Teacher, What Should My Thoughts Be?

Being a teacher gives me some frightening insights into your future and mine. Based on what I have observed the past few days, the prospects are not too pretty. Yesterday I gave a test in my Economics class. I showed them a cartoon strip for the essay question about a character who was saying he would DIE if he did not go to this music concert. Well, my question for the essay part was to think like an economist and decide why the concert was a want and not a need. I assumed that since we spent an ENTIRE class period discussing the difference between those two things, and since they live on planet earth and have experienced the difference between the two a million times...they should be pretty capable of writing the essay. WRONG. "Mrs. Withee, is this the answer YOU want me to put." "No, Student A, I would like you to write your THOUGHTS about this topic, not just repeat what I have told you." *blank stare is what I get in return*

This has happened before. I have asked the students for a journal entry on the day of the test. I have asked them to "make up" a story about why they did or did not study for the test that day. The students then ask me what their story should be about and if it is "ok". Is imagination dead? Who killed it? Is it possible to revive imagination? I must know. Will my future world be one in which no one under the age of 30 be capable of having an ORIGINAL thought?

Under the Sofa

There used to be a television show for kids about these little dust bunnies that live under the couch. They were funny and told cute kids jokes and it was just sweet. That is NOT what lives under my couch. Here is the thing...I vacuum my floors, I sweep, and I mop...so HOW does all that dust get under the couch? Who puts it there? My and the husband sit ON the couches...we never sit under them. Why then is it that the moment the company is coming over, and the rest of the house is ready, I spot what looks like another whole DOG hiding under the couch. I have never understood that. The other one is the blades of the ceiling fan. I remember all the time as a kid when we would clean the living room that mom would have one of us dust the living room and that included the ceiling fan. How do they get so dusty? Why is it that one side of the fan blade gets dustier than the other one? Why is it everyone else's looks dusted but when you are sitting down to dinner you see ALL the dust on your ceiling fan.

Oh well, the point of this post was probably just me finding a reason not to do the quickly accumulating tasks I see all around me as I sit here and type. So, before I lose all motivation again...I guess that will be all the blogging for today.

Musings on a Sugar High

So the other day, Husband and I had a long needed "date night." It was a strange night outside. It was misty and cold and weird outside so we decided a walk on the beach was out. A walk in our favorite park was out. We did not want to spend any money, so the mall was out. Thus, we ended up spending a gift card our AWANA commander had given us for Christmas at a local ice cream parlor. After our sinfully yummy ice cream, we decided to take a little drive around town to see what there was to see.

It was at this point that husband and I decided to ponder some of life's great questions. Homeless folks: They always have a cardboard sign with black sharpie writing that says "Will work for food" or whatever on it. Question: Where do they get the sharpie? I mean, cardboard, yes is plentiful in the trash bins of life, but NO ONE throws away a sharpie that is still useful. Drawers all over America are full of three or four sharpies that kind of stay there until the owner of that home moves away and packs those same sharpies. Is it part of the "homeless man's code" to always have a sharpie in your pocket for the new guy that ends up on the street? Is it the first thing you purchase as a homeless person with your first "earnings?" It is a mystery. Think about that next time you see that man on the corner....where does the sharpie come from?

Reformation never runs very deep....

One of my all time favorite shows was the Canadian series called "Road to Avonlea." It was based back during the turn of the century and the characters were just lovely and sweet. The plots were funny and touching and there are several episodes that my family and I can quote together we have seen them so many times.

As I thought over all the "New Years Resolutions" I have made, and consequently already broken, I remembered something a character on that show used to say. She always said that "Reformation in men and dogs never runs very deep." I would chuckle, but apparently it is not just men and dogs, it is anyone with a fallen human nature. I must say I had lofty goals for this new year and none of them are coming to pass. I was going to say "no" to more things that would be stressful. Since that "lofty" goal I have agreed to coach a softball team, join a woman's function at church, begin a ladies Bible study with some girls at church (which I am actually REALLY happy about...I cannot wait), and even a coupon club (which is another one I CANNOT wait to start...oh the money that will be saved.) On the flip side, however, I did promise myself that I would worry a little less. That has been my pet sin since I was born. I am pretty sure I worried while in the womb about the delivery and if the doctor had the right level of education and if my parents painted my room pink and if they got the right flavors of baby food. Since that time, I worry. I decided that this year, with God's help, I wanted it to be different. Now, I will not say I have achieved it yet. Working at it for sure. However, the house does not give me worry. I looked at it yesterday while Ryan and I were relaxing and said, "Yep, the house has the "Amy is back in school" look again." AND, I was ok with that. Granted I have been cleaning since I got home today, BUT none the less I did not worry over it all day.

I heard a song the other day and have since bought it for my I-pod. It talks about how we are restless until we find our rest in God. This song has become so very real to me. I know that feeling. The feeling of always having to be busy, of something not getting done, of there being no time to rest. BUT, in God, when I give HIM all that worry and fret...He is so willing and so ready to give me REST. So, all three of my readers, hopefully if you find yourself restless today, you can also find your rest in HIM.

Its a Slow Process

As many of you who read this blog regularly are aware, we have had a water leak at our home for about 3 months. We have been roughing it while we figured out where the leak was, how to fix it, and who could fix it. Finally, this past week, we tore up a wall, part of the floor, and the entire guest bathroom in order to find the source of the offending water pipe. However, after a long search, we found that leak. It was a tiny hole on the underside of a half-inch water pipe. The hole itself was about the size of the hole in a ritz cracker. Not what you would call a gaping hole by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, it was this little hole that cost us an extra $100.00 per MONTH while we had the leak.

Sometimes when going through something as annoying as a situation like that is, we tend to overlook the "lesson" of it all. Now, I am not one of those people who tries to turn every situation in life into an object lesson, but this one just screamed at me to be noticed. When I saw that little hole in that water pipe, it struck me that sin is a lot like that hole. When the leak first started, Ryan and I did not even know it was there until we got the water bill for the month. We never heard water running or anything. However, by the time we got the pipe fixed, we could HEAR the water running in the pipes and out the leak. It was awful (I could feel the money rushing out of my pockets as the water leaked). I think a lot of times people offend us, say something rude, or slight us in some way and we just bury it hoping it will go away. However, given enough time, it will work itself into a BIGGER, and bigger hole in our life until it is an uncontrollable situation. It caused me to stop and think about the things I bury and how many of those things probably need to be unearthed and repaired. Something worth thinking about.

Mark Twain

Mark Twain once said that the only person who likes change is a wet baby. I could not agree with him more. As I sit on the cusp of a new year, ripe with hope and expectation and a little fear, I think about all the changes that are likely to take place. Changes as home, changes at work, changes in me personally....they can just overwhelm you. While I do not like change, there are certain parts of change that I find appealing.

Good Change:
1. A new bottle of soap in the bathroom...new scents are good
2. A new dress
3. A new way of fixing your hair
4. A new friend
5. A new furniture arrangement

I was putting away all the Christmas decorations yesterday and feeling blue because Christmas was already over. But, then I remembered all the fun things ahead this year and I decided that I was ready to get this show on the road. Lets go ahead and start 2011. There are good days ahead I am sure of it.