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Defending my Doctorate….I finished!

I made it!!

I defended on April 2nd and passed.

Graduation is May 12th, 2010. WOW, it’s finally here.

Here is my topic: Because Writing Counts! Discovering the Perceptions of Middle School Content Teachers About Writing in Their Classrooms

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to examine the factors of teachers’ perceptions and choices about writing across all disciplines in an urban, highly ELL populated middle school more closely. Four teachers were studied in depth, and data collected included in-depth interviews. Findings indicated three main assertions related to the research questions which sought to understand if teachers see a link to writing and learning, how teachers perceive and utilize writing in their content area classroom, as well as what factors influenced their implementation practices. These assertions are that: (a) Writing is both process and product providing proper evidence to be a mode of learning. They claim that it is helpful for processing, clarifying, reflecting, and also can solidify what has been learned. In some cases, it also provides a record or product of what has been learned providing confidence in the learner, which is significant for the ELL student. The research has unquestionably proven that the cognitive operations that students utilize during the writing process have helped illuminate the real power of writing;  (b) Teachers usage of writing (for literacy for ELL and English fluent students) depends on the goal or purpose, the timing, and the audience; This included writing to learn strategies that draw on past knowledge, prepare for new learning, review and/or fuse relevant knowledge, and to then extend knowledge; (c) Teachers are influenced by both internal and external factors which affects their implementation efforts. I found that staff development classes had the biggest influence on these teachers, but there were many areas of writing in content areas, especially the junior high areas of math and science, in which teachers could use more writing to learn strategies, and how to couple their already practicing cooperative learning strategies with writing through a staff development class or modeling. This study is in preparation for designing an intervention for staff development on teaching writing to learn strategies in any middle school; especially one with a high ELL population.

 

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My Future

There are three kinds of people in this world. The first person makes things happen. The second stands by and watches things as they happen, while the third person wonders what did happen! I am in the first category. My life has been a huge picture of achievement and drive. I have pursued many goals and achieve most everything I set my mind to do. I have now, however, reached a huge apex in my life. I have just begun a new career with new hopes and dreams.

With this said, I have not given up on the other dreams I have for my life. For instance, I have been pursuing a Masters in Divinity for years now. I am still in the process of doing so and I foresee completing this goal in a couple of years. With this, I plan on starting a large ministry at my church for women. The specifics have not been set, but will be more clear as time proceeds.

I also have dreams of continuing in the educational setting. This may mean staying in the classroom and teaching, but I predict I will move on to a leadership role, be it in administration or my own business. In the meantime, I plan to inspire and encourage young minds as I am so passionate about children in this crucial age group of 11-14.

My dreams and hopes for a family have not subsided. I do plan to get married and have at least one child. I would like to be a mother and nurture and love a family of my own. This means a dog, a house, and all the trimmings! I also would love to have a vacation home in the mountains up North. This would give our family the much needed rest and recovery we need.

As for my hopes….I hope to make a difference in peoples’ lives. This means my friends, my students and my family. I hope to lead people to live a better life with more hopes and dreams of their own. This means I must be a good example and live in the light. I hope to be that person as I grow. I look forward to the future and what is in store for me.

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Who is the Holy Spirit

So then do not be foolish, but (35) understand what the will of the Lord is.

18   And (36) do not get drunk with wine, for that is (37) dissipation, but be (38) filled with the Spirit,

19   (39) speaking to one another in (40) psalms and (41) hymns and spiritual (42) songs, (43) singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

20   (44) always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to (45) God, even the Father;

(Eph 5:17-20)

 

When I went to TLC, Pastor Rene had a saying. “YBH”…Yes, but HOW?

An old gas boiler in house. Pilot light on all times, but boiler not always throwing off heat. Some have only got the pilot  light of HS in lives, but when filled with HS..can operate on all cylinders!
(Can you see the diff)…..WHO? (Discuss)

 

Before we can answer the question “How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?” we must know what the filling of the Spirit is. The filling of the Spirit = influence or control the Holy Spirit exercises over us when we yield ourselves to Him. The Spirit of God, who has given us new life and who has taken up residence within us, wants to fill our lives with His goodness and power. He wants us to let Him take control of our lives. Even so, He does not use His power as God to overwhelm us; rather, He fills us only as we submit to Him.

 

In this sense, then, being filled with the Spirit means that we have placed ourselves under His influence and control. We have yielded to Him, letting Him take over our lives.

 

We often speak of something that so fills a person’s mind that it strangely influences everything he thinks and does. For example, a person can be filled with:

 

 

anger

 

fear

 

jealousy

 

remorse

 

sorrow

 

pride

 

love

 

anxiety

 

 

The Bible itself uses the word “filled” in the same way (see Luke 6:11; Acts 5:17; 13:45).

 

To be filled with something, therefore, means to be under its control. This truth is stated clearly regarding the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5:18, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.” Paul used this analogy because a person who becomes intoxicated with alcohol places himself under its influence or control. Similarly, a Christian who submits to the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit puts himself under His influence or control. Both the person who consumes enough alcohol to become drunk and the Christian who yields to the Holy Spirit have placed themselves under the control of something or someone outside themselves.

 

On the Day of Pentecost, people who heard the apostles speak in languages they had never learned accused them of being drunk. Moreover, in the pagan ceremonies of Paul’s day, worshipers often got drunk to have a “religious experience.” The analogy, therefore, had some background in Paul’s thinking. And if you stop to think about it, a group of Spirit-filled Christians singing with great enthusiasm may have a superficial resemblance to a band of pagan worshipers, drunk with wine, singing praises to their gods.

 

A person who is

drunk with wine:

 

walks differently

 

talks differently

 

acts differently

 

thinks differently

 

feels differently

 

 

Alcohol’s control

results in

impaired judgment

A person who is

filled with the Spirit:

 

walks differently

 

talks differently

 

acts differently

 

thinks differently

 

feels differently

 

 

The Spirit’s control

results in

improved judgment

 

We are greatly influenced by whatever it is that “fills” us. If we are filled with anger, we will be influenced to such an extent that we will say and do things we may later regret. A person who is filled with anger against God may become so controlled by his hatred that he becomes irreverent, blasphemous, defiant, and rebellious toward everything.

 

To be filled with the Holy Spirit, then, is to be so influenced by, controlled by, or permeated by Him that we will reflect God’s moral character and be strengthened by His power. We will be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled–virtues that Paul referred to as “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22,23).

 

In Eph 5:18..Paul commands (only place it is commanded)

and every Christian–to be “filled with the Spirit” (5:18). This clause could be literally translated, “Let the Holy Spirit keep filling you,” or “Keep letting the Holy Spirit fill you.”

ANALOGY: Well, we know what it means to be filled with excitement or happiness. Excitement or happiness so permeates our thoughts and feelings that it dominates us. When a young woman first becomes engaged, she is often so excited and happy that it influences everything she does. (So too with the HS influencing your thoughts and feelings)

 

4 ways:
We must: (1) be Christ-centered, (2) be in the Word, (3) be submissive, and (4) be confident.

 

  1. CHRIST CENTERED
    1. Focal point of thoughts and decisions:
    2. (what does this look like) DISCUSS

 

  1. Be in the WORD
    1. Look at Eph 5:17..Be wise. Wisdom comes from the Word As noted earlier, Paul pointed out the close relationship between “knowing what the will of the Lord is” and being “filled with the Holy Spirit” when he wrote Ephesians 5:17,18.
    2. He made the same connection in Colossians 3:16, which says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

 

  1.  The last part of this verse is almost identical to Ephesians 5:19,20 where Paul described the characteristics of a Spirit-filled Christian. In other words, letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly is an essential in letting the Holy Spirit keep filling us.

 

  1. Be Submissive
    1. The third essential for a Spirit-filled life is to be submissive to God and His Word. Paul indicated this attitude of submission by the language he used when he wrote Ephesians 5:18. Translated literally, the latter part of this verse reads, “Keep letting the Holy Spirit fill you.” We must continuously allow the Holy Spirit to fill us. We can do this only when we possess a submissive attitude toward Him.
    2.  The analogy Paul used of being drunk with wine carries the idea of submission. Paul wrote, “And do not get drunk with wine . . . but keep letting the Holy Spirit fill you” (literal translation). A person who is drunk is under the influence of alcohol. If he is very drunk, he is under its control. A person who keeps letting the Holy Spirit fill him will consciously, continuously, and voluntarily place himself under God’s influence or control. No, he doesn’t lose self-control. In fact, he exercises far more self-control than a person who does not possess the Holy Spirit. When a Christian consciously, continuously, and voluntarily submits to God, he is freed from slavery to the sinful habits and drives that once controlled him.
    3. This attitude of submission is also present in Colossians 3:15–4:10, a passage that parallels Ephesians 5:18–6:9. When Paul told the believers in Colosse to place themselves under the rule of Christ’s peace, and to give the Word of Christ a dominant place in their lives (3:16), he was calling for a submissive attitude. You place yourself under God’s influence and control when you do these things. The result of letting the Holy Spirit keep filling you (Ephesians 5:18) and letting the peace of Christ and the Word of Christ have dominance in your life (Colossians 3:15,16) is the same: joy, mutual encouragement, praise, and gratitude.

 

  1. Be confident
    1. You’ve done your part. Don’t have a defeatist attitude
    2. Look at Romans 8 and memorize it! “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus . . . . For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:14).”
    3.  This walking “in the Spirit” occurs when we are filled with the Spirit. It includes the four essentials we’ve just looked at in a blend of divine and human activity to overcome sin.

 

  1. 5.     GOT EVIDENCE??? Yes in the book of ACTS, tongues did occur, but all understood each other
    1. Some people say that the way you can know you are filled with the Holy Spirit is to speak in tongues or to just “feel it.” “who doesn’t speak in tongues is not Spirit-filled.?
    2. When Paul described the results of being filled with the Holy Spirit, however, he didn’t mention tongues-speaking or a tingling feeling. But he did mention “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:19-21; cp. Colossians 3:16). He also listed nine fruit of the Spirit as evidence in Galatians 5:22,23.

 

  1. Four evidences:
    1. Joyful Fellowship (speaking to others in songs/hymns, encouragement..
    2. Heartfelt Praise. (v. 19)
    3. Abounding gratitude? Thanks for all things (Eph 5:20 )
    4. Reverent submission (v. 21..submitting to one another in the fear of God)
      1.                                                i.     Galatians..life of a spirit-filled person= 9 qualities (Gal 5:22)

 

  1. Myths
    1. We are commanded to be filled (some say it is not said)
    2. You need to seek a second blessing.” Followers of John Wesley, the Pentecostals, and the Charismatics believe that the filling of the Holy Spirit is a dramatic experience that takes place sometime after salvation. The Wesleyans prefer to speak of it as “entire sanctification,” viewing, it as a second work of grace in which the sin nature is removed and the Holy Spirit takes control. Pentecostals and Charismatics refer to it as a baptism of the Spirit, claiming that it is usually accompanied by speaking in tongues.

 

  1.  The problem with this view is that the New Testament never tells us to seek or anticipate a dramatic, post-salvation experience. We are justified the moment we believe (Romans 5:1). And we receive the new birth and the permanent, indwelling Spirit at the instant of salvation (1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Peter 1:22,23). True, we may have many wonderful experiences after salvation. And we may even have an encounter with the Lord that revolutionizes our way of life. But we have no biblical basis for expecting a second work of grace or a baptism of power that brings instant holiness. Rather, Paul called on us to “present [literally ‘keep presenting’] your bodies a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1) and to “let the Holy Spirit keep filling you” (Ephesians 5:18)
  2. Baptism of the HS
    1. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the act of the Holy Spirit by which He places a person into the church, the body of Christ. The first “baptism of the Holy Spirit” took place in the upper room at Pentecost when the church began (Acts 2:1-13). Today it occurs the moment a person receives Jesus Christ as his Savior. Referring to this time when every believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the church, Paul wrote, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
    2. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was first announced by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). And the Lord Jesus promised the baptism of the Holy Spirit before He ascended to heaven (Acts 1:4,5). That promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, the  day the church was born (Acts 2:1-13,32,33). The disciples were baptized into the church in the upper room. When Peter preached later that day, some 3,000 people believed (Acts 2:41,42). Then we are told, “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (2:47).
    3. The book of Acts records three additional mini-Pentecosts. They took place with three different groups: the Samaritan believers, whose religion and ancestry were part Jewish (Acts 8:14-25); the Gentile family of Cornelius (10:44-48); and 12 people who had believed in Christ and received John’s baptism but knew nothing about what had happened at Pentecost (19:1-7). When Peter saw that the Holy Spirit had come upon the Gentiles, He remembered the Spirit-baptism promised by Christ. He wrote:
      1.                                                i.     Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, “John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? (Acts 11:16,17).
    4. By giving visible signs in these three instances, the Holy Spirit confirmed the fact that Jesus Christ was building His church. These signs were given during the transition from the Jewish beginnings of the church to the full inclusion of the Gentiles. When the transition was over, the baptism of the Holy Spirit was no longer accompanied by visible signs. When a person trusts Christ today, he is placed into the church, the body of Christ, that very moment. Paul wrote:
      1.                                                i.     For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).
      2.                                               ii.     The words translated “we were all baptized” speak of an action that took place in one instant of time. The baptism of the Spirit takes place at the moment of salvation, is not repeated, and is not to be sought after salvation. The baptism of the Holy Spirit, therefore, is the placing of the believer into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation.

 

 

As you think through the whole topic of being filled with the Holy Spirit, you may wonder where you are spiritually. Answering the following questions honestly will help you evaluate your relationship to the Holy Spirit:

▪         I have submitted to the Holy Spirit, asking Him to lead me.

 

▪         I am learning from the Bible through regular reading, study, and meditation.

 

▪         I am relying on the Holy Spirit to help me overcome my sinful desires.

 

▪         I enjoy getting together with God’s people for fellowship, Bible study, and prayer.

 

▪         People who know me think of me as a happy, joyous Christian.

 

▪         When trouble comes, I am at peace in my innermost being.

 

▪         When I become aware of sin in my life, I immediately confess it and ask God to help me to gain the victory.

 

▪         I am gentle in my relationships with other people and patient with God.

 

▪         I can point to certain times when the Holy Spirit has given me the power to perform a certain task or carry a heavy burden.

 

▪              I am growing in self-control.

 

http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/ds/q0301/page8.html

 

 

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Coti’s World

 

I adopted a NEWBORN COTON de TULEAR in August. He was born in MAY.

WHAT IS A COTON!!???

It is the French word for Cotton. The Coton is a bichon-type related to the French Bichons and the Italian Bolognese. It most likely arrived in Madagascar and was reintroduced to Europe and America in the last 20 years. Cotons were favored companion of the wealthy residents of Tulear, in southern Madagascar, where it continued to breed to type. The breed was recognized by the FCI in 1970. The Coton is the “Official Dog of Madagascar,” and a tri-color Coton was honored on a postage stamp in 1974.