Is there anything better than a good holiday tradition? Well, yeah, lots of things I guess. Two good holiday traditions…three good holiday traditions.

Seriously though, join us this week on A Time to Sharpen as we discuss the 2003, Christmas classic, Elf, starring the great Will Ferrell. It’s a tradition for us to watch this one with the boys at the ranch, as well as with our own kids. It’s the perfect combination of good clean fun, romance, and for the purposes of this episode, therapy. Elf a surprisingly insightful glimpse into trauma and attachment.

So come with us “past the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then…through the Lincoln Tunnel.” And listen all the way to the end. Otherwise, we’ll have to put you on the naughty list.

What’s it like to be the parent of a boy at Whetstone? There is really only one person who can answer that question. You guessed it. It’s the parent of a boy at Whetstone.

This week on A Time to Sharpen we have two such parents: JD and Kelly Buss, the mother and father of Joey Buss, one of our recent 2024 graduates. I feel certain that this podcast will be a huge help to parents looking to place their son in a program, parents living apart from their son who is currently in a program, and parents preparing to have their son return from a program.

But it has also been a huge help to Brandon and me as we continue our quest to sharpen this program.

What’s it like to be the parent of a boy at Whetstone? There is really only one person who can answer that question. You guessed it. It’s the parent of a boy at Whetstone.

This week on A Time to Sharpen we have two such parents: JD and Kelly Buss, the mother and father of Joey Buss, one of our recent 2024 graduates. I feel certain that this podcast will be a huge help to parents looking to place their son in a program, parents living apart from their son who is currently in a program, and parents preparing to have their son return from a program.

But it has also been a huge help to Brandon and me as we continue our quest to sharpen this program.

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.