If you watch the video accompanying this blog (please ignore my expression!), you will meet Deidre and I just minutes before we shared our first convention presentation, “Be the Salt & Light in Your Classroom.” As we say, we were excited, nervous, but ready – we thought.
We had our Power Point presentation ready to accompany our words, the video camera was ready to record excerpts from what we said, the music was playing to welcome those who chose to come to our presentation. Then, we realized that our computer wouldn’t communicate with the projector, so there would be no pictures and the room was filling.
What do you do when the plans fail? You pray and continue; then watch God move as only He can which is what He did for us. It was a wonderful presentation with many teachers moved to tears as they realized how important they are and how God can use them in their students’ lives. We were as blessed as the participants!
Deidre and Sue – The Two Voices
Readers, we want you to join our voices! Please leave your comments, and feel free to find us on facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to get more information or book events.
Copies of the book can be purchased at https://onegodtwovoices.com/purchase/
You’ve heard the news reports – two more Black deaths at the hands of the police.
Twenty out of twenty-fours hours a day, the news media is pumping out the stories and we’re asking: “Is this good for any of us?” The Voices stand united in our decision to pray for the unrest, for our police forces across the nation, and that unity and dialogue will come. We need the facts before spreading rumors that only serve to inflame everyone.
We need healing! Our prayers go out to the families of the two men who were killed, and to the police officers who were involved and their families. We were not there, but God was. He alone knows every aspect of the situations. Those who would use a tragic incident for violent behavior are only hurting everyone, as are those who refuse to acknowledge the ongoing injustices. We will all be judged one day for what we choose to do.
Please join us as we continue to go to prayer to the only One who is the Source of help and change. We agree with Franklin Graham when he says, “The only hope for this country is God.”
I remember being taught at home and in the classroom that just because I have the right to do something, I need to think it over – is doing it right?
Even if you’re not an NFL football fan, you have probably heard about the latest football controversy that occurred before the last San Francisco 49ers preseason game. Cameras caught Colin Kaepernick sitting on the bench during the National Anthem. He explained later that he was protesting black oppression in the United States, especially by the police. Social media has predictably reacted with an untold number of tweets, Facebook posts, and editorials for and against his actions. My father and my husband both served in the U.S. Air Force, and many relatives on both sides of the family are veterans. I taught social studies and produced a patriotic Memorial Day assembly for the students at my middle school(s) for years. So I guess you know which side I’m on in this situation. However, I’m just SAD instead of incensed over Kaepernick’s action, because I’ve observed that once again we are divided by racial lines. On Facebook, several of my former students sided with Colin, seeing this country as one that is not a blessing for people who look like them. I taught them and still care about them, so I am conflicted about seeing my view as the “only acceptable ones.”
However, many in the news have no problem stating how they feel: Donald Trump said, “It is a terrible thing. Maybe he should find another country that works better for him.” Allen West took Kaepernick to task, citing his white parents, our black, biracial President, the last two Attorneys General, and the current Secretary of Homeland Security who are black, as are many police chiefs and officers. Former 49er player Glenn Coffee was exemplified as an NFL player who chose to leave the football field and its millions to enlist in the U.S. Army and defend our nation instead. And then there’s Philadephia Eagles player, Myke Tavarres, who plans to join Kaepernick and sit during the anthem at his next game. On and on and on it goes . . . and we are divided as a nation. I am reminded of the quote: “United we stand, divided we fall.”
I guess I agree most with what I saw written by Jim Wright, a Navy veteran and writer, who concluded his lengthy post by saying, “If you don’t like what Kaepernick has to say, prove him wrong. Be the nation he respects. America must be worthy of respect.”
We have a lot of work to do, but I believe we can do it – one person at a time. We have to be a nation that follows the law. However, as a Christian, I know God has all the answers. He will help us come together as we treat others the way we wish to be treated. That’s why it’s called the Golden Rule, not the silver rule.
Sue, Voice II
I totally agree with Sue in that we need to speak on behalf of a united nation and not a divided one. We are such a global nation now that we have to look to the good of every citizen in our world and it needs to begin with looking within ourselves. In our book, “One God, Two Voices,” Sue and I have a chapter where we agree to disagree. That is because we see things from our own point of views, upbringings, and experiences.
When I reflect on Kaepernick’s latest actions, I assume that he is expressing himself from a prospective I truly cannot understand. However, if he really wants to sit down due to black oppression, then he should sit down out of a game every time a black on black crime occurs, such as the recent shooting and murder of Dwyane Wade’s cousin. America has and will continue to pay for the sin of slavery, but some African-Americans can’t pick and choose when to cry “foul play.” Either you are for uniting us as a country or you become a part of what continues to divide us as a nation. That is why I strongly disagree with any American dishonoring any historical symbol of our country. I love our flag, the bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty and the twin towers that were blown to bits and pieces by acts of hate and terrorism. Any disrespect to any symbol upon which the power and principals of our country were built is extremely hard for me to understand or support. Furthermore, the source of exchange we use almost daily reads, “In God We Trust.” AMEN! Where and how does one separate and divide which symbols of America we keep, toss aside or disregard?
America is still “ONE NATION UNDER GOD,” whether people accept it or not. Our voices stand united as we admonish the Christian community to pray, repent, and continue to heal together as necessary.
Deidre, Voice I
Readers, we want you to join our voices! Please leave your comments, and feel free to find us on facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to get more information or book events.
Copies of the book can be purchased at https://onegodtwovoices.com/purchase/
It’s hard to imagine that the Two Voices have been writing this blog for almost a year! We made that conclusion when we looked at the calendar, and realized that it’s the time in some areas when school buses are running again, new clothes and backpacks are ready, and students are heading off for a new year of school. We thought it best to update our post from last year to once again encourage our teachers to realize how important their role is, was, and always will be. There are many quotes, plaques, and coffee mugs that state the obvious: teachers impact lives in so many ways, but it can never be mentioned too much. We salute you, have been you, and continue to pray for you. So here’s our updated post, just for you:
Another school year is beginning. Teachers, you never know who is sitting in your classroom. Some of my former middle school students are doing amazingly well. Many now have classrooms of their own, are managing their own businesses, enjoying nursing careers, at least one holds a professorship at a major university, several are world travelers, one actually made and played in the NBA (does the name Iverson ring a bell?), and my most consistent overachiever may soon be interpreting at the United Nations! Your profession is an honorable one that affects everyone who enters your personal domain – your room. God has placed each student – even the ones that challenge you the most – with you for a reason. Isn’t that an awesome thought! All your momentary victories, frustrating experiences, and headache-causing situations are fitting into the plan from Above. Make good memories this school year and try to enjoy each moment.
Sue – Voice II
When I reflect on the new school year, I remember Principal McGee from the movie “GREASE.” She dramatically plays the xylophone as she reminds the students how they can perhaps be the next Eleanor Roosevelt, President Eisenhower, or Joe DiMaggio. As she calls out the prominent names, the different characters who portray the high school students lift up their chins, poke out their chests, or display wide grins as they think on the possibility of being someone great.Today, we remind students how they can possibly be the next Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, or Dr. Ben Carson. Either way, the bottom line is that all students really are already great within because of their Creator. They just need our help to discover it.
Question: How does the teacher or parent in you help bring out the possibility of greatness in each student or child you will directly impact in this new year?
Answer: We must remember to “look-up” and ask God to show us the heart of that child as He sees it. We must be mindful that each person has been given unique gifts, skills, and talents in order to perform or complete a specific assignment in this life. Parents and educators alike are given the privilege to help a child discover his or her reason for being. As God begins to show us things, our compassionate eyes become more aware and are opened to see new levels. This better insight enables us to love and mold the ones we least like and to discipline and challenge the ones who are so easy to love. All of these actions can be done within such a balanced intricate realm that the best in each child is forced to surface beyond what we initially thought was ever possible.
Remember, you have the power to help every student you teach this year reach his or her next level of growth. Please don’t waste it.
The Voices have spent some time the past two weeks watching highlights of the Republican convention in Cleveland, and then the Democratic convention in Philadelphia. Since our candidates of choice did not make the cut into the final two, we’re evaluating those we would not have considered earlier for the office of President of the United States.
As related in Chapter 1 of our book, One God Two Voices, Sue has always taught and encouraged others to vote in every election. (Pg. 5). Not voting is not an option in a representative democracy. However 2016 poses a real problem for people who do not want to pull that lever for either candidate. What do we do?
WE PRAY . . . for wisdom, for our country, and for the final two candidates, knowing that God will honor that kind of prayer. People often say, “When all else fails, just pray.” However prayer should be our first choice, our priority. We agree with the Rev. Franklin Graham that this is the time to pray for our nation to turn back to God. It’s never too late for a revival as the following verse declares: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14.
We hope you will join us as we pray for that forgiveness and healing.
Deidre and Sue
Don’t forget to check out our Youtube channel and new book entitled “One God -Two Voices.”
