Friday, June 27, 2008

Yumiferous!!!!


These cute things eat the roots of plants... and thereby kill the plants.

If you think he's not particularly dashing...

Then just look at how he looks when he's cut in half! He was more handsome when he was alive and before we cut him in half with garden sheers.

Poor guy.

Friday, June 20, 2008

OK so... New Jersey gets me lost! Why do I only have these problems in NJ and not PA?! I was trying to go to the Carlson's and I did some light exploration on the way. I took a post-modern approach and followed my heart and created my own way. I found it. Then I got really lost trying to get to Walmart. Ok, technically I wasn't lost because I had the general knowledge as to where I was -- I just kept making stupid mistakes! The exit I needed also had the street name and being on the other side of the road, it was different than what I was used to. I had the feeling it was right as I drove past it. Then I decided to make a U-turn at another exit, but listen to this ingenious move: I took the exit ramp, and made a U-turn which, guess what, just turned me right back on the highway in the same direction! HOW DUMB IS THAT!!!!! And then I wonder why I'm on the dean's list! Long story short, I ended up in Denville. Surprisingly I was able to visualize a map and managed to guess my way back and found WalMart after a number of completely unnecessary miles.

AND speaking of miles, I did an experiment. I didn't use the aircon in my car all week and I got 27mpg. That's 4 extra than usual which multiplied by 13 is 52 extra miles! Plus, I was on the highway every day which helped. Still that was a great highlight of my day -- and it made up for the fact that my Hide Em in Your Heart tape died. I need to try to open it and tape the ends back together. WAAAAAAH!!!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

A PS to the previous post...

I forgot to mention this little tidbit...

At dinner tonight Mr F. went around the table asking each person the highlight of their day. This was mine:

My highlight was when I got into my car after class. As usual, I had a kid's tape in and it was "Hide Em in Your Heart." The verse/song that was playing was "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path." I almost ran off the road (ok not that bad). We had just been learning about different worldviews and theories and philosophies of education. The post-modernists talk about producing your own knowledge. Other worldviews champion the understanding of man and then they wonder why education fails. All of a sudden I saw that verse in a new light! Lean not on your own understanding. Christianity starts with acknowledging God! True wisdom and true knowledge can be found -- but only if you go to the root, the Author of Truth! In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path!

Cherish these moments!

How often do you come out of an education class (let alone something as daunting-sounding as "Philosophy of Education") with a mind so full that you know you must let it all out before you explode yet so full that you do not even know where to begin! How often do you come out of such a class about education in awe of the Creator, having studied His character, the nature of humanity, and God's mercy in that class! How often do you come out thinking, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart"? This day 3 of class and this class is an unbelievable blessing. Dr MacCullough did not begin with the academics and the theories so much as she began with the Creator and our root belief system from which every other aspect of our life must flow. She wants us to love God with all our mind -- not just randomly pick and choose from different theories that sound close to Christianity. She wants us to have a sound Christian belief system founded in Christ alone! I've rethought a lot of things this week. I've seen how I have unconsciously let the world dictate my thoughts on education rather than asking what the Word of God says about it (and believe me, there's a lot -- a lot more than I ever realized!). I have separated profession from faith. If I believe such and such about the nature of man, God, sin, etc, how can I separate that from what I do as a teacher?

Today we covered a lot of things. We talked about who has the primary responsibility for the education of the child. If we believe the parents do, then how do we put that belief to practice? How do we encourage parents in their role? Then we talked about the nature of the pupil, beginning with the meaning if "Imago Dei" the image of God. Each human being is alike in that they are created by God in the image of God, but then fallen and no longer accurate image-bearers. Yet each individual is also very different! We had an activity where we picked pairs of Biblical characters (Moses and Aaron, Daniel and David, Deborah and Barak, Peter and Paul) and answered the question: Which one out of each pair would you want in your classroom and why? The point of the activity was that each person was very different but God used them in unique and special ways.

Much as all my other methods and education courses were rooted in God, I don't think I've ever had one so centered around God. This class really isn't about philosophies of education as much as it is about the Creator in all His grandeur and holiness and how each human being is a sinner in need of salvation and each human being is responsible for their actions. Everything we do in that class, everything we discuss is driven by what we believe about God and His world. I thought about a lot of my classes (and there have been a lot!) and a lot of my professors who have changed or greatly impacted my thinking in one way or another and I think I would rate this class and this professor as the top of my top ten. As I've mentioned before, I have indeed learned and grown in awe and appreciation of God and my need to live a holy life from other professors, but this just tops them all.

What have professors taught me at school? Mrs Sparling taught me the need to know the Word and live out the Word (and also the paranoia of yawning with my mouth uncovered because she calls you on it in the middle of class), Dr VanBilliard taught me that math can possibly be understandable and an appreciation of the creativity of God through the complexity and order in math, and many other lessons from other professors... and then Dr MacCullough taught me to rethink why I do what I do and that everything should be done in the light of God's Word and in light of what our philosophy in life is and even more importantly to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.

Sometimes I wonder where God will lead me in the next few years. Will I be one of the "successes"? One of those star teachers that actually made a difference? Will I treasure the training years sitting under the teaching of such committed teachers as Dr MacCullough and go out and apply the tools and grow and expand in teaching and showing the love of Christ to children from all walks of life? PBU has so many success stories -- so many amazing teachers have arisen from this school -- and that is actually quite daunting. There is a standard to live up to -- the standard of this university but more importantly the standard of God as a Christian teacher.

Maybe I should change my major. Just kidding. ;)

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Here is worldview!

Part of my worldview is that we must have coffee. It's just integral! -- Dr MacCullough

Monday, June 16, 2008

Back in Class

Lunch break! Back in class... school is such a horrible addiction. I was already weaned off of it for a month and now I'm back and looooving it!!!! Terrible, isn't it. I'm also way ahead of the game because I did extra precourse work. I also found out that the final project I have to do is the worldview integration one (which I wanted) and I don't have any other option because the dual-level people need it for the ACSI certification. Woohoo! And the beauty is I don't have to do any great research in the library. Hurrah!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Cowgirls!





We served at Becky and Robbie's rehearsal dinner -- Western theme!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Flower Power

I have nothing significant or inspiring to say so here are some pictures of flowers
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The End