Home Articles posted by Kidologist

Author: Kidologist

Karl Bastian is the founder of Kidology.org, the creator of ToyboxTales.com, and the author of OrderoftheAncient.com. His personal website is Kidologist.com He is Big Kid with a passion for equipping and encouraging those who minister to children.

Why Patriotism?

(one more post I found in drafts, the issue isn’t “hot” on Kidology now, but this was my response, better posted late than never!)  Over on Kidology.org there is a hot discussion that was started by a brother “down under” who asked: Why do American Christians see the need to teach patriotism? Doesn’t God love all nations equally? (see full question and discussion here) I’ve been watching the conversation, discussing it with family and friends, and waiting to post my answer until I could really give it some thought, and decided to answer it here on my blog rather than just in the Kidology forum. I’d love your feedback here or there. My short answer would be, I have never taught “Patriotism” to kids in church, but I certainly have modeled it. What I have taught is gratitude to God for our blessings, many of which are being American, and civil responsibility, both which are not USA dependent. I can go on and on about what a good and amazing country this is, but that is beside the point (and I think the Kidology discussion got off on that rabbit trail, which is easy for Americans to do. We LOVE…

Continue reading

Let’s Get Political

(Found this in my drafts folder… I did not write it, but I thought the facts were still pertinent as we are in a presidential election season. National Security is the #1 issue. Without a nation, there are no other issues, and make no mistake, our total destruction, or at least our free way of life is under direct attack and our president cares more about preserving our nation than his reputation. That is a man of character and honor.) There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq in January. In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January. That’s just one American city, about as deadly as the entire war-torn country of Iraq . Many people say that President Bush shouldn’t have started this war, but they fail to realize that: 1) FDR led us into World War II. While Japan did attack us, Germany never attacked did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost … an average of 112,500 per year. 2) Truman finished that war and started one in Korea, even though North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost … an average of 18,334 per year. 3) John…

Continue reading

God is Just Too Cool

Well, with this Chicago white out and freezing rain and snow I was almost stuck in California. My flight was only delayed but I didn’t want my wife and boy driving in bad weather to the airport to pick me up so I resolved to take a cab, which could have been over $100 with the distance and conditions. Then my sister calls (before departure) and her husband Keith is flying back from New York on business and also facing delays, but has a car at O’Hare. Well, as God would have it, we BOTH JUST LANDED at the same time! What are odds of that at O’Hare and in these conditions?!? We are both now just taxiing waiting for a gate to open, but I got a ride home! (Keith and Melissa live four houses down from us) Anyway, just had to share this little example of God’s provision today. I might still be sitting on this runway for awhile, there is a long line of planes waiting to deboard and the ones at the gates are still de-icing. Life is an adventure! Karl Bastian Sent/Posted from my iPhone UPDATE: Landed at 10pm, and sat on the runway until…

Continue reading

It’s SNOWING!

I’m out driving and am so excited… It is snowing on December 1st! How beautiful is that? I hope it never stops. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! iKarl Bastian (Sent/Posted from my iPhone) UPDATE: OK, you wanted a picture – I can’t blog a picture from my iPhone remotely. (wish I could, if anyone knows how to do that with WordPress, let me know. I used to be able to do it on Blogger, one of the only cool features on Blogger) Anyway – it was just light snow when I posted this, and coming home was too dark, but I did snag this picture of the back of my car when I arrived (after seeing the comments): This is the sticker everyone at my church has on their car. (by the way, I never noticed the small print on it until today when the image was full screen in iPhoto – click to see why I said “uh oh” when I read the fine print!)

Continue reading