Babies!!!

There is little in life that is more exciting than the birth of a baby! There is something about a new life taking its first gasp of air and letting out that scream, letting everyone know "I'm here!" that warms and excites every heart involved. A dear, dear friend of mine here just gave birth to her first baby, a girl, but it was not a fun nor an exciting delivery. In fact it was riddled with complications; prayer alerts were sent out, and in the end, the baby was delivered via C-section. The happy parents then had to face having the baby whisked away less than 24-hours after her birth to the children's clinic where she is lying in an incubator because of lack of oxygen. Understandably, the parents are nervous, and wondering what will happen....will little Bori be ok? Even with the assurances of the doctors, they still fear the unknown. A new life in jeopardy, in their eyes. Struggling to survive. Many other lives praying and hoping that this little girl will be ok. Amazing, isn't it, how much we realize the value of life at times like these, and how we would do anything to keep this baby girl with us because her life is valuable and precious? May we see every life in the same way, no matter what stage in the life-process that person may be. Every situation causes us to trust in the grace and love of our Lord for life!

Parties, presents and passion for life!

Last night we celebrated the 16th annual Deak High School English Department Christmas party at my house! Honestly, I put very little effort into this years' party; lots of candles decorated the room, but only one string of lights still works, and my pitiful little 15 year old Christmas tree graced the gift table nicely. I also didn't go around making sure so and so was coming....I put the invitation up on the staff-room board, said a couple of reminders, made no phone calls to anyone who may not have heard about it due to being on maternity leave or having been a former English teacher at our school (yes, they come too!!!), and so when people began arriving, I was happy. Then they kept coming....then faces from the past arrived....and more arrived....til we had over 20 people at the largest, and I believe, best Christmas party ever!!! Of course there was more food than all of us could eat, plenty to drink, lots of laughter, and great conversations. We played a new game this year which everyone loved and they laughed a LOT! Some people left after a couple of hours, and others hung out til 11 p.m. I was, quite honestly, not really excited about this party this year.....but as I baked the pumpkin pie, made the chariot chicken, had Handel's Messiah playing in the background, my excitement grew. Then as people arrived, and started getting caught up with each other and laughing and exchanging stories, I realized that it's all worth it. Everyone brought one gift, but I believe everyone left with at least one tangible gift, and many intangible ones. As we prepare ourselves for the celebration of the greatest Gift of all, the coming of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, may the intangible gifts give you a renewed passion for life! www.ceokids.org

Another loss

As a teacher, I continually look forward to hearing about the lives of my former students, where they are, what is happening in their lives, the joys the struggles, and so on. What has shocked me, once again, is learning of yet another former student, a young man of 22, who has died this past weekend. You don't expect to hear these things about your former students....just like parents with their own children, we teachers expect that our students will outlive us. Wrapping one's mind around such devastating news seems impossible; what must it be like for the family? Once again, the daily reminder comes that life is not only precious, but can be short. How are we living it?

I heard a shriek!

I was checking email this morning when suddenly, I heard the unmistakeable shriek of a cat! So of course I leapt from my chair and dashed outside to find out what minor tragedy had befallen one of my two cats. My neighbor was taking her garbage to the cans outside and as she was going out the door, Toby, my wild, adventuresome boy, tried to get out the door and into the yard, where he is not allowed to go. Kati pulled the door shut just as Toby was slipping his paw under the door to pry it open....thus the painful shriek of a paw caught in a closing door. I began to think about how often the Lord has to close our "paws" in doors and how painful those times can be. Yet the Lord knows it is for our own good; it's His loving way of setting boundaries. Toby came sauntering up the stairs and through the door toward me, not limping, but visibly disappointed that he had not made his escape. He looked with skepticism at Kati when she came to check on his paw, but all was quickly forgiven, and he is fine. Would that we would see that all that God does for us is for His ultimate glory and for our good..... www.ceokids.org

Scary statistics

My first lesson today was with my 12th grade bilingual class, whom I've taught for four years. We have one of those "love-hate relationships"....I love them, but a couple of them don't love me too much. That's ok. Today, we got to talking about Hungary's "achievements" and it's "ranking" in some interesting areas. I did not know until today that Hungary boasts the highest number of Nobel Prize winners of any nation! However, it seems that very few people know that fact. Instead, the following facts are published for the world to see. Budapest is the leading center for pornography in all of central europe. Hungary is second in the world when it comes to suicides. Hungary is also second in europe when it comes to obesity. They also have one of the highest abortion rates and divorce rates in europe. I asked my students why they think this country is such a "leader" in these areas. One of my students commented, "Hungarians are just really stupid!" I countered with, "But I thought Hungarians were considered to be extremely intelligent!" A resounding "No!" came from more than one student. Then one of my brightest girls piped in and said, "Hungarians are well-educated, but they are not intelligent. Anybody can get a diploma, but knowing how to use that diploma and the knowledge is another question." Well-educated but not intelligent. These comments coming from high school seniors, preparing to take their cumulative final exams in 5 months...not the typical "I know everything" attitude one sometimes expects from high school seniors. Maybe they will be the leaders in helping to change some of these scary statistics and move Hungary forward! I pray this be so. www.ceokids.org