Engagement

"Whhhaaaattt?!?" you might be saying. Yes, I have been conspicuously absent. HOWEVER, I am back, and I am engaged. The question was popped at sunrise Saturday morning at the Chesapeake Bay Long Beach beach (I live about 10 mins down the road.). Obviously it happened very, very recently, so there have been no decisions made; all we know so far is that since we're both teachers, the wedding will probably be in July or the very beginning of August this year.

So in lieu of information, here are some lovely pictures. One of the sunrise and another of a sparkly thing on my left ring finger. :)

(Engagement photos will be forthcoming.)

I'm Baaaack!

Yes! I am alive! Despite a long anticipated summer hiatus and an (almost) longer the-school-year-is-beginning break, I have dutifully returned to my blog for you, my faithful reader.

For today, just to get myself back into the swing of blogging, a treat:

And for those of you who are not super-nerds and into Doctor Who, a cuter treat:

The Intellectual Chicken

“Why did the chicken cross the road?”

Machiavelli: The point is that the chicken crossed the road. Who cares why?The ends justify whatever motive there was.

Kant: The chicken, being an autonomous being, chose to cross the road of his own free will.

Darwin: Chickens, over great periods of time, have been naturally selected in such a way that they are now genetically dispositioned to cross roads.

Freud: The fact that you thought that the chicken crossed the road reveals your underlying sexual insecurity.

Marx: It was a historical inevitability.

Nietzsche: Because if you are going to gaze too long across the Road, the Road gazes also across you.

Einstein: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken depends upon your frame of reference.

Camus: It doesn’t matter; the chicken’s actions have no meaning except to him.

Sartre: In order to act in good faith and be true to itself, the chicken found it necessary to cross the road.

Buddha: If you ask this question, you deny your own chicken nature.

Orwell: Because the government had fooled him into thinking that he was crossing the road of his own free will, when he was really only serving their interests.

Emerson: It didn’t cross the road; it transcended it.

Hemingway: To die. In the rain.

Martin Luther King Jr.: I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives called into question.

Clinton: It wasn’t me. I wasn’t chasing the chicken. There was no inappropriate relationship between me and the chicken.’

Gingrich: Because the Chicken was kicked out of the Coop.

Jerry Seinfeld: Why does anyone cross the road? I mean, why doesn’t anyone ever think to ask, “What the heck is this chicken doing walking around all over the place anyway?”

Bill Gates: I have just released the new Chicken 2000 which will both crossroads, balance your checkbook, and solve your Y2K problems.

Steve Jobs: Here’s to the crazy chickens.

Colonel Sanders: I missed one?

Coolest Commercial Ever

Now I know I haven't seen every commercial and there's some great ones yet-to-be-made, but I'm going to go ahead and say that this commercial has got to be one of the most amazingly cool ones ever! Dr. Seuss was craving yogurt...

Response

I got a really long response from my uncle (a former teacher himself) following my plea for answers to my question a few weeks ago. Here's his take on it, which I think was definitely worth reading a few times and posting here. Enjoy!

1. KNOW THE CALL OF GOD. If He has called you to be a teacher, He will supply what you need so you can glorify Him.

a. Do you like what you do? Not all the time perhaps, but most of the time. Even Jesus got exasperated with the disciples. In Matt. 17:17 He was addressing THEM, not the dad!

b. Have you experienced satisfaction/’success’? (Recognize that that is God speaking.)

c. Has your ‘ministry’ been recognized by others? (Yes, that school district offered YOU the position- AND rehired you!! AND your student(s) send you “flowers.”)

d. Do you sense God’s pleasure when you ‘run’? (Echoes of Eric Liddle.)

2. RECOGNIZE THE “IMAGE OF GOD” IN EACH STUDENT AND TREAT THEM AS YOU WOULD TREAT HIM.

a. Respect- as a suitable ‘substitute’ for reverence.

b. Love - “Doing what is best for another no matter what the cost.”

c. Look for ways to motivate- as God does to us. But . . .

d. Be gracious. Invite, do not force. We love under ‘grace’, not ‘law.’ The law IS (sic) a schoolmaster- and grades have a way of laying before us the serious consequences of our actions, but recognize that The Law never ‘saved’ anyone- never turned them into a ‘good student.’ All it can do is lead them to see the consequences, and show them the way to “Christ”- maturity. Grace/God allows those made in His image the freedom to choose- even if that means choosing failure (hell).

3. RECOGNIZE EACH INDIVIDUAL AS A PERSON.

a. As God recognizes us as individuals. Yes, you teach a ‘class’- a collection of people, and they must respond to you. You are not a private tutor.

b. Yet there are some who require ‘tutoring.’ Look for ways to motivate those individual individuals. Some may need such treatment all the time; some may need it only now and then. Some “get with the program” and others need more help to do so. But recognize that each person has the right to choose success or failure, and as much as you are able, ‘help’ them choose success.

4. DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY.

If the class generally is doing well, you’re doing well. Don’t blow the ‘failure’ of a minority out of proportion. Yes, God “is not willing for any to perish...”, but I’m reminded of something attributed to C. S. Lewis: “There are those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done;’ and there are those to whom God says, ‘Alright, have it your way’.” Even God’s ‘children’ (Adam and Eve) turned away from Him despite a sinless, perfect environment, and the depth of relationship He had with them. But He didn’t give up on them.

5. PRAY FOR THE CLASS, FOR THE INDIVIDUAL.

God knows them better than you ever will. Let Him guide your relationship (key word in response to BOTH blog entries!!), and provide wisdom. Prov. 3:5-6 works for the classroom as well as life. After all, if God has called you to teaching (Point #1) it is HIS responsibility- we are His FELLOWworkers. “GOD” IS (sic) a relationship- a Trinity.

6. Specifically to this blog posting: “God” IS (sic) a reality. DO NOT BE ASHAMED OF HIM. Acknowledge Him as a matter of course. Obviously, you can’t start your class in prayer. PUBLICALLY. But you can privately- even with a “Help me!” (Think of Peter walking on the water!). You can also refer to Him or His works as part of normal conversation. Prov. 3:5-6 again. DO NOT FEAR MAN. No one can make “School” a God-Free zone. Be respectful to those in authority (Rom. 13!), and sensitive to The Situation (Matt. 7:6).

7. In both spiritual and vocational senses: DON’T GROW WEARY IN WELL-DOING (Gal. 6:9, I Cor. 15:57). You’re experiencing “sophomore slump.” Some call it “Death of the Vision.” It is normal.