Trying out new blog platforms

When my son was younger he was hyposensitive to temperature. That means he didn't feel heat or cold like the rest of us. In the middle of winter he would just be wearing a thin top and in the heat of summer his warmest coat would often come out. We were told that he would seek out these extremes of temperature because it was the only time he could feel them. His threshold for feeling hot or cold was so low that it took extremes in order to feel them, and just being able to feel something was a pleasurable experience for him.  On our part as parents, we knew something that he didn't, that extremes of temperature become dangerous to one’s health.  In our Western culture, fear is marketed and ramped up for people to "feel" something they have become insensitive to. A little fear in the right environment will stop you from doing something stupid. It's the internal check that makes sure your parachute is packed right before you jump out of a plane.  But fea...

I have just seen one of my kids go through his first year of school.  In the first week of school he received an award for meeting the expectations of the school. We used a magnetic clip to hold that award onto the fridge, every time he went to the fridge, there was a reminder of the thrill of receiving a reward. By the end of the year, that clip was so heavy with awards received that it would fall off the fridge at random times (often when we were asleep).  Walk into an athletes home and you will find trophies, photos and momentos from past victories. These objects evoke memories of the past that inspire hope for the future.  Using something common as a reminder of the extraordinary is nothing new. Throughout the bible, both God, and his chosen nation used everything from songs to holy days to remember the wonderful things God had done for them.  After 40 years of wandering the desert, waiting to enter the land God had promised to them, God's chosen peop...