LOVE is a VERB!

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active-love, basic life truth, I love America, I love GOD, life, love, Nature of LOVE, reality

As many of you know, I have three adult children who continue to teach me about life. Funny how we, as parents, think we will teach our children, and we do, but only in proportion to who well we learn from them!

Family is about LOVE. Home should always be a “safe haven” from the harsh realities of life for each member of a family, a place of acceptance and truth. This is not so simple these days! We all have many influences in our daily lives and not all of them are healthy. Choices are a requirement!!! We have to learn to choose what builds us up rather than what destroys or corrupts us.

This reality prompted me on many occasions to ponder the “Nature of LOVE!”

Parents, teach your children LOVE by loving them … by giving to them not material things, but REAL things that will help them through life. Things like manners, integrity, and kindness are foreign in our modern culture, particularly in our celebrities and leaders, yet if well-learned, they can lead to a satisfied life.

We SPEAK our love every time we part from one another, whether for a routine trip to work or to go to our separate space. But words sometimes fall short. Have you noticed? I cannot be content simply saying, “I love you!” Since my kids were small, I have prayed for creative ways to DEMONSTRATE my love to each of them in unique ways, personal to them. LOVE is a VERB, and it is not only a CHOICE we make, but actions take confirm our choice.

One thing about a basic life truth is that it fits every situation from the most public to the most intimate. The same active-love that motivates my daily life with my family simultaneously impassions me as regards my country. I cannot simply SAY, “I love America,” I must DO whatever I can do to strengthen her, to build her, to inspire her to further greatness, and to unify her.

Do you love your family? your GOD? your nation? Are you as tired of all the divisive, hate-filled rhetoric filing the airways? We must overcome hatred with LOVE!!! What actions demonstrate your love?

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That the World My Know …

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Christ's love, GOD’s love, love, real love, unconditional love

Command, not request!

This has been a busy few weeks in my little world. Included has been a deep heart issue: LOVE!

I’m a mom, and there is no more satisfying and challenging position (career) in life (except perhaps fatherhood!) My kids are all adults, but that doesn’t mean I stop being their mom. In fact, it seems as they grow and mature, so does my role as their mom! The hard part is redefining LOVE in accordance with my role as mom to adults!

As believers, we are COMMANDED, not requested, to love one another as Christ loves us. That is quite a tall order! First, we have to accept that Jesus loves us more than words can express, more than any human can possibly apprehend, more than our finite brains can even imagine. That is LIFE! But accepting Jesus love as truth is just the beginning! We are to love one another the same way … even FAMILY … even the absolutely unlovable!

This revelation shook me! It seems like common sense, but … how many of us really treat family with the kind of love Jesus pours into each of us continuously? I tend to try to control my kids’ lives! I confess! I am always right, and of course, I know better then they do what is best for them, right? 🙂 It was a “loving” smack across the face when I realized I was putting MY expectations, MY dreams, and MY plans onto them. THAT isn’t Christ’s love!

Strangers are much easier to love! We don’t have to see them often and deal with their imperfections routinely. Family we do! We are commanded to love one another as Christ loves us … in spite of our bad habits, inherent weaknesses, bad choices, and frailties!

Not so easy … but if we practice appreciating the best in each of our family members, our friends and co-workers, maybe … just maybe they will see Jesus in us!

TRAINED FROM BIRTH

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education, goals, honor, life, morality, poetry, purpose, SGT Sanchez

Although still recovering from his injuries overseas, Sgt. Sanchez insisted on leaving his electric wheelchair to walk the flag down Main Street, U.S.A., saying “If it’s for the colors, I’ll walk”

I was born at a time when freedom was honored,
Trained from birth to be a productive adult,
Emotive and intuitive, pensive and strong,
With many gifts and talents, among them, the gift of thought.

Back in those days, Parents and Teachers actually taught;
We learned how to read, how to interpret and think,
To see life’s difficulties as training for coming events,
Fodder for the cut and paste adventures in Life.

I just don’t know how things got twisted around,
And comfort and ease became watch words and goals,
Is nothing worth working toward, nothing innately prized,
And what about morality – Is it all about fast pleasure?

I weep and I mourn for our culture of leeches,
Unwilling to work – unable to dream,
But able to kill, to rape, and to languish
Without a purpose, without goals, without freedom.

Oh people, my friends, don’t you see what’s going on;
Don’t you feel the manacles tighten with each handout received?
Don’t you sense the great insult: always underestimated,
Coddled and indulged as lies wrap around and around?

Hear me and break free; please open your hearts,
To think for yourselves as the valued creations you are;
Yes, masterpieces of ability and bundles of talent,
Nobility untried awaiting Truth to break you free.

** For Inspiration Monday via Bekindrewrite

Honoring Our Elders on National Senior Citizens Day

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National Senior Citizen's Day

Gramma & Grampa Walton from the 80’s TV show

NOTE: It has long been the opinion of this blogger that FAMILY is the center of American culture. But with the progressive culture of the 21st Century, FAMILY structure is strained beyond definition. The articles below illustrate part of the issue, but the biggest thing is that we, as human beings, need PURPOSE to live meaningful lives. Today, so often, our Seniors are stashed away in a “retirement” home, or “Independent Living Center,” or “Assisted Living Center” and in doing so, we steal from them a reason to live. We do the same, many times, with our children by putting them in daily daycare facilities.

Family consists of parent(s) and children, but also grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. What helped many families through the tough times of the 1930’s and 40’s was FAMILY. if mom had to work, gramma and grampa were there to keep an eye on children and teach them right from wrong. If one got hurt, the others covered for them at work or doing chores. If one achieved something great, they all shared the joy! Money may have been scarce, but families were rich with love and memories.

Something for today’s families to consider … BBB

While many may not have heard about National Senior Citizens Day, it occurs every year on Aug. 21. Initiated by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, this day is set apart to acknowledge the life-long contributions our nation’s seniors have made to their community and country. President Reagan in Proclamation 5847 stated”

“For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute,” Ronald Reagan said. “We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older—places in which older people can participate to the fullest and can find the encouragement, acceptance, assistance, and services they need to continue to lead lives of independence and dignity.

President Reagan

“Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, president of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Aug. 21, 1988 as National Senior Citizens Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

Take Your Shoes Off …
Growing up, Mom had a rule for anyone who walked into the house: “Please take your shoes off at the door.” Perhaps this request was rooted in Japanese custom but mom believed it kept her house clean. When Mom became a widow, she chose to move in with her eldest son—me. The rule had not changed over the years and to honor Mom, whenever anyone entered my home, we took our shoes off.

The reasons why this was the custom really did not matter. What was important was showing Mom the honor, respect and love she was due throughout her entire life. For no other reason, I did it simply because she was Mom.

If I as a son understood the importance of honoring my Mom, God valued her so much more. He knew every step she would take and every challenge she would face. It’s true for each one of us. God knows you, loves you and is looking out for you.

We Need Your Wisdom
God has not forgotten you! He has a special place in His heart—just for you. Whatever your present circumstances may be, God’s thoughts toward you are good, and full of hope for your future. He has a plan and a purpose for you that are greater than any temporary situation. He will keep and fulfill His promises to you.

Perhaps you are reflecting on your life and taking an honest assessment of the ways you’ve overcome challenges and also examining your shortcomings. Regardless of your past, your life experiences have become your life lessons that are producing a life message for the next generation. You are of great value and have much to impart to us. There is purpose for your life far greater than that which you may realize. > > > READ MORE

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The Church and the Elderly

Conflicting emotions flood my spirit as I enter the front doors of Laurel Grove retirement community. Elation to see my 92-year-old grandmother “Mim” enlivens me. Her mind is still sharp and our time together is always filled with rich stories of yesteryear and a few off-color jokes. I look forward to my visits, which don’t occur frequently enough.

And yet, I’m also saddened by the occasion. The knowledge that she is stranded in an “old folks home” serves as a subtle reminder of a valuable relationship that will not last forever. Mim is undoubtedly in the twilight of her life, and each visit could be my last.

We exchange hellos and hugs before moving to the dining room for lunch. I clear chairs around the table to make room for her electronic wheelchair and take a seat next to her. As we talk, I survey the faces surrounding us.

A woman with purplish-grey hair nestles next to the window. I’m told senility has set in, and she has worn the same outfit to lunch for many days now. One of my grandmother’s best friends, a cheerful woman, sits down across from me. Mim has to give her a play-by-play of what is occurring throughout the meal because macular degeneration has stolen her eyesight.

While my grandmother explains that the salad cart is making its way toward us, I notice him. He sits by himself, a forlorn and serious look plastered on his face. When passersby say “hello,” he raises a hand but no more. I begin to pity this man, and think about how little he has to offer a world that has so clearly passed him by.

Norman is an old German. And he is Jewish.

I assume that this grump is probably like many old people I know: unproductive and unenlightened. Racist, anti-immigrant, anti-gay. A product of a bygone era of suppressed women and Jim Crow laws. He’s certainly not like me. I busy myself with meaningful causes.

Mim noticed my affixed eyes. Perhaps she even reads my mind. She reminds me that he has a name. And a story.

Norman is in 90s, and has come to Laurel Grove only recently. His wife visits regularly, but he seems connected to few others from the outside world. Perhaps this is because he’s not from this community. He’s not even from this country.

Norman is German. And Jewish. He survived the holocaust as a child, but his parents were not so lucky. When Norman was an adolescent, Nazi soldiers killed both of his parents and forced him to watch. While such a tragedy would scar any youth, Norman seems unbittered in his old age. He’s not racist as I assumed, but rather a victim of racism himself. > > > READ MORE

Rules you Never Learned in School!

Dedicated to President Obama and the OWS!

The interesting thing about this list is that in past generations, it was not NECESSARY to teach these lessons in school. Parents took care of this responsibility, and they reinforced these lessons repeatedly and thoroughly until graduation, in most cases.

Today, for whatever reasons, parents no longer teach their children basic rules of life. Many, in my experience, do not even bother with the instruction of “right” and “wrong.” Children are born, and at anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months old, they are introduced to the delightful “socialization” of day cares where, if you’re lucky, the child’s caregiver will have a high school diploma. When they reach school age, they are simply dropped off at a different location where the real indoctrination begins, lead by unionized, well funded and extraordinarily powerful Teachers’ unions control everything from the curriculum on down to the class size.

Then we wonder why kids get lost along their way … ?

I will soon enter the delightful world of “grand-parenting,” and I have already warned ( 😉 ) my kids that Gramma will have a say!

Look What I Tripped Over on My Way to another Great Post???

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Kids pages

Yes, here I was researching another project when I happened across a treasure I must share! Some of you may be already awaare, but it’s

Kids Thank a Veteran

The primary purpose of this web site is to thank our American Veterans who have served in the United States Military. You will also find buttons giving you information on many other topics which are related to our American service personal, patriotic crafts, our flag, Veterans holidays, American wars and conflicts, memorials, teacher activities, etc., as well as other websites which will give you additional information on a variety of related topics.

“Kids Thank a Veteran” will let you tell us that you have thanked a Veteran by just saying “Thank you for serving”. It`s that simple. Many Veterans wear a special hat or button which would identify them. You will see Veterans at many parades and special events. There are rules that must be followed.

The website is geared to young children, elementary age, with crafts ideas, and ideas as well as information about what a Veteran is and who he or she might be.

According to the Department of Veteran`s Affairs there are approximately 23,200,000 living Veterans today. Approximately 1,824,200 of these veterans are women. Our World War II Veterans are dying at a rate of about 900 per day. At this time we have approximately 1,800.000 living WWII Veterans but this number will be down to approximately 81,000 by September 30, 2024. (Statistics from the Department of Veteran`s Affairs)

One sad story about our Veterans is that many are homeless. These men served their country and now many of them have no where to live. It is estimated that 33% of the male homeless population are Veterans and that 67% served their country for more than three years. War affects people in many ways and the Veterans who served in Vietnam were affected greatly by what they went through. Many suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and did not get support from their families and society. About 47% of homeless Veterans are from the Vietnam Era.

The VA estimates that there are about 107,000 homeless Veterans on the street each night and that over half a million may be homeless at some time each year.

I especially like their Butterfly Tree located in Arlington National Cemetery. The Children’s National Butterfly Tree Memorial is now at Arlington National Cemetery! “It was delivered on June 30th and is on display in the Visitors Center. The eleven foot, 300+ pound tree was set up with the help of agents from the Washington DC and New York offices of the FBI, a former member of the US Army National Guard and Lowe’s. Also working on the tree were Jeff Reid, who built the tree, and Cherie Reid, Director of Kids Thank a Veteran. This “living memorial” now has almost 5,500 red, white and blue butterflies and additional butterflies will be added as needed. Thanks so much to the children, educators and everyone who helped create this tribute. This project is a wonderful tribute to those soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice.”

This Butterfly Tree along with several other projects aimed at children are wonderful opportunities to not only instruct children about history … our REAL history, but get them INVOLVED in history-making!!!

Inconvenient Life and Death

Every death is inconvenient,
And never quite on schedule,
Yet only one has been made legal,
To erase behavior too lenient.

It’s such a shame to think about
The lives dissolved in pain,
Inconvenient lives untried,
Murdered and cast out.

Who knows exactly where the road ends,
That led us to this point,
To prefer an act of pleasure,
At the cost of the life God sends.

Who will say our life’s worth more,
Than the one not yet begun,
With money so short and common sense gone,
Is the next inconvenient life mine or yours?

Inspiration Monday is an excellent exercise in writing sponsored by BEKINDREWRITE! Check it out!

The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America

Did you ever wonder why so many children today are on medication? It is an epidemic! Parents are mis-informed – deliberately … The National Education Association is the largest teachers’ union in the country, representing over 3 million members and raking in well over $300 million in dues each year.

KINDNESS IS …

If you try to do one kind thing a day, you’re being the change we need in this world.

‘King Alfred and the Cakes’ on Education

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responsibility

For centuries, minstrels and tutors used stories like this to teach moral lessons. In fact, using education to forward the King’s political agenda is certainly not a new idea. It is little wonder that our National Teachers’ Unions push forward the NEW LEFT agenda to our unsuspecting school children, and trusting parents have little or no idea what their children are actually learning. From the “Green” guilt trip to the global citizen, from the gay and lesbian lifestyle to sex ed to Kindergarten-age children, our children are being indoctrinated into the NEW LEFT where every business begins with a Union organizer, and ever home is whatever it is. No right or wrong. No absolutes. If it fits, it must be Tuesday, and all’s right with the global economy.

Union sets initial goals for implementation; will invest in training & advocacy

“It’s about the kids,” Van Roekel said. “NEA aims to ensure that every student has a qualified, caring and effective teacher. And NEA will support a stronger profession of teaching. I will put the full weight of our national organization behind this effort and expand on proven programs and successful innovations underway in our affiliates around the country. We have to ensure that teachers’ expertise isn’t confined to the classroom. Teachers should have more opportunities to strengthen their skills and knowledge and inform policy decisions that affect the classroom.”

“This agenda takes up some key recommendations of the commission and addresses long-neglected problems that have inhibited effective teaching,” said Maddie Fennell, the chairperson of the Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching, and a fourth-grade teacher at Miller Park Elementary in Omaha, Neb. “It’s a crucial step toward more effective teaching and student learning and encouraging the union to meet those needs.”

The agenda has three major components:

1. Raising the Bar for Entry

As we often hear, no one knows what kinds of jobs our students may be competing for in the decades to come. The only certainty is that, in order to prepare the coming generations of students, “All teachers must be effective—period,” Van Roekel said.

The first step, he added, must be to strengthen and maintain strong and uniform standards for those preparing for the education profession, both at the postsecondary-admissions and pre-service stages.

Drawing from recommendations by the Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching and teacher-accreditation bodies, and to ensure that all teachers are rigorously prepared for the challenges of teaching, the NEA president called for:

1. Every teacher candidate should have one full year of residency under the supervision of a Master Teacher before earning a full license.
2. Every teacher candidate should pass a rigorous classroom-based performance assessment at the end of his or her candidacy. The union will urge broad expansion of the Teacher Performance Assessment now being piloted in states across the country to ensure that no one enters the teaching profession without first demonstrating classroom proficiency through clinical practice.

2. Teachers Ensuring Teacher Quality

Raising the bar will help ensure that only qualified and capable teachers enter the profession, Van Roekel said, but as with any intellectually challenging profession, educators have to make sure that their skills stay sharp. To that end, the NEA president called for:

Advancing a tiered system of achievement for career teachers. Based on the commission’s recommendations, Van Roekel called for a new career path that has different compensation and responsibilities for Novice, Professional, and Master Teachers. Just as junior and senior members of any profession are given differing sets of responsibilities, the NEA president said, it makes sense, for example, for more advanced teachers to take on the challenges of the most difficult-to-serve students.

100 high-quality Peer Assistance and Peer Assistance and Review programs over the next two years. Van Roekel noted that PAR programs have already helped lead to marked student-achievement improvements through structured mentorships, observations, and rigorous standards-based evaluations of teachers in Columbus, Ohio and Montgomery County, Md. Principals recognize that they don’t have enough time to properly evaluate teachers all by themselves, and teachers can help lighten the load by more readily spotting flaws in other teachers’ pedagogy and providing practical recommendations for improvement.

3. Union Leadership to Transform the Profession

As America’s largest education organization, Van Roekel said, it’s NEA’s responsibility to move the field of education toward greater excellence. To make sure this happens, he urged that:



Academia is a known supporter of OWS

Teachers must take on leadership roles. The absence of practicing teachers at the policy table has led to inadequate and poorly designed policies, the NEA president said. Teacher leadership, he added, needs to be something more than a handshake agreement between a given principal and teacher. It must be integrated into the structure of school leadership to leverage teachers’ on-the-ground expertise. “Many local NEA affiliates are helping teachers and schools improve their performance – and raise student achievement – because teachers are taking responsibility for improving instruction, curriculum, and school performance. When great teachers become great leaders, students reap the benefits,” Van Roekel said.

MORE HERE (Emphasis mine)

I understand how busy parents are these days, but how important are your personal values? With all the trash coming from so many directions, it is VITAL we, as parents, teach our children our values in a responsible, caring way. Remember, children learn “BULLYING” from parents and adults, so until WE act like adults, how can we expect children to learn acceptable behavior (as determined by your personal beliefs)? Check out the articles here and be informed!

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