Politics and Lies

This applies to all social media. For the last (seems like forever) few months, all we've heard areall the things the other politicians have lied about. Words are twisted and construed. Sentences and phrases that had nothing to do with the topic are pulled out and placed in hate ads against the opposite party. Groups and interest groups pay to have advertisements in every arena of the public to remind you as to why you don't like the other party. 

Christians are on both sides. There are Christian Democrats and Christian Republicans. (and no I don't want to hear your opinion on this) Both sides have gotten awfully ugly. Shamefully so, even (or maybe especially) among Christians. It's not that I think you shouldn't voice your opinions or share your beliefs because that is not always the case. However,  I think it's a shame that we as Christians have bought into the lies of campaign ads. Instead of just choosing or not choosing a candidate or choosing or not choosing an issue, we jump into the hateful nonsense that blocks my Facebook feeds from stalking anyone sensible (in this case- it seems that 14 year olds have become more sensible). Thank God it hasn't completely ruined my Pinterest account or I just may put together a five page manual on why we should become a one party system so we don't have choices anymore (Before you gasp and unfriend me from all social media and call me a Communist, I am totally kidding about this you crazies). We have become horrific in our words and put stuff (pictures and words) on our social media that we would never say out loud and we would definitely not say to either candidate's face. (Stop mumbling under your breath about this.) I'm not saying that we can never say anything to support a candidate we believe in and are supportive of. You obviously have the freedom to exercise that right. What I am saying is to be careful with your words (myself included) because people who are not Believers are reading them and wondering how different we really are... which is a great place to ask ourselves, are we really different? Does my life look like a non-Believer or has Jesus made a change in me? You can talk about God all you want but it doesn't mean that your life truly reflects Jesus and unfortunately in this day and age of social media and our inconsideration and willingness to offend any and everyone, we have forgotten how badly our words do hurt others and maybe even turn others the wrong way. (I'm also not opposed to offending people every once in a while obviously.) I'm not saying who you should vote for because that's not where I'm at but I am saying consider others as you are writing the things you are in a public forum where others see it no matter who you support.  Done- Melis

Yes, I'm a teacher. What did you say?

Tonight, I had some grading of test corrections to do. Bored from being home alone, I decided to venture out to Pei Wei. I was eating my kids meal and no one was really giving me really weird looks or pity looks (the look that says oh you poor thing, you deal with my kids all day). Now I know why I love Panera. I don't get weird comments from the employees. One wmployee tonight asked me if I was a teacher. "No, I'm not. I'm actually a paper grading thief who clearly needs something better to do with my time." What do you think! That wasn't enough for him though. He then had to insist that I should be relaxing, not grading papers. Yeah, that would be nice but these papers aren't going to grade themselves. THEN, when I was leaving, he said, "See ya later teach. You really shouldn't be grading papers." You know what!? You're right. I shouldn't be and students shouldn't be doing work for me to grade and I shouldn't have to spend all my time at work doing a million other things like the majority of the profession I work in... But this, this is what I really wanted to say....

I do teach. I do grade papers at home, in public places and on my phone if necessary. I read books and take classes to be a better teacher. I pay for these classes, they're not even free and when I need to renew my license, I get to pay for that too. Did I mention my healthcare is cheap but 25% of my check pays taxes? I like kids and I'm willing to go the extra mile. If other people in this world would do their part, then I could actually spend time everyday teaching students and I wouldn't have to do paperwork because all my kids and their families would do the right thing. I wouldn't have to spend my prep grading, planning, and cleaning because people would want to help. Oh yeah, and I could teach more and be more effective if I wasn't being a therapist, counselor, nurse, mom, aunt, baby-sitter, cousin, big sister, policeman, cia detective, fire fighter (not literally) and fact checker. I also wouldn't have to be a dictator or a crazy lady who should be in acting school, instead of a classroom. I will try not to be a jungle gym monitor, a playground guard, a zoo keeper or a circus trainer if people knew when to zip it. I could actually teach and you, my friend, could contribute to society in a kind way. Oh yeah, and my kids are high on the attitude scale and they know not to mess with me so please sir be my guest and give me more time in the day or teach me how to use my time in a more effective way while meeting the needs of 150+ students. Let me know how that goes...

That's what I wanted to say. But I didn't. I'm feisty (poor guy just didn't know) and have no patience to tolerate people who tell me to make time. There would really be no point if I could. So that's what I think. At the end of the day, I would rather be in a classroom of high-maintenance needy kids than I would be the public who clearly knows how to do my job better than me. The end. -Melissa

Wal-Mart and the Poor

Today, as I left Walmart I felt overwhelmingly convicted. I mean honestly, for all the times I feel convicted at Walmart, they should assign a pastor and potentially build an altar in front of the store for immediate counseling for me. It makes me a wreck. In the middle of the store, I always lose my patience and want to slap a parent who allows their child to scream for an hour straight... take the poor thing home (I'm not oblivious to the fact that kids pitch fits in stores, that is not the issue, it's the constant screaming for long periods of time and the facial expression of the parent that lets me know something's not right about the whole situation). I want to run my cart over the lady who stands in the middle of every aisle I'm in without considering anyone else. After I have recovered my body language and can stand upright again after the shock I've experienced, I finally make it to the register to stare at endless magazines of Hollywood crap and overpriced gum to on a good day be greeted by a nice cashier who doesn't want to kill everyone in the store herself. I should probably congratulate these cashiers more often. I look straight into the face of a Walmart employee who looks like a manager that was very rude to me at another store a couple of years ago and pull back my pride to allow him to step in front of me to purchase his lunch that he probably only has ten minutes to eat and the Lord knows he probably needs a week's vacation after working in this place. I just don't know how they do it.

Nevertheless, every single time, I'm ready to press a button to end that blasted store and kicking myself as to why I even bothered to go in there, God places a remarkable person in my path. I usually see them a ways off as they wander through the parking lot talking to various people and walking away nodding silently. This particular man today had two small children with him. They are not dressed for the season and look exhausted. The man approaches me for some change and I give him some and ask if he would like a bottle of water... he takes a couple for he and his kids and thanks me and goes on his way. I did nothing significant and really did not provide any major relief for whatever he is experiencing but God spoke something deep into me in that moment.

The church is very good at talking about the poor but very uncomfortable with doing something about it. I often hear other Christians talk about how homeless people should not walk through parking lots or stand at traffic lights with signs... they should go get a job, they should find a decent place to live.... Now imagine that you have no permanent place to live and therefore cannot receive an ID that would allow you to even complete a job application. Yes, I know that many people who are homeless, especially in the city of Las Vegas, are addicts to many things... gambling, relationships, drugs, alcohol, etc. However, is it really our job/right/duty/call to sit back and make those calls? To be the ones who decide? I was so convicted with how little we are convicted to do something about the poor in the places we live. We are often willing to get in a car, bus, or plane to travel to another place to do "missions" but we are not even serving people who need something small around us. I challenge you (and myself) to move past your comfort zone and give of yourself to someone who asks. You don't have to buy them a steak dinner or give them a $20... just give them a few minutes, a cheap hamburger, a bottle of water, something that can change their perspective for a moment. Go to Walmart and see who needs the life of Jesus in you. I guarantee that someone does, we just have to be willing to step out of us and into who He is to see it. -Melis

What do we do with what we know?

"Talent is universal. Opportunity is not." -Nicholas Kristof, "Half the Sky"

I am a huge fan of Nicholas Kristof's work in the New York Times and in general. He goes where so many other writers do not, doesn't mind offending people (who normally need to be offended), and finds real issues, and as he would say, "Real heroes." He and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, wrote a book together called Half the Sky. The book is about empowering women who have been oppressed in order to alleviate poverty in developing and developed countries. They don't focus on women's rights alone or who should be in charge, they just point out major changes that take place when women are empowered in society. Their book was recently made into a documentary that just aired on PBS. I didn't get to watch it on TV and only got to watch a few minutes of the first episode but watched the second episode in awe. It was worth procrastinating my graduate school homework over!

I actually don't know that I'll sleep tonight because there are a million things in my mind at the moment, either seen in the film or inspired by it. I can honestly walk away from the film knowing that I cannot continue going about my life the way I am. So with the introduction, I go back to my title-- "What do we do with what we know??" I posted the quote by Kristof at the top of the blog because it is worth thinking about.

In America/the West, we KNOW so much... those considered illiterate by Western standards would be considered highly intelligent in other societies. My principal says, "Education is the great equalizer." I think that's true. Education will change people, families, countries, societies, cultures and ultimately the world. Anyone can be talented like Kristof said but not everyone has the opportunity for education.

In my second trip to the continent of Africa, I was out on Lake Tanganyika (in northern Zambia) for 10 days. I had the opportunity to teach in the school, the alphabet for the little ones and English (I think--haha) with the older students. The chief of Nzovwe had several children, one of whom was in school in the older class. The 16ish-year-old girl was definitely clever and intelligent enough to be accepted into a university if she could get a formal education. However, there was not a FORMAL school there in the village. Her family was not willing to allow her to leave to get more of an education and the translator refused to tell the girl that I thought she could continue schooling. A clear sign of the lack of opportunity.

Yet, I teach around 160-180 students each day who have talent and opportunity and lack charisma and dedication to the subject. Does opportunity spoil us? What do we do with what we know??

I know what I do. Pray for those in another country to have the opportunity to be educated and loved. Nag the students who don't want to take the opportunity they are given and remind them that there are students just like them with the same talents with lots of charisma and dedication who do not have that opportunity. Tell me... what do you do with your opportunities? Just a thought :) -Melis

Ugly scars

About once a week, I have a semi-breakdown. It could be based on a variety of things. I hate the way my hair looks, a kid is mean, I get a dirty look from someone, I feel insecure, I am insecure, a movie feels like real life... you know? The usual :) About a month ago, after 4 scrapes of moles on my legs, I got a phone call from the doctor's office to inform me that at least two of those would have to be removed even more so and this time it would involve stitches. I reviewed in my last blog all the connotations that the word stitches includes in my mind: namely blood. I just don't do blood. Anyhow, after I recovered from all this madness, I realized that maybe my biggest fear wasn't that I had moles that could be cancerous in the future or even the stitches and my potential of passing out through my mental and visual sense of blood.

My biggest fear was that I would have multiple, visible scars on my legs.

Dramatically, I imagined the doctor would slice my leg wide open (at least 10 inches) and remove all the tissue, sew it back up, tell me I was fine but that I would have a huge white scar across my, once very tanned from the sun, legs. I was mortified at this thought. I know you're thinking, "How arrogant and conceited of you!" and rightfully so. It was very arrogant, very self-seeking, very conceited, very self-centered, very ME. At the end of the day, I am sinful and deceptive and just plain mean and this is one of the characteristics that allows SIN to show up in my life and to parade itself among the crowd.

I realized that the less than one inch scars that I actually now have are a visible sign of my inward ME-ness. They are a visible sign of a wretched past, deep regrets, painful memories and unswallowed pride. They are a visible sign of my inward ugly thoughts, a life fantasized but not real, a longing deep for something that someone else has, and a sign of my deepest insecurities-- including the way I look.

I struggled so much with a sense of self in middle school and high school. With a haircut and a small change of style, I received a good bit of attention at the end of 8th grade and moving into 9th grade. I allowed my physical beauty and looks to become a slave to boys who would compliment and stutter. I focused on how I could get their attention. I imagined the conversations I would carry on with them. They were not real. The attention that I got was not positive in the long run but only allowed me to become captive to being a people pleaser and worry. I worried about what others thought of me while attempting in some sort of way to please them with the way I looked, the facial expressions I presented, and the conversations I carried on with others. I bought into the lie that the only way I was beautiful was if someone told me so verbally. My sense of self was carried on the shoulders of boys who would smile at me and talk to my sister about wanting to date me. This was a very false sense of security but it continues to eat at the very core of who I am. It is another place that Satan lies to me the the most.

I don't have to find my security in others... my security alone is in Jesus. The moment I doubt that is the moment that Satan steps in to remind me of the un-beautiful parts of me. Believe me, there are many and there are deep scars that Jesus continues to recover and restore and heal but really that is the beautiful thing... a Jesus who doesn't give up on making me beautiful. One who bore nails on a cross and accepted nails in His hands creating scars that cannot be taken away. If it weren't for His scars, however, I wouldn't have the opportunity to be beautiful or redeemed. So may my scars be a deep, solid reminder of His, once again, sweet faithfulness to me. May your scars do the same. -Melissa

"God's nature is spurred by His goodness, not our worthiness." -Max Lucado