Monday, February 8, 2010

Hope

"Hope only makes sense when it doesn't make sense to hope." Upland Hill Connections Winter 2010

"In hope we already have salvation; in hope, not visibly present, or we should not be hoping-nobody goes on hoping for something which he can already see." Romans 8:24-25

The universality of hope is a powerful reality that drives sour daily reason for being. I get up every day with hope in my heart. A spiritual restlessness, yes, coupled with strong hope and a belief that we are moving, as the Baha'i believe, to an ever evolving planet towards the divine.

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" R8:31

The ability to feel the power of the spirit without moral certitude or judgment is the balance i seek every day. I know the spirit lives in me, radiates through me and fills em up every day. I seek to spread this light, this spirit, this gift to all those I encounter and to uplift all people. This is God's mandate for me. I must fulfill my destiny as a Christian to realize my gifts and put them to use., They do not come from me , they do not belong to me . I am merely an agent. I have been bequeathed gifts and talents that have been in my family for generations., I am merely a conduit, a vessel, an agent of God's will. Everything I do is for the greater honor and glory of God because I come from God. I am of God and all I am and all I do is dedicated to advancing love. Faith, hope, and love. The more, the better.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Reflection on Psalm 23

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

Where shall I run from your love?
For you know where I sit and where I stand.
Protecting me from death
Keeping me from harm

God as protector is a powerful image that reminds me of how to live. The key for me is the absence of fear. I have been beholden to fear for a considerable part of my life. As someone who live with bipolar disorder, half of the disorder is anxiety, which is, fundamentally, fear. Only through reflection in the spirit have I learned to dispel fear from my life, to turn fear into faith.

"Fear is useless, what you need is faith."

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=33432

When I flip my fear into faith I am more content and more calm. I can faith any hardship, any issue with peace. I can live, truly live as God intended me to live. What a blessing that is, indeed!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

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.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Monday, October 19, 2009

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:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


Thursday, August 13, 2009

5th Grade Writing Curriculum 2009-2010

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





























































































Unit Name



Genre



Summary



Daily



Planning



Big Pic/Overview



Unit
1
Launching the Writing Workshop



N











Unit
2
Raising the Quality of Narrative Writing



N











Unit
3
Breathing Life into Essays



E











Unit
4
Writing a Fictional Narrative: Realistic Fiction



N











Unit
5
Writing a Fictional Narrative: Mystery



N



 



 



 





Unit
6
Writing a Fictional Narrative: Historical Fiction



N











Unit
7
Literary Essays: Writing about Reading



E











Unit
8
Informational Writing: Persuasive Essay



E











Unit
9
Research Project



E











Unit
10
Writing 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
1
Launching 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
2
Raising 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
3
Breathing 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
6
Writing 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
8
Informational 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
9
Research 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
10
Writing 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 (5th 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