Dancing in the Eye of the Hurricane!!!!!

LUKE 8:24   The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.

Friends,

    I apologize for not getting the blog out earlier in the week, but this week was very challenging and I had many battles to fight.  Now, I know that it would probably be appropriate to explain what they were and how I handled them, but I am not going to address them.  I am going to take a different tact instead.
   The first thing I want to do is to thank my guest editor from the last blog.  My friend Amy is an amazing English teacher.  She helped me to elevate my writing to a higher level last week.  She writes extremely well and paints pictures with words that I can only hope to aspire to some day.  Our styles are different, but she helped me to recognize areas that helped me to paint my own word pictures better.  I only hope that I didn't give you nightmares about Zombies in the last blog.
   So, about this last week.  We have had quite a bit of turmoil at our school and in the community.  There is a situation that is beyond the comprehension of many of us that are people of faith.  I have seen good men, brought to tears because of the dishevel.  It is hard to understand people that say one thing, but do another.   As I stood in the eye of the hurricane and watched the turmoil swirl around me, I will confess I got a little too close to the edge of the storm and almost got sucked into it.  Fortunately, with the help of God I began to formulate a plan to stay away from the edge and weather the storm until it dissipates.
    People and kids are looking for a way into the eye of the storm.  So follow me and I will share with you the plan that God has brought to my mind.  Rather than focus on the one bad thing that is going on, I am going to give you a list of the fantastic events that are happening.  To get rid of darkness we must shine a bright light to wipe it away.

LPGA here we come!!!!

• It doesn't get any better than watching my daughter play in her first real competitive golf tournament on a gorgeous spring day.  -  All of you must be doing something to enjoy this awesome spring.
• I can share with you that we just received a $10,000 grant from MIT to develop a water filtration system and bring water purification systems to Yosemite High School.  -  What cool surprise have you experienced lately?
• I am being flown to Boston this summer to pick up the check, with the possibility of getting $20,000 more. - What trips are you looking forward to this summer?
• The first water purification system will be installed at Yosemite this week. - Come by and taste the pure water.
•  Our High School Decathlon and Science Fair teams are competing at the state level.  One of our students even took first place in the Science Fair. - Great work teachers and students.
• Our fledgling FBLA team competed in their first competition and every team placed.  The team made up of freshmen and a sophomore took first place in the Entrepreneur competition.  I will be heading to the state competition with them in April. -  I couldn't be more proud.  
• The EAST (Environmental And Spacial Technology) class was one of 2000 schools in the United States chosen to design the new Vans tennis shoe.  We have a wonderful young lady doing the artwork.  When she is done I will share with you.  I have seen the rough drafts and they are AWESOME!!!!!
• YOSEMITE!!!!!!!!  If you want to get close to God, then go on a warm Sunday afternoon, lay in a meadow facing the sky, close your eyes and let His love pour into your soul.  The Native Americans that lived there were right, when they called it a sacred place.

   If you haven't figured out the plan, I will spell it out for you.  I am going to focus all of my energy on shining the light of good and positive as I lead as many of you that want to follow into the eye of the storm where it is safe.  Once there, we can live in peace and eventually the storm will go away.
  I challenge you to be like Peter and trust the Lord to grab our hands and take us to safety.  Remember, he is our light that leads us out of the darkness.  I thank him for allowing me to be one of the lights that he puts in his hand to help light the way.  One friend mentioned to me that we have already won the war.  Sometimes we just need to be reminded.
   I am going to end the blog this week with a song that has always helped me to get through dark times.  I am also going to put it to a slideshow that will remind us of one of the many reasons we came to live in Oakhurst.

 

The Inmates Have Taken Over the Asylum!!!!

Insanity at it's finest

Exodus 21:28 “If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible.

Friends,

    This week the blog takes on two forms, and they depend on how you look at certain situations in life.  It can either be considered a rant, or something that really makes you think about what is going on around you.
    Two questions came to my mind this week: "When did our standards of society become so low?  When will people quit using the excuses of what happen to them in their childhood to effect what they do as adults?
   The first question arose from the following dialog I had with some kids I was having coffee with at Starbucks.  It went something like this.  "Hey Mr. O, I am really excited."  I answered, "Oh yeah, why are so excited?"  The kid answers, "I am excited, because I am turning 18 next week."  I said, "That is cool, are you going to have a big party?" He replies, "No, not really just a few friends and I are getting together to have pizza."  I then asked, "Are you looking forward to voting or moving out on your own eventually?" Kid, "No, I am excited because I can go apply for food stamps."  I had no answer for this.  I just sat there stunned, and there was a long awkward pause.  I then asked them. "Why do you feel like you need to get food stamps?"  The kids answer was, "It is easier in case I move out and I don't have to ask my parents for money to buy food."  I finally said, "Are you going to get rid of your iPhone 5 and get a cheaper phone?"  Would you be surprised if I told you that he said no.  I will let you contemplate how you feel about this on your own.
   

The next topic that came up this week, was that a friend of mine is making some changes in his life based on what happened to him as a child.  How often have we heard this in society?
    So, I got to thinking about it and have decided that if people are going to make excuses for things
in their lives, I am too.  So from this day forward I want money from the federal government for being disabled.  It is their fault that they allowed the dart board manufacturer to produce a dart board that would send a dart backwards into a five year olds eye when thrown.  I also want to be able to go into a bank that was baled out by the government and get money anytime I want, because when I was ten and dumpster diving for moldy pizza, it scarred me.  I feel that it is their responsibility to make me a millionaire.
    I know that the above sounds silly, but I believe these two situations described above are from the nature of our society.  We have become a society of people that are not willing to work hard to become mentally, spiritually or physically healthy.  I don't expect perfection, but Christ does.  We have all made mistakes, but it is what we learn from those mistakes that brings us closer to God.
    Some mistakes are bigger than others, but we still need to learn from them.  After getting hit in the eye with the dart and blinded, I didn't go near a dart board for years.  When my first marriage failed, I went to counseling to make sure that I didn't make the same mistake again.  Growing up poor, I learned that I didn't like it and have worked hard to prevent the same situation from happening to my children.
   

Swan Dive

   For many of these situations I could easily blame my parents.  They could have watched out for me better when I got hit in the eye with the dart, but it was an unfortunate ACCIDENT!!!!!!!  I can look back and see how that incident has shaped me as a person.  I could blame them for being poor and having me out of wedlock, but they were trying to survive and do the best they could.  I even remember the short time that we were on welfare and getting government peanut butter, cheese and powdered milk.  I will never forget how ashamed my mom felt.  Later, my dad and mom worked hard enough to give us a good life and give me the opportunity to go to college.  Finally, I could blame them for some of the things that caused me to get married too soon and to a woman that had some very bad issues herself.  But, the fact is, I am the one that needed to change on the inside and that could not come unless I asked Christ to help me to help myself through therapy.

Yummy!!!

I know that I have ranted a bit and am all over the place this week, but life is hard.  Life isn't always fair.  Bad things do happen to good people.  But can we please quit making excuses for things and get down on our knees and pray.  Benjamin Franklin once said, "God helps those that help themselves." So, as Christians it is our responibility to give our troubles up to God and then make ourselves healthy as well.
  If we don't, the insane are going to take over.  I know this because I recently saw a documentary about this that was very informative.  It was called Zombieland and it scared the heck out of me.

Stupid is as Stupid..........?????????

I wonder if this was like Christ's Temple Square???

Matthew 7:6  “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Friends,

   What a week.  It was so busy that when Friday came I didn't even realize it.  I had a couple of projects that were handed to me at the beginning of the week and was then told that the deadline was Friday.  I can proudly say that I made the deadlines, but there were challenges with a couple of students that tried to derail me.
    My students always bring up interesting scenarios.  Students have a difficult time dealing with the things we have all dealt with in high school.  The decision to use or not use drugs is something they have to deal with.  Trying to be popular and stand out puts pressure on some as well.  I constantly deal with the kids that have lost confidence in their abilities to complete the work given to them.  Some strike out by not really using their heads, and others just give up.
    I do love my job and it is definitely never boring, well maybe during standardized testing it is, but not very often.  I do feel like Mr. Hand from Fast Times At Ridgemont High sometimes.  I tell my kids all the time that I won't put up with rudeness and defiance, but if they ever need me I will be here.  One kid even asked me this week, after one of these incidents, "How do you handle this?"  My answer is, "My job is to help you along the way and to be a positive influence." 

This could be Ridgemont High, Not!!!!

   As always, this type of stuff got me to thinking about my blog.  Sometimes I get frustrated with not being able to influence my kids.  I will never understand why kids or people want to fail.  I bet Christ asks the same questions as well.  But, we live as humans with free will and some people choose to do it the hard way.  It is their right and as much as I want to help, we can't do a darn thing until God touches their hearts, they hit bottom, or they mature to a place where they say enough is enough.
   Jesus tells us not to cast our pearls to swine, but if we are to help people like Christ did, then we need to practice patients.  If my words are not going to work, then maybe living my life as an example will.  It is difficult sometimes and I am definitely not a saint.  I can act like Christ in the temple and start tossing kids out of class, when I reach my limit but it doesn't happen very often, thank God.
   So remember, if we can't change things with our words we can do it with actions.