Reflection on Psalm 139

Yahweh I know you are near
Standing always at my side
You guard me from the fall
And you lead me in ways everlasting.

There is great comfort in knowing that God is near. Each moment of each day I feel the presence of God and know that there is no obstacle too great that comes up in daily life that God and I together cannot handle.

In fact, the notion that everything that happens in my life, whether pleasurable or painful, disconcerting or harmoniuos, is a gift, brings me great comfort. Beyond comfort, however, is the realization that this is the essence of the "attitude of gratitude" that is, to simply discern those things that are beyond my control (serenity prayer), accept them, give thanks for them, know that "everything is part of God's plan" and to move through my day with the Holy Spirit radiating through my heart. This, for me, is one of the keys to human happiness and true peace, to accept. I understand more and more the meaning of the word "submit," and it makes sense why "Islam" means "to submit," although I need to study the connection more.

"Where shall I go to escape your presence?" (Ps 139) God is everywhere and God never leaves you/me/us. I have lived long enough to know this is true. Of course that doesn't mean life is easy. God is here, there and everywhere. I feel God most when I am thanking God for what I experience and have. I feel God least when I am selfish and cursing whomever or whatever because things aren't going my way. This, to me, is a personal incaration of evil - selfishness.

Selflessness, or others-thinking, is love, and that is what I strive to attain more and more. When I tend toward judgement and lean toward comparisons and "I can do this and you can't" or "I have this and you don't" or "At least I am/have/do... and you/he/she isn't/doesn't have" etc then I am caving into the temptation of anxiety which has consumed me for far too much of my life.

I am ready to live more fully the words of Psalm 139:

God, examine me and know my heart,
test me and know my concerns.
Make sure I am not on my way to ruin,
and guide me on the road to eternity.

Reflection 2.2.10

2/2/10 Reflection

God, Israel’s protector and liberator: Isaiah 43:1-7

God is all powerful and reminds me that I am an instrument of God. I can remind people of God’s love each day through my actions, words, and deeds. No worry, trouble, fear, or anxiety is too great for the power of God. If I deliver myself to the lap of God, the hand of God, I will be free, and I can help others to be free if I remember this. I know that I have been given the gift of discernment because God loves me . I know that I am accepted, embraced, cherished, and uplifted to serve God’s creation, for the greater honor and glory of God, which is, practically, speaking to love all people.

I wonder about inclusiveness, of ALL people the world over. My understanding is that God loves all people regardless of their religious affiliation, regardless of their faith background or level of faith. I am not elevated or better than anyone because of my levbel of devoutness, in fact, I am no better than anyone for any reason. I am. I simply am, and in order for me to be the most happy, I need to love. To love fiercely and unconditionally, to love with passion and power to love until I can’t love anymore and then continue to love again. That is to be happy and not is to love in God’s image, in the best way a mortal human can.

I wonder about who to pray to, father, son or holy spirit, and when. Same God, three parts like me the father, son, brother, spouse, teacher etc., Same me, different incarnations, different roles. I guess it really doesn’t matter – the prayers will be heard. There’s no wrong way to pray. The intention is what matters. Peace.

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Passage Master job sheet..doc

Passage Master

 

Name_______________________              Title of story/book/poem______________________

Date________________________              Pages read for this discussion__________________

 

Choose a passage of text from what you read for today that was:

interesting, funny, awesome, unusual, fascinating, worrisome, troubling, or striking in some way to contribute to your discussion.

 

1.This passage was on p.___________ in paragraph__________

Here is the section I chose copied word-for-word from the text:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

 

I chose this passage to talk about because:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

 

2.This passage was on p.___________ in paragraph__________

Here is the section I chose copied word-for-word from the text:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

 

I chose this passage to talk about because:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

5th Grade Writing Curriculum 2009-2010

5/6 (5^th Grade) Reading/Writing
Curriculum 2009-2010 (MDOE GLCE's)

Unit Name	Genre	Summary	Daily	Planning	Big Pic/Overview
Unit 1Launching the Writing Workshop	N	√	√	√	√
Unit 2Raising the Quality of Narrative Writing	N	√	√	√	√
Unit 3Breathing Life into Essays	E	√	√	√	√
Unit 4Writing a Fictional Narrative: Realistic Fiction	N	√	√	√	√
Unit 5Writing a Fictional Narrative: Mystery	N				√
Unit 6Writing a Fictional Narrative: Historical Fiction	N	√	√	√	√
Unit 7Literary Essays: Writing about Reading	E	√	√	√	√
Unit 8Informational Writing: Persuasive Essay	E	√	√	√	√
Unit 9Research Project	E	√	√	√	√
Unit 10Writing Poetry: Exploring and Creating Poetry	P	√	√	√	√

 

Flash
Drive

http://members.scope.oakland.k12.mi.us/unit.aspx?id=106

http://www.oakland.k12.mi.us/Departments/LearningServices/Humanities/EnglishLanguageArtsLiteracy/UnitsofStudy/tabid/2390/Default.aspx

 

 

Dates	Writing Unit	Reading Unit	Tech Application	Comments
9-13 to 10-9	Unit 1Launching the Writing Workshop (N)		co-create class story on wiki revise/edit in Word/Googledocs sts post/podcast story on webspace	Build identity as writer and solid skill foundation
10-12 to 11-5 (Q1)	Unit 2Raising the Quality of Narrative Writing (N)		co-create class story on wiki revise/edit in Word/Googledocs sts post/podcast story on webspace	Continue to develop narrative skills
11-9 to 12-18	Unit 3Breathing Life into Essays (E)		co-create class essay on wiki revise/edit in Word/Googledocs sts post/podcast essay on webspace	Use narrative skills to write effective essays
1-4 to 1-29 (Q2)	Unit 6Writing a Fictional Narrative: Historical Fiction (N)		co-create class story on wiki revise/edit in Word/Googledocs sts create digital story on webspace	Transition from personal narratives to fiction
2-1 to 3-5	Unit 8Informational Writing: Persuasive Essay (E)		co-create class essay on wiki revise/edit in Word/Googledocs sts post/podcast essay on webspace	Choose more specific topics with intro to research
3-8 to 4-15 (Q3)	Unit 9Research Project (E)		co-create class project on wiki revise/edit in Word/Googledocs sts post/podcast project on webspace	Hone and develop research skills
4-19 to 6-11 (Q4)	Unit 10Writing Poetry: Exploring and Creating Poetry (P)		co-create class poetry on wiki revise/edit in Word/Googledocs sts post/podcast poetry on webspace	reassess calendar and finish with poetry

5/6 (5^th Grade) Word Study Curriculum 2009-2010 (MDOE GLCE's)

Literacy (Reading/Writing/Word Study) Daily Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8:35- 9:20 (45) RW 5th	8:35-9:45 (70) WW 5th	8:35-9:45 (70) WW 5th	8:35-9:45 (70) WW 5th	8:35- 9:20 (45) RW 5th
9:25 – 10:15 (50) RW 5th	9:50 – 11:05 (75) WW 6th	9:50 – 11:05 (75) WW 6th	9:50 – 11:05 (75) WW 6th	9:25 – 10:15 (50) RW 6th
Word Study 5/6 10:20-11:05 (45) 11:10-11:55 (50)
				12:40-1:25(45) SS 5/6
1:30-2:15 (45)SS 2:20-3:05 (45)SS	1:30 – 2:15 (45) SS 5/6	1:30 – 2:15 (45) SS 5/6	1:30 – 2:15 (45)  RW 5/6	1:30-2:15 (45)  SS 5/6
	2:20 – 3:05 (45) SS 5/6	2:20 – 3:05 (45) SS 5/6	2:20 – 3:05 (45)  RW 5/6

 

210  Writing Workshop

 

135 
Reading Workshop

 

95 Minutes Word Study

 

180 Social Studies

Mary Beth 40th Birthday Video

Fiction ideas

Maybe I could write a story about a kid who tries out for the basketball team at his school. He really wants to make the team because all his friends are trying out, and they all like basketball. He doesn't want to be different or stand out so he tries out. The problem is that he's not a very good player and he gets cut. He's devastated, especially since all his friends make the team and he doesn't. It takes a couple weeks, but finally the sting of getting cut fades, and he realizes that his friends still like him even though he got cut.

Maybe I could write a story about a kid who loves his dog, but he knows his dog is terminally ill. He goes with his mom to the vet and hears the bad news; his dog has cancer and will die soon. He tries to do all kinds of fun things with his dog because he knows he won't live much longer. Finally his dog dies and the kid is devastated. He goes through a whole funeral with his family. He tries to get over his pet's death as best he can, and finally feels better when he looks online for a new pet.

Maybe I could write a story about a kid who struggles to do well in school because he has bipolar disorder. At some times, he is very hyper and talks non-stop. He doesn't even know what he's saying sometimes, he just says anything that comes to mind. He has an issue with personal space. At other times, he is really anxious and doesn't want to talk to anyone at all. He just withdraws completely and wants to be alone. He lacks confidence in his work and needs constant help from adults to get things done. He struggles to make friends and have fun liek any kid.