Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Family

  • Parents: Crying It Out Is Not Best

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    4 min read

    As parents, we have all been there.  There has never been a child that G-d has given us that hasn’t cried for what feels like a little too long or at seemingly just the wrong time.  All parents have felt this stress. And every parent has lost it.  I remember a specific instance in which…

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  • Giving Thanks When the Holiday Doesn’t Deserve Them

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    3 min read

    I kind of hate Thanksgiving.  I do love my family, the festivities, watching the Detroit Lions, the parade.  I especially love the food.  Oh, I love the food.  For the longest time, my favorite food in the whole world was stuffing.  It still comes close.  No, the reason I hate Thanksgiving is the holiday’s origin.…

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  • Changing the Church is Like Changing Diapers

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    3 min read

    For many, the idea of change in the church is like being asked to change diapers. It is…unpleasant. They are messy, stinky, and unpredictable. Sometimes the odor is unbearable. And sometimes the entire exercise gets you covered in it. Not to mention the times in which the baby pees directly on you! Even those that…

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  • Using My Time’s Gonna Cost Ya’!

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    3 min read

    Yesterday I wrote that when we claim we don’t have enough time for church, it is really code for “I don’t want to”. Today I’ll say that living in the U.S. right now is like living in a time-sucking vortex of anxiety and despair.  Or maybe that’s just what it feels like when I get 30 minutes…

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  • Bad Science, Infant Cereal, and Church Tradition

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    3 min read

    In her post, “Why Ditch The Infant Cereals?” KristenM at Food Renegade makes a compelling case for not giving cereal to babies before they are one year-old.  The case is made of two important arguments: 1) What is developmentally and biologically appropriate and 2) There is no “traditional” basis for it. Against these two arguments,…

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  • A little distracted

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    1 min read

    So, we’ve been a little distracted.  On Tuesday, our son was born.  Our three year-old girl is doing great and loving her role as big sister. We just need to get used to our roles as parents of two kids. I’ll be back online soon to finish the children’s stories theme and I have much…

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