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Your Vogue
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Older Entries
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Thu, 04 Jan 2007
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| ms bible study |
Dear Middle School Parent:
Since the new year is about starting over, we
would like to take a moment and tell you about
our fresh start. "Ablaze" is a ministry of
highschool teens that love to shine our light and
are 'hot on fire' for the Lord. We currently
lead Wednesday night worship for the teens,
introduce new songs, and lead bible studies on
retreats. Now we would like to be apart of your
teen's and many other Middle Schooler's Christian
walk. Beginning this month, the "Ablaze" Crew
would like to restart the Middle School Bible
Studies that previously took place last year. We
would love to sing, worship, and learn about the
Good Book by teaching and leading worship every
third Sunday night. We will provide activities,
construct lessons, and plan the arrangement for
housing and transportation...But WE NEED YOUR
HELP!
On January 21st, February 18th, March 18th, and
April 15th from 7:15 to 8:45, we would like to
congragate all Middle Schoolers under one roof
for encouragement and revitalization. This is a
great opportunity to open your home to your
brothers and sisters. If you are able to open
your doors on one of these dates, that is
wonderful and please let me know as soon as
possible. If you are not able to open your home,
that is okay, we could use you, too!
The requirement for any youth event is one adult
for every eight kids. This means if there are
thirty-two kids, we need at least four adults...
six for security. Also, we will need to provide
food. If the host and hostess could provide the
drinks and serveware, the other couples could be
responsible for picking up pizza, hotwings, subs,
chips, etc. and then everyone splits the price.
Or if your home is not available and you are
eligible to drive one of the church buses, you
could provide transportation after church from
7:15-7:30 (teens will be picked up at the host
and hostess's house).
If you are able to open your home, supervise and
provide food, or provide transportation, please
contact me as soon as possible or by January
10th...or I will be contacting you.
If you are not able to sign up for any
volunteering, please be praying for our ministry.
Thanks for your support,
Jessica Parker
AA, Ablaze Administrator
Home:(615)824-3894
Cell:(615)604-5063
walking4him247@att.net
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Posted 12:48
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Sun, 19 Nov 2006
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| my story |
My Crisis and Christianity
Tears came running down my face for the
third time in a twenty-four hour period. "When I
don't feel good, I know it sounds weird, but I
cut myself--not physically, but mentally," I told
the local family counselor for the first
time. "And, by the way, the best way to die is
jumping out of an airplane."
"Why's that?" he asked.
"Because you get to freefall for what
seems like forever and then not feel anymore pain
after the first stop."
It was the beginning of my new journey
through life. For several years I had been
debating about confronting my depression by
seeing a counselor. My feelings were always hard
to express in words, but whenever I tried, I only
shared them with my faithful journal. At the
beginning of the year I had written, "Pues, I
have concluded that sometime in the near future I
shall see a phycologist; maybe sheppard or the
like. My depression hath surrounded me for so
long, I am getting chaffed." Even then I had
realized the need for my church’s family
counselor, but procrastination dominated my wants
and my needs.
Finally on June 7th, 2006, during our
church’s youth camp, my actions caught up with my
feelings. Focusing on God, my non-Christian
friends, and my depression for twenty-four hours
a day led to strenuous thoughts and feelings of
doubt. After three days of this, I mentally and
emotionally exploded. On Wednesday afternoon, I
presented my case of grief to the church’s family
counselor. "If you want this to get better, I
can recommend psychologists that deal with
teenage depression. You can participate in talk
therapy at Agape, the Babbs Center, or other
associations in the Nashville area,” he
suggested.
“Why can’t you do it?”
“Thank you for the compliment, but our
families’ places in the church are held too high
to be risking a friendship.”
“Okay, now what?”
“I need your permission to tell your
parents what we have discussed.”
“Umm, okay...sure.”
“Now, right now do you have any suicidal
thoughts? Do you want to hurt or harm yourself?”
“No.”
“Good. Now may I pray before we depart?”
After being raised by a pulpit minister
and a preschool teacher, I have learned that
being held on a totem pole has its advantages,
but also its downfalls. One of the disadvantages
is being looked upon as a perfect example. As
scripture says, "Not many of you should presume
to be teachers, my brothers, because you know
that we who teach will be judged more strictly."
(Holy Bible, James 3:1) Knowing that the
counselor, my family’s friend, also knew the
pressure of being a minister, I looked for joy by
seeing another psychologist.
Life as a PK (preacher’s kid) was
anything but easy, but without it, I probably
would be dead. As a child, the first thing I
would hear early in the mornings would be dad
belting out at the top of his lungs, “Rise and
shine, and give God the glory, glory!” Stepping
out of the car for school, I received a routine
questionnaire. “What’s the most important
thing?” Then I would promptly reply, “To be like
Jesus.” Day by day I absorbed the sermons
about “Happiness is a choice” and “you never know
who is watching.” Even though I quickly rejected
them as a child, in the past months I used them
frequently while dealing with anxiety. Without
this change of mindset, my chronic depression
would have ended with suicide, instead of changed
into joy.
Fortunately because Christianity was
nailed into me as a child, I matured seeking
Heaven no matter how lonely I became. On one
occasion in the middle of July, I had arrived at
the church building after a long day working as a
day camp councilor for the church’s elementary
kids. All of the day camp councilors had ridden
from camp back to the church building together.
While traveling, we played our traditional game
of Would You Rather. This explicit game compares
two people in a sexual scene. Then the players
choose one of the two people they would rather
see in the given situation. After getting in my
car to travel to my vacant house, I realized my
car was rushing toward the heavily trafficked
street. I caught myself holding down the gas
pedal and immediately slammed on the brakes. I
sat trembling, breathing heavily, panicking, and
wondering what to do. Once again thoughts rushed
into my mind of loneliness, guilt, and
suicide. "I could have stopped them playing that
sinful game," I thought. The Bible does
say, “But among you there must not be even a hint
of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity,
or of greed, because these are improper for God’s
holy people. Not should there be obscenity,
foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of
place, but rather thanksgiving.” (Ephesians 5:3-
4) Would You Rather had triggered my depression
for no apparent reason and had turned my scenario
into “would I rather live with this feeling of
hopelessness, or die and end the pain.” Yet,
there was another option. I turned the car around
rapidly toward the church building to seek help
from my fellow coworker. He then led me to my
youth minister’s house where in my cries I was
comforted . Because I was raised in the church,
I had Christian friends to help me during my
lowest lows.
After seventeen years of handling my
anxiety by myself, my eyes saw, my ears heard,
and my heart felt the direction in which God was
leading me. Previously I would lay in bed
weeping, and my words of sorrows turned into
prayers. “Come what may what may, but hold my
hand during struggles and strife,” God heard
daily. Following the hour talk I had with the
minister at camp, I changed my reliance from self
to support from others. That minister became the
pipe for my feelings from me to my parents. I
then privately started seeing a psychologist for
talk therapy at a nearby family center once every
week. Sessions became a weekly goal for me. The
first couple weeks became a process of analyzing
my childhood and teenage years. There were
always more questions than answers, but
eventually God, my psychologist, and I moved on
to greater heights. The core of my sessions dealt
with conquering the vulnerabilities. How should
I handle decisions, great or small? Who can I
talk with if problems arise? What can I do
besides turning my anger inward? The last
session reassured me that I can thrive while
dealing with my chronic Dysthymia. Through
seven weeks, seven sessions, seven talks, we
turned my Christian values into actions.
Now, “We know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose.” (Holy Bible,
Romans 8:28)
Works Cited
Holy Bible: New International Version. Barker:
Zondervan, 1973.
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Posted 22:06
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| influences |
All for One
From listening to AVB’s "U Can't Go 2
Church" to my dad cranking up the radio to Dave
Ramsey's speech about "I'm blessed" since the day
I was born, I have been influenced to become a
missionary. I remember taking notes every Sunday
on the sermons my dad would preach and watching
my mom prepare for her Wednesday night Bible
lessons. Every other night our family would
gather around in the living room learning new
memory verses, reading scripture, or trying to
sing praise to God. Day to day my dad's quote
rang in my ear: "If I had one-hundred sons I
would want them all to be preachers, and if I had
one-hundred daughters I would want them all to be
preacher's wives." No matter how annoyed I
became with the repetition of quotes and sermons,
in the back of my mind I always thought of
growing to be a great missionary.
When I was a little girl, I began taking
every chance to learn about scripture and
people. I loved studying God’s word at the
annual Bible bowl competitions and the seasonal
retreats. Soon I realized that those
opportunities were not only about the
relationship between God and me, but also between
people and myself.
Less than a week ago I chaperoned a
Middle School retreat for our church teens. As I
started upstairs toward our worship area, I saw a
pair of eyes glaring underneath the stairs. I
looked around the staircase to see who it was.
It was my opportunity.
“Hey, what’s up?”
There was no answer. I sat in the
darkness stumbling around for words.
“Darkness is comforting, isn’t it?”
“Yep,” the voice replied.
There was more silence deadened by the
muffled sounds of laughter in the background. In
my head I talked to God asking for this to be an
open door to share my story with this boy. Then
I began.
“When I was your age I had a hard time
making friends. I didn’t think anyone liked me
or cared about me. I just hid in the dark from
nothing all the time. This went on for years as
I continued to hide. I even had night terrors,
moments during the night where I would be afraid
of nothing at all. Some days I would even
pretend to be sick so I wouldn’t have to face the
kids at school. (Now my throat is permanently
swollen because of it.) Other times I would just
hide in my closet in the dark. Then I broke
down. I got help and I’m better now. Counseling
does miracles. Well, I guess you could say ‘God
does miracles through counseling.’ I just
finished my eighth session and I love life. It’s
great!”
“I don’t have any friends either,” he
stated.
He poured his emotions for another thirty
minutes while I listened. Finally the local
youth minister took over as I thanked God for the
opportunity of sharing my story and learning to
comfort others needs.
A week later I had another chance to
share my story. Every fall the Junior and Senior
girls have a leadership retreat, and it is a
tradition for the senior girls to lead the Sunday
morning worship. I, being the only senior, was
given the authority to preach my first sermon at
this retreat. On the shore of Centerhill Lake, I
taught about “Overcoming Obstacles in Times of
Crisis.” Forming an acronym out of the
word “CRISIS,” I gave step-by-step instructions
about how to conquer what was thought to be the
impossible.
While learning about scripture and
relationships, I wondered where I should put my
talents to use. It was not until going into high
school that I decided in which mission field I
wanted to live. When I was in eighth grade, the
high school counselor came to talk about
registering for my freshman classes. The basics
were necessary, but for my electives I followed
my sister in choosing theatre and Spanish.
Theatre broadened my abilities in front
of an audience. Before taking this class, I
would not have dared to speak in front of anyone
except my teddy bears, but after weeks of
practice, I was always the first to volunteer for
impromptus and monologues. In one incidence, I
was asked to perform a tragedy monologue. My
teacher did not say that it had to be true.
Thus, I made up a story about when I was in
middle school, I yelled at a boy that got in my
way. I told him to get a life, but regretted my
decision after the paper was delivered the next
day. I read about a boy that committed suicide
by hanging himself by the railroad tracks. After
further reading I discovered it was the boy that
got in my way and was ashamed ever since. (I got
an "A" and extra credit because I made the
teacher cry.)
Spanish, over all, was and is my favorite
class. It is not only a subject to study, but
has become my way of living. The first two years
of Spanish were mostly used for learning
vocabulary and grammar. Most likely I would have
quit if were not for the coinciding mission
trips. During my Sophomore and Junior years of
high school, my youth group and I went to
Houston, Texas, to teach a vacation Bible
school. Eighteen hours is a long time to spend
stuck in a van with the same people, but the trip
was worth it. Until the first Houston mission
trip, I never knew how many Americans are Spanish
speaking. Every day I would try to understand
and communicate with the kids, but I would fail
because of the language barrier. This experience
gave me a passion to learn the language my Junior
year so I would not fail again. Our mission team
and I went back to the same church in Houston the
next summer. I succeeded. When the children
would talk to one another in Spanish, I could
catch words and phrases to make the thought
complete. By the end of the week, I had not only
reinforced my Spanish tongue, but had bonded with
the Hispanic culture. Because of this three year
process, my mission field became Latin America.
Through all the childhood and mission
experiences, all my influences have led to my one
mission.
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Posted 22:06
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| hispanic |
Hispanic
"So what is South America? A country
where all those Mexicans live?"
"No, a continent. Okay, like North
America is the United States and Canada, South
America contains Columbia, Brazil, and other
countries," I tried to explain to my grandmother.
"So when you are living there, can we
drive to visit you?" she asked.
"Well, yah, I guess you could, but it
would take days. Look, I'll draw you a map and
show you."
After quite some time of explaining what
and where South America is, I finally turned to
my artistic skills by doodling with a Sharpie a
map on a Styrofoam plate . Because my career of
mission work will probably be south of the
border, I was trying to teach my grandparents how
to accept the different culture, starting with
showing them where I will eventually live.
"Okay, here is Canada and the United
States," I said pointing to North America. "Here
are the Caribbean Islands, including Jamaica
(where I was on that mission trip) and Puerto
Rico. Now what we call Central America is
considered Mexico, right here. And below that is
South America and all its countries, not states."
"You mean, if we want to see you we have
to take a boat? 'Cause Papa is scared of flying
and we would have to drive through Mexico with
all those Mexicans, and that we just can't do.
We've been there before, and Papa didn't like
it. Those people were just way to pushy."
I finally laughed it off too many times
and just rolled my eyes.
Why do people use the term Mexican to
define every Spanish speaking, tan skinned, black
hair person that comes from south of the border?
Mexican in the American College Dictionary is
defined as an adjective meaning "of or pertaining
to Mexico" or a noun meaning "a native or
inhabitant of Mexico." This comes from the
suffix -an, defined as "'belonging
to', 'pertaining to or relating to'" that country
named ("-an"). Thus, if an immigrant came from
Guatemala into the United States, he can not be
called a Mexican, he is a Guatemalan. If a
person comes from Venezuela, he is a Venezuelan.
Just as all white people are not Americans, but
Europeans, Africans, Russians, or of any other
people, all people from South America are not
Mexicans. Yet, they can be called Hispanic.
Hispanic, another meaning for Spanish, is defined
as the "Spanish people collectively" or the
people from countries that "Spanish is the
prevailing language" ("Hispanic"; "Spanish").
Thus, a Hispanic does not even have to be tan,
but can be white, black, or any other color.
Still when a person describes a Spanish speaking
person coming from either the Caribbean islands
or Central or South America he is commonly
misnamed as a Mexican.
Also, many people use the popular term
Hispanic, to define immigrants from other parts
of America or Caribbean coming into the United
States. With this thought, the term Hispanic, or
the former term Mexican, has been given a
connotation linking with the word illegal. Yet
however small the percentage of Hispanic
immigrants is illegal, most people still use one
phrase to define the other. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau,
"Persons of Hispanic origin were identified by a
question that asked for self-identification of
the person's origin or descent. Respondents were
asked to select their origin (and the origin of
other household members) from a "flash card"
listing ethnic origins. Persons of Hispanic
origin, in particular, were those who indicated
that their origin was Mexican, Puerto Rican,
Cuban, Central or South American, or some other
Hispanic origin. It should be noted that persons
of Hispanic origin may be of any race." (Bureau)
Does this say that a person is Hispanic only when
he is in his native country? No, a person is his
race wherever he may be. An American is an
American in America and if he goes to Jupiter.
He is always an American. In the same way,
Hispanic does not just define one kind of
immigrant, but an ethnic group that is human, too.
Therefore, in saying the term Hispanic,
all that should be implied is the ethnic origin
and language spoken. If a person wants to make a
racist comment, most importantly he should
understand the culture that he is insulting, but
firstly he should not be made a fool by stating
that all Spanish speakers are Mexican.
When growing up, I always followed in my
sister’s footsteps. If she loved the color blue,
I loved it, too. If she fell down, I was right
beside her. When she was in the ninth grade and
I was in the sixth grade, she started taking
Spanish as an elective for high school. I
remember sitting in the living room watching my
mom quiz my sister for a Spanish test.
"Comer is to..."
"Umm, eat."
"El perro feo means what?"
"The ugly dog.”
From then until now, I have followed my
sister and have fallen in love with Spanish.
Every morning I awake to Spanish music; every day
I eavesdrop listening to Hispanics talking while
passing; every night I await a Spanish dream, and
in every way I try to strengthen my foundation of
the culture and language.
Recently while on a mission trip in
Jamaica, I reinforced my knowledge by conversing
in Spanish for five hours. Our team was laying
concrete for a local congregation when a Hispanic
man came to help.
“JP, we need your help. There’s a man
that can’t understand a word of English that’s
outside and no one here except you can speak
Spanish. Can you help?” our team leader pleaded
urgently.
“Hola, me llamo Jessica. Yo sé Español,
poco. Habla dispacio, por favor,” I began.
For the rest of the afternoon, we
conversed about lives, culture, and religion.
Small talk is a blessing for strangers. When I
met Lari, the Hispanic, I never expected to carry
on a conversation about religion or politics, so
we kept the topic light by talking about family.
As time passed we opened our minds in a
discussion about our cultures. I never thought
our nation was lenient about dating until
learning that holding hands before marriage in
some countries is unacceptable. Overall, the
most memorable moment was sitting down for dinner
after discussing our beliefs of religion.
“Gras,” he said.
“¿Qué?” I asked.
“Gras,” he said again.
“Oh, grace.”
At the beginning of our stay in Jamaica,
at every meal our team would tell the
cooks “thanks,” but never gave grace to God.
When Lari, a non-Christian, reminded our
Christian team to give thanks to God, we never
forgot to pray from then on.
I have learned after several experiences
such as this that Spanish is not only a want, but
a need. Because I am a missionary, I need to be
able to communicate with the majority. With
Hispanics being the largest group of immigrants
coming into the United States, and Spanish being
one of the top five languages spoken in the
world, it is important for me to know Spanish.
For me to speak is half of the communication, but
the other half is someone wanting to listen to
me. If I am ignorant and offend the person by
calling him Mexican when he is really from
Venezuela, he may hear me speak, but not want to
listen to me. If every person offended does not
know God because of my ignorance, my life is
useless.
Resources
"-an." The American College Dictionary. 1964.
"Hispanic." The American College Dictionary.
1964.
"Mexican." The American College Dictionary.
1964.
"Spanish." The American College Dictionary.
1964.
U.S Census Bureau-Population Division, Ethnic &
Hispanic Statistics Branch. Information &
Research Services. 2 Nov. 2000
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Posted 22:05
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| apprenticing vs schooling |
Apprenticing Verse Schooling
"Everything one needs to know, he learns in
kindergarten." Then why do people pressure
students into seeking knowledge in school? Yes,
intelligence is significant for success and
achieving dreams, but why not extend our
intellect by placing youth in worldly
situations? Until the world grasps the concepts
of apprentices, children will be forced to attend
schools.
Presently, a high school diploma or a college
degree is the basis of occupation and
recognition. When a person applies for a job,
what is the main question asked? "Do you have a
high school diploma or college degree?" When
someone goes to a job interview, he must have a
legal document stating he is qualified for the
job. Yet if someone receives a degree for
secretarial work, but has never operated a
computer, most likely, he is not the man for the
job . However, he will still be considered by
an employer simply based on his "education."
Yet, if someone who can type ninety-six words
per minute with a smile on his face applies to be
a secretary, yet he has no diploma or degree, it
is probable that he will not obtain the job.
Thus, the man most capable of doing the work is
forced into scrubbing floors in the local pub.
Children of all ages strive for success, but
meanwhile are discouraged by the years wasted on
unnecessary schooling. For instance, someone may
ask what is the purpose of one taking the dual
enrollment courses in high school. College is
the basis of a good profession, and in order for
one to graduate college, the basic classes of
English, science, and mathematics must be
passed. If these courses are taken at a
university, the classes can be costly. If these
classes are taken in high school, the price is
less expensive. Also, because timeslots must be
filled in high school with classes, it is best to
fill the time with something necessary for
college while also saving money.
But if the world practices learning by
apprenticing and places children in a their
future professions, the effects would outstand
the business world of today. In the early
centuries when the Egyptians constructed with
hands immense pyramids, their goals were
accomplished without the technology of today.
People also grew in knowledge and skill by
apprenticing in their chosen fields. When in the
early stages of life, a child would train in a
certain vocation by following in the footsteps of
a master in that particular profession. If the
world reverted to the age of apprenticing, not
only would children be willing to work with all
their might, but would also overcome the
obstacles in their occupation easier than
remember some words in an old textbook.
When apprenticing was the system for training for
an occupation, people did not get a choice at
which profession they would master. People would
either follow in the footsteps of their fathers
or be placed in a profession to study from the
time they were born. This forcing of vocation
would lead to a hatred of many jobs. However, by
changing the format of apprenticing, the new
system could work effectively. If the same
public schooling system is kept through
elementary and middle school years, the basic
knowledge needed for every life and government
situation is learned. Then in high school, teens
would be given the chance to experience several
occupations over a four-year period by
apprenticing or following a master of a chosen
subject. Then after this four-year process,
students would then attend a college to master
their occupation choice and to study more
advanced knowledge.
By doing this apprenticing method, any profitable
effects would be produced. Presently in high
school, students are so eager to be in the
business world that they drop out of school; if
teenagers are place in this new system, the
percentage of high-school and college dropout
rates would decrease. During college years, the
average student changes his major about five
times. One of the significant reasons for this
is that the students do not intern or role play
until their junior and senior years, just as in
the case with my sister. My sister decided her
freshman year of college that she would major in
broadcast journalism. She skipped all of the
necessary courses and took her journalism
requirements instead. After a year of classes,
she began to work at the local news station after
school...and hated it. So after weeks of
complaining and crying, she changed her major to
child and family studies. Fortunately, she made
this decision her sophomore year so that she will
be able to finish college in four years. Also if
this system changes, people would be more
professional and content with their jobs by
studying books after experiencing occupations.
Yet if we keep the present schooling style,
students will keep dropping out, professionals
will still be discontent, and workers would still
be inexperienced. Yet if we turn to the old ways
of apprenticing, everyone may resent whoever
chose their job and may be uneducated for life
and government situations. Thus, we must change
the system.
In my future career, I will travel to the mission
field in South and Central America. To succeed
in this vocation, I must be able to communicate
with churches and other donators in order to
raise money. In the past years and even in the
past months, I have been apprenticing at the
church whenever time allows. Also, I have led
Bible studies in my home and even have translated
for a Hispanic. Yet as I prepare to be a
fulltime missionary, people and churches expect
me to have a degree from college, even with all
the previous training I have completed. Thus, I
will attend Freed-Hardeman University in the Fall
of 2007 to acquire a double major in Spanish and
Bible. Through the years I have learned through
several experiences how to listen and help people
through tough times, how to communicate through a
language barrier, which strategy is best for
sharing the Gospel, and many more necessary
skills for mission work. Yet, as I think back
through my last few years of schooling, the only
information profitable to my future occupation I
remember learning and retaining is Spanish. This
means, if my calculations are correct, if I take
four Spanish classes out of twenty-six courses I
complete, more than eighty-four percent of my
time will be wasted in high school.
Yet there are still infinitely many areas of
expertise in the world. Which ones should
students study during the years of schooling?
What is considered necessary? What would happen
if every specialist had an opportunity to teach
his subject in school? Are their enough
specialists to teach every student every
subject? Why not let the students who want to
learn a subject ask the specialist instead of the
specialist enforcing his subject on an ungrateful
child? Why will we not learn "to live is to
learn"? Why not risk it?
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Posted 22:05
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