"Your Mind Matters" by: John Stott

This book is really short - 61 pages. It is a transcript of a talk Stott gave to his students at the beginning of an acedemic year. I think it's a nice read. This book is much more consice than "Love Your God with all Your Mind" by Moreland, but discusses the same sorts of ideas.
He begins talking about how it's important to have zeal and knowledge. That one without the other is a problem. He's also against cold pragmatism: "The modern world breeds pragmatists whose first question about anything is not, "Is it true?" but "Does it work?""
Stott asks the question, why should Christians develop and use their minds? He gives answers such as,
- The ideas around us are potentially dangerous and false(i.e. think about "Mein Kampf" in the days of Hitler); and most certainly against the gospel.
- We're created to think
- God is a self-revealing God, who has thoughts to share with us
- We have a new redeemed mind, given to us by Christ
- We can use our minds to worship God, present the gospel to others, and utilize our gifts in the Body
Furthermore, Stott discusses having a reasonable faith. He shows how our minds can help guide us towards the Lord and spiritual growth. He ends suggesting that we depend on the Holy Spirit, but that doesn't mean we don't use our own minds as well. He brings up what God spoke to Daniel after Daniel had prayed: "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to understand and humbled yourself before God, your words have been heard..." Stott concludes, "Indeed, both the setting of the mind to understand and the self-humbling before God are tokens of a man's hunger for divine truth."

wild things part 2

The Mind of a Boy
The first part of this section reviews what a boy's mind is like physiologically, and the theoretical implications of that. It basically puts forth that boys are typically spatial, problem-solving, and may struggle in the schoolroom environment for various reasons. It was interesting, but that subject is explored in much better detail in other books, such as "How to Organize for Your Child's Brain Type".
The next part describes some common mistakes that parents make with sons. They are:
1. Confinement (vs. redirection and open space)
2. Verbal or Emotional Flooding
3. Sparring
4. Rescuing (i.e. telling a teacher not to punish him, etc.)
5. Squelching (i.e. telling your son not to do a creative project, etc.)
6. Shaming
7. Guilt-Tripping
8. Sabotage (unrealistic expectations)

They continue to give some tips on helping to develop a boy's mind:
- Cut out the energy drinks
- Create ways for him to excercise
- Limit TV and video games
- Make sure he gets enough sleep
- Teach him about his emotions
- Read. Read. Read.
- Give yourself a report card - be realistic about yourself as a parent. Ask your friends and/or a spouse for input in this area so that you're not too hard on yourself or to soft.
- Create opportunities for him to use his gifts = games or toys that require problem-solving or spatial skills, imagination, etc..
- Pick his brain
- Plan family movie nights and take turns picking the movie and then talk about it after.
- Volunteer at his school and model service in the community

In the next part, they talk about different learning styles. Then they discuss some of the principles from the popular new book "Parenting with Love and Logic" by Cline and Fay. Cline and Fay use military analogies to speak to parenting extremes - "helicopter parents" (parents who hover) and "drill sergeants" (parents who are overly strict).
They close with a section describing the unconvetional things that may teach boys big life lessons - namely: struggle, regret, duty, incompetence, and community.