It is a New Year!

    Well, we made it through 2011! I can't believe the year went by so quickly! There were a
few changes during 2011 in my life:

                       We completely gutted and refinished our bathroom (well, hubby and his buddy did.) It went from this:

To this!!!! Ta-da! It is still yellow but every wall was ripped out, insulated and re-dry walled!
     

           Our dear Pastor resigned, we started the process of setting up a search and then we were introduced to the concept of an Intentional, Interim Pastor. Pastor Ron will be joining Belmont St. Baptist Church as we start the New Year and a new chapter!
            My dear McGrath Educational Center became You Inc. Educational Day Academy as we combined out two locations! With that change I went from teaching High School English to Middle School (all four subjects!!!!). What a transition but after the combining of the schools, staffs and students and getting used to a new way of doing things, the school year is going as well as can expected for a Emotional/Behavior Disability population! And I'm having fun! I actually couldn't wait to get back to school!


     I think that is it for changes....but two of those are pretty monumental transitions and I made it through!
     So now, it is a New Year and there is much to look forward to. We plan on refinishing the big mudroom in our house. Taking a big vacation (we only went to NH in 2011). Maybe someday soon we'll be able to announce that we're having a baby--but that is up to God. Hmmm...I'm sure there will be much more happening in 2012, but that is to be determined.

A time of transition.

     Our church recently lost its Pastor. There wasn't a scandal, there wasn't major chaos...in the end after all of it was said and done, it was just time to move on. Some people have left, some are thinking of leaving and some, like myself and my husband, realize that the Church is the living entity that we want to belong to. We can't go following Pastors or hoping that the grass will be greener. We must make our grass as green as we can while we are called as member of our Church.      So we had a guest Pastor yesterday, that could be our Intentional Interim Pastor. In other words, this is what he does. He helps Churches figure out who they are and where they are going in order for them to find the right Pastor. It was an exciting service and meeting afterward. My dear hubby was very patient with the hour and a half length of the meeting (I'm sure he was itching to get out of there and get things done at home!)
     Well anyway, during this time of transition, my Bible study is doing a crash course on Psalms and the subject of tonight's session is on Renewal. I find this a very appropriate topic in regards to the Church and also to things in my life. I was not hurt by the transition at Church. If anything, it made me a stronger, more active member. I would rather get involved and help mold the Church into what God wants it to be, than turn away from it and from a group of people that I have grown to care about. I am not close to many of the women my age in Church, but to the women of the generation before me, who are some of the most wonderful, caring and intelligent women I've had the pleasure of knowing!  
     Anyway, I have been hurt by some events with friends over the past year. And unfortunately, it has been compounded by someone who I considered to be my dearest friend, deciding that this past year would be a good year for her to distance herself from me and essentially end the friendship. She has done this for reasons that she hasn't expressed to me. And now she is engaged, and I can't even share in her happiness. And I probably won't be there to see her promise her life to her fiance before God. And it makes me sad. And I miss my friend.
     So as this time of transition continues, I have to find the courage to not run away and face this issue. I am hoping there will be renewal and healing as I've seen slowly happening in my Church. It is amazing how events in your life sync together for God's purpose.

A little perfect timing...

     So after my post yesterday, and Bible study that went right along with that post last night, I come along this blog that hits the nail exactly on the head...http://www.purposefulhomemaker.com/

     Gee, God loves divine appointments and giving us signs....we just have to keep our eyes open!

Being quiet and thanking God

     I've started a Bible study this week on Psalms. The first week's lesson in on being silent before God. listening to Him and then thanking Him for all of the blessing you've received even if you are going through storms in life. I have slowly gotten into the habit of talking at God and not talking with Him. This has led to lukewarm prayer times and a feeling of disconnectedness. So last night after I completed my Bible study, cuddled with hubby during T.V. time, gotten some chores done and was finally in bed, I said the Our Father as always and then I quieted my mind, shut my mouth and sat still and quiet before God. It was hard to do but I realized I'd been waiting for God's plans for me, without listening for them. Well. how can He tell me his plans if I'm not listening?
     So I waited....and it wasn't long before God talked to me--with passion, with conviction, without condemnation but He definitely schooled me. I listened, I heard, I realized what I was totally unaware of.  I was not being totally honest with Him or with myself. I said, I will follow your plans....but I wasn't giving everything over to Him. I handed him my career, but not my marriage...not like I should. I handed him my Church life, but not my life with family and friends. And it's not like I actually controlled this stuff either. I'm the go along type. I go along with life and live it. I don't think about it, I don't consciously change anything. I just live. So sometimes listening to God opens up a whole can of worms. It gives us much to think about. It reminds us that He cares and listens to everything even when we don't think He is. We just need to give Him a chance to talk too. So I feel asleep listening to God and not talking at Him but responding to Him.
     Then I woke up, and instead of complaining that it was Monday (a little storm but one we all face every week), I thanked Him. It started my day off on a better foot. And when I realized I'd overslept by ten minutes, I wasn't angry. I just said, Oh well, shorter shower. And I went on my way. Thanking God this morning helped me focus on the positives in life and not the tiny minuscule negative things I face. Go figure.

The state of teaching in the United States

     I have not written a blog in quite a while. Life has been busy and I always say to myself..."I should blog about that..." and then life gets in the way.
     But here I am with some down time and  I haven't wanted to blog about teaching in this country for a while so here goes...
     I read an article today about the legislative changes that have taken place in many of the States in our country. From losing collective bargaining rights, to changes in tenure teachers are being punished and hurt all over our country. Some of the states that are making changes are not known for their quality school districts as it is, and being a teacher, I can tell you, by making changes  that hurt the teaching profession they will lost quality teachers.
     The States that are going to do well in this day are the States that say "Yes we value what good quality teachers bring to our schools." The States that recognize teaching as a difficult, challenging and deserving profession. In the present day more and more States are requiring teachers to obtain higher level degrees (Master's, CAGS, and PHDs) and yet teachers often do not receive much in return. I read a statistic (and I'm not quoting so my wording and exact data may be wrong but...) that said something like, "15 years ago, an entry level teacher and an entry level associate at a law firm (read law degree passed the bar...) made the same amount of money. Now teachers make something like 75% of what the associate makes."
     We are constantly being devalued by society and we are constantly being asked to provded more and more services for our students. This must stop if the state of education and the teaching profession want to find the same page in the book and help our students succeed. We must acknowledge that teachers are where our students find their inspiration, education, courage and drive. And we must realize that a standardized test is a horrible way to tell if a teacher is doing a good job or not.
     Many students come from borken homes, homes with addiction, abuse, violence, busy parents, parents that don't care, and parents that aren't there. Couple that with increasing loosening of morals, higher unemployment and poverty, more gang violence, more chances for kids to be exposed to drugs, alcohol and sex at an early age, less money in the school systems, less afterschool programs to serve more kids and many other problems we are facing in this modern age.....and we wonder why our state of education is in such disarray....and we blame the teachers.
     If we want to compare ourselves to other countries, we must not only look at student achievement (or lack thereof) but also look at poverty, crime, unemployment, social services, marriage rates, etc.... If these are equal with ours, then yes, we need to fix the educational system...if they aren't....then we can't blame the educational system for society's flaws...it isn't right. Public schools worked for MILLIONS of Americans. We all turned out better than fine. We can't blame the public school system when things haven't changed within it when we all received a quality education. Has technology improved? Yes, and public schools have added technology. Has history changed? Yes, and public schools have updated their text books and curriculums. Do students learn differently? Well they always did and now we are recognizing that more and more and making the changes we need to make.
     So why is public education and subsequently, it's educators being blamed for all of the problems we face today? Well we need a scapegoat....why not blame the group that some say has the most influence over our students today? Because that group, that is made up of dedicated, hardworking, well-educated people will walk away. Not because they want to, because trust me, I will never be happy if I'm not teaching, but because government forced their hand. People will move to States who support educators, they will move to countries who will pay them well to teach in their American and Private Schools, they will retired instead of teaching an extra 5-10 years, they will find some other profession. It will happen if we do not recognize how important our teachers are. We must--or the state of our educational system will falter and fall apart.

Posting this a little late but needs to be said

     On Friday of last week I heard something very disturbing on the morning news. A high school about a half hour away from me was putting on the play "The Laramie Project"--a play about Matthew Shepherd, the young man who was tortured and murdered for being gay in 1998. A church from Kansas decided that wherever this play was being produced, they would picket. They stated in an interview that "you may not talk about God without talking about his hatred."
     First of all, let me say, that as a high school teacher, I give major credit to the students of that high school. Most kids are afraid of homosexuality because it is different. They are just as scared of being different as any person on the social edges and if they say that homosexuality is okay, or tolerated, then they are setting themselves up as well. Kids are scared of having the spotlight on themselves but those kids that participated in that play are amazing for volunteering to be center stage on an issue that is so controversial!
     Now, I am disgusted by that Church. I am a Christian. I am proud to be a Christian. But I am not proud that those people call themselves Christians too. Jesus would tell them to go home. He did in the Bible when the prostitute was being persecuted for her sins. He told them that if they were without sin they could throw the first stone (John 8:2-11 ). This is the Jesus I know and follow. When Jesus came to earth this is what He said to us: "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it." John 12:47
     Jesus sits on the throne of judgment. I do not. Judges that are appointed by the governing courts of a country are entitled to judge. I am not.
     Jesus told me to love. He said "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34)
     So why are there Christians out there preaching this message of hate? It makes me sad. It makes me really sad. It makes me really sad for Matthew Shepherd and his family and friends. It makes me really sad for anyone who has been a victim of a hate crime. It makes me really sad for people out there who struggle with their sexuality and feel condemned by Christians.
     The majority of us don't hate you. God did not teach us a message of hate. God taught us to love you. God did not teach us a message of judgment. It is not our job to judge.
     I'm not going to get into my beliefs on the subject because that is not the point of this post. The point is--this church full of Christians from Kansas should look at themselves before they preach "God's message of hate." As Christians we should daily preach God's message of love. As I remember very clearly, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
     This scripture does not include a footnote that says, "except for homosexual people" it says "the world." So we must love all the people in the world too, even if we don't agree, even if we don't like someone, even if someone's moral choice are not our own. It doesn't matter. We must love the whole entire population because God did and told us to as well.
Here is the link to the article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2010/10/28/as_framingham_high_stages_controversial_play_a_teachable_moment/

Election Day

     Well, as I sit here tonight after cleaning out my desk (yay! I finally got it done!) I am watching the election results and wonder why you voted today. I voted to protect myself and my family from higher taxes and the loss of public services and as always I voted because my vote matters! As a Christian, many people automatically assume that I vote Republican. And I know that many Christians do vote Republican and that is fine for them. But as I have grown and matured, I see more issues than just Pro-Choice or Pro-Life. Yes, I believe babies are babies from the moment they are conceived. But I also believe that as God gave me free will, he gave all of us free will and we can't make the hard choices for everyone else...it isn't my business...I'm just here to tell you what I believe and why (if you ask) and you can make your own decision. So with that said, this is my little political ditty and then you won't hear it from me again.
     I am an independant. I do not believe as a member of a middle-income, working class family that the Republican party has my best interest at heart. Therefore, I do not vote on party lines, I vote on issues and who stands closest to my beliefs on an issue. I do tend to lean to the left but that is because I find the Left is more about people than business and more supportive of social issues. The Left seems to want to take better care of this country's people--they are not for free hand-outs--they are for helping people when they are down. And I do know that people take advantage of that, but when the Right is in power business gets  A LOT of free hand-outs and they definitely take advantage. Anyway, I like my money in my pocket and unlike the wealthiest 1% of our citizens--I NEED my money in my pocket--so why would I vote for people that have money and like protecting their friends who have money?
     Now onto the point that Republicans are Christians and Democrats are not...first off..I don't know what anybody is. Someday we will all know who is and who isn't when we meet them in Heaven. Someday, we will all stand before God Himself and He will tell us if we've done right or wrong. So I am not to judge. Because maybe that Democrat that you are voting against is a God-fearing, Born-Again, Christian Soul and you are voting against who God wants in office. I do not, nor have I ever, voted based on Religion. I also try not to talk badly about anyone who was voted into office because civil government is necessary and divinely ordained by God (Rom. 13:1–7), it is ultimately under God’s control. So we will vote and God will move those that He will to vote for His Will to put the people in office that need to be there. I truly believe that whatever happens, God is in control and He knows the ultimate outcome--He is afterall the one who wrote the book!
     So please, if you talk among your family and friends about this election--or any election--please do not assume that because someone is a Christian they are Republican, and don't assume that someone who isn't a Republican isn't a Christian--because both assume that you know a person's inner thoughts and soul and well none of us know that! Hope you voted because one vote does make a difference! And last but not least and probably one of the most important points--God Bless America!

Heartfelt and touching blog post from a Sister in Christ

http://achocolatebouquet.blogspot.com/2010/10/take-time-to-evaluate.html

I just read this post and I know it is very meaningful in my life, so please check it out and see if God touches your heart with it too.