Fall break continued with more sickness and more doctor visits, but at least we had one non-fever day in which we could host a delightful dinner for another family from our school. I initially invited them over because their son, a student in my class, expressed interest in possibly attending the U.S. Naval Academy, so I thought an informal dinner would give him and his parents a chance to ask my hubby, a USNA alumnus, some questions. As the conversation progressed, we realized my educational/career background was more closely aligned with his interests, so I became the one answering questions.
When I invited this family over, I did not realize his father was a leader on our school's Board of Directors, so all the concerns and questions I had were issues he could address. I was very encouraged by his input and to learn that the board was already very supportive of some of the improvements I had been seeking to help make at the school (Gift #786). His wife (my student's mom) is also the chief administrative assistant for the headmaster and my principal (my two bosses), so she gave me some valuable input as well. I did not realize how intertwined all these relationships were when I first extended the invitation, but the dinner was certainly more fruitful than awkward, and I am so thankful they came. I think the primary reason the dinner was not as awkward as it could have been in a different scenario is because politics do not usually play into decisions there as they would in other schools. We are first and foremost a family, and decisions are made to promote the best interests of the students, not any individual, and measures of accountability or in place to make sure it remains that way. (Gift #787)
Our guests' three children range in age from 10th grade high school to college sophomore, and they all came and sat together at the island with my wild and crazy children during the dinner. The seating was not ideal as I wish I could seat more than six at any one table, but I was amazed at how willing they were to dine and converse with such young, unrefined kids. I sure hope our children will grow into such fine, mature, and gracious teenagers some day.
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| Adults' Table |
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| Centerpiece, place mats, and napkins were all gifts from Nana! |
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| Where their mostly grown children endured my kids' silly shenanigans |
That rascally rabbit of ours continues to pee on carpets and tear up our home, yet her cute personality and overall adorable appeal continues to comfort us through this season of consecutive light and momentary trials. While home sick one day, my boy sneaked up behind me while I was working through my Bible study on the back deck with my faithful furry friend perched on my shoulders and took the following photos.
When Muffin isn't perched up high on my back, she's often in a bunny
trance position in my lap. I love the way that bunny gets so involved
in my Bible Study.
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| Muffin assumes the bunny trance while I study |
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| Time to get up! |
Muffin also enjoys perching on our boy's basketball. She is gearing up for basketball season.
The kids and their father advanced to green belts in Tae-Kwon-Do this month. I'm really wishing I had committed to taking TKD as well, for they seem to be having a great time together while learning so many valuable disciplines.
Elections
We've tried to avoid the election vitriol this time around, but it's so hard not to get emotionally bent out of shape over issues when so many of them are deep issues of the heart and soul. Core principals of right and wrong that God has set in the hearts of every human soul are not only being debated as if moral truth is relative, but common basic morality itself is being voted out by rouge judges and the vocal minority whose hearts have grown calloused by the deadening influences of our culture. The very foundations of society upon which our founding fathers established this nation (marriage, family, morality, and basic freedoms) are all unraveling at breathtaking speeds, and it seems no one has the courage to do anything about it. None of this catches our God by surprise, and much of this has all happened before as Solomon did say, "There is nothing new under the sun.". Few people remember how Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, tried to wipe out certain races using sterilization and euthanasia affecting 19,000 people right here in our own state. Our society is filled with sheep who possess no critical reasoning or thinking skills whatsoever, choosing instead to follow after the very same voices that lead them to their slaughter. The loudest voices are victimizing themselves and the very ones for whom they claim to be advocating. Instead of seeking a greater good for everyone, they create situations that oppress and make conditions worse for the very ones they say they want to help. It's sheer madness.
"A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left." (Ecclesiastes 10:2, ESV)
Some questions were raised by those in line about the Common Core Standards, so after pouring over the Common Core website for hours, reading extensively about the standards, impacts, and results, sitting on a panel sponsored by the data mining companies, tutoring kids struggling with Common Core, and helping several families get started homeschooling after their kids experienced all sorts of twisted morality, excessive testing, inappropriate indoctrination (all evidence has been photographed and documented), and developing utter contempt for school in general and loss of confidence in their abilities, and evaluating the results gathered after 3 years of the common core nonsense in NY schools, I felt I provided an informed, researched, logical answer to his question compared to the list of unverified, inaccurate talking points teachers/administrators are given, although a host of teachers are now speaking out against it with published pieces out of great alarm and frustration.
Standing behind me was a 30-year retired teacher from our local government schools who did not like my answer. She retired before the common core standards were implemented, so she could only speak of it in terms of talking points and her previous experience teaching (notable as it was, and I salute her), but she was visibly shaking in anger at me. I tried to seek common ground with her, and by the time we got to the 20 voting booths, we had reached a number of points of agreement. All those points of agreement in terms of educational philosophy are completely removed by the common core but could be fully realized through the classical model of education when implemented outside of federal or even state level control. She agreed with me that the government doesn't know our kids or their needs and should note be shackling teachers but rather giving them freedom to tailor the coursework to each child's needs. Instead they put all their confidential data into a database for a computer to dictate what that each child needs (which profits the curriculum companies who are in the network) while creating a history for that child which could haunt him/her for life. We all have good and bad days or years or traumatic things happen to us which can affect our schooling situation, but when those obstacles are overcome, should they not be removed from the child's history and no longer held against him? How will the government use this data? There are government agents who are already establishing valuations for every citizen's worth according to the government's own valuation system which could be used to ration health care. Imagine how that can be used to hurt segments of society with socialized health care, ever changing tax codes and the resurgence of euthanasia. WAKE UP! All people are made in God's image and are of infinite worth to this world. No government agent has the power to set the infinite worth behind every human life. Anyway - this simple episode shows how despite our best intentions to be kind peacemakers, when the issues of the day are so vital to America's future, it's much harder to be quiet. So we run to the sovereign Lord over all who is working out His plans...which interestingly do not specifically mention America in the list of nations at the last battle.
When my 7-year-old saw the "I Voted" sticker on my shirt, he said, "I know who you didn't vote for because I saw those political ads on TV during the football game I watched with Dad." (Oops!) He guessed correctly, however, and then proceeded to talk political issues like an astute, educated, registered voter. After surprising me with his awareness of the issues of the day (thanks to TV commercials and possibly eavesdropping on adult conversations), he asked me to give an example of an executive order. So I mentioned the recent one allowing illegal aliens to join the military, and my wise boy said, "But Mom, that's just wrong. Aliens do not exist." He is only 7 after all, and the only definition he knew for "aliens" involves extraterrestrial beings.
I thought his comment was a cute end to his efforts to try to talk like a grown-up, but don't you know the political correctness police had my hide for using the terms "illegal" and "alien", for how dare I use such offensive terms for people who are not citizens (that is "aliens") and not here legally (aka "illegal"). Some people want me to call gay union a "marriage" which by definition it certainly is not but they are making it legal anyway, but I can't call an illegal resident "illegal" which he/she most certainly is. I was referencing the executive order (which also illegally exceeds the power of the executive office) which uses those same terms for crying out loud. But alas, in this new age, you cannot call anything for what it is because everyone is so freaking entitled and emotionally fragile that EVERYTHING you say offends someone. We can't even call bossy, domineering women "bossy" anymore thanks to the new "Ban Bossy" campaign when no better word fits such women.
My husband is descended from Cherokee Indians who were kicked out of their homeland by "aliens" to this land, and they could care less if you call them "Indian", "Redskins" or what ever you wish, for their self worth is not in the name you use but in who they really are. They have dignity that comes within because they have not been coddled by the vote buyers of this age or the upside down self esteem movement such that they would take offense. They own who they are and take pride in their accomplishments and God given worth. I know it takes effort and money to get documentation, but they are still "illegal" until they have it. And...as for the term "alien"...that is a term of great dignity, for our Holy God called his beloved children "aliens" and sojourners in a world that is not their home. Hallelujah! (Gift #788) This dark world is not my home or my inheritance, but the founding principals of America are the one great light and last hope in this fallen world, so I will uphold them and fight for them as long as I live.
We've been discussing the feminist movement in my classroom. The students in this class are astute enough to know when feminism has done what is was supposed to do and is now circling back into oppression. They also know that the root of the wrong kind of feminism began with the curse in the garden of Eden when God told Eve that her desire will be for her husband. The Hebrew word in that context means that she will be jealous for his position of authority which God assigned to bring in order and according to man's design. God did add that women will be saved through childbirth meaning not only that a woman would birth the promised Savior into the world, but also that the process of childbirth will help women realize their unique and privileged role which men can never experience. Nothing builds a woman's inner and body confidence like pregnancy and childbirth. It's such a redemptive action which is why rape victims who are impregnated by their abuser speak of how the choice to give birth to that child was liberating, for instead of returning evil for another evil (death), they returned evil with great good (life). Instead of being raped twice, once by the involuntary act and again by the willful abortion, these women find victory through childbirth. Yet, the very act that gives women a healthy sense of her value and dignity is being treated as something to be prevented or killed WITH TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
When I get so frustrated by the choices our culture is making, I have to remember that those who choose to live in spiritual darkness do not have eyes to see what they are doing. They are blinded. This piece by a former abortion worker vividly describes what it is like to live in darkness. Instead of judging those who live so foolishly and illogically, we must instead love them into the light. Go read it now!
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God,we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:1-6)
New Sicknesses
After fall break, the kids returned to school, and our daughter returned to gymnastics (where massive amounts of money are drained out of our pockets whether she goes or not). The next day, the school called me to come get her because she had a fever. She's been coughing for weeks. So no more gymnastics or school or TKD for her for awhile. When we finally sent her back the school called me again. She was in line to get her picture taken for class pictures when she turned green and threw up. So, she will not be in her class pictures this year. What could it be now? I suspected something serious had to be wrong this time, so I scheduled yet another doctor's appointment after completely emptying our health care savings for the entire year in just the last 4 weeks. The doctor ordered chest x-rays so after shuttling through all those appointments, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Thankfully, she does not have the contagious kind, but she did need an antibiotic which required yet another 5 hours wait involving multiple calls between our pharmacy and our insurance company. Nothing is ever easy. She was concerned her pneumonia might be contagious which would cause us to cancel her brother's birthday party, so for his sake alone, she prayed it would not be contagious.
While the doctor was ruling out asthma with this lovely pediatric spa treatment, my daughter used sign language to tell me to take a picture of her and share it. Later, she told me that she was actually signing for me to give her my phone so she could take a selfie. Oops.
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Then our son started complaining of a scratchy throat during his birthday party sleepover. After everyone left and after church, he spiked a fever, so now he is home from school with me, and I had to hire a substitute teacher and cancel my tutoring appointments. One teacher says all the kids are sick because of me...that as a new teacher, I'm bringing home all these new germs. So it's all my fault, eh? Then let me quit asap! It's not worth it. I've spent far more on their medical bills than I'll get paid all year, but I only started teaching out of a desire to do ministry, and I do love the kids, but really...is this spiritual warfare or God trying to get my attention? I need to do a lot of praying. My flesh has been blaming gymnastics. Instead of playing the blame game, I need to just accept what God allows and learn from it. Instead I have let all this extra stuff on top of an already over loaded plate push me to really low places emotionally. I'm in the middle of a breakdown for sure..unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Big highs followed by the lowest of lows. So I have more appointments with more doctors for more help, and on and one the vicious cycle goes. How do you spell relief?
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| The view from here today |
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