Marking

Apparently report cards are being changed so that everyone from grade 1 upwards is getting graded on an A to E scale, and the report cards are going to be written in 'plain English'.

I suggest we make it EXTREMELY plain English - instead of a system of marking from A, B, C, D and E, it should go:

A = Excellent
B= Good
C = Okay
D = Bad
E = Crap

I don't think anyone will have a problem understanding that, do you? :-p

Actually to be honest I think it's silly to grade everyone from year 1 upwards on an A to E scale. What about the kids who do their best but aren't necessarily cut out for school - branded a 'C' student from 6 years of age. I think that's disgusting. Wanting a clearer report card system is fine, branding children is not.

Blue Like Jazz quotes

"I was guilty of using love like money, withholding it to get somebody to be who I wanted them to be.....
I repented. I told God I was sorry. I replaced economic metaphor , in my mind, with something different, a free gift metaphor or a magnet metaphor. That is, instead of withholding love to change somebody, I poured it on lavishly. I hoped that love would work like a magnet, pulling people away from the mire and toward healing. I knew this was the way God loved me. God had never withheld love to teach me a lesson." p219, 220.

Something worth applying. The author talks about this sort of thinking freeing him up to love unconditionally - people don't HAVE to be good before we give love. They can be bad, and we are free to love them and be interested in them as though they are the most important person in the world - because to God they are. And hopefully our love will have a good effect on them.

"I was in love once. I think love is a bit of heaven......When I was in love there was somebody in the world who was more important than me, and that, given all that happened at the fall of man, is a miracle, like something God forgot to curse." p151.

You know, I never thought of it like that.

Well...

Well, I thought that last post would have generated a fair bit of discussion, being so 'deep', but I guess not, eh? Then again, the blogging community seems to have gone walkabout. Gone are the days when we used to update daily (okay, when I used to update daily.....) And that's not a bad thing at all. It just means I have to learn to exercise patience - unlike Gloria, who has to learn to exercise patients - sorry, but it's been a long day.

There are so many stories I think highlights and lowlights are in order.

HIGHLIGHTS:
One of the teachers in my staffroom wants to work at Griffith uni next semester, lecturing. It looked like she wouldn't be able to, as the school couldn't find a replacement for her. I went home and prayed she would be able to go. The next day she walked in and said, "They found a replacement! I can go!"

LOWLIGHT:
I haven't told her yet that I prayed.

HIGHLIGHT:
But I wrote a note and will *hopefully* deliver tomorrow if I feel it's appropriate to do so.

LOWLIGHT:
She might think I'm weird and harrassing her.

HIGHLIGHT:
But the note sounds really normal and matter-of-fact, so hopefully she won't.

LOWLIGHT:
The kids are feral sometimes. I mean that in the true sense of the word - spitting, swearing etc.
LOWLIGHT AGAIN:
But if you see some of their family backgrounds, you understand why.
WEIRD LIGHT:
One of my friends on prac at a primary school had a dad say to her, 'I don't know why my son f****** swears.' (Yes, I believe he pronounced all the stars :-p )
HIGHLIGHTS:
The teachers in the staffroom are beautiful people and I will miss them all.
I love getting ready to do lessons - I like teaching.

I'm exhausted now and need to go to bed. But I will post a few great quotes from Blue Like Jazz too.

"Blue Like Jazz"

That's the title of a book I've read by Donald Miller - "Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality." It's a good read.

"I used to get really ticked about preachers who talked too much about grace, because they tempted me to not be disciplined. I figured what people needed was a kick in the butt, and if I failed at godliness it was because those around me weren't trying hard enough. I believed if word got out about grace, the whole church was going to turn into a brothel. I was a real jerk, I think." p. 79

The point of the chapter was to illustrate that acceptance of God's grace is fuel for obedience, not disobedience. And I think I agree......up to a point......maybe? In this chapter, the author said he loved to give charity, but didn't want to take it. I am like that. I don't like people doing things for me - it makes me feel slack, or it makes me feel like they think I can't do it.

So this idea: accepting God's grace and love will motivate us to obey Him. Outward discipline might curb some external behaviours, but it won't change us. The floor is open for comments. I, for one, certainly hope that grace and love are motivation for obedience and not disobedience, and I would like to be in that place.

Prac and pith helmets

Prac highlights:

Having kids listen to me when I ask them to do stuff! (Trust me, it's an accomplishment)
Outsmarting a kid who thought he'd make me go to pieces when he stole the lesson plan
Friendly teachers
Opportunities to observe senior drama and music while doing my assessment with junior drama classes

Lowlights:
Mostly related to behaviour management issues


And now I bet you're wondering about the pith helmet.
For Kids Klub at church this year (has it come around again?!) it's a jungle theme.
The other night my sister was talking about safari suits. She said, "I want a pith helmet." (For those of you who don't know, they're those weird hats you wear with the safari suit).
I turned to her in shock. "You watch your language!" I said.

:-p

So now the pith helmet is the running joke. We're planning an ad for Kids Klub at church. Tiph is planning to be a character with a lisp - "Hello everyone, I jutht can't wait for Kidth Klub thith year, we're going to the jungle, and I'm going to wear my thafari thuit and my pith helmet."
Alternatively, she would come on wearing one and I would grab it off her head.
"Are you taking the pith?"

But we thought that might not go down too well ;-)

Heaven and hell

I was reading OMF's website (http://www.au.omf.org) and there was this article and it was talking about how if people don't respond to the gospel, then they are going to hell.

And if you're a Christian you already know that, or maybe we all secretly hope that there is some way that other people can hear about it and respond to it........anyway, it kind of hit me that we need to evangelise, because people's eternal lives really are at stake.

Let me pause for a second - if you're reading this thinking, "How arrogant/narrow-minded can you get?!" - imagine that you were someone who lived in a country where there was no such thing as a church, where Christianity was non-existent, where you never got to hear a thing about it. And then imagine that it really was true that if you didn't accept that Jesus Christ lived, died and was resurrected for your sin - that you would go to hell. Wouldn't you be mad that I knew and I didn't tell you?

Why should people have to go to hell because I didn't tell them?

Less complacency and more action! If anyone reading this blog has a question about Christianity and what it means, just chuck a comment in and we can email.

Money

Someone told me tonight that God wanted Christians to be rich, so that we could give more away.

And I said I didn't agree. Which was quite blunt, for me. But I didn't really see the point of an argument.

But now I'm on my blog where I might be listened to ;-) And so I want to say that, no, God doesn't want to make Christians rich to give more away. To God, it's not about the amount. Remember the rich people at the temple throwing stacks of money into the treasury? And then this widow came along and put in less than 2 cents - it might have been less than one cent - so basically nothing - and Jesus said she'd put in more than the rest of them, because they gave out of their abundance, but she gave all that she had.

And I agree - no matter how much or how little you have, giving 100% is still giving away everything.

Comments?

Highlights and lowlights

HIGHLIGHTS:

Went to my prac school and all the teachers are really nice.
Last week went and saw a play at Harvest Rain, which was fantastic.
I get to do more shopping for prac.
Got to see Steven Curtis Chapman last night.
Got to hang out with my friends this week.
Having pretty good devotions/Quiet Times/sorry, God Times, Tiffany ;-) this week.

LOWLIGHTS:

Went to my prac school and the kids are....well, I guess they're kids. Not that interested in school, sneaking off to sick bay to get out of class, a game of brandy gone wrong.
Not sleeping enough.
Getting cranky and irritable at friends for no good reason.
Things aren't going so well for some of them.
My grandpa is sick. (Please pray for him)