In the News~~~ Valedictorians In School

I couldn’t pass this one by as I listened to the morning news. Somewhere in the United States a school has decided to do away with the honor of “valedictorian” because it hurts the feelings of those not receiving the award. In case you don’t know what that big word stands for it is an honor given to top A students who have done well and accomplished great things with their grades throughout school. Therefore they are given the honor to give the commencement or farewell speech at graduation.

Unfortunately there are people who think that things like this should be done away with to help spare the feelings of those who don’t get such an honor. I never got it in school and it didn’t seem to harm me or at least I don’t think it did. In fact I had two sisters above me that was given this privilege. They earned it over the years. They worked hard for what they accomplished. Both of them even made “American’s Teen of the Year” award broadcasted in a book nation wide.
I was way too busy being “me” that I didn’t care what they did. As much as my parents probably wondered what in the world happened to “Karen” their third daughter they never brought up the subject of being like my sisters. My listed accomplishments were chasing boys, playing volleyball, dancing on the drill team, and running around with the church youth group.

The answer isn’t taking away from one person’s accomplishment to compensate for those who don’t achieve the same thing. I would never want my sisters to lose their honor because I didn’t care about achieving what they did. Bringing them down wasn’t going to bring me up any higher than what I wanted to be.

That’s like saying no one should have the honor of being president of a country or organization because others can’t be on that same level. The achievements of others give us something to strive for. It should never be used as a stick to beat ourselves down with. That unfortunately is a choice we make for ourselves.

Put the stick down, if you don’t make it all the way to the top that’s okay too. If others pick the stick up and try to beat you over the head with it wondering why you aren’t better, walk away but look back. Ask yourself, “Are you trying as hard as you possibly can? Could you do something better?” “What can I learn from this to help me in the future?” If you are doing your best and applying all you can to accomplish what you can then hold your chin up high and walk forward.

Don’t ever anchor yourself at the doorstep of “if only I could be like them,” “if only I was smarter,” If only I was prettier, smarter, richer, or more outgoing.” “If only they wouldn’t honor people like them I could feel better about myself.” Wrong, you can feel good about yourself no matter what others are achieving.

The true valedictorian or honor student is the one you are in your heart and your attitude. No one can take that away from you. Following Jesus and being obedient to His word will help you accomplish that in a very big way. Don’t bring others down, lift your own self up with Jesus.

© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

In the News ~~~ E-Prayer Offer

Recently in the news was an advertisement for a new website that offered “e-prayer.” For a small fee each month a computer will recite out loud the Lord’s Prayer in your name. A very thoughtful solution to the busy lives we lead but not well thought out.

God doesn’t want to hear from a machine He wants to hear from us. Prayer is more for those who are saying them than they are for God. It’s our communication line between us and our Heavenly Father. It is the avenue in which our relationship will grow if we allow it.

How would you feel if mom or dad took a tape recording and recited on it, “I love you Sue” and that’s the only time you heard it. They never said it to your face. They never showed it to you in their actions. You only heard it when the programmed recorder recited it out loud once a month. Trust me, you wouldn’t like it, I wouldn’t like it.

I carry in my purse a recording of my granddaughters saying “I love you grandma.” It’s fun to hear once in awhile, I even used it once when I was feeling pretty down to help lift my spirits. However, I would never want that to be the only thing between me and them. The contact we have weekly, the fun we share on weekends, the treasure of good times, and the lessons from bad times is what makes that recording truly come alive. It brings it from just words to something far more precious.

We can have that with our Lord if we would just talk to Him. Learn the Lord’s Prayer for yourself. Say it as you walk to school. Recite it while you ride in the car with your parents, repeat it in your bed at night, in the shower in the morning. Soon you find you do have time to talk we are never too busy.

Connecting with God doesn’t come through our Christian parents, a programmed computer, the local pastor it comes through us and what we are willing to put in to it. It’s no different that any other relationship such as the one between you and your friends, the one between you and your parents, the one between you and your classmates or co-workers. It’s what you put into it not what you get out of it. God is listening and it’s us He expects to be hearing from. We can pray for one another for their health, well-being, dealing with difficult circumstances but only WE can say OUR prayers to the Lord.

Our Father which art in Heaven,
Hallowed (praise) be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done, (not MY will)
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread (our strength, spiritual food and guidance)
And forgive us our debts (our sins) as we forgive our debtors (those who sin against us)
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen

The prayer starts with praise to God for who He is and it ends in a time of worship, respect and adoration to the One whose kingdom and power and glory is forever. We can be a part of that forever, the choice is ours.

Many of us will never get the chance to talk to the President, Queen or the one in charge of our particular country but we all have been given the privilege to be in contact with the one who created the universe, God himself. Think about it, God himself thanks to Christ who opened that contact when He came to die for you and me on the cross. Don’t shut Him out, don’t give that privilege away. A quick text message won’t do it needs to go further as you talk to Him daily. Give time to God and He will give time to you.

© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

In the News---Public Prayer in School

March 24, 2009

Making the news back in October of 2008 was a college out West. A student was caught praying for a teacher who wasn’t feeling well. Viewing this as some horrible act the college threatened to expel or kick them off the campus if they were ever caught doing this again.

I’m not that old but it use to be the act of doing drugs or drinking is what got you kicked off the school grounds. Now prayer has become the reason to be expelled. Reason or not, never stop praying. Prayer is our connection to God. It is what Christ modeled for us to do as example set for us to follow. You don’t have to be good with words, all that’s required is a heart pointed towards Jesus.

The world may be successful at shutting down public prayer, prayers in the classroom, prayers spoken out loud but they can never stop the ones going on in your heart. Find a place to pray and never stop. It can be in the car as you go down the road, in your bedroom, out on the playground as you swing in the swing, at a local church, as you walk the mall or are sitting in a crowded gymnasium filled with yelling fans.

As I tell my grandchildren if you never start smoking, drinking, doing drugs or other bad habits in the first place you will never have to worry about trying to quit them later. With prayer start young in life, make it a habit and it will become one that will never stop. It’s a habit you will want it to grow instead of go away that has a great ending instead of a tragic one.

Never doubt the fact that your prayers make a difference because they do. Not only for those you may be praying for but for yourself as well. It’s a door to God that only you can open or shut. Use it to communicate with God not send Him a daily wish list of “give me this and give me that.” Prayer is our cell-phone connected to God’s throne in Heaven. The only way we can lose the signal is if we ourselves allow it to be lost.

© 2009 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

In the news: "Abstinence Teaching"

December 30, 2008

Making the news today was the subject of abstinence. The abstinence they are talking about here is not having sex before marriage. Recent study shows that the abstinence teaching that is being done in schools are not working. The purity ring some wear to show the vow or promise they made to themselves, to God, and their future spouse is not working as the “study shows.”

Some have broken their promise and found themselves in situations that birth control would have been a better solution than abstinence teaching one lady said. Her logical advice was to stop abstinence teaching that doesn’t work and is just a waste of money.

Kids don’t listen. It works if you make it work. You will get yourself into situations where you may fall away from your promise to be pure. We all have our moments of stumbling, being weak but that should never stop us from doing what we know is right in God’s eyes. Our lives must never be based on what the “study shows” but what God wants for us.

If we went off the logic of the world we should be shutting down all Alcoholic Anonymous clubs, gambler addiction organizations, diet programs, drug rehabs, and anything else because they just don’t seem to work. In a day or two it will be entering a new year. A time where people make New Year resolutions to stop smoking, lose weight, do this or do that.

The fact is most of those resolutions are broken in less than a month. Does that make them a waste of time and effort? They can be if we don’t discipline ourselves to move forward and deal with these things in our lives. A lot of these represent areas of weakness that need to be strengthened not given in to.

Our resolution should be to learn self-discipline and how to apply it to our lives in a healthy manner using the Lord Jesus to see us through and give us what we need to succeed. Using God, through the help of His Holy Word and Spirit, to teach us how to stand up to Satan and the temptations he puts our way.

If you stumble, get back up, repent to God for your shortcoming and seek to learn from your mistakes that they will not be frequently repeated. You are a temple of God, a dwelling place where He wants to live, take care of that temple. Don’t measure yourself against the kid next to you on how easy they seem to bounce back from something they do. We all have our areas of weakness and strengths. Deal with your own not someone else’s. The avenue of prayer is a good place to start. Pray that God will help you where you are weak while using your strengths to glorify Him.

Copyright 2008 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

In The News: Pledge of Allegiance

The pledge of Allegiance was originally written in 1892 by a Baptist minister. In 1954 the words “under God” were added. Over the years a few of the original words have changed slightly but the meaning and loyalty to what was said should never. What use to be a requirement to recite at the beginning of each school day now becomes a choice for those who choose to say it as long as they go some place else to say it.

In the news this week a grade school was making headlines. In order for the kids who want to say the pledge of Allegiance they are required to walk up to the second floor on their free time to do so. It was set up that way so the kids who don’t want to say it won’t feel left out if it’s done in the classroom.

When the adults set up this kind of system it gives you a choice you need to make. Remaining loyal to the flag and what it represents is a good choice. Even if you have to walk up two, three, or four flights of stairs then do so. We have a wonderful country and we need to keep our pride in it. You may not always agree with what goes on, decisions being made on your behalf but that should never take away from the loyalty and the pride we should feel in our hearts.

The same with prayer, one day the adults decided it needed to be taken out of school so kids wouldn’t feel offended by those who do it. If it takes going up flights of stairs to say it, be strong and do it. Praise the Lord you don’t need to go up flights of stairs, you can say your prayers and express your pride in your Country in the depths of your hearts.

The choice is yours just like it was the choice of others to not say these things. Changing the Words of God or the words to the pledge of allegiance to suit your way of thinking is not the answer. Don’t be afraid to choose God. Don’t be ashamed to choose to express your pride in your country through the pledge of allegiance.

It's showing respect for God and respect for our country, don't ever lose that no matter what others do around you!

Copyright 2008 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

In The News

Hi there,

I’m just dropping in to let you know to watch for “In the News.” There are a lot of things that happen in the news we need to discuss. Its amazing what you can learn from other people both for the good and bad. Jesus wants us to learn for the good of course. Our goal through “In the news” is that you do just that. Learning daily how to learn for the good of you in your walk with Jesus. How you succeed or fail in life depends on you and how willing you are to strive for your goals and make the right choices to achieve those goals.

Lesson 1: In the news “SPELLING”

Recently in the news a school teacher suggested that the school take off the “wrong” list some frequently misspelled words. To the teacher it was too much of a bother to deal with words the kids were never going to get right in the first place. To put these words on the ignore list would make grading papers a lot easier. After all, they figure, the kids were making the same mistake over and over so why bother.

Why bother? You bother because you need to care about yourself. Even if others are ready to give up on you, you should never give up on yourself. You may misspell a word or two the rest of your life but its no excuse to give up on yourself. I’m well over the junior high, High School and college years and I still struggle with the word “potatoe” no its “POTATO.” If it wasn’t for spell check I’d probably keep getting it wrong but some day I may suddenly stop the habit of wanting to add an E on the ende, just kidding… END.

We need to do all we can to learn as we apply ourselves to improve where improvement is needed. If we manage to fall short in one area of our life then that’s fine too. It’s just going to take a little extra time and effort to do better. Giving up on yourself won’t get you there. It’s not an option, it’s not an excuse.

If it takes you well into your college years or beyond to get certain words straight in your head then so be it. Don’t ever give up on yourself. Try your best to learn those words and learn from your mistakes. At the same time do all you can to better yourself instead of accepting yourself where you are.

God loves us where we are, Praise the Lord. However, our love for God should be the driving force that makes us want to better ourselves. God certainly doesn’t want us to stay the way we are simply because He first loved us that way. He expects us to be obedient to His Word and mature into the children He would have us to be. Even when others want to give up on you never give up on yourself as God won’t give up on you either. Satan will try to make you think He has but He won’t. So keep on speelllin or I should say SPELLING! I Love Jesus!

Copyright 2008 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing