Patience Of A Saint - By Senior Blog Author: Sharron M.

   Patience is the ability to tolerate trouble, delay, and suffering while still maintaining a good attitude.

   When everything seems to be going wrong and nothing is going right, it can be difficult to keep a good attitude. We are frustrated with the situation, our children, ourselves, and everything else.

   You've tried everything to keep it together and you just have no more patience.

   Take a deep breath.

   Count off 10 things that God has blessed you with.

   Have a second cup of coffee, treat yourself to the last slice of brownie, take the kids to the park, and know things will get better.

   After a particularly stressful day at work, someone asked me, "How was your day?"

   Instead of biting their head off, I smiled, "My day was good, and its even better now that it is over." Other days, I think, "Well, that is one day I'll never have to live through again." It is about perspective. When you run out of patience, and I have... rely on God's strength and push through. God's love, mercy, strength, and patience is infinite.

When Less Is More - By Senior Blog Author: Sharron M.

Photo Credit: Peto Vera

 "Alright, we will finish this worksheet of addition and then we'll take a little break."

   "No."

   Did that child just say "no" to me? Yes, he did.

   Now parents, don't lose it. As an educator, I've interacted with hundreds of parents. I've been a cringing witness to irate parents marching to their child, and then, jerking them by the arm, they shout, "You will not talk that way to me! When I tell you something, you better listen." The child then either proceeds to wail as if the world is ending or begin to tantrum. Any other response is usually few and far between.

   I have also admiringly watched parents keep their temper in check, walk to their child and speak quietly in their ear before leading them to a chair to think about what they have done. The child may cry, but the tension isn't palpable, and within a few moments, the child is ready to follow instructions.

   Now, I know that every child is different, and thereby, their reaction to correction will likewise be different. Most of us are familiar with the saying, "For every action, there is a reaction." By not engaging in a power struggle with your child, you control the situation.

   Many a child has simply refused to do the activity I required of them. While I used to feel frustrated and helpful, I now smile at the challenge. That is not to say that I enjoy it, but because I know how to handle it, I am confident.

   Take a deep breath, be patient. "I will wait then until you are ready to finish your work. Then we can move onto something else."

   This approach has worked more often than not. Children have a way of exaggerating time in their mind, an hour may seem like several; their Birthday, not for at least another century.

   While I realize that sometimes as parents, the situation calls for an immediate and sometimes forceful response, this is not always the case. "Emergency" situations are really few and far between.

   When I say "less is more," I mean not arguing with your child, not forcing them to your point of view, and not ranting in your own personal "parent tantrum" where you lose self-control.

   Perhaps, Proverbs 15: 1, says it best, "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."

   Correct a child when you feel calm, and in control of your emotions, if you react out of anger instead of love, your child will be more likely to resent you for it.

   I am not criticizing any of the parents, or their parenting techniques. Perhaps, you found something that works better. In that case, use it. True parents are some of the most patient, giving, loving, dedicated people I know. They have a tough and sometimes thankless duty and responsibility of raising their children up right. All and I can say is, "May God richly bless you!"

   As always, thank you for reading. Have a beautiful day and may you find joy and peace living the life God has called you for.

The Struggling Student - By Senior Blog Author: Sharron M.

Photo Credit: Brandon Andersen

   Ever since I could remember, I was an aspiring perfectionist. Nothing pleased me more than to set aside a task that was done without error. Though I initially struggled in school, I was an overall successful student who eventually graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Early Child Hood Education & my Special Education License with a score of 4.0 (deemed by many, to be the perfect score).

   At this point in reading, some of you may be wondering at the title of this particular article. You might be thinking, “I thought we were going to discuss how our grade school student is struggling to get good grades.”

   Instead, I want us to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Doubtless, if you have raised a child who has always strived to be a perfectionist, you understand. If you are in the process of raising one, you might get some insight.

   So, we are going to move onto our topic:

    Labels.

   Labels stick to people. Labels like: perfectionist, procrastinator, hardworking, lazy, giving, selfish, etc. The problem is that many people take the label at face value without actually trying to discover the underlying characteristics.

   Actually, if I could, I would re-label the perfectionist child as the struggling child. Which brings me to my next point, we never stop learning until we are dead, thereby, making us a student our whole life. A student is defined as taking interest and studying a particular subject. That holds true whether we are learning to download music, preserve tomatoes, change the oil on the car, or get to a new destination while traveling.

   Why did I term a student bent on perfection as struggling? Perfection often isn’t instantaneous. It requires a lot of work on the individual’s part to accomplish this. Anything less than perfect is frowned upon and repeated failed attempts increase the individual’s frustration to the point of self-degradation.

    As someone who has often struggled with less than perfect work, situations, and thoughts; the struggle is real. If I don’t succeed in the first couple of tries, I instantly become impatient with myself.

   I’ll give you a real-life example. A lot of the youth I spend time with love playing volleyball. You’ll see this game in progress almost every time the youth get together for fellowship. The problem is, I am bad at volleyball. Yep, not even gonna try to sugar coat this one. I struggle to serve, can’t spike, and rarely can get the ball over the net on my own. In fact, if you see a person running around the court like a headless chicken, that is probably me.

   It becomes painfully obvious to everyone, that I am definitely not the person to have on the team if you want to win. I don’t mean to be a bad player on purpose (honest, I am not trying to help the other team win), I really try my best. I have learned though, effort doesn’t always equal successful results.

   In my early teen years, I avoided this game like the plague. I’d watch, I’d cheer, I’d even offer some advice (Lol, sorry guys.) But I avoided participating because I knew I would struggle miserably. Every once in a while, people would talk me into playing and while I could generally tell that they want to help me learn to play better, there were others not so enthusiastic about having the “weak link”.

   Only recently, have I made steps to overcome this. I have made effort to participate in more games. There are always a few people on my team who often offer advice and suggestions to improve my skills. I have gotten in the habit of telling them, “If you see me make the same mistake several times in a row after showing me how to correct it, please don’t think I am ignoring you. Just understand that it is difficult for me to make the connection of what you are saying, and implement it in the appropriate situation.”

   To date, I can’t say that I’ve improved a whole lot. But I am participating more, and things can only get better. I am actually enjoying it a bit more.

   So here are some words of encouragement to fellow perfectionists out there:

1.     Don’t let the fear of not being perfect, stop you from making the effort of trying and pursuing new things.

2.     It is okay to struggle, everyone does. Just be patient with yourself.

3.     You won’t always be perfect in everything you do, but don’t be discouraged. Just realize that you may have different gifts.

4.     You often can’t achieve perfection by yourself, realize that God has placed individuals in your life to help you.

   Once again, I value any thought and comment you are willing to share. If you are or know a “struggling” perfectionist, write me and tell me about it, I’d love to hear from you!

God bless you richly,

                    Sharron L.

Respect - By Senior Blog Author: Sharron

   Respect is a big deal in today's society. But what is respect?

   While many of us are acquainted with the lesser definition of respect: "A feeling of strong admiration for someone or something induced by their qualities, abilities, or achievements"; many of us struggle with the deeper meaning which is "to agree to recognize/obey and abide by another's authority."

   As a teacher and active member in my community, I cannot begin to count the number of times where the lack of respect was blamed as the reason why society has fallen to such a degree. Many were willing to blame the younger generation, while youth were more likely to blame this shortcoming on circumstances. Whatever the reason, respect has taken a backseat in our society.

   I work with a lot of young people, many of which struggle with their identity as they try to find their place in this world, somewhere they can belong. Respect is definitely something that is difficult for them to grasp. It is difficult for them to respect themselves, much less other figures of authority: parents, teachers, elders, etc.

   One constant source of frustration to most youth, are their parents. The complaint of, "They don't respect me, why should I respect them? They don't even care how I feel or try to see things from my point of view."

   While some might point this out as a self-centered point of view (which I would agree), we need to take a deeper look at the problem here. The child wants to feel respected/acknowledged for their strengths, achievements, and abilities.

   Then we come to the parent's point of view. I literally cringe when I hear a parent say, "My child should respect me because I am their mom/dad. Nothing else matters." Another word, most parents want their children to agree to recognize/obey and abide by their authority.

   Do you see the correlation. Because of the background experience, respect has two different meanings. Different, but also the same.

   Personally, I feel it ridiculous for a parent to demand respect from their child without giving them cause to respect them. This statement may seem borderline and even rebellious by some,  there might be some who'd disagree with me, and I respect their right to do so.

   Let's take respect to a Biblical perspective, shall we? Did God give us reason to love Him? Yes, because He first loved us. Did God give a reason for us to trust Him? Yes, because God always keeps His Word. Did God give us a reason to respect Him? Yes, because He is righteous in His Judgment and His Mercy.

   So if God gave us reasons to respond to Him, why are parents unwilling to do the same? I agree that children should honor their parents, but I do not believe that respect should be bestowed blindly. Truthfully, we'd want someone to obey us because they wanted to, instead of obeying us just because we said so. It is important to become a person worthy of respect and honor, while humbly accepting that others may struggle or fall short of our expectations.

   Parents should respect their children in the godly individuals they are striving to become. Children should respect their parents as a guide and authority in their lives. Neither should do this blindly.

   Romans 2:11 says, "For there is no respect of persons with God."

   God doesn't respect people based on their weath, influence, or position in life. God respects faith, and faith without works is dead.

 Acts 10: 35 says, "But in every nation, he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him."

   Respect is essential to balance the dynamics of a family, and because respect is first learned at home, it is best to lead by example.

   The goal of this blog post is not to offend anyone. But rather to define respect so that it is a goal made plainer and more achievable. As always, I appreciate the time my readers take and I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment below. Blessings!

The Little Girl In Pink Shoes

     It had been a fast-paced, breath catching, agonizingly long day. I had worked a 10 hr. shift and now I was at the store shopping for groceries for tomorrow, with housework and meal preparation waiting at home for me.

   I was tired. As I got into line at the check-out register, I noticed a little girl sitting perched in the cart. This tiny toddler flashed me a whimsical smile as she swung her legs back and forth. Blonde ponytails bounced against her shoulder.

   Her parents were busy chatting to her, and to each other as they pulled things from their cart to put on the conveyors belt.

   A little balloon with flowers caught the little girl's attention and she pointed at it, making her request known to her parents.

   Her mom smiled, "You already had a balloon for your Birthday!"

   The little girl shook her head solemnly. "It broken."

   "You mean that it fell off its stem," chimed in her father, "It is okay, you still have the balloon."

   The little girl became more insistent, "I want the balloon."

   In effort to distract her, her mother said, "You got brand new shoes today, aren't they cute?"

   Apparently, their young daughter was in agreement for she swung her feet again and admired the shoes that were glimmering pink with little bows at the top. "Pretty shoes," she chirped to herself. She looked up at her parents that had returned the business at hand of purchasing their selected items. "My pretty shoes," she said again, obviously hoping to garnish an equally enthusiastic response. Her parents made no response. She watched them a moment and then began looking around. Her eyes met mine and she smiled brightly all the while pointing to her new footwear. "My shoes. Look!"

   At this, both parents turned to see who their daughter was talking to.

   I smiled at the little girl and nodded. My demure response only seemed to encourage her. "Pretty shoes." She beckoned me, "Come see."

   Her parents exchanged half amused, half embarrassed smiles that their daughter was conversing a with a complete stranger. Her mother tried to salvage the situation but chattering brightly about her pretty and pink the shoes were, but the little girl was still looking at me. "Come see my shoes," she called again, her cheeks growing plump with another smile.

   I stepped forward and bent to look at the shoes, "They are beautiful! What a pretty pink, and look! They have beautiful bows too."

   The little girl grinned back at me, and smiles had replaced any previous signs of embarrassment on her parents' faces.

   They departed then, the little girl waving good-bye.

   I looked after them reflectively. This young child had been joyous over the gift that her parents had given her, and she had wanted to share that joy with others. It made me realize how important it is to share the good gifts that our Heavenly Father gives us. with others. We shouldn't be quiet and keep to ourselves something that could bring peace and happiness to others.

   I just want to encourage my readers, to share their joys with others. It really is a simple, and encouraging gesture.

   I will close now, but once again, I want to thank you for reading. Have a blessed day!

The Small Things

   Stopping to smell the roses, making time for the small things: these give a special meaning to life. In our fast paced world, it is hard to make time to slow down and just enjoy the moment. When this happens, God will sometimes bring something along to give you that moment to appreciate the simple joys of life.

   One summer morning, I was going to yard sales with my mom and younger sister. I was trying to budget so I was just tagging along. We had made several stops and few purchases. Then we stopped at one particular sale.

   A little lemonade stand was set up, and a little girl along with her younger brother were trying to sell lemonade. The little boy approached several potential customers, extending a cup of lemonade in hopeful expectation. Person after person turned him down.

   At last the little boy turned to me. “Would you like a cup of lemonade for 50 cents?”

   I dug into my wallet and handed him a dollar. “Can I have two?”

   His eyes widened and he eagerly pushed the cup into my hand and raced back to his sister calling for another cup and telling her to hurry. The flurry of breathless excitement put a smile on my face the rest of day. Instead of just making their day, they had made mine.

   I encourage you to make time for the small things. In doing so, you will meet with blessings along the way.

Take Your Time...

   Many times we rush through work and try to get the list of things we have to do, checked off.  It is good to be quick and efficient, but sometimes we need to remember not to rush through things.

    Doubtless most of you have a child, or younger sibling that you tell, "First work and then play."

     With the promise of play more often then not, the student races through their work and you end up with a mass of scribbles, wrong answers, and sloppy work.  Of course then, is the prospect of re-doing it again.

    I always tell my students that if you don't have time to do it right the first time, you must have time to do it right the second time.

    The Bible says:

     "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;"  -  Colossians 3:23

     It is important for children to understand at an early age that when they undertake to do something, they should do the very best they can, 'or why do it?'.  If it is important enough to start, it is doubly important to finish.

    So I encourage you, even if your child or sibling groan about having to re-do their work, continue stressing to them how important that they do things right the first time so that they do not have to do second.  Blessing!

-Sharron