Mother's Day or Money Day?

Once again it is nearing another one of those "made up for money" holidays. We call it Mother's Day. Hallmark and Teleflora calls it Cha Ching! We have been urged, pushed and shamed to shower our mothers with gifts. We have been made to believe that if we love our mother, we must spend lots of money to honor her.

 I don't need another knick knack, plaque, trophy. I don't need them to spend their money to buy me a bouquet of flowers. I would rather them spend that money on my grandchildren or themselves. My children honor me every single day. Each day they use compassion for a stranger or someone with less, they honor me. The love that they raise their children with, that honor's me. I can see that they are raising their children to be respectful and compassionate, they honor me. When I see the loving, caring parent that they have become, I am honored.

So this Mother's Day, I hope they save their money. If they want to "honor" me this day, an "I love you" and a hug will be enough. 

Happy New Year 2015

A brand new year to begin again, to start over, a new slate to write a different story. We sent out report cards on Friday. The new semester started and I told my students "You have a brand new fresh start. Everyone is on even ground and there are no zeros or missing work". Of course you hope that they embrace new goals and strive to meet them.

We talk about our resolutions for the new year. Some people make the same ones over and over. Some of us choose not to make resolutions because we feel we are setting ourselves up for failure.

If you have ever heard of Self Fulfilling Prophecy then you might understand what they mean. We learned about this in a leadership class that I took.  

Self Fulfilling Prophecy is a way of looking at yourself and making a prediction of an outcome and then acting in ways that the prediction will come true. An example would be if you were required to take a class for school or work. You feel as if you are no good in this particular subject and you know that you are not going to pass. You begin to act in ways that will sabotage your efforts to pass the class. You tell yourself that you cannot learn this subject and your study habits will suffer. You dwell on the negative and you talk yourself into to failing. 

This term was made by a sociologist in 1948 by  Robert K. Merton. He also said that a teacher influences a student by their perception of that student. If the teacher perceives the student as an over achiever, he might provide studies that will guide that student in a positive direction. If the teacher perceives the student as lazy, they might not give them the attention that they give another student. This in turn will allow the student to get by without trying.

I know I have thought about this before, but like lots of my resolutions I have let them go and failed. So this year, I think I will give this Self Fulfilling Prophecy thing another go. I am going to look back on my last few years, write down some goals and practice some positive thoughts on how to achieve them. I want my students to believe in themselves. Why should I settle for less from myself?

One of my goals is to get back to writing. I enjoy writing down my thoughts, but for some reason it has been very easy to just not do it. So here it is January 11, 2015 and this is my first blog of the new year.

Kelsie, Another Angel

 The last post I made was in memory of our sweet Megan. She lost her battle at such a young age, but the battle she fought was long and tough. Today I write about another one of our angels that God shared with me. Kelsie Apple.

Kelsie had a head full of curls and rosy cheeks. She couldn't speak or see, but she always let us know that she was in the room. It was hard to know what she was thinking, however she responded to music and being read to.

It seems that when people don't know what to say, they say "She's better off now. She is not in pain any more".  Words that are suppose to make you feel better. In Kelsie's case these words mean so much. She is free of her chair now. Her eyes can see the rainbows and all of God's Kingdom.  She is running free of all the handicaps life had given her. I imagine that she and Megan are catching up. Megan is showing her all the wonders and they are lifting their voices singing with the angels.Her brand new Angel Wings will let them soar. There are  no selfish thoughts wishing that she were still on earth. We know without a doubt she is now whole. Will she be missed? Absolutely! The comfort of knowing that God is taking care of her now and that she is truly amazing keeps us strong in our faith.

I thank God for blessing me with my angels and the time he put them in my life. I know that it is not long enough, but there are always reasons why he places them here. My prayers are with her family tonight. I pray that God will bless and heal them.