Restaurant Musings

First of all, let me apologize for the randomosity (randomosity? eh...we'll go with it) that will ensue in this post. In all honesty part of the reason why I'm posting this is because I really just wanted to write.

It is currently Sunday evening and I'm sitting in a restuarant I was in about seven hours prior for lunch. Generally, if I return a second time during the day it's with papers to grade. However, now that we are on Christmas Break, I'm a bit at a loss of things to do. Am I complaining? No, not at all. Infact, I welcome such a break with open arms. Which again, brings me back to the main point of this blog. To just write.

A chance to just let every creative thought just flow into my fingers, out onto the keyboard, and eventually form themselves into words on this page.

At this current moment I'm sitting in a booth next to a window. Floating, ball-like lamps are hanging above me like ominus globes and to my immediate left sits a banana smoothie. (I'm pretty sure I never ate as many banana related foods as I have before I made it to the island. But I digress.) Upon a wooden table it sits with condensation running down the sides. The glass of the cup it resides inside is as ridged as the waves a few yards away. A pink straw pokes its way out of the frozen concoction and sits staring at me. My least favorite color touching one of my most favorite treats. Well, at least it's functional. Slowly the liquid insides are beginning to decrease. I can't complain though. Every empty space in my glass means a filled space in my stomach.

Waiters and waitresses rush to and fro writing down and delivering orders. I almost feel kind of bad just sitting here and watching them burn as many calories as I just ate. I hope they know their efforts are appreciated. I also hope they haven't had any rude customers today.

Well, my banana smoothie is empty and my current inhabitance closes in about an hour.
We shall see what happends between now and then.

Good eve to you all!

An Unpolitically Correct Christmas

I wrote this a few years ago for a Christmas Eve service at my church, enjoy!

An Unpolitically Correct Christmas

Happy Holidays

Happy put out your blow up Santa,

And matching snowman,

Days.

 

Happy rush until you find,

The perfect $300 dollar,

Designer brand,

Silk,

Imported from Italy,

Striped tie,

Days.

Happy look what I got,

My parents spent more money,

Than yours,

Because my present is bigger,

Days.

 

But what about Christmas?

 

What about the virgin,

Who carried a child,

As she rode on a Donkey,

Miles and miles to Bethlehem?

What about the anxiety,

The fear,

The excitement,

The joy,

She must have felt,

As she moved forward,

On that long,

Bumpy,

Dusty,

Road.

What about the man

The man who supported her,

Every longing step forward,

The carpenter,

That soon became the unexpected father,

Of our messiah?

What about the baby

Whose blood had the power,

To take,

A world,

Of pain,

Away from

You and me?

So take back your holidays,

Your decorations,

Your overpriced gifts,

That will soon break,

Or go out of style.

And give me back,

Christmas.

Christ,

Mas

 

Reflections and Revelations

On the island of Saipan,

In my two bedroom apartment,
I woke-up.
 

Not only did I open my eyes but I also reached for my laptop. A shiny, black laptop.
I clicked onto Facebook to find that in the state of Connecticut, the day of an Elementary school had gone much differently.

On the mainland,
In a state on the eastern side of the country,
27 people were killed.

Not only were they adults, but the vast majority were children killed by bullets. A shiny, black bullet. A man clicked the trigger on his mom, her class, and himself. I can only imagine what the families of all of the above must be going through right now.

Now, before I became a teacher this news wouldn't have had much of an effect on me. I would have been sad for a little bit, but moved on quickly. Yet today when the Facebook statuses and headlines scrolled themselves across the page all I could think about were my own students.

What if a gunman made his way into my classroom and opened fire?
I can just hear the blasts now.

I imagined myself hurrying my students behind my desk and I doing all I can to protect them. I don’t even want to think about it.

Many have responded negatively to this occurance, asking why such a thing could happen or even suggesting that this is why we need to abandon public schools. The latter gave me a sting, not only as a teacher but as someone who spent about 10 or so years in public school.

In reality this could have happened anywhere. Public school, private school, even in the comfort of our own homes.

But what we can’t do is let bad feelings take us over. God is going to bring us through this. It may sound like a cliché Christian thing to say, but it’s so true.

A while back I posted a short blurb with this verse:

"Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and the helpless; deliver them from evil people."-Psalm 82:3-4

I think this whole school shooting has given me an answer as to why it has been on my heart so much. I believe teaching is a ministry (in reality almost any job can be a ministry) and protecting and taking care of our students is part of that, no matter what.

Merry Christmas

Before I begin, let's take a vote. By show of hands how many of you are tired of hearing "Happy Holidays" and would rather hear "Merry Christmas" instead? Me too.

A few weeks ago we were having dinner at the W's house and JW came across this blurb written by Ben Stein (yes Mr. Bueller Bueller Bueller and Dry Eyes himself). I found it most interesting and wanted to share.

"Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart:

I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to."

By posting this am I saying that I can't stand any other Holidays that are celebrated by other religious groups? No not at all, that would be ridiculous.

I just want Christmas to be Christmas.

Sister

Good morning, afternoon, evening...feel free to choose once based on your geographic location.

Today I humbly ask for your prayers for a person who is very important to me, my sister. She has jumped into a pool of trust as she follows God's present calling as a worker in youth ministry
My words alone could not capture all that has inspired her to follow this calling, so if you would like to know more please read her story here:
http://yd.org/about/staff/kyla_de_wit

If you would like to follow her personal reflections about her experiences, take a ganger at this link:
http://kdewitministry.wordpress.com/

Again I ask, please pray for her.

Please pray that she continues to trust God as she goes through the process of fundraising.
Please pray that, even in times of discouragement, she continues to be encouraged.
Please be with both her and Ross and they go through this process together. Help them to learn from not only each other, but most importantly, God.

Yet with all the prayers to be had, there is much to praise God for in this experience as well.
Praise God for the fact that she has been given this opprotunity.
Praise God for the fact that she is being obedient.
Praise God for everything He has provided (and will provide) in her experience.
Praise God for the fact that she has a supportive husband (and family) who will be there to help her every step of the way.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight."

-Proverbs 3:5-6

Patience

If you've been following this blog for long enough you will know by now that I am a teacher. I also teach a class of students who are a bit out of the ordinary.

Their backgrounds are what say it all. Some come from parents who give them whatever they want, others from abuse, and others still from broken families.

There are times where I'm tested to my limits with them. My voice grows hoarse and I can feel my nostrils flair. Things seemed to be especially tough this week (some may argue it's because of the full moon, I'm still skeptical of such ideas though). All forms of listening went out the window and my worst behaved students just about drove me up the wall.

A few blogs ago I wrote about how, when we find ourselves in difficult situations, we need to ask ourselves, "How is this the best thing God is doing for me?" or "How is He shaping me?" I found myself asking that multiple times. So I would ask him what he's trying to show me. His reply?

Be patient, I'm not done yet.

The other day Principal took the whole staff outside after our morning meeting before school. He had us look out into the ocean, up into the sky, and around the sandy playground. He told us that we wouldn't be here if God didn't have a reason for us to be here. He (God) knows what he's doing. I looked up and saw Principal's crows feet framed eyes look right at me as he said those words.

God provided me with this opprotunity. A job that I don't deserve but he just about handed me on a silver platter. With kids tough enough for me to handle. Now, instead of focusing on the negatives, I need to bless my students. Just like God has showered His blessings on me.

"Let my teaching fall like rain
and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants."
-Deuteronomy 32:2

Only through God can a teacher achieve such a desire.

Baby Boy

Before I get too far in this post let me warn you that it may be a bit sappier than most. Maternal instincts are in full effect...approach with caution.

Tonight, for the first time I held a newborn baby. JW and AW were blessed with a son, we'll call him T, at exactly 5:54 this morning. As he reached the 12th hour of his life AVH and I took the opprotunity to meet him.

I will tell you now, that for the past few years I have had in my mind that kids weren't for me. If anything I'd rather be the aunt who can sugar them up and give them back at the end of the day. (Don't get me wrong, I still plan on doing that...you're welcome in advance Sister and Brother-in-law.) But as I held little T those feelings changed.

I'm not sure exactly what but those negative feelings about having kids of my own seemed to turn. I suddenly realized how amazing it can be to have kids. Maybe it was hearing stories about the support system JW and AW had in the delivery room. Maybe it was seeing the way his parents interacted with him. Maybe it's because I've been thinking a lot about my family and home lately. Or maybe it was just holding him, who knows really. Sometimes reasons are unnecessary.

All I know for sure is that someday I want to be a mom.