Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Don't Quit
--Author unknown

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

American Heart by Jon David

Wasteful Spending in Education

I just read a post on facebook about a $578M public school opening next month in Los Angeles: LA Unveils $578M school - Yahoo News

I have so many issues with a major expense like this that I can't even begin to list them all. What really got to me was the comment from someone stating that any money spent on education is well spent. Well, my friends, I'm an educator and I don't agree with that statement at all! This person also questioned why aren't more people upset about the money that's being spent on our military. "That money is being spent to kill people." While I'm sure there is probably wasteful spending in our Department of Defense (I'm not sure there is a government operation that doesn't waste money), the spending by our government on our defense is protecting our country and our liberties. If those were not protected, we would not have the freedom to spend $578M on a public school to educate our children. I also don't wish anyone harm but, unfortunately, we didn't ask for this war on terror. It wasn't started by the United States!

Next, I don't believe that $578M is required for a good education. Abraham Lincoln, who is my favorite president and quite possibly the best one this country's ever seen, taught himself, while helping his family with their farm. They weren't wealthy, in fact they were very poor. But somehow, despite the fact that he didn't have a $578M school to attend, he became one of the most famous presidents of the United States of America and helped this country through one of it's most difficult times in our history.

I have learned over the years that my children are the most enthralled with the simplest things. As babies and toddlers, they loved to bang on pots and pans with wooden spoons. This was their drum set. They didn't need for me to spend a bunch of money on an expensive drum set. One of their favorite activities is to spend the day at the beach. Guess what? It doesn't cost anything to go to the beach. They love to go to the park and take nature walks. They like the playground equipment but they are more interested in nature. So, take your kids out on a nature walk, spend a day at the beach, get involved in their schools, go out and vote so that we can stop our politicians from this policy of spending money that we don't have to spend.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

God Will Find You - A True Story

God will find you--very good true story

Father John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago, writes about a student in his Theology of Faith class named Tommy:

"Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith.

That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his shoulders. It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long. I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that it isn't what's on your head but what's in it that counts; but on that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped.. I
immediately filed Tommy under 'S' for strange... Very strange.

Tommy turned out to be the 'atheist in residence' in my Theology of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility of an
unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was for me at times a serious pain in the back pew.

When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he asked in a cynical tone, 'Do you think I'll ever find God?'

I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. 'No!' I said very emphatically.

'Why not,' he responded, 'I thought that was the product you were pushing.'

I let him get five steps from the classroom door and then called out, 'Tommy! I don't think you'll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain that He will find you!' He shrugged a little and left my class and my life.

I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever line -- He will find you! At least I thought it was clever. Later I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was duly grateful.

Then a sad report came. I heard that Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted and the long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy. But his eyes were bright and his voice was firm, for the first time, I believe.

'Tommy, I've thought about you so often; I hear you are sick,' I blurted out.

'Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It's a matter of weeks...'

'Can you talk about it, Tom?' I asked.

'Sure, what would you like to know?' he replied.

'What's it like to be only twenty-four and dying?

'Well, it could be worse.

'Like what?

'Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals, like being fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real biggies in life..

I began to look through my mental file cabinet under 'S' where I had filed Tommy as strange. (It seems as though everybody I try to reject by classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)

'But what I really came to see you about,' Tom said, 'is something you said to me on the last day of class.' (He remembered!) He continued, 'I asked you if you thought I would ever find God and you said, 'No!' which surprised me. Then you said, 'But He will find you.' I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that time.

(My clever line. He thought about that a lot!)

'But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant, that's when I got serious about locating God.. And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven.. But God did not come out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try anything for a long time with great effort and with no success? You get psychologically glutted, fed up with trying. And then you quit.

'Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may be or may not be there, I just quit. I decided that I didn't really care about God, about an afterlife, or anything like
that. I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and your class and I remembered something else you had said: 'The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.''

'So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad.. He was reading the newspaper when I approached him.. 'Dad.

'Yes, what?' he asked without lowering the newspaper.

'Dad, I would like to talk with you.'

'Well, talk.

'I mean . It's really important.'

The newspaper came down three slow inches. 'What is it?'

'Dad, I love you, I just wanted you to know that.' Tom smiled at me and said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret joy flowing inside of him. 'The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he hugged me. We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning. It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his hug, to hear him say that he loved me..'

'It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me, too, and we hugged each other, and started saying real nice things to each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many years.

'I was only sorry about one thing --- that I had waited so long. Here I was, just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually been close to.

'Then, one day I turned around and God was there. He didn't come to me when I pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an animal trainer holding out a hoop, 'C'mon, jump through. C'mon, I'll give you three days, three weeks.''

'Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour. But the important thing is that He was there. He found me! You were right. He found me even after I stopped looking for Him.'

'Tommy,' I practically gasped, 'I think you are saying something very important and much more universal than you realize. To me, at least, you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time of need, but rather by opening to love. You know, the Apostle John said that. He said: 'God is love, and anyone who lives in
love is living with God and God is living in him.' Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now. Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it would not be half as effective as if you were to tell it.

'Oooh.. I was ready for you, but I don't know if I'm ready for your class.'

'Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call.'

In a few days Tom called, said he was ready for the class, that he wanted to do that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date.

However, he never made it. He had another appointment, far more important than the one with me and my class. Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed. He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a
life far more beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man has ever heard or the mind of man has ever imagined.

Before he died, we talked one last time.

'I'm not going to make it to your class,' he said.

'I know, Tom.'

'Will you tell them for me? Will you tell the whole world for me?'

I will, Tom. I'll tell them. I'll do my best.'

So, to all of you who have been kind enough to read this simple story about God's love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy, somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven --- I told them, Tommy, as best I could.


If this story means anything to you, please pass it on to a friend or two. It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes.

With thanks,
Rev. John Powell,
Professor,
Loyola University , Chicago




Touching Story - Starfish

Saturday, August 21, 2010

First Day of Kindergarten Mommy Angst

School Family posted this article on August 18. As my "baby" heads off for her first day of Kindergarten, I can totally relate with this mom's memory of her child's first day of "big kid" school. ~ First Day of Kindergarten Mommy Angst

Back to School and Parent Involvement

Okay, so summer vacation is essentially over. We have two days until the first day of school. Where did the summer go? Did I sleep through the entire summer? Why does it feel like we just finished the last day of school yesterday? Each summer that goes by seems to pass faster and faster. So I'm wondering if I will have any summer at all by the time I'm 50 years old.

At the beginning of the summer, I had these grand plans of not doing anything but lazing around the house and watching movies with my girls. We could hang out at the pool. We could play Nancy Drew games on the computer (all three of us love to play Nancy Drew even though Bailey isn't technically old enough yet - she'll just sit and watch). We were going to catch up on our scrapbooks. You get the picture. And you can probably guess what I'm going to say next. We did watch some movies but not as many as I would have liked since I'm an avid movie watcher. I didn't play one Nancy Drew game although I did get more familiar with Facebook (sigh). We played a couple of board games. We went to the pool more in Maryland when we visited Richard's family than we have here, with the exception of swim practice for Morgan. I did pull out my scrapbook supplies last week but didn't scrapbook. We used them to make posters for PTO.

That's right, I joined the PTO board this year. I must have had a lapse in judgement and rational thinking the day that I said I would do this. What was I thinking? I've been sucked into the black hole with no hope of ever returning to a normal life. I wonder sometimes if that's what Richard is thinking. Will he ever see me again? Will there be time for the two of us to spend together without the girls, PTO, or something else getting in the way?

All joking aside, joining the PTO is not a black hole of volunteer work and commitment. I will see daylight and I will spend time with my family - yes, my husband too. And I will not regret a minute of the time that I spend helping to make my daughter's school a better environment for her to learn in! Contrary to some beliefs, the people who make up PTO's and PTA's across this country are not all cliquish. We all don't have our own agendas. Some of us really do want to help make the school that our children attend a better place. We want to create an environment that is conducive to learning. In order to achieve this goal, we want to make our school a safe and enjoyable place which inspires our teachers and students to be their best! And what's best for my child is what's best for all of the children. We want to foster a team and community spirit in which the children learn about working together and helping each other. We want the children to learn to be respectful and responsible. Building their character in a positive way is quite possibly the most important aspect of a school's environment. Once this is achieved, then the academics will be learned without a doubt.

Parent Involvement is so important in a child's life. Studies have shown that children perform better on tests and their self-confidence is improved when parents are involved in their children's lives. You don't have to sacrifice your entire life to become involved in your children's schools. And if you're a working parent, there are little things that don't require a huge time commitment that you can do. Volunteering in your child's school doesn't have to be the "black hole" of time commitment. There is a job for everyone - big and small ones. Please do your kids a favor and get involved. Join the PTO/PTA or the booster club and help to make a difference in your school community!