We should teach the next generation, "Don't borrow!"
Our society is hard to understand. We tell our children they have to go to college to get a good job when they graduate, but we don't warn them that in order to go to college they need to earn the money. We let them believe that school loans are a natural part of life. Generations before ours warned their children diligently, don't borrow money! If you can't pay for it, do without! Money doesn't grow on trees, you have to work for it! A penny saved is a penny earned!
But we are failing the new generations . We are not giving them the understanding that we received of using common sense first. A higher education is not more important that wisdom and we are not giving the same wisdom that our elders shared with us. It is wisdom to not go into debt, it will take them so many years to pay off their school loans that they could have had a more satisfying life working at a lower income without the debt.
Snake oil Salesmen
Our colleges are selling a snake oil idea. They are selling the idea that if you get a college degree you will be on "easy street" and it will make all of your dreams come true. This just is not true, but just as the snake oil salesmen of previous years were so convincing, so are the people that are pushing the college dream.
I'm not saying that there aren't some jobs and professions that do require more school and training. I do want my doctor to have attended all of the training in school that he can receive, but not all of the young people going to college even have an idea what they want to do when they are through with school. They simply believe that they will go to college(getting in debt to ridiculous amounts) and when they graduate everything will fall into place. This simply isn't true. Many graduate, have debt, can't find a job and end up living with their parents so they can pay for their school loans. If most high school graduates understood that truth, they would definitely not pursue college.
Not all people are computer workers!
What has happened to encouraging students to pursue jobs that require skills? In our society we have elevated the people that work in offices over the free spirited entrepreneur that wears a blue color. Why? Does it suit society's interest to have an army of cloned office workers that are so far in debt(from school loans) that they are not able to pursue anything other than paying their bills?
Our society removed shop classes from high schools in order to purchase computers. What are the students learning on the computers that are going to actually make them an asset or improve their lives? Why did we have to forfeit learning skills such as auto mechanics, machine shop, wood working, etc., that could be used by society to teach computer use? Not all people are designed or have the temperament to be computer workers! So the ones that are not able to sit and stare at a computer are given Ritalin or various other medications to control their natural curiosity and energy and keep them sitting in front of the computers.
Why?
I am simply asking why are we not giving the next generations better advice? Some of them are the mechanics, electricians and inventors of tomorrow, but we are medicating them, putting them behind computers and encouraging them to sell their futures for a college degree that will never benefit them.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
2 Corinthians 11:1-3
Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ.. 2 Corinthians 11:1-3
These verses really spoke to me. We're currently in a church that makes me feel that my relationship with Jesus is a complicated thing where I need to be striving harder, doing more. That is not what I read in Paul's writings. Paul writes that our love for Christ should be simple and pure, that doesn't sound too difficult to understand.
These verses really spoke to me. We're currently in a church that makes me feel that my relationship with Jesus is a complicated thing where I need to be striving harder, doing more. That is not what I read in Paul's writings. Paul writes that our love for Christ should be simple and pure, that doesn't sound too difficult to understand.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Blogging about "Trust"~a five minute challenge
There is a blog I follow that follows another blog. Funny, hmm? Every Friday the second blog suggests a word and fellow bloggers are encouraged to write for five minutes on the subject suggested by that word. Of course bloggers are people that have a lot of ideas and are not afraid to type them out! So there are a lot of different angles the subject can be covered from. Today I'm finally tempted to take up the challenge! The word given is "Trust". So here goes, Five minutes on what I think of trust!
We begin life as babies, trusting everyone and nothing. Just about anyone can please us by picking us up and cooing to us, but left lying in a room by ourselves we scream because we think there is nobody out there to take care of us. As we grow our trust forms in different ways, we begin to trust our parents, our siblings, our house, ourselves of course unless none of these are trustworthy? Perhaps we have parents we're not able to trust, they are not there to love and protect us as children? Our siblings may be more of a torment than an older, wiser protecting force in the world? We may not have the confidence or the ability to do anything within ourselves, perhaps we're sickly or not as smart as others we compare ourselves to? If we persevere and trust our own abilities and even when they fail us we keep trusting and keep trying we may prove to ourselves that trust in ourselves is not misplaced. I tend to believe that trust in others should be given with the knowledge that sooner or later they will let us down, people after all are only that, "people". We need to be prepared to grant forgiveness to the very ones we trust, because sooner or later it will be needed. Sorry five minutes is up, it goes fast!
We begin life as babies, trusting everyone and nothing. Just about anyone can please us by picking us up and cooing to us, but left lying in a room by ourselves we scream because we think there is nobody out there to take care of us. As we grow our trust forms in different ways, we begin to trust our parents, our siblings, our house, ourselves of course unless none of these are trustworthy? Perhaps we have parents we're not able to trust, they are not there to love and protect us as children? Our siblings may be more of a torment than an older, wiser protecting force in the world? We may not have the confidence or the ability to do anything within ourselves, perhaps we're sickly or not as smart as others we compare ourselves to? If we persevere and trust our own abilities and even when they fail us we keep trusting and keep trying we may prove to ourselves that trust in ourselves is not misplaced. I tend to believe that trust in others should be given with the knowledge that sooner or later they will let us down, people after all are only that, "people". We need to be prepared to grant forgiveness to the very ones we trust, because sooner or later it will be needed. Sorry five minutes is up, it goes fast!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Lion Dream
This post is just a dream I had last night.
In the dream Lane and I were very tiny, we were the only people I saw in the dream but it felt like we had an audience that was beyond the lights that we were able to see, like we were in the center of a circus ring. We(Lane and myself and our audience) were aware that there was going to be two lions come to visit us. A female lion was coming to visit Lane and a male lion to myself. We were all concerned about the visit of the male lion, we felt that Lane was in danger, that the male lion would hurt him or do some violent act because it seemed to be known that since the lion was male and Lane was male that the lion would feel that it needed to establish it's domain. The female lion came in first and circled around Lane and then left. As we had been waiting for the lions I had started gathering information(as if I had been studying, but I don't remember studying, it's like it just kind of came to me). The information that I gathered about the male lion was the type of food it ate and the fact that he wasn't fed very much. As the lion was approaching I put a bowl out for him and poured in food, one part looked kind of like chex cereal(but it wasn't) and I poured in eggs and scrambled them. The eggs were creamy like and coated the chunks of food in a way that looked really good. The lion had come in appearing sullen, reserved and suspicious, but it saw the bowl and approached it before bothering Lane. It licked the food in the bowl and liked it, so it picked me up with two claws and placed me on it's back(I was like a little ant compared to the lion) and laid down on it's stomach and ate the food. It transferred the knowledge to me that it was happy and pleased! It was used to making do with a small amount of food that was given to it and existing on that only, but this bowl was "enough", even extravagant! This bowl of food was tasty and satisfying, he was happy and relaxed, no more reservation, no more suspicious looks, he was content. That was the end of my dream, except we were happy that no harm came to Lane.
In the dream Lane and I were very tiny, we were the only people I saw in the dream but it felt like we had an audience that was beyond the lights that we were able to see, like we were in the center of a circus ring. We(Lane and myself and our audience) were aware that there was going to be two lions come to visit us. A female lion was coming to visit Lane and a male lion to myself. We were all concerned about the visit of the male lion, we felt that Lane was in danger, that the male lion would hurt him or do some violent act because it seemed to be known that since the lion was male and Lane was male that the lion would feel that it needed to establish it's domain. The female lion came in first and circled around Lane and then left. As we had been waiting for the lions I had started gathering information(as if I had been studying, but I don't remember studying, it's like it just kind of came to me). The information that I gathered about the male lion was the type of food it ate and the fact that he wasn't fed very much. As the lion was approaching I put a bowl out for him and poured in food, one part looked kind of like chex cereal(but it wasn't) and I poured in eggs and scrambled them. The eggs were creamy like and coated the chunks of food in a way that looked really good. The lion had come in appearing sullen, reserved and suspicious, but it saw the bowl and approached it before bothering Lane. It licked the food in the bowl and liked it, so it picked me up with two claws and placed me on it's back(I was like a little ant compared to the lion) and laid down on it's stomach and ate the food. It transferred the knowledge to me that it was happy and pleased! It was used to making do with a small amount of food that was given to it and existing on that only, but this bowl was "enough", even extravagant! This bowl of food was tasty and satisfying, he was happy and relaxed, no more reservation, no more suspicious looks, he was content. That was the end of my dream, except we were happy that no harm came to Lane.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Pain, Medication and Life
The world of someone with chronic pain is totally different from the one inhabited by people with healthy happy bodies. Each day is an adventure, will it be a good day or a painful day? Unfortunately you no longer enjoy the freedom that you once took for granted. Your body, that you may have neglected or overused previously is now demanding attention!
The freedom to be able to get in a car and drive to the store, shop and bring your purchases home becomes a mission of endurance that takes your complete focus. You have to marshal your resources, know your store and be prepared for the disabling pain to rear it's head at any moment.
While you may have been a bright person, strong and independent previously, pain brings you to levels of being dependent on the generosity of other's characters and actions. Most people are too busy in their lives to be too generous with anyone that requires anything extra of their time or attention. Pain is not easily detectable from person to person, so it is even a challenge for the healthy person to recognize or understand the existence or the limitations brought about by pain.
Then, add the complication of medication, while it is a godsend for dealing with the pain, it becomes the "Forest of Mists" that you now live in. The Mists of medication may snatch the very word you're searching for away from your lips or it may keep you from ever finding it to begin with, or it may capriciously put it's hands over your ears while someone is giving you "important" instructions and details or asking questions that need a response . You may have no energy or strength to do the basic things in life, showering may become the big event of your day! It limits important things like your driving abilities and even small things like your spelling. When you are trying to have a serious conversation and share what you have thought(yes, you can still think!sometimes!) the words may be there, or maybe not, causing people to give you looks of sympathy at the very best, annoyance and impatience at the worst.
Pain is very misunderstood and I believe even abused. Even being someone that has pain, I'm still suspicious of people claiming pain. When I know the person, it is easy to see the pain in their life(you can normally see it in their face), but it takes "knowing" the person to understand it. Therefore it's a challenge to understand the pain of strangers. I know my pain, but I don't know their pain!
If I'm a person living with pain and I question other peoples pain then how much more so the person that has no pain? So it's easier for me to stay home where the birds don't question my inability to find the right word, or my forgetfulness of things that I should of remembered. They are happy as long as I feed them~(**added note here, we now have dogs that don't seem to mind my long silences when all conversation is non existent, or I'm planted on the couch with no energy to do.)
**(and my husband must be a saint to tolerate the cycles of pain and medication, the repetition of questions when I forgot to listen to the answer, the forgotten chores(even dinner or what to fix for dinner), the lost items, the depression of dependence, the tears and anger of loss of independence)**
The freedom to be able to get in a car and drive to the store, shop and bring your purchases home becomes a mission of endurance that takes your complete focus. You have to marshal your resources, know your store and be prepared for the disabling pain to rear it's head at any moment.
While you may have been a bright person, strong and independent previously, pain brings you to levels of being dependent on the generosity of other's characters and actions. Most people are too busy in their lives to be too generous with anyone that requires anything extra of their time or attention. Pain is not easily detectable from person to person, so it is even a challenge for the healthy person to recognize or understand the existence or the limitations brought about by pain.
Then, add the complication of medication, while it is a godsend for dealing with the pain, it becomes the "Forest of Mists" that you now live in. The Mists of medication may snatch the very word you're searching for away from your lips or it may keep you from ever finding it to begin with, or it may capriciously put it's hands over your ears while someone is giving you "important" instructions and details or asking questions that need a response . You may have no energy or strength to do the basic things in life, showering may become the big event of your day! It limits important things like your driving abilities and even small things like your spelling. When you are trying to have a serious conversation and share what you have thought(yes, you can still think!sometimes!) the words may be there, or maybe not, causing people to give you looks of sympathy at the very best, annoyance and impatience at the worst.
Pain is very misunderstood and I believe even abused. Even being someone that has pain, I'm still suspicious of people claiming pain. When I know the person, it is easy to see the pain in their life(you can normally see it in their face), but it takes "knowing" the person to understand it. Therefore it's a challenge to understand the pain of strangers. I know my pain, but I don't know their pain!
If I'm a person living with pain and I question other peoples pain then how much more so the person that has no pain? So it's easier for me to stay home where the birds don't question my inability to find the right word, or my forgetfulness of things that I should of remembered. They are happy as long as I feed them~(**added note here, we now have dogs that don't seem to mind my long silences when all conversation is non existent, or I'm planted on the couch with no energy to do.)
**(and my husband must be a saint to tolerate the cycles of pain and medication, the repetition of questions when I forgot to listen to the answer, the forgotten chores(even dinner or what to fix for dinner), the lost items, the depression of dependence, the tears and anger of loss of independence)**
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Asking God
I recently spoke to an elderly woman of God. We were talking about things in life, family, government, etc. We agreed that we need to pray for family but when I asked her if she prayed for our country and government, she said "No, I believe God knows what He's going to do". I disagreed and told her I thought God waited for us to pray and ask Him to move. I told her I felt it was the same as when we want to hear from our children. She agreed, but I think her thinking reflects a lot of confusion that people allow to creep into their way of thinking. It sounds like a tactic of the enemy to prevent us from reaching out to our Heavenly Father. If the enemy stops us from asking of God, he also stops God from answering our prayers. Let's not fall for that trick! ~Pray without ceasing~
See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, Ephesians 6:18
See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, Ephesians 6:18
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