Music: A Friend for Life Part2

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Now onto The Classic; the music that your parents and maybe even  their parents may have listened to. Some of those songs could represent your classmates that you knew way back during your formative years. Kids with whom you grew up and perhaps you stayed in touch or maybe you moved on and lost track of them. Once you reconnect with childhood friends you still see semblances of the kid you used to know in the adult they’ve become.
 
A classic song is a master piece-in some cases a model of perfection, a genuine gem. Friends that are like classic songs are like jewels given you to adorn your heart, be it through  their touching your soul with kind deeds or loving words of wisdom and encouragement to help you along in your journey. These types of songs and people though seemingly rare, always shine a bright light in your heart to help you discover the treasure you have inside. Because they are genuine, they never need to prove anything to anyone regarding their grandeur. You just know when you are in the presence of a true classic.
 
Another aspect of a classic is that they don’t have to hang around you everyday; classic friends are constant whether they are right there in your own home or a million miles away…perhaps as far away as heaven. A classic song is something you don’t normally listen to everyday either. Classic songs take you back to simpler times of your life when things ran at a slower pace; and the time piece on your mother’s mantle seemed to never move at all. A time when sunsets lasted more than a few minutes- dawn brightened your horizon much more further than what your eyes could perceive.
 
These are the songs  that stay with you all your life because at times, they were the only friend you had.
 

 Eva Santiago Copyright  2011

 

Stand on This!

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From time to time in my years of home schooling I have run into certain insecurities about my calling. Are my kids learning enough? Can I teach them everything that they need to know before they leave the nest? Have I done my job as their teacher well? Will they be able to succeed in life? I mean the questions kept coming over the years until one day I read this scripture in Isaiah 54:13, ” Your children will be taught of the Lord and they shall know great peace.” I made that scripture the  focus of my homeschooling philosophy.
 
Since then I have talked to parents from both camps; homeschoolers and public schoolers and I have heard parents raise the same questions I have had. The answer is simple really; of course we can’t teach our kids EVERYTHING they need to know by the time they are 18. Seriously, does anyone ever graduate from high school having all the knowledge they will need for the rest of their life? Also, as far as what kind of job did I do as my kid’s main teacher? That too becomes more clear as they grow up; I rest in knowing that I gave them my best and I tried my best. As far as knowing whether they will succeed in life; that will depend entirely on them; yet again I rest knowing that I equipped them with tools for their lives and it’s up to them to take what was given to them and use that for their benefit.
 
May I suggest something to you? Give yourself some credit from time to time. If you are doing your best by your children, God honors that! Enjoy your summer day 🙂
 
” I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” -Chinese Proverb
 
 
 

Music: A Friend for Life

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Sitting down to listen to an old song is like making time to visit with a dear, close friend. New songs are like new friends; you  have to really tune in and listen closely to what they’re trying to say. When you’re working on becoming friends, you are taken in by their outward appearance at first. The same can be said of a new song you just heard on the radio-you only hear the melody and not so much the depth of the lyrics.
 
With some songs it takes a while to decipher their hidden messages; it takes a while to  draw out the hidden intent of a person’s heart and that only happens when you spend time with your new found friend.
 
Songs like friends can touch your soul deeply. Others leave you giddy, as if on cloud 9; these songs and types of people slip in and out of your life and  you can’t lean on them when times grow rough.
 
Then there are the love ballads that never fail to strike a chord; reminding you of a promise of love someone broke when you were younger. Others speak of melancholic tales of all consuming fires that took all you had including your innocence. Love ballads are like your closest most intimate of friends because they never lie; there to remind you of the person you used to be and how you arrived at your current state.
 
Tune in to Part  2 of this my personal reflection on music.
 
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In Your Heart

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Whatever is in your heart you will:
Sing it.
Write it.
Dance it.
Speak it.
Perform it.
Suppress it.
Shout it.
Preach it.
Teach it.
Film it.
Paint it.
Invent it.
Design it.
One thing is certain:
Don’t ignore it, ’cause it’ll never go away.
Eva Santiago Copyright 2011

Light in the Dark

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As We Forgive
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Light in the Dark
 
Your glorious presence
exposed my dark heart.
I shrunk back in shame:
You said, “No! No! Ben aqui.
“Come closer my sweet child,
I bear the burdens
of those who are meek and mild.
Go, I forgive you!
When you have a heart for Me;
I cover you with My pinions.
If you stumble I understand;
always holding your hand-
always quick to forgive.
All my angels at my command,
I send them to encamp around you.”
 
-Eva Santiago Copyright 2011
 
 
 

 

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Fragile By Design

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Fragile By Design
We are all fragile by design.
Som act tougher
that what they really are.
Some whip themselves into shape-
others always fall one step behind.
What about the “mighty oaks” of righteousness–
or so they claim.
Don’t be fooled by such;
it’s all a cover up,
a disguise for a great hoax.
The more they talk,
they give themselves a way.
Pretty soon you see,
their many words don’t line up,
with how they walk.
They make grandiose plans,
and dream their lives away.
Always forgetting planning is futile,
of very little value,
when they leave out The Master Planner.
They order their steps without Him.
From above He looks down and laughs,
He sees that without Him,
their chances in life are slim.
Then there are some,
who lead quiet lives
just doing what they see The Master do.
 
Eva Santiago Copyright 2011
 
 

Nothing IS Something!

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Nothing IS Something!
 
You said, ” Be still and know.”
I said, ” I don’t know how.”
I said, ” Let me do something great!”
You said, ” No, No, BE STILL! Do nothing.”
I freaked out, ” WHAT?! Are you serious??”
You said,” I don’t need any more super stars.”
I said, ” God, let me change the world for you.”
You said, ” Be faithful in the little things.”
I said, ” Ouch! No one will notice.”
You said, ” In your weakness I AM strong.”
I said, ” Please God, let me be a history maker.”
You said, ” You already are….
when you live for me, THAT”S something!
You’re good enough when you are nothing.”
 
Eva Santiago Copyright 2011
 

 

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SUMMER!

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Today my daughter came up to me and said the dreadful words,” I’m bored.” School is out for the summer and the season looms ahead of us. She explained that she had done everything to avert the “boredom monster” as I used to perceive it. “Mama, I have danced, I read, I did some art and now, I’m bored.” So I took a closer look at her statement and then I came up with an idea…me had a thought…or a chain of them any way.

I remember being a kid out of school for the summer and it never occurred to me to utter the “I’m bored” mantra of every school age kid. No way, I had to keep my mouth shut because if I ever dared make such a declaration, my aunt would have found me more work to do. As it is I had to help her shine her collection of sterling silver which she kept in a china cabinet that went from floor to ceiling and it was full of beautiful silver artifacts. Then if that wasn’t enough to keep my little hands busy, she expected me to do some kind of needle work. So you see, I became an expert at biting my tongue and not letting those 2 little words escape my lips.

                                                                                                                

So as I came back to the present and I studied my daughter laying on the couch in the living room; I told her what I had always wanted to hear from my aunt’s mouth but it never came,” It’s ok to not always be doing something .” My girl looked at me and I saw her relax right away as I continued,” I don’t think you’re bored,I think you might feel like you always have to be doing something…just enjoy yourself..it’s still good to day dream ok?” She smiled as she settled on the couch to continue doing absolutely NOTHING!

SCHOOL’S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!                                  

I enjoy summer vacation because I believe something special happens to me as a teacher and to my kids that I teach;just as life reflects nature;summer is a season of growing in ways that won’t be apparent until the following fall when school begins anew. During this season of rest and growth;we get rejuvenated and our roots tend to go deeper. I live out in the desert and nature hibernates when the weather is scorching;likewise I believe that as we rest from all school work and pressures that accompany the lives of teachers and their students;summer is when we “marinade” in all the knowledge that was acquired in the previous school year

I have seen it personally year after year;every time school starts back up for us,my kids come in eager to start. Also ,skills that may not have come easy to some of them,somehow after summer vacation,they grasp them . Being that I run a small school I have the privilege of seeing up close changes that perhaps might be missed if my kids swam in a bigger pond..

So go ahead,kick off your shoes,buy a new bathing suit,grill out,plan a vacation some where far away or maybe stay close by;but whatever you choose to do, whether it’s a lot, a little or maybe nothing at all..ENJOY yourself and live!  See you next Fall young people :)!!!

                                                                        

                                                     Eva Santiago copyright 2010

 

Family First

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Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle on May 5, ...
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I am a keen observer. When my kid’s friends come over I listen to their conversations as I’m busy doing things. I hear how the kids go on out of state trips to amusement parks and such with out their parents. It almost seems that the school has become a type of surrogate parent for kids now a days. The kids I talk to for the most part aren’t even phased by the fact that their family isn’t as tight as it needs to be. I came away thinking that perhaps I’m bringing my kids up to be too attached to their immediate family; then I remember that that’s the way it was intended to be.
 
If you ever read The Bible Genesis 10:4,20,31,32; we find the first reference to “nations” arising from family groups. You can see how important the family is to God. God created the family before He gave us ways to govern ourselves. So if family is deemed important to The Creator, shouldn’t we be placing family first? I have been ridiculed to my face and behind my back by people who think I’m doing a disservice to my kids by not sending them to public school. These nay sayers always mock saying that my kids are overly sheltered. Interestingly enough when I consider the source of these ignorant comments, I find most of these people don’t have very good family situations. I just shake my head and wonder how they can judge me for what I do when I’ve never bother them about their unruly, rude kids.
 
 
 
 

Spanglish Spoken HERE!

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I am bilingual. I grew up speaking Spanish and English and I see how knowing a second language can expand your vocabulary. Did you know that English is  60% French? So it would be a smart choice to teach your children a second language. Ever since my kids were born I have spoken in Spanish to them; some of them have taken to it and they speak it back to me. Not all my kids have been fans of wanting to learn Spanish and I think that’s fine; I’ve also introduced them to French. The way I see it I’d rather have them learn it because they chose to and not because I rammed it down their throats. I wanted them to embrace the Latino culture by choice not because I made it a mandatory requirement. And guess what? So far all my kids have accepted the fact that they live in a home where more than one culture is embraced.  So even though my kids aren’t fluent in Spanish; to be honest we speak a lot of Spanglish, having introduced them to another language has helped them to expand their vocabulary in ways I’d never expected.
 
” Apply to that ( The study of Spanish) with all the assiduity you can.That language and the English covering nearly the whole face of America. They should be well known to every inhabitant  who means to look beyond the limits of his farm.” – Thomas Jefferson