Thought I’d let y’all know about one of my favorite Bible study places (Simply Youth Ministry) that is offering 12 Days of Freebies as a countdown to Christmas. For those of you involved in Youth Ministry stuff, you may find some of them useful!
Well, Henson managed to pull one of my bags off of the counter while we were gone yesterday. He rummaged through it until he found a gift I had received from someone and, after opening it, was delighted to see 8 oz. of See’s Milk Chocolates. When we came home, there was Henson, all fat and worried and shaking.
He hadn’t consumed a toxic level of chocolate, but we still watched him carefully in case a vet trip was necessary. I locked him in the kitchen because I was scared he’d barf or ‘rrhea or something like that. But, after awhile he still hadn’t so I thought it was safe to bring him into the living room. Well, as soon as we sat down he suddenly felt compelled to barf all over. And I mean…well, without going into details…EWWWW!!!
It was not fun to clean up. And then he did it again. It was a strange chocolatey-barf that Josh has just taken to calling “charf.”
I think I have the naughtiest dog on the planet.
I have a student who is mostly-deaf, and he’s supposed to wear a hearing aide. But he never wears it.
MRS. LEWIS: Why don’t you ever wear your hearing aide to school?
STUDENT: What?
I taught my drawing unit a bit differently this semester and WOW! These are the best still life drawings I’ve seen come out of any students this age! I’ll post the link to their gallery when I have it up. But, if I do say so myself, this unit RULED! And my students worked so hard. I feel like a proud proud mother.
WOO HOO!
I haven’t really been blogging lately because most of the things I want to talk about are things that aren’t really appropriate for a internet-published blog. I have all these weird thoughts on stuff like marriage, relationships w/ friends & coworkers, sex, pooping, fears, local events…all sorts of stuff that I can’t really find an appropriate way to talk about in a public forum.
That’s so frustrating. I feel like I want to be really open, but my story is also the story of other people and, while I may feel comfortable sharing many things, the people who share my story may not be. That, and there’s the whole issue of audience, blah…blah…blah.
Anyway, I hesitated to write about this one, but I think I can express my feelings in an understandable way. I don’t know why, but I have recently discovered a huge fear in myself that I never really recognized before. I am afraid of divorce. No…there are no issues brewing and I dare say that I have one of the best marriages on the face of this planet. So, why the fear? I’ve had some friends recently split their marriages and share some feelings with me and that kind of shocked me. Then, I started having weird dreams about my marriage ending in some really terrible why that left me overrideen with guilt and practically unable to funciton in society. It’s making me hesitate to build relationships with women, for fear that Josh would find them more interesting then I. Now, those of you who know Josh know that this kind of thing is not in his character. Am I obsessive?
I think this whole thing started in my head after the third miscarriage. For some reason, I (to some extent) equate being a good wife with being able to provide offspring. I’ve also been really open to adoption, but there’s something about carrying on the genes. Ya know? It’s strange, really. Anyway, I hate feeling inadequate.
Anyway, the only reason that I decided to post this is because I feel that I’m under some serious spiritual warfare. Only Satan can bring on this kind of ungrounded fear. I’ve been praying against it for a few days now and haven’t really seen a let up yet. So, I’d appreciate some prayer.
2 Thessalonians 3
3But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
1 Peter 5
6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Ephesians 6
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Along the same lines as Neal’s grading experiences, I’ve also found joy in grading student papers.
One of my students wrote about Van Gogh’s early life. He actually sold everything he had to give to the poor, becoming poor himself. So, he spent what little money he had on painting supplies and made lots of paintings about poor people. The were mainly families who were miners and worked in mines. He’d go down in the mines with these peasant workers and observe their lives so he would better be able to represent them in his paintings. His most famous of these early works is The Potato Eaters.
Anyway, my student kept spelling the word “miners” incorrectly by writing “minors.” Heh heh. So, I got to read about all the poor minors working in the field and eating potatoes. Oh, the mental images abound. Heh heh.
I forgot to blog about our recent win (you have to scroll to the bottom…sorry).
Or, just read it here:
Honors for teachers who use technology
Local News – Posted on Thu, Oct. 28, 2004
Three teachers will be honored by Los Altos technology company Rambus and the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College on Friday for integrating technology into K-12 classrooms.
Stephanie Lewis, a seventh-and eighth-grade art teacher at Hyde Middle School in the Cupertino Union School District, will receive this year’s 2004 Rambus/KCI Innovation Award. The $5,000 prize recognizes Lewis’ use of custom software to create online portfolios for students in Hyde’s arts programs. Students can use the software to communicate with parents and outside mentors, including local artists. More than 1,000 students will use the technology each semester.
Two teachers from Castro School in the Mountain View-Whisman School District will receive an honorable mention for their work. Janine Walker Gavin, a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher, and Catherine Enos, who teaches second and third grade, worked with their students to develop a Web site on the habitat of the San Francisco Bay. Students corresponded by e-mail with each other and sent notes to their elected officials.
To view Lewis’ winning project, visit www.hydeart.com/eportfolio. The Castro School project can be viewed at www.castro.mvsd.k12.ca.us/blgallery.htm. To learn more about the KCI, visit www.foothill.edu/kci or call Executive Director Gay Krause at (650) 949-7113.
Tomorrow is “Super Hero” day at my school and I have put together a pink outfit of SUPER GIRL!!! Yeah, I have a pink t-shirt with a pink and purple “S” on the front that I’m going to wear with my pink adidas shoes, a pink belt and pig tails. I have a pink necklace that says “angel” with matching pink dangly earrings. I was trying to find some kind of ribbon or crown to wear with it, when I spoke out loud, “…If only I had a tiara!” Yeah, that’s something I never thought I’d hear myself say.
But, I don’t have one. So, I am putting together this string of pearls and string of pink sparkly beads to form a kind of headband. I’m also pinning on this lacey pink shawl my mom gave me to wear as a cape. I will indeed be Supergirl tomorrow. Sure beats crazy sock day.
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere’s CARRIE!!!!!!
I am the biggest abuser of sabbath days that I know. I constantly use my weekends to cram as much crap into as possible. My drive to organize my homelife (cleaning, groceries, etc.) combined with Josh’s social drive consistently leaves me exhausted when the new week begins. I find that when I take a day every week or two to just veg out, I find a sense of calm and reconnect with God. But, when I am lacking that time I enter the week stressed and sometimes scrambling.
I need the strength to claim my sabbath. To be able to say, “Sorry, can’t hang out, gotta chill out today.” Which is difficult becase Josh’s idea of sabbath is hanging out with friends. His extrovertedness gets a much needed sustenance from the presence of freinds (think hummingbird to nectar). Where, I generally get energy sucked from too much social interaction. My job is usually plenty of social interaction for me. So, how do I balance my need for quiet time with Josh’s need for social time without causing a disconnect between myself and my spouse? That’s a difficult question and a difficult balance to maintain.
So, I went to Bible Gateway and did a search for the word Sabbath and read through all of the stuff on the sabbath. There is some crazy stuff, especially in Leviticus. Anyway, here are some parts that I found to be significant among the lot:
Exodus 16:15-30
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’ ”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much-two omers for each person-and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD . So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’ ”
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the LORD . You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
Exodus 20: 8-11
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Ezekiel 20:12
Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy.
Matthew 12: 6-14
I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
9Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
11He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
13Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
It’s interesting to view the sabbath as God’s covenant with His people for saving them from slavery and keeping them holy. It seems like keeping the sabbath is a huge sign of respect and thanks to the Lord. And, to know that He also desires for us to do good on the sabbath opens a bunch of questions of what is and is not okay to do. I mean, I could justify lots of things as being potentially “good.” But, exactly, what is okay to do? I see where it is a lot easier to be pharisaical. But, God calls us to interact more with our world and our reliance on Him than just drawing big, hard lines between what we deem is good and evil.