Saw this quote in Curves this morning, "If you love what you do and believe that it matters; what could be more fun?" I would change the quote a bit and and end it with the phrase, "what could be better?" than fun, because I know that what I do and love is not always fun, but really, I couldn't ask for a better job.
Yep, I love my job. Teaching 5 and 6 year olds is a real joy. Watching their eyes light up when they figure out the number pattern, when they can build a high wall of cardboard bricks, when they tell me they know what letter a word starts with because of the sound it makes, or when they show me a picture they have coloured with their best colouring...there is no greater reward for teaching!
But yes, sometimes my students drive me nutty! Like really, we've gone over the same lesson so many times and they still don't get it? Why don't they get it today when yesterday it wasn't a problem? Or how about the kid who just can't keep her mouth shut at any time...even when she's had innumerable time-outs from our carpet time because of it and always says she knows what to do and will do better. Or the boy that keeps hurting other kids? He's used to wrestling and "fighting" with his large "wrestling-sized" father and doesn't realize that other kids aren't quite as pain tolerant or that fighting is not the way we solve problems in the classroom. Or the boy who is so angry over situations in his life way beyond his control that he takes out the anger in class when he doesn't get his way and beware the adult who is within his kicking range! Or how about the little girl who doesn't have a clue about letters or print because her parents have never read to her? Just breaks my heart.
The Newtown massacre of kindergarten and grade 1 students just before Christmas really hit home for me. That could have been me and my class. In fact, at the beginning of this year, I was given a photo of a dad who has been threatening to come and get his girl from my class, even though he is not to have any contact with his children. I'm supposed to be aware of all strangers in our playground. This man is a police officer, so has access to weaponry that could do a lot of damage. And so, I ask myself, "Would I stand in front of my class and be shot first? Where would I hide the students? Where would we go?" I, along with all other teachers and admin at my school, reviewed our own lock down policies and practices. We talked about these questions. I tried to reassure parents in my class, without drawing undue attention and worry, that I would do my absolute best to keep my students, their children, safe. I do hope I would be a teacher who would lay down my life for my students.
I love my job, but never thought it would be dangerous. I love my job; the rewards are innumerable. I love my job and I'm not about to trade it for anything else.
Monday, December 31, 2012
new year's resolutions
I am so glad there's always a new day, a new week, a new month and most fun...a new year. These are all possibilities to start afresh. Just as God's mercies are new every morning, I think I give myself a break every new day, too. Today will be better; this week I will be good; this month I will be gentle and kind; this year I will be self-disciplined. ;)
So today as I look back, I could get all depressed about how I didn't follow through on everything I'd like to do in my year of living deliberately, but I'd rather look ahead and plan to do better. The biggest challenge is definitely in living a self-disciplined life. It has not been hard to invest in relationships. I'm absolutely loving my job again this year, even with the challenging students I have, and God keeps teaching me in different ways and places...but that part about self-discipline. That one's tough. I'm not doing well. I eat too much of not the greatest stuff (and Christmas is the absolutely worst time of it!), I waste time, I don't stay as active as I'd like, and I don't like what happens as a result. I gain weight, inches and feel unhealthy. Guess there's only one way to change that! And so I start again. Wish me luck!
So today as I look back, I could get all depressed about how I didn't follow through on everything I'd like to do in my year of living deliberately, but I'd rather look ahead and plan to do better. The biggest challenge is definitely in living a self-disciplined life. It has not been hard to invest in relationships. I'm absolutely loving my job again this year, even with the challenging students I have, and God keeps teaching me in different ways and places...but that part about self-discipline. That one's tough. I'm not doing well. I eat too much of not the greatest stuff (and Christmas is the absolutely worst time of it!), I waste time, I don't stay as active as I'd like, and I don't like what happens as a result. I gain weight, inches and feel unhealthy. Guess there's only one way to change that! And so I start again. Wish me luck!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Orthodoxy and/or Orthopraxy?
Words are powerful things. Words can hurt, can heal, can bring laughter, and can bring extreme pain. I have realized this truth more so as I have written in this blog and as I go on with my year of living deliberately it is becoming more and more difficult to write, not easier as I thought it might. I think that words read devoid of the writer's intention of inflection, pauses, etc (ie voice) can mean different things to different people and be interpreted in as many ways as the people reading it. And so I write with trembling the following thoughts.
What is more important: orthodoxy or orthopraxy, that being right beliefs or right practice? This conundrum has come from a few different sources in my life lately. I have heard a few times recently that some people/churches are very concerned about our young adults because they are unable to "articulate the gospel" using the correct terminology. I also have this issue as I watch three of my own children at this stage of life begin to question, challenge and articulate their faith in God using some different words (beliefs?) than I use. I have also had some questions directed to me about some of the things I have said in this blog because of the orthodoxy of some of the writers I have quoted. Words are powerful and I am choosing mine very carefully today.
I heard a good sermon on Sunday on a passage I have heard and read many, many times. It was from Luke 10:25-37; the parable of the Good Samaritan. In summary, an expert in the Jewish law asked Jesus what was required to inherit eternal life. Jesus turned the question back to him and said what does the Law say? And, according to Jesus, the man answered correctly: "Love God and love your neighbour." This man's beliefs were right, according to Jesus...but, Jesus didn't let him stay with his belief. He told him to "DO" this belief to get life. As the saying goes, "therein lies the rub." The expert then asked Jesus, in hopes of getting himself justified, "Who is my neighbour?" Rather than answering the question directly, Jesus tells a parable where a man gets into a bad state and the only person who helps him out is a person that the hearer of this parable, the expert in the law, would have considered as being totally without "right belief." And Jesus turns the original question of "who is my neighbour?" into "who was the neighbour?" Jesus, in essence, told this expert in the law, this man who knew all the right answers, to behave like the despised, mocked, frowned upon Samaritan, because the Samaritan had the right actions.
As I have thought about this during the week, I was also drawn to the parable Jesus told which is recorded in Matthew 21:28-32. This parable talks about two brothers, one who says the right thing, but doesn't do anything about it, and the other brother who says the wrong thing, but who changes his mind and does the right thing. Jesus then tells his listeners, which I think are still the Jewish religious leaders addressed in the earlier verses, that people are entering the kingdom of God who were condemned by the religous, but because they repent (change action) they are getting in ahead of those with the "right" answers.
And then I found myself singing the little song "The wise man built his house upon the rock..." I looked up the passage where that song came from and it's from Luke 6:46-49. Who does Jesus say is wise? The one who does what Jesus said.
Maybe my question isn't the right one. Maybe it's not a case of which is more important, orthopraxy or orthodoxy. I think it's you can't really have one without the other, or at least you can't have orthodoxy without orthopraxy. (Maybe you can have orthopraxy without orthodoxy...hmmm, have to think about that.) The Samaritan did not have the right "belief" according to the religous of the day, but he did the right thing. The one son said he wasn't going to do what his father asked, but then did and he was commended. The one who just spouts off right answers and knows all the orthodox beliefs, but does nothing, will have his house washed away in the flood.
And by the way, the sermon was by my son and I'm so very proud of him and humbled as it made me dig deeper. Thanks Joel!
What is more important: orthodoxy or orthopraxy, that being right beliefs or right practice? This conundrum has come from a few different sources in my life lately. I have heard a few times recently that some people/churches are very concerned about our young adults because they are unable to "articulate the gospel" using the correct terminology. I also have this issue as I watch three of my own children at this stage of life begin to question, challenge and articulate their faith in God using some different words (beliefs?) than I use. I have also had some questions directed to me about some of the things I have said in this blog because of the orthodoxy of some of the writers I have quoted. Words are powerful and I am choosing mine very carefully today.
I heard a good sermon on Sunday on a passage I have heard and read many, many times. It was from Luke 10:25-37; the parable of the Good Samaritan. In summary, an expert in the Jewish law asked Jesus what was required to inherit eternal life. Jesus turned the question back to him and said what does the Law say? And, according to Jesus, the man answered correctly: "Love God and love your neighbour." This man's beliefs were right, according to Jesus...but, Jesus didn't let him stay with his belief. He told him to "DO" this belief to get life. As the saying goes, "therein lies the rub." The expert then asked Jesus, in hopes of getting himself justified, "Who is my neighbour?" Rather than answering the question directly, Jesus tells a parable where a man gets into a bad state and the only person who helps him out is a person that the hearer of this parable, the expert in the law, would have considered as being totally without "right belief." And Jesus turns the original question of "who is my neighbour?" into "who was the neighbour?" Jesus, in essence, told this expert in the law, this man who knew all the right answers, to behave like the despised, mocked, frowned upon Samaritan, because the Samaritan had the right actions.
As I have thought about this during the week, I was also drawn to the parable Jesus told which is recorded in Matthew 21:28-32. This parable talks about two brothers, one who says the right thing, but doesn't do anything about it, and the other brother who says the wrong thing, but who changes his mind and does the right thing. Jesus then tells his listeners, which I think are still the Jewish religious leaders addressed in the earlier verses, that people are entering the kingdom of God who were condemned by the religous, but because they repent (change action) they are getting in ahead of those with the "right" answers.
And then I found myself singing the little song "The wise man built his house upon the rock..." I looked up the passage where that song came from and it's from Luke 6:46-49. Who does Jesus say is wise? The one who does what Jesus said.
Maybe my question isn't the right one. Maybe it's not a case of which is more important, orthopraxy or orthodoxy. I think it's you can't really have one without the other, or at least you can't have orthodoxy without orthopraxy. (Maybe you can have orthopraxy without orthodoxy...hmmm, have to think about that.) The Samaritan did not have the right "belief" according to the religous of the day, but he did the right thing. The one son said he wasn't going to do what his father asked, but then did and he was commended. The one who just spouts off right answers and knows all the orthodox beliefs, but does nothing, will have his house washed away in the flood.
And by the way, the sermon was by my son and I'm so very proud of him and humbled as it made me dig deeper. Thanks Joel!
Monday, October 29, 2012
A Miracle
from Here if you Need Me, A True Story by Kate Braestrup
From Jesus, ten lepers receive a cure. "And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him."
Were not ten made clean? Yes. Ten were made clean.
But only one received a miracle.
A miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude.
......
All ten lepers were made clean; all ten went on to live whatever new life was afforded them thereby. We can be confident that all ten suffered other wounds, for life is wounding, and that all ten died, for life is also terminal. All ten have long since gone to dust and story. Sometimes the miracle is a life restored, but the restoration is always temporary. At other times, maybe most of the time, a miracle can only be the resurreciton of love beside the unchanged fact of death.
...As a mother, I pray for miracles of the most ordinary kind on their (my children's) behalf: I want their hearts to keep beating. I want them to live.
But then, a grateful heart beats in a world of miracles. If I could only speak one prayer for you, my children, it would be that your hearts would not only beat but grow ever greater in gratitude, that your lives, however long they prove to be and no matter how they end, continue to bring you miracles in abundance.
From Jesus, ten lepers receive a cure. "And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him."
Were not ten made clean? Yes. Ten were made clean.
But only one received a miracle.
A miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude.
......
All ten lepers were made clean; all ten went on to live whatever new life was afforded them thereby. We can be confident that all ten suffered other wounds, for life is wounding, and that all ten died, for life is also terminal. All ten have long since gone to dust and story. Sometimes the miracle is a life restored, but the restoration is always temporary. At other times, maybe most of the time, a miracle can only be the resurreciton of love beside the unchanged fact of death.
...As a mother, I pray for miracles of the most ordinary kind on their (my children's) behalf: I want their hearts to keep beating. I want them to live.
But then, a grateful heart beats in a world of miracles. If I could only speak one prayer for you, my children, it would be that your hearts would not only beat but grow ever greater in gratitude, that your lives, however long they prove to be and no matter how they end, continue to bring you miracles in abundance.
This and That
I've been putting off writing because I couldn't pull my thoughts together on any one subject, and so I've decided rather to write a little about a lot of things. Maybe that's just my ADHD showing up (which I've never been diagnosed with, but it works as a reason for my behaviour rather frequently).
1. Life is fleeting and temporal. The day after my last blog entry saw my sister-in-law have her life changed in an instant. She was a pedestrian on her way to work. She ended up in the hospital with numerous life threatening injuries after being hit by a half ton truck. By now, she is on her way to recovery, but it will involve a long process of physio, surgeries, and bedrest. Oh how quickly her life changed, as well as life for her family. Made me stop and think.
2. Hellbound? is a movie that many people have gone to see, but I have not. I can't believe the uproar that it has caused. Do I agree with all the viewpoints presented by the different people who have discussed it? Absolutely not. Do I know with absolute certainty that the viewpoint that I have is the right one? No. But that's okay. I do know who holds my future, and I do know that my job here on earth is NOT to argue about future possible torment, but rather be salt and light towards the love of Jesus for people in the here and now. Come on people, what people believe about what will or will not happen after death will not change what DOES happen after death and Jesus was pretty clear about what his job for us on earth is. Rather ironically, I read this quote today "A factual description of the afterlife is someone no one living is qualified to offer. Yet, the Christian feels compelled to speak of that which is beyond words." (Here if You Need Me, by Kate Braestrup, p. 127)
3. Self-discipline is not my forte. In just about every other area of my goals for this year I am doing okay. However, self-discipline in the area of eating is not working. I am working out regularly, but that's never been an issue for me. I have always liked physical activity, so maybe I have never had to watch what I eat before, but this midlife stage of life is creeping up on me rather fast and some of the side effects have been weight gain. I am trying to gain courage and motivation for this by looking at my friend who is quitting smoking. She is my age and has had struggled with this for many years. She has quit, for up to 12 years only to be hit with the urge too strong to resist one day and started up again. So I am joining her on this self-discipline journey. May we both be successful!
4. Parenting young adults is hard work...or maybe that's exactly my problem. I still think I need to do work to parent them. I want their lives to be free of stress and problems. I want to fix all their issues. I need to cut some apron strings, I think, and give them room to grow. Oh boy...not so easy to do when growth invariably involves pain.
5. I love my church. This week my love stems from the intentional way we are trying to learn from our neighbours. I was going to use the term "reaching out", but that assumes that we are the ones who are in power or in the position of strength. We have a lot to learn from our neighbours. May we be open to it.
6. I love my job. Teaching Kindergarten and Grade 1 students has got to be one of the most rewarding stages of formal education. They are learning so much and are eager to share it with everyone around them. I am so fortunate to have a job like that. I feel sorry for the rest of you!
....I thought there was more, but I've run out of steam. Maybe I'll think of them at 3 a.m. again and write it down on a piece of note paper for next time. Until then...live, love and laugh!
1. Life is fleeting and temporal. The day after my last blog entry saw my sister-in-law have her life changed in an instant. She was a pedestrian on her way to work. She ended up in the hospital with numerous life threatening injuries after being hit by a half ton truck. By now, she is on her way to recovery, but it will involve a long process of physio, surgeries, and bedrest. Oh how quickly her life changed, as well as life for her family. Made me stop and think.
2. Hellbound? is a movie that many people have gone to see, but I have not. I can't believe the uproar that it has caused. Do I agree with all the viewpoints presented by the different people who have discussed it? Absolutely not. Do I know with absolute certainty that the viewpoint that I have is the right one? No. But that's okay. I do know who holds my future, and I do know that my job here on earth is NOT to argue about future possible torment, but rather be salt and light towards the love of Jesus for people in the here and now. Come on people, what people believe about what will or will not happen after death will not change what DOES happen after death and Jesus was pretty clear about what his job for us on earth is. Rather ironically, I read this quote today "A factual description of the afterlife is someone no one living is qualified to offer. Yet, the Christian feels compelled to speak of that which is beyond words." (Here if You Need Me, by Kate Braestrup, p. 127)
3. Self-discipline is not my forte. In just about every other area of my goals for this year I am doing okay. However, self-discipline in the area of eating is not working. I am working out regularly, but that's never been an issue for me. I have always liked physical activity, so maybe I have never had to watch what I eat before, but this midlife stage of life is creeping up on me rather fast and some of the side effects have been weight gain. I am trying to gain courage and motivation for this by looking at my friend who is quitting smoking. She is my age and has had struggled with this for many years. She has quit, for up to 12 years only to be hit with the urge too strong to resist one day and started up again. So I am joining her on this self-discipline journey. May we both be successful!
4. Parenting young adults is hard work...or maybe that's exactly my problem. I still think I need to do work to parent them. I want their lives to be free of stress and problems. I want to fix all their issues. I need to cut some apron strings, I think, and give them room to grow. Oh boy...not so easy to do when growth invariably involves pain.
5. I love my church. This week my love stems from the intentional way we are trying to learn from our neighbours. I was going to use the term "reaching out", but that assumes that we are the ones who are in power or in the position of strength. We have a lot to learn from our neighbours. May we be open to it.
6. I love my job. Teaching Kindergarten and Grade 1 students has got to be one of the most rewarding stages of formal education. They are learning so much and are eager to share it with everyone around them. I am so fortunate to have a job like that. I feel sorry for the rest of you!
....I thought there was more, but I've run out of steam. Maybe I'll think of them at 3 a.m. again and write it down on a piece of note paper for next time. Until then...live, love and laugh!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
100 workouts
So I've made it to 100 workouts at Curves. That's quite a few...and yet not very many. It all depends on perspective. And today I had an interesting perspective while working out. Curves is much like "church." Let me tell you a few ways I felt that way today.
You are welcomed by name when you walk in.
You are welcomed as you are....fat, skinny, fit, flabby, tired, energetic...
There's music playing...always... sometimes even songs I sing on Sunday (just at 3 times the tempo to keep you working hard!)
Everyone's welcome to just do the circuit, but there's more if you want. There's more workout options (eliptical, treadmill), a tanning bed, vibration machines, etc.
You can delve deeper into the Curves "philosophy" if you want and do the diet, the workout regiment, mentoring, weight loss and measurement protocol....but only if you want to. I am never pushed to do it.
I find Curves a safe place to be, but also one that challenges me to do better because I am trying to do more than just work out. I want to be fit and healthy. That means that sometimes Curves is a bit awkward for me, as I have to weigh in and get measured regularly and those numbers don't lie.
Can you see the comparisons to church? Is church like that for you, too?
You are welcomed by name when you walk in.
You are welcomed as you are....fat, skinny, fit, flabby, tired, energetic...
There's music playing...always... sometimes even songs I sing on Sunday (just at 3 times the tempo to keep you working hard!)
Everyone's welcome to just do the circuit, but there's more if you want. There's more workout options (eliptical, treadmill), a tanning bed, vibration machines, etc.
You can delve deeper into the Curves "philosophy" if you want and do the diet, the workout regiment, mentoring, weight loss and measurement protocol....but only if you want to. I am never pushed to do it.
I find Curves a safe place to be, but also one that challenges me to do better because I am trying to do more than just work out. I want to be fit and healthy. That means that sometimes Curves is a bit awkward for me, as I have to weigh in and get measured regularly and those numbers don't lie.
Can you see the comparisons to church? Is church like that for you, too?
Thursday, October 11, 2012
The Power of Words
A very sad story is in the news today. A young girl from the lower mainland has committed suicide, shortly after making a you tube video about the bullying abuse she had suffered over the past few years. The bullying, although it did include some physical altercations, was mainly through the power of words, especially using social media.
Unfortunately, many of the comments following the video continue the abusive tone and I can see why she figured life just wasn't worth it anymore, if even the video she made to help others like herself was used as a catalyst for further mockery.
The you tube video is well worth watching. Here's the link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vOHXGNx-E7E
This makes me stop and think. How do I use words? Do the people around me (my husband, my children, my students, the cashier) find my words uplifting or destructive? Do I give hope and joy to others or do I cut them down. I do have a sharp, satirical wit at times; could it be construed as hurtful?
My deliberate living will have to include careful speech. "May the words of my mouth...be acceptable in your sight, oh God."
Unfortunately, many of the comments following the video continue the abusive tone and I can see why she figured life just wasn't worth it anymore, if even the video she made to help others like herself was used as a catalyst for further mockery.
The you tube video is well worth watching. Here's the link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vOHXGNx-E7E
This makes me stop and think. How do I use words? Do the people around me (my husband, my children, my students, the cashier) find my words uplifting or destructive? Do I give hope and joy to others or do I cut them down. I do have a sharp, satirical wit at times; could it be construed as hurtful?
My deliberate living will have to include careful speech. "May the words of my mouth...be acceptable in your sight, oh God."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)