Responsibility for your child's education system...

After taken from my fish-bowl mini-world yesterday (which occurs periodically), I am left gasping, looking to catch my breath in the sight of a huge component to our big picture, the educational system of this world.

Never have the words “train up your child” meant so much to me. Yes, as a mother, I am my child’s first education source, and I view this role with highest regards. In addition, I have the responsibility of monitoring all sorts of educational input as well.

And it’s not like the education system makes it easy for parents. As a college-grad, I myself find following the maze of explanations to the school system a tricky business. I can only imagine the frustrations from other parents trying to get a grip on curriculum goals and expectations being presented to their children. Most remain ignorant to what goes on in the classroom while the remainder of parents who have a deep desire to be informed are weighed down by confusion.

Granted not every parent has the opportunity to come sit in a different classroom a couple days a week, but that is just how I have gained a large portion of my knowledge to the working classroom concerning the school system. (I’m a visual learner.)

Sure, board members may define learning standards, but as those instructions trickle down through officials, staff and teachers, learning standards are sometimes morphed by the time they reach students. Sadly, a child attending a new school, in an upper-class neighborhood with a highly involved principal may breed good ground for successful teachers planting seeds for learning while 10 miles in another direction there are different circumstances. Those different circumstances often lead to a student body scarce of the much needed learning standards being preached to parents.

Many times a student’s education is directly related to the teacher and for parents this is a risk they face in large public school systems. Will my child fall into a well structured class where the teacher takes measures necessary to make the environment positive and enriched with appropriate learning or will they get a teacher with a personality clash, inflexible and who falls into instilling unwanted morale lessons in the children’s minds?

The risk may seem of no importance to some or they may not have other options to avoid this risk of the unknown. Others have sought out additional educational choices through homeschooling or with private school, and in some cases, a mixture of both.

Of course, no matter the decision parents make for their children, they need to be mindful of the education their children are receiving.

I’ve set in classrooms where children progressed through the day learning new concepts and building from previous gained knowledge in an appropriate environment. However, I have also encountered burned-out teachers wading in negativity, inappropriate music for movement time, staff more concerned with screaming and surfing the Internet than with a teachable moment, gossip running ramped, and that doesn't even dip into deep end of some things happening across schools every day.  

Now, I'm not saying private or home schools are immune, but parents tend to have more proactive weight and involved decision making, and that is what your role as a parent-educator is all about.

It’s about parents getting back into the driver’s seat when it comes to all of their child’s education, not just occasionally in the areas they feel most comfortable. If God holds a Pastor accountable for his sheep (congregation), how much more are we responsible for the children we have in our homes?

It frustrates me when parents hit roadblocks in their child’s education and are left with the feeling they have no other option. There are always choices to be made. Make the choice to push, to be involved, to be your child’s advocate, to make sure your child has an appropriate education.

What a friend I have..

I have a dear friend. A friend who rarely leaves me hanging when I have a question or would need information on a ray of topics. When others approach me for guidance in an area I am uncertain of, I simply refer them to my friend who tends to be a great help. My friend is always close by, easy to reach and knowledgeable in all areas of life anyone might encounter.

Wondering who my friend is? His name is Google.

Yes, I first began my friendship with Google in college and when working as a reporter, Google developed into my go-to resource.

When in need of information not coming quickly to mind or covering genres I don’t have previous experience with, I typically turn to Google.

So, with all this in mind, I began thinking why it is that Google is my go-to resource while Scripture is just casual reading material?

2 Timothy 2:15 says to study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly diving the word of truth.

This commonly known piece of the Word is often spoken as a reminder to study Scripture to show ourselves approved. Approved to whom? God. That’s a big statement in itself, but it goes on to say, this studying thing helps us divide information according to the Word of Truth.

The Bible is our ultimate resource as it expresses what is TRUTH and connects us to God. The words are words from our Creator.

John 1:1 says In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.

I’ve heard people say they need guidance from God and they are praying to hear a word from Him. While I’m not saying this is a bag concept, many times we bypass the fact that the Bible is a form of His spoken word and always offers guidance. Often times, the Bible is sitting on a shelf, while we blindly pretend to search out His will for our lives or His direction in our everyday situations.

I’m as guilty as the next. If someone were to ask me a question my usual response has been, “Google it.” Sadly, I have missed the opportunity to instead tell others to search it in Scripture.

When we have a question in regard to a situation, need advice or would like to give direction to a friend in help, our wisdom, knowledge and truth should be a source hooked into the Word of God to allow accurate leading of the Spirit.

I believe it is our tendency to forget the value in the word that God gives us. Sure, Google seems to be a popular search engine, but what about developing a friendship with the Word as our go-to resource for life’s questions and concerns. This would mean a change in habit and perspective.

We need to stop, out of habit, relying on the things offered to us by man and man’s understanding and come to understand His Word is not just printed material in a very large book, but rather, a powerful tool to use outlasting any other resource available.

Sure, Google might be replaced with Bing or Yahoo when Google is un-operatable, but the greatness of the Bible is it is always applicable and will never leave us.

Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. 

A devotion entry

I've wrote a summary before about my life's tstimony, so this is the condensed version.

I came from a  very hard and difficult childhood. The flowers were wilted in my garden and I lacked water. I only peered through an old discolored window envisioning something better than what was surrounding me. I knew nothing of a world worthy of happiness. What I understood was constant disappointment and heartbreak.

Tears would trickle across my face each night as a young girl hoping for my dad to come back again. I wanted a close realtionship with him so badly but knew I could not make him choose me over the things of the world. Of course, once I learned of a heavenly Father who did want me, my life changed.

I don't remember the exact date when God revealed Himself to me through salvation but the image of that day is burned within my heart forever. The day began with me preparing for my grandmother to take me to VBS at church. The only time I was able to attend church functions or services was when my grandma rescued me from my life of shambles for the day.

At VBS I requested prayer for my dad as I had many times before. A lady prayed in a way I was unfimilar with, and she seemed to bypass my request for my dad and instead prayed for salvation for my family. I knew church allowed me to escape, but I didn't know of the personal relationship being offered with open arms.

It was later that evening when I was getting ready for bed that my loneliness was creeping up again ready to show it's ugly head. I had come to a crossroads where, even at age 9 or 10, I felt I had a choice to make concerning my future. Would I continue crying in exhaustion for others to make a move on my behalf, or would I be adopted in by the Heavenly Father I had casually heard about in the midst of craft time. I decided that night was the last one I would spend crying tears of pain from a lonely torment and instead God began a work in my life to turn those tears into joy.

Joy came in the morning for me, and I could never express my gradititude for God's adoption plan.

This Evening’s Dream: An actual account of my dream.

Most people might chuckle at the remembrance of some of the bizarre ideas and pictures created within their dreams at night. Our minds can take what we see, think or imagine and throw those thoughts together in what can sometimes be comical situations beyond what is our reality.

For some reason I’ve never felt the need to chuckle in the face of my dreams. In fact, there are times I dread remembering my dreams so vividly when I wake. I don’t recall details of these dreams often, but when I do, they are powerful and so real they linger with me throughout the day.

See, I believe that God uses our dreams sometimes as a communication tool.  It is in this realm that I have a better understanding of the fear of the omnipotent God I serve. I am no longer in the way of His spirit. The power kick to my mind and emotions can bring tears to my eyes all day after a dream. Today this is where I am at after such an intense message shown to me as I woke from last night’s dream.

I find it odd, but first I must let you know that I don’t always dream from my own perspective. It’s like a novelist who writes from a character’s perspective. So, with this in mind, the following is what I recall from my dream.

He (the perspective of an adult man) found himself in a pool of dead, mutilated bodies of all ages. His first thought is, am I the only survivor of such horrific killings? But while that thought quickly fades, he realizes the danger and now with every part of himself seeks to get as far away from the catastrophic destruction and deadly mess that surrounds him. While inching his way through the surrounding blood and bodies, he comes across one other man who surprisingly is still living. The living man has also fell prey to the mutilation and has had his arms cut off.

Determined to escape the center of this evil and danger that is ever approaching, he decides he is going to get away and he is taking the living man without arms with him. Propped on his shoulder is the weight of the injured and their quest to leave has begun. Of course, before he runs away from the felt danger, he needs to know where he is going.

It becomes clear to him the seriousness of the danger is from armed authority figures at every corner ready to kill as people come closer to the center of the city. He understands he is the only one wanting to leave the city. All others are acting as if tourists cheerfully mesmerized by the city becoming more consumed with what they were being shown through wall-size glass windows instead of viewing the danger waiting for them in the center of the city. The danger they blindly grew closer to was authority figures ready to create a blood bath.

The man, now accompanied by an injured man, hid in different areas as he went further and further away from the city’s center and while doing so, he tried so earnestly to shout at all the people being led the other way. He wanted so badly for them to hear his warning, but they ignored him with their eyes glazed over by the city’s attractions.

There was only one small child who heard him and joined his escape journey. It was a young boy not blinded by the city’s glamour. The three were successful in going through the maze-like city until they reached the top of hills and seen in a distance the beautiful sight of lavish green grass with thick, waving trees in the country side.  They had found safety!

This is at what point I woke up in total awe of my deep feelings of relief and at the same time sorrow. I had felt the intense rushes associated with escaping hundreds of armed men. With my knowledge of Scripture, this dream was nothing to wince at and go on my merry way. I laid in bed going over the images that had engulfed me, making sure not to forget the details.

Messages in the dream were made apparent as I had just finished reading the last chapter of Revelation the day previous to this evening’s dream. I began to think about how people are heading in two directions, destruction or life. My heart began to weep for those so blinded by what they were being shown in narrow-mindedness unable to open their eyes wide enough to see a glimpse of God’s picture.

My pondering was made short as everyone else in my house was up and moving getting ready for church, so I joined them. Riding next to Brandon, I decided to share with him what I have just shared here. I explained the whole dream could be summed up by the idea that people are being led to the slaughter house unaware. This alone caused a few tears for the normally unemotional person that I am.

We pulled into the church parking lot and went about our business, but still I could not erase the images of this dream that continued to flash in my mind. I focused in on every word people were expressing in Sunday School and then during church service. I was seeing if I could find some direction in what to do with the dream that was so real to me. Just thinking about it now makes my heart race a little faster.

Sure enough, the message preached by Pastor was such an intense and provoking one. It was to set us moving forward for the goals of the coming days in the new year. However, there was one statement ringing louder in my ears than probably most others. He said if you have a vision you should write it down and run with it. So here I am writing down the vision God gave me. Now I know he was speaking of vision in terms of goals and to move in God’s will for my life, but I pulled a little from this in terms of the dream God had given me and decided to write about it. In the past, I have had similar dreams. Usually, the dreams that rock me to my core are the ones I rarely share with too many people. However, I decided to break away from censoring the material I provide for those taking the time to read my words.

I am writing this dream in hopes to help splash my eyes with some living water and open them a little wider so to avoid the path blinded by the deceitfulness in a city of destruction and encourage someone else to do the same.

Notes on the Armor of God

Ephesians 6:13-17

Take the whole armor of God. You need all of it to withstand evil coming through. Stand with loins girt about with the truth. The foundation of your attire is truth. Knowing what is truth will hold you together and has to be in place before anything else. If you are consumed with a lie, it will not allow you to fight evil. Having the breastplate of righteousness. Next, you have to have God's righteousness on your heart. Not your own righteousness, His! Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of piece. You have to be prepared to know where your feet will take you and you will be prepared with the Gospel, word of God and His message of guidance. We will have peace and assurance in God as we make our moves in the battle.

Above all, taking the shield of faith. Our faith shields off the doubt evil throws our way. Take the helmet of salvation. Keeping the mind of Christ and kowing what He did to save us will help protect our mind from wicked thoughts to distract us from the fight. Sword of the spirit whic h is the word of God. Now that we have ourselves protected by God and what He has equiped us with, it's time to cut through the wickedness and destroy it with the word of God and the Spirit He gives us to have such power. NO GO FIGHT. :)

Shopping with Autumn

Shopping with Autumn is the worse. This uncontrollable 4-year-old takes the task to a new level and extends the time spent gathering food or other products far beyond my patient limit.

She is so distracted by displays, loves to pile unwanted and sometimes unhealthy merchandise into the cart, runs off on occasion, definitely has difficulty hearing when given directions, and has a million questions along the way. There is also the sudden need for restroom breaks at least twice while I am trying to find the right product for a coupon. Plus we cannot forget the few fits thrown about causing anyone in attendance to star our way.

Like I said, shopping becomes another playing field when brining along a preschooler.

While shopping, it is my only goal to get what is necessary for my family to tackle the upcoming week with the items they made need along the way. So while I think on my adventures shopping alongside my child, I can see a reflection of how God must feel with His children while seeking to provide for His family.

He is ready to supply us with necessities to approach our spiritual lives, all the while we are beside Him making things more difficult.

We are distracted easily by the junk food of this world and its displays of lust, greed, and hatefulness, while God is shopping for love, kindness and charity for our lives.

We run away from His will on occasion unaware of the danger that can present itself if we are not at our Father’s side. Following directions is not our strong suit as we can be head strong on our selfish desires with preconceived expectations and ideas because we aren’t hearing what God tells us. We definitely can develop a tendency to question what God knows we need in our life, making the journey more time consuming as we forget to trust that God knows best.

Sometimes we find any excuse to have pit stops delaying God’s goals for us. And of course, some of us have thrown tantrums as we try to turn the attention to ourselves.

Like I said, we make things more difficult for us as God is working to supply our spiritual needs. We have turned into spiritual preschoolers fighting what God knows is good for our growth and development.

Of course, much like Autumn at the grocery store, we are unaware of the difficulty we are creating as we stumble to learn what is acceptable and was is not. The best way to move beyond the preschool selfish mindset is to learn and mature. So, the next time God is dealing with you spiritually, stop and see if you are on his side or playing tug-a-war.

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