IEP Meeting

For those who asked to hear about the IEP meeting: 
Because of working extra hours this week and because of end-of-the-year events at our church's school, I haven't had much chance to think through the meeting.

1.  The people we met were very nice.  Even if Maggie doesn't become a student at the public school, they have offered different kinds of help and suggestions.   I was impressed!

2.  It sounds like Medicaid is available only if we sign her up for SSI.  We'll have to look into that.

3.  We learned that there is such a thing as "partial guardianship."  We'd been told that we should put Maggie under guardianship, but she seems too able for that.  And yet, there are things that both she and we think she needs protection from and help with.  Partial guardianship may be just the thing.  We'll have to look into it.

4.  She does not need to go to the public school in order to be eligible to receive services from the State.  I have been told repeatedly by people in the County and the State that eligibility is normally determined by teacher/counselor evaluations as to how the child struggles in school.  Well, I guess that's not going to apply to us now.  Maggie's testing showed her to be severely developmentally delayed in processing speed.  That means she thinks slowly and hears slowly and makes decisions slowly.  She tested so low on this that the representative from the State said Maggie would be "category 1" and go up near the top of the waiting list when we are ready to sign her up for help in finding a job.

There's still a lot to figure out.  But it's looking less likely that public school will become part of our lives later this year.

The Holy Spirit Points to Christ

John 16:  Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will guide you into all truth.

John 14: What was that about Jesus being the Way, the Truth, and the Life??

The Strawberry Bed

So the picture on the left is what the strawberry bed looked like on Sunday afternoon. 

On Monday afternoon, Maggie and I worked for less than an hour.

By Tuesday evening the patch was shocking.  No weeds.  Just lots and lots of dirt.  Maggie worked really hard.  Andrew helped too.  Wow -- it's beautiful!  Aren't they awesome?!

Wood Sorrel

There's a reason to yank these beautiful flowers out of my strawberry patch.

But tell me again why I'm pulling them from my flower beds?

IEP Meeting

Tomorrow morning is the meeting.

I wonder how many parents go into an IEP, having taught the kid for many years? What will the school folks do with a parent who has strong opinions on curriculum, what works, and what doesn't for this particular kid? Will they understand that I care more about learning than about succeeding with grades? Will they care about my observations and my thoughts on where she is with regard to Piaget's stages and/or her developmental level with regard to classical education?

What if I'm too opinionated?
What if I'm too demanding?
What if I'm not demanding enough?

Good thing Gary's planning to go too.

A Fun Afternoon

Swimming pool!

Cold beer. Hot day. Good thing.

I think somebody has her sports mixed up.

I can never keep track of this horse's name. Alia keeps changing it.

"Mmmmm. Spinach! Nanna, may I have some of your spinach? I love spinach." And the mommy says this is not the same kid who eats at her house. Plucking it out of the garden must give it some magical tastiness properties.

Sitting in the strawberries. Zoe was trying to help weed. We made a good dent in the mess.

A blackbird decidedly unhappy to see a hawk hanging around.

Yesterday's Tally

One batch of potato salad.
Two batches of granola.
One large batch of applesauce-oat muffins.
One batch of Katie-&-Zoe-safe muffins.
One batch of home-made caramels.
One batch of kombucha.

To the farm to buy milk.
To the bank's night deposit for a drop-off.
To the grocery store to nab this week's loss leaders.
Three loads of laundry.
Watering the garden.
Weeding more of the strawberry patch.
Prep work for a tray of baklava.
Prep work for two batches of Glenda's Most Evil Dessert.
Our first attempt at home-made mozzarella. 

And because of all that, I washed dishes eight times.

Today I go to "work."  That's the place where I get paid ... and where I rest up from my so-called day off.

Colin and Gary -- Almost Twins

My dear friend Jane and I are married to guys who look like brothers.  Their family used to be members of Gary's congregation in south central Wisconsin.  When they moved to Indiana, Gary suggested a congregation for them to join.  The first day they showed up there, people said, "Wow, you look just like a pastor we know."  Even though these folks hadn't told him yet who they were thinkin' of, Colin told them, "Yes, I do, and he's my pastor."

So Katie attended a reunion this weekend with some of her dear friends.  Alia liked Colin right away.  She kept calling him Papa. 

Why does that make me so incredibly happy?!!!

Their Love for Paul

The Galatians loved Paul. They listened to him. They welcomed him. They received his preaching. When they begin to turn to another gospel, Paul reminds them how, if it were possible, they would have "plucked out their own eyes and given them" to Paul (Galatians 4:11-15).

This shows their deep affection for their pastor. But it's not just their love for him. What moves them is also their love for others. Christians want others to hear the good news of the forgiveness of sins. The Galatians desired not only what was good for their pastor, but also that their pastor be able to continue in his work.

Being an Interested Person

In responding to Cheryl's comment in the previous post, I was reminded of a story from Andrew's class this spring.  The assignment was to give a speech.  The speech was supposed to be "relevant." 

Andrew picked the topic of Norse mythology.  He had all sorts of interesting things to tell.  But was it "relevant"?  No.  In a stretch for relevancy, he discovered that there were 20,000 people in the US who practice that religion.  So we, uh, need to be informed so that, uh, we can understand those folks.  Yeah.  That'd be it.  There's the relevancy.  Yup. 

Apparently, the teacher didn't buy the pitch for being relevant.  But the speech was good.  It was [ta da!!] interesting.  Andrew said his classmates paid attention and asked questions!

This illustrates that sometimes a person is interesting because the listeners are interested.  People who are curious and who are excited to learn... these folks will often find others interesting. Some people find almost everything to be interesting!


Maybe "interesting" is in the eyes of the beholder.

Being an Interesting Person

I imagine that I used to be an interesting person. You may disagree with this, but hey, at least some people used to find me interesting!  It's become clear to me, however, in the last several months that I'm no longer interesting. (At least, not to most people.)  

Not long ago, a friend posted a link to an article about How To Be More Interesting (page 1) and (page 2).  It reflected some of my ruminations.

First, interesting people have ideas.  They're not bland.  They're not conformists.  They have opinions.  They're engaged in life. 

Second, the people around them care to listen to those ideas and opinions. 

And that's what's changed for me. 

If I'm around people who are interested in the Packers' season, they're going to find me boring.  I don't care who the coach is, or what player has been benched, or which team they're playing next.  

I used to be interesting when I hung out with people who cared about the things I cared about: cooking, raising kids, gardens, music, theology, Shakespeare plays, homeschool curriculum, politics, alternative medicine.  If I spend a lot of time with people who don't care diddly about these things, then they're going to find me boring.  What do I have to talk about?  What are my ideas?  People who aren't interested in those topics anyway sure aren't going to care what I think of an already-boring-to-them subject.

I used to be interesting when I wasn't afraid to express my opinions.  The old maxim about not discussing religion and politics makes it easier to get along with co-workers and neighbors.  But if religion and politics are what you think about, care about, talk about, keeping your lip zipped makes you appear boring.

I used to be interesting when I had time to read, to watch movies, to be learning all sorts of cool stuff alongside my kids.  I was filling up my head with nifty ideas, and we'd all be discussing those things as we sat around the table or ran errands or did chores.  Now I just try to keep up with the basics.

Gary's trying to stay up on sports so that he can interact with folks.  It's a great plan.  I don't have the time and energy to delve into that yet.  Maybe someday.  But for now, I will be content with being boring ... except for those dear times when I can be with people whom I find to be interesting!

Forensic Justification

Some of us do not want to emphasize forensic justification.  "Oh, there's so much more to it than that.  That's an old-fashioned model.  Let's get beyond that."

But as we heard in Bible class last week, there's courtroom talk all through John and Paul:
witnessing
testimony
testifying
truth
paying the penalty.

That's sounds pretty forensic to me.

Cilantro

Fresh cilantro.  Mmmmm.  Maybe that's what heaven will smell like. 

Biblical Numbers

They may be cool, but are they important? 

They must be.  Between Jesus' ascension and Pentecost, the apostles decided they needed to replace Judas.  WHY?

For some reason, these guys knew that eleven wasn't an okay number.  There were supposed to be twelve.  (Okay, so they didn't get it that there was a twelfth, and God would send Paul along in due time.  That's irrelevant for the moment.)  Regardless of who the twelfth would be, they knew that something about the twelveness was important. 

I'm betting that there are other numbers that are more important than I can understand too.

This Is Serious Stuff

So, is fussiness a bad thing?  I've often noticed the particular care my pastor takes with the items on the altar after communion.  He sets the vessels in just the right place.  He makes sure the veil is neat and straight and the corners are folded just so. 

Some people might find that to be too picky.  But it sends a message (although I'm pretty sure that's not why he does it).  It sends a message that these things matter.  That this is serious stuff.  That this is not to be rushed through.  That something precious and important is happening here.

An article in Touchstone (hat tip: Rick Stuckwisch) illustrated the difference between the pastor and the soldiers at a military funeral.  The pastor was a little casual.  The soldiers were precise in executing their military rites. 

At the late service on Good Friday, the final distribution hymn ended a big fat minute or two (or three?) before Pastor was done at the altar.  Silence.  We waited.  We watched.  The silence continued.  He was taking his usual pains with making sure everything was just so.  More silence.

Earlier in the evening, we'd heard the Passion According to St John.  At the very end of the story, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus' body in linen and laid Him in the tomb.  And there was Pastor, ever-so-carefully draping the linen over the vessels where Jesus' body and blood had been minutes before. 

I was not the only one who had to brush away a tear.

Did it matter?  Would Jesus have been any less there, any less forgiving, had Pastor been hastier and more casual?  No. 

But it still matters.
The careful attention-to-detail confesses something about what's happening there, in that place, at that time, through that bread and that wine.  It confesses something about what that bread and wine IS.

And what do we confess when we hurry through and are okay with sloppiness?

Prom

School Tour

Kids tour colleges they're considering, right?  It's not as common to tour high schools, largely because most people don't consider the options and then make a choice.  Well, Maggie and I toured our local public high school yesterday.

There are a lot of nice things about it.  Most of the classrooms have many huge windows!  I also like the block scheduling they use: instead of 8 classes per day, taken all year, kids take 4 classes per day and finish the whole course in a semester.

There is a policeman who spends his days at the school.  I have mixed feelings about that.  It's creepy that it's considered necessary.  And yet, if it is necessary, I guess it's good he's right there.

The guidance counselor has worked with homeschoolers before.  He's worked with special-needs kids before.  He's never worked with a special-needs homeschooler transferring in.  So if we do this, we're breaking new ground.  He also reminded me that Maggie could take one class at the high school if we preferred that over full-time enrollment.  That's something to consider, although the transportation would probably be a problem. 

The hallways are full of posters promoting environmentalism.  (And no, I ought not be surprised.  My logical head knew it would be that way.  But I was still surprised by how many posters!)

There's no microwave in the school cafeteria for nuking lunches.  Either buy lunch there (which doesn't look like a good plan, from what we saw on the menus) or take a cold lunch.

Classes start at 7:25.  In the morning!  The school bus picks up at 6:30.  This would mean Maggie should be hitting the hay around 8:00 if she goes to school next year.  Yikes!

The hallways and the classrooms seemed bright and cheery.  But not in the special-ed area of the school.  No windows in those classrooms.  Small rooms.  Darker rooms.  Drearier hallway.  That seems wrong.

Maggie and I are both finding ourselves in this weird Land of Unknowing.  On the one hand, we're talking about next year as if she's going to school -- what classes she'll take, what to do about lunch, how she'll figure out her locker combination, etc.  And yet we're also assuming that we'll go on with homeschooling -- looking forward to APT next fall, considering which curricula we'll use for various subjects, thinking about fieldtrips and volunteering at the library, etc.  It's strange to be expecting both mutually-exclusive things to happen.  Hopefully we'll know a lot more after next week's big meeting.

Can You Punish AND Forgive?

Somehow I always had the idea that forgiveness meant that you wouldn't be punished.  "I forgive you" meant that you wouldn't have to stay after school, or wouldn't have to pay for the broken window, or wouldn't have to go to jail.

I don't think I'm the only one with that idea.

After all, look at the judicial system.  Listen to the media.  The criminal is really really sorry for what he did.  Because he's sorry, that means he should be forgiven.  And of course, "forgiveness" means that he won't have to be incarcerated.  Right?  Wrong.

We tend to do the same thing with kids.  How often have you heard parents say, "But I can't spank him now.  He said he was sorry, and I forgave him!" 

First problem with that is that you'll raise a brat who learns to lie about Being Sorry. 

Second problem is that a kid learns that punishment means he's not forgiven.  Oooh.  Ick.  Do we want to teach that lesson?  Heck, no.  But when we [as a society or as parents or as teachers] do refrain from punishing a kid who's truly sorry, what happens to that same kid when punishments come later, at another time?  Does that mean Daddy doesn't forgive me this time? 

And worse, do we conclude that when bad stuff happens, it means that God doesn't forgive?

Certainty

Luther's always talking about "certainty."  Again and again, he says that thus-and-such cannot be true, because if it were true we would have no certainty.

I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why "but then we would have no certainty" meant X-ing out an argument without further consideration.  Wasn't that just wishful thinking?  "Hey, I want to be certain of my salvation.  I want to be certain that I am God's child.  And if we can't hang onto our certainty, then let's just ditch that idea!  After all, we can't let it mess up my certainty."

So I finally asked.  "Where does the Bible tell us that God wants us to be certain?  I don't see a passage like that anywhere."

And the answer?  "I have called you by name; you are Mine.  Does that sound iffy to you?  I forgive you all your sins.  Is that conditional?  As far as the east is from the west, so far have I removed your transgressions from you.  That sounds like God really means it, like He's certain.  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Any chance there might be some condemnation for you?  No?  Well, that sounds pretty certain to me."  As the Bible verses poured forth, it became clear.

If God tells the truth, then, by-gum, we can be certain.

Murder and Lies

Jesus told the Pharisees, You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  (John 8:44)

If God's word is truth,
and if God's word gives life,

then Satan's lies about doctrine
is how he murders.




His murder "from the beginning" was what he said to Eve: "Did God really say ...?"