I was published again! An Austin-based blog called Great Moments in Parenting published my account of "Super Moon" today! Thank you SO much GMIP!!! Your blog rocks!
Great Moments in Parenting is a website where moms and dads share the agony and the ecstasy of life with kids. Parents contribute photos, essays and short little snippets of life so that we all know that WE'RE NOT ALONE!!!!
If you are a parent, bookmark this site so that you can be reminded that you're not the only one saying things like, "Please don't lick the grocery cart again" or "Will you be sleeping in the cereal box tonight?"
If you have chosen not to become a parent, bookmark this site so that you can be reminded why you decided not to have kids. Mainly so that you don't have to say things like, "Please don't lick the grocery cart again" or "Will you be sleeping in the cereal box tonight?" (Of course, maybe you have had to say those phrases. I don't know what goes on with you non-parents after we parents crash at 9:45. You may be licking grocery carts and sleeping in cereal boxes. That could be perfectly acceptable behavior in your non-kid world. In which case, I should probably know that so that I could change my parenting style a little to help prepare my kids for the new world of grocery cart licking and cereal box sleeping. If I want my kid to live in such a world. No. We have to have standards.)
(Please excuse the rambling mess this post became. Princess had her 13th birthday party sleepover last night and I'm only on my first cup of coffee.)
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Four O'Clock Ay Em
I think that Four O'Clock Ay Em likes me. Not just "likes me", but LIKES me, likes me. Why else would it continuously wake me up just to say hi?
It tries so hard to impress me. It only appears once every twenty-four hours so it MUST make a good showing for the sixty seconds that it's in my presence. One night it brought rain. One night, it brought an owl calling for friends in the moonlight. Sometimes it just brings stillness and quiet.
Lately, though, its tone has changed. Maybe Four O'Clock Ay Em heard me talking behind its back, saying that I was tired of our meetings. I think I hurt its feelings.
The past two nights it has woken me with a cat barfing.
Well played, Four O'Clock Ay Em. Well played.
It tries so hard to impress me. It only appears once every twenty-four hours so it MUST make a good showing for the sixty seconds that it's in my presence. One night it brought rain. One night, it brought an owl calling for friends in the moonlight. Sometimes it just brings stillness and quiet.
Lately, though, its tone has changed. Maybe Four O'Clock Ay Em heard me talking behind its back, saying that I was tired of our meetings. I think I hurt its feelings.
The past two nights it has woken me with a cat barfing.
Well played, Four O'Clock Ay Em. Well played.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Adventures in Substitute Teaching
I have been a substitute teacher both in the public school system and at my daughter's private school. I have substituted for pre-k all the way up to high school. One time I had a 7th grader burn up the pencil sharpener during a test (and smirk all the way back to his desk). One time I had a smart alec 10th grader ask snidely, "So what's YOUR favorite Jackie Chan movie" hoping that I wouldn't know who he was talking about (this was actually back in the mid-90s before Jackie Chan was more mainstream). I was able to answer (Twin Dragons) and even educate them on a few JC movies that they hadn't seen. I've put an entire class of kindergarteners in "time out" (and was told that when their teacher put them all in time out, she did it differently) and I've built compasses from sticks in a sandbox. You never know what you're going to do or get when you sub.
This morning I got a dead mole on my desk.
It was pretty awesome.
Monday I subbed a my daughter's private school. A 6th grade English teacher was out with a horrible cold so I got to teach reading and writing. The first class of the day is an all boys class. Be afraid. Be very afraid. I have a son so that's strike one to fear. We've been at this school for eight years, that's strike two because I know most of the boys' parents. Strike three is that at this point, I'm still bigger than they are. Well, for the most part. And I've been teaching this age for three years. My blisters are becoming callouses.
During the writing portion of the class, we studied appositive adjectives. (Appositive adjectives are usually found in pairs and follow the noun that they modify. Example: The bread, crusty and warm, tasted sweet in his mouth. Crusty and warm are the appositive adjectives. There, you learned something today.) I looked at the examples in the book, but when you have a room full of 10 year old boys, you need to make sure that they are engaged and that they can be interactive. So I decided that we would build our own sentence.
"Give me an animal. A non-human mammal."
Molerat.
"Okay. Now let's describe that molerat."
Naked and pink.
"Great. Now tell me an action that this molerat does."
Snuggle.
Our sentence: The molerat, naked and pink, snuggled.
They loved it. We had other things that the molerat did, other adjectives to describe the molerat, but that was our first sentence. They really are a fun group.
Last night I got the call that the teacher was still sick, (she's on antibiotics and getting better, but she wanted another day to rest and not have to talk) can I please sub again? No problem.
I walked into the room and there, on the desk, was a sandwich bag with a note stuck on it. The note said, "Happy birthday" and the bag contained a small, dead mole.
I know this school. I know the kind of kids that are enrolled in this school. I know most of their parents. Had this been any other school, I would have been very suspect as to the motive and/or execution of this action. However, as I said, I know these kids. I looked up and all of them were smiling and excited to see my reaction. Of course I loved it!
The boy who brought it said that he cat had killed it the night before. Since we were talking about moles (or molerats), he wanted to bring it to share. We spent some time looking up what kind of mole it was (Eastern mole), why it has no eye and ears (doesn't need them), why its "hands" are up around its neck (to burrow), etc. Then we wrote more sentences about it. (The mole, hairy and squishy, died.) It was so much fun!
Boys will be boys and the conversation turned to who they were going to give/show the mole to next. As a protective measure (for them), I said that I would keep the mole all day, but the boy who brought it could come get it after school. They were a little disappointed because they wanted to show him to the science teacher. I assured them that I would hand him over some time today.
To further the awesomeness, I e-mailed the principal and told him he needed to come to my room and burst in demanding to know if the kids had brought a dead squirrel and caused me to barf. (We were also talking about gossip in class today so I was going to make it another lesson.) Unfortunately he didn't get the e-mail until after the class was over. He came to the room, I told him the story and he grinned. He loves these kids as much as I do! I don't put it past him to find the boys' class later and demand to know what happened just to see the looks on their faces.
No class mascot would be complete without a name. We decided on Pedro Phillipe von Lichtenstein III (although upon further examination and absence of certain . . . evidence, I believe we might have a female mole). After school the boys want to have a proper burial. I might be called upon to say a few words. I'm going to need to look up some more adjectives.
A photo of our dear, departed Pedro Phillipe von Lichtenstein III, may he/she rest in peace.
This morning I got a dead mole on my desk.
It was pretty awesome.
Monday I subbed a my daughter's private school. A 6th grade English teacher was out with a horrible cold so I got to teach reading and writing. The first class of the day is an all boys class. Be afraid. Be very afraid. I have a son so that's strike one to fear. We've been at this school for eight years, that's strike two because I know most of the boys' parents. Strike three is that at this point, I'm still bigger than they are. Well, for the most part. And I've been teaching this age for three years. My blisters are becoming callouses.
During the writing portion of the class, we studied appositive adjectives. (Appositive adjectives are usually found in pairs and follow the noun that they modify. Example: The bread, crusty and warm, tasted sweet in his mouth. Crusty and warm are the appositive adjectives. There, you learned something today.) I looked at the examples in the book, but when you have a room full of 10 year old boys, you need to make sure that they are engaged and that they can be interactive. So I decided that we would build our own sentence.
"Give me an animal. A non-human mammal."
Molerat.
"Okay. Now let's describe that molerat."
Naked and pink.
"Great. Now tell me an action that this molerat does."
Snuggle.
Our sentence: The molerat, naked and pink, snuggled.
They loved it. We had other things that the molerat did, other adjectives to describe the molerat, but that was our first sentence. They really are a fun group.
Last night I got the call that the teacher was still sick, (she's on antibiotics and getting better, but she wanted another day to rest and not have to talk) can I please sub again? No problem.
I walked into the room and there, on the desk, was a sandwich bag with a note stuck on it. The note said, "Happy birthday" and the bag contained a small, dead mole.
I know this school. I know the kind of kids that are enrolled in this school. I know most of their parents. Had this been any other school, I would have been very suspect as to the motive and/or execution of this action. However, as I said, I know these kids. I looked up and all of them were smiling and excited to see my reaction. Of course I loved it!
The boy who brought it said that he cat had killed it the night before. Since we were talking about moles (or molerats), he wanted to bring it to share. We spent some time looking up what kind of mole it was (Eastern mole), why it has no eye and ears (doesn't need them), why its "hands" are up around its neck (to burrow), etc. Then we wrote more sentences about it. (The mole, hairy and squishy, died.) It was so much fun!
Boys will be boys and the conversation turned to who they were going to give/show the mole to next. As a protective measure (for them), I said that I would keep the mole all day, but the boy who brought it could come get it after school. They were a little disappointed because they wanted to show him to the science teacher. I assured them that I would hand him over some time today.
To further the awesomeness, I e-mailed the principal and told him he needed to come to my room and burst in demanding to know if the kids had brought a dead squirrel and caused me to barf. (We were also talking about gossip in class today so I was going to make it another lesson.) Unfortunately he didn't get the e-mail until after the class was over. He came to the room, I told him the story and he grinned. He loves these kids as much as I do! I don't put it past him to find the boys' class later and demand to know what happened just to see the looks on their faces.
No class mascot would be complete without a name. We decided on Pedro Phillipe von Lichtenstein III (although upon further examination and absence of certain . . . evidence, I believe we might have a female mole). After school the boys want to have a proper burial. I might be called upon to say a few words. I'm going to need to look up some more adjectives.
A photo of our dear, departed Pedro Phillipe von Lichtenstein III, may he/she rest in peace.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Marshmallow Jesus
Every year about his time - approaching Easter - a couple of hands-on lessons about Jesus'
death and resurrection start to make the rounds on Pinterest and Facebook.
They are both recipes where the final product (either cookies or rolls)
are puffed up, yet empty - like the tomb on the third day.
Here is the one we tried when the kids were younger - about 4 and 7. (I copied the recipe just like I received it.):
I had envisioned the kids listening to the explanations, being engaged with the lesson and actually getting something out of the experience. But . . . we really never got to the lesson. After we prepared Jesus for the tomb, I was just too exhausted. Here are snippets of conversation:
Princess: Mom! Buddy took my Jesus!
Buddy: It wasn't your Jesus, it was MY Jesus! You can get another Jesus!
Princess: Mom, I rolled Jesus in the butter. Can I eat him now?
Buddy: I can't wrap my Jesus! It's too hard!
Princess: Mom, can I have another Jesus? I ate mine.
Buddy: Mmmmm. Jesus tastes good!
Now, in theory, the rolls are sealed tight and no marshmallow seeps out during the baking. That's the theory.
Looking at the cookie sheet when we took it out of the oven:
Princess: Ewww! Jesus leaked! It's brown!
Buddy: I don't want to eat THAT Jesus. He's burned.
Princess: I've only had two Jesuses. How many more can I have? They're good!
Maybe we'll try it again when I have grandkids.
And for the record, those burial cloths were quite tasty.
Here is the one we tried when the kids were younger - about 4 and 7. (I copied the recipe just like I received it.):
Resurrection Rolls
Refrigerated crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar
1. Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in. Read Matthew 27: 57-61
2. Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus.
3. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.
4. Dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar. This represents the spices used to anoint the body.
5. Wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside). This represents the wrapping of Jesus after death.
6. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. (The oven represents the tomb - pretend that it was three days!)
7. Let the rolls cool slightly. The children can open their rolls (the cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there. HE IS RISEN!!! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)
Refrigerated crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar
1. Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in. Read Matthew 27: 57-61
2. Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus.
3. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.
4. Dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar. This represents the spices used to anoint the body.
5. Wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside). This represents the wrapping of Jesus after death.
6. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. (The oven represents the tomb - pretend that it was three days!)
7. Let the rolls cool slightly. The children can open their rolls (the cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there. HE IS RISEN!!! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)
(After
the kids eat their roll, there is a lesson included with Bible verses
and questions, etc. If anyone wants the lesson - which is a bit long -
I will be more than happy to pass it on to you. It really is a good
lesson.)
I had envisioned the kids listening to the explanations, being engaged with the lesson and actually getting something out of the experience. But . . . we really never got to the lesson. After we prepared Jesus for the tomb, I was just too exhausted. Here are snippets of conversation:
Princess: Mom! Buddy took my Jesus!
Buddy: It wasn't your Jesus, it was MY Jesus! You can get another Jesus!
Princess: Mom, I rolled Jesus in the butter. Can I eat him now?
Buddy: I can't wrap my Jesus! It's too hard!
Princess: Mom, can I have another Jesus? I ate mine.
Buddy: Mmmmm. Jesus tastes good!
Now, in theory, the rolls are sealed tight and no marshmallow seeps out during the baking. That's the theory.
Looking at the cookie sheet when we took it out of the oven:
Princess: Ewww! Jesus leaked! It's brown!
Buddy: I don't want to eat THAT Jesus. He's burned.
Princess: I've only had two Jesuses. How many more can I have? They're good!
Maybe we'll try it again when I have grandkids.
And for the record, those burial cloths were quite tasty.
Thumb's Up to Thumbs
Ah, the joys of dog ownership. On Sunday Ruby was spazzing out, as is her custom for the first five minutes of a neighbor's visit, when I tried to calm her. I went to put my hands on her shoulder to keep her from jumping just as she did said movement. Her shoulder collided with my thumb and in one painful blast I had a jammed/sprained/strained/dislocated/maimed/bloodied/amputated digit. Okay, it wasn't THAT bad. Just sprained. But, dang, it hurt!
Years and years ago I saw the movie The Pope of Greenwich Village. In the film, The Bedbug (Burt Young) removes Paulie's (Eric Roberts) thumb as a warning to Charlie (a still-gorgeous Mickey Rourke). When Paulie shows up after the incident, he has a full-on scene-chewing rant where he repeats over and over, "Dey took my thumb, Chah-lee!" Of course, that is what was going through my mind while I tried desperately not to cuss in front of our two year old neighbor. The scene where Paulie tries to make The Bedbug coffee without a thumb has been going through my mind ever since.
Have you ever tried to just live with only one thumb? It's tough! There are so many things a thumb does for which it just gets no recognition.
I can't Hook 'Em with my left hand.
Were I left-handed, I wouldn't be able to space between my words when I type.
Try to crack and open an egg with only one thumb. Go ahead. I'll wait.
(That pointer finger is a poor substitute, huh?)
Squeeze a tube of toothpaste onto a toothbrush while you hold both. Yup.
Eat a huge, greasy burger. You gettin' me?
Yeah, that little stubby pollex is very important yet completely under appreciated. I want to change all of that. So . . . Today is Thumb Appreciation Day.
Every time you grasp, gesture, use the space bar, text, even pull up your pants, take a moment to give your thumb a thumb's up. And take a moment in the comments section and let me know for what thumb action (or reaction) you are thankful for. I bet we would all be surprised.
(Please note that this is a family-friendly blog so keep your thumbs rated G here. If you must share a humorous, yet PG-13 or higher story, Tweet and use #ThumbAppreciation.)
Years and years ago I saw the movie The Pope of Greenwich Village. In the film, The Bedbug (Burt Young) removes Paulie's (Eric Roberts) thumb as a warning to Charlie (a still-gorgeous Mickey Rourke). When Paulie shows up after the incident, he has a full-on scene-chewing rant where he repeats over and over, "Dey took my thumb, Chah-lee!" Of course, that is what was going through my mind while I tried desperately not to cuss in front of our two year old neighbor. The scene where Paulie tries to make The Bedbug coffee without a thumb has been going through my mind ever since.
Have you ever tried to just live with only one thumb? It's tough! There are so many things a thumb does for which it just gets no recognition.
I can't Hook 'Em with my left hand.
Were I left-handed, I wouldn't be able to space between my words when I type.
Try to crack and open an egg with only one thumb. Go ahead. I'll wait.
(That pointer finger is a poor substitute, huh?)
Squeeze a tube of toothpaste onto a toothbrush while you hold both. Yup.
Eat a huge, greasy burger. You gettin' me?
Yeah, that little stubby pollex is very important yet completely under appreciated. I want to change all of that. So . . . Today is Thumb Appreciation Day.
Every time you grasp, gesture, use the space bar, text, even pull up your pants, take a moment to give your thumb a thumb's up. And take a moment in the comments section and let me know for what thumb action (or reaction) you are thankful for. I bet we would all be surprised.
(Please note that this is a family-friendly blog so keep your thumbs rated G here. If you must share a humorous, yet PG-13 or higher story, Tweet and use #ThumbAppreciation.)
Friday, March 22, 2013
Wildflowers in Spring
It was a ritual down at the Lake - at least once a weekend we would find time to pick a wildflower bouquet for our moms and for Bigmama. We had no shortage of flowers from which to choose - especially in the spring. And we made it our business to know the favorites of the recipients. My mom was partial to buttercups because yellow was her favorite hue. Pam loved the fiery reds of the Indian Blanket. Bigmama's bunch always included Black-Eyed Susans, if we could find them. No matter what was in bloom, our moms treated the small bouquets as if they were a dozen long-stemmed roses.
Most of the time, by the time we got the flowers back to the cabin, half of them were sadly wilting as a result of being in our hot, sticky little hands. Sometimes they would perk up once we put them in a Dixie cup of water. However, wildflowers do live up to their mane. They are wild, not meant to be domesticated by a Dixie cup or an empty jam jar. They would hold on valiantly for perhaps an afternoon, proudly displayed on the mantle of the fake fireplace - trophies presented to our moms as some sort of subconscious recognition for well timed hugs and perfect grilled cheese sandwiches. As the day progressed, the flowers would slowly wilt until someone noticed and took them back outside to set them free.
Most of the time, by the time we got the flowers back to the cabin, half of them were sadly wilting as a result of being in our hot, sticky little hands. Sometimes they would perk up once we put them in a Dixie cup of water. However, wildflowers do live up to their mane. They are wild, not meant to be domesticated by a Dixie cup or an empty jam jar. They would hold on valiantly for perhaps an afternoon, proudly displayed on the mantle of the fake fireplace - trophies presented to our moms as some sort of subconscious recognition for well timed hugs and perfect grilled cheese sandwiches. As the day progressed, the flowers would slowly wilt until someone noticed and took them back outside to set them free.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
21st Century Parenting - The iPod
Well, add yet another thing to the list of "situations my parents didn't have to deal with".
We got Buddy an iPod Touch for Christmas. Princess has had one for almost a year (she bought it with her own money) and we haven't really had to put many restrictions on hers. She has a set "bedtime" for it, she can't use it during home school studies, etc. She has a few games/apps and some music, but she mainly uses it to take pictures and to text her friends.
Buddy is all about the games. ALL about the games. We loaded a few on the iPod when we gave it to him, but he asked last week for a couple more. I helped him get online with my Apple ID and he purchased one then he downloaded a couple of free ones. No biggie. He's been happily playing ever since.
And he's been listening to some music. And playing a few more games.
Then I got the receipts from the iTunes/App Store.
Seems I forgot to log out. Buddy's been downloading songs and clicking on game apps for three days. He honestly thought that 1) he was downloading songs from his other iPod and 2) the games he was clicking on were free. Luckily he didn't go on a huge shopping spree. He clicked on a few things and then enjoyed them for a while. Then went back. The grand total of all three receipts (shopping sprees) was less than $35, but that would have taken all of his saved allowance and then some. He looked completely surprised and then horrified when I told him. But he did not whine or cry. He first said that he would just delete all of the games, but I told him that it didn't work that way. Even if he deleted them, we'd still have to pay for them. So he sucked it up and asked how much. He took responsibility and was willing to pay.
I told him that I would contact Apple and let them know what happened. Since I caught it so early (within three days) and we haven't had an instance like this before, I thought it was worth a shot. If not, we'd work something out. After all, I was the one who forgot to log out.
Let me tell you that Apple has a fantastic customer service department. My requests were handled quickly and completely. AND one of the customer service reps went out of her way to outline how to activate more parental controls and warnings on the iPod. So when I do go in and buy another app or game for him, there will be several warnings that pop up both on the iPod and on my e-mail. I love it! (So does Buddy!)
I love that, in this case, Apple has such a personal and flexible policy. I'm sure they get this kind of stuff all the time. It's got to be time consuming for them, but it's SO nice as a parent to be able to have this measure of grace as we learn the ins and outs of technology with our kids. I guess this is the 21st century version of calling an 800 number and signing up for the Columbia House Record Club while your mom was vacuuming down the hall! (Not that I ever did that.)
We got Buddy an iPod Touch for Christmas. Princess has had one for almost a year (she bought it with her own money) and we haven't really had to put many restrictions on hers. She has a set "bedtime" for it, she can't use it during home school studies, etc. She has a few games/apps and some music, but she mainly uses it to take pictures and to text her friends.
Buddy is all about the games. ALL about the games. We loaded a few on the iPod when we gave it to him, but he asked last week for a couple more. I helped him get online with my Apple ID and he purchased one then he downloaded a couple of free ones. No biggie. He's been happily playing ever since.
And he's been listening to some music. And playing a few more games.
Then I got the receipts from the iTunes/App Store.
Seems I forgot to log out. Buddy's been downloading songs and clicking on game apps for three days. He honestly thought that 1) he was downloading songs from his other iPod and 2) the games he was clicking on were free. Luckily he didn't go on a huge shopping spree. He clicked on a few things and then enjoyed them for a while. Then went back. The grand total of all three receipts (shopping sprees) was less than $35, but that would have taken all of his saved allowance and then some. He looked completely surprised and then horrified when I told him. But he did not whine or cry. He first said that he would just delete all of the games, but I told him that it didn't work that way. Even if he deleted them, we'd still have to pay for them. So he sucked it up and asked how much. He took responsibility and was willing to pay.
I told him that I would contact Apple and let them know what happened. Since I caught it so early (within three days) and we haven't had an instance like this before, I thought it was worth a shot. If not, we'd work something out. After all, I was the one who forgot to log out.
Let me tell you that Apple has a fantastic customer service department. My requests were handled quickly and completely. AND one of the customer service reps went out of her way to outline how to activate more parental controls and warnings on the iPod. So when I do go in and buy another app or game for him, there will be several warnings that pop up both on the iPod and on my e-mail. I love it! (So does Buddy!)
I love that, in this case, Apple has such a personal and flexible policy. I'm sure they get this kind of stuff all the time. It's got to be time consuming for them, but it's SO nice as a parent to be able to have this measure of grace as we learn the ins and outs of technology with our kids. I guess this is the 21st century version of calling an 800 number and signing up for the Columbia House Record Club while your mom was vacuuming down the hall! (Not that I ever did that.)
Saturday, February 09, 2013
A Slippery Facebook Slope
There is a really annoying trend on Facebook right now. Well, it's been
going on for quite a while, actually. It's this trend of " 'Like' if
you support/believe/hate this
cause/religion/company/disease/color/car/WHATEVER and then 'Share' ".
It's getting obnoxious. I think that it's a given that I don't like
cancer. And I doubt that Jesus is really going to greet me in Heaven
and say, "You didn't 'share' me on FB enough. Here's the 'down'
escalator." Most of the time if I see "Like This" in a status update
photo card, I'll just scroll right on over and look for a cat video, but
the other day one caught my eye that I found particularly frightening.
It said "LIKE if . . . you believe Jesus can heal depression! 1 Peter 5:6-7" For me, that is a very dangerous post. Let's look at why, shall we?
As an aside, I'm assuming that anyone reading this knows that I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus was God's Son who came to Earth as a man to lead a perfect life so that He could atone for our sins. I believe that. I believe the Bible. I believe in prayer. However, I do NOT believe that God is a genie waiting to grant all of my requests. I also suffer from depression. So I think that I'm a little qualified to write on this subject.
I think that that photo card is the top of what could be a slippery slope. Yes, I do believe that Jesus can heal depression. He's capable of doing anything. WILL He heal MY depression. Maybe. But I have to accept the fact that He might not. Or He might not right away. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12: 7b-10 "Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." God chose NOT to heal Paul. And He had a reason for it. We don't know what Paul's "thorn" was, but we know it was significant enough that he wanted it gone.
God never promised that our road would be easy. He never promised that we wouldn't get sick or hurt or that we wouldn't go through hard times. One of my favorite verses is John 16:33. Jesus spends a lot of time in Chapter 16 encouraging His disciples. Then in verse 33 He says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” See the first "promise" in there? "In this world you will have trouble." The second promise is that He (Jesus) has overcome the world. He never says that we won't suffer or that we won't feel the effects of the evil in this world. But He does tell us to take heart because He has triumphed, and we're on His team.
Now, let's look at the passage quoted on the photo card:
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV) Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
In this chapter, Peter is talking to Christians who are scattered across quite a few provinces of Asia Minor. He's trying to encourage them and remind them of their calling as followers of Christ. Verses 1-4 talks to older men about leading willingly and humbly serving by example. Verse 5 exhorts younger men to follow their elders with humility. Then verses 6-7 talks about how it naturally follows that you should humble yourself before God because He wants the best for you. Humbling yourself means being open to teaching, it means acknowledging that we don't know it all and that we need help. When Peter goes on to say "Cast all your anxiety on Him", he's continuing that thought - the idea of submitting to His authority and His leading and His teaching - casting your cares and worries about life at the feet of God and asking for His leading and teaching to get you through them. He is NOT saying, "Cast your anxiety disorder and clinical depression on Him and He will heal you because He loves you." And it's very dangerous to imply that it is. God can certainly heal my depression. I do not doubt that for a minute. But maybe, just maybe He won't. Maybe the only thing He will do is help me deal with it. Maybe He will bring others into my life to help me deal with it. Maybe He will use modern medicine to keep it at bay. He will answer my prayers concerning my depression, but He may not answer them the way I want Him to. He may say, "No."
In the past, I have been very, very depressed. I have been in a dark pit feeling alone and forgotten. And I have been told, while in that pit, that I should "spend more time in the Bible". I've been asked, by well-meaning friends, "Have you prayed about it? Have you TRULY given it over to God?" It's hard to articulate how this made me feel. I had done all of that - prayed, read, prayed some more, lather, rinse, repeat. But I felt nothing. Was God turning His back on me? Yes, someone's mother's cousin's son's girlfriend's step brother was healed instantly when he prayed 1 Peter 5:7, why wasn't I? Did I need to DO anything else? Did I need to turn around three times? Click my heels together? Did I need to write down all my anxieties on a piece of paper and burn it as a figurative gesture? What did I need to do? I was willing to do all of the steps, JUST MAKE IT GO AWAY!!!! At some point, when none of the spiritual things were working, I was able to pull my way through the fog to try an "earthly" solution. I went to my doctor. It kind of felt like I had abandoned my faith. But at that point, I felt that God was being silent and not helping me so I should just try to help myself. In reality and in hindsight, I believe that it really was God leading me to the way He was going to help me.
I am blessed that I have a Christian physician and a Christian counselor. They have both encouraged me to not only read the Bible and pray, but to GET HELP FROM QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. They both reminded me that God created people who are called to help others. God created physicians and counselors and researchers and medications. And that's how He chooses to heal some people. Or, I should say, HELP some people.
I'm not healed. I just have it under control. It could be that at some point in the future I can go off of my medication and be fine. I've tried to go off of it three times and have wound up back on it. I'm perfectly fine with taking one small pill a day to be able to function. Were I diabetic, I would have no problem taking insulin. There's really no difference in my mind. Would I tell a diabetic to forgo their insulin injections and pray more or read their Bible more instead? I don't think anyone would.
So please, well meaning Facebook photo card creators, please think before you create and post another one of those potentially hurtful cards. If you must post a photo card about depression, post a number for a depression hotline or a depression help website.
Better yet, if you must post something asking for a re-post, post this (and yes, I did make it my status update for a day):
Put this as your status if you know or are related to someone killed on Alderaan when it was obliterated by the Death Star. My wish is that people will understand that the Empire is a band of murdering scum. The Rebel Alliance wants to bring peace to the galaxy, but the Galactic Empire continues to kill innocent civilians. 93% won't copy/paste this. Will YOU make this your status for at least one hour?
As an aside, I'm assuming that anyone reading this knows that I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus was God's Son who came to Earth as a man to lead a perfect life so that He could atone for our sins. I believe that. I believe the Bible. I believe in prayer. However, I do NOT believe that God is a genie waiting to grant all of my requests. I also suffer from depression. So I think that I'm a little qualified to write on this subject.
I think that that photo card is the top of what could be a slippery slope. Yes, I do believe that Jesus can heal depression. He's capable of doing anything. WILL He heal MY depression. Maybe. But I have to accept the fact that He might not. Or He might not right away. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12: 7b-10 "Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." God chose NOT to heal Paul. And He had a reason for it. We don't know what Paul's "thorn" was, but we know it was significant enough that he wanted it gone.
God never promised that our road would be easy. He never promised that we wouldn't get sick or hurt or that we wouldn't go through hard times. One of my favorite verses is John 16:33. Jesus spends a lot of time in Chapter 16 encouraging His disciples. Then in verse 33 He says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” See the first "promise" in there? "In this world you will have trouble." The second promise is that He (Jesus) has overcome the world. He never says that we won't suffer or that we won't feel the effects of the evil in this world. But He does tell us to take heart because He has triumphed, and we're on His team.
Now, let's look at the passage quoted on the photo card:
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV) Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
In this chapter, Peter is talking to Christians who are scattered across quite a few provinces of Asia Minor. He's trying to encourage them and remind them of their calling as followers of Christ. Verses 1-4 talks to older men about leading willingly and humbly serving by example. Verse 5 exhorts younger men to follow their elders with humility. Then verses 6-7 talks about how it naturally follows that you should humble yourself before God because He wants the best for you. Humbling yourself means being open to teaching, it means acknowledging that we don't know it all and that we need help. When Peter goes on to say "Cast all your anxiety on Him", he's continuing that thought - the idea of submitting to His authority and His leading and His teaching - casting your cares and worries about life at the feet of God and asking for His leading and teaching to get you through them. He is NOT saying, "Cast your anxiety disorder and clinical depression on Him and He will heal you because He loves you." And it's very dangerous to imply that it is. God can certainly heal my depression. I do not doubt that for a minute. But maybe, just maybe He won't. Maybe the only thing He will do is help me deal with it. Maybe He will bring others into my life to help me deal with it. Maybe He will use modern medicine to keep it at bay. He will answer my prayers concerning my depression, but He may not answer them the way I want Him to. He may say, "No."
In the past, I have been very, very depressed. I have been in a dark pit feeling alone and forgotten. And I have been told, while in that pit, that I should "spend more time in the Bible". I've been asked, by well-meaning friends, "Have you prayed about it? Have you TRULY given it over to God?" It's hard to articulate how this made me feel. I had done all of that - prayed, read, prayed some more, lather, rinse, repeat. But I felt nothing. Was God turning His back on me? Yes, someone's mother's cousin's son's girlfriend's step brother was healed instantly when he prayed 1 Peter 5:7, why wasn't I? Did I need to DO anything else? Did I need to turn around three times? Click my heels together? Did I need to write down all my anxieties on a piece of paper and burn it as a figurative gesture? What did I need to do? I was willing to do all of the steps, JUST MAKE IT GO AWAY!!!! At some point, when none of the spiritual things were working, I was able to pull my way through the fog to try an "earthly" solution. I went to my doctor. It kind of felt like I had abandoned my faith. But at that point, I felt that God was being silent and not helping me so I should just try to help myself. In reality and in hindsight, I believe that it really was God leading me to the way He was going to help me.
I am blessed that I have a Christian physician and a Christian counselor. They have both encouraged me to not only read the Bible and pray, but to GET HELP FROM QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. They both reminded me that God created people who are called to help others. God created physicians and counselors and researchers and medications. And that's how He chooses to heal some people. Or, I should say, HELP some people.
I'm not healed. I just have it under control. It could be that at some point in the future I can go off of my medication and be fine. I've tried to go off of it three times and have wound up back on it. I'm perfectly fine with taking one small pill a day to be able to function. Were I diabetic, I would have no problem taking insulin. There's really no difference in my mind. Would I tell a diabetic to forgo their insulin injections and pray more or read their Bible more instead? I don't think anyone would.
So please, well meaning Facebook photo card creators, please think before you create and post another one of those potentially hurtful cards. If you must post a photo card about depression, post a number for a depression hotline or a depression help website.
Better yet, if you must post something asking for a re-post, post this (and yes, I did make it my status update for a day):
Put this as your status if you know or are related to someone killed on Alderaan when it was obliterated by the Death Star. My wish is that people will understand that the Empire is a band of murdering scum. The Rebel Alliance wants to bring peace to the galaxy, but the Galactic Empire continues to kill innocent civilians. 93% won't copy/paste this. Will YOU make this your status for at least one hour?
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