I'm Soooooo Confused!!!!!

Matthew 18: 15 “If your brother or sister[a] sins,[b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

I am really confused about fruit on the towers of a chapel

 Hello my friends,

    This week was one of those weeks in which I was presented with a situation that stumps me completely.  Let me describe to you what happened.

I don't understand how an emperor can make people do this

    I was with a colleague that I have been working with over the past few years having a normal discussion, when out of the blue he shares with me that he is getting ready to have a surgery that will change him forever.  The surgery that he is going to have will change him from a man to a woman.  Needless to say I was unusually speechless, and as most of you know that is difficult to do.  After my initial shock, I was very polite and didn't say much except to ask basic questions about when the surgery was going to be and how long the recovery would take.  At times like this I always remember a saying that my friend Randy Guista used to say.  The saying is, "Love the person and not their actions."  Now, I may not agree with what he is doing, but we have been colleagues and friends for sometime.  I will continue to respect him as a teacher and will support him in the classroom.
   Later, I was asked by a couple of my teacher friends what I thought.  I told them I had not really established an opinion as of yet.  The only thing I could say, was that I did not understand it.

I don't understand this, but probably could eventually

    So, you may be wondering why I am confused about this situation.  The reason I am confused, isn't so much that he is turning into a she, but that this man used to be one of the spiritual leaders on our campus.  Before we left to live in China for the year, he was the man that spent time with students leading prayer around our flag pole.  He would bring up at staff meetings students or people that needed prayer.  He has been a great man of God on our campus.  Now, I am not saying that he won't be able to take on this role as a woman, but the question that keeps nagging at me is this.  If we as Christians, have faith in God and are supposed to trust him, how is it that a person of faith can say that God made a mistake and change what God made?  I don't get it.  This is totally beyond my realm of comprehension.
    Understand, this topic is not about judging a person.  This is about trying to cope and understand how a brother in Christ can change so much.  I guess it falls into the class of, do we really know the Christians around us.  Have we lost community so much that we don't know what goes on in each of our lives?  Remember what Jesus said, “If your brother or sister[a] sins,[b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. If he does it again then take others along to confront him.   This is great if you are in a faith community together, but if you don't pay attention, then that is as bad as a plank in your own eyes.
    I believe it is our own faults as a faith community for closing ourselves off from one another. Because in this case, I for one cannot judge or confront because I haven't been in his social circle in order to really get to know him.  Also, we have gotten so good at hiding the dark parts in our lives that many Christians look good on the outside, but are very troubled on the inside.  How often have we heard people say, when they find out a neighbor has done something out of the ordinary,  "He seemed like a normal guy, he didn't seem like the kind of guy that would do ........................".
    Sometimes I think that I make myself so busy that I don't have time for others.  I need to do a better job of listening and paying attention to other people.  I spent the week during my quiet times praying that I may be more aware of what is going on with people around me.
    My challenge to you this week is to take a look around and try to identify someone that is walking in the shadows, and ask them how they are doing.  You might be surprised what you get for an answer.

Sometimes, Normal Isn't So Bad!!!!

Acts 19:11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul

God being Extraordinary

Hello my Extraordinary Friends,

    This week I want to start off by stating that when I am talking about ordinary,  I mean it in the manner of doing typical daily things.  The reason why I mention this is because while I was listening to a sports radio talk show this week, they were discussing the difference between ordinary and extraordinary.  The discussion was in regards to a football coach that considers himself, just one of the fans.  So he just considers himself an ordinary guy.  The talk show host's premise was that this coach claiming to be just one of the guys, has created a football team that is just ordinary and does not excel.  The talk show host used another coach, that he considered extraordinary to be the kind of coach he prefers because his teams tend to be of championship quality.  In the long run the host's premise was that generally he prefers people that choose to be extraordinary.  Another example he used was that of a surgeon.  Do you want the surgeon that is extraordinarily good or just one that is ok to do your open heart surgery?  Do you want the best pilot flying the jet that you are on or the guy that barely passed his test?  I think most of us would agree that when it comes to any service that humans are involved in, we want the best.
    So, it got me to thinking about the title of my blog and when I discuss being ordinary.  If I haven't mentioned it before, but my goal is to be like St. Francis and do the ordinary things in life as extraordinarily as possible.  Just keep in mind, that from now on when I talk about being ordinary, as Christians we can do live simple routine lives, but when you do it in an extraordinary manner, people will notice.

    The topic for the week is about enjoying the things in life that we make as a habit or routine.  With my wife recuperating well, things have started to come close to what they were before the incident with her tumor.  After making it through the last six weeks of numb.  I have started to realize that having a daily routine that you enjoy can be very satisfying.
    My days typically start at 5:00 am with Yoga or P90X, depending on how motivated I am that day.  Even though the Yoga might sound calm, it is the P90X yoga, so it is anything but easy.  As a matter of fact I tell people that I have a love/hate relationship with my yoga.  It makes me feel really good when I do it, but I don't look forward to the painful poses.  I can't say that Right Angle pose with my arm twisted behind my back is my favorite.  Sometimes I don't appreciate feeling like a pretzel, even though it is good for me.  They say that cod liver oil is good for you too!!!
    Anyway, after my workout, I sit in my sauna to have my morning meeting with Jesus.  After being invigorated by that meeting, I then shower, have breakfast and make lunch, all before I leave for school at 7:15am.  I then head for school and teach until 3:00.  In the fall, I would typically go to the golf course for golf practice until 6:00pm.  This time of the year, I still go to the golf course about three times a week, but only practice until about 4:30 or 5:00.  Now before you think that I live a charmed life and go to the golf course just for the heck of it, I have a crazy dream that I am chasing and I believe it is important to keep my game going well in order to be an example for my players.
   

Coming Home after an routine day

    I then head home and hang out with my wife and girls. Usually this entails doing Algebra homework and helping to get dinner ready.  Around 8:00, Cecelia and I typically have a cup of tea and then head for bed around 9:00pm.  That's it, nothing spectacular.  Occasionally a meeting or small home fix it project of some kind will get thrown into the mix.  So, as you can see there are no world changing events in my life.  Nothing like, trying to win wine contests with my struggling vineyard.  Nor, creating some new kind of tomato with our weed infested garden.
    In the past, it seems like I would have something going every night of the week during the school year.  I would burn the candle at both ends, and in the middle, and then rest when school got out in June.  But, then again that isn't necessarily the case either.  We would typically try to pack in as much travel and adventure as we could during what is usually a very short summer.  If you want a long winded example, you can read the first entry in my blog, "The O's Odyssey to China".
    What I guess I am trying to say this week is that having a routine is a nice thing to have, and I am trying to be very good at it.  I also think that it is important to take a moment and think about your routine and appreciate the little things.  You know, the things like having a job, seeing your family, a good friend, having a place to live, food to eat, even the computer to read this diatribe.  After that, take a moment to pray and thank the Lord for all those little things, and then pray for people that don't have the ability to have a routine.  I am blessed with the opportunity to take the time and to thank God for normal, because after you go through an ordeal in which your life almost changed drastically, you learn to appreciate some of the routine in life.
    This week do your routine very well and be extraordinary.   Put your name in the following passage;  God did extraordinary miracles through _______________!!!!!!!!   You'd be surprised what extraordinary things God can do through you.

I Can't! I Can't! I Can't

Matthew 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

Hello Ordinary Christians,

    This was the first week back from the Christmas vacation.  I always look forward to starting the second semester, because it is a fresh start for my students.  Those that didn't do so well have an opportunity to do better the second time around.  So with that being said, I began a new unit.  As I began to get ready to teach a new lesson, I got a comment from one my students.  Her comment was,  "I hate math and I can't do it."  She was really down on herself and was dreading math. This was pretty sad, because I had not even started the lesson yet.
    This lead to me having a class discussion about where we come from and what causes many of my students to have gaps in their math education.
    You need to first understand the demographic that I deal with in my classes.  I have all the students that have struggled with math in the past.  The Algebra that I teach is at a much slower pace and has less work than the typical class.  Many of my students are not bad at math, but lack confidence.  So the first question I asked for our discussion was, "How many students have moved at least once since they have been in school?"  Most of the class raised their hands.
    My next question was, "How many of you have changed schools since entering school?"  Most of them raised their hands.
    Finally, my last question was, "How many of you felt like you were behind, when you began your new school?"  No surprise here, most of them raised their hands.
    The young lady that made the comment, had moved three times in the last year.  That meant three new schools for her.  No wonder she felt frustrated.
    The reason I asked all these questions is because, there are usually good reasons why some of my students don't do well in math.  There are extenuating circumstances that help to cause the problems, so they need to give themselves a break.
    My kids were then surprised to find out that I wasn't very good at math in high school.  I was good early on, but then the moving thing happened me.  I found myself behind after a move my freshman year and I just never recovered.  As a matter of fact, when I was in Jr. High I won a math award.  In college, I decided that I was tired of being unconfident in math and  I started taking an independent study class that helped me increase my abilities.  I also told them that my mother laughed until she cried, when she found out I was a math teacher.

The proverbial Train

    In my classroom I have a saying from one of my favorite authors and sports psychologists hanging on the wall.  His name is Dr. Bob Rotella and the quote I like is this, "By and Large, People believe what they think about themselves."  When I point out or share this quote with my students I always get the Huh?, look from them.  I have to go on to explain that it basically means that if you believe you are not good at math, then you are not going to be good at it.  If you think you are not smart, then you are going to behave like you are not.  I tell them that change is hard, but a good start is to not focus on the negative and give themselves a chance.
    This topic carried over for the rest of the week and many of my kids that didn't do well last semester, at least started off in a positive direction.
    As Christians we tend to focus on the negative and our sinful nature instead of the positive things that Christ has done in our lives.  Now,  I am not saying that if you have a particular issue that you are dealing with, to just ignore it and it will go away.  By all means lift it up to the Lord and ask him to help you.  I am just saying that if we continually beat ourselves up about being sinners, then we are  just going to be a sinners.  If on the other hand we put our focus on being children of God and focus on doing the best we can each day, we will become more like him.
   The fact is that we are sinners by nature, but that doesn't mean that we have to act like it.  Remember God says that with man this is impossible, but through him everything is possible.
   Take Dr. Rotella's advice and go start believing in what God tells us.  He has given us a second chance to do better, so let's go give it a try.
   Finally, if problems like the following scare you?
            Train A leaves the station at 7:00 am doing 225 km/h and Train B leaves 30 minutes later doing 325 km/h.  What time do they serve dinner in Copenhagen when the second train catches the first?
   Remember, all things are possible with God, even math miracles.
 

Dishes On The Counter

Philippians 3:13,14  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year!
 
    This week was very busy at our home.  My wife continued her recovery and I worked on home improvements.  Most days I was starting at around 6:30 am and finishing well after dark.   The focus has been on running 90 ft. of 3/4 inch gas pipe so that we can hook up our new tankless hot water heater.  Oh, the thought of endless hot water is driving me to work like a leprechaun looking for gold.  Anyway, I digress.

I dreamed that this was my lunch!

    So, before you give up reading and thinking that you made your way to another home improvement blog, I do have a point.
    As I was diligently working, I asked Cecelia if she could heat me up some soup for lunch.  She happily agreed.  Not only does she love me, but it was her small contribution to endless hot water in her jacuzzi tub.

    About a half hour later, she called me to come in because my soup was ready.  I went inside for a short break and devoured the Lobster Bisque she had prepared for me.  Who says you have to have only Chicken Noodle?  Anyway, after finishing I got distracted and walked back out to work on my project.  Being the Attention Deficit person that I am, I had inadvertently left my bowl unwashed on the counter in the kitchen.  Unbeknownst to me, this gesture would come back to me later in the day.
    I continued to work very hard and finished my gas line just before dinner.  I was happy that I accomplished my goal for the day and could come in out of the cold.

The Never Ending House

    After dinner I sat down with Cecelia to watch some television.  I could tell that something was bothering her, but she wasn't ready to talk about it yet.  We went to bed about an hour later and I asked her again what was bothering her.  In the end, the issue revolved around leaving my soup bowl on the counter and not being a very good listener.  (What, me not being a good listener while I am in the middle of a project.  Listening is my best character trait.  YEAH RIGHT!!!)         My first reaction was to get upset and bring up that I felt unappreciated and that I was working my butt off.  I felt like I needed to be perfect for her, but one thing she said really hit home.  She said, that it wasn't really about leaving the soup bowl on the counter, but that she has been struggling with the girls doing the same thing and that I need to be an example to help her out.  Her comment took the wind right out of my unappreciated sail boat.  I told her that I would try and do better, but it isn't enough to say it, I must do it.

The Man at Work

    The next day while I was having my quiet time, I started thinking about our conversation the night before.  It brought to mind, that as a Christian it is my job to work hard to represent Christ.  Even though perfection is unattainable, I can still strive toward getting as close as possible.  It isn't enough to tell him we are going to do better, but to live our lives as examples and do more.  So, my challenge to you this week is to do something extraordinary.  It can be as simple as buying someone a cup of coffee or feeding the homeless once a month.  Whatever you do, remember Christ will appreciate it.
    By the way, my wife did notice that the next day I rinsed off my dishes and put them in the dishwasher.  She did also tell me how much she appreciated how hard I work.
    MAN, ISN'T IT GREAT THAT WE GET SECOND CHANCES TO MAKE IT RIGHT????!!!

ONE LAST NOTE.  I HAVE FIXED THE ISSUE OF PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO LEAVE COMMENTS.  FEEL FREE TO COMMENT.