Member: saxhorn

I just ordered it!

posted by paperweight at 9:21 pm (EST) on Oct 23, 2008

PS If you haven't read the two Steinbeck books you own--I highly recommend them.

posted by MusicMom41 at 3:24 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2008

I left you a message on the Nero Wolfe thread but when I noticed your name I decided to come visit because I assumed (correctly) that you are a musician. I'm the music directer of my church and an IMT specializing in piano, theory and composition (my major--when I was is Savannah I taught that at the music school associated with the college; in California I teach mainly piano although I have had a couple of composition students here.)

I notice we have some favorite authors besides Wolfe in common. I am a big McCullough fan and also a Watchman Nee reader. I used to own several of his but when we moved I had to downsize my library so My Watchman Nee books and my Barclay set were donated to our church in Savannah. I'm now motivated to try to find Watchman Nee again. I would like to reread them.

I think band teachers deserve combat pay! But it can be rewarding when you get some really dedicated musicians to work with. I'd be interested to know how you like being a librarian. I worked in a library when I was a teenager and the part I liked best was that when new books came in my librarian boss would let me take them home and read them before they were put in the stacks! I have often wondered, though, if I would like to work in a library. I'm a member of our Friends of the Library association and so do some work that way.

I guess that was long way to say "hi!" ;-)

posted by MusicMom41 at 3:22 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2008

Sure, though I am not nearly as active as I once was. Time hasn't allowed me the leisure.

posted by markmobley at 9:34 pm (EST) on Sep 19, 2008

My experience with the Pentecostal churches is largely from one church; during that time I visited other churches within the Pentecostal movement. I found the theology quite similar. On prayer, I agree, God wants us to seek Him in prayer. He doesn't have a scorecard on the number of times we can go to Him with an issue. If He did....I'd be in trouble! My objection, which I find no Scriptural basis, is that He responds more readily to a problem if many are in prayer rather than a few....as if He's impressed with our numbers. If you have a Scriptural basis for this belief....I'd welcome hearing it. Yes, there are many Lutheran churches - within the Mo Synod and others - that hold to charismatic teachings. We part company with them; and in part (although not in totality) that is why my church left the Mo Synod. The short answer to that question is this: we saw the Mo Synod becoming increasing liberal in their approach to Scripture. Therefore, we could not stay a part of it. We are now an independent, confessional, Lutheran church.

posted by librarianjojo at 9:19 pm (EST) on Sep 13, 2008

Saxhorn - I'll start with the easiest questions: the Lutheran church I attend is independent, having voted to leave Mo Synod a few years ago. The Pentecostal church I attended was a part of Assembly of God. As I said, my church "affiliation" has been varied. Prior to my time of with the Pentecostal church mentioned, I was in a Disciples of Christ church. During my time at the Pentecostal church (2 years maybe?)I studied Scripture more than I'd ever studied before. So, for their influence toward that, I am grateful. There was some overlap in my attendance of this church and my present church home. I attended a Sunday Bible class at my Lutheran church and then drove across town to the Pentecostal church. It's been some time ago, but as I recall I was becoming increasingly concerned about some of the teachings at the Pentecostal church. That is why I began attending Bible study at the Lutheran church. There isn't the time to explain the details of this time in my life. Enough to say that God was working with me.

As far as my "problems" with the Pentecostal church I attended.....the notion that God would "answer" our prayers more readily as more people prayed on a certain issues. So many Sundays the congregation would be encouraged to pray in great numbers to solicit God's response. Don't misunderstand...I firmly believe in the value of prayer. It is one of God's gifts to His children. Yet, I cannot see any basis in Scripture that shows God is impressed with our numbers. God will answer prayer as He sees fit, in His time, whether the prayer is from 1 or 1001. I think of Abraham's prayer for Sodom and Gomorrah. One little 'ole Abraham - talking to God on behalf these wicked cities..in the event that there were but 10 righteous people in them. He didn't go out and get huge numbers to pray for these cities. And, I'm not against large numbers praying on a particular things, but I have a problem with the idea that the number of our pray-ers would move God faster. That's one.

In addition, on a few occasions, the pastors invited "guests" to speak of their experiences, as they were brought to faith. One evening, my husband (dating him at the time) and I were subjected to a woman ranting and raving about something. There was nothing very Godly in her presentation. We both suspect the pastor wasn't pleased, yet he allowed her to carry on. The pastor is to be the shepherd of the flock. That night, I felt the pastor let the flock flounder.

The notion of "making a choice for Christ," is a teaching presented in many churches - not just Pentecostal churches. It is backwards. Christ made a choice for me. He took the cross.....for me. The Bible says that we were dead in our sins. I am alive because of what Christ did. My faith isn't by human decision but by God's grace.

Hopefully, I've answered your questions. :)

posted by librarianjojo at 9:56 pm (EST) on Sep 11, 2008

Hey Saxhorn - I opted to respond to your question here. My church history? I had very little church upbringing as a kid. In high school (j.high?....too long ago to remember which) my family attended a Methodist church in our town. I wasn't "in" to it, but then starting church as a teenager probably had something to do with that. A good part of my adult life was void of church. In my early 30's a friend of mine and I began "church hopping." Some people bar-hop...we church hopped. For a few years, I attended a Disciples of Christ church. I never joined. While at the time I liked it, I remember being bothered that no one ever opened the pew Bibles. At least I never saw anyone open them. The Pastor would read a passage, and it seemed to me that we should read along, yet felt rather intimidated about being the lone person reaching for that pew Bible. (I wouldn't be concerned about this now.) When I met my husband, he was attending a Pentecostal church. I began attending with him, and studying my Bible more routinely. While the emotional quality of the services appealed, there were ideas being taught that didn't jive with Scripture. I'd attended a Bible Investigation class at the Lutheran Church which would become my home church. My husband (we were dating at the time) was having the same qualms about some of the Pentacostal teachings. I attended the BIC class (3rd time), and opted to join. About 6 months later, my husband joined too. Scripture is constant. When God says in Malachi, "I the Lord do not change," that is a blessing. I know how fickle people and human ideology can be. It's good to know that God isn't! :)

posted by librarianjojo at 10:35 pm (EST) on Sep 9, 2008

I really enjoyed all my classes at Mizzou. I graduated back in 2003 though so some of the professors may have already left. My fav classes were the YA and children's lit courses.

posted by sarahthelibrarian at 12:41 pm (EST) on Aug 22, 2008

To be honest, I know nothing about video editing software. I'm sure there are plenty of open source programs out there (lifehacker.com would be a good place to start looking). Of course, I'm sure you could find his email address from his Youtube page or his university's website. Send him an email! :)

posted by johnxlibris at 10:13 pm (EST) on Aug 9, 2008

I went to Kent State for my MLIS simply because it was the only school that offered it in Ohio, and that's where I am from. There were also programs in Bloomington Indiana and I believe Pittsburgh Philadelphia nearby, but I wasn't interested in paying out of state tuition. I made the move to Las Vegas to accept a job the weekend I graduated from Kent. I honestly didn't like the program much. Some of my classes were severely outdated while others I found to be just too easy. I feel like I learned much much more simply working in a library than I did in any of my classes.

posted by 4sarad at 1:40 pm (EST) on Aug 9, 2008

It's a fantastic movie - you definitely need to look it up.

posted by SimonHaynes at 9:11 am (EST) on Aug 6, 2008

Yes, I thought of that too. What threw me was that the person on the phone sounded like she was probably in her thirties. We have computer classes for older adults too, so I know that e-mail can be a foreign concept. :)

posted by weener at 4:54 am (EST) on Jul 26, 2008

I now teach 11th and 12th graders U.S. history at Sarasota Military Academy, which is the only public military academy in the nation. Oddly enough, though every student must take JROTC daily for four years, very few of our students enter the military in any capacity. In most ways we're a typical college prep. high school. There are some important differences, which make teaching at SMA so much BETTER than teaching anyplace else. One: everyone, from custodians to our headmaster, wears the same uniform. Students and teachers both are required to abide by the same dress code, which runs the gamut from proper uniform wear (teachers get inspected and nagged about this as well as our kids) to make-up, piercings, and hair styles. We just had a battle royale about female nail polish (one of our career Army ROTC instructors won this battle, so now females are allowed to wear artificial nails as long as they're kept fairly short, and nail polish as long as it's red, pink, coral, or clear). We are also a SMAll school -- down here the high schools tend to be huge, with student bodies of up to 2400 kids! The last school I taught at, four years ago, was spread out over a 66 acre campus. Ridiculous. No one can create a real sense of community on that kind of acreage. Too many kids slip through the cracks -- how else? What one person can know 2300 kids? Can't really be done. SMA has only three buildings, all adjacent to each other, and our headmaster has promised us he'll keep our student body between 500 and 600 kids. 600 is still too many, most of us feel. But the way it works out is that by March every teacher recognizes almost every student by face and grade, at least, and they all know us. In many ways we're much more like an extended family than we are a school. I just hope to goodness it stays that way! Also, five or six years ago (we've been in existence seven years now) the kids themselves asked that everyone, from students and teachers to the headmaster himself, be randomly drug-tested. That is, I think, an awesome thing for a school to commit to. Other than that, we are a public charter school, and draw from the same student population as the rest of the county. We have, in terms of our size, the same percentage of ESE kids, ESOL kids, and kids on reduced or free school lunch. Students pay NO fees to attend SMA, nor is there any admissions test. They and their parents must simply sign a behavior contract (we're NOT a second-chance school and just don't have the staff to handle the really "bad" boys and girls). Our headmaster has a marshmallow heart, so kids get lots of second, third, and seventh chances to get their act together. But if after much counseling and parent contact, the student is still misbehaving, back he goes to his districted school. That's the stick we have, that traditional public schools can't use. The carrot part of it is that kids who go to SMA get to take lots of courses other schools just don't offer. Like horseback riding, American Sign Language, Mandarin Chinese, target shooting, and fencing coached by a former Olympian. I think it's obvious that I LOVE teaching at SMA! I must -- I took a $5000 pay cut to work there, and doubled my commuting time -- but it is so worth it. Teachers at SMA don't have to deal with all the bureaucratic garbage that flows down from our local school board. SMA's headmaster works hard to keep our paperwork burden minimal, and he always gets us the educational materials we really need. I love the man!

Now, despite the encomiums, SMA is made up of human beings with their quirks and flaws and follies -- like every other organization in the world. We're not perfect. But many of us want to be -- and we work hard to keep improving ourselves and our school. Last year I got to work with folks from the Kennedy Center on two year long projects -- I would never have been able to do that where I used to teach. So now you know far more than you ever wanted to about me and SMA!

By the way, congrats on your 36th year of wedded bliss -- 36 in Judaic tradition (the G'matriya) is a very special number -- double 18, or double CHAI. Chai, the two Hebrew letters that make up the number 18, means LIFE -- so 36 means double life!

Up until three years ago I taught freshman English to 9th graders at a traditional public high school. If you've ever taught at a traditional public high school we can swap war stories some time!

posted by RachelfromSarasota at 11:35 pm (EST) on Jul 21, 2008