Who has a request or praise to share today?
Psalm 148
1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He hath also established them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
11 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord.
Wandering Views 
I would like prayer for the students in my class this next week. On MWF and Tu they will be taking an achievement test called MAP. They take it on the computer and wear headphones to hear the questions. I don’t care about the results, I would like prayer that the tests themselves would not depress the children or be a burden in any way. Several of my children have never used a computer before (and, yes, we did have three practice sessions) and several are quite low and only know a few letters of the alphabet. I also have 6 ESL students and it will be difficult for them to understand the questions in english. For good spirits for each of them.
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Prayers for our son. His behavior has taken a turn for the worse lately, probably because his father has been out of town. He has been using really bad language often directed at me.
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Once again KBells I am going to call upon my own childhood. I used some bad language in front of my mother once. Dial soap does not taste good. I was 25 before I uttered another dirty word in front of a parent.
DISCLAIMER…I did try this on BG once but she was to squiggely for me to get enough in her mouth to make me feel better.
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Kim, I have done the soap. It just makes him mad enough to do it again, plus he can be very squiggely . Right now he is saving for his own computer so I will be charging him $5 a word. .
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There is a plan. Perhaps along with the $5 he could come up with 5 reasons he shouldn’t have used the word and/or 5 alternate words he could have used?
I definately think when you get enough money out of him you should do something just for you…if he is bad enough you can get a massage!
Now ya got me thinking…what can I charge BG for????
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Heavenly Father,
I lift up Jo’s class to you as they face testing for which some may feel unprepared. Please do not let them be made to feel Incompetent or stupid because of this type of testing. They are so young and do not need the burden of test anxiety for the many years of schooling before them. Please give Jo the right words to not discount the importance of doing their best on the test while at the same time expressing that they are young and can expect much improvement as they advance in language and computer skills. May they see their scores as challenges to work toward future victories while the current test scores serve only as a starting point on their Victory Road to a good education. Thank You, Lord for Your many helps You give Jo as needs arise with her students. Plesse also continue to work out a good solution for the whole community concerning the bridge and needed license. I pray in the name of Jesus, Amen
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The way things are going iI may be able to buy myself a new computer. I also need to stay strong on no more contact with “Eddie Haskell kid”. This is who he claims is teaching him the words.
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Kbells, I remember when my son was about four and he called me “despicable” which he had heard from a Looney Tunes cartoon character. I told him that did not sound like my son talking but that the TV was talking for him. It was like the TV was taking away his power to control the words that came out of his mouth. He did not like the thought of losing that power and control over what he was saying. Don’t know if that might help in some way, but ghought I would share just in case it might be of benefit.
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Bad words, we have them make a list of all of the bad words they know, then we add a bunch more. Then they have to look them all up and right out their definitions (not all dictionaries carry all words). Then we ask them if that is what they really meant to say and I explain that I see what they say. Next time one of those words slips out, I just have to look at them quizically, they get really embarrassed and try not to use them, around me.
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Heavenly Father,
Please be with Kim and BG as they are shoppin and Kim doesn’t want to do it until she is dropping. Give them quick success in finding styles that are flattering and pleasing to You. I ask also that good bargains are found and psrent and daughter can both be happy with the purchases. Thank You for blessing the children You delight in with Your good gifts of both major and minor importance. In the name of Jesus,Amen
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Janice, I am also reviewing some of his television habits. On a lot of “kid’s show”, especially on Nickelodeon and Disney, the kids are very disrespectful of adult authority figures. Parents are portrayed stupid and clueless and teachers are the enemy. There is also ften a character who is mean, rude and lazy. Things always work out for this person. The character who is obedient, respectful and hardworking usually loses. For some reason this is suppose to be funny.
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Mumsee, I like that idea.
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Kbells, you are on the right track about the TV programming. It is like poisoning the children’s minds as it gives them a false sense of how the world works. It is adults putting what they think is funny on there for their amusement and not considering the child’s limited perspective and how it warps their minds. Maybe you could ask your son which of those TV characters would care enough about him to fix a meal for him or buy something special for him. When my son understood the power TV had over his brain, he turned away from watching except for occasionally. That served him well academically. Does TV care if he is succedsful in life?
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KBells, I agree with your assessment of “kids’ shows” and the disrespect toward authority it often teaches. I also think the medium of television, itself, no matter what programming is watched, has an impact on kids’ brains. The flashing signals (I know I’m not describing this very well), rapidly changing images, etc. stress a child’s senses, I think. My kids seem to have more behavior problems the more screen time they’ve had, but are better adjusted when they have ample opportunity for free play, especially when they can be out in nature, pursuing creative activities.
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Amen.
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Sadly the problem with free play is that some of the neighbor’s kids are just as bad an influence and often he ends up in their basement watching TV and playing video games anyway. When he was younger we spent a lot of time at the park and the children’s science museum. He is too old for that now. During the rest of the year he plays sports, but summer is a problem.
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BTW, Mumsee, I want to thank you for telling me that you were enjoying the book Last Child in the Woods (not sure if “enjoy” was the actual word you used, but you gave a positive report of the portion of the book you’ve read so far). I had thought it had started kind of slow, and I was just going to take it back to the library, unfinished, but your good word led me to give it another chance. I am now about halfway through the book and am really enjoying it. Applying it is bringing great benefits to the children, also. Thank you for speaking up about it when I mentioned the title.
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At an in between age my son spent a good bit of time doing some computer games which were fun and educational like The Oregon Trail, Where In the World Is Carman Sandiago?, Jump Start programs for aech grade level, Typing With Mavis, Sim City and other Sim games that taught some basics about government, and some art and writing programs. That seemed to be productive entertainment and did not require other children to do it with. Do parent’s still have those good options?
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At an in between age my son spent a good bit of time doing some computer games which were fun and educational like The Oregon Trail, Where In the World Is Carman Sandiago?, Jump Start programs for aech grade level, Typing With Mavis, Sim City and other Sim games that taught some basics about government, and some art and writing programs. That seemed to be productive entertainment and did not require other children to do it with. Do parent’s still have those good options?
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He’s off again. Very unhappy about having to finish his grounding after I gave a couple days off to spend with his friend who moved.
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Your prayers must have worked Janice we are home. Hollister had pants that FIT on sale then if you sent a text you got either $5 or $10 off. I got 10 and BG got 5. That was $15 off two pair of pants. Another store had 10% if you sent a text. So she got a pair of pants there. Aeropostle had white camisoles for $6 each. (She has always liked wearing a canny sole even from when they were toddler undershirts). She got a khaki pair of shorts and a navy blue pair ( it is hot here when school starts), two tops, two scarves (to make uniforms more individual). We found another pair of khaki pants.
She has about 6 or 7 days worth of uniforms without washing. That sounds like a lot until you get to January and everything is worn out from washing and can’t be replaced because it is uniforms and the stores aren’t carrying them anymore.
I bought myself a “happy”. It is a khaki linen tea towel with a sand dollar on it. It made me think of a little dark haired, dark eyed girl I met recently who was fascinated with sand dollars. It made me smile to think of her so now when it hangs in my kitchen or bath it will make me happy.
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I did not get to shop much for my son’s clothes for a number of years because we had little money for shopping. Thankfully God provided through our pastor’s family who had a son a few years older than our son and who had the right size and quality and even styles and colors my son appreciated. He expecially liked that the clothes were soft from having been previously broken in. I did feel rather sad since he was our only child and I was missing out on the clothes shopping experience. Now Kim makes me realize that was not such a bad deal.
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I was in the same situation Janice, with only one boy and couldn’t afford to shop. Cousins gave us a huge garbage bag full of clothes in all sizes and that is what he wore. I went on one class field trip and saw that everyone else was in t-shirts and he was in polo shirts. I got worried and sat him down with the Sears catalog to see what he liked. Turns out he liked just what he was wearing and it was no problem to be slightly different
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Oh Janice! I looked longingly on the other side of the stores where the mothers were shopping with their boys. It was so simple. They weren’t worried about it making their behind look a certain way or pulling in the crotch or being too tight or too loose on their legs…They just looked at the size, tried a pair on to make sure they fit and bought several of the same size. She is currently in her room deciding how many different outftits she can get out of what she bought. You KNOW you can’t wear the same things too many times in a row too often.
Me? Yes I have body issues but I have conversations in my head that you CAN’T be fat if you wear a size (insert number here)
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Kim – I was a bit surprised by what you wrote about uniforms getting worn out from washing by January. I’ve never heard of clothes getting worn out from washing so quickly.
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If you only have 2 or 3 pair of pants and a couple of shirts and you wash them after each wearing….
This year we were able to buy more so more will be in the rotation and hopefully not be washed as often. Of course BG picks out a few items she likes and wears over and over.
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Shopping with boys is not that simple. They really don’t want to be there. Shopping was the catalyst that sent us plummeting into this horrible week. (I hope is use “catalyst” right)
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Shopping with boys is simple. They say, “Dad, I need t shirts or undershirts or boxers or socks” and dad goes to the store and gets the items.
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Prayer needed here, with Mike gone, people’s issues all seem to be coming to the fore at once. My guess is that people are feeling insecure. What a shock. This needs to be resolved.
By the way, our Ethiopian was denied US citizenship. It cost us over five hundred dollars for the letter. Frustrating as Mike had gone to the immigration people and discussed the whole thing with them and they never suggested it would or even could be a waste of time and money. Maybe if we could get him to commit a crime they would grant him citizenship…
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But he isn’t an Ethiopina Citizen anymore. Does that make him a Citizen of The World?
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He has an Ethiopian passport and a US military dependent card. But he does not qualify for the same insurance as the other children.
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My boy is not easy to shop for. Most things I can just buy off the shelf but he is very hard to fit for jeans. He has to try them on and he doesn’t like to.
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I really am in need of some prayer.
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You got it, Kim.
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