Helotes Elementary 70th Anniversary "Birthday" Celebration -- A Celebration of Public Schools that Work

As a fitting tribute to a wonderful school, the community of Helotes gathered Friday night to celebrate together the wonderful history and tradition of this town. Helotes Elementary School shows its school spirit and leaves a lasting impression on its entire community.

Helotes Elementary School proves that community, teacher, staff and administration participation and dedication are what makes a school truly a place of learning and growing.

As I often reflect on how important special teachers shaped my youth, I shine with happiness that my boys experienced this blessing with the teachers and staff here at Helotes Elementary. I appreciate the teaching staff's insight and caring towards our family. I feel each person there teaches from the heart leaving a lasting impression on my boys through their dedication to excellent and leadership.

Some Mothers are Chosen by God

There is this mom at my son's school here in Tx. She has five children. She's adorable and fit but most of all she's always smiling. I've often watched her trek in from the parking lot caring her 2 year old on her hip and the infant in the car seat. She walks in to school with her hands full and then she leaves school with her life full. As she leaves school, behind her follow her twin boys and her 12 year old. I find inspiration just from watching her do this simple task everyday. She is amazing. She is definitely filled with the Holy Spirit and it totally shows. I read this forwarded email from a friend (see below) and totally pictured this woman the entire time. Because you see, one of her little boys is mentally handicapped.

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron saint, Matthew, Forrest, Marjorie, daugther. Patron saint, Cecelia." And so on until finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it."
"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world and that's not going to be easy."
"When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creation."
"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see: ignorance, cruelty, prejudice, and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

This is a abbreviated version, but it's all the best parts to me. Of course, I don't know if God really does this, but it seems like sometimes things that are first perceived as challenges are later recognized as blessings. And only through the Holy Spirit do we simple humans see this. I feel like that blessing is something we can all learn from everyday.

Love

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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Inspired
So many “signs” are revealing themselves to me. I recently began attending mass weekly. I don’t always have a said day to go, but am often “pulled” there. Each mass evokes some thought or contributes to some thought that longs inside me. The priest will be talking, the lecture will be reading, and suddenly an answer or revelation will pop into my head. Often it requires my reflection and concentration on that thought afterwards to fully grow into the idea. The growing changes me, it allows me to rest in it, control my reaction, remembering my circle of influence is only so wide, but it is wide enough to give me peace.Awakening is what Eckert calls it. “A New Earth”…in the book “God Calling” it is a matter of listening and resting “under in the shade of the trees” God planted. It is about not letting the world affect you, but you affecting the world, positively. Our perspective & attitude lay precursor to the way the world views us. Our children look to our response as an example. I believe by passing the “yoke” to Christ, loving Him for who He is and not what He can do for me, trusting the 100% reliable GPS (God’s Perfect Soluntion) of the Almighty, reveals to me my specific path to God’s heaven. I believe in a heaven during life. If God lies in your soul, is part of your daily moments & you believe that wherever He is, so is His kingdom, then heaven is in fact here on earth. Eckert describes this as “new heaven” in the “transformed state of human consciousness, and a “new earth” as “the reflection in the physical realm.” In God Calling, it is resting in your faith.A new Earth is fine, but it isn’t new, it’s an old idea…a longing imprinted into each of us by a creator who knew that the process is part of the joy of life. That learning it on a journey throughout life is more meaningful than getting the answer given to us.The human being is in a constant state of longing….we attempt to satisfy that longing with material things, food, sex, “love”, children, pets, hobbies, but if we do not recognize that these are paths to self discovery and not accomplishments in themselves, then we will never realize the source of our longing. So your religion doesn’t really matter. You can be Catholic, protestant, Christian, Islamic, Buddist, etc. it is the spiritual path that speaks to your soul making the difference. The imprinted code is part of the human being. Every philosopher known to man struggles with this knowledge. We each have our own life struggle, specific to us, it’s imprinted there when we are born. Some call it predestination, others feel it is our free will that chooses our paths, it is both and none of these things. God calls each of us differently. His certain choice directs our lives well before we are even aware of it. He makes it so. He loves us; we must learn to trust that love if we are to satisfy the longing inside of us. If we want awakening, if we want spiritual pureness, if we want peace, then learn to love & laugh…resting under in the shade under the trees planted for us….and planting new shade trees for our future selves in the moments that follow.Children have this gift. God calls us his children. We must be them. Children live in the now, they experience moments positively, laughing, enjoying the way life feels on their skin, in their hair. Even a sick child rests without worry. Children do not worry, b/c they trust parents to take care of them. So too is God’s hope and wish for each of us. He wants us to rest without worry in every moment of our life. In the spiritual pray before Eucharist, our priest says “remove us from all anxiety as we wait in the joyful hope of coming of our lord”….if we are waiting with trust then we can enjoy the waiting without worry, with carefree hearts, with love, with acceptance, without any fear.I have a great friend. She awakened in me the stirrings that I discuss above. She has become for me my “Spiritual Mother” here on earth. I follow her example, I listen for her praise, and I long for her guidance. She is just a human being. If she can do all these things for me, which inspire me, comfort me, mold me, then I can only imagine what my life might be, if I place my trust in God. This essay begins in anger or protest to a book I haven’t yet read, but the idea of making a spiritual journey and personal faith journey “trendy” really bothers me. Upon reflection, I had the same reaction to “What would Jesus do?” jewelry. The idea of having Jesus as you buddy bothered me. I say bothered me, because it doesn’t anymore. I’d rather have my child look at Jesus as a buddy than to not have Him influencing their lives. Although, the “trendy” thing does bother me, b/c I worry that it is a “quick fix” or flippant attempt for answers. However, everyone needs a seed to start the crystallization process; just a small scratch on their perspective to true a gooey mess into a stunning gem.My life quest spiritual guides me. My pride and competitiveness clouds the issue. Every person’s path, even though it is different, be it easier from my perspective or not, is imprinted by the One I trust, so this in itself should be enough. Happiness comes from peace, which can only be experienced by resting and trusting in God’s path.