8. a photo of your favourite band/musician

If I could choose any guy in the world who was my perfect match (looks, at least), I would choose Zac Brown. Look at him. He's gorgeous. Gosh, he makes my heart beat a little bit faster. I find him so adorable, and what makes me gush even more is his voice. Wow, this man can sing! If you know anyone who looks like Zac, please tell me where I can find him because I think Zac is so hot.

Anyway, The Zac Brown Band is without a doubt my all time favorite band. I have a picture of him hanging in my classroom. Sigh. Oh Zac, thanks for coming into my life last year. When tickets went on sale this summer, I knew I had to get tickets, no matter the cost. Britt, the good sport that she is (isn't a big country fan and didn't know any Zac songs) said she would come with me. We lucked out and found tickets (before they sold out on the first day) for only $50. This is us waiting in line at Red Rocks.

Zac is center in the black shirt. I was in heaven that night.

Zac is back there somewhere. Too bad he's married.

If you haven't heard Zac's songs, please buy his CD. I have both of them, and I listen to them every single day. Not even kidding. Ask my students. They are tired of Zac.

Islam

I've written about Judaism and Christianity. Here's some interesting information on Islam. I found this the most interesting of them all. I hope you enjoy reading.

Islam
“submission”

* Historical Background
*Splits from Judaism and Christianity
-Muhammad descendent of Ishmael
*570 AD Muhammad born
*610 Muhammad receives first revelation
-yearly retreat into mountains
-angel Gabriel appeared with revelations: “Recite”
-climate at time polytheistic; Muhammad preaches single God
*622 Muhammad and followers fled after preaching rejected
*630 Returned to Mecca with army; gained control of city
*632 Muhammad died

Basic Theology (monotheistic)
*God:
- a single unity (no different persons or manifestations)
-offers right guidance
-interaction with people through prophets (Jesus, David, Moses, Abraham—Muhammad last and final messenger sent)
*Humanity:
-good by nature
-often causes problems by rejecting divine guidance
-assigned one good and one bad angel to keep record of actions
*Salvation and Afterlife:
-one’s good deeds must outweigh one’s bad
-5 Pillars or obligations:
- Recite the Shahadah (“to bear witness”): “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger”
- Pray (salat): 17 cycles of prayer spread out over the day- dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, dusk, and two hours after sunset
- Fast (sawn) during daylight hours of 9th lunar month (Ramadhan)
-Give Alms; must give 2.5 % income to poor
-Make a Pilgrimage (Hajj) and visit several sacred sights
*Practices and lifestyle:
-Consistently follow 5 pillars
-treat holy books very carefully
-separation of men and women during times of worship
-“if He wills”; acceptance of circumstances from predestination (business)


Additional clarification:

Islam splits from Judaism due to Muhammad’s claim that he was a descendant of Ishmael. In the Old Testament, God promised Abram (later Abraham) that he would give him and his wife Sari (later Sarah) a baby boy. Through his line, a nation would develop. That line would also include in it the messiah. As Sari and Abram grew older, Sari found that she was unable to bear children. Thus Sari told Abram to sleep with her maidservant Haggar. Haggar became pregnant and birthed Ishmael. Afterwards, God told Abram that the descendant would be through Sari, and she birthed Isaac. Sari sent Haggar and Ishmael away. Muslims believe that Ishmael is the rightful heir.

Islam splits from Christianity because it recognizes Jesus as a prophet. By 500 BC the Christian message had spread to this part of the world through trade. While Jesus was a prophet, he is not considered to be the messiah. Muslims believe that Allah (the one God) has sent prophets to each people group and for various ages. However, all other literature, with the exception of the Koran, has been corrupted over time.

When the Angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad, at first he believed that is was the manifestation of a demon or he was possessed. However, his wife, Khadijah, encouraged him to teach what she believed to be divine revelation.

Muhammad was not well received because he began preaching the message of monotheism in a polytheistic society. A large part of culture and economics centered around rituals and worship or idols.

Each human is given two angels to record their deeds. To reach heaven, one’s good deeds must outweigh the bad. This plays into the observance of the five pillars.

The overriding idea in Islam is the submitting to the will of Allah. Often that manifests itself in strict obedience to what one believes the Koran teaches. It can also manifest itself in a lack of pursuit of specifics because if Allah wills it, things should happen automatically. One example is in business. If a member misses a deadline, it is not necessarily that individuals fault, but the will of Allah.

day 7. a photo of someone you love

This post has been on my mind all day. I love so many people and have been soooooo very blessed with a great group of friends, family, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, students, and co-workers. I do not want to leave anyone out. My heart swells with pride when I think of my "community." Especially you, blog readers. You know more about me through my posts than practically anyone else, so yes, I love YOU all for reading (even though I don't know who all reads my blog).

I have to dedicate this post to Holly and Shannon, however, for the following reasons.

Shannon, my sister, hasn't always loved me. We haven't always gotten along. We haven't always seen eye to eye. We are VERY different people. She is quiet, conservative, wise, doesn't wear heels, likes brown, patient, hard to read, smart, good with her money, and carefully guarded. I am loud, edgy, care free, won't wear anything BUT heels, easily annoyed, wears my emotions on my sleeve, wears orange, spends my money, and trusts easily. VERY different people. But Shan (and Jeff) have helped me in more ways than they will ever know. I can never repay them for their kindness and generosity over the past few years. Shannon, I love you.

Holly, while Shannon's best friend, is one of my nearest and dearest friends as well. Holly is one of my longest friends, and she is so precious to me. When we are together, all we do is laugh and laugh. When the three of us are together, all we do is laugh and laugh. We have more inside jokes than you would think possible, and Holly's memory is so amazing that she constantly reminds of things I had long forgotten. She reminds me of the good times. She helps me get through the tough times. She is the funnist, wittiest, most clever person I know. I could go on and on, but for now I'll say, Holly, I love you.

To Call or Not to Call? THAT, is the question.

I met a guy out dancing the other night. He came to me, asked me to dance, and spent the rest of the evening with me. He declared his crush, told me how "cute" I am (he asked permission to call me cute because some girls don't like being called cute. I'll take whatever I can get, so cute if fine in my books), and asked for my number.

This is the moment that every girl either A) dreads or B) anticipates. On this particular night, I was option A). I figured he was going to ask for my number, and I wasn't looking forward to the moment.

Before diving into that thought, I have to say that this guy (Josh) was cute. He was funny. He was charming. He liked to dance. Overall, he wasn't a BAD guy. He liked me and wasn't afraid to let me know. BUT....He cussed a lot. He had drank quite a bit. He is younger than me. He's in college (went into the military right out of college). He lives with his parents. Those things aren't deal breakers, BUT they aren't necessarily things I'm looking for.

So, that's why my hesitation to giving him my number. Once the guy asks for the number, a girl has several options: A) give him your number as asked, B) give him a fake number (however, guys have gotten smart and have started calling the number right in front of you to make sure it's not a fake number), C) tell him to his face, "I'm sorry, but I don't want to give you my number.

I'm not good at either B) (I'm not a good liar) or C) (I have a really hard time saying NO to people), so once again, I fell into the option A) column. I gave him my number. He asked what was going to happen when he called the next day. I sarcastically said (because I do sarcasm really well), "You'll get my voicemail. You'll leave a message. I may or may not call you back." He laughed, thinking I was joking. I laughed, thinking I was quite funny at passively brushing him off.

We said our goodbyes. Yesterday, sure enough, Josh called. It went to voicemail. He left a cute message saying, "Hey little lady. It's Josh from last night. I was calling to chat and get to know you a bit. I would love to hear back from you, but if not, I understand."

I didn't call him back. I went back and forth all day. I listed the pros and cons of calling him back. I went to bed, and actually didn't sleep very well last night because I felt so guilty about ignoring his call (I personally don't like being ignored, so I felt bad that I was doing it to him). I thought about it all day today. Should I call? What's the harm? I could get a date, have a fun night, meet a cool guy. We may or may not hit it off.

I called him back.

I am single. I am dating. I am meeting new people. I am practicing my social skills for that special man. I am trying new adventures. What's the harm in calling him back?

And apart from that, Josh actually called. He didn't text. He didn't bother me. He called.

We had a pleasant conversation tonight. He said he was very surprised I called him back (since I didn't call yesterday), but he said he was telling his friend about me today and was thinking about me. I found out a few things that surprised me (in a good way). At the end of the call, he asked me out. We are going out Saturday evening, and while the plans weren't set in stone, he's going to call me later in the week to confirm our plans.

So folks, I have a date for Saturday night. Now....what to wear?

Torture 101

I just experienced the most dreadful, boring, KILL ME NOW conversation I have ever had to live through. It was all through IM (Instant Message) with a guy I do not know. I was actually a little bit rude to him because I wanted to kill myself. Here's how it went (I thought you would get a kick out of what it's like to try to date someone via online).

Him: Hi
Me: Hey, how are you? What are you up to this lovely Sunday evening?
Him: Nothing.
Me waiting for something more. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Nothing.
Me: All right. Well, I'm watching football, doing some work, and reading. Multi-tasking at work.
Him: What do you do?
Me: I'm a teacher. English. High School. My students don't always like me because I make them read and write. How dare I! What about you?
Him: Electrician.
Him: ?
Me: I'm not sure what your ? is referring to?
Him: You.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Him: How dare you what?
Me: Oh, got it. How dare I make them read and write.
Him: You're very rude.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Him: What's your name?
Me: Shiloh. What about you?
Him: Craig.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Me: So, Craig. Are you a CO native?
Him: No, no.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Him (finally): A USA native. I moved around my entire life.
Me: Military?
Him: Military brat.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Me: There seems to be a lot of you around here in CO.
Him: We are just awesome.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Me: I don't know much about the military. Other than my grandpa, I don't know anyone who was/is in the military.
Him: All the men on my dad's side are military.
Me: But not you?
Him: I am smarter then them. (Notice how he put "then" rather than "than")
Me: Oh, I see!
Him: Haha.

At this point, I've over it, so I stop talking to him. About 5 minutes later:
Him: Are you busy?
Me: Just doing some work.
Him: I don't want to bother you.
Me: Did you do any crazy shopping this weekend?
Him: I don't shop.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Me: I do! I love to shop. Won't you have to go Christmas shopping?
Him: Nope.
Long pause.
Him: I give money.
Me: Mr. Creative!
Him: Hahaha.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Me: Do you have any siblings?
Him: A half brother that I don't care for.
Me: Does he care for you?
Him: He has been trying to kiss my butt for the past several months.
Me: Why?
Him: He has been an ass to me and my mom for 26 years.
Me: Perhaps he has changed? Of course, I know nothing of your situation, but people do chance.
Him: I don't care if he did.
REALLY long pause. I'm trying to figure out how to end this.
Me: What else is interesting about you?
Him: Ask.
Me: Well, I really need to get going, but here are three questions: What's your favorite color? What's your favorite food? What's the biggest adventure you've even been on?
Him: Black, wings, everyday.
Him: Can I get your phone number?

Where is the world did he get the idea that this conversation was going well? Why would I give him my number?

Me: You are a man of few words.
Him: I am tired of the laptop on my lap. I speak softly but carry a big stick.
Me: All right. Well. I am going to pass on giving you my number. I need to take off for now. That will allow you to get the laptop off your lap since it's causing you so much distress.
Him: Night.
Me: LOG OFF

Was that as painful for you as it was for me? I turned off my IM feature and vow to never go through that again.

day 6. a photo that makes you laugh

This picture is by far the most embarrassing photo that has ever been taken of me. I can't believe I'm about to share it with you, but it makes me laugh EVERY single time I see it. And believe it or not, this picture sneaks into emails about once every several months. Kari reminds me of this picture whenever I'm feeling down or need a good laugh.

To give you a little background, Kari, Abby and I went to Cancun about three years ago. We lucked out and found a great deal for an all inclusive resort for a week, so we took it. It was a fabulous trip and a lot of great memories came from that vacation.

Since it was an all-inclusive deal, we pretty much stayed at the resort all week. We only left twice, once to go shopping and once to go to a club. All the other nights we stayed at the hotel, as they had dinner, drinks, dancing, events, etc.

It was very humid in Cancun. On this particular night, the hotel had a live band in one of the bar areas, so we danced the night away. We made a few friends while there; one of those friends was Nick, who is pictured here. Nick and I danced and danced (and sweated and sweated). I didn't wear the best dress for the conditions, as you can see. The sweat went right through the dress. My hair was plastered to my face, BUT I was having a blast. Man, oh man. I don't think I'll ever live this picture down.

day 5. a photo of you

I'm going back 7 years for this picture. I had just bought this car, so of course, we had to take a picture. This is at my apartment on Avenue B where I lived with several different girls through the course of the years. It was a good house, and a lot of fun memories come from that place.

day 4. a photo of the last place you went on holiday

I was able to go to Vegas twice this summer (once with Britt, and once with Jeff, Shan and Holly). This picture is from my most recent trip to Sin City. Of course, we had to go to In-N-Out Burger. It's super cheap (around $4 for a huge burger, fries and soda), and oh so good! It was quite the production, however, to get to In-n-Out Burger. We had to walk a ways. Then hop on a bus. Then walk a little bit more (all in 100 degree weather). It was well worth the trip, though. Shan and Jeff didn't get the memo that we were going to point at the sign, so once this picture was all said and done, we had a really good laugh.

We enjoyed the burgers so much, that we decided to go again the next day. While waiting at the bus stop, we took this mimic picture.

The bus finally came, and this guy hopped on the bus with us. We rode the distance. This guy got off. We went a ways further and got off to walk the block and a half to the restaurant. As we were walking down the sidewalk, I saw this guy heading in the same direction as In-N-Out. Since he had gotten off at an earlier bus stop, I wanted to point out to Shan, Jeff and Holly that his way was faster than our way.

I pointed and yelled, "Hey, there's that..." Right as I was speaking, I biffed it BIG time on the curb of the sidewalk. I went down...HARD. I landed on my right hip. I skinned my leg. I hurt my wrist from trying to catch myself. Shan, Jeff and Holly didn't quite know how to respond (laughter or concern) when an ambulance came tearing out of the parking lot with its lights flashing and sirens on. We all burst into laughter. The timing could not have been any better. Of course, the ambulance wasn't coming for me, but the timing was so perfect that someone would have thought it was coming for me.

We all laughed the hardest we've laughed in a long time. In fact, I almost peed my pants. I brushed myself off, we made sure nothing was broken, and we carried on our way. We got the restaurant, put in our order, and was waiting for our food when a guy came up to me and said, "Your fall was classic. My entire car full got quite a kick out of watching you fall down."

Bahahahaha. Caught in the act.

day 3. a photo that makes you happy

It's very fitting that the title for today (Thanksgiving Day) is to post a picture that makes me happy. This leads perfectly into a blog of that which I am thankful. As I thought about which picture I would put up today for this post, I had a really hard time narrowing it down to just one picture. I actually am happy every time I look at any of my pictures because they are full of family, friends, fun memories, laughs, goofy moments, and more. There is no way I could post just one picture without leaving out a ton of people.

There was one day this year, however, when I was the most happy. By far, it was the best day I've ever had, and every single friend and family that I wanted to be there was there (except for my dear friend Abby who couldn't make it from Kansas---and Holly who couldn't come from Minneapolis). My family and friends came from near and far to celebrate my 30th birthday:

from Omaha (Michelle)

from Lincoln (Marcy)

from Kearney (April, Irish, mom and dad)
from Cozad (Aunt Jan and Uncle Dallas)

from Loveland (Collin, Katie, Carson, Kye and Corinne)

from Castle Rock (Rob, Cindy, and Austin, Courtney and Ernie)

from Thornton (Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jimbo, Katie and Steve)

from Chatfield-my teacher friends (Jen and Jason, Lauren and Brad, Linda and Greg, Karen, Jeanne)

from Denver (Kari, Sonya, Abby, Cindy, Mary)

from Parker (Britt and Astrid)

from Highlands Ranch (Tiffany and Brian)

from Littleton (Shan, Jeff, Case and Siahna, Melissa and Michelle, Alicia and Brian, Kristen and Jason).

I hope I'm not forgetting anyone.

I couldn't have asked for anything more. These people make me so happy. These people are whom I am thankful.

As I post these pictures, I realized I never blogged about my 30th birthday party, so I'll do that tomorrow. I have a ton of GREAT pictures, so I'll leave the rest for my next post. However, these pictures give you a glimpse into my wonderful day, and it's no wonder they make me happy. It was the best day ever.

Of course, I have a whole list of what I am thankful for, including my amazing job, the ability to live on my own, my paid off car, my students, my clothes, my shoes, and the list goes on and on. But honestly, above all, I am thankful for this group of people who fill my life with joy on a daily basis. YOU get me through the hard times. YOU get me through the happy times. YOU complete me.
__________________________________________________________



With that being said, there are two pictures that stick out above all that fill my heart with joy. For any of you who know the story of April, she is my nearest, dearest, closest friend because of what we have gone through together. You can read her story here.

This was April back in April, 2007. Her beautiful long hair was gone, and she was losing weight quickly.

This is April three years later, completely cancer free. She was told she would not live. She lives. She is beautiful. She is healthy. Her hair has grown back. This, above all else, makes me oh so very happy. Praise God for her health.

day 2. a photo of yourself a year ago

This was me not quite a year ago from New Years Eve. This is me a year later. Dark hair. 35 pounds lighter. 5 times more fabulous!

day 1. your facebook profile photo

A Photo Blog

My friend, Britt, was stalking her friend, Happiness, and saw that she had started a photo project. She asked her readers to start the project too, so she could stalk our pictures. Thanks to Britt and Happiness, I'm going to do it, too.

day 1. your facebook profile photo
day 2. a photo of yourself a year ago
day 3. a photo that makes you happy
day 4. a photo of the last place you went on holiday
day 5. a photo of you
day 6. a photo that makes you laugh
day 7. a photo of someone you love
day 8. a photo of your favourite band/musician
day 9. a photo of your family
day 10. a photo of you as a baby
day 11. a photo of your favourite film(s)
day 12. a photo of you
day 13. a photo of you that your hair looks nice in
day 14. a photo of one of your favourite family members
day 15. a photo of you and someone you love
day 16. a photo of you at the last party you went to
day 17. a drunk photo of you
day 18. a photo of one of your classes
day 19. a photo of you on a school trip
day 20. a photo of something you enjoy doing
day 21. a photo of you standing up
day 22. a photo of your town
day 23. a photo of your friend as a baby
day 24. a photo of your best friend(s)
day 25. a photo of a night you loved
day 26. a photo of your favorite weekend
day 27. a photo of last summer
day 28. a photo of what you ate today
day 29. a photo of someone you find attractive
day 30. a photo of you when you were happy

Christianity

Judaism and Christianity have a lot of similarities, at least as far as the Old Testament goes. One thing I learned about Judaism is that they are more concerned about what an individual does here and now than what they believe about God. This is very similar to the Islam religion, which I'll post about next, but here are the notes about Christianity.

Christianity
“fulfillment of prophecy”

* Historical Background
*-Consistent with Judaism until the life of Christ
-Focus more on prophecy and personal interaction
-Jesus fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy for messiah
*30AD (give or take) Jesus begins public ministry and speaking
*33 AD (give or take) Jesus dies on the cross
-individuals called themselves followers of “the way”
-11 disciples and Paul sent out to begin churches
*Bible divided into Old and New Testaments
(various testaments [testimony] indicate mode of salvation)

*Basic Theology (monotheistic)
*God:
-Personal and interactive with humanity
-transcendent, holy, loving, just, merciful, omniscient, omni-present, omni-potent, and eternal
-Trinity: one essence, three persons (e.g. clover, H20, egg)
-God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit
*Humanity:
-created by God in his image (eternal)
-subject to confines of original sin (born with tendency towards evil)
-must choose to accept or reject God
*Salvation and Afterlife:
-salvation through faith in Jesus
-recognition that sinful choices separates individual from God
-recognition that result of sinful choices is death
-choice to believe individual needs Jesus
-acceptance of Jesus as substitute in death
-belief oriented (not about personal actions but God’s actions)
-afterlife either with God or without God
*Practices and lifestyle:
-prayer and church attendance
-tithing 10% of income
-sharing the gospel or story of Jesus Christ and salvation plan
-lifestyle change to follow Biblical principles (sanctification)


Additional clarification:

Fulfillment of prophecy is what distinguishes Christianity from Judaism. The Israelites believed their savior (or messiah) would set them free from worldly oppression and set up a new and powerful nation. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies in a way to set individual people free from the consequences of sin.

30/33 AD (give or take)…because the calendar was developed in hindsight, the actual year 0 can be debatable.

Old and New Testaments: The Old Testament shows God interacting with the people more sporadically. While still always involved, the people were attempting to make themselves holy through right action. In Christianity, the only way to pay for sin (wrong actions committed) is through blood. Thus the Old Testament shows people attempting to follow multiple laws, thus avoiding sin, and offering animal sacrifices. Only the priests were allowed in God’s temple due to his holiness (thus sin could not enter temple). The New Testament shows a different way to reach God through Jesus. Thus the old way of reaching God is no longer necessary.

God is seen as a very personal God. He responds to people who pray and interacts/intervenes in temporal life. He is not obligated to do so, and for reasons unknown often does not.

The idea of the trinity means that God is not three separate gods, but one being. Just as an egg has the shell, white, and yolk, it is still one egg. The same holds true for a clover having three leaves but is still the same clover or that while water can be ice, vapor, or water, it is still the same substance. (Occasionally it is described as different roles, such as a woman being a mother, career woman, and wife.)

Humanity is in God’s image not physically but with the capacity for emotion, spiritual being, thought, and eternal life.

When each person sins, he/she takes upon him/herself the consequence of death. Jesus can become a substitute because he lived a human life without sin. Therefore, if accepted as savior, he may take an individual’s penalty of eternal (soul) death away. Thus humanity can enter the presence of God if Jesus is received because they are now seen as perfect. A popular example is of an individual who was caught speeding and the ticket is too expensive to pay. The judge (to be just) must punish. However, at time of prosecution, the judge steps down and takes both the guilt upon himself and the penalty and lets the offender (speeder) go free.

Sanctification vs. Justification: Justification is the choice to believe Jesus and thus take the gift of salvation. This is entirely belief based. Sanctification is the process by which a person learns to live rightly. Christians are expected to follow Biblical principles; however, it is after they have been justified through faith.

Judaism

If you read this post, then you read that I have been teaching the five major religions of the world. Here are the notes on Judaism that I taught. I hope it all makes sense.

Orthodox Judaism
“maintaining the past”

*“Orthodox” and “Jewish”
*Orthodox:
-refers to historic interpretation of Judaism
-focus on observing laws, holidays, and tradition
-Talmud interpreted by highly respected rabbis
*Jewish:
-religious choice or heritage

* Historical Background
*Ancient Israel (prior to 200 BC)
-Nomadic tribe; Israelites become God’s chosen people through Abraham
-Main interaction with God through priests descendant from Levi tribe
-Interaction through prophets
-laws and practices from Torah; not as institutionalized
* 200 BC Rabbinic Judaism begins separation from ancient Israel
-focus on institutions: synagogues, yeshivots (academies), rabbinic office
-catalyst to solidify institutional approach: destruction of Temple in 70 AD

*Basic Theology (monotheistic)
*God:
-“Only One”; he is personal and transcendent, omniscient, omni-present, omni-potent, eternal, and compassionate
*Humanity:
-people are born neutral with good and evil inclinations
-no original sin; sin committed through breaking Talmud laws
-need to rectify wrongs
*Salvation and Afterlife:
-must repent and believe in God’s mercy
-must pray and observe laws of Talmud
-righteous will be physically resurrected and live in “World to Come”
-unrighteous will suffer
*Messiah:
-will be a human (not divine)
-will deliver the land and make it head of the world nations
-will judge land on right and wrong
*Practices and lifestyle:
-Abstaining from work on the Sabbath
-Placement of scripture (worn on arm and placed on door posts in home)
-Eating Kosher (cannot mix meat and milk at one meal; avoiding pork)
-Bris: Circumcision of son on 8th day
-Bar/Bat Mitzva: coming of age reception and ceremony at 13
-Sitting Shiva- mourning for 7 days after a funeral


Additional clarification:

Orthodox Judaism refers to the longest standing historical strand of Judaism. The two other major divisions are Conservative and Reform. Orthodox was chosen because it reflects the beliefs most aligned with those during the writing of the sacred texts.

Conservative Judaism arose in the 19th century; it began as a reaction to some of the strict laws set forth by Orthodox teachings. Its focus was to find a balance between historical teachings and a changing modern world. The main differences include: 1) The Bible is a document that was written by both man and God, therefore, God is in a partnership with man. 2) God is considered more impersonal. 3) There is no original sin; sin can be committed in social or moral actions

Reform Judaism developed out of a reaction to the German occupation. Many believed that if the belief system was modernized, it would decrease the amount of persecution. Today, the main differences include: 1) The Bible was only written by men, thus not inspired. It is simply a document to preserve history. 2) God and his attributes are only interpreted by the individual. This makes God less distinctive; his essence becomes one more like those seen in Eastern religions. 3) There is no original sin. Salvation comes through bettering society and self.

Individuals claim to be Jewish for two different reasons. Some claim it because they adhere to the Jewish religion (thus anyone who believes can be Jewish). Others believe that one is Jewish by heritage (thus an atheist can claim to be Jewish because his family line was Jewish).

Ancient Israel refers to the group of God’s chosen people. The Old Testament writings were given to them from God over the process of time. The collection is from a variety of people (often kings, prophets, and leaders chosen by God) and are considered inspired by God.

The focus on institutions resulted in a need for more focused places of study. After the split with Christianity, there was a need to focus on teaching because of the varying opinions.

Judaism still focuses on following the law (Talmud) to reach God. This manifests itself in the practices and lifestyle because it is much more important do exactly what is asked of the individual. Overall, it is more important what an individual does here and now than what they believe about God.

Reincarnation and Your Mom

As I mentioned, we've been talking about the major religions around the world. This week, we talked about Hinduism, which is so far over my head I am inadequate to even teach it. With a little bit of research, however, I knew way more than my students and was able to lead a healthy discussion.

One of the facets of Hinduism is reincarnation, which is such a crazy idea but also a fascinating concept. I plan on writing more about Hinduism when I have more time, but basically Hindus believe that until they are able to escape the reincarnation cycle, they are constantly being reborn into animals and humans (based on their caste level and good vs. bad deeds). Because of this belief in reincarnation, Hindus believe that animals must be treated with the utmost respect.

Even bugs. Some extreme Hindus believe in non-violence to animals to the extent that they carry around a broom so they are able to brush animals out of the way so they don't step on them. Sounds crazy, but they honestly practice this.

As luck would have it, my 3rd hour Junior class was in a full fledged discussion about reincarnation and respect for animals when a giant cricket jumped into the middle of the room. It was big, black and gross. A few girls screamed. One even jumped up on her desk. And of course, the jock of the class came running to the rescue...to KILL the bug. As his shoe hovered over the cricket (and I plugged my ears so I wouldn't hear the crunch), a girl yelled, "Don't kill the cricket. It could be your mom."

Hahahahahahaha.

He stopped mid-air, shoe hovering over the bug. To kill or not to kill? If he killed it, he would look like a hero to all the girls. If he didn't kill it, he would look like a hero for saving the life of a poor bug. Oh, what to do?

He decided to let the bug live (thanks, in part, to our discussion about reincarnation). The funny thing is that while he was willing to crunch the bug, he wasn't so willing to pick the bug up and take it outside. He quickly sat down. The problem, however, still remained in the room. With one girl on her desk and several more squeamish girls in the room, the bug had to be taken care of. The boys all looked at each other. Who was going to do it?

Finally, someone stood up, picked up the bug, and took it outside.

SHE saved a bugs life, and perhaps the life of some one's mom.

Sunshine to Snow

I had a free afternoon yesterday, so I decided to get my Christmas decorations out. My Christmas stuff has been in storage for five years, so it was like Christmas as I opened up all my boxes. It was so much fun to rediscover all my cute little decorations.

I have a small storage shed on my balcony, which is crammed full of extra stuff, so I had to pull everything out in order to reach my Christmas tub. I had boxes of Christmas dishes, tubs of scrapbooking materials, picture frames, chairs, ect. strewn over my balcony. It was a disaster, and I could barely walk from one box to another. I decided while I was unloading everything, I would organize myself, too. I was packing up Halloween decorations, unloading Christmas decorations, and cleaning all at the same time.

To top off the mess, it was severely windy yesterday. Like, Nebraska wind windy. It was howling, and my stuff was being whipped all over the place. My balcony door was flapping back and forth, my hair was in my face, and I was freezing. I was barefoot (because that's the best way to unpack while standing outside during a cold fall day), and my teeth were starting to chatter.

And then, completely out of the blue (as it had been sunny five minutes prior), it started raining. And then snowing. HARD. And remember, it was windy, so not only was it raining/snowing, but it was coming down hard and slanted. I was so unprepared for this sudden storm that all I could do was stand on the balcony barefoot and stare at the snow coming down.

I quickly sprung to action, though. My stuff was getting ruined. What had taken me about 20 minutes to unpack was quickly repacked in about two minutes. I shoved everything into the storage shed, and ran inside to warm up/dry off.

Gotta love Colorado weather.

Moral of the story: Don't open my shed door if you come to visit.

Sacred Texts

I know my blog has been lacking posts, but I have to admit that my life hasn't been that exciting recently. Basically all I do is work, class, work, grade, gym (once in a while), and occasionally see my friends. This semester has kicked my butt, and the last thing I want to do when I get home from teaching is sit and talk about teaching.

One thing that has been pretty exciting, though, is that I have been teaching a unit on Sacred Texts (aka, the five major religions of the world). Those major religions are: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. While I am highly familiar with Christianity, I know NOTHING about the other religions, so I have been learning a ton right alongside my students. It has been highly interesting. We are learning about the different beliefs of each religion, as well as reading a section of texts from each of their scriptures.

Christianity: Old and New Testament
Judaism: Old Testament
Islam: Quran
Hinduism: Rig Veda
Buddhism: Tripitaka

If you're interested in learning about any of these religions, please ask. I'd love to share what I have learned.

On the first day of these discussions, I gave a warning. This warning included: We each believe our own thing, so this classroom is a safe place where you should not be ashamed of your beliefs. We are not here to make fun of anyone or any religion, and we are not here to convert you to believe in one certain religion. I am not standing up here to preach to you, but rather, we are reading these texts to gain a worldly knowledge of what is going on around us. I want you to feel comfortable sharing your faith/knowledge with your classmates.

Having established that "safe haven," my teenagers have brought up so many great discussions. I sometimes just sit back and let them talk and ask questions. There have been times when I have begun to answer a question, only to have another student interrupt to ask if they could answer. By all means, please share your faith. They have asked questions to which I cannot answer. They have answered questions to which I could not answer. They have thought beyond a textbook, and it has been an interesting two weeks in my classroom.

Personally, I have had some interesting conversations with students on a one-on-one basis. I chatted with one student last week who said, "Ms. Nichols, I've really enjoyed this unit on religions. My parents are believers, and I was raised to believe in Jesus Christ, but this past year I've really been questioning my faith and trying to figure out what I really believe. This unit has really shown me some interesting things, and I feel like I'm making headway into figuring out my own personal beliefs." That led into our own discussion, and I am convinced that A is on the right path to choosing her own beliefs (rather than her parents).

It has also opened my eyes to my own personal beliefs. As I was reading some scripture from the Bible in preparation for the day, I was moved to tears as I read some of the words of Jesus. I was reading the parable of the Prodigal Son, and I was reminded again of how we are all sinners and yet Christ opens up his arms and accepts us into his "house."

Anyway, it's been an interesting journey, and it's been pretty exciting for me to talk about God/Jesus/Allah/Buddha with my students.

Halloween 2010

For Halloween, I went out with a group of friends to an Avs game. We dressed up, of course, so here are some pictures from our night. Britt, the nerd

Cam, Don Johnson (Miami Vice)


Me, 1920s Flapper

Lenny, 1920s Gansta

1920s Rock!

Britt and me at the Avs game

Lenny and me at the game (We made it on the Big Screen TWICE!)

After the game, we went to dinner and then dancing

Free Tickets

One of my students came running up to me last week and said, "Ms. Nichols, I won tickets to see Lady Antebellum. Do you want them?"


I didn't know what to say. I replied, "Are you asking me to go with you? I don't understand. Why are you giving me tickets?"


She told me she had already purchased her own tickets but had won two more through the radio station. She didn't need the free ones, so she thought I might enjoy them. She was right, so I eagerly accepted the tickets.


However, it wasn't as simple as that. She had won her tickets through a texting contest, so HER phone number was listed as the winner. She said I needed to email the radio station with my name but I had to use her number. The reason why she couldn't just pick up the tickets for me was because you had to be 18 or older to be a winner. She is only 15, so it was up to me to pick up the tickets.


So our plan began. I emailed the radio station with my name, email and HER phone number. I didn't get a reply. Several days went by and I realized I hadn't heard back from the station. Yesterday, I emailed again. I repeated all the information and requested an email back. The radio DJ, Kelly, replied that my email had been lost, which is why she never replied, but she said her intern would be calling in the next few minutes to get all my information.


I was teaching at the time, so I set my phone on vibrate as I waited for the call. I told my students that if/when my phone rang, I had to answer it because it was for free Lady A tickets. I waited and waited and waited. My phone never rang. It wasn't until about 30 minutes later that I realized they wouldn't be calling MY number because it was listed under Chisa's number.


In between passing periods, Chisa came running into my room telling me the radio station had called her and left a message saying they would continue to call every half hour until I picked up. Since I had to be the one to answer the call, Chisa left her phone with me. She went to class. My next class started, and I again told my students I had to answer the phone to get my free tickets. About 10 minutes later, Chisa's phone rang. I answered, and it was the radio station intern.


He proceeded to get all my information, including name, address, DOB and phone number (I had memorized Chisa's number). He told me I could pick up the tickets any time before 5:30 p.m.


Yesterday, Britt and I went to pick up the tickets. I had to show my ID, but then the girl at the front desk couldn't find the tickets. This is where Britt and I started to get a little nervous. I was afraid she was going to start asking questions that I wouldn't have the answer to since Chisa had actually won the tickets. Britt and I sat in the lobby for about 20 minutes before the girl finally tracked down our tickets. I signed a piece of paper, and Britt and I had our tickets in hand.


So tonight, Britt and I are going to Lady Antebellum for FREE, thanks to my student, Chisa. The only thing I have to do for Chisa is give her a ride back to Littleton after the concert, which I gladly obliged. This is one perk of being a teacher :)