4s

Pretty much looks the same on the outside, but on the inside:
Duel processor promises to give better performance
Two Antennas for better reception
Upgraded Camera to 8 megapixels with improved optics including an added lense
Voice activated search and response from Siri

“The Defense IA Security Accreditation Working Group (DSAWG), which is the DoD approval body for Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), determined that iOS devices should not be deployed in the DoD at this time due to unmitigated iOS device security risks. Therefore the DSAWG directed the draft iPhone/iPad STIG be removed from the IASE web site.” Source

Cellphones will become a way to attack otherwise protected devices: report

1. Attached to USB for charging and data transfer – moving pictures from your phone to your PC or Mac
2. They act just like Thumb drives Remember Stuxnet?  The attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
3. Small keyboard make fro more mistakes typing. How many times have you had to apologize for an auto correction done by your phone?
4. Browsers are less sophisticated and do not give indications of insecure content.

Convenience comes at a price. The easier it is for the user to do the wrong thing, the easier it is for hackers slip into you phone and then into your network at home or in the office.

FEEDBACK:

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Technology Safety is more about Behavior than the Technology!

FEEDBACK:

Voice Mail: (864) 372-9833

Technology Safety is more about Behavior than the Technology!

Part 1 of an 8 part series on how I implement the Fathers Mandate from chapter 4 of the Growing Kids God’s Way (GKGW) parenting series by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo. This episode provides a short click from GKGW session four where Mr. Ezzo introduces the first mandate.

CNN Opinion article Why Men are in Trouble by William J Bennett
“Today, 18-to- 34-year-old men spend more time playing video games a day than 12-to- 17-year-old boys.” via Shawn Wood

Courageous Movie opened Friday September 30th. This awesome movie is a great challenge for dayd, Courageous came in number one in the box office for new releases last weekend.

Parenting and Relationships

The Father’s Mandate - How I cultivate a sense of family identity.

• Special family activities Gingerbread train
• Other cooking activities like 4 year old biscuits
• Let them help you with tasks around the house even if it slows you down
• Create memories with special activities and trips (NC apple picking, family camping, fishing, geocaching)
• Be the spiritual leader by praying and leading devotionals with the family – As kids get older let them lead portions of the devotional time
• Take your child shopping or on errands
• Be proud of your family – as Mr Ezzo said be the cheer leader (We are the Osbornes and we…) Rise above the level of mediocrity!
• Holidays (we work very hard to tell our kids the truth. We do not lie about Santa, the tooth fairy, or the Easter bunny.) Read about how Halloween is different in our family.

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Technology Safety is more about Behavior than the Technology!

Daddy Life Podcast Show Notes

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Technology Safety is more about Behavior than the Technology!

Mommy is also a Wife

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman (affiliate link)

Security Tools

New security tools page with a link for OpenDNS.

Review 10 Simple Security tips for Mac – Creating separate logins on your computers for your kids. Also included are some tips on passwords and pass phrases that are easy to remember but difficult to guess.

Daddy Life on Twitter

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This episode covers the following topics:

Are you friends with your child on Facebook?

Did you know that there is a good chance your child has a social media account even though you may not approve?

Facebook terms of Use

Social Engineering

Spear Phishing

Feedback: Leave comments below on this post or Email me – hank {@} daddylife {dot} net

Voice Mail: (864) 372-9833

This episode covers the following topics:

Intern Filters – Internet Filter Review web site

Porn – World Magazine Story with statistics on porn prevalence in pastors and Christians in general. XXXChurch, TopTeReviews – Internet Pornography Statistics

Winnie The Pooh Movie Review – Great for the whole family.

Marriage – Priority Relationship, dates, couch time – Babywise(aff link)

School Choice – Public, Private, or Home School? This subject was inspired by Andy and Cory over at Becoming a Better Dad podcast. If you are going to home school you absolutely must join the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA).

Podcast Improvements – Learning from Cliff Ravenscraft at Podcast Answer Man

Feedback: Email me – hank {@} daddylife {dot} net
Voice Mail: (864) 372-9833

Growing Families National Family Conference
Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society – How I met my wife Sherry.

Internet and content filters – I recommend that with young children, you configure your content filtering software to a deny all with explicit allow.  What I mean is that you only allow your children to go to the specific web sites that you choose and and block their access to everything else. PLEASE don’t forget that filters are only tools.  There is no substitute for a trusting relationship with your children. Filters are for honest people.

Caden’s Page – Caden is improving from the pneumonia. He should be off oxygen during awake hours within the next few days. Caden and Sherry fell this week while running to get out of the rain at the SC Aquarium. There was no damage to the rods in his back. He was just bruised and shaken up.

Below are show notes for DaddyLife.net Podcast Episode 2

Links from the Podcast:

Larry Collette’s guest post – Important tips for Parents of Gaming Children
ESRB game rating website – http://www.esrb.org/
Training kids to use the Internet Safely
Caden’s Page
Cliff Ravenscraft – The Podcast Answer Man
Android Podcast Recording App – HiFiCorder
This episode of the DaddyLife.net Podcast is now available for download right here or you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, RSS, or the Blackberry network.

This episode was focused on introducing me (Hank), my family, and providing the reason behind this podcast and this site.  Some links mentioned during the podcast were:

HOEI.com – My original home on the Internet
GFI.org – Growing Families International
On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep
YouTube – HOEI.com channel
HomeSchoolSupport.net

Sherry and I got married in 2000. We both love serving in the Growing Families International parenting ministry.

Our Four Boys:

Riley is nine years old. He plays piano, participates in Cub Scouts, and loves outside activities. He also likes playing chess and Wii.

Caden is seven years old. He is our silly boy. He loves being loved. He is very compassionate. He likes Richard Scarry books, trains, Hungry Hippos, and playing Wii. Caden faces some severe medical conditions and does it with a smile on his face. He is the kid who God uses to teach is patience and sympathy.

JJ (Josiah) is four years old and is our little Kool-Aid man. He has a presence about him that brings attention to him when he enters a room. He likes helicopters, trains, and planes. He is a charismatic and charming little boy who loves people. He is the life of the party in our house.

Levi is 18 months old and

The following link was not mentioned but you will hear more about it later. This is where I started my very first blog in 2004.

Caden’s Page – Details about our experiences with our child who has suffered from severe medical conditions.

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