God, and Loving, and Learning...

as i see it...This year, in December, I'm going to be sixty years old. And frankly it comes as a surprise. How did that happen, we were just 18? And where did all these aches come from? (lol) But I have learned some things about life, the first of which is There is a God, and he loves me, and whether you believe it or not, he loves you, as well. In fact, though it would be great to learn that my father was Bill Gates, the creator of the world of computers and software, it's far better to know that my father is the creator of the UNIVERSE.Yep, that's my DAD!! Since I invited God into my life when I was 18, we've walked together through hard times and times of joy, and I've enjoyed long-term friendships (some since middle school and high school), the perfect soul-mate for me, and a thrilling ride through life.(Don't get me wrong, I'm only sixty, and I have a long way to go..but so far, so good.)

Another thing I've learned about life is that the road to personal happiness runs through generosity,through giving. What we get in life is some length of time, our love and affections, and to some degree a level of wealth. The trick is to give it away, to share our love and generosity with others , and the universe as God has created it, conspires to give it back to us, multiplied. It's true, what goes around does come around. And you really do reap what you sow.

Sadly, most churches have corrupted God right out of their programs. When Jesus sent them out into the world, his apostles had only the sandals on their feet and perhaps a staff. Now we have huge beautiful buildings, stained glass windows, and the first thing on the agenda on Sunday, during so called "worship" services, is the amount of money in the building fund, the operation expenses of the church and the reason they need an extra collection this Sunday. What are they worshiping?? In His day, Jesus referred to the religious leaders as evil vipers, more fit for Hell than the sinners. The "Churchifieds" (my term) of today will hold hands and pray loudly around a table in a restaurant, send their children off to build a church in Mexico (after major fanfare and much congratulations about how wonderful and loving they are) and yet refuse to visit a relative in the hospital because that makes them feel "uncomfortable", ("I was sick and you visited me?? didn't I read that??") And don't they love to share how holy they are, how they are of service to their community, and how others fail so often and so badly, "poor dears, tsk, tsk".

When asked by the leaders of His time what all the scriptures boiled down to, Jesus said it was simple. Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. What that means could be complicated and written up in the dissertations of biblical scholars, or simplified into this: If you fell in love with another person, that hunky guy, or lovely woman, you'd be interested in them, you'd start by finding out about them. It's not that different with God. You can get a copy of your own Bible, steer clear of organized religion, start with the Four Gospels, and learn about Him. Concentrate on what Jesus himself said. (Though the Churchifieds would howl, I'd avoid the books after the Gospels, cuz by that time Jesus is in Heaven and things begin to get "organized".)  The second half "Love your neighbor as yourself" can again be complicated out of all reason, or kept simple. How do you treat yourself? I am very quick to rationalize why what I did was reasonable under the circumstances. "I needed to speed down the freeway because I was late, and my students are waiting, and that's noble, right??" But let someone else go flying past me and he's a "safety hazard, and where's there a cop when you need one?" What if we worked as hard forgiving and looking for the good things in others, as we so quickly do for ourselves? What if we did?

What we Should learn in High School...

as i see it...Students today must spend approx 185 instructional days per year, and they must earn a prescribed number of credits (can be different according to state or school district.) to be awarded a diploma. And I will address the curriculum in another post. However there is a "3 Step Program", that the successful student is learning, but which they might never hear articulated. And the Program, if understood and followed, will get them great grades in both high school and college, advance them in their work/career, and even help them get along with their parents. and here it is: Step1) Find out who is in charge and what they want. Step2) Do it. and Step3) Get rewarded. Tah-dah!! (And once you are the one in charge, the listing is similar. 1) Make sure everyone knows you are in charge. 2) Tell them what you want. and 3) Reward those who do it.)

In almost every situation, at least in school, work or even the home, someone has been empowered to direct what happens. And usually they have been given the opportunity to hand out goodies that those subordinate to them want to receive. This simple plan, however, leaves no room for the usual whining and complaining that dogs most unsuccessful endeavors.  And maybe that is exactly what the successful students are learning.

We Get the President We need....at the time...

as i see it...I'm not terribly "churchified", but I believe that God does sometimes take a moment or two to watch out for us in America, and I think that's a good thing. And I don't want to open the "Pandoras Box" of  Church and State arguments, (which I will talk about on another Post) but there is evidence in History that such a thing happens. And we can find great examples in our choices for President.  We do, very often, get the President we, as a country, need. Example: After the Horror and insecurity of WWII, we got the kindly looking, grandfatherly man, Mr. Eisenhower, who happened to be the American military leader who helped win the war. Then, after Grandfatherly Ike, we got the hot and sexy Jackie Kennedy, and her husband Jack. (Look out world, the young people are here, we out number you, we vote, and we have money.) For those of us who are old enough to remember the Watergate scandal of the "Tricky Dick" Nixon era (yes young people, they did call him that) we got a very nice, honest man named Ford to be our President. He was what we needed to regain a semblance of sanity after Mr. Nixon, the first man to be forced to resign the Presidency before being impeached, was driven from the Oval Office. At the height of the Cold War when, as it turns out, the Soviet Union (the Evil Empire) was teetering on the brink of economic ruin, we got Ronald Reagan to challenge them, and finally convince them that they had to change their entire economic system in order to compete with the West, and without a nuclear war. (Good job, Ronny) And now, after 250 years of our mixed history of black people and white people trying to find a way to get along together, we've elected Mr. Obama to lead us. Whatever your politics, from a historic view point,,He's Black..He's President..THAT'S HISTORIC!! And, it's about time. Now I'd like to see a woman elected. (Hilary, think it over!!)

BTW, Mr. Obama, I asked the students who have A's in my class if they wanted to give 30% (the Buffet Rule) of their point to those who don't have enough to pass, and they resoundingly said "NO". There may be a message there.

Anyway, here we are looking at the election of 2012. We have one man who wants to redistribute the wealth of the country from those who made it to those who didn't. We have one man who either doesn't care about the poor, or who cannot manage his mouth, and one man who, though he may be the most intelligent one of the bunch, cannot stay faithful to any of his wives, even the one with cancer. Yes, God Help Us,,,