Southern Sayin' Of The Month

I live for the light of a full moon. -me

Friday, October 22, 2010

I Wish They Knew...


I'm back at work this year as a reading teacher and I love it more than anything I've ever done. I love seeing children learn to read and having a part in making that happen. But there are times (like today) and there are children where this is especially difficult. There are things I wish they knew, but I can't always tell them.


There is SO much more to reading than comprehension questions, literacy strategies and the level of the book you're on.


That I make mistakes when I read stories out loud to my son and I don't go back and self-correct. I keep on reading...just like you do.


I worry that my "instruction" and comprehension assessment may take all of the joy out of your reading.


These are just a few things I think they should know, but most importantly I want them to know that their struggles with reading and their reading level DOES NOT define them as a person.


They are children with big hearts, sweet smiles, passions for horses and racecars. They are so much more to me than accuracy percentages, self-correction ratios, and reading levels. They are real people. And we will get there...it may take months or possibly even years, but we will work through their struggles and try to do it without breaking their spirits. I hope they know I feel this way.



Wednesday, October 20, 2010

For All My Worrying

I am finishing up a bible study by Priscilla Shirer on the book of Jonah. During our video lesson this week, she read an excerpt from Job 38. It was one of those things I needed to hear; to know that for all my worrying and attempts to control my life, that I am not in control. I must put my life, my actions, and my worries in His hands. God is the one who was there from the beginning and knows how our lives and the Earth will play out until the end.

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’

“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness? As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors. The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths? Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know!

“Where does light come from, and where does darkness go? Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there? But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!

“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail? I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war. Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind?

“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning?
Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives? Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up?

“Does the rain have a father? Who gives birth to the dew?
Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.

“Can you direct the movement of the stars—binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?

“Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct? Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?

“Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions’ appetites as they lie in their dens or crouch in the thicket? Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wander about in hunger?

Job 38

The answer is no. I can not do any of these things. These powers are reserved for God and I need to let Him do His job. I need to lay my worries on Him and fully rely on God.

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