The Pencil

 

The Pencil

The longer I live, the more I am aware of the value of small things. This entry from May 23, 2012, is one of those times. Delvin is now playing professionally in Europe.

I can't say I know Delvin very well. He's one of our seniors who will graduate this Friday but I've never had him in one of my Bible classes. Delvin has been a mainstay on our nationally ranked boys' basketball team the past several years and has signed a scholarship to play collegiately at South Alabama. One thing I like about Delvin is his politeness: it's always 'Yes, sir' and that goes a long way with me. We are in the middle of finals which began two days ago. All the students take the same course finals- math, Spanish, history, Bible, etc.- at the same time, divided alphabetically into different classrooms. I was assigned to proctor English exams. As I prepared to pass out the tests, I asked if anyone needed a pencil from the basket of supplies. Several did, including Delvin. More than ninety minutes into the semester exam, Delvin came up to my desk and asked if I had a pencil sharpener. Those expensive electric sharpeners always mess up for some reason so I have a little manual one like we used in first grade. He borrowed it, took it to the trash can, sharpened his # 2 lead pencil, and I assumed would go back and finish his test. I was wrong. After returning the sharpener to my desk, Delvin very carefully set the pencil back in the plastic box for the next tester to use with a nice sharp point. I'm sure he didn't know I was observing his actions but I was fascinated. In all of the years I've done this, I have NEVER seen someone re-sharpen a pencil for the benefit of the subsequent writer. That thirty second scenario was the most memorable event of my day.

You may wonder why I'm making a big deal about a five cent pencil. The reason is precisely because it is a five cent piece of lead and wood and yellow paint. Do you know I witnessed a near riot in a third world country over a box of pencils our mission team was distributing? And yet, we all deal with our fellow country men, women, and children who take care of nothing and are careless with everything, even items of great monetary worth, and I would guess all of us have been guilty at times. Delvin treated a nickel pencil like it was valuable, maybe because it didn't belong to him, but that's beside the point. Jesus made a big deal about the insignificant things he noticed like a couple of cents thrown into the collection by a little old lady. Who do you think made the following statement? (Hint- it's in red and it's in the Gospel of Luke!)
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
He told us if we can be trusted with small things, we can be trusted with great things. Delvin just illustrated Jesus' teaching. If I loaned Delvin any possession of mine, he would take great care of it, no matter the price tag. Isn't that the kind of integrity we're looking for in this world? I try to teach my students that their lives preach daily sermons without the benefit of the pulpit and everyone who sees them will walk away with an impression, either good or bad. Hey, Delvin- someone was watching. Albert Schweitzer once famously stated, "My life is my argument." I think Delvin just made a very strong case for himself.

Applicable quote of the day:
"A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere."
Joyce A. Myers

God bless,
Steve

Luke 18:1

Behind Blue Eyes

 

Behind Blue Eyes

Lord willing, basketball camp will start in about a month! I've got plenty of great memories and lessons from camp and this one from June 20, 2012, fits the bill. 

Emma runs our basketball camp. Russell Carr, our WCS Athletic Director and boys' basketball coach, has his name on the paperwork but we all know the power lies with Emma. She took over for Amber who was the de-facto boss for years before her. Russell and several of us do the coaching- Emma does everything else. She does the enrolling, the handling of money, the laundry, the picture taking, the setting up of Slip and Slide in the younger camps, the copying of all literature, and the roasted watermelon which wraps up all the sessions. Just four weeks removed from her graduation from WCS, Emma is headed to college on a volleyball scholarship. I have no doubt she will be resoundingly successful academically, athletically, spiritually, and socially just like she was in high school. 

It's been a great two and a half weeks of camp with only two days to go. Emma has been in the middle of several Love Triangles which are manufactured by Coach Carr and myself, romantically pairing her with a number of our high school players who help us coach. Emma's a good sport about it- it's almost a camp tradition! During our first week of camp this summer, Emma and I became involved in a conversation about blue eyes, a trait we both share. She told me about the theory that all blue eyed people are related, tracing our ancestry to a relative six thousand years ago with a mutant gene. I googled it and read about what she told me. And as I read, I found some other things about the blue eyed portion of the US population, mainly that it is declining. The study was conducted by Dr. Mark Grant who first concluded blue-eyed people live longer than others, based on how many blue eyed folks he saw in nursing homes compared to the population at large. More research, however, showed him the fallacy of his hypothesis. He concluded immigration and the intermarriage of ethnic groups were the root causes of the decline in blue eyed births in the US. (Side note: Did you know boys are 3-5% more likely to be born with blue eyes?) Well, now I know I'm part of a minority group!

You know, I think all those bullet points about eye color are fascinating but that's not why I'm writing this. As we talked, I discovered a cool attribute of Emma- she can name the eye color of all the Caucasian people she knows! I tested her and she can up with a quick answer each time. (Side note #2: My former student Richard McDonald can recite the birthdays of everyone he knows.) Do you know I can tell you to any degree of certainty the eye color of only five people? That small group is/was my mom, my dad, my brothers Dave and Scott, and myself and the only reason I know is that we all shared that blue eyed genetic trait. I cannot tell you the eye color of my grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins/nieces/nephews/ or any ex-girlfriend. I feel bad about the last one because I'm sure I knew at one time unless I was incredibly stupid which I have been. I'm just not observant....but Emma is. She notices something that I might see but forget quickly. Emma logs it into her memory. Maybe I'm so big picture oriented that I overlook the small strokes that paint the portraits of those I could befriend/influence/help/teach/mentor/comfort. I think Jesus was like Emma in that regard, seeing characteristics and qualities in people that others did not care to see. He especially reached out to the segment of His society consistently ignored, including blinded beggars. In Matthew 6:22, He taught, 
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
No differentiation of eye color there and it's obvious the connotation is spiritual vision and not physical. My blue eyes were born flawed but LASIK surgery reconstructed me to 20-20 clarity. I have to confess that sometimes my spiritual eyesight needs that kind of tweaking , I mean overhaul as well. I just hope that's not what Emma remembers about me. 

Applicable quote of the day:
''Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?''

Henry David Thoreau 

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Son Of Jephthah

 

Son Of Jephthah

Sometimes we say incredibly dumb things ;like I did in this story. It's from May 1, 2012.

Recently, my classes memorized these verses from James, chapter 1:
19-20: 
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 
For reasons which will become obvious very shortly, I've underlined the slow to speak part of those words of wisdom. Sometimes to make a point, we blurt things out without thought of the ramifications. This morning, we were running a  Livsey Drill, named after basketball guru Herb Livsey, in our first period basketball practice, which is every day of the school year. We were struggling with a few things. One young lady has a tendency to slap at the ball with one hand when passed to her and then pick it up, while catching it with both hands is the preferred method. I stopped what we were doing and gathered the six players around me. I had Alex stand in front of the bleachers with her right hand behind her back and her left hand up, palm towards me. To emphasize the lesson that you can't catch the ball with only one hand, particularly your non-dominant hand, I told them I was going to throw the ball at Alex's left hand and if she caught it, I would give them five dollars apiece. Obviously, there was no way she was going to catch the Wilson 28.5 sphere. But, in my teaching mode, I neglected to recall that Miss Alex is a very good volleyball player. When I threw the ball at her palm with some velocity, Alex  proceeded to tip it up with her fingers and then grabbed it out of the air with her left hand. To say the girls were delighted would be an understatement but I'm not sure if they were sure what I would do. Nearly at a loss for words, I told them I would keep my promise. In good conscience, I could not give them cash- you know those stories about coaches paying their players? And so, after school this afternoon, I drove to a nearby Starbucks and purchased six $5 gift cards which will be distributed early tomorrow. I see some frappuccinos
on the horizon for a bunch of twelve year old girls!

Look, I'm not cheap but I'm frugal with my money. I also spend money on these kids at Christmas but I was frustrated with letting my words get ahead of my thoughts.  The first thing that came to my mind was Jephthah, the Gileadite warrior in the book of Judges, who promised the Lord he would sacrifice the first thing to meet him when he returned victorious from battle. Of course, we know it was the daughter he adored who ran to her dad when he came into sight after the conquest. Like Jephthah, I spoke without thinking of the consequences. When Alex caught the basketball, I only had one option. To blow it off would be a lie and how could I expect those kids to trust me anymore? So, I swallowed hard and shelled out $30 to a nice young Starbucks' barista three hours ago and vowed I would never have to eat my words again. Well, swallow might be a more applicable phrasing here. Girls tend to remember details so this will probably stick with them for quite awhile, at least until the balance on their new card hits zero. Sorry, girls- NO REFILLS! Well, at least until I'm careless again, which with my lack of control, might be just over the horizon.

Applicable quote of the day:
Talking without thinking is like shooting without taking aim.
English Proverb

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Naomi's Loss

 

Naomi's Loss

We are all missing something specific to us. This is mine. It's from May 4, 2016.

Tyra, one of our senior basketball standouts, came into SACT this morning and told me there were some friends upstairs who needed to see me. (SACT is our M-W-F meeting/tutoring/break time.) When I arrived at my classroom, Gina Brancato was there with Naomi, Richard, and Taylor. The three little ones had their Haiti/Honduras change bottles for me and were eager to dump them into the yellow bank, which comes disguised as an athletic department laundry cart. Gina, a lower school aide/basketball coach/WCS alum/newlywed, told me Naomi had a story for me! And she did! This is what she told me! 
"I lost a tooth and the tooth fairy gave me $5 and I put it in my Honduras bottle!"
There it was! I was excited because Naomi, one of the sweetest first graders ever, was excited. You know, I'm not sure how much of the tooth fairy scenario she buys into but I know she buys into helping children she will never meet. Many of the children impacted by Mission Lazarus and Hope For Haiti's Children, the two wonderful groups we raise funds for, have severe dental issues. Naomi's natural progression of losing teeth will bless those who might lose theirs due to decay or neglect or malnutrition. I found five dollars in the parking lot last week and when no one claimed it, I put it in our collection. Whoever made that five dollar donation did it accidentally and certainly not willingly. Not Naomi! Hers was a deliberate act of first grade faith. I found that little picture posted at the top of this page. Notice the line where the tooth fairy (should that be capitalized?) confides that little gift can be spent on something special just for you. Naomi obviously has a higher standard than the tooth fairy; children with far less than her family is able to provide her.  Naomi's loss is their gain. There is something very Biblical in that.

Applicable quote of the day:
As much as I'd like to meet the tooth fairy on an evening walk, I don't really believe it can happen.
Chris Van Allsburg

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Time And Place

 

Time And Place

This is from May 3, 2020!

My plans for this summer, like many of yours, are extremely unsure at the moment. Every day during this Coronavirus quarantine, there is news about progress being made against the pandemic and much of it seems contradictory. Schools in Texas have now closed their doors for the 2019-2020 year. It's hit me that I may never see some of my students again. Our administration has done a marvelous job of keeping all the moving parts together and even as long as I've taught, I have no clue what most of them are. Someone has to make tough decisions. I'm glad it's not me.

Since July of 1998, my summers have centered around mission trips. The last nine have been to Can Tho, Vietnam and the two before that were in China. With one trip to Haiti thrown into the mix, my out of the US experiences were shaped in Honduras. Eleven trips to the Central American country (it would have been twelve if not for the government overthrow days before our 2009 trip) opened my eyes to the poverty and despair which is the norm in much of  the world. The first five years of my trips were spent in Tegucigalpa, the capital city, before our group reorganized and began working in Choluteca, a city in southern Honduras close to both Nicaragua and El Salvador. During the Tegucigalpa years, our group, called TORCH, stayed at the Baxter Institute, a marvelous school which trains men and women to spread the Gospel in Central America. We would have breakfast and supper at Baxter while eating lunches in the surrounding villages where we were working with local churches. Late in the afternoons, we'd arrive back at Baxter in a state that  combined exhilaration with opportunities to serve mixed with despair absorbed  from the poverty we witnessed. Often, we were filthy from physical labor and badly in need of showering, sometimes complicated by water restrictions due to drought conditions. Our evenings were always highlighted with my favorite part of the day, our devotionals down in a storage room under the Baxter cafeteria. Those memories of sharing the day with believers profoundly changed my life.

I mentioned above that we  ate dinner back at Baxter after returning from the challenges of the day. But sometimes, Steve and Chad, our group leaders those years, would take us to a chicken place in downtown Tegucigalpa called Campero as pictured above. It was a chain chicken restaurant and the kids in our group loved it. In fact, they would often, as I recall, beg Steve and Chad to take us there for supper and teenagers can be persuasive, especially when they have worked hard and made you proud. Truthfully, I loved the Campero excursions myself. I don't recall that the food was out of the ordinary but it was the atmosphere of sharing a meal with people I had come to love. Part of the enjoyment was the transportation- we only traveled on old US school buses that served as our Gospel chariots during our time in Honduras. We would sing and laugh and carry on both coming and going. Man does not live on bread alone as Jesus famously quoted to Satan and as believers, we eagerly anticipated  feasting on chicken with each other in close quarters far from home. I miss those days. 

Do you know what's funny? Campero, which had its start in Guatemala,  has expanded into the US and has five locations in Houston. In fact, one of them is a thirty second walk outside my apartment gate which is only a 90 second walk from my apartment entrance! It was built about a year ago and does a very healthy amount of business. Guess how many times I've darkened its door? The answer is none with no plans to make it one or more. I'm sure the food is good and the service is, too, but....... it just doesn't matter anymore. There was a time and place when it did. Things that are important now didn't matter in the past and vice versa. Do you remember in 2 Samuel 23 when David longed for a drink from the well in his hometown Bethlehem and his men during  battle risked their lives to get it? I bet he had passed that well thousands of times as a kid without a second glance. Since I can't go to the gym now due to the pandemic, I walk 15,000 steps a day with a good number of those strides coming in the neighborhood. That means I walk past Campero on a daily basis. Invariably, my mind returns but there's an element missing. Their names were Trina and  Tricia and Shelly and Kathryn and Amy and Lisa and Ben and Rachel and Preston and Thom and Scott and Toney and Greg and Gerardo and............  A place without the people who make it memorable is just walls and a roof. It's the same with school campuses and church buildings. You simply can't replace flesh and blood. We are the memories of each other. God made us in His image and He gave us the ability to  love, to remember, and to be nostalgic. And this afternoon, I thank God  that He did.

Applicable quote of the day:
No memory is ever alone; it's at the end of a trail of memories, a dozen trails that each have their own associations.
Louis L'Amour

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

A Time To Love

 

A Time To Love

A number of the youngsters who attend our summer basketball camps have moms and dads who spend a good bit of time at WCS. Schools could not exist without parental volunteers. Let me correct that: they could not run efficiently. Whether public or private or Christian, parents supply the kids and the extra help educational institutions need to flourish. The following, from November 2, 2006, emphasizes that point.


We had a PTO meeting tonight at Westbury Christian School. I can't begin to tell you the impact our Parent Teacher Organization has had the past several years on WCS. We had a terrific crowd of both parents and teachers/administrators/staff with some kids thrown in who accompanied the folks. It was a typical meeting with recognition of volunteers and a discussion of upcoming projects. The leaders have a strict agenda and abide by it, promising to be in and out in one hour. Women tend to predominate in the leadership roles of groups like the PTO. I don't know if it is simply the tradition of such organizations or if our economy makes it more conducive for mothers to be at the forefront. Maybe it's nothing more than women are more apt to volunteer their time. Regardless, we are blessed with the interest of our school family parents. Westbury Christian has improved as our PTO has flourished. That cannot be coincidental.

On evenings when we have school activities, I usually grab some fast-food takeout for supper on the way home. Tonight, I stopped at a neighborhood Chinese restaurant after the meeting. I have to confess, I bought supper there last night after Bible study as well which almost translates into a trend. This place is a family business with mom and dad and their Asian version of My Three Sons. The youngest is in kindergarten; last night, I hid behind a booth and jumped out as he ran around the dining area. He remembered me and we had a conversation tonight about his school life. The middle boy was engrossed in a magazine. The oldest, a fourth grader, was helping his mother run the cash register with flawless and impeccably polite English. As I left with my order of General Chicken, the mother apologized for her boys disturbing me. I told her I was a teacher and was around kids constantly. The kindergarten son followed me out the door to show me the family car after I explained I drive a Toyota. (He had been grabbing my keys with tongs.) He waved good-bye as he re-entered the diner. There were more customers for him to entertain.

Several months ago, a students left a comment on a quiz in which she wrote, "alot of kids, like me, just want someone to show some interest in them." That's what blesses the children of the parents attending our PTO meeting and those Chinese boys in the restaurant. When mothers and fathers make the effort to spend time with their children and on behalf of their offspring, the next generation of that family will be blessed. Time is as difficult as money to amass and just as difficult to relinquish. Parents have to sacrifice to give their children the best chance to succeed. It might be sitting on hard chairs listening to reports about Coke sales for band instruments or it might be allowing your little one to ring up an order of Sweet And Sour Chicken. Time is one of the greatest investments parents can lay aside for their kids. In Genesis 2, the words father and mother appear before there had even been any dads or moms. The Lord was putting the plan in place. There are more distractions now but the kids still have the identical requirement of their folks- show me you love me. There is no time clock to punch but the paycheck will be immeasurable. The clock is ticking.

Applicable quote of the day:
"Parents have become so convinced that educators know what is best for their children that they forget that they themselves are really the experts."
Marian Wright Edelman


God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

From The Halls Of Montezuma.....

 

From The Halls Of Montezuma.....

Have you ever been mistaken for something you are not? This is from May 1, 2024.
Early yesterday morning, I was standing by my car in my apartment complex when this gentleman I've never seen before started a conversation with a twenty foot distance between us. I can't recall how it began but out of the blue, he asked,
"Are you a Marine?"
Now, at the time I was dressed in workout shorts, running shoes, and a Collegiate tennis t-shirt. Additionally I was unshaven and it's been nine weeks since I had a haircut. I replied that I was not but instead, I teach Bible and coach basketball at Westbury Christian School. That seemed to satisfy his curiosity but not mine. I should have asked him why he asked that but I let the moment pass and we drifted into another two minutes of banter. Part of me would like to know.

I'm often misidentified at school but usually by little children. In recent years, I've been called Mr. White who is four inches taller than me and the head of our school- great compliment to Mike! I've been called Mr. Tony who was the head of our Sage Dining and African American. I've been called Daddy by a little girl constantly. (Our lower school administrator told me the child has a great actual father!) I've also been called -------'s Daddy because some little one thought another little one was my daughter! Sometimes, they do get it right! Actually, I'm kind of famous with our K-4 through 4th graders as they all spend time in my room each year with our Honduras/Haiti project.

I've written here before that I've been mistaken for Hall Of Fame baseball player Mike Schmidt and told I resembled actor Jean Claude Van Damme who incidentally look nothing alike. In Honduras, a lady thought I was a doctor but I was wearing scrubs so maybe that's understandable. In the New Testament, John the Baptist was confronted by religious leaders demanding his identity- he responded by quoting that he was simply a voice crying out in the wilderness. I often tell my students that I find it fascinating the demons Jesus was about to cast out always recognized Him but His own apostles did not. Maybe the evil spirits saw supernaturally and maybe The Twelve were so focused on themselves that they were blind to who was in their midst. I would have known...... or would I have?

Not long ago I was at WAL-MART to purchase my weekly necessities. As I turned down an aisle, my cart came close to another so I said to the gentleman who was pushing it, 'Excuse me, sir.' The reply? "Hi, Steve!' It was Randy but I didn't recognize him behind his mask. He's no ordinary guy. I worked with his wife, Becki, for years, he's been on our WCS board of directors, and I've taught his son and his grandson! But that's not all! Randy, a lawyer, once gave me five of his suits and he and Becki paid for the tailoring to fit me. One of our coaches would always call me Mr. Glover when he saw me in a suit! Funny that Randy knew me but I didn't know him. 

What makes believers  recognizable in a world of non-believers? Jesus said we would be recognized by our love. I wear a cross but that's not what He said. Peter was recognized as being one of the followers of the Lord and he denied it by cursing. I've mentioned that I watch The Closer and identification is made by fingerprints or DNA or even retinal scans. We're told to be light and salt in the Sermon on the Mount. One of those attributes is obvious while one is subtle. One works from the outside and one on the inside. The neighbor I referenced must have thought I was a Marine due to some external clue but he didn't seem shocked when I told him I was paid to teach God's word. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe I need to wear a name tag. Or maybe,  I could always be aware that I should act like the son of my Father in every circumstance. I've always loved that hymn, Am I A Soldier Of The Cross? I hope I can truthfully answer, 'Yes, sir.'

Applicable quote of the day:
Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem. 
 Ronald Reagan

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1