Issue 8
CAPITALISM
While capitalism might not be the first thing that comes to mind as a thing for the CMYK Community to talk about, we think it's an important topic. At it's core, capitalism is a belief system that many in our country have chosen to see as the best system and way forward as a society. In many ways this set of beliefs has helped create the world that we currently live in. So many advances and luxuries we hold can be traced back to its roots. However, is capitalism what we believe to be the most beautiful way for our lives?
This question becomes especially potent when we hold it up to the teachings and life of Christ. What do the scriptures invite for us? Are there beliefs and ideas found there that contradict capitalism? How are we to react as individuals and community when there are discrepancies?
This series of talks is designed to wrestle through these questions and more. Our hope is that you would not only listen in, but become a part of the conversation with us!
You can listen in at cmyktalks.podbean.com
AGREE TO DISAGREE
In August, we had a short but vital talk series on relating to those we love but disagree with. We've all been involved in conversations when we and those we love have widely separate beliefs. How do we handle that? Do we stay silent and try to hide our churning stomachs and clenched fists? Or do we jump to defend our perspectives and prove we're right?
Agree to Disagree tackles this dilemma with a third approach aimed at preserving relationships without silencing the participants. In our deeply divided culture, this is vital. If you've already heard the series — or even if you haven't — consider sharing it with those you care about.
You can find and share the talk series here: cmyktalks.podbean.com
WE HAVE ENOUGH. CMYK is currently giving 45% of what we receive to organizations doing great work in the community and world around us. Child Bridge is a place we've given to recently.
CHILD BRIDGE | By Caitlin Cromwell
Child Bridge is a faith-based nonprofit that finds and equips foster and adoptive families across Montana.
Montana has a record of 3,391 kids in the foster care system. That number has risen by 500 since 2017 and tripled since 2008.
The state is making strides in helping abused and neglected children, but in 2017, Montana’s state legislature cut $50 million from public health and social services, stretching already-thin resources and staff. In particular, Montana needs foster homes.
Child Bridge recruits families and couples to serve as foster parents. In 2017, Child Bridge cared for 228 children who had been removed from their homes. Some of those children were able to return to their biological families, while the remainder stayed in temporary foster care or were permanently adopted by their Child Bridge families.
One of those kids is 16-year-old Cecilia Warricks. Cecilia’s parents struggle with addiction, and she was removed from their home when she was 7. Child Bridge found a foster home for Cecilia and her sister, and their foster family adopted them in 2012.
“Transitioning into a new family was hard at first,” said Cecilia. But over time, her new family “totally changed my life and has given me a hope and purpose. I’m living proof that, when necessary, adoption from foster care is so important.”
AMP CAMP 2018 | By Parker Brown
In its fifth year, Amp Camp hit the stage in July at Yellowstone Valley Brewing for its final concert to a packed house of friends, family, and new listeners. The campers worked all week in large and small groups honing their sets as well as challenging their knowledge of their instruments, ears, and minds.
Each day is packed, from morning warm-ups and master classes to music theory and small combos to the "main jam" — the full camp performing all at once. Small groups are led by a faculty member and treated like a real band rehearsal where two or three songs are learned for the final performance. Kids also attend shows from local bands performing original material.
Amp Camp is geared toward preparing students to be real, live-gigging musicians. Having only five days to prepare for a show is a lot of pressure, and year after year the students rise to the occasion and put on a wonderful show.
As a founding faculty member, the best part for me is after that final performance, seeing the radiant glow of the students as they exchange compliments and phone numbers so they can get together and play over the summer. That’s when you know they’re hooked.
MONTANA GALLERY UPDATE | By Tyler Murphy
After a long winter of existential angst, Montana Gallery has had a successful summer. In June we celebrated five years in business, and on the night of the opening hundreds, maybe thousands, of people came through the gallery. My friends, Ryan Kabeary and Parker Brown, transported us to another dimension with their music. The kind words, the pats on the back, and the presence of so many dear friends moved me greatly. Since that five-year reception we've had one successful event after the next. We've seen well-attended Story Nights, good art sales, concerts, and regular walk-in traffic, and the gallery is catching the attention of collectors across the states thanks to several flattering articles in prominent art magazines.
Above all, I'm pleased that the gallery and Ebon Coffee continue to be a welcoming space. To some degree, this is possible because of the CMYK community. Over the past couple years Montana Gallery has twice received financial help from CMYK — once when it was completely unexpected and once when it was greatly needed. This is the kind of community I want to be a part of: one that helps meet the needs of its city. As I reflect on this generosity, I'm inspired as an artist and member of downtown to pass along the favor, to lean into and amplify the beauty of life, to create when compelled, and to help those I can. Thank you, CMYK.
Photography credit to Mary Kate Teske
NIGHTTIME FRIENDS - GRANT JONES | By Caitlin Cromwell
The wait is almost over for Grant Jones' debut album, “Nighttime Friends.” The album includes tunes Grant wrote in the past seven years and has played around Billings for nearly as long.
In anticipation of the release of “Nighttime Friends,” Grant launched a Kickstarter to raise funds for the album. The campaign has surpassed Grant's goal, raising more than $4,300.
“It feels so real,” Grant said. “And I’m extremely happy with the way it sounds. The people that worked on the album made it better than I ever thought it could be.” That includes collaborators and musicians from both within the CMYK community and without. CMYK’s own Parker Brown played pedal steel and lap slide on the album, while Matt Blakeslee recorded and produced every song. The work also features Phillip Griffin on backup vocals and bass, Keller Paulson on drums and percussion and Erik Olson on keys. Jordan Steingraber mixed and mastered the album.
Grant’s sound defies easy definition. At Moav recently, we took a quick straw poll of everyone in the immediate vicinity. “Indie-alternative?” wondered Brian Murnion. Ryan Kabeary paused. “There’s definitely folk, and definitely rock. But maybe some indie, too? Indie-folk-rock?”
Whatever genre Grant’s music is, “the key is his lyricism,” Ryan said. Grant’s songs are spaces for him to unpack, describe, express and interpret his experiences, the experiences of others, and big, hard-to-contain feelings. “The imagery that his lyrics provide, that’s the real draw for me,” Ryan said.
Want to help bring “Nighttime Friends” into being? Grant’s Kickstarter runs through Sept. 22, and his next show is Sept. 15 at OxxFest. Join him at the location of local bag manufacturer Red Oxx (312 N. 13th St.) at 4 p.m. for a fun set and a great local event.
Photography credit to Mary Kate Teske
THE TOP 10 REASONS YOUNG CHILDREN FEEL ANGRY
1. When they are required to think of others.
2. When they are in competition with others or jealous of siblings.
3. When they do not receive enough attention and approval.
4. When they are forced to follow the rules.
5. When they are hit or yelled at.
6. When they have their things damaged or taken away.
7. When they are hurried or rushed.
8. When they feel others have more.
9. When they feel frustrated by not mastering a skill.
10. When they feel a situation is not fair.
All of these situations are opportunities to teach. Avoiding these situations or punishing children for feeling angry can hinder social-emotional development. Allow children to feel their emotions and teach them socially acceptable ways of expressing them. Set up appropriate boundaries by acknowledging your child’s feelings while clearly communicating and maintaining the limit and offering acceptable alternatives. The steps to set an effective limit can be summed up with the acronym “A.C.T.”
A - Acknowledge the child’s feelings, wishes and wants.
C - Communicate the limit in terms of safety
T - Target acceptable behavior
A few examples of the A C T process in action are:
“Seems like you’re frustrated with this puzzle. Throwing puzzle pieces is not safe. You can throw the sponge ball inside or throw a regular ball in the back yard.”
“You wanted to see what was outside the window. It’s not safe to climb on the dresser. You may climb on the play gym at the park.”
“You wanted to get my attention. It’s hard for me to breathe when you squeeze my neck so hard. If you want my attention, you can touch my arm.”
Click here to read the entire Conscious Discipline article and more details on Conscious Discipline's "A.C.T." steps.
This article is submitted by Jenny Barkac. Jenny is our CMYK Kids Leader. During the week, she works with schools and parents around the United States as a Conscious Discipline Certified Instructor. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the CMYK Community.
If you're looking for more information to support your parenting journey, go to the Conscious Discipline website and click on the parent tab for free information and videos. You'll be asked for your email address, but Conscious Discipline will not share it.
'GIRL, WASH YOUR FACE' | By Clementine Lindley
Have you ever read a book that makes you want to reassess all of your priorities in life? That’s exactly how I felt after I finished “Girl, Wash Your Face.” In this book, Rachel Hollis examines lies that she has believed in her adulthood that would make her more successful, more beautiful and more likable. She lists each lie, then refutes it, explaining how viewpoints can change with just a few cognitive exercises. Even a media mogul can struggle with lies that we all have believed at some point – lies such as “I’ll start tomorrow,” “I don’t know how to be a mom,” “I need to make myself smaller,” “I should be further along by now,” or “I am defined by my weight.”
Each one of these chapters delivers a candid look into Rachel’s life. It’s not the kind of life you’d expect to see on the cover of “Better Homes and Gardens,” but instead the real, down-and-dirty and even intimate versions of what it’s like to live with negative thoughts racing through your head. She focuses on her own experiences in such a way that the reader can easily identify the similarities in their own lives. Because the book is broken out into chapters devoted to each lie, the reader can skip a chapter that doesn’t pertain to them.
This book encouraged, motivated and inspired me not to sit and wait for tomorrow, but to instead see the day for what it is. To paraphrase Rachel: take the time to cry on the bathroom floor, but when you’re done, stand up, wash your face and tackle the mountains ahead of you.
'CRASHING' | By Daron Faught
Cynicism is prevalent on TV these days, particularly on HBO, but one HBO series really tries to make lemonade out of lemons.
The HBO series “Crashing” (not to be confused with the UK series of the same name) starring stand-up comedian Pete Holmes gives me hope that the world isn't such a messed-up place. But it’s also no “Sesame Street.” This bioseries features Pete, a Christian studying to be a youth pastor. Pete discovers his wife is having an affair with her yoga teacher, and this event significantly alters his life. They divorce, and Pete decides it’s time to pursue his dream of being a stand-up comedian. He moves to New York, starting on the bottom rung of the comedy ladder, passing out flyers for shows and getting maybe five minutes to perform at the end of the evening. He also has no money, so he crashes with other comedians until he can become self-sufficient. One of the guys who really feels sorry for him is Artie Lange. Lange also adds his real-life struggles with drug addiction in the show. Pete later stays with other stand-up stars like Sarah Silverman and Bill Burr as he struggles to climb the showbiz ladder while maintaining his faith. It ain't easy, and it’s a relatable journey.
Judd Apatow is one of the executive producers, and the show has a bit of his trademark “bromance” vibe, especially in the scenes with Pete and Artie. Artie Lange deserves an Emmy nomination for this role — he really spills his guts. It has been renewed for a third season, and the first two seasons are available on demand. So give it a try. It just might make you laugh, or at least smile.