A Spirit of Excellence

A Spirit of Excellence (How You Can Instill this in Your Child)

Daniel 6:3 (Amplified Bible)
3Then this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents and the satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.

 The Spirit of Excellence is a quality I want my son to possess.  I want my son to be more like Daniel so that one day he too will be asked to be in Leadership. I am having difficulty finding a way to instill this quality in him. Instead he is happy with mediocrity and complacency. He strives for just enough and not enough at the same time. My son is a good kid but he has trouble focusing on simple tasks and putting his all in anything that he does from sports to washing up.  He will do a task partially and be satisfied with the lack luster results.  My dream is what most mothers want for their kids; a well-rounded, successful individual.  An individual that lives his life for God and keeps all the rest of the mess behind him. So how do you teach this to a child?  What drives a child to stive for the best? Children like Aleck Greven the author of the manuscript "How to Talk to Girls" or Amiya Alexander a girl that has a dream about a pink bus and dance studio and makes that dream come alive or the child T.V. stars and musicians, these children exemplify exactly how I want my son to be.


In this article on moms.gather.com, "Teaching Your Child to Have Passions, Pursue Excellence." Author Vicky Envoy explains that listening to your child and encouraging your child to pursue ONE activity of interest is a great way to instill excellence and passion.  She states that most children that are extraordinary are usually extraordinary in One area such as: piano, tennis, golf etc. 


Patti Holmes Gives Steps to Building an Attitude Toward Excellence some of the steps include:

• Choose to Have a Positive Mental Attitude
• Building an Appreciation of yourself
• Develop the Quality of Enthusiasm
• Set Goals

If you want to read more on these and her other steps visit www.pattiholmes.com.

I really enjoyed both of these authors and will definitely take their advice and see if I can apply their principles to my son.  I will also begin praying for my son in this area, specifically refrencing 1 Corinthians 10:31 (Amplified Bible) in my prayer.
31So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God.

I will keep you guys posted on my son's progress and if you have any tips or advice feel free to contribute with a comment. 

www.pattiholmes.com

No Negro Dialect

I know this is late in the headlines but I am just hearing about it.  And I do have something to say!!
 What is going on with this Senator Harry Reid's so called racist comment and How does he differ from Bill Cosby's comments?
 Senator Harry Reid
"He [Reid] was wowed by Obama's oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama -- a 'light-skinned' African American 'with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,' " Halperin and Heilemann say.
-Harry Reid-http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/09/obama.reid/index.html
Mr. Bill Cosby
"They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you ain't,' 'Where you is' ... And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. ... Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. ... You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!"
-Bill Cosby 2004-http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38565
The definition of racist from dictionary.com states: noun
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

At first glance, reading Senator Reid's comment I would have to disagree that he intended to be racist and malicious toward the President.  But after careful examination of the definition for Racist from dictionary.com it is clear that the statement was racist.  The statement takes on the belief that a negro dialect is not equal to or even superior to Caucasian speech. And this type of speech is not capable of achieving political or social advances.  And since the president is able to speak without this dialect he is a good candidate for Presidency of the United States of America.

So what about Mr. Cosbys comments on the speech of certain Black Americans.  According to the same definition his comments are no doubt racist.  It is clear in his statment that he sees hisself separate from the individuals he is reffering too (Even though they have the same skin and maybe (who knows) decend from the same origin). he draws a distinct line between him and they or shall i say "These people." And his way is the right way or shall I say the English way!

Who are the English?  Why are all races in this supposed melting pot made to adhere to one norm. It is believed that people of different cultures and influences other than Anglo American are suppose to drop their whole make up and transform into an Anglo American. That doesn't make sense to me, I thought the whole idea of a free country was to encourage freedom and diversity. I don't belive you can be truely diverse if you only see one way of behaving and speaking as the Right Way!

But I too find myself trying to adhere to this one way mentality.  I find myself trying to speak proper English and do away with slang or Black America's speech as much as I can. When I see the reality shows that focus on people in the south and I hear their speech I find myself shunning at their heavy accent.  I also find myself correcting my son when he says something that has even an incremmint of slang in it. I aslo find myself changing my speach when I speak to someone in authority no matter what race.
This is no doubt fostering the racist sentiment that the Black way is not the right way, and that negro speech is not worthy of political or social advancement.  To make it in the elite you must speak proper English.
These thought patterns aren't too much differnt than those adopted back in the day, when it was thought that having the slightest brown tone to your skin rendered you invalid for anything but servitude.

In my opinion, Senator Reid didn't need to apologize for his statements.  His statements are racist yes but this country is based on racist ideology and practices.  He was only stating what others including myself adhere to, the unspoken rules of getting ahead. "To get in, You must fit in. And to fit in you must, look, speak and behave as close to the "IN" as possible."