Kids, Teaching, and Nostalgia

Kids Make Me Smile 
Receiving a big good night hug from my cuddle bug is a daily gift from the Lord. (Gift #879)  I'm so thankful that my boy speaks one of my top love languages with such enthusiasm. (Gift #880)

 

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After getting his teeth cleaned and polished at the dentist's office, this same boy asked if he could have some of the hot chocolate or coffee in the waiting area.

So I replied, "Please don't stain your clean sparkling teeth they just treated with a hot drink so soon."

He insisted, "But the reason they put those hot drinks in the waiting area in the first place is to wash away the bad taste of the tooth polish."

I'm fairly sure that there is a parenting rule that says, "Never try to debate with a child."  I thought that rule had to do with how incapable a child is to think logically, but now I think that rule is found in so many parenting books because the child might outsmart the parent.

I simply informed him that the hot drinks were for those waiting on the patients and for job security as they would certainly keep the kids coming back to the dentist for more treatment.

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That 8-year-old is not only logical for his age, but he is also very literal.  He recently asked me in all
seriousness, "How is it even possible for you to lose your mind?"

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I recently instructed our son to be a leader at a birthday party by setting an example of mild-mannered, respectful, and obedient behavior that the other boys could follow (thereby making the party easier on the hostess/mom).  So he marched off to the Nerf party and was very obedient to my instructions regarding calling us about certain issues and so forth.  However, his method of leading the boys toward right behavior during a Nerf battle was to proclaim, "Ok, if anybody does anything stupid, shoot him!"

While he isn't supposed to use the word "stupid", he at least did not use it in a personally offensive way, and he sure made that host mom laugh while trying his best to obey.  I guess that's an example of parenting outside of the funnel( that is, expecting too much from him for his age).

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Our first born has a fondness for cooking, so she has been experimenting in the kitchen.  She made a fabulous breakfast pizza one evening and then asked if she could prepare a multiple course meal for me the following Saturday. She pored through three different cookbooks to select the menu. Then she compiled a massive grocery list and did the shopping herself (with our debit card & her dad's supervision). 

Grocery list in-process

She and her dad then spent the next few hours in the kitchen preparing a fabulous meal. Dinner wasn't ready until 9:30pm (so maybe now that she understands how much trouble meals are, I will not hear any more whining, "Is dinner ready yet?"). I wasn't allowed inside the kitchen, for this meal was  supposed to be a surprise.  Such a thoughtful labor of love is quite a gift, and she and her dad even cleaned most of the dishes. (Gift #881)  She included lots of vegetables in the meal that she knew I would love even though she doesn't like them very much.  That's love, y'all.  (Gift #882)

She made it so special that we really should have eaten in the dining room. She spoke with a French accent as she seated us, took our orders, and served us each course.  I love the way she makes everything she does a dramatic production. (Gift #883)

 

We enjoyed yeast rolls with butter and roasted garlic, fresh basil salad, tropical fruit salad, grilled basil & garlic chicken, potatoes and vegetables, and chocolate mint silk pie on a homemade cookie crust. She even made us fill out a customer satisfaction survey. 

My husband deserves a prize for spending so much time with his little girl that evening laboring with her for us both.  He is such a gift to our family.  (Gift #884)

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Her creative antics are entertaining, but sometimes the chaos her right-brain creates brings me to knees.  This left-brained mom needed some parenting input, so I took a survey.  When the right-brained-child, over time, rearranges the closet I so meticulously organized for her such that everything is random (ie, uniform pieces scattered throughout, pants, dresses, shirts, skirts, sweaters all jumbled together according to no recognizable pattern) and assembling a simple standard uniform each day takes way too long, is she:

a) Expressing her creative genius
b) Being lazy
c) Deliberately trying to drive her OCD mom nuts
d) Making her closet coordinate with her room which is equally chaotic
e) Just being the beautiful, wonderful, unique way God made her.

Most agreed that the answer should be f) all of the above.

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Our kids continue to be invited for play dates with school friends. My son is mild-mannered for a boy, so I think other kids' parents like his calming influence on their children.  What a gift it is to have two easy going guys in our home to balance out the high strung gals. (Gift #885)

Park play date with school friends

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At our school, the discipline policy requires that children visit the principal after the third warning in the classroom, and then after a certain number of principal visits or for certain situations, the child is immediately sent to the headmaster's office where corporal punishment is administered for the boys under a certain age.  So, when my daughter overheard me mention that I had a meeting with the headmaster (it was about long range vision & planning for the school), she automatically assumed that meant I was in big trouble. After school on the day of the scheduled meeting she asked, "Did you have your meeting?" When I told her no, she said, "So you haven't been fired yet?"

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While our children may seem sheltered in their Christian school and many church activities, they are finding many opportunities to lead others toward the way that is good and right.  Our son has especially been growing in this area.  The kids in his class get in trouble a lot, and since he is friends with them all, he initially got in trouble some at school via guilt by association.  We challenged him to be strong and to lead those boys toward right behavior, and that is exactly what he has been doing for the most part.  (Gift #886)

These boys once teased a boy in their class who was different than the others.  So we insisted that our son invite him to his birthday party and get to know him.  We told him that if is kind toward that boy, then maybe the other boys will follow his example, and then they will all gain a new friend as well as making that boy feel more accepted and happy at school. And that is indeed what is happening at school. Praise God!  (Gift #887)

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Another gift I have appreciated is watching God work healing and spiritual growth in the life of one of our neighbors.  We have poured into her family over the past year and loved on her precious boys and prayed for specific changes, all of which have occurred over the past two months. (Gift #888)

When our son attended a birthday party for these boys who have had a difficult childhood and where other boys would be in attendance whom we did not know but assumed came from families with different values from ours, I gave our boy clear protective instructions and prayed he would be a light.  He called to ask permission before he played any computer games or watched a movie.  I'm so thankful he obeyed and understood that the boundaries we set are for his protection.  (Gift #889).  He tried to set a good example.  He has come a long way this year, and we are so thankful, for there have been times when we marveled at the power of the sin nature in both of the kids and in ourselves.  I know God has used his faithful teacher at school to help mold his heart, so we appreciate her very much.  (Gift #890)

Teaching
After spending almost every waking minute last weekend thinking about my students, praying for them, writing and rewriting lesson plans/teaching materials/assignments/quizzes/tests, etc. for them, I am humbled to realize how much my own teachers cared while I often took them for granted. Who in her right mind spends her entire weekend thinking, "I cannot wait for class to begin on Monday"?   Love is powerful!

While I still spend entirely too much time away from my family working for this class, I am so thankful to find a ministry area where I feel like every previous life experience and educational/career opportunity is being used together to disciple this next generation of leaders. (Gift #891)  My prayer is that they may stay rooted in the word and keep abiding in the vine. 

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My students asked me several times the week before last if I would be coming to their game on Friday against their arch rivals.  I wanted to come support them, but I had way too much on my plate, and with so much traveling this month, I needed to get ahead with my lesson planning.  I went anyway.

When our team was down by 15 points near the end of the first half tonight, my son asked, "Are they going to lose?"

After having observed a stark contrast between the sportsmanship and behavior of the opponents in comparison to the mature, upright behavior of our team, I replied, "They have already won, for the character and Christlike sportsmanship they are displaying shines as a bright light. And even though I teach statistics, and the odds are clearly against them, I believe righteousness will prevail."

They trailed throughout the rest of the game until they brought the score up to only one point behind the opponent, and the opponent had the ball.  They ended up scoring and winning by two points during the last six seconds of the game.  Congratulations to my favorite high school men's varsity basketball team. The Lord used you to show my son that righteousness does indeed win in the end!  (Gift #892)

Disclaimer: I am in no way implying the false prosperity teaching that says faith wins every game or brings worldly desires, but rather, that in the long run & at the end of this life, with regard to that which matters eternally, by God's matchless grace, the faithful will absolutely triumph in Christ. And righteous living certainly does bring better natural consequences.

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I am so elated that the Lord has opened so many opportunities for our statistics class to apply statistics to real life situations. (Gift #893)  My hope is that students will begin thinking about key life decisions now, knowing how to choose wisely based on Biblical & absolute truth, logic, and critical thinking skills, so that when they face crisis moments, they will be equipped to respond in wisdom instead of making poor choices when emotions, hormones, and peer pressure are most intense. 

So, I never give my students redundant worksheets.  Every assignment uses statistical concepts to solve real world problems.  I am not training them to be calculators who know how to plug-and-chug using a formula they stored temporarily in their short term memory for a test, but rather to become critical thinkers who know how to use the mathematical tools they've learned over the years to make wise choices for a lifetime.  I would love to see them understanding the concepts well enough to not only apply them, but to also grow and develop the concepts into new discoveries and increased knowledge that would benefit others.  They've come a long way after having their minds blown by how different my class is from the others offered at our school. 

As I began reflecting on topics covered over the past semester, I made a list of those that came to mind.  Here is a partial list of what we've discussed in relation to statistics thus far.  I am so thankful to have this platform for speaking God's truth and relating it to other subjects so that it will stick better in their minds and hopefully become rooted in their hearts.  (Gift #894)

Primary subjects: physics, biology, chemistry, economics, engineering, political science, philosophy, human physiology/chemistry, psychology, theology, Bible, classical literature, writing, drama, and history

Specialties:  geriatrics, epigenetics, sports injuries, medicine, R&D, quality control, manufacturing, pharmacology, oncology, national defense, election process, brain development, nutrition, weight training, educational theories, finances/investments, music,  journalism, scientific report writing

Extracurricular interests: football (NFL/AFL/CCS), basketball, baseball, tennis, field hockey, weight training

Life: drugs/alcohol/addictions, abortion, birth control, pregnancy, abstinence, body image, peer pressure, gambling, career/college, testing, priority setting, materialism, love/romance, dating, marriage, love languages, parenting, adoption, foster parenting, sleep dangers, gun control, nuclear weapons, coffee, gluttony, fashion, modesty

Pop cultural and/or superficial: Michael Jackson, the 80s, hair, bling, modeling, card games, numerous political figures, cars

Nostalgia
It's hard to believe that much of what I know about life and God, I learned under the disco ball strobe light on the raised dance floor in the bar called Prisms located inside an awesome Baptist church. Our church had just bought a hotel as its new meeting place and eventually converted the college meeting room, Prisms, into a basketball court / recreation area. As Sam filled our hearts with wisdom from God's word and amazing fellowship & accountability nurtured us, we all grew so much stronger in our faith and in our relationship with Christ. And we laughed a WHOLE lot.  I am eternally grateful for those years of rapid and intense spiritual growth. (Gift #895)  In my next post, I'll share about a recent beach getaway with some of these college ministry ladies.

Experiencing rapid spiritual growth on the dance floor in a bar called Prisms

January is Sanctity of Human Life Month (ie, the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision which had resulted in the murder of 55,772,015 innocent, defenseless lives by January 2013).  So, during this time of year, I tend to ponder the fact that my own birth was the result of a crisis pregnancy.  Roe v. Wade made it legal in TX (and other states followed) for a women to kill her unborn baby for ANY reason up until the baby was viable if born at that time.  When this law passed, I was right in the middle of the transition from not being viable outside the womb to being viable.  Of course, viability age has decreased significantly since that ruling, yet the time at which a pregnancy can be legally performed has only gotten later to the point that babies are birthed to the point that half of their bodies are delivered before been violently murdered.

What if I had been conceived a month or two later?  Would I be there?  Should women in crisis be given such a choice with little to no counseling of long term ramifications and by abortion clinic workers who refer to the child as a blob or a fetus while refusing to call the child a baby?  I think not.  While I don't expect most people to agree with me, experience in crisis pregnancy counseling ministries has me convinced that not even in cases of rape should women be allowed to kill the baby God created, for to kill a child when that child is a product of rape is to violate that mother a second time, and doing so causes a lifetime of suffering while bearing that child out of rape (and placing for adoption or even choosing to parent though that is rare) brings redemption, healing, and hope.

But I don't need to play the "what-if" game because my birth mother chose life (Gift #896), and for that I am exceedingly grateful.  And while I may not be the most popular woman on earth, there are enough people who enthusiastically agree with all their hearts that my life matters and is sacred as are the 56 million who never had a chance to take one breath, much less love, serve, and give.  I recently came across this photo of me before my adoption.

I may not have been a very pretty baby, but I sure look better born as God intended instead of being dismembered and decapitated as most products of crisis pregnancy are now thanks to the greed, deception, and outright wickedness that has manipulated hearts and minds.

After coming across that photo, I also came across another photo of my husband with his dad. He, too, was the result of a crisis pregnancy.  His parents also chose to give him life, but they decided to parent him.  They got married right away and have lived "happily ever after" nurturing a strong family with four sons.  I cannot imagine this world without my beloved.  His influence and service have been a blessing to so many.  Without these unwanted pregnancies, our children, who bring so much joy to most everyone they meet, would not be here either.  We're so thankful they chose life for us ALL! (Gift #897)
 

My hubby and his dad and Irish twin brother

As an adopted child, I never thought much about genetics, but now that I have children of my own, I am completely fascinated by genetic similarities.  So I used the above photos to create some side-by-side comparisons of our family when we were all about the same ages.

Our family of four as infants

Our family of four at approximately 13-15 months of age