Oh how awful....praying for her...

Thank you all for your input. Just to clarify... it wasn't about running (several of you have the "you're supposed to run in gym! Man up!" opinion that I thought this needed clearing up). They run every day in gym during warm-ups...no big deal. The issue is obviously that this is a lazy, terrible way to manage a classroom. My ds is not in the military and never will be so I don't see the need to prepare him for that kind of group-think mentality (he is more likely to be the one designing the new weapons for the army than actually using them). And as for learning "teamwork"...my ds DID do "his part"...he WAS listening...he DID know the answer. It seems that if anyone should be part of that "blanket party" it should be the 15 kids that WERE slacking off and NOT the ones actually pulling their own weight. All it did was teach my ds that doing the right thing got him nowhere so why not slack off? Either way the result is the same.

Well, if it wasn't for family bed and homeschooling I would have gotten a zero :D so I guess I am pretty mushy!

You are so funny! My ds actually likes running normally. In fact, what he said to me was "Mom, running supposed to be a healthy activity. But when a teacher uses it for punishment he just makes us hate it when he should be teaching us to enjoy the health benefits!" I couldn't argue with that. I think it shows a lack of creativity on the teacher's part as far as classroom management is concerned. He's just lucky he works in a school of pretty good kids. I'd like to see a teacher get away with a "group punishment" scheme in the inner city Detroit HS where I taught! Yeah, right. ;)

I am sure we have all seen it or been victims of it...this idea of "punsihing the group for the misdeeds of a few members". What is your opinion on this? example: my son was in gym class yesterday. His teacher was explaining something and about 15 kids were goofing off, not listening, but about 5 kids were listening. the teacher asked a question about what he had just said and asked the kids to raise their hand if they knew the answer. the 5 kids who were listening raised their hands. because most of the kids were not listening and did not know the answer, he made the entire class run laps...even the ones who knew the answer. :glare: i asked his teacher about it and his response is that he is trying to get them to work as a team. ??? My ds was upset and sees no incentive to pay attention if he is just going to get punished with the slackers anyway. What says the hive?

I picked green...not on the "red" spectrum.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

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Of course not. I was replying to the poster who essentially said the entire question was pointless and a waste of time and not worth even discussing. My point is that my class is full of what if questions...that is essentially what apologetics tries to do...answer the what if questions for skeptics.

I appreciate your perspective. I truly do. I don't know of any way to make it seem like it's NOT a nefarious plot except to say that ...you know how there are the 5 pillars of Islam, things that are imperative to Muslims? Spreading the Gospel is an imperative for Christians. We are called by Christ to "go into ALL the nations" and tell them the good news about Christ. People have died and still die trying to fulfill this imperative, whether it is telling a Muslim about Jesus when it is illegal or smuggling Bibles into places where they are outlawed or conducting secret church services for those who have no other way to go to church...we are compelled by the Scriptures and it is born out of love (or at least it should be...I know some make a mockery of it and I am sorry.) I know this probably doesn't make it sound any more palatable to you but I just wanted you to know that it isn't a nefarious plot. :grouphug:

You are absolutely right. It is illegal for a christian to witness to a muslim here. That's why most missionaries are not here as "missionaries" as far as their visa is concerned. They are here under other pretenses...an alias if you will. And they take the Great Commission so seriously that they are willing to risk their lives to do it. And the muslims do put themselves at risk by converting (although it is very moderate in Penang). But that just proves my point...their conversion is so REAL...Christ talked about his followers needing to "pick up their cross daily" and be "crucified with him"...these people are really doing that. It kind of makes me a little ashamed of my own watered-down faith. :blushing:

Excellent points ladies...it was startling for me to hear too. And I had another small epiphany too. I know lots of missionaries here (obviously, half my students are MKs). While there are quite a lot of christians here, I was wondering, with all the missionaries around, why aren't there more? What is hindering their effectiveness? But what I am starting to realize is that there is a difference between "converting" to christianity here and "converting" in the US. Here it means giving up life as they know it....their customs, traditions, often their manner of dress, sometimes it means losing their family, their job.... But what you end up with are TRUE converts....someone who has been so changed by the gospel message that they are willing to go through all of that. In contrast, in the US we try on religions for size, discard them, try a new one, as quickly as we change our underwear. We don't lose everything if we try something new. Sure, people might think you are a little weird but that's about it. There isn't much real sacrifice involved and the conversion itself is easy (repeat these words after me...). Our religion tends to be a mile wide and an inch deep. And with such a shaky foundation, many cave at the first difficulty and question everything they thought they believed. In other words, we get converts, but not many true disciples. Which of course explains why about 80% of America claims to be Christian but only about 10% have a biblical worldview. Just some interesting observations from a displaced, white, christian girl. :tongue_smilie:

YOU GO GIRL!!! I am so happy that you are running a big race. It gives this middle-aged momma hope. :D OK, another question, if I were to follow the couch to 5k program, is it better to run on a more flat surface? I live in a really hilly area and I don't know of any "tracks" I could run. Any suggestions (from all of you) on the best running shoe? So far nike, adidas and saucony have been mentioned. Any particular "model"? Luckily there are athletic stores all over the place here and I want to get good shoes before I even start because I don't want to make my PF worse. An Ipod while running sounds like a good idea too. Although I was wondering how many of you run solo and how many run in groups? I am going to go at 7pm. I can't go in the morning because it is pitch black and just not really a good idea around here for a variety of reasons. But I am almost always home at 7pm, it is cooler out, sort of the "gloaming" time and not dark yet. And I can get 3 nights a week in easily. How many days a week do you all run? I'm really nervous. I am so worried I will quit like I do every other exercise. :(

Then definitely do not take any graduate-level apologetics courses because you will deal with questions like this all day. I found the question to be quite relevant because it made me focus (or re-focus) on the fact that I am a Christian because I believe it is Absolute Truth. I truly believe that...not I just sort of hope in it, not I believe in it because my family does and it's all I've ever known...I really believe it is REALLY REAL. If I did not, I would walk away from it in a heartbeat. Two more things to think about: we are doing the Truth Project study with the seniors in my school. The class is about half Christian and the other half is Hindu and Buddhist and a few Muslim. They were asked this same question. Most (not all) of the Christians answered as I did, they would give up Christianity if it were proved untrue (remember this is a hypothetical question). The non-christians were appalled. They couldn't imagine giving up Hinduism/Buddhism/Islam "just because" it was proved untrue. Some felt it would be giving up their entire identity. Others said it didn't matter if it was true or not. I was shocked. But I shouldn't be. Here is another question posed during the series: Do you believe that God is Omnipresent and Omniscient? Of course, most Christians answered yes. That is what we are taught. But how many of us Christians REALLY believe that God is everywhere all the time and knows all? If we REALLY believed that then why don't we take that into consideration when we do the things we do? The point is this, we as Christians talk a good game. We can recite the attributes of God, the story of Jesus, the message of the Gospel but then we go right on living like we don't REALLY believe a word of it. Myself included. So the final question became: What if all the people who claimed to be Christians, who said they believed that it is TRUTH, really started acting like it? We would turn this world upside down. I think it is a VERY relevant question.

I have boys so the daughter/daddy dinner with ring isn't an issue for me. We do believe in more of a courtship model although we don't really call it that. We have told our boys they cannot date until they are 18yo and we don't believe in recreational dating. I don't mind the ring...it's a symbol, a reminder. We can all use a reminder now and then. But the special dinner and purity balls etc. seem a little creepy I guess...I want my sons to remain pure because it is the right thing to do, not just because they made me a promise.

OK, here's the deal. I hate exercise. Truly. I don't like to be out of breath and I don't like to sweat profusely. I have tried all kinds of exercise crazes, gym routines, etc. Blech. I also do not understand the "exercise high" that people talk about. I have never felt any type of euphoria after exercising. I mostly feel like I am going to pass out. :tongue_smilie: BUT I also turned 39 this year and my body is starting to fall apart rapidly and I now realize that I NEED to exercise whether I want to or not. :glare: I have been really inspired reading all of your posts about running your first 5K's and what-not (especially my girl, Nakia ;)). So I am thinking, maybe? Maybe I can run too? Maybe? So I need your help to get this exercise-hater into shape. BUT I have a crazy-busy schedule. I get up at 6:15am and I am usually not home until 6pm. So exercising in the morning is not going to happen. It will have to be evenings. Obviously, I will need to start slowly, like maybe walking first? I live on a mountainous island so there are plenty of places to walk/run that are very challenging. It is crazy hot here so I wouldn't go until probably 7pm or later when it cools down below 90 degrees. So the first thing I need is a schedule to follow. How do you work up from NO exercise at all to running in a 5k? Secondly, I will need good shoes. I have pretty severe plantar fascitis (sp?). I have special inserts that were custom made for me that I can put in whatever shoes I buy but I will also need whatever shoes I wear for walking/running to have really good arch support and really cushioned heels. Any suggestions? Lastly, how do you run if you are ummm....well-endowed up top? :D Is it possible for someone like me to become a runner? WIll I ever learn to LOVE it like some of you or will I just do it because I need to? I would really like to develop at least a fondness for exercise even if I'm not in love, ya know? ;)

I'm sorry, Bill. I know how much that word means to you! :D

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We bought our Kindle in May for $359...the original price. Literally, one week later they released the Kindle DX. I have since decided that I don't want the bigger one but still.... Then over the summer, they drop the price to $299. Of course. And now that I live in Malaysia, the wireless no longer works so I have to download books to my computer and then transfer them to my kindle. Well TODAY they release the NEW Kindle with International wireless for only $259!!!! So I am mad that not only is it $100 cheaper than it was less than 6 months ago, it apparently now has international wireless. There is NO other difference. Why can't there be some kind of upgrade that you could load onto your existing kindle? Why do you have to buy a whole new one? But, in the end, it doesn't matter because the international is available to over 100 countries but one of them is NOT Malaysia. Of course. I looked through their list and I saw a a little trend. It seems like most of the countries that are blocked are Islamic countries....hmmmm.... would that be a kindle thing or a choice made by the country? Either way, it's just my luck. Grrrr.....

I have an FB account but honestly, I find it quite boring...the apps, the silly quizzes (which member of the Beatles am I most like? I don't really care.), the pointless updates (I'm cooking dinner, I'm taking a shower, I'm scratching my behind). Are ANY of us really THAT important that we need to give a minute-by-minute account of our lives? It cracks me up. I do live on the other side of the world from my family and friends but we keep in touch via email and skype. But you just can't beat the conversation here. They can be deep, they can be silly, they can get heated... but when the chips are down you can always get support. I can throw down over creationism one minute and the next minute get sympathy for problems in my life from the exact same people. I'll take that over random quizzes any day. Viva WTM!

Thank you for all the awesome info! So smoking and asthma are not the only causes. I do know it is beginning stages. But I am worried because Michigan winters are brutal and she gets sick every winter. Also, she is the office manager for a doctor's office so she's exposed to illness every day. She has an appointment coming up so I am looking forward to more info. Can those of you with experience with COPD tell me what the BEST environment is for living with it? Harsh winters seem bad. What about humidity? Or is a dry heat the best, like Arizona? She is planning her retirement and I need to steer her in the right direction.

AMEN sister! :iagree: And if one more person pulls the "Judge not" scripture out of context things are gonna get ugly. :D

"Christians" like that make the rest of us look bad. I am disgusted.

No, YOU are the one who keeps bringing up religion. Religion has nothing to do with this question. What I am asking is, for a christian who believes when Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life", for a christian who REALLY believes that, to then find out that Jesus never existed....it was all an elaborate hoax...would you walk away from your christian faith? Investigate islam? buddhism? hinduism? etc. etc. There was a huge study by the Barna Research Group about Christians in America. I don't have the stats in front of me but it basically showed that a really high percent of americans claimed to be christian but when surveyed about the basic tenents of the christian faith, the percent dropped dramatically. So this begs the question, how do you call yourself a christian if you don't believe that Jesus was God's son, was crucified for our sins and was resurrected? Again, what they found is that people who claim to be christian really aren't, they just like the type of morality that results (or should result) from christianity (kindness, compassion, etc) OR they call themselves that because their parents took them to church when they were little OR because they have a nebulous sort of belief in God. etc. So when asked if they had proof that Jesus was a hoax would they still consider themselves a christian, most people said yes. Which, to be honest, makes no sense to me whatsoever.

OK, now I am really weirded out...my mother has never even TOUCHED a cigarette in her life. No one in my family smokes. But the women in my family do have a history of heart disease. My mom has been hospitalized a few times for heart issues...nothing serious, yet. Her mom died of heart disease but she was 74.