Welcome, Addisyn Grace!

On April 1st I got a phone call from my brother telling me I had a new niece. After asking him if this was an April Fool's joke, I gave him the proper congratulations. It's killing me not to be there!!!

Am I Smart?

Am I Smart? This is the question I was asked to answer for a grad class I'm taking this summer. I was asked to answer it and then give reasons to support my answer. I found it to be an interesting question, and realized I hadn't ever logically thought through the answer. So, here are my ponderings...

That question can have many different slants. Do I consider myself smart? Do others perceive me as smart? Do my colleagues view me as smart? Do my students think I am smart? What did my grades show in school? In relation to each of these perspectives on the question, my answer is yes, I am smart.

I think the fact that I have always enjoyed school and studying, combined with the fact that my grades were always above average settled that question in my mind not far into elementary school. I never wrestled much with the question because everyone around me – family, teachers and friends – answered it affirmatively before I even was old enough to realize the importance of that answer. Now that I am forced to think through the question and come up with the reason behind the answer I find myself pondering – what is the true meaning of “smart” and how can that be assessed.

I guess the first kind of “smart” that we encounter is likely to be book-smart. As a kindergartener I learned to read quickly and became a voracious reader throughout elementary and junior high. My grades in a variety of subjects kept me on the honor roll throughout school. I also started piano lessons at the age of six and quickly became one of my piano teacher’s showcase students. When I received my first “encore” I was too little to know what an honor that was and much to the mortification of my dear mother, I refused to re-appear. Sports took over my life in high school – soccer ranking at the top of the list. I was never the MVP, but I didn’t have any trouble holding my own. When I got to college I was excited to pursue my lifelong dream of learning French. I studied for one semester and then packed my bags of Bordeaux, France. In two months I had mastered the language enough to spend four hours talking to the French passenger next to me on the train to Paris. At the end of our conversation he was shocked to discover I had been studying French for only six months. Of course, the perfectionnement took much longer! After college I moved back to France for a while and then on to Belgium. I returned to the USA for three years to work as a marketing assistant before finding my current adventure in Morocco. I have always been pretty successful at whatever I have tried from learning a language, to learning to play an instrument, to learning to swing dance and rock climb or to use a new program on the computer. So yes, I consider myself intelligent.

All that said, there are times when I stop and am amazed at the enormity of things I know little to nothing about. My friends Amy and Rick have a farm. I’ve spent two summers living with them. They don’t speak French or play the piano. Neither of them has a college degree, yet they are role models of wisdom to me. They know God and they understand people. The lives of many around them have been enriched by their wise counsel. They also know nature. Amy knows just which week is the best for planting strawberries in the spring and when to cut the hay to give it enough time to dry and bail before rain hits. She can tell her flower customers which plants to put in sunny areas and whether their problems are due to too much fertilizer or water or shade. I hated answering the phone at the farm because I never knew how to answer any of the questions she handles. I guess “smart” has different faces and I’m glad we each have the choice of which one to mirror.

Flashback to February!

I sent out a fancy-shmancy newsletter in the month of February. For the record - I was having major internet problems at the time, so I'm sure that I missed sending it to some of you. If you didn't get it and are interested, please let me know and I'll email it to you. You can leave your address on my comments, or email me.

My friend Mary organized a fun Valentine's day party for the teen girls in our youth group here. The focus was on real beauty. She had some great ideas, and recruited friends to help lead small group break-out sessions. I got to lead the session on health, fitness & food. It was great to be able to connect with the girls there about topics that are pretty important to me. We touched on eating disorders and how we can glorify God with our bodies by what we eat.

Valentine's Day

Multiple Intelligences

Yeah, so my web connection has been fixed for a while here. I just can't seem to keep up with EVERYTHING that surrounds me. Lately I've been doing some reading for my grad classes on Multiple Intelligences. Here's a cute little survey...

Your Dominant Intelligence is Musical Intelligence

Every part of your life has a beat, and you're often tapping your fingers or toes. You enjoy sounds of all types, but you also find sound can distract you at the wrong time. You are probably a gifted musician of some sort - even if you haven't realized it. Also a music lover, you tend to appreciate artists of all kinds. You would make a great musician, disc jockey, singer, or composer.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?