T’was the day before Christmas, when up to the house…
There walked two young girls, forget the old mouse!
About seven or eight, they clutched in their hands
A sheet with penciled words; there wasn’t a band.
They rang the doorbell, smiling and serene.
My father opened the door; t’was a pair he’d before ne’er seen.
“May we sing a song for you?” they collectively asked. Expecting a carol, my father said “Yes.”
And they proceeded to sing: “We can be anything we want to be, anything. We can be, we can be. We can be anything we want to be.” The refrain continued for about three verses worth of listing of things they could be if they wanted to.
At the end of the song, my father sort of expected a request for a cookie, or a donation, or something. The girls, instead, stated they had written the song themselves, and admitted, “We can’t sing very well. We can’t carry a tune in a bucket. But we’re having fun.” With that, they marched back to the street to head for the neighbor’s house.
What a time of year for such a wondrous thought. I can be anything I want. Brings to mind a passage written by Paul “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” You know, the girls weren’t half wrong. Through Him, we can be anything He wants us to be!
Hope your Christmas brought you some cheer.
Are there any of those fudge Santas left?
Dr. G
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Beware of Unintended Echoes
The grade school I attended from grades four through seven was an L-shaped building, with one wing on a ridge, slightly higher than the other wing. The playground extended outward from between the two wings. If one faced the spot where the two wings came together from a distance of about 100 feet, you were, as we kids soon discovered, in a delightful echo chamber. One could holler at the building, and it would faithfully answer back. It didn’t matter what you said; that is what came back. It didn’t matter how you said it; that is what came back. Echoes.
Almost two years ago, my wife and I were visiting her sister and brother-in-law. Also there that day were our daughter and granddaughter. I was sitting in the living room, reading. Daughter and granddaughter were in the family room, at the other end of the house. My daughter’s voice came through the air, “Grandpa, are you ready to eat?” Immediately following was a much younger voice saying, “Grandpa, are you ready to eat?”
“What are my choices?” I answered back.
My daughter quickly gave a short list of choices, only to be followed by the little voice providing the exact same list.
“I hear an echo!” I said.
“You do?” queried the little voice from afar. Moments later she was in the living room, big eyes looking for the echo. It was amusing the way she had echoed her mother so clearly.
While teaching my kindergarten students, sometimes when one does something very well, or in a surprising manner, I’ll lean back and say, in an astonished voice, “Mercy!” One of the classroom teachers I serve told me yesterday of an experience they'd had the day before. A boy and a girl, neither of which are my students, were sitting at a round table with the parapro (teacher’s aide) working on a project. The boy did something (I wasn’t told what) and the little girl leaned back and exclaimed, “Mercy!”
Many of the words which we hear from our students, especially the younger ones, are actually echoes of things they’ve heard at home, the baby-sitter’s, or at abuelita’s house. We need to be careful not to judge the little ones by the echoes they produce at school. We don’t know under what circumstances they’ve heard the words they repeat, or the attitudes reflected by what is said.
We must work hard to provide positive, re-enforcing “echo” material to these minds that come to us daily. We have to be so careful in what we say, even in a joking manner. Walls that produce echoes, like the walls at the grade school I attended, don’t take into account attitude, situation, or intention. They just bounce back what they’ve heard. The same is true with little children.
Mercy! I forgot my lunch choices. What were they again?
Dr. G
Almost two years ago, my wife and I were visiting her sister and brother-in-law. Also there that day were our daughter and granddaughter. I was sitting in the living room, reading. Daughter and granddaughter were in the family room, at the other end of the house. My daughter’s voice came through the air, “Grandpa, are you ready to eat?” Immediately following was a much younger voice saying, “Grandpa, are you ready to eat?”
“What are my choices?” I answered back.
My daughter quickly gave a short list of choices, only to be followed by the little voice providing the exact same list.
“I hear an echo!” I said.
“You do?” queried the little voice from afar. Moments later she was in the living room, big eyes looking for the echo. It was amusing the way she had echoed her mother so clearly.
While teaching my kindergarten students, sometimes when one does something very well, or in a surprising manner, I’ll lean back and say, in an astonished voice, “Mercy!” One of the classroom teachers I serve told me yesterday of an experience they'd had the day before. A boy and a girl, neither of which are my students, were sitting at a round table with the parapro (teacher’s aide) working on a project. The boy did something (I wasn’t told what) and the little girl leaned back and exclaimed, “Mercy!”
Many of the words which we hear from our students, especially the younger ones, are actually echoes of things they’ve heard at home, the baby-sitter’s, or at abuelita’s house. We need to be careful not to judge the little ones by the echoes they produce at school. We don’t know under what circumstances they’ve heard the words they repeat, or the attitudes reflected by what is said.
We must work hard to provide positive, re-enforcing “echo” material to these minds that come to us daily. We have to be so careful in what we say, even in a joking manner. Walls that produce echoes, like the walls at the grade school I attended, don’t take into account attitude, situation, or intention. They just bounce back what they’ve heard. The same is true with little children.
Mercy! I forgot my lunch choices. What were they again?
Dr. G
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
He's Making a List, Checking it Twice!
Rev 11:27 "But there shall by no means enter in ..., but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life."
This time of year, we hear songs about Santa making a list. He’s not the only one!
A number of years ago, my wife taught Spanish on the college level while I taught Biology. Occasionally she would organize study tours to Spain, sometimes including one or two other European countries along the way. One year we had gone to France for several days before heading down to Madrid for about eight days. One of the students we had along was from Brazil and was in the US on a student visa. His family was originally from Italy, and, prior
to the Second World War, was of minor nobility in Italy. We'll call him Dino.
After our first day in France, Dino asked permission of my wife to travel overnight to Italy to see if he could regain some of his family's earlier rights and holdings. After going over our schedule carefully with him and making sure he understood that he was to be in Madrid to meet us several days before we were to leave for home, she let him go. Once into Europe, it is very easy to move from country to country (the whole of the continent is s
maller than the contiguous US, and the area is, essentially, border-free). The rest of us continued on to study the culture and see the sights.
The day came for Dino to meet us at the hotel in Madrid, and, as my wife had feared, he was nowhere to be found. He’d given her a contact person in Italy. When she checked with them, they’d not seen or heard from him. We had no idea where he might be.
The morning we were preparing to load the bus for our trip to the airport, Dino pulls up in a taxi. I’m not sure we ever got the complete story as to where he’d been for a week, but at least he was back with us. While not able to regain the title of Duke, and unable to regain title to any land, he had at least obtained assurances from the government that he would receive a full scholarship for the rest of his college career. So the trip had not been a complete waste.
After a brief discussion, we headed for the airport for our return flight. With groups like this, my wife always made sure we had plenty of time before boarding, so we were there to check in several hours earlier than required. As she gathered everyone's travel documents and tickets prior to checking the group in, it was discovered that Dino did not have his I-20, which is the written student visa.
Any time a student in the US on a student visa leaves the country but is planning on re-entering, the written I-20 must be with them. And Dino remembered leaving his on his bed back in the dorm in Massachusetts. Without that paper, Dino would not be able to re-enter the US. In fact, without it, he couldn't even get on the plane.
Knowing she had about two hours for the Lord to work miracles, my wife checked the rest of the group in, and then phoned the US Embassy in downtown Madrid. The first hurdle to cross was to deal with the fact that it was a national holiday in Spain, and the Embassy was closed. Fortunately, someone 'happened" to answer the phone, and agreed to let her through the gate to see what could be done. The next question was how to give credence to her claim that she represented a college from the US. She never traveled abroad without letterhead stationery from the school. So she promptly wrote a letter on a sheet of the paper, signed it, and headed downtown in a taxi, Dino in tow.
At the Embassy, step one was convincing the Marines at the gate that someone was expecting her on a holiday. Finally a phone call was made from the guard post, and the door was opened. Inside, after a brief conversation, a temporary travel document was provided for Dino, and it was back to the airport. Our plane was about to start the boarding process when they returned. Dino quickly checked in, and we all made it home safely.
Having claim to an I-20 wasn't sufficient. Dino was supposed to keep it with him. Having my name written some time ago in the Lamb's Book of Life is only the beginning. I've got to keep it there (keep the Lamb with me). There are a number of warnings in the scriptures about "not losing your crown" or “falling away”, or "losing my first love." Retaining our passports into heaven requires constant attention; it is a continual process.
Don’t leave home without it.
Dr. G
This time of year, we hear songs about Santa making a list. He’s not the only one!
A number of years ago, my wife taught Spanish on the college level while I taught Biology. Occasionally she would organize study tours to Spain, sometimes including one or two other European countries along the way. One year we had gone to France for several days before heading down to Madrid for about eight days. One of the students we had along was from Brazil and was in the US on a student visa. His family was originally from Italy, and, prior
to the Second World War, was of minor nobility in Italy. We'll call him Dino.After our first day in France, Dino asked permission of my wife to travel overnight to Italy to see if he could regain some of his family's earlier rights and holdings. After going over our schedule carefully with him and making sure he understood that he was to be in Madrid to meet us several days before we were to leave for home, she let him go. Once into Europe, it is very easy to move from country to country (the whole of the continent is s
maller than the contiguous US, and the area is, essentially, border-free). The rest of us continued on to study the culture and see the sights.The day came for Dino to meet us at the hotel in Madrid, and, as my wife had feared, he was nowhere to be found. He’d given her a contact person in Italy. When she checked with them, they’d not seen or heard from him. We had no idea where he might be.
The morning we were preparing to load the bus for our trip to the airport, Dino pulls up in a taxi. I’m not sure we ever got the complete story as to where he’d been for a week, but at least he was back with us. While not able to regain the title of Duke, and unable to regain title to any land, he had at least obtained assurances from the government that he would receive a full scholarship for the rest of his college career. So the trip had not been a complete waste.
After a brief discussion, we headed for the airport for our return flight. With groups like this, my wife always made sure we had plenty of time before boarding, so we were there to check in several hours earlier than required. As she gathered everyone's travel documents and tickets prior to checking the group in, it was discovered that Dino did not have his I-20, which is the written student visa.
Any time a student in the US on a student visa leaves the country but is planning on re-entering, the written I-20 must be with them. And Dino remembered leaving his on his bed back in the dorm in Massachusetts. Without that paper, Dino would not be able to re-enter the US. In fact, without it, he couldn't even get on the plane.
Knowing she had about two hours for the Lord to work miracles, my wife checked the rest of the group in, and then phoned the US Embassy in downtown Madrid. The first hurdle to cross was to deal with the fact that it was a national holiday in Spain, and the Embassy was closed. Fortunately, someone 'happened" to answer the phone, and agreed to let her through the gate to see what could be done. The next question was how to give credence to her claim that she represented a college from the US. She never traveled abroad without letterhead stationery from the school. So she promptly wrote a letter on a sheet of the paper, signed it, and headed downtown in a taxi, Dino in tow.
At the Embassy, step one was convincing the Marines at the gate that someone was expecting her on a holiday. Finally a phone call was made from the guard post, and the door was opened. Inside, after a brief conversation, a temporary travel document was provided for Dino, and it was back to the airport. Our plane was about to start the boarding process when they returned. Dino quickly checked in, and we all made it home safely.
Having claim to an I-20 wasn't sufficient. Dino was supposed to keep it with him. Having my name written some time ago in the Lamb's Book of Life is only the beginning. I've got to keep it there (keep the Lamb with me). There are a number of warnings in the scriptures about "not losing your crown" or “falling away”, or "losing my first love." Retaining our passports into heaven requires constant attention; it is a continual process.
Don’t leave home without it.
Dr. G
Monday, December 10, 2007
Be Careful What You Grab!
My wife and I have a satellite dish that provides us access to five religious TV channels. We get a lot of enjoyment out of all of them. Several of them, at the hourly breaks, often have short musical interludes with video clips of nature that have Bible texts superimposed on them. 
There is one clip that I see quite frequently that catches my eye. It has a flower with an insect with a yellow and black-striped abdomen. I suspect that many people who see it think, “There is a bee/wasp on that flower.” However, in reality, the insect is a species of hover fly (Family Syrphidae). Most members of the family mimic stinging insects. Not because they are dangerous like the bee or wasp, but because the mimicry causes other creatures to leave the flies alone.
I used to teach an environmental awareness class while I was a biology profess
or. We’d take occasional walks in the spring, learning how to “see” nature, to become more observant, and I used to enjoy catching these “bees” with my bare hands. It helps to know the difference between the real and the mimic.
Another insect I would do this with was somewhat larger, and to the casual observer, appeared to be a bumble bee. This one, however, was a member of the Sphinx moth family. Unlike most moths, this creature had only a few scales on its wings, and they were in a pattern like the veins in the bumble-bee wing.
With the body colored like the bumble-bee, this moth, which could have made a tasty meal for a bird, was able to probe among the petunias with impunity. I still remember hearing students gasping in surprise when I’d reach down and casually cup one in my hand.
Mimicry. In both these cases, the mimic was disguised as a more harmful creature
to gain protection. But mimicry can also go the other direction: the harmful can be disguised as a benign creature to gain surprise over its prey. Some of the praying mantises of the tropics are great examples of this: disguised as leaves so the unsuspecting prey insects wander close and never know what got them. Another example would be the predacious caterpillars that mimic twigs, and snatch passing flies.
In the spiritual realm, Christ warned His followers to be on the watch for mimics. Not the harmless disguised as the dangerous to gain protection; rather, the harmful disguised as the harmless to more readily catch prey for Satan. Of course, we’ve all heard of “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Some of us have even seen such.
Even though the syrphid flies and sphinx moths resemble bees or wasps in their appearance, they still behave like flies and moths, not bees and wasps. Likewise, wolves in sheep’s clothing may appear like sheep, but their behavior is still that of wolves. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Nature is full of deceit; so is the human experience. Satan doesn’t always roar; sometimes he buzzes, and sometimes he lies quietly in wait. Tragically, “I don’t see…” might be the last thought the prey has.
Don’t be fooled by leaves with legs, or sheep with pointed ears.
Dr. G
There is one clip that I see quite frequently that catches my eye. It has a flower with an insect with a yellow and black-striped abdomen. I suspect that many people who see it think, “There is a bee/wasp on that flower.” However, in reality, the insect is a species of hover fly (Family Syrphidae). Most members of the family mimic stinging insects. Not because they are dangerous like the bee or wasp, but because the mimicry causes other creatures to leave the flies alone.I used to teach an environmental awareness class while I was a biology profess
or. We’d take occasional walks in the spring, learning how to “see” nature, to become more observant, and I used to enjoy catching these “bees” with my bare hands. It helps to know the difference between the real and the mimic.Another insect I would do this with was somewhat larger, and to the casual observer, appeared to be a bumble bee. This one, however, was a member of the Sphinx moth family. Unlike most moths, this creature had only a few scales on its wings, and they were in a pattern like the veins in the bumble-bee wing.
With the body colored like the bumble-bee, this moth, which could have made a tasty meal for a bird, was able to probe among the petunias with impunity. I still remember hearing students gasping in surprise when I’d reach down and casually cup one in my hand.Mimicry. In both these cases, the mimic was disguised as a more harmful creature
to gain protection. But mimicry can also go the other direction: the harmful can be disguised as a benign creature to gain surprise over its prey. Some of the praying mantises of the tropics are great examples of this: disguised as leaves so the unsuspecting prey insects wander close and never know what got them. Another example would be the predacious caterpillars that mimic twigs, and snatch passing flies.In the spiritual realm, Christ warned His followers to be on the watch for mimics. Not the harmless disguised as the dangerous to gain protection; rather, the harmful disguised as the harmless to more readily catch prey for Satan. Of course, we’ve all heard of “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Some of us have even seen such.
Even though the syrphid flies and sphinx moths resemble bees or wasps in their appearance, they still behave like flies and moths, not bees and wasps. Likewise, wolves in sheep’s clothing may appear like sheep, but their behavior is still that of wolves. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Nature is full of deceit; so is the human experience. Satan doesn’t always roar; sometimes he buzzes, and sometimes he lies quietly in wait. Tragically, “I don’t see…” might be the last thought the prey has.
Don’t be fooled by leaves with legs, or sheep with pointed ears.
Dr. G
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