I love a good paradox, which Wikipedia defines as "a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation." 

A classic example (that few of us would ever need to use) is the fact that stopping long enough to sharpen your axe will help you chop wood faster instead of slowing your progress. Similarly, taking naps on hectic days can enable to you get more done, not less. The Bible has lots of these head-scratchers. I like this list of seven. 

Today I want to talk about another example: the value of boredom. Most people think of boredom as something negative. It makes them uncomfortable and anxious and they tried to avoid it at all costs. We live in a world of over-stimulation, information overload, and instant gratification. . . so why should anyone ever be bored, right? 

The problem is that seem to have forgotten how boredom is what kick-starts imagination and the problem-solving genius of our subconscience. Those of us who are in creative fields sometimes lament that we don't feel inspired or can't think of new ideas. More often than not, we're probably trying too hard instead of sitting quietly, listening, watching, and letting our minds wander. If children have more toys and games and movies than they have time to use, when will they ever invent, create, build, explore, imagine?

P.S. I apologize for a couple of wonky links in last week's newsletter. Here's the proper link to Amber North's article, and here's that "Be Secretly Incredible" printable again.  

Here's something fun about words, one of my favourite materials to create with. 🙂

Which of these sentences sounds better?

I couldn't help staring at his ugly old brown sleeveless hiking vest.
I couldn't help staring at his sleeveless brown ugly hiking old vest.

The first one, right? Why? How did rearranging the adjectives make a difference? 

It's because we're used to hearing strings of adjectives arranged a certain way, and our brains notice when that mysterious "rule" is broken. Normally, we move from subjective descriptions (i.e. our opinions about the object being described, such as ugly or decadent) to objective ones (i.e. facts, such as sleeveless or red). But what if we want to use more than one objective adjective? (Can you say objective adjective five times fast? Ha!) 

We say big old red truck, not old red big truck. But. . . WHY? Again, it's because, subconsciously, we are used to a certain pattern. This is the generally accepted order of adjectives:

• opinion (e.g. outrageous)
• size (e.g. thick)
• physical quality (e.g. filthy)
• shape (e.g. oval)
• age (e.g. ancient)
• colour (e.g. scarlet)
• origin (e.g. Oriental)
• material (e.g. velvet)
• type (e.g. hand-woven)
• purpose (e.g. sleeping)

Theoretically, you could say: I don't know where she found that outrageous thick filthy oval ancient scarlet Oriental velvet hand-woven sleeping rug, but I'm not touching it!

As ridiculously long as that sentence is, it just works! You may not know the proper order to list adjectives, but it's safe to assume you would have put those words in more or less the same order, simply because you're used to seeing or hearing this pattern again and again.

Now you know! (And now you're probably looking around at things and testing how you'd describe them. Amiright?) 😉

• Ninja Cats!

With purrfect timing, Japanese photographer Hisakata Hiroyuki has captured hilarious photos of cats in motion, making them look like little furry warriors. So cute! 

• PluggedIn

This is not a new resources but some of you may not have heard of it. An arm of Focus on the Family's ministry, PluggedIn reviews movies, games, books, music, and online videos and provides detailed analyses to equip parents (who may not always be able to preview what their kids are engaging with). A great tool!

• The Church Lady, Then and Now

Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

– unknown