Well, right now, Jackson's Dad is driving across the country to move back to Colorado. He will arrive tomorrow at some point.
Jackson was starting to really suffer from not having his Dad around so this couldn't be happening at a better time. I'm feeling pretty protective of my kid...since we've spent the last 9 months together, just the two of us. Even though the break will be good for me and Jackson getting to spend time with his Dad is invaluable, I'm sad that I'll have to start sharing him again. Sigh...
We had a great Thanksgiving at Adrienne and Jason's house and have just been hanging out together for the last couple of days. Last night we watched Polar Express while the snow fell and then woke up this morning to a considerable amount of white stuff on the ground. Beautiful!
Things are pretty peaceful around here. Just work, school, Bible studies, playing with friends, and church stuff. That's pretty much just the way I like it!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Ohhhhh! I'm SO excited!!
So, I am a book person. I LOVE to read. And when it comes to the Bible, I like to read, reread, cross-reference, and interpret. And I like to share what I learn. Also, I love, love, love it when I read a book that puts into perfect words the thoughts that have been swimming around in my head. Currently, that book is Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen. GREAT BOOK!
As you can imagine, Beth Moore is my hero. She is the cross-referencing queen, not to mention that she surrenders herself to her Lord continually so that her ministry is not about her AT ALL, but all about Jesus.
Her daughter, Melissa, is also a wordy, interpretive person. She recently quoted on the LPM blog from a book she is currently reading. This quote PERFECTLY summed up what I've tried to say before about God's Word. Here ya go:
Reading Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright. What a great and refreshing read. Here is just one quote I love, “the Bible isn’t simply a repository of true information about God, Jesus, and the hope of the world. It is, rather, part of the means by which, in the power of the Spirit, the living God rescues his people and his world, and takes them forward on the journey toward his new creation, and makes us agents of that new creation even as we travel” (191). Just a glimpse into this wonderful book.
Also, Melissa posted an assignment that she gave her Bible Lit students. It got my motor running. So...as though I have nothing else going on, I'm going to tackle this assignment!! And, if I have the guts, I'll post my work on my blog. Then you can critique me and give me the A+ I will undoubtedly deserve! What am I saying, I think the only people who read this blog are my mom and my best friends so of course I'll get an A+! As BooMama says, "Read by TENS of people everyday!".
Teaching LIT. My Mom and I have been co-teaching a class for 17-25 year old women. This Bible Study is unlike anything we’ve ever done at Living Proof. For better or worse, I planned and outlined the study. It has been fun to actually see it run its course, in spite of how absolutely over-ambitious it was. I am really proud of my Lit ladies. They’ve paid attention to all kinds of tedious things, including transmission issues, translation theory, and biblical genres. And that is only a start. Just in case you may be interested, we asked them to do the following for their bonus project:
• Choose any passage (about 5-9 verses) of interest, preferably a passage that you are not overly familiar with.
• Read the passage several times, at least twice out loud.
• What book of the Bible is your passage in? Who is the author? Who are the Recipients? What is the occasion and genre of the book?
• Compare your original Bible translation (whether it is NIV, NASB, etc.) to other translations- use at least three or four translations. Make note of the significant changes/differences in a chart or some other helpful way.
• If there is a word that sticks out to you in your original Bible translation, use a concordance to do a word study on that word. What is the Hebrew or Greek word that your English translation is rendering? Where else is it used?
• Are there any topics/places/concepts in your passage that are unfamiliar to you? Use a Bible Dictionary to look up unfamiliar concepts and to answer general questions.
• After you have done as much of the leg-work as you know how or have time to do, then consult one or two solid commentaries on your passage.
• Conclude with how these resources contributed to your understanding of the passage. (P.S. I just noticed that I created an outline within an outline. I am annoyed by my own self. Anyhow, I really am so proud of the Lit girls. Some have already turned in their assignments. I could have cried reading one of them today. I was astounded by the spiritual insight. We all bring something important and different to the interpretive table, with our various experiences and backgrounds. It is beautiful. I can’t wait to read the rest of them.)
DOESN'T THIS SOUND LIKE FUN?!
As you can imagine, Beth Moore is my hero. She is the cross-referencing queen, not to mention that she surrenders herself to her Lord continually so that her ministry is not about her AT ALL, but all about Jesus.
Her daughter, Melissa, is also a wordy, interpretive person. She recently quoted on the LPM blog from a book she is currently reading. This quote PERFECTLY summed up what I've tried to say before about God's Word. Here ya go:
Reading Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright. What a great and refreshing read. Here is just one quote I love, “the Bible isn’t simply a repository of true information about God, Jesus, and the hope of the world. It is, rather, part of the means by which, in the power of the Spirit, the living God rescues his people and his world, and takes them forward on the journey toward his new creation, and makes us agents of that new creation even as we travel” (191). Just a glimpse into this wonderful book.
Also, Melissa posted an assignment that she gave her Bible Lit students. It got my motor running. So...as though I have nothing else going on, I'm going to tackle this assignment!! And, if I have the guts, I'll post my work on my blog. Then you can critique me and give me the A+ I will undoubtedly deserve! What am I saying, I think the only people who read this blog are my mom and my best friends so of course I'll get an A+! As BooMama says, "Read by TENS of people everyday!".
Teaching LIT. My Mom and I have been co-teaching a class for 17-25 year old women. This Bible Study is unlike anything we’ve ever done at Living Proof. For better or worse, I planned and outlined the study. It has been fun to actually see it run its course, in spite of how absolutely over-ambitious it was. I am really proud of my Lit ladies. They’ve paid attention to all kinds of tedious things, including transmission issues, translation theory, and biblical genres. And that is only a start. Just in case you may be interested, we asked them to do the following for their bonus project:
• Choose any passage (about 5-9 verses) of interest, preferably a passage that you are not overly familiar with.
• Read the passage several times, at least twice out loud.
• What book of the Bible is your passage in? Who is the author? Who are the Recipients? What is the occasion and genre of the book?
• Compare your original Bible translation (whether it is NIV, NASB, etc.) to other translations- use at least three or four translations. Make note of the significant changes/differences in a chart or some other helpful way.
• If there is a word that sticks out to you in your original Bible translation, use a concordance to do a word study on that word. What is the Hebrew or Greek word that your English translation is rendering? Where else is it used?
• Are there any topics/places/concepts in your passage that are unfamiliar to you? Use a Bible Dictionary to look up unfamiliar concepts and to answer general questions.
• After you have done as much of the leg-work as you know how or have time to do, then consult one or two solid commentaries on your passage.
• Conclude with how these resources contributed to your understanding of the passage. (P.S. I just noticed that I created an outline within an outline. I am annoyed by my own self. Anyhow, I really am so proud of the Lit girls. Some have already turned in their assignments. I could have cried reading one of them today. I was astounded by the spiritual insight. We all bring something important and different to the interpretive table, with our various experiences and backgrounds. It is beautiful. I can’t wait to read the rest of them.)
DOESN'T THIS SOUND LIKE FUN?!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Thy Kingdom Come
This is going to be short, but I wanted to get my thoughts "out" before they drive me nuts.
In 1 Thessalonians, Paul tells his church plant not to focus entirely on the return of Christ. There is so much speculation going on among Christians about what this election means in regard to the prophecies in the Bible. Similar speculation went on when JFK was elected President.
It concerns me that so much time, fear, and worry is being devoted to predictions about the future!!! Is that an answer to Jesus' prayer that God's Will will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven? Is that the Kingdom of God being lived out on Earth?
We should not get so caught up in speculating about the future that it devours the time we could be spending serving others. As someone who has been in greater tangible and emotional need than I ever could have imagined, I can tell you that thinking nice servanthood thoughts just doesn't cut it. There IS NO time to waste! The people of this nation have MUCH. The people of this nation have CHOSEN a new President. We are a powerful nation. Let's not forget the people in our country and many others who are in very great need.
God tells us to love our enemies and that goodwill can overcome evil.
Let's be the answer to Jesus' prayer.
In 1 Thessalonians, Paul tells his church plant not to focus entirely on the return of Christ. There is so much speculation going on among Christians about what this election means in regard to the prophecies in the Bible. Similar speculation went on when JFK was elected President.
It concerns me that so much time, fear, and worry is being devoted to predictions about the future!!! Is that an answer to Jesus' prayer that God's Will will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven? Is that the Kingdom of God being lived out on Earth?
We should not get so caught up in speculating about the future that it devours the time we could be spending serving others. As someone who has been in greater tangible and emotional need than I ever could have imagined, I can tell you that thinking nice servanthood thoughts just doesn't cut it. There IS NO time to waste! The people of this nation have MUCH. The people of this nation have CHOSEN a new President. We are a powerful nation. Let's not forget the people in our country and many others who are in very great need.
God tells us to love our enemies and that goodwill can overcome evil.
Let's be the answer to Jesus' prayer.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Hypoglycemia Update
My meeting with Jackson's teacher went GREAT! The hypoglycemia explains a lot of Jackson's behavior. And his teacher is hypoglycemic, so she totally got it and suggested that I bring in extra snacks for Jackson and when she sees Jackson displaying low blood sugar behavior, she'll ask him to sit and eat some snacks. So that was the GOOD news.
The not so good news is that Jackson is demonstrating behavior that is common in kids who have gone through a divorce. He has been taking small items from the classroom. This is not viewed as stealing, but as a security issue. His teacher has seen this in the past and said that she normally addresses it once and it usually phases out.
She is also going to talk to the school psychiatrist to see if she has other suggestions for Jackson.
I was so glad to have the time to talk with Jackson's teacher and that we are on the same page as far as what is best for Jackson.
The not so good news is that Jackson is demonstrating behavior that is common in kids who have gone through a divorce. He has been taking small items from the classroom. This is not viewed as stealing, but as a security issue. His teacher has seen this in the past and said that she normally addresses it once and it usually phases out.
She is also going to talk to the school psychiatrist to see if she has other suggestions for Jackson.
I was so glad to have the time to talk with Jackson's teacher and that we are on the same page as far as what is best for Jackson.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Kids/Food/Discovery
So I had my first Parent/Teacher conference this week. I was totally prepared to hear these words: Jackson is a great student. He is definitely the smartest kid in class. Very advanced. He is a hard worker and very good natured. Ha! Instead, what I heard was confusing. Jackson's truly wonderful teacher told me that Jackson's skills are right where they should be and then she proceeded to tell me what he cannot do. These were things like sounding out words and then writing them down on paper. Writing his double digit numbers. Rhyming. Then she said this, Jackson has a very high drive to learn. We LOVE to see this. He is an independent learner, which is wonderful.
I am going to be very honest here. I walked away from that meeting feeling as though his teacher had just told me that he is not smart. I wanted to cry. I was confused because he is always spelling at home...sounding out words on his own. And rhyming? He always rhymes. I know that he knows his numbers because he counts to 100. Apparently he's just transposing the double digit numbers. Anyway, it plagued me for a couple of days. Jackson's teacher gave me some tips on things to work on with him at home. So we did. He wrote every word I asked him to write. He wrote double digit numbers correctly. He rhymed.
A friend of mine works at the school as the speech therapist. I told her about the conference and she suggested I talk to his teacher again and tell her my concerns and also ask how she assesses the students. So yesterday I was at the school for the Halloween parade and party. Jackson's teacher approached me and asked if I could come in again to talk about some issues she's having with Jackson's emotions. Great. So we made an appointment for Monday. Then I had to go clean a house for four hours and guess what I thought about THE ENTIRE TIME? You guessed it! Wow, I must be a horrible mom. I don't do enough special activities with him. He's suffering and it's showing up at school.
After about 3 hours of this nonsense, it hit me. Jackson is hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) runs in my family and my mom told me while she was here a couple of weeks ago that she was pretty sure Jackson is hypoglycemic. She noticed that if Jackson hadn't eaten in more than a couple of hours, he became unfocused and weepy. And Jackson is not a weepy kid. When my blood sugar is low, I feel tired and overly emotional. I cannot focus and am easily angered. At school, Jackson gets a morning snack, lunch, and an afternoon snack. At home, he eats about every hour to 2 hours. And when he gets home from school, he ravishes the refrigerator and pantry. Unfortunately, I can't send any kind of nuts with him to school. That leaves me with cheese and meet for snacks. (People with hypoglycemia cannot process sugar correctly. We need a diet high in protein and very low in carbohydrates.) But in reality, he needs to eat a small amount of protein every hour plus 3 protein heavy meals. So I'm hopeful that his teacher will see it fit to treat Jackson's hypoglycemia as any other disease. And to me, that would like Jackson going to see the nurse for some cheese cubes throughout the day.
This morning I made southwestern omelets for breakfast. 2 eggs, red bell pepper, onion, and cheese topped with sour cream and salsa. Yum! As I was making it, Jackson said "Mom, I don't like omelets!" I told him we needed the protein and asked him to at least be willing to try it. "Noooo, Mama, I don't like it." Silence. Continued cooking. I made bacon too.
So, I set the table for breakfast and called him over. I asked him if he wanted sour cream and salsa. Yes, he did. Do you think he liked it?
I am going to be very honest here. I walked away from that meeting feeling as though his teacher had just told me that he is not smart. I wanted to cry. I was confused because he is always spelling at home...sounding out words on his own. And rhyming? He always rhymes. I know that he knows his numbers because he counts to 100. Apparently he's just transposing the double digit numbers. Anyway, it plagued me for a couple of days. Jackson's teacher gave me some tips on things to work on with him at home. So we did. He wrote every word I asked him to write. He wrote double digit numbers correctly. He rhymed.
A friend of mine works at the school as the speech therapist. I told her about the conference and she suggested I talk to his teacher again and tell her my concerns and also ask how she assesses the students. So yesterday I was at the school for the Halloween parade and party. Jackson's teacher approached me and asked if I could come in again to talk about some issues she's having with Jackson's emotions. Great. So we made an appointment for Monday. Then I had to go clean a house for four hours and guess what I thought about THE ENTIRE TIME? You guessed it! Wow, I must be a horrible mom. I don't do enough special activities with him. He's suffering and it's showing up at school.
After about 3 hours of this nonsense, it hit me. Jackson is hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) runs in my family and my mom told me while she was here a couple of weeks ago that she was pretty sure Jackson is hypoglycemic. She noticed that if Jackson hadn't eaten in more than a couple of hours, he became unfocused and weepy. And Jackson is not a weepy kid. When my blood sugar is low, I feel tired and overly emotional. I cannot focus and am easily angered. At school, Jackson gets a morning snack, lunch, and an afternoon snack. At home, he eats about every hour to 2 hours. And when he gets home from school, he ravishes the refrigerator and pantry. Unfortunately, I can't send any kind of nuts with him to school. That leaves me with cheese and meet for snacks. (People with hypoglycemia cannot process sugar correctly. We need a diet high in protein and very low in carbohydrates.) But in reality, he needs to eat a small amount of protein every hour plus 3 protein heavy meals. So I'm hopeful that his teacher will see it fit to treat Jackson's hypoglycemia as any other disease. And to me, that would like Jackson going to see the nurse for some cheese cubes throughout the day.
This morning I made southwestern omelets for breakfast. 2 eggs, red bell pepper, onion, and cheese topped with sour cream and salsa. Yum! As I was making it, Jackson said "Mom, I don't like omelets!" I told him we needed the protein and asked him to at least be willing to try it. "Noooo, Mama, I don't like it." Silence. Continued cooking. I made bacon too.
So, I set the table for breakfast and called him over. I asked him if he wanted sour cream and salsa. Yes, he did. Do you think he liked it?
I'll let you know how it goes with his teacher on Monday. Maybe I'm totally off on this one. Maybe.
Here are some pics from Halloween:
Here are some pics from Halloween:
I would like to clarify that I'm not concerned with Jackson being "smart". I'm concerned with him being able to function well in school. I want him to feel like himself at school and to perform to the best of his ability. The "smartest kid in class" was a parent to parent joke. :-)
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