Angela's Musings

Monday, January 30, 2012

Mocha Monday - Taxi Edition

Lately, I'm mostly drinking my coffee while I drive. We leave about 6 a.m. (sometimes earlier) to take Bill to work. Problem is, my body does NOT wake up that early. He is gracious to wake me in enough time for me to scoot to the car for the ride. He makes my coffee and hands it to me. What a guy! I have 35 minutes to sip my coffee, snooze a little, sip some more coffee, and prepare myself for the drive back...the one where I will actually be driving in a somewhat sedated state. I have to admit, I've had a couple of close calls this past week due to my inability to stay awake at the wheel, and am extremely grateful for God's protection. I've learned that I stay awake better with conversation, so I listen to talk radio rather than music to engage my mind. Sometimes I call a friend on the east coast or my early-bird dad to keep me talking.

Life continues to be extremely full and tiring, but very rewarding at the same time. This week I picked up a big packet from a specialist's office that we've been waiting on for months, to help us work better with one of our kids. The very same day, I got the initial packet in the mail from another office to fill out for another child, so that we can assess his needs. I felt a little overwhelmed staring at the two packets. One packet represented 10 years of waiting for some answers. The other signifies the beginning of a journey that I'm not sure I have the energy to begin. But God knows.

I spent this last weekend with our women's ministry core team on a working retreat. We played a little and went for some good walk-n-talks, but the majority of our time was literally spent discussing the discipleship process. We asked questions like: How do we identify growth? How do we know we are coaching well? What is the difference between a small group and a class? How do we know we are moving people through the discipleship process? I love these ladies. Truly I do. I'm humbled that I get to serve with them.

It was also brother #1's birthday this weekend. I love family get-togethers and could just about eat my little niece up . Here is a picture of her helping daddy blow out the candles on his cake.

I realize this picture may creep some of you out a bit. But I just have to share my fondness for this little guy. Who knew lizards could have a personality?...but boy does he. Pedro's become my little work buddy and often sits on my shoulder while I'm at the computer. This week he climbed down and discovered how warm the keyboard felt. I may have a little trouble keeping him off now.

I didn't get my book loaded on Kindle last week. So that is a goal again this week...along with us making a decision about Bill's surgery, seeing if we can qualify to maybe buy a home, and delivering our van to the junk yard....oh, ya..and taxes! woot. woot.

What do you have planned this week?

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Stoplight Day Report

Not too long ago, I told you about a spirit week theme my son's school sponsored, called Stoplight Day. The school website said to wear green if you are available, yellow if "its complicated" and red if you're taken.

I mentioned it on Facebook and got scores of comments from those who were equally appalled as I was. First of all I wrote the four principles with some brief thoughts. I didn't hear back from any of them, so I went to the school office and asked some questions about who was in charge of the event, etc, and found out that I was the only parent who had complained. I left a personal message at the office, letting them know I really did want to speak to someone about it.

I did finally get an e-mail from the principal, who thanked me for my concerns and asked if we could meet the next week sometime. In the meantime, I decided to take a poll from my website just to get a wide variety of feedback from others. You can read those results here.

Years ago, I would have marched in somewhere and let.my.voice.be.heard. But God has really tempered me quite a bit, and I put a few key things into practice.

You see, turns out that some kids really pulled the wool over the administration's eyes. The team in charge of this event didn't give the full plan to the administration. They just suggested the colors. "Instead of dividing the classes by colors," they said, "Let everyone just pick what color of the stoplight they want to be. It will be more unifying that way, you see."

Of course the kids then spread the word of mouth about how you were supposed to choose the color they wore, and snuck the fully worded announcement onto the web past eyes that weren't being too careful at proofing, since they had already approved the theme.

At the point I met with the principal, she honestly thought the kids had just twisted this into something they came up with to be kids. She didn't realize that Stoplight Day wasn't just something that she came up with. It is something night clubs host. It is a kind of party people through to facilitate hook-ups. It isn't original, nor was it good.

The principal was horrified and embarrassed, and our meeting was really good.

Here are a few tips that I think helped make this process successful:

Speak Up: I was really amazed that I was the only parent that spoke up. I know that I wasn't the only parent bothered. I think we often assume that people know their house is on fire, so to speak, and we don't want to add to the chaos. But sometimes they don't know their own house is on fire, and someone needs to act.

Be Humble: I did not go on a rampage. I was not demanding. I asked for an appointment and waited until it was granted. I was respectful to those I dealt with.

Assume the Best: I asked lots of questions, trying to make sure I really understood the intent and motivations behind what happened, not assuming that the administration was handing all of our kids over to hell in a hand basket.

Speak Truth in Love: I had information that the administration apparently didn't have, and they needed to hear it. But they needed to hear it in the right spirit from someone who showed care and concern for what was happening...not just being critical.

Be Prepared: I had lots of information going in....information I knew, information I had gathered from others. The preparation helped me to be confident. But in this case, in the end, I didn't even need everything I had prepared. The principal agreed that what had happened was very wrong. She just didn't realize that it wasn't innocent or unintentional.

Commit to be Involved in the Solution: The school has a Parent Action Council that I hadn't joined or been a part of this year. The principal made her case that she needs parents that will use their voice to be a part of that. Duh. Yeah. My bad.

What do you need to speak up about today?

Monday, January 23, 2012

Mocha Monday - Limbo Edition

Happy Monday!!

Did I tell you my kids have "late start" on Monday? Yep! They get to start school an hour to an hour and a half later EVERY Monday. I'm currently trying to rouse the kids that got extra sleep and are more tired than ever and don't think they could survive a day of school...but they will.

Mocha Monday

Wow! What a week! I took this picture last week of my purple and gold LSU finger nails, but never got my post written.

Here's a little secret...I could care less about football...or sports in general for that matter. But I show love to Superman by painting my nails purple and gold for big LSU games.

They lost anyway, so apparently my nails hold no magic power, but they still make my husband smile.

Crazy Love

Once in awhile I read a really good book. I mean a REALLY good book. I remember the first book I read that really got me interested in Christian non-Fiction: The Body by Chuck Colson (now updated as Being the Body) It is the book that made me start thinking about the church the way I believe God thinks about the church.

Then last summer there was Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman - the first book that I read cover to cover in one sitting.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan is one of those books...one of those REALLY good books. If I could some it up shortly, I would say

Stoplight Day

My son's high school had spirit week this week in honor of an upcoming rival basketball game. I personally was super disturbed by the theme on Wednesday. It was called Stoplight Day. In other words, wear green if you are available, yellow if "its complicated" and red if you're taken.

I personally was appalled.

When I mentioned this on Facebook I got scores of comments letting me know it wasn't just me that thought this was ridiculous. However, the school is currently holding an opinion of it being "innocent fun." The principal has agreed to meet with me next week, and I would like to show her the thoughts of the masses.

Would you help me out?

I would love it if you would click over to my website and fill in your thoughts. I'd appreciate it if you'd share your first name, but you can remain as anonymous as you'd like. Your comments will not be visible to others.

CLICK HERE!