Does It Matter?

My favorite way to spend lunch is with others I work with at school. We want everyone in our group to look forward to lunch time. In general we followed these general “rules”:

· No griping or complaining about things going on in and around school
· No crass, crude talk
· Keep things “light” -- I once again became known as the person who knows a lot of unusual things as well as the researcher, should a question come up (i.e. Why are sloppy joes called sloppy joes?)

Yes, sometimes something would come up, but the idea was not to dwell on “troubles” – even troubles at home.

Last school year, I found myself usually eating lunch the period that I least liked. I least-liked it because in that group were some who could be rather crass at times. It did catch me by surprise when the group was asked last year if anyone minded if the conversation got a bit raunchy. I waited for a moment before speaking up because I knew there were a few others who should speak up. That didn’t happen. So I said, “It would bother me. I realize at times something is apt to just be blurted out, but what would bother me is if the conversation kept on that topic.” After I said that, another person (a Mormon) said it would bother her, too. Another person in that group, a woman from my church, didn’t say anything. (She had eaten with this group the past few years, at least.)

After the Mormon woman spoke up, it made me glad I had said something because she knows I am a Christian. The one who asked knows I go to the Baptist church. It probably was good that I spoke up, perhaps reminding that other person from my church that we need to be mindful of what we convey to the world when we do not act the way we know we should – and the way they seem to know we should.

This year, because of situations in the personal lives of a few in that lunch group, conversations often deteriorated to the point where I had decided that I would just eat up in my room. I didn’t think that I had the “right” to control a lunchroom of adults. If any of the women asked me why I wasn’t coming down anymore, I would tell them then. (One-on-one seems a better way.) Before that happened, I had the two crassest of the group say something to me about their behavior/words. I thought that was interesting. I had not said anything to them, but somehow they sensed I was not comfortable with conversation – it might not have necessarily been crass or raunchy, but it had become excessively man-bashing since the two had recently been divorced or separated from their husbands. I did say to them that I appreciated the fact they realized that I was not comfortable with the direction lunch time was going, that it mattered to them how I felt about it.

Amazingly, they worked at thinking to tell me to cover my ears, if they felt the need to say something. That may seem odd, BUT it did keep them from going on and on about whatever it was they felt compelled to say. They didn’t want me sitting through lunch, covering my ears most of the time. Then these moments became fewer and fewer. More than once they have talked to me, one-on-one about their words and that they are trying to be more careful. Apparently, they do not want me not coming down for lunch. I did say to the one that if things got uncomfortable for me, I would be apt to just quietly leave. She said to me she didn’t want me to feel that I needed to do that.

For most of my life, I worked in a Christian environment. I was not put on the spot of having to decide whether or not to “hide” the fact that I am a Christian. Even in this, I could have just said nothing – but, most of those in that room know I go to the Baptist church. Yes, they probably have their ideas about “those Baptists,” but I wanted to be sure that I was not a negative; AND because “those Baptists” sometimes do create problems with how they are perceived, I have wanted to portray a more positive picture. Why? Because I believe that it opens up opportunities for me to bit-by-bit share what I believe and present to them things they can at least think about.

One of these women, loves darkness. Halloween is her favorite holiday. She has an interest in witchcraft. The list goes on. I appreciate the fact that she and I have been able to have some conversations, one-on-one, because of my not remaining silent when she posed that question last year, “Will it bother anyone if the conversation in here gets a little raunchy from time to time?”

Toilet Paper

The other day, while I was watching "Bathtastic" on DIY Network, a multiple-choice question was posted: How many rolls of toilet paper does the average family go through in a year? I forget the choices, but the answer was 119 rolls.

Hm-m-m-m, I thought. How do they determine that figure? Who really knows how much tp they use in their house over the course of a week ,let alone a month or year? I sure don't; but now that gets me wondering whenever I sit on the toilet.

1) How many people are in the family? I would guess 4, as it seems anything having to do with family is "4" in most instances. I would wonder if there are people home all day every day or are there ones at work or ones at school or at day care.

2) Are the families from only the USA?

3) Yes, average would mean there are those who use more and there are those who use less. I would suppose that mathematically, I could estimate how much tp a family of two would use . . . a family of seven . . . a family of twenty (the Duggars, for example). Based on the figure of 119, and assuming we are talking about a family of 4, then the average person uses almost 30 rolls per year.

Still, you can see by the numbers and such, that it really is difficult to accurately estimate how many rolls of toilet paper the average family uses in a year. But, does it really matter? Perhaps only to stores that sell toilet paper. Perhaps only to companies that manufacture toilet paper. Perhaps only to those people who work in the places that make the toilet paper.

Regardless, this trivia is like most other tidbits of trivia -- not all that important to know, but it does generate some conversation.

Is He or Isn't He?

I never have been convinced that Barack Obama is a true Christian. Interviews in the past indicate that, although the reader has to be a true Christian to know. Things Mr. Obama says about his system of belief do evidence a true understanding of the Bible.

It is true that the church he attended in Chicago was not Muslim. It is one that classifies itself as Christian; however, it preaches Black Theology and tends towards racism and intolerance in how its preachers (particularly) Rev. Wright, could stir up an emotional high among the congregants. No way can Mr. Obama be honest in saying that he had no idea what Dr. Wright preached. The only reason he left the church was because it became a political liability to him.

I don't think Mr. Obama is Muslim; but I don't think he is Christian. I think he is a secularist. Religion becomes a part of his life when it is needed for his own causes. Of course a Chicago community fund-raiser would attend a church like Wright's. If course, a politician would decide to actually attend a Christian church if accusations were going around that he was a Muslim.

Here is an item, one of many, I recently read. (This is because Mr. Obama has found it politically expedient to come out and say he is a Christian.)
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Born Again Obama or Machiavelli’s Disciple?

by Benjamin Wiker

Posted 10/03/2010 ET
Updated 10/04/2010 ET

I really want to believe President Obama, but his recent claim that he’s not a secret Muslim, but “a Christian by choice,” is rather hard to digest. Listen to this testimony:

“I came to my Christian faith later in life and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead. Being my brothers’ and sisters’ keeper, treating others as they would treat me, and I think also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings, that we’re sinful and we’re flawed and we make mistakes and we achieve salvation through the grace of God.”

Sin, grace, humility—if he truly believes in all this, there is some hope for this most radical of regimes. I don’t mean that Obama is a closet evangelical just waiting to be outed.

The important thing about this testimonial (if true), is that I’d finally be able to peg Obama’s real motivations. He’d be a rather typical example, straight from the 19th Century, of a Christian liberal who stopped believing in the essential dogmas of Christianity but still clung to a heavily modified form of its social doctrines.

In this new liberal faith, Jesus was demoted to being a great moral exemplar, a kind of revolutionary put to death for preaching a radical social doctrine Roman and Jewish leaders found too politically unsettling. The liberalized form of Christianity had, and still has, its own evangelical goal that defined its decidedly political bent: heaven must be brought to Earth, and governments must take on the task of wiping every tear away.

If that is what Obama really is—not a Muslim, but severely liberalized Christian—then there’s at least a little hope. There is no doubt that Obama is a liberal, but liberalism is, in great part, the passionate embrace of Christianity, except without the embarrassing God part.

To be more exact, it’s a secularized form of Christianity, taking all the evangelical zeal originally directed to the kingdom of God, and pointing it toward constructing a this-worldly secular utopia.

But if Christianity still has some faint hold on his heart, Obama might yet see that government cannot take the place of God, that sins are very real and spread evenly among the population, both rich and poor, and that creating a kingdom of heaven is best left in divine (rather than bureaucratic) hands.

Yet, I confess, I’m having trouble. Perhaps I’ve spent too much time reading Machiavelli. In his inestimably influential how-to book for princes without principles, Machiavelli offered the following advice on how leaders should dupe the masses. The prince must “appear all mercy, all faith, all honesty, all humanity, all religion. And nothing is more necessary to appear to have than this last quality.”

Appear. Machiavelli, the unscrupulous teacher of realpolitik, knew that in politics, appearances were often deceiving, and that the most effective politicians were those who mastered the art of appearing to be pious, even while, behind the scenes, they engaged in behavior that would make a mafia don blush. For Machiavelli, religion wasn’t true—he was our first great modern atheist—but it was certainly quite useful.

I am not suggesting that Obama is a ruthless Machiavellian, slitting throats behind the scene. But whatever he intends, his sudden use of the language of evangelical Christianity—very sudden, i.e., as in “never happened before”—cannot help but seem to be a poorly orchestrated attempt to salvage whatever he can of the Left’s hold on the political helm by appearing to be a Christian.

There’s too much smoke from other fires—the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but even more, the direct and powerful influence of the atheist social radical Saul Alinsky, who certainly seems to be much nearer the heart of Obama’s adult conversion (and, we add, there’s more than a whiff of communism among his current cronies). Moreover, how can we take Obama’s declaration of belief in Christianity seriously, when he’s had no qualms about plowing under Christian moral imperatives by his unwavering support for abortion and the homosexual agenda?

So, what does Obama really believe? Let us hope that it is something deeper than whatever might momentarily boost his ratings.

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Mr. Obama would be an illustration of one of those who, at Heaven's gate, can't understand why he doesn't get in -- unless he realizes head knowledge is not enough.

Lizisms

What are Lizisms? Lizisms are one-liner observations worth remembering because of their practicality and/or obviousness in nature. Murphy may have his laws; Confucius may have his sayings. Why can't Liz have her "-isms"?

Some come to mind, at the moment, as far as rather easy-to-remember Lizisms. One comes to mind because it happened to pop out in conversations today. These Lizisms are not new to her, which means that perhaps Lizisms should be written down and illustrated for posterity.

Comfort trumps fashion.
This Lizism came as a result of Liz observing young female teachers who insist on wearing high spiked heels to school as part of their day's outfit. How can standing in those shoes on tiled cement floors all day be comfortable. Is fashion that necessary? Has the teacher thought of the long-term results as far as the ill effects those shoes can have on her foot health?

If you feed them, they will come.
(A variation of a quote from the movie Field of Dreams. The main character hears a voice telling him, more than once, "If you built it [baseball field in his corn field], they [star baseball players from the past] will come.")
This Lizism was most recently illustrated on a snowy, nasty Sunday morning -- the day of our annual church Christmas dinner. Those of us on the Social Committee were not sure how many, of those signed up to come, would come. On any given Sunday with weather like this numbers at services were always down. HOWEVER, on this particular Sunday, everyone (amazingly) made it. Based on years of observation, this attendance phenomena on a snowy Sunday was worth remembering and thus illustrates this Lizism, "If you feed them, they will come."

Time flies not only when you are having fun but also when you are busy.
No need to explain that one.

Some things about little boys never change.
Any female with no brothers and/or a husband may not truly appreciate this Lizism. How often have you overheard conversations about vomit, sweat, hawkers, and flatulence that become w-a-y more descriptive than you, ladies, are to hear? I was recently reminded about this with my own husband when I was not feeling well.

One I would include I can't because it is not a Lizism -- Just because it fits doesn't mean you have to wear it!"

So, perhaps the book I write and leave for posterity will be my collection of Lizisms.

musings

We can't lay all the blame -- or even most of the blame -- for the downward spiral the USA is taking on the President. We need to lay the blame with the American people, including those who call themselves Christians.

We point to prayer and Bible reading being tossed out of schools and now out of society. Were we doing that in our homes regularly? Are we now?

Are we careful about the support we give to the entertainment industry, an industry that is so influential on our society, mostly in a negative way? What movies do view, whether at the theater or in the privacy of our homes? What music do we listen to, buy? What programs do we watch on television? (I think that is the most subtle one of all.)

How about the way we dress? I think it is interesting, for example, that no longer is one piercing per ear enough in Christian circles, but two or three. I know of a teen in my own church who ruled out a particular Christian college because she could not wear more than one pierced earring in an ear. What about tattoos? What about the length of skirts, dresses, shorts? How about how low, guys, we wear our pants, shorts?

How about our language?

How does time online compare with time with God?

Do we make commitments to serve God, but then try to get out of them because something more appealing is drawing us away. In my church, soccer has become a type of god to many of the teens and young adults. Get to church late Sunday morning because of a late night out; dash out of the services because we have a game . . .

This is just a start.

Why is America in the predicament that it is? Why is it not the nation it once was? Why do Christians in countries where persecution happens pray for persecution to come to the Christian church of America? Hmmm . . .

Just Because

Years ago, when I was visiting my sister in California, we came upon a teaser line for an afternoon talk show: "Just because it fits doesn't mean you have to wear it," talking about bathing suits (maybe even underwear) that huge women can wear that seems made for much smaller, more shapely women.

I got to thinking that there are other "Just Because" statements that make perfect sense. One of those is this: Just because it's true doesn't mean you have to tell it. How often are we tempted to say something that is true, only because we really are wanting to make another person look bad? Is it really necessary that we say anything, if that is our motive? No.

Here are some ones meant to be more humorous than serious:

• Just because it's a rainy day -- and Monday -- doesn't mean I have to always be down. ;-)
• Just because it's on sale doesn't mean I have to buy it.
• Just because it's free doesn't mean I have to have it.
• Just because there is only a 20% chance of precipitation doesn't mean it won't rain or snow; conversely, just because there is a 70% chance of precipitation doesn't mean that it actually will rain or snow.
• Just because it's on Fox News doesn't mean it's the right perspective on an issue; conversely, just because it's MSNBC or CNN doesn't mean it's the wrong perspective.
• Just because it's midnight doesn't mean I have to go to bed!

Do you have any you could add?

THE BANE OF TEACHER TENURE

Tenure has lately been a topic of discussion at lunch time. Why? Because there are a few teachers in this school who really are a detriment, when it comes to teaching our students. Ironically, most, if not all of them, do not teach in areas that do state testing. There is not any real accountability for what their students do or don’t achieve.
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In our school, one major area of weakness is the social studies area. One mother was telling how her daughter, a fifth-sixth grader, gets take-home pictures to color for her social studies homework – COLOR! Another mother of a child past fifth-sixth grade told her that that has been the teacher’s standard social studies assignment over the years. What happens? The next teacher has to work extra hard to get the students caught up because at the end of the eighth grade, they have a major social studies test that the state requires. The good news is that the seventh-eighth grade social studies teacher does an excellent job, but it takes the seventh grade students awhile to catch on to the fact that they have to do REAL work in that class.
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The problem occurs again when the students reach ninth grade. There they encounter a young teacher who wants to be cool, like her students are. She wants the students to like her. She wants them to come to her to pour out their troubles. In many ways, she acts like a high school student. Anyone who has subbed for her will tell you that her ninth-grade classes are out of control, and she rarely leaves decent plans – when she does, they are inaccurate. Usually she is absent when it is too hot, when it might snow, when it is a Friday or a Monday.
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The year she decided to marry her live-in (usually a sign that the couple would like to have a baby) , she often took long weekends, telling her students she needed the time to plan her wedding. The following year, when she was expecting, the long weekend pattern persisted. Then she began to claim she had pregnancy problems and needed to be absent often – however, she was well enough to come in on days she had promised to go with groups on field trips. (She herself never planned any field trips.) She was to go on maternity leave the end of March (baby due mid-April); she went in mid-December, managing to get an excuse from her doctor. (She was startled more than once when she would be spotted out shopping by other faculty when she supposedly needed to have bed rest.) She took almost all of the following year off (not all with pay), coming back in time to give local exams – if she decided to – to her classes.
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Quizzes are rare. Tests are rarer. (Often she is absent on those days.) Why does she not feel any urgency? There are not state exams in social studies until after tenth grade. Thus it falls to the tenth grade social studies teacher to catch the students up and then cover the material they need to cover for their state exam. This teacher also teaches a senior elective, which means she teaches nothing for which she is “majorly” accountable. In this course this year, for example, the students needed to have current events. Rather than come to class prepared, she takes them to a computer lab. In front of her, one student will tell his girlfriend to find him a current event and print it off. She does. Then he hands it to the teacher. She highlights a few items in it and gives him a grade for doing his assignment!! That’s just one area in which she shirks her responsibilities with this group. Resource teachers who sit in her classes with their students don’t like her. They say she is lazy. They say she lets students get away with cheating . . . She has no control whatsoever. The tenth grade social studies teacher does not like her either. Says she is lazy. Subs say they hate subbing for her. Why? They say she is lazy and that she obviously has no control over her students.
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What saves her? Tenure. To get rid of her would be a nasty, costly thing. The administration has to hope she finds a job elsewhere – applicants can indicate they do not want anyone to check with their past employer. The other possibility would be her crossing the line in some way. The current buzz is that she is out today getting a tattoo. Yesterday she told her students she was going to get that done today, and she had one of her students (not sure if a “he” or “she”) draw a sample on her back yesterday during a class . . . In the past, there have been complaints about her -- how often her chosen few get to go up to her room at lunch and watch movies for fun, movies that probably would not make it through an administrative check. Even today's "educational" movie she left for her sub makes no sense whatsoever as to how it fits the students' current studies.
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In my own thinking, this young woman is a very insecure woman. I can’t think of any adult staff member who has a favorable view of her. She doesn't do much to mix with the adults. From when she first came as a long-term substitute to the present, she prefers to be friends with the students. The woman is also smart, when it comes to “the system” as she knows how to use it. She herself decided when she thought her tenure kicked in -- ahead of everyone else's for that year, in her thinking! It seemed as if she lived for that. Why? It would give her job security.
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Who gets hurt? Students. That's too bad. Although I now benefit from tenure and from the support of a union, I haven't changed my mind as to how both hurt education and how costly both are, not just in learning but in cost as well.

DESPERATE LANDSCAPE? YES!!!

A number of years ago, one of our neighbor families sold their house and moved so that they could be closer to their jobs. This would enable the adults to be able to spend more time with their daughter because they would not be having to spend 30-60 minutes commuting to and from work.
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Their house, although small, had been improved, both inside and out. Inside, a doorway was added to improve the traffic flow from the living room to the dining room and kitchen. On the outside, bright burgundy shutters were placed on both sides of all of the windows. A bracket to hang the American flag was attached to the house, an American flag added. The driveways, both the entryway to the garage as well as the area outside the kitchen door, were paved. A large planting area was constructed along that longer driveway, in it bountiful and bright gardenias, which were tended to regularly. The man, a woodcrafter, built a nice-looking sturdy post for their mailbox. Along the edge of the adjacent lot, which also was theirs, they had planted several trees.
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The couple kept the grounds looking very nice as well. Although the property had some banks steep banks, the couple kept the lawn mowed and the banks trimmed, even if it meant using a weed-eater on the steeper slopes. Things were kept picked up. The house and its yard fit well in the neighborhood, where neighbors took pride in making their properties look nice.
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The house, with the adjacent lot, was purchased by a young, unmarried couple. In short order, a small field fence with metal stakes and a metal fence (not chain-link) was put up in the front of the house, enclosing the front entry area. This was for the little dog when it was let out of the house for a few hours. Mowing seemed to fall to the woman of the house. She worked locally, part-time. Having a small tractor mower made the job fairly easy; however, to do some of the slopes, a push mower or weed-eater needed to be used. Neither she nor the young man bothered with that area. On occasion someone, either a friend or relative, would stop by and would become the one to mow the property. Still, no one would tackle the sides or front areas that sloped downward.
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It wasn’t too long before the young woman moved out. No one knows the reason, nor does anyone ask. From that time to the present, things continued to deteriorate.
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A small, dying tree lost some large limbs in a storm and it needed to be taken down. For months, the limbs continued to lie on the ground where they had fallen and the remainder of the tree remained needing attention. A good Samaritan neighbor came to the rescue, and the young man had the decency to come out and help.
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The mailbox fell off the post and lay on the ground beside it until a good Samaritan neighbor came to the rescue and put that mailbox back on the post and used a bungee cord to get it to stay. Did the young man ever do anything to make the fix more permanent? No.
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The shutters have dulled. The banks continue to never get attention, filling in with weeds – maybe even critters. The planter box has become all weeds. The lawn itself does not get mowed unless a good Samaritan neighbor steps in. One has done the flat area below the bank; another does the flat area plus the adjacent lot.
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Winters he never shovels the snow. He just hopes he can get his vehicle into the driveway – although its location makes it impossible to get a running start. He just steps into the snow as he enters his house.
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Outside the side entrance are bags spilling over with containers that need to be returned for a deposit refund. Just inside that entrance, in the kitchen, are ever-growing piles of pizza boxes. The young man never puts out his trash for pick-up. Instead, his house and property continue to look more and more like a pigpen.
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Does this young man have the equipment to mow? Yes. To trim? Not sure, but he could purchase on very easily. Is his work schedule such that he isn’t home when there are daylight hours in which he could work? No. Does he claim to not have enough time do mow or do the upkeep on his property? Yes. Is he just lazy? Yes. Does he show any appreciation for what his neighbors do for him? No.

What is the solution? I have three ideas:

1. Sell the property and move to a place where none of this matters.
2. Invest in a zero-maintenance landscape.
3. Grow up and act like a responsible adult.
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It would be neat if a show like Desperate Landscapes would consider coming to a more rural area to help us out. In the meantime, maybe we need to look for local contests and submit the property for consideration.

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BTW: His car was at home all day, except when he left for a few minutes (perhaps to grab a pizza). No other signs of life were evident. Makes me wonder if he doesn't want to be seen by his neighbors . . .

No doubt I shared last summer about "The Pew Incident." When this picture came to me in an email (along with several other pithy sayings), I thought of how that illustrates not just that particular incident but other incidents over the years.
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I have never been a member of a church that charges pew rentals for a particular pew for the year. Churches I have been a part of never have had to go to that extreme to meet their annual budgets.
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I have been a part of churches where it seems the same people always sit in the same places Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. That spot may stay the same for every service of that day AND extend to the midweek, if the church has a service then. It's not that others wouldn't think of sitting in those spots -- often they, too, do the same thing. There are others who have their spots for Sunday services, and then a different spot for the midweek service. Then, there are still others who have one spot for Sunday mornings, another spot for Sunday evenings, and yet another spot for the midweek -- and it is up to the rest of us to remember all of this detail, from the always-all-the-timers to the one-spot-for-each-servicers. Even in all these variations, it's not so much the fact of being in the exact same spot each time; it is just something they do.
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However, I know people who seem to not like it if someone sits in what they perceive to be "their pew"! These few will make it known, whether with a verbal dig of some sort or, as in my case last summer, moving other people's things that are on the pew because they have had to leave for the moment.
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In my current church, seating is not at a premium. There is ample seating in the pews, with no need for anyone to feel forced to sit in the first two rows. In instances mentioned above, all it might entail that particular service is moving up or back a pew. How ridiculous is it to think that such an inconvenience!
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Have you encountered these kinds of people? Have you, like me, just gone ahead and let them move your stuff (or sit in your usual spot) and not make a big deal out of it? After all, where are we? Why are we here?
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As corollaries to all of this is this:

1. Why is it that in a church with ample seating, no need to sit in the first 1-3 pews, people still want to sit in the rows of chairs behind the last pews?
2. Why is it our church people will not leave the back pew(s) available for families with young children, families with other special needs, or people who arrive late? (The answer to the late one in our church is that about half of the people arrive 5-20 minutes late regularly . . . and we aren't talking delays because of work schedules either, such as milking.)

Are We Truly Aware of What We Are Saying?

eu·phe·mism
1. the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.
2. the expression so substituted
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I admit that I am a person who grimaces when I hear other Christians use, perhaps ignorantly, words that once were taboo because of their root. When I taught in Christian schools, I had an English unit (high school) that contained in it a lesson on words/expressions and why we use them, I always would include an additional portion because of things I would hear. Points suggested that students use as a filter included asking themselves
1) Where did I hear the word/expression used?
2) What does the word/expression mean?
3) Why do I want to use the word/expression?
So often, their language choices were rooted in what they heard through a media source (television programs, movies, music, sports heroes), thinking these words/expressions were essential to being in tune with society, being in tune with their friends and other associates.

While perusing Facebook and journal entries by people I know to be Christians, I do get a surprise on occasion, as I see them use words/expressions like “What the double hockey sticks!” or “Dang!” or “Hot Dang!” I do cringe when I hear teens and young adults at church use words/expressions like “jeez,” “jeezum,” and such. I have seen written “OMG!” or “TGIF!” Although those can be excused by claiming, the G in OMG is gosh, not God and the G in TGIF is not God but goodness, I don’t think that we are realizing which came first – the G meaning God or the G meaning some other less offensive word, like gosh or goodness. Have we become so accustomed to the use of euphemisms like these that it does not bother us when we hear them?

True, the tendency today is to separate the using of God’s name in vain from using words that are just crude, crass, or just inappropriate – oddly on television, using God’s name in vain is acceptable, while the crude and crass words are often not allowed (depending on the channel, the program, and the time). These words/expressions usually are used as expressions of anger and disgust or of surprise.

When I did the lesson on these “Christian” euphemisms, also known as minced oaths, I would send the students to the dictionary to see what was included in the definition. They had to admit that they were surprised that even a non-religious word, like shoot, also could fall into the category of a euphemism or minced oath.

Let’s take a look at what the dictionary records about some of these words (all definitions are from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed.) :

Gee – (interj.) Used as a mild expletive or exclamation, as of surprise, enthusiasm, or sympathy. [Alteration of Jesus.].

Gosh – (interj.) Used to express mild surprise or delight. [Alteration of God.]

Golly – (interj.) Used to express mild surprise or wonder. [Alteration of God.]

Jeez/Geez/Gees/(other variation) – (interj.) Used to express surprise or annoyance. [Alteration of Jesus.]

Darn – (interj.) Used to express dissatisfaction or annoyance. (Adv/adj) Damn. [Alteration of damn.]

Dang – (interj.) Used to express dissatisfaction or annoyance. (Adv/adj) Damn. [Alteration of damn.]

Heck -- (interj.) Used as a minor oath. [Alteration of hell.]

From this list we could go on and list other words that, like shoot, are not a problem until we use them as words of disgust or anger.

I can remember standing along the sidelines at soccer games and hear players shout, “Shoot!” when they thought the person with the ball should kick for a goal. I also heard players shout, “Shoot!” and kick the ground after they made some type of mistake or missed the goal. On the sidelines, the word did not sound like ‘Shoot!” and the context of the situation did not help either.

Have parents, down through the generations, been neglectful in teaching their children right words? Have parents been neglectful in teaching their children how to react to situations that disgust them, anger them, or even surprise them?

“Christian” society has moved farther the wrong way in regard to their language. Once it seemed proper to substitute God, hell, and damn with less offensive words – although they still implied the true meaning; now we hear ones who claim to be Christians -- and they might well be; they just aren’t thinking or haven’t been taught – give little thought to saying very freely, “Oh my God!”

What do I say when I am disgusted? When I am angry or upset? When I am surprised? Why do I use that word/expression? What does it mean? Why do I use it or want to use it? Are my words offensive to other believers? Are my words a surprise to non-believers? Are my words offensive to God?

We all need to watch what we say.
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You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. (Exodus 20:7 TLT)
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 TLT)
Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. (1 Timothy 4:12 TLT)

Rejoice in the Lord -- He Makes No Mistakes

I am helping with a project for my church. What I am doing is working on some areas of content for pages on a website being developed. One area that I have been given is to work on the text that tells about our "Patch the Pirate Club." It was as I was re-reading a familiar story that I found myself thinking about how God can use our difficulties in order to reach others. Two people come to my mind -- people who may not have had the far-reaching ministries they do. One is Joni Eareckson Tada; the other is Ron Hamilton.
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Joni Eareckson Tada (aka Joni)

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Due to a diving accident in 1967, Joni became a quadriplegic. Her life is a wonderful example of faith and perseverance through difficult times. Though she suffered a deep depression and lost the will to live in the aftermath of her accident, she gradually came back to a deeper relationship with God.
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After her faith in God was rekindled, Joni began sharing her experience publicly and soon became a popular devotional speaker. In addition to having a speaking ministry, she became a successful commercial artist, learning how to draw and paint using her mouth, and a best-selling author. She has become a popular speaker across the country. Joni also has founded a ministry “Joni and Friends” that reaches out to people who are disabled and suffering and to those who care for them. She can be heard daily on the Christian Radio across the country.
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I sometimes wonder if Joni would have been the person she is had it not been for her accident. Would she have had a ministry? Would she be having an impact on the lives of so many, whether or not they are disabled? I tend to think that she has the ministry she does today because of her disability. Who knows how her life would have turned out, spiritually, had this not happened. What a wonderful ministry she has.
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Ron Hamilton (aka Patch the Pirate)

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When Ron was 27 years old, a routine visit to the eye doctor, revealed something unusual in his left eye, which resulted in surgery. As he slowly regained consciousness several hours later, he was told the startling news. "The doctor found cancer. Your left eye is gone." The doctor gave him his first eye patch, and suddenly he was a pirate! Kids were fascinated by his eye patch. Everywhere he went children [you know how they can be] would call out to their embarrassed mothers, "Look, Mom! There goes a pirate!" The children in his church gave him a nickname that stuck-Patch the Pirate.
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God transformed his loss into a great blessing. The Lord has given him and his family an exciting ministry to families around the world through Patch the Pirate story and song CDs. The family also has a nationwide broadcast called The Adventures of Patch the Pirate. Many churches hold Patch the Pirate Club, a club that teaches not only good Bible lessons but also Christian character-building songs, geared to elementary-school children. Bible memorization as well as guided personal devotions are also a part of the program.
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I do believe that Ron Hamilton has had a larger impact on the world through this club than he would have had had he just stayed with composing and arranging music for adult choirs (and perhaps brass instrumentals), his areas of expertise. Ron was one who chose not to wallow in self-pity at losing his eye at age 27. Instead, he turned the experience into a world-wide ministry which brings glory to God.
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What an example these two leave for us!

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God never moves without purpose or plan,

When trying His servant and molding a man.

Give thanks to the Lord though the testing seems long.

In darkness He giveth a song.

Oh, rejoice in the Lord, He makes no mistakes.

He knoweth the end of each path that I take.

For when I am tried and purified,

I shall come forth as gold.

Now I can see testing comes from above;
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best and I trust in His care
Through purging more fruit shall I bear.

Oh, rejoice in the Lord, He makes no mistakes.
He knoweth the end of each path that I take.
For when I am tried and purified,
I shall come forth as gold

(from a song written by Ron Hamilton)

My Sunday School Class

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My Sunday School class of two grades has only boys in it -- five boys, if they all come. Two of the boys attend regularly; one attends about half of the time; the other two rarely attend (as their parents never come.)
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Sometimes, during the lesson, an interesting question will come up. I am not always sure how the question has come into the boy's mind; but it does. We had just finished talking about Judas's betrayal of Jesus and then his actions afterwards, including his going out and hanging himself. I told the boys how the Bible tells us that his guts splatted on the rocks. [Guys this age always like stuff like that.] Anyhow, here is the question one of the boys asked Sunday:
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Does God laugh?

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How would you answer that?

Why Is It. . . .?

Why is it that those who complain most about cafeteria food do nothing to remedy the problem?All that needs to be done is to take the time to pack a lunch from home. As I said to someone today, it takes me five minutes MAX to do my lunch. With some of these who complain, they do have more than one person to feed -- but it's only one or two more for most of them and in most instances, a lot could be taken care of the night before!

AND . . .

Why is it that those who complain most about the cost of cafeteria lunches -- and one of the reasons they work is family financial needs -- are ones who buy cafeteria food almost every day, if not every day, for themselves and for their child(ren)? Some of them are also ones who will go out to the local Italian food spot one day of the week to get something "uncafeteria-like." The answer to this question is the same as the answer to the question above.

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What do I do? Take my lunch most of the time. On rare occasions I will splurge and go to the store next door to the school and buy a 6" sub (reasonable price). On my sub I get meat, cheese, and the usual assortment of vegetables. Usually I have in my school bag an apple. I think that in our busy lives, we sometimes fail to manage our time as well as we should or we sometimes fail to plan ahead as we should. Sometimes we just don't think we have the ambition to do what we should do; yet, I think that if we managed our time better and planned better, most of us would find that we do have the ambition to do what we should be doing. Our saving ourselves physical and mental stress generates within us more energy -- more ambition. We also will find that we can save ourselves money.

How's Your Civics Knowledge?

For a number of years, I taught a course about American government and its basic economic system. I wanted to be sure that my students knew their basic rights, as citizens of the USA. I wanted them to know how their government worked, and how they could be involved. I wanted them to understand why our Constitution established an amazing form of government, one that had never been tried before. I wanted them to understand how what had happened in 16th-18th centuries Europe in relation to governance of the people had a big influence on why our Constitution was written as it was. I wanted them to understand the Judeo-Christian principles behind its writing and to realize that the Constitution would only work at its best when the American people had a respect for those principles – to understand that the problems that exist today in relation to the Constitution and its interpretation is because the nation has removed God from its public places.
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One thing I thought would be interesting to try with my high school students was a citizenship test that people take as part of the process of becoming a naturalized citizen. (To become a naturalized citizen, a person must be at least 18 years of age.) For myself, I found a copy to peruse to see if my students should be able to pass that test. I also thought it would be good for them to actually see what citizens-to-be need to know about our history, about our government, and even about current events. These questions were all short-answer questions – these people had to know their stuff!
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A question I did ask these juniors and seniors was this, “Would you be able to pass this test fairly easily or would you have to go back and review your knowledge of U.S. history and of U.S. government?” I think they would have done all right – better as a group than as individuals, unless they refreshed their memories with a few days of review.
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(www.history.com/content/citizen_quiz : quiz yourself (easier mode than what citizens-to-be have) OR take a look at the questions and format)
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Why do I talk about all of this today? I read this today, “Dumb and Dumber. What Are College Students Learning About Our Country?” If you were to read it, you would be alarmed at the thought that these are our country’s current voters and future leaders.

“On an individual level, less than 60% (sometimes far less) of college graduates can identify on a multiple-choice test the three branches of government; seminal passages from the Declaration of Independence and Gettysburg Address; basic events from the Revolutionary, Civil, and Vietnam Wars; and the primary features of our free enterprise system. Several of these questions are actually required knowledge for new American citizens, signifying their relevance to what we as a nation demand for informed citizenship.”

The Intercollegiate Studies group also found that “many of our most elite schools, like Yale, Princeton, Duke, and . . . Georgetown, not only did those surveyed fail to get above a “D,” seniors at these top schools did worse than freshmen on the same test . . .!”
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The article goes on to discuss what kind of teaching does go on in most of the civics classrooms of most of our colleges today – actually, I would say that this has gone with a few generations before this. You read the information here, and you can understand why so many college-educated people are liberal. The writer of the article states: “What ISI’s research proves is that when people do attend college, their political attitudes and opinions begin to shift in an identifiably leftward direction, much more so if they had not decided to go to college in the first place.”
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Think about where our current president attended college. Think about his being a law professor by occupation. Think about his political ideology. Think about his view of America. Think about what is in our future, even after his tenure is over.
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(www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/02/10/dr-richard-brake-isi-civics-literacy-college-education/ )

Hair Is As a Flock of Goats

[Thanks, Sharon, for the inspiration.]

So, as my sister wondered -- what is with this phrase in Song of Solomon 4:1, "thy hair is as a flock of goats"? I have no idea, at the moment; but this is how I would start my search.

Amplied version: "your hair [makes me think of the black, wavy fleece] of a flock of [the Arabian] goats"

To me, this sounds like the kind of simile only a guy could think of -- comparing the beauty of a woman to an animal.

; - )

Musings

• Can I live without having a phone always at my fingertips? Yes, but I know people who can't, and they aren't even CEOs or medical personnel. In fact, I find some of these people at school -- teens hiding out in bathrooms, calling their friends -- teens texting friends about meeting someplace in the building, but out of class. I have sat at restaurants with teens/young adults who show their boredom with what is going on at the table by texting their contacts and communicating with them. Some of these include my own relatives.
• Can I live without calling all my siblings and my parents everyday, including days I see them? Yes. I have friends who can't. I'm talking adults. I'm talking relatives who live in the same town, or within 10 miles. I'm talking about relatives they see at church/church activities. I am talking about relatives who can't give their land lines or cell phones a rest.
• Can I make the time to talk face-to-face with my local friends, rather than calling them or emailing them? Yes. Why do I cheat on that? If I email them, I can do it at my convenience -- and actually, I am in control of the conversation. If I call, I have to work around home schedules, but not quite to the degree that I have to in order to spend time together.
• Do I think that too many young people and adults are social addicts? YES. Oddly, a lot of that plays out in more than getting together. It plays out in almost their needing to have that constant contact or someone will be in trouble for "neglect": emailing, texting, talking on the cell phone, posting on Facebook or some other social network. There used to be instant messaging. Quite often this constant need for connection shows itself in many ways that, I think, are rude: texting during classes/church, texting or talking on the phone when its family time, texting/talking on the phone when studies should be the focus, doing Facebook (either by computer or cell phone) while at home or traveling or doing just about anything else. In some ways, it seems as if it is an escape from the real world.
• Do I think that too many young people and adults tell too much on networking pages? Yes. I recall a young adult in our church using questionable language on Facebook and my wondering how many of her Christian friends saw that and thought to say something to her. I did. I recall a Christian mother being so excited about telling her FB friends she was going to be a grandmother -- and was so proud of that -- she posted it . . . with pictures on FB. The problem? Well, for those of her Christian FB friends who knew that the daughter is not married, that was a shocker. Some wondered if ___, who lives out of the area, had gotten married; but the answer? NO. I recall a young adult admonishing other to watch what they write, especially those who claim to be Christians because of some things she had seen posted. I recall a young adult, not a Christian (I think) also commenting on how she things people post things on FB that are better left more private.
• Do I think that social networks like FB are taking away from us the social communicating we really need to get back to -- personal, face-to-face communication (if local) and personal voice communications or handwritten notes (if away)? YES. I look at number of Friends people have and wonder if they are in some type of contest to see who can get the most FB friends, as if that is a measure of their popularity as a person. How sad! With the numbers of FB friends some people have, how do they truly keep in touch with each other?

While writing or calling are ok, the very best way to be a truly understood is to actually hear and see the person speaking. Not only do you get the vocal inflections, you also get the body language. It's not so easy to be misunderstood -- like the time it seemed, according to a FB posting, that Cedarville College was having a type of gay awareness day and having a symposium there with graduates of CU who now follow the gay lifestyle as well as a female pastor, and some other things. Being in writing, and the poster not seeing that he was being majorly misunderstood did create some misconceptions that could have been quickly cleared up, had the communication been person-to-person.

I do go through my FB listing and sometimes take out "friends." Sometimes I keep them but "hide" them so I don't have to read the ridiculous stuff they write. If I want to contact them, I can still do that easily. I use FB. It is a nice way to keep in touch with friends, especially those far away. Do I think about what I am going to post? Yes. There are things people do not need to know -- regardless. There are things better said in a more private audience. I remind myself who my friends are and how they perceive me. I don't want to be a stumbling block, especially to the younger friends nor wrongly catch the attention of my FB friends who are not Christians.

The challenges:

1. Take time to actually communicate with family and friends in person, whether face-to-face or by phone. Actually write/type a letter to someone. (I write to Ann from time to time.)
2. Don't think the world has to know everything about you -- and about your family -- on FB. There are better ways to do that communicating.
3. Draw up some guidelines -- maybe like courtesy rules -- and post them by your computer, near your phone, and even a small-print edition in your phone case.
4. Be careful about what you say and what pictures you post.