October is _____________ month.

It seems like every month is National "something" month!  It's either Breast Cancer awareness, or some kind of "_____________  history month" (fill in your favorite nationality here).  I just heard online, from Facebook (so it must be true, right?) that this is also National Anti-bullying month.   While I think we go overboard on special days and months (Talk like a pirate day was last month), this is one I thing that needs to be talked about.
At the school where I work we have been talking about bullying and, in fact, will have an anti-bullying assembly this week.  Some kids are not even aware of it at school, but some are keenly aware because they have been the victim of it OR the perpetrator of it.  It's been going on as long as I can remember.  I was one of those kids that was "teased" (bullied?) in school. In some ways it's not a big deal because, well, we've all endured it.  But in other ways it's a huge deal because of what it has caused in people's lives.
We've heard a lot about it in recent months... kids who are bullied on social media networks, at school, through text messaging, etc.  and then end up attempting suicide or actually succeed in taking their own lives. It's truly a tragedy when this happens.
In doing some training in this area over the past few months I saw that, it's not just kids that are bullied, it can be anyone!  I saw a clip (again, from Facebook) about a news reported that got an email from a viewer criticizing her for her weight.  This is a form of bullying!
Bullying not only happens in the school and online.  It happens in the church.  My husband and I were bullied big time!  People hungry for power and control use words and actions to belittle someone else.  They spread gossip, they criticize instead of offering help!  Think of the results of such words and actions.  In our case in led to the demise of a church.  And now there are people still without a church because of this!
Think of the results of teasing/bullying someone in school for being, in any way at all, different... in the case of some we've heard of in the news and those we know personally.... death by suicide.

"Bullying may be defined as the activity of repeated, aggressive behavior intended to hurt another person, physically or mentally. Bullying is characterized by an individual behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person.

Norwegian researcher Dan Olweus defines bullying as when a person is

"exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons". He defines negative action as "when a person intentionally inflicts injury or discomfort upon another person, through physical contact, through words or in other ways"."

I'm seeing bullying in this upcoming election!  I saw evidence of this in watching Vice President Joe Biden treating Paul Ryan with contempt, laughing, and interrupting (82 times!) him.  He was just a bully!  I don't like bullies!  To quote Captain America, "I don't want to kill anyone. I don't like bullies; I don't care where they're from."  
My answer to all of this.... bullying at school, on the job, in a Presidential race, in a church... just "be nice!!"
Think about your words before you say them.  Think what will be true, kind AND necessary.  Let your words pass those three tests before they come out of your mouth or before you click "enter" on the computer!  Think how your words, and actions could affect someone else!  Stop the bullying, wherever you find it!!  Here's a link to find out how to help  
What if we just all treated each other with kindness, love and respect?  That could make a world of difference for someone!

Whew!

Well that's over!  I had an evaluation today.  Nothing like having your supervisor observing your "performance"... no matter what you do!
When I play the piano I always feel a little more nervous when there are other pianists listening, and especially piano teachers, music teachers, etc.  It's un-nerving just knowing they know music and know every little mistake I make.  The same felt true today as I was observed teaching my French class.  I am such a new teacher and I have SO much to learn!  As nerve-wracking as this was (and I'm so glad this one is over) I look forward to learning what I need to do to improve!  I want to be a good teacher!
How thankful I am that the Lord keeps working in me and with me, making me and teaching me to be all HE wants me to be.  His observation and evaluation of me is only to help me, change me and make me like Jesus.  I want to be all HE wants me to be.

Be Still My Soul

A Message from Jim Newman:
A saying we often hear is that only two things are certain in life: death and taxes. I think we might
agree we could add a third one: Change! As much as we might enjoy the comfort of sameness and security in our lives, we can't escape the inevitability of change. It's going to happen. Some changes are good, even quite enjoyable and exciting, but others bring fear and feelings of insecurity. Your focus and perspective can make all the difference how you weather the changes that come your way.  I love the change of seasons, though not quite as much here in California. In the Northeast where I was raised I found great joy as each new season arrived. The winter was always enjoyable because of the first snowfalls, fires in the fireplace, and, of course, the celebration of Christmas. But as the cold grey days lingered on I would eagerly anticipate the arrival of spring with all of its newness, gentle colors, warmer weather and new growth. Summer
meant the end of school and the time of vacations, summer camp, though, at times boredom. So my favorite season is and always has been autumn. I loved the startup of school and seeing all my old friends again. The cool, crisp weather with the brilliant fall colors and falling leaves are still one of my favorite things in life. The fun of raking up the leaves and jumping in them was fun, too. I can still hear the crunching of the dry leaves as I would take walks in the woods, picking up acorns as I went.  There are some changes which are not at first very enjoyable. The loss of a loved one can be one of the most difficult and dreaded things in life. It brings
way too many changes, along with all the uncertainty and fear of what might lay ahead. We've had way too many of those changes this past year or so!  Here at the church we are in the midst of another type of change. We find ourselves in the process of searching for a new pastor after the retirement of our much loved pastor, Tom Elson. As someone has said, "We may not know what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future!" As we go through this time together we don't go through it alone. The Lord will not leave us or abandon us. He gives us hope as we wait upon Him. This time can be as exciting, beautiful and fresh as the autumn if we keep our eyes on the Lord and trust in Him.  As we go through this season of change, whether it be in your personal life, or together as a part of our church, the words of an old, familiar hymn;  "Be Still  My Soul," continue to bring comfort and hope to our troubled hearts.

  "Be still, my soul! The Lord is on thy side;  Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change He faithful will remain. 

Be still, my soul! Thy best, thy heavenly Friend thro' thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still my soul! Thy God doth undertake to guide the future as He has the past. 

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. 

Be still, my soul! The waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul! The hour is hastening on when we shall be forever with the Lord, 

when disappointment, grief and fear are gone. Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored. 

Be still, my soul! When change and tears are past, all safe and blessed we shall meet at last."

The Horse is Dead... Stop Beating it!

Well, that's it.  The battle over "contemporary songs/choruses" vs  "hymns from the hymnbook" is over.  It's a sad thing that there is no willingness to make one little change.  I'm sad and discouraged.  I realized today that the more we go around and around about this, the further we get away from true worship.  I'm pretty sure this does not please the Lord.  It's simply not worth trying to introduce a new chorus if it takes our hearts and minds away from a focus on the Lord.  I'm tired and sad.
The ironic thing is, in our previous church there was (seemingly) an unwillingness to sing even one "old hymn".      This, along with some other things, led to a split and eventually the demise of the church.  I re-iterate what I said a few blog posts ago.... "Why can't we just get along?"  Why can't we live and worship together in harmony?
But there it is... we're done beating this horse.  It's dead.

In Remembrance

“Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend–even a friend whose name it never knew." - President George W. Bush. Rememering the heroes of 9-11.

It's been going on for a very long time and I don't know the answer to the problem of musical tastes when it comes to worship music.
You would think that in churches people would bend and flex.... listen to and learn from, give and take, yield from time to time in love out of the best interests of others.  I wish it were so.  It just never seems to be that way.  We used to be in a church where most of what we sang was contemporary choruses, accompanied by keyboard, guitar, drums and bass.  It was like pulling teeth to get them to sing a hymn every now and then.  Now we have the opposite problem.  We sing hymns 99% of the time accompanied by piano and occasionally a trumpet but every now and then I add a chorus from "the black song book"...  and then we get complaints about it.  Sigh...
What is the answer?  Somebody please tell me?  How can we "be in community" and show we love each other so that the world will know we belong to Christ if we are divided on what types of songs we sing to worship God?  How can we hope to attract unbelievers to Christ when we take our stand on things like the copyright date on a song?  How sad it must make the Lord to whom we gather to sing praises!
Please, can't we just get along?

There's Only One Possible Answer

I gave quizzes in each of my classes today (which means I now have quizzes to grade... all evening).  For some of the questions there are a few different possibilities of answers.  For others, there is only one possible answer.
Today went really well for me (maybe because it was a quiz day and it was quiet in my classroom for 20 minutes each period while they were taking their quiz?).  I had had a rough day on Tuesday... didn't feel prepared, didn't connect well with the students, felt just "out of it".  I re-evaluated what I did and didn't do.  I planned better for the next day.  It was okay... not spectacular, but okay.  I knew something needed to change.
Today, knowing my absolute weakness and inability to creatively teach and interact with the students, I got to school early enough to get down on my knees in my empty classroom and pray.  I prayed for help to teach them creatively, to connect with them, to really care about them as people and not just students.  I prayed for my students.  I told the Lord that I absolutely needed (and need) Him to do this job that He gave to me to do!
I think the Lord delights in answering prayers of dependence on Him.  He gave me some creative ideas, helped me to relax and enabled me to connect with my students as they came in.  I just talked with them about their day and their week.  It was good! I had fun and I think the kids did, too! I finished the day just so grateful for the Lord's enabling!

For me, this is the only possible answer to me having a good day!!