In The Tech Wise Family, author Andy Crouch describes the difference between devices which do our work for us, and tools which allow us to work for ourselves. One contracts, the other expands. One makes us lazy and apathetic, the other pushes us to grow. One forces us to conform; the other helps us to become better versions of ourselves.

At Whetstone, our work program equips boys with useful skills that transfer into their world back home, allowing them to become servants and leaders. You can’t just push a button to build a birdhouse, mend a fence, or tend a garden. You have to use your hands.

Join us this week on A Time to Sharpen as we discuss the importance of teaching young people how to do more and more in a culture that worships the art of doing less and less.

Movies are a powerful tool. They have the ability to not just change people, but to change the world. The film industry proclaims and celebrates this power every year during Oscar season, up and down the red carpet.

So I’ve always thought it strange when some of these same people minimize the impact that exposure to profanity, sex, violence, and other unsavoryness has on the public at large. “It’s just entertainment,” we’re told. “Movies are just a mirror of society,” they say.

Whatever happened to all that talk about changing the world? You can’t have your popcorn and eat it too, Hollywood.

Join us this week on A Time to Sharpen as we dig into how Whetstone harnesses the power of film with Gabe Newell, current headmaster and former clerk at Blockbuster Video. (Remember those days.)

It’s hard to be in the world, but not of the world…but films provide us all with an excellent opportunity to do so.

“Safety first,” the old saying goes. And it’s true, it’s pretty dumb to ignore safety issues before deciding to do something potentially dangerous. But that doesn’t mean that a wise person will never attempt to do anything dangerous in life.

In fact, there are times when not doing a “dangerous” thing is more hazardous to our health. For example, sitting down all day seems like a safe thing to do, but if you’re not up and about, potentially tripping over stuff and bumping into things, you’re at a higher risk for heart disease, stroke, depression, anxiety, hyper-tension, and more.

Sitting is the new smoking.

Join us this week on A Time to Sharpen as we discuss the many issues surrounding the safety of our residents, and the many measures we take to ensure that they are not exposed to any unnecessary risk in regard to their physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological health and well-being.

A word of caution: You might want to buckle up.

What person in their right mind travels 9 hours in a cramped vehicle, with no Buc-ees between there and here, to work for 3 long days in hot, humid, 100 degree weather, battling sawdust, sanders, chainsaws, ticks, and chiggers, expecting nothing in return but the joy of lending a helping hand?

Whetstone volunteers, that’s who.

We’ve hosted 100’s of them over the years…probably 1000’s…I don’t really feel like doing the math, but it’s a lot.

Join us this week on “A Time to Sharpen” as we took a short break to interview Kevin and Pam Slack, a power couple who spent a 3-day weekend working here instead of staying on the couch in the air-conditioning and watching the Olympics. Now, don’t you feel guilty?

In high school, Dennis Rodman was my favorite basketball player. Not because he dyed his hair pink, got married to himself while wearing a wedding dress, and became close personal friends with Kim Jong Un. Not that. Instead, it was because of his amazing hustle and unadulterated passion for the game of basketball. He was also one of the Detroit Piston “Bad Boys” who won back to back championships in 1989 and 1990. (We’ll pretend he never went to the Chicago Bulls.)

Dennis Rodman is probably the most unlikely player to ever end up in the Hall of Fame, and it’s all because of one skill. Rebounding. He was not the tallest player, or the most skilled. But he did have an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. And more important, he just wanted the ball more than anyone else, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get it.

On this episode of A Time to Sharpen, we will discuss the importance of rebounding with struggling teenagers. Young people take a lot of “low percentage” shots. As their coach, we can either beat them up for doing so, or we can take the Dennis Rodman approach and focus on getting the rebound.

It’s sad to see your kids grow up…but it’s more sad if they don’t grow up. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to with my four children. It’s my job to prepare them for life without me.

But what exactly does this entail? I don’t plan on going away anytime soon, but I don’t want them calling me up at midnight to ask if they should book the morning or evening flight to Denver. They should be able to make most decisions by themselves. And if they can’t, then I have done them a great disservice.

Join us this week on A Time to Sharpen as we talk with two former residents who have returned to Whetstone as staff. They are many seasons removed from their experience here, but right in the middle of the process of adulting. I think you’ll agree, after listening, that they are both wise beyond their years.

We often get asked about our “success rate,” as if the boys who come here are games on a schedule. People want to know our win/loss record. Is it above .500? Did we make the playoffs? If not, what coaches are we going to fire? What off-season moves are we going to make?

And I get it. I can be very results-oriented. But what exactly does it mean to be ‘successful’? Is it something that can be measured? If so, how? Should success be the thing towards which we strive? Or are other things even more important?

These are questions that we can ask not just about Whetstone, but about our performance as parents, teachers, and counselors - as spouses, and friends, and employees, and bosses. But who among us wants our worth to be judged by our output - especially when that output is another human being? People aren’t products to be manufactured and marketed.

On the other hand, the Bible says that you can judge a tree by its fruit. And Whetstone has served close to 140 families over the last 12 years. That’s a lot of fruit. We should be able to demonstrate the program has been successful on some level.

Join us this week, as we talk about the definition of “success.” Or rather, the many different definitions of success.

Sports, sports, sports…and more sports. We can’t seem to get enough. We have 24 hour coverage of every athletic competition across the globe. Sports on television, the radio, the internet. Then there is the conversation before, during, and after each individual event.

I haven’t done the math, but it would probably take a lifetime to consume just one day’s coverage of sports around the globe.

For some, this fact is just an annoyance. But for many others, this obsession with sports creeps into our family life. Wins and losses can affect people’s moods. Over-involvement in youth sports can have a toxic effect on family life and household finances. Keeping up with the Jones’s and the fear of missing out can negatively influence a wide variety of important decisions.

On the other hand, there is much to love and to learn from competition and the requisite need for young people to train and to develop self-control, strength, and endurance. Sports can lay a foundation for healthy living that lasts a life-time.

Join us this week on A Time to Sharpen, as we discuss the need for balance in the wide world of sports. It’s not easy to find a middle ground in a culture that worships professional athletes.