On My Heart
You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, you listen to their cry.
- Psalm 10:17
"He sent forth His Word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave"
-Psalm 107:20
My beach, our beach is being destroyed and my heart is broken. The gleaming white sands and beautiful waters of Gulf Shores, Fort Morgan, Orange Beach have been my home away from home, my refuge, my sanctuary, almost every year of my life. Through the years of my childhood, teenage-hood, college, newlywed, and now with my own children, I have come to these beaches for restoration.
But now they are now under attack. AT 5 p.m. Friday the 4th, a swath of oil, a half a mile down the beach, arrived. Oil began to fill the air with a smell like "a garage", as someone on Facebook noted. The beaches are being pummeled with globs of oil. Granted it has not covered all of these beach areas. But, one is too much! I am beyond words in how devastated I feel for those whose entire lives depend on the Gulf. I even have family who are dependent on this southern tropical beauty.
As I sit back, watching the developmetns on the news, I can only, simply pray for the Lord to intervene and bring about a miracle for the families of the Gulf, the businesses and the water, land and marine life. We cannot abandon them in their time of need. I encourage you, go until you can't go anymore. Volunteer to help if you can. Pray for them all as they deal with this catastrophe. But, no matter what God is control!
On to my next hearts...concern. Our President, the leader of our country does not seem to be taking the devastation in the Gulf seriously. I was offended for the people of the Gulf States, while I watched our President name-call, play the blame game and participate in celebrations that could have been postponed. I remember the days following 9/11 when Rudy Guiliani did nothing but live and breathe, 18 and 20 hours a day, for weeks on end, to bring aid to his ravaged city. I have seen very little honor or integrity in how President Obama has handled this crisis. I pray that his heart is moved with deep compassion for the peoples of the Gulf States, honoring and aiding them, not honoring Sir Paul McCartney. This is the time to step up, stop talking and do something about it, IMMEDIATELY! Join me in praying for our President. I remind myself again, God is in control!
This week I came upon an article of interest that stirred me up a bit. The homeschooling article/blog found here, "Do You KNOW Anything?", tackled the one subject that is relevant to our family, directly.
Ugh! I mean really? What I want to know from them is "Do you know the answers to all of these questions?" I can not tell you how hurtful it is for people to think and expect that just because my children homeschool that they know EVERYTHING when they're only in the third or sixth grade. Again, really? It's enough to send a terrorist into the fetal position. Well, maybe not that bad. But, my children don't like it. Would you? I think even I would panic.
I have to agree wholeheartedly with Ms. Tabares, I have NEVER quizzed a public, private or Christian school child in this manner. Have you? Probably not. We don't want your criticism or your judgement. We simply need your support. Just as we have supported our friends - the mothers, the fathers, children - in every way we can. We need your support. If there is a crisis in their lives I don't make the excuse, "Well it's because they are in public school." No, we support them!
I have begun to read Beth Moore's newest book "So Long, Insecurity: you've been a bad friend to us". It was a Mother's Day gift from my husband. [let the giggling ensue - let's just say the man knows me better than anyone on this planet - moving on] In the very first chapter "Mad Enough to Change" she hits the nail on the head. And I quote,
"One of the issues homeschoolers have to deal with is the random quizzing of our children and the questions that reflect their ‘concern’ that our children aren’t really learning anything." -Jo Jo Tabares Art of EloquenceAs homeschooler's my children have come under these quiz-fest attacks from adults, mostly mothers, and children alike.
"What is E'mc2?, What is the square root of Pie?, What is 1,456,982 X 123 equal? Do you know, do you, do you, huh!!!"
Ugh! I mean really? What I want to know from them is "Do you know the answers to all of these questions?" I can not tell you how hurtful it is for people to think and expect that just because my children homeschool that they know EVERYTHING when they're only in the third or sixth grade. Again, really? It's enough to send a terrorist into the fetal position. Well, maybe not that bad. But, my children don't like it. Would you? I think even I would panic.
I have to agree wholeheartedly with Ms. Tabares, I have NEVER quizzed a public, private or Christian school child in this manner. Have you? Probably not. We don't want your criticism or your judgement. We simply need your support. Just as we have supported our friends - the mothers, the fathers, children - in every way we can. We need your support. If there is a crisis in their lives I don't make the excuse, "Well it's because they are in public school." No, we support them!
Mindy,
ReplyDeleteYour feelings are close to my heart.
I was sitting on the beach this morning praying for God to have mercy and spare our coast, to forgive our greed and carelessness with His creation, and heal our land.
Last night I walked on the beach with the girls and encouraged them to breathe in every aspect of the beach, the salty-sea scent, the feel of the sand, the sounds of the water. We decided that the only thing that comes close to it's beauty, scent and sight is a Christmas Tree. I choked up and couldn't get it all out, but they got the point.
The water heals us, literally and figuratively.
It's the place that we think is always going to be there, year after year, and this is truly unthinkable.
Last night, Chloe said that God could fix this if He wanted to. We talked about how God's time is different than ours, and how we learn from the mistakes we make, and that God loves all the animals and people in harms way. Often He is working a solution for our best when we are in our deepest dispair - we have to have faith and stand strong in Him, no matter what.
So, this morning, I sat on the beach, wiping away tears and praying. I asked God for forgiveness and mercy so that His precious, perfect creation could be protected. I also prayed for angels to guard against the oil, to dispel it from the beaches and the animals. I don't know if the prayers will be answered, but it seemed the best thing to do in such a helpless feeling situation.
As far as the homeschool issues go, we get the same responses, ironically. There is alot of good in our schools, and I loved our school particularly because the teachers and administration are so super. But, my children's SAT's went way up this year, and Nicole hasn't been sick one single day this year. She's put on weight, added several inches in height, and is now off blood pressure meds.(!)That alone made every bit of this year worth it. I LOVE homeschooling, and our family has never been closer. Thank you - if you hadn't encouraged me, I probably wouldn't have tried it, and it was the very best thing for us. I think you really have to work hard to make sure you teach all the things they need to be learning, but as long as they are enthused and cooperative and you do lots of other things like field trips, educational movies and exposure to friends their ages, it is a good thing. Don't let others discourage you from what you know is best for you - people mean well, usually, but they can carelessly tear you down, too!
I like your blog - it's pretty!
Love,
Dae
Amen Dae, Amen.
ReplyDeleteI'm a resident of Mississippi, and the Gulf Coast is close to my heart as well (though I live several hours away). We are praying daily for this situation. Thank you for sharing your thoughts so beautifully!
ReplyDeleteI'm a new member of the Homeschool Crew this year (found you via the Facebook page). I'm glad to meet you!
Thank you Erin. And I am so glad to meet you here, too. This year is going to be a fun adventure with the TOS Homeschool Crew. I know God has a perfect plan for this years group. Blessings!
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