How do you teach someone something
that wasn't taught to you? Or if it was taught, you picked up on it so easily that the was little need to have the teacher?
Algebra is one example for me. It was so easy and pieces fell in place naturally in that field but to teach it is extremely hard for me. I find it hard to break it down into the necessary steps because I mentally jumped ahead of steps and passed through a problem with only having to write down a few of them. But there are lots of books out there that can break those steps down for people and thus I can use those books to walk other's through the math process.
But the lesson I am having a hard time figuring out how to teach is of Faith in God. It is one of those parts of my life that I have never had to be walked through. It is so natural for me, that I find it very hard to walk someone through it. How do you explain it? How do you encourage someone who doesn't have it? The steps that I might take in any given situation might be skipping essential steps that others need. But since I jump past the initial steps of Faith, I have no idea where to start to teach it.
And there are some dear friends that really need some encouragement or teaching or something in this area and I feel very helpless.
Me *julie* at # 3:30 PM
We Survived...
That states how Christmas went. Don't get me wrong.. it was quiet and a laid-back day. But only because most of us were sleeping off being sick with the flu. Everyone got it at some point this week and even grandma who came over to help, ended up sick last night. Oh my! The only golden one was Jesse and no one knows how he skated by with nothing. He thinks it's because he was sick on Thanksgiving and paid his dues then. so we had a very low energy dinner and washed 20+ loads of towels, and watched some movies. The little kids put on the Christmas Story play that they had worked out themselves. And for the most part it was an ok day considering all invovled.
Me *julie* at # 12:55 PM
Flexibility in the Making
Today was going to be a fun day. Visiting my mom and Christmas parties and all. But then last night out of the blue I have a sick child and everything has changed. Almost everyone had to switch plans around to acomadate each other. It was quite the mad house this morning trying to get into gear. And now we have 'school' and sickness instead of Mom and a party. We'll make it work and it will be as fun as possible. Flexibility!
We are going to try and stay on schedule tonight and make our tradional Gingerbread houses out of graham crackers, glue guns and lots of frosting and candy. (yeah, we 'cheat and use glueguns! With little ones it is the end process and quickness that is important!) We're going to shoot for a large farmhouse this time..
Morgan came home last night with another present that the boys can get her for Christmas.. funny people!
Me *julie* at # 11:09 AM
On another note, I had a conversation with a young sister in Christ after returning from the mall, and it gave me an inspiration. I have decided to forgo my indepth study of Romans for now and am going to attempt to put together a unit/Bible study on self esteem. I think I will still be using alot of Romans, but not in the indepth way I was going about it. It will be a workbook type study that the person has to do some study and thinking. I bet there are some good studies out there already, so I am going to research it first. This is a reoccuring topic that has been coming from many different angles and people. Pray for me!
Me *julie* at # 9:20 AM
Yesterday was a hugely busy day. Woke up late for me (actually slept 8 hours!) and my 8 year old asked me when we were leaving for the Bible study. If it weren't for him, I would never remember to go. I looked at the clock and saw the class started in 20 min and we are at least 20 out from the church and I still needed to stop by the store for fruit for the last class brunch. Agghh! Now, I said! At least because it was a brunch, I didn't have to worry about breakfast. So, I hurried out with two of the little one, and they had just started to eat when I got there. Good timing I guess~ Last video on Creation, and I learned a few more interesting items. It is interesting to me how I can have read Genesis more times than I can imagine, and someone can come up with a new twist, or definition of a word that completely makes me relook at the whole section that we are reading.
Living Word for sure!
After the Bible study, we connected with Morgan at the mall she is now working at. She took an hour break and we had lunch and we shopped some. I am past the point of trying to guess what people around here like.. so my tactic is to let them pick things out, I buy them, they 'forget' that we looked, and they get what they want at Christmas! Yeah, it kind of gets rid of the 'surprise' of the gift.. but it also completely gets rid of the return process! Everyone is alway excited about what they get because they picked it out! I don't know.. my crazy logic! It seems to work around here.. so I am not fighting it. So Morgan picked out her 'gift' which I can't say here because she is going to forget that we bought it! haha..
She went back to work, and I went shopping with Tyler and Carley. That went fine until we were heading back out of the mall. Carley wanted to look at some ornaments that one large department store had displayed outside their store. We looked around and at one point she was looking at some Christmas dolls they had. I told her just a sec, and went around that display to pick up some Christmas candy. I came back around the display and she was gone! I grabbed Tyler and we circled the ornament display and all calling her to no avail. Then I went to the cashier and let her know. She got the department security on the phone and in less than 2 minutes that store had employees standing at every entrace to that store. The mall entrace has several large posts at its front and between every set of posts there was an employee scanning the area for a little girl. I was very impressed but was slightly distracted so I didn't say anything to them at the time. The department store security came and they called the mall security. So within 5 minutes of telling the cashier, I had the whole mall aware of her absence. Plus, a handful of parents standing around, asked what she looked like and started scanning the area with me. I was told to stay put, so I had to rely on their searching. One lady came up to me and said she had had a dream the night before about searching for lost kids, so she was quite excited. She asked me what Carley looked like and said she was going to go down the mall to start searching. I told her our password that our kids know to ask for, and off she went. In about 3 minutes there she came with a security guard, and Carley.
When we had first got to the mall, we went through the steps that the kids should take if we got seperated. We talked about our password and staying put etc. Obviously, we will have to go over all of the more clearly and frequently. Carley said she looked up, saw I wasn't there, and headed back down the mall from where we had just been. She went into some store and when she came back out, a Santa asked her if she was lost and then took her to a security guard who had just gotten information on his walkie-talkie about Carley. Then the lady came up to her and asked if she was Carley and Carley said 'no' thinking the lady was looking for her own daughter. The lady said she was looking for a little girl and ask Carley if the password was such-n-such and Carley smiled and said 'YES!"
So, I was frantic and shaking for roughly 15 min.. and then it was good. And yes, we will be going over the details of 'hug a tree' thought process! We must not watch enough Barney!
Me *julie* at # 7:52 AM
There seems to have been an over abundance of 'life' lately that makes it slightly harder to post here regularly.
About my study in Romans.. the teacher that I had was very energetic to say the least. But not in a study kind of way. In the first two weeks we had only gotten to vs 17 of chapt one.. and I was thinking we weren't going to make it through Romans at this pace. I think he has some good insights, but he takes one word and then goes on and on about how great that word or sentence is. I guess I am just more practical instead of emotional. I just want the facts and let me get emotional later! So, I am going to just study the book by myself. We'll see how much I get out of it. All you Bible majors can help me out anytime *smile*
*************
Here is a verse I am sending a friend tonight because at times she feels that people are against her or she is not important enough.
Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Me *julie* at # 6:09 PM
I love spiderwebs.. with dewdrops!
a freshly woven web
and a drop of dew
unite in the morning
sunshine.
and they are coerced
into a flame of glittering
beauty, shining full on
and it pleads to be loved.
David B.
Me *julie* at # 7:46 PM
PHOTOS
In Honor of Pearl Harbor and My Dad
I was looking through a memory box tonight and found a long article that my dad wrote a few years ago describing his time in the navy. I am in the process of writing it all out and will also post some pictures of him. He was on the aircraft carrier, Lexington that left Pearl Harbor a few days before it was attacked. It was also attacked while at sea and sunk. They were able to get everyone off of it, and then they torpedoed it to sink it. I am gathering more details of this event and will post them as I get them from siblings.
He was born in Lubbock, Tx in 1921 into a family of 9. He lived on a large cotton farm and did the sterotypical walk to school without shoes in the spring and summer.
He passed away 4 years ago this February due to complications with a stroke and it's good to remember things about him and learn new things from my older siblings. You can't always say this about a person, but he was a good man. Not many people could find things to complain about him. I miss him.
*note~ I am adding some photos soon and some more information and more to the article.. come back soon to see*
Me *julie* at # 12:35 AM
What was I thinking?
My son has this kids forum.. and there weren't many kids on there a few months ago. I decided to liven things up with a small but personal contest. Whoever can bring in 10 other kids by the end of January.. will get a box of cookies from me. Now I figured that would spur the kids into inviting some others along. And maybe by the end of December someone would have the 10. HA! Silly me! Why I didn't think of this before.. I don't know.. Sam figures out the contest.. and within one evening he has the 10 signed in and accounted for. He keeps them up his sleeve just for purposes like this I'm sure.
So, now if I have another contest.. he has to have a handicap of about 30 people. 10 new kids to the average person to Sam's 30.. that sounds fair!
And yes.. he gets his box of cookies... chocolate chip's were ordered. They are in the mail tomorrow.
Me *julie* at # 12:08 AM
We are having a rain storm... a full pouring cats-n-dogs type rainstorm. Up here in the NW it rains a lot but mostly drizzle.. this one is awesome! It is pouring hard and pounding on the windows and the wind is blowing... The rhythm of rain is soo soothing.
Me *julie* at # 12:00 AM
Small differences
Have you ever considered the difference between pride or confidence; a holy life style or self righteousness; protecting someone or controlling them; living free in Christ or not using self control? These things may almost seem the same from a distance. And because they can seem the same many people get them confused in their own lives. Many times some of the actions may look the same.. Similar words might be said.. But the results will be much different.
At one time we studied the Amish. I found a lot of things that I respected them for. But one thing that I saw was the way they look at pride. They seemed to equate being proud of what you have accomplished with the pride that God condemns. So they do everything they can to not appear proudful. To the extent that in their awesome quilts that they make they often put in one wrong color or wrong fabric, just so that they can say their quilt isn't perfect and supposedly it keeps them humble where in some cases probably creates a false humility. While my point isn't to cut down the Amish, it does show an example of how someone can think s/he is doing the right thing.. It has the wrong results.
Pride that tells yourself that you did a good job, that you can accomplish a certain task, or that you look nice today.. Is a healthy confidence. When pride makes you look at others and puts them under you.. That is the pride that God condemns. I know a lot of people that could use some healthy confidence in themselves.
A holy lifestyle is a good thing but it can look very different to different people. God has people in different situations and in various walks of life. But being self righteous is not the same. The man who isn't bound by rules can be just as self righteous as the man who thinks he is better because he has 'good' actions. Being holy doesn't mean you think you are better. It means your actions are based on God.
If you have the responsibility of protecting someone, it can have the same qualities as controlling them, but like the others, the results can be very different. Protection brings to mind the comfort of knowing someone is looking out for your best interests.. Someone will be there in the tight situations and will come to bat for you. Controlling is similar but without letting the person have freedom of movement, or freedom of choice. Obviously, protection of small children will look much different than protection of a teenager.. But the concern is still the same.
The basis of these is the type of focus~ the one tends to be honest with yourself and with God. The other tends to focus on the negative things of others or in being better than others. The first one's results are in a growth in yourself and others you affect.. The other's results in putting other's down and discouragement.
Just some basic thoughts I've had lately because of various things that I've watched people go through. It pays to keep track of where we stand in these issues.
Me *julie* at # 12:58 AM
I am starting a study of Romans. So far just into the background history and facts. Everything is pretty obvious for the facts but there was one thing that was new to me. That was the audience that Paul is writing to. In this group of Romans there were a wide diversity of classes which can be assessed by the last chapter or so by the names that were listed there. There were slaves all the way up to a nobleman who might have been related to Herod.
Me *julie* at # 12:22 PM
Forwarding e-mails
Just a note.. I hope all those who send me e-mails that say, "please forward this on to 10 people and back to me, so that I know you love me!" understand that I still care even if I don't forward those kind on. I won't return it to you and most likely didn't even read it. I'm sure they are great inspirational stories and make some people really feel great that day. But reading them, forwarding them and returning them is irritating and in no way reflects my concern for said people on either end!
That's all
Me *julie* at # 9:14 AM
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