"I guess my feet know where they want me to go walking on a country road." James Taylor

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

A Message For Every Parent, Every Young Person, Every ONE...



Cherish from Pennsylvania Conference on Vimeo.
A message from The Blue Mountain Seventh Day Adventist Academy, TildenTownship, PA, Principal Dave Morgan:
Two Butterflies At Lake George, NY
Part I

I was walking out to the ball fields one night this week during rec. It was my turn to take supervision so as I left the “fishbowl” and headed outside the south wing, my eyes were drawn to the
two large butterfly bushes at the end. I smile as I walked by because there, enjoying the nectar of the plants flowers were a multitude of butterflies.

Now, you are probably wondering if I am truly that simple minded, but before you come to that conclusion, let me share why I was drawn to this simple display of nature. Through my lifetime, I have often searched for examples of God’s leading in my life. For me, I most often find his answer to my musings in His “second book”, nature. Whether in the coniferous forests of the Rockies, the lush green hills of the Appalachians, kayaking on a still lake, or walking by butterfly bushes on a school campus, I have found God’s voice speaking to me.


On this particular day I began to think of the butterflies on that bush and how much their journey is like that of our students. Every butterfly starts their life as an egg. That’s exactly how it starts for our students as well. In fact, one of our favorite times at BMA is during graduation weekend when parents send in baby photos of their precious bundles of joy. We love to laugh as we try to guess which senior is on the screen. This part of childhood is certainly a special one indeed!


Parents of children not yet at BMA, may I offer you the importance of taking the time to cherish these years. May you understand that this is only one stage in the development of your child, and to not take proper care of those special years is to live with regret. I’ll close out part I of this thought by sharing a personal reflection on this first stage. You can watch the video:
http://vimeo.com/35812840 at or read the story at: http://wp.me/s11eWi-cherish.

In order for our children to successfully move through the stages of growth, to someday fly like the butterfly, they need love, care, and attention of you. May they find that love, care, and attention from you, as you cherish this special time.


 Message from the principal Part II:

This stage quickly gives way to the second stage, that of caterpillar. We often see the caterpillars munching on leaves, inching from leaf to leaf, then, one day, they disappear. The caterpillar stage is one in which our students are growing and maturing mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually. Many parents make the mistake during these years of not sending their child to a Seventh-day Adventist school because they think that these formative years of their child’s education are not risky ones. My experience suggests otherwise.
There is a creeping compromise that begins to invade the life of a child as they are exposed to worldly values and conduct. It may not be evident in 1st and 2nd grade, but by 3rd and 4th it becomes increasingly obvious that a change is occurring. Parents are usually oblivious to the changes because the changes are most often incremental. The old adage “by beholding we become changed” is a true one.

When I was the principal of a Jr. Academy, parents often brought their 7th or 8th grader to us hoping we could reverse some of the behaviors and attitudes that had finally become obvious to them. Sadly, their desire to wait had now made the task of introducing these students to the love of God difficult because they (the students) had been introduced to a desire for the trappings of the world.

It is so important during this “caterpillar” stage of your child’s life that they be given the proper foundation that will one day give them the ability to soar as God originally intended. May you as a parent never say, “I wish I had…” You can read more at http://wp.me/p11eWi-h


 Part III

The third phase a butterfly goes through is the pupae stage. All wrapped up, hidden from the world, a transformation is occurring. This, in my mind, is the time in a student’s life that they walk the halls of Blue Mountain Academy. This is the time they have to stand on their own two feet for the first time. The journey of self-discovery has begun.

It’s interesting

as you watch the students at BMA. Some have begun to figure life out, but others are unsure, insecure, questioning their value. All have some insecurities and at times struggle with how to find balance in their lives. For some, the biggest challenge is how to make good decisions. This is such an important process for our young people to go through, this searching. Sometimes we must, as hard as it is, stand back and let the struggle unfold. This may sound cold and harsh to those of you that rush in to pick up your child as soon as they struggle, but as a parent that has had two children traverse this stage of life, I assure you it is crucial to their growth as a young person. Let me share an illustration that better makes my point.

A man happened to come across a butterfly as it was going through the pupa stage. Bright green, and so delicate, the pupa caught his attention. Fascinated he clipped the branch of the bush off that the little chrysalis was hanging from. He carefully suspended it over the mouth of a jar and throughout the day would take time out to see if there had been any progress. In the blink of an eye, while his back was turned, a change occurred.

The once bright green pupa had become translucent, and right before his eyes, the butterfly began to struggle in an effort to break free. For two long weeks the butterfly had been held captive, transforming from a creepy crawling leaf eating monster, to an elegant and fluttering symbol of transformation. All that remained was to break out and be the inspiration that his creator had created him to be.

The man felt bad for the butterfly as it struggled to break out and finally he could watch no longer. Quickly he found a small pair of scissors and with one careful snip he cut the sheath away from the butterfly. The butterfly had been set free, but something was wrong. The butterfly tried to flap its wings, but as mangled as they were, they could provide no lift. Sadly, the man slowly realized his mistake. You see, the creator knew what he was doing when he set this process of transformation in place for the butterfly; the struggle to get out of the sheath, when unimpeded, forces fluids from the torso into the wings, causing them to stiffen and thus, allowing the butterfly to take off and soar.

This is the same for our students at Blue Mountain Academy. Believe it or not, we want our kids to make mistakes. We want to be there to guide them in the right way to approach life, to be thinkers rather than mere reflectors of other people’s thoughts. Yes, life at Blue Mountain Academy is a process. Sometimes difficult, sometimes challenging, but in the end, extremely rewarding!

“So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:2 The Message
Here is a link to their Facebook Page:  http://www.facebook.com/bluemountainacademy

Friday, August 24, 2012

Who Is John Galt?









What One Man Can Do ~ John Denver












The Green Party 

More Wise Words From Robert Reich

I've been struck by the boldness of Romney's repetitive lies about Obama -- that Obama ended the work requirement under welfare, for example, or that Obama's Affordable Care Act cuts $716 billion from Medicare benefits.

I've been directly involved in seven presidential campaigns, and I don't recall a presidential candidate lying with such audacity, over and over again, even in the face of mainstream media calling him on it.

It may be because such lies are effective. Polls show that voters are starting to believe them, especially in swing states where they're being repeated constantly in media spots, financed by Romney's super PAC or ancillary PACs and so-called "social welfare" organizations (political fronts disguised as charities, such as Karl Rove and the Koch brothers have set up).

But what does this tell us about Romney's character? We knew he was a cypher -- that he'll say and do whatever is expedient, change positions like a chameleon, eschew any core principles.

Yet resorting to outright lies -- and organizing a presidential campaign around a series of lies -- reveals a whole new level of cynicism, a profound disdain for what remains of civility in public life, and a disrespect of the democratic process.

Can someone who is willing to resort to such calculated lies be worthy of the public's trust with the most powerful office in the world?  Robert Reich
http://www.facebook.com/RBReich

Friday, August 17, 2012

Parental Alienation~ An Emotional Form Of Child Abuse

I have seen the devastating affects on a child who has been brain washed by a parent against another parent. In Pennsylvania the court orders parents to attend a class on how to separate and not create parental alienation. It should be a law throughout the United States.  Here is a great article on parental alienation:
http://www.fact.on.ca/Info/pas/darnal99.htm

It is extremely sad when a step parent uses their influence to brain wash a child, because of their own insecurities in a new marital situation, and the experience of a blended family.

Because of this nation's high levels of divorce a new study has found a new problem reactive attachment disorder. According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong consequences. Sensitive and emotionally available parenting helps the child to form a secure attachment style which fosters a child's socio-emotional development and well-being. In extreme and rare conditions, the child may not form an attachment at all and may suffer from reactive attachment disorder. Principles of attachment parenting aim to increase development of a child's secure attachment and decrease insecure attachment.

It is sad that very often the custodial parent will demean the absent parent to the child, and then whenever the child shows bad behavior the custodial parent will accuse the child of being just like the absent parent.  Thus the child feels unloved by the custodial parent, since the child knows the custodial parent already removed the absent parent from their lives.  The child may turn to the outside world searching for love and validation.

What a shame that children are used as pawns in a divorce.  Why must one parent WIN when the child ultimately loses! 

A very helpful website: Click Here


Monday, August 13, 2012

August 13, 1985 - Expired

I slept over their house and took the call early in the morning on August 13, 1985 when the nurse said, “William Dunwell expired at 2:30 AM.” I knew when I answered the phone that he was gone, but never expected to hear those words. “Expired“, like a credit card or store coupon.




For you Dad, on this the 27th anniversary of your passing:


On The Wings Of A Dream
John Denver

Yesterday I had a dream about dying
About laying to rest and then flying
How the moment at hand is the only thing
We really own

And I lay in my bed and I wonder
After all has been said and is done for
Why is it thus we are here
And so soon we are gone

Is this life just a path to the place
That we all have come from
Does the heart know the way
And if not, can it ever be found
In a smile or a tear or a prayer
Or a sigh or a song


And if so, then I sing for my father
And in truth you must know I would rather
He were here by my side
We could fly on the wings of a dream
To a place where the spirit would find us
And the joy and surrender would bind us
We are one anyway
Anyway we are more than we seem

There are those who will lead us
Protect us each step of the way
From beginning to end
For each moment forever each day
Such a gift has been given
It can never be taken away

(Instrumental)


Though the body in passing must leave us
There is one who remains to receive us
There are those in this life
Who are friends from our heavenly home
So I listen to the voices inside me
For I know they are there just to guide me
And my faith will proclaim it is so
We are never alone

From the life to the light
From the dark of the night to the dawn
He is so in my heart
He is here he could never be gone
Though the singer is silent
There still is the truth of the song
In the song


Yesterday I had a dream about dying
About laying to rest and then flying
How the moment at hand is the only thing
We really own

And I lay in my bed and I wonder
After all has been said and is done for
Why is it thus we are here
And so soon we are gone
Oh, why is it thus we are here
And so soon we are gone

Monday, August 6, 2012

Get The Facts, and Stop Passing Around Lies!

The Romney campaign is making false claims that Obama wants to restrict military voting. The truth? Romney and other Republicans support policies that restrict early voting for all Ohioans, including over 913,000 Ohio veterans.

Get the truth: http://bit.ly/PAAOHh

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

What Deficit?

And to think that Clinton left us with a federal budget surplus of $230 billion when Bush came into office and By August 2008, he had run the debt up to $9.6 trillion so why would anyone expect it to be anything other than what it is now since the wars are still not over, and the banks have been bailed out. Now the guy down the street whose job was outsourced because of NAFTA and those same banks that were bailed out have now foreclosed on his mortgage...just ask him what he thinks of the fact that anyone who wants to help him out will be called a Socialist?

The Confirmation Bias Of The GOP

GOP FAMOUS for making BLANKET FALSE statements that are more often than not BIGOTED! I suppose it is much easier to promote Confirmation Bias than learn the truth by educating one's self with facts! When it comes to them illegally voting, well here are some facts: It happens and it may have happened like this:  

In 2005, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that up to 3 percent of the 30,000 individuals called for jury duty from voter registration rolls over a two-year period in just one U.S. district court were not U.S. citizens. While that may not seem like many, just 3 percent of registered voters would have been more than enough to provide the winning presiden­tial vote margin in Florida in 2000.

I suppose it is just fine if the candidate was George W. Bush who got the illegal alien votes! Gee what is the saying about when the shoe is on the other foot???? 


Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security With Billions

 One can only wonder what would happen to the Social Security System if all of those illegal aliens were to be deported forever!

Illegal immigrants help even more because they will never collect benefits. According to Mr. Goss, without the flow of payroll taxes from wages in the suspense file, the system's long-term funding hole over 75 years would be 10 percent deeper.
Yet to immigrants, the lack of retirement benefits is just part of the package of hardship they took on when they decided to make the trek north. Tying vines in a vineyard some 30 miles north of Stockton, Florencio Tapia, 20, from Guerrero, along Mexico's Pacific coast, has no idea what the money being withheld from his paycheck is for. "I haven't asked," Mr. Tapia said.
For illegal immigrants, Social Security numbers are simply a tool needed to work on this side of the border. Retirement does not enter the picture.

And the sad fact is that very soon if the 1% have their way we may all be packed in a station wagon heading to another country for work!  However I surely hope we all have the common sense to not strap the dog to the roof!