Children Of The Father

 

Children Of The Father

Cana

Isabel

This is about one of my favorite families in the world. It's from March 17, 2012.
It's become a tradition. For three consecutive years, Cana has put on a yard sale with all the proceeds going to children in Haiti and Honduras, in conjunction with our ongoing project at Westbury Christian School. Today was the day for 2012. She was in full swing by the time I arrived about 9:45 this morning. I told Cana that I knew God really loved her because every day she hosted her event, the weather was perfect; she smiled the sweet smile of the innocent fourth grader. Today, Cana received some help from little sister, first grader Isabel. Both of them deposited money into their WCS Honduras/Haiti bottles based on what was sold. (Older brother Nathan got into the act when the crowd had been whittled down, washing my car with vacuuming help from Isabel.) It was a family affair, with parents Rachel, who works in our Development Office, and Troy, a contractor, pitching in.

It was a pretty typical yard sale with the typical ebb and flow of customers. I brought a few things to donate- vacuum, Dust Buster, nick knacks- and was put on the spot when asked the value. (I always go low- don't want to hurt anyone's feelings!) I engaged in conversation with a charming Hispanic lady who purchased a bag of clothes and some toys for her adorable children, a five year old girl and her three year old brother. As she was preparing to leave, she indicated Cana and Isabel and said to me, "You have beautiful daughters!" I quickly explained my connection with the family and that Troy, the father and husband, was inside at the moment, and we shared a laugh. But I'm not going to lie. I came away from the nice woman's comment with sort of a glow. I don't know if anyone has ever assumed that any child before belonged to me and the lady was right. Cana and Isabel are beautiful daughters- they just don't belong to me.

I wonder if our Father in Heaven gets that glow about us. I hope so! Five times in 1st John, the apostle used the term children of God in describing believers. My favorite of the five comes from chapter 3, verse 1, where he puts it this way:
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
WOW- two exclamation points in a row! I don't feel I'm worth even one exclamation point but God does. And I know two little girls who definitely deserve two exclamation points plus a great deal more. All you have to do is just ask Troy and Rachel.

Applicable quote of the day:
"The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage.  A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, "Daddy, I need to ask you something," he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan."
Garrison Keillor

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Dressing Like Jesus

 

Dressing Like Jesus

One of my favorite HC memories! This is from October 29, 2017.
We survived another Homecoming and it was a good one. In schools now days, Homecoming refers to a week long series of activities and not just a football game/bonfire/dance and possibly a parade if you live in a small town. At WCS, Homecoming week is marked by a different schedule and daily assemblies which pit classes against each other in competitions. It's great fun culminated by the big football game which we won and crowning of the senior royalty, this year being Queen Christina and King Rashard, two of my favorite kids ever! Only fifty-one weeks to plan for next year's celebration!

There is always a unique theme for the kids to wear costumes depending on the day and their grade level. This year we had decades day, holidays day, character day, favorite team/sport day, and of course, blue and gold Friday! Our dressing up goes all the way down to the littlest one. I was upbraided by a tiny girl, in the sweetest possible way. I asked who she was and she said Belle. I asked, "From Frozen?" With four year old incredulity, I was admonished, "NO! Beauty And The Beast!" I'll never learn! Perhaps the greatest reaction came with the appearance of  the Dr.Pepper Guy from the college football playoff ads who in actuality was our own WCS Head of School, Mike White! (Rumor has it even his sophomore daughter Madison was fooled!) But all good things come to an end and inevitably, so did Homecoming 2017. Like I mentioned, we'll do it again next year, Lord willing!

This is the following Sunday so we are five  days back into our normal routine of schedules and school uniforms. I actually like Homecoming as a teacher and don't find it distracting. I simply treat it like any other week, which in reality, it isn't. One thing I find interesting as I reminisce is the different approaches our kids take to dressing up for the annual rite of passage. Some plan like it's a wedding for just the right outfit, almost like they're going to the prom or a wedding. I'm convinced moms are increasingly involved in the process! Some coordinate with a group of friends- some of our teachers do as well, especially our science and fine arts departments. Some do the bare minimum so they don't have to wear their school uniform and some do indeed wear their school uniform. To each their own, even as teens and barely teens.

At times, I have asked my students a question along the line of, if you could be somebody else, who would you pick and why? Homecoming gives a small taste of taking on another identification even if only for eight class periods. This afternoon, as I walked into my fitness club to swim, I was met by the receptionist, Roxana Castillo, one of my very favorite former basketball players. I was wearing scrub pants and an Eddie Bauer jacket (THANKS, DAVE AND SALLY!) and when she saw me, Roxana exclaimed, 'Coach Hawley, you look like a doctor!' Well, I've never wanted to be a doctor but I don't mind being mistaken for one! Roxana even said it might help my dating life! In the end, I just am who I am, at least physically. But, there is great news spiritually! In Jesus, I can be brand new! Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that,
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 
Like the kids during Homecoming, we can choose who to be, except this time, it's eternal! We won't change day to day or on a whim. Who we are, if we choose to be, is HIS! Paul even gives instructions, telling us we put on Christ in baptism ((Galatians 3:27) and that we should clothe ourselves with Jesus, in Romans 13:14. That's the kind of dress protocol we can all live with, forever. No waiting til next year. No pretending to be a super hero or a ballerina...... or even a doctor. The role of the Good Physician has already been taken, and praise God that it has been.

Applicable quote of the day:

Every day each of us wakes up, reaches into drawers and closets, pulls out a costume for the day and proceeds to dress in a style that can only be called
preposterous.Mary Schmich

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

The Daily Report

 

The Daily Report

During the year, I spend quiet a bit of time in our lower school, down through the five year old kindergarten.  It's a different world for a high school teacher when you walk into the kindergarten and pre-kindergarten domain! The following, from April 12, 2006.

I hate trash. I try to pick it up whenever I can at school. We do a pretty good job at Westbury Christian but we could, like almost every other school, do better. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I arrive at 6:00. The parking lot is deserted and if there is litter in my path, I try to do my part to beautify our facility. Yesterday morning, there was a piece of paper lying close to my parking spot. Stooping down, I retrieved it and was about to toss it in one of the playground garbage cans when I looked at it. Much of the world's trash is deliberately dropped but I think this piece of paper was left behind unintentionally. It was an official document, sort of. The only way I can do it justice is to reproduce it below:
Westbury Christian School K3 Daily Report
Date ________________

_________________ would like to share his/her day with you.
Behavior:
I had a fantastic day _________________
I had a good day ____________________
I need help learning to ______________________________________
______________________________________________________Snack:I ate ________ did not eat _________
Lunch:
I ate everything _______ most _______ some _______ none _______
Comment: __________________________________Nap:Slept _____ rested ______Comment: _______________________________Ooops! I had an accident today. Please replace my extra clothes _______

I had fun today: ___________________________

There was a name written on the yellow sheet of one of our three year old kindergarten students. Going down the check list, this young lady had a good day, ate her snack, ate most of her lunch, and slept at nap time. Our little one also had fun making a bird's nest! I would say, all in all, a most impressive performance! Her teacher, Stephanie Lang, told me each child receives one of these scorecards at the completion of each day. I could never keep up with that! Maybe I need one of these for my life. At the end of the day, I could recreate my eighteen waking hours. Did I behave well? Were my food choices healthy ones? Did I get sufficient rest? What was the most fun I had? It would do me good to evaluate myself. Too often, I just let one day roll into the next without holding myself accountable. Children are constantly monitored in school for signs of progress. As Christians, we should take the responsibility to monitor ourselves. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves." I know one three year old who had a good day on Monday- I have the paper to prove it! I just wish I was as sure about myself!

Applicable quote of the day:
"One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child."
Maria Montessori

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

The Stranger In The Blue Honda Fit

 

The Stranger In The Blue Honda Fit

There's a bunch of us! This is from October 26, 2013!
Early this afternoon, I drove up to school to write a letter of recommendation for one of our seniors and afterwards, planned to lift at my fitness club, several blocks away. As I came to the corner of Fondren and Willowbend, I saw the light was green for my right turn. I slowed down and clicked on the signal. Lo and behold, there, stopped in the turning lane to make a left onto Fondren, was a car identical to mine; 2010 pale blue Honda Fit! I smiled and waved. The lady in my auto twin waved back, hit me with two thumbs up, and flashed the biggest smile I've seen in a very long time. I glowed from that encounter, carried out through two closed car windows, for the rest of the afternoon.

I really like my car. It carries many memories for me. It was paid for by my mother and father who lived frugally and invested wisely and left their children some money when they passed on. It holds great memories of wonderful basketball trips with three of my teams of middle school girls. (We had a teacher several years ago who insisted on saying the color was periwinkle, a distinction I tried to ignore!) You know, I have no idea how the lady in the other feels about her 2010 pale blue Honda Fit- I hope she has similar good feelings. If I saw her in the grocery store, I would not recognize her but for four or five seconds at a stop light in Houston, we recognized each other. It's amazing how I made a connection wordlessly with someone I'll likely never meet.

In 1968, Catholic priest Peter Scholtes wrote a  song entitled "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love.'' I remember knowing it by the title ''We Are One In the Spirit.'' Popular in devotionals and church camps, Scholtes' short hymn became popular quickly. It was based on Jesus' teaching to His apostles in John 13:35 where He teaches them,
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
What a great way to identify believers! In our school, and in many others, visitors must get a name tag at the front desk with a picture of their drivers' license printed plainly for all to see. As a safety precaution, we have to know who belongs and who doesn't. But in the world, Jesus says we should not need a picture ID for the populace to recognize who we really are. It should be obvious by the way we treat each other and the love that radiates from our daily walk. And while driving a Honda Fit is nice, it's not mandatory. Somewhere in Houston tonight, there's a nice woman who gave me something to write about. I'm grateful and keep repping your Honda Fit! I'll be watching for you at the corner of Fondren and Willowbend!

Applicable quote of the day:
"People get very thoughtful when they are in cars. I no longer care for cars. I don't collect them."
Mick Jagger

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Cone Responsibility

 

Cone Responsibility

This is about my team of twelve  years ago, from October 24, 2013.
We had our first encounter with another team today. After school, my middle school squad practiced with our high school junior varsity girls. We didn't keep score, instead working on situations. It was good for both groups. I warned my kids that the age difference would show up in size and strength and aggressiveness- it did. We acquitted ourselves well, I thought, and I enjoyed seeing the improvement in some of my former players who are now freshman and sophomores. The new young ladies who play for me discovered the validity of my statement that playing is exhausting and the only real way to get in shape is to actually play.

I really love this bunch of kids I have this year which is saying a great deal because I really loved the bunch I had last year. When I was a high school coach, I had kids with me for four years and in several cases, five. There is less turnover and more maturity but at the same time, more distractions. This season, I really rely on the four returning players; seventh graders Lizeth and Sydney and eighth graders Madison and Jenna. I run almost everything we do by them- I trust them and their judgment. I also know they have experienced a season before and know what to expect. When we do conditioning, we usually run relays. I put a traffic cone in the middle of the floor, put one of the vets in each of the four corners, and let them choose teams. (Several years ago, I read that American swimming relay team members always swim better times than they do in individual races, with the conjecture being they go harder knowing others are relying on them. I made the assumption it works in running sprints as well.) We run in sets of thirty touches of the cone and tagging your next teammate. Sometimes, for variety we add closing out and running backwards or several cones to touch before we get to the center one. Basketball is a game of short bursts so we try to do a maximum of starting and stopping.

Other coaches may disagree but I feel the perfect number on a basketball team is twelve because it's the number which breaks down perfectly into groups of three or four, the ideal numbers for drill work. Yesterday morning, we had a dilemma. Elizabeth is hurt and in a boot- she's out for six weeks and can't run. That left us with eleven which is not divisible by three or four. I pulled aside the two eighth graders and told them they would have to be a two player team. They knew what that means- they would have to run 1/3 additional sprints than the other girls with half the recovery time. The response of Jenna and Madison?
"Yes, sir."
That was it. Their lot was more difficult and more was demanded of them but they trust me and they knew it was for the good of the team. They did not complain or make excuses when they did not win. They simply competed as best they could while at a distinct disadvantage.  I made a big deal of it with the other kids; if the girls who've played before can sacrifice, we all can sacrifice. In Philippians 2:14, Paul writes 'Do everything without complaining or arguing.' Some translations us the term grumbling. The point is the same; do what you're asked for the benefit of all. That's not a popular sentiment culturally anymore but it's mandatory to have a healthy team and it all starts at the top. Well, as much of the top as girls who are twelve and thirteen can be! Sometimes, that's a lofty peak.

Applicable quote of the day:
"Life isn't fair. It's true, and you still have to deal with it. Whining about it rarely levels the playing field, but learning to rise above it is the ultimate reward."
Harvey Mackay 

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

The Boss

 

The Boss

I have students who don't know why others struggle to like them. They might get some insight if they read what is posted tonight. The name of the student in the entry below comes up every year in my classes as I explain the artists who painted the mural of Jesus on our classroom wall. You will understand why after you read this entry from 1/11/06.


Our mouths get us in trouble. We say things we don't mean and we speak before we think. Our electronic age has added to our woes. Athletes, politicians, and entertainment celebrities are recorded constantly. I listen to Houston's 790 AM radio, an ESPN affiliate. This week, the morning hosts were kidding ESPN football analyst Sean Saulsberry for something he said on Stephen A. Smith's TV show. In response to Joe Theismann's prediction that Washington would be in the Super Bowl, Saulsberry promised that if the Redskins did make it that far, he would walk naked from Bristol, Connecticut to Washington, DC in January. You know what has happened. The Redskins now have a shot of making it and Saulsberry is backtracking. He says in that eventuality, he WILL walk from Bristol to the nation's capital but it will be in the spring, he will be clothed, and the event will be used to raise money for charity. Good save- most people can't get out of it that easily! A big controversy this week is whether James Frey, the author of the bestselling A Million Little Pieces, fabricated or embellished parts of his book. Random House today announced they will refund the purchase price to consumers who wish to get their money back. The Senate is undergoing contentious "Advise and Consent" hearings in the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court. Every spoken or written word from this judge in the past thirty years is open for debate and interpretation. A jurist leaves a paper trail that can come back to haunt him or her. We are talking about Jesus' teaching on speech in my 10th grade Bible class. The Savior taught that our words should be few. In Matthew 5:37, on the topic of oaths, he put it this way:
"Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No,' 'No;' anything beyond this comes from the evil one."
We talked about lying and having to tell a lie to cover a lie you told followed by a third lie to cover up the cover up lie. Lying is complicated! The truth is simple. The more we talk, the more we get into trouble, whether with honesty issues or with words leading to anger. In James 4:4, we are told that, "no man can tame the tongue." Some come closer than others in the taming process.

In the music world, 'the Boss' is legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen. In 1974, Jon Landau of Rolling Stone Magazine penned this prophetic line: "I have seen the future of rock and roll and its name is Bruce Springsteen." Landau was correct- Springsteen contributed classics like Born To Run and Born In The USA to the American musical landscape as well as scores of other hits over thirty years. At Westbury Christian School, Boss carries a different identity. Suphanut Chansangajev is a WCS sophomore. He is from Thailand and he is brilliant. Because of difficulty in pronouncing his names for native English speakers, he simply answers to Boss. My limited knowledge of Thailand and its culture leads me to believe the Thai people as a group are very reserved, at least to western standards. If so, Boss would seem the model Thai young man. He excels academically, never gets in trouble, and plays football for our Wildcat squad. I've never had a lengthy conversation with Boss. He is the quietest student I've ever taught. He smiles constantly and is a great artist. One characteristic sets Boss apart from most of the human race: EVERYBODY LIKES HIM! He is universally admired and loved by faculty and student body. I asked my 10th grade Bible class why this was so. They knew the answer. "Boss never says anything to make anybody mad." They are absolutely right. There have been times when I almost had to force him to speak up but it was the product of shyness, never disrespect. The kids know that Boss never has an unkind word for anyone and never lies about anyone. He has the teaching of Jesus down to an art form, the 'yes and no' clause. Most of our problems with others are caused by words. When we limit what we say, we don't have to remember what we said. Sometimes, kids want to know why nobody likes them. I have a counseling solution. I'm going to tell them, "Go see the Boss!"

Applicable quote of the day:
"The speed of the boss is the speed of the team."
Lee Iacocca

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Don Meredith And Time Travel

 

Don Meredith And Time Travel

While I don't believe in time travel, it's a fascinating concept! The following is from February 23, 2006.

I love to read. Having time to do it is another matter. Years ago, I read one of the best books in my memory. In 1992, Harry Turtledove authored Guns Of The South, a novel of alternative history. The premise of Guns requires the reader to tolerate time travel. White separatists from South Africa go back to the time of the American Civil War, attempting to rearrange the future by manipulating the past. Arming the Confederacy with AK-47 rifles and knowledge of Union troop movements based on historian Bruce Catton's writings, the Afrikaners try to alter the outcome of the War Between The States. The men from the 21st century hope that if the South prevails, apartheid in Africa will not be overthrown. It is a fascinating concept. You have to suspend reality to swallow the story but it opens a Pandora's Box of possibilities. I had a birthday last week. My folks' gift to me was What Ifs? of American History, edited by Robert Cowley. What Ifs? is a collection of essays by historians who contemplate life in the United States IF key moments in American history had alternate outcomes. What if FDR had made overtures to Japan in November of 1941 and Pearl Harbor remained a peaceful Hawaiian paradise instead of a buzzword for war? What if John Kennedy had decided against a November trip to Dallas in 1963? What ifs can go on for eternity. Historians love getting the last word...but there is no last word. There will always be another thesis, angle, or twist to the accepted truth. All history is revisionism. Historians write and no one wants to keep reading the same spin on the same events that happened before any of us saw the light of day. It's a lucrative business!

Monday Night Football is no longer free. Starting this fall, the games ABC has carried since 1970 will move to ESPN. I don't remember specifics of any MNF games growing up but I remember the announcers: NFL great Frank Gifford, the loquacious Howard Cosell, and my favorite, former quarterback Dandy Don Meredith. Actually, I only recall one thing any of them said. Dandy Don verbalized it but I doubt the quote originated with him. It's not quite the Gettysburg Address but it has its own depth of meaning: "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas." That was life in a nutshell to the former Dallas Cowboy star. Truer words were never uttered by an athlete turned broadcaster. I laughed today, listening to a man prominent in Canadian hockey explaining why our Northern neighbors fell apart in the Olympics. This is word for word; "I'm not making excuses BUT..." We are tough on kids when they make excuses but adults are no better. "I would have accomplished this or that but the boss-teacher-coach-parent, etc. didn't like me. I could have made straight A's- played in the major leagues- married the homecoming queen- won American Idol if I had wanted to." We've all heard it. We've probably let something along those lines escape from our own vocal chords. Historians rewrite history; the rest of us do it with our own biographies. We feel better when we think how it might have been. Time we waste on that line of reasoning is time we could use to improve what lies ahead. Our future is moldable, our past is set in stone and baked in the oven. To the Christian, the future is Jesus and the past doesn't count. The long ago has been washed down the drain at Golgotha along with sins we wish had never been committed. What if someone could go back to the past and change our future? The simple explanation is that God did just that by making the sacrifice that would alter the eternal fate of his children. It was set in motion by Adam and Eve but we were involved in the master plan, too. Revelation 13 tells us that Jesus was ''slain from the creation of the world.'' I can't fathom God and his relationship to the clock but he acted at just the right time by sending his Son. That would make the story line of another great book. We call it the Bible.

Applicable quote of the day:
"I know where I'm going. I want to see where I've been."
Baseball legend Jimmy Piersall (explaining why he ran around the bases backwards on a home run following his release from an asylum)

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1