Checklist of the past few weeks:
Check-had to have a root canal
Check-sent to orthodontist to finish root canal
Check-back to dentist to finish the crown on top of the root canal
Check-woke to ice pick chiseling in my ear so ear infection
Check-ear infection infected my sinus canal
Check-I am too old and healing takes a lot more time
Check-still worked through so I must be a glutton for punishment
Final Check-posted a lot of writing to my blog today so check them out
dreamsdontfade.com
I feel like I work at a mental health facility. I had 5 students admitted into a hospital due to extreme anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, etc. last week. Then when released I am supposed to fix the student’s educational issues. I am still in shock when I hear that students have been locked away in their room since 2020. Now they are so credit deficient that adult education will be flooded with post seniors still needing credits.
I have parent conferences and they want to clear attendance, have the student skip assignments, and tests and quizzes not count against the grade as the student is too anxious to deal with tests. 5 years? So, a senior in high school has not been actively involved in a normal life since age 13 or 14.
The hard part is the family doesn't seem to comprehend when I mention the student being able to bounce back, but only want to lower expectations of the student as it stresses him/her out more. No, let's build up resilience, personal accountability, remove excuses, and overcome mental health issues. It is like this is just how it will be for the rest of the student's life and the world needs to figure out how not to upset the newly formed fragile being. This is learned helplessness!
People need purpose in their lives. They need to know they are valued. Here is a scripture and my prayer for our young people:
Isaiah 40: 28-31
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Maybe the circumstances of life has swallowed your kid whole and you feel the family is in a dark place with no way out then it is time to rely on a God who can handle and help you all to overcome:
If you have found yourself crying today in your loneliness, in your discouragement, or over the feeling of rejection; know this that those tears that fall don't go unseen. God keeps track of every one of them. The Bible tells us:
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side!” (Psalm 56:8).
Revelation 21: 3-8
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.[a] 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Consumed by Fire has a new album out, “First Things First.” A song by the same title is what this world needs.
First thing's first
I seek Your will
Not my own
Surrender all my wants to you
Keep the first thing first
To live Your truth
Walk Your ways
Set my eyes
Lord I fix my face on you
All my desires reversed
To keep the first thing first
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTOcZN9JB4