Tag Archives: Family

Podcasts

New talks on marrriage by Jennifer Roback Morse and Maggie Gallagher

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I listened to these several times each, and they are really good. Even better than the ones I posted earlier. If you only have time for one and you’re new, listen to the Dr. Morse lecture. If you have time for both or you’ve heard Dr. Morse before, listen to the Maggie Gallagher lecture.

Cloning her would solve the marriage problem
She can teach you to defend marriage

Jennifer Roback Morse

First, this is Dr. Morse’s well-known lecture on “The Institute Formerly Known As Marriage”. She takes a look at the decline of marriage using her skills as an economist. She talks about the importance of a mother being present during the first 18 months of the child’s development, and the purpose of marriage.

The MP3 file is here.

Topics covered include children’s needs, no-fault divorce, single motherhood and same-sex marriage.

Maggie Gallagher

Maggie Gallagher

Second, here is a very Catholic talk given by Maggie Gallagher. But Maggie is one of the best known voices defending marriage and you can even learn a little bit about her background here – she had an out of wedlock child and saw firsthand the effects of having no father in the home on her son.

The MP3 file is here.

Topics covered include children’s needs, single motherhood, same-sex marriage and the marriage movement.

Events

Ruth Institute to host conference on the defense of marriage

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Cloning her would solve the marriage problem
She can teach you to defend marriage

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse is the foundress of the Ruth Institute, and she is planning a conference to train the next generation to be marriage champions.

Link to the conference details is here.

Some details:

Where: Murrieta Hot Springs, CA
When: August 12th – 15th, 2010
Who: You, if you apply – application deadline is May 21st!
Cost: Free, if your application is accepted

If you guys like William Lane Craig debates, Dr. Morse is the William Lane Craig of the marriage debate.

Some recent podcasts featuring Dr. J

1) Interview with Marvin O’Lasky at the King’s College in New York.

The MP3 file is here.

Details:

Marvin Olasky, provost of New York City’s The King’s College and editor-in-chief of WORLD Christian Magazine, interviews Dr J on a wide range of topics relating to marriage and family.  Afterward, she takes student questions.

2) Debate at the Commonwealth Club.

The MP3 file is here.

Details:

The Commonwealth Club of California hosts a speaker panel to discuss same-sex marriage, both in the context of the state and federal challenges through the courts and more generally in society and culture.  The four panelists are Molly McKay, media director for Marriage Equality USA; Jennifer Roback Morse, president and founder of the Ruth Institute, Therese Stewart, Chief Deputy City Attorney, San Francisco; and Kevin Snider, attorney for the plaintiffs in the federal court case over Prop 8, and Chief Counsel of the Pacific Justice Institute.  Doug Sovern, broadcast journalist of “Sovern Nation” and 3-time winner of the AP’s “Reporter of the Year” Award for California, moderates.

I listened to both of these and they are AWESOME. You men should listen to the interview, where she has specific things to say about men and marriage. It is a major concern to me that more women do not defend marriage like Dr. Morse. If a woman wants to get married, then she needs to defend marriage like Dr. Morse. And that means understanding what marriage is about!

By the way, Dr. Morse is on Facebook. As am I.

News

What should you say and do when someone is grieving?

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Spotted this on Sue Bohlin’s blog.(H/T Christian Alert via Neil Simpson’s latest round-up)

Excerpt:

Last week my dear friend Sandi Glahn wrote another boffo blog post about the myths of infertility, which included some of the dumb things people say.

It may be insensitivity or a lack of education that spurs people to say things that are unhelpful at the least and downright hurtful much of the time. I still remember my own daggers to the heart after our first baby died nine days after her birth. And for the past several years, I have been collecting actual quotes said to those already in pain.

So here’s my current list of What Not To Say when someone is hurting…

Here’s something NOT to say:

Don’t start any sentence with “At least. . . .”
• “At least you didn’t have time to really love her.”
• “At least he’s in heaven now.”
• “At least you have two other children.”
• “At least that’s one less mouth you’ll have to feed.”
• “At least it didn’t have to go through the pain of birth.”
• “At least you’ve had a good life so far, before the cancer diagnosis.”

Don’t attempt to minimize the other person’s pain.
• “Cancer isn’t really a problem.” (e.g., Shame on you for thinking that losing your hair/body part/health is a problem.)
• “It’s okay, you can have other children.”

And here’s what you can say and do:

What TO say:
• “I love you.”
• “I am so sorry.” You don’t have to explain. Anything.

What TO do:
• A wordless hug.
• A card that says simply, “I grieve with you.”
• Instead of bringing cakes, drop off or (better) send gift certificates for restaurants or pizza places.

Sounds like people shut down when they are grieving and need help keeping their lives going. Maybe even getting out of bed or eating and cleaning!

In addition to the tips, you can read the comments – they are pretty interesting. I’ve only ever been to ONE wedding (as a child – I remember nothing of it) and NO funerals. No one I know has ever died, except my pets. I don’t understand these things as much as other people do, so that’s why I posted it, just in case you guys are like me. If you have any more stories or advice, tell me.

Sue Bohlin is Ray Bohlin’s wife. They are from Probe Ministries. I used their resources a ton when I was going through college, along with Leadership University. Sue and Ray are awesome! I’ve learned a ton from them over the years.