Bullying: Some Web Content

It has been a while since I posted on my blog.  I have been away doing a number of things including, as the photo to the left suggests, attending a few Twins games with my family!  But one of the most exciting of those things was writing some web content for a website: ParentFurther.com, a parenting outreach from the Search Institute.  I have a great deal of respect for the work of both of these entities, and I highly recommend that you bop on over to their websites.  Regardless of your “state” in life, there is information there for you.  Their premise is that community members help raise children in addition to parents and schools.  I agree!

I sort of fell into this writing gig with ParentFurther by way of blogging!  Back when the Grammy Award show aired, I wrote a blog about Taylor Swift rising above her bullies in the music industry.  The ParentFuther peeps found it (because I tagged Search Institute in the tags!), and they sent me an email.  Within a week, we were talking, and they asked me to write some (10,000 words) stuff for them that went live on the their bullying section of the website this week. 

It was so exciting to get an email blast about their upcoming May webinar about bullying, and it had my content in the email!  I about fell out of my chair at work! 

Click here if you want to attend the webinar (it is FREE!).  They do webinars every third Wednesday of the month, and each month is different.

Because this is a hot topic right now, there are loads of resources available. I think everyone needs to get behind children and teens being kinder to each others.  Life is hard enough if we can’t be nice to each other!

I also have to see the documentary “Bully” sometime soon. I just looked at the showtimes for it this week, and I’m hoping to get there!  Have you seen it? What do you think?

I was even more encouraged to see it after reading an article online titled “Bully: The Seven Problems Revealed Through this Groundbreaking Documentary” by Dr Robyn Silverman.

I need your help…

I want to write a “how to help” guide for parents of those being bullied and for those who are doing the bullying…it would be two separate pieces.  But – I’m struggling because, for the most part, my own children have escaped being either. I know, though, that many readers have had different experiences.  What has helped?  What would have been better?  If you feel comfortable sharing in the comment section, I would really appreciate it.  However, if you would prefer to email me separately, you can send it to me at my work email address: sbender@mtcs.org

I also want to do an FAQ section – like, should we send our kid to self-defense classes?  If you have ideas about questions for that, I would also love to hear from you!

Thank you, readers!  I hope to be back on the blogging bandwagon soon!

Related Content

• Bullying? It Happens!
• The Bullies and the Snow
• The Bully on the Bus
• Seeing My Bully With New Eyes
• Bullying: What’s a Parent to Do?
• When Bullying Becomes Criminal

Exploring Minnesota–Testing Style

It is testing season in the Minnesota education world. Children and teachers alike dread this time.  Kids do not like to take tests – especially ones that take a long time. Since all kids test at difference speeds, there is frustration that abounds.  There is so much to this, but that is not the point of this email.

As an online educator, testing season brings specific challenges. Although the curriculum my online school is entirely online, testing needs to be done in person in a specific location.  My school sends out testers to locations all around the state to test kids on site.  We try to make it so that no student has to drive more than two hours for a testing site on the first round – that was last week.  We are now on round two for those who missed last week; their drive might be a bit longer.

Minnesota is a huge state - about 360 miles from east to west and about 407 miles from north to south.  To put this into perspective for my Rhode Island relatives: 149 Rhode Islands would fit into Minnesota.

I have been on the road since 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday to support this state-wide testing effort. It just so happened that some truancy court cases coincided with some needs that we had.  I spent Tuesday dealing with International Falls. If I had taken my passport along, I could have visited Cananda!  On Wednesday, I headed to Grand Rapids. And today, I will am in Two Harbors.

I have had a great week!!!

I have seen wooded areas, wide open areas, lakes, lakes, and more lakes.  And I have crossed the Mississippi River more times than I can remember.  I even saw a little snow bank!  I have seen lighthouses, birds of prey that I cannot identify, and border patrol officers.  I have seen signs for wild rice, maple syrup, and organic veggies.

While watching (on TV) the Red Sox and Twins battle it out last night, I saw a GREAT tourism commercial for Minnesota.  Please check out the video by clicking here – it is so great!

I love Minnesota. I love its variety of landscape, its wonderful people, and its excellent roads – even if I wish the speed limits on the non-interstate roads were faster. I love this state.  And I love my job which has allowed me to Explore Minnesota a lot in three days!

Happy Thursday!

Money Matters–Even to Kids!

There is one thing that seems to be on our minds – all the time: money.

It is everywhere: work, play, home, and – yes – even church. 

We cannot get away from talk about money. Seriously, we always need money for something, we are trying to figure out where that bill’s payment will come from, or we are getting money in the mail because it is our birthday. 

I wish my birthday was once a month!

Earlier this week, I was testing kiddos up in Thief River Falls, MN, but was also scheduled to attend a webinar hosted by Search Institute and ParentFurther about parenting and money.  The title alone drew me in: “Share Save Spend – Your Money Traits and They Impact Your Children.”  I missed the webinar due to work related items and need for self-care (I have pneumonia!), but the peeps at these organizations have shared a link with a condensed version of the webinar along with helpful notes and hints.  You can click here to access this information, and I highly recommend it.

A slight tangent (and another slight tangent off of this one – I want to spell tangent with an “a” between e and n [tangeant], but that is not right. Anyone else have that problem?).

Ok – back to the tangent:  I LOVE webinars!  They are seriously the best way for busy people to attend great seminars and workshops.  ParentFurther hosts a webinar series typically on the third Wednesday of each month.  In March, their topic was the war against girls and women concerning the way we view our bodies and how that infiltrates how we view ourselves.  Ah-mazing!  You can catch that one (I think it might be the full length version) by clicking here.  Who should watch this?  Seriously – just about everyone.  Not kidding. Especially dads.  There – soap box over.

Back to money…

This weekend, the huz (a pastor man – an awesome one, by the way) was on a rocking retreat (complete with four-wheelers and trapshooting) with a leadership group that he facilitates, so we had a guest pastor.  Ron Norman is the president of the North American Baptist Foundation, a ministry that helps Christians with financial and estate planning.  With that being said, it should not surprise anyone that his sermon was about money.  I am not 100% sure, but his sermon might be up on the church sermon website.

The boy – a 15 year old – assists in our church services by doing the multimedia (SongShow and PowerPoint stuff mostly), and he and the girl also pay pretty close attention in sermons.  Because the huz asks us all for feedback on his sermons most Sunday afternoons, we have become accustomed to being able to give the highs and lows of other sermons as well.   The boy is also in a class at school called “Personal Finance.”  His comment after church today was pretty awesome.

It is interesting that most of what I am being taught in my personal finance class was in the sermon today.

Well, go figure – the Bible makes sense! 

Below is a Cliff Notes version of the sermon from today:

1. Keep Good Records: know what you owe, know what earn, know what you own, and know where it goes (dining out, entertainment, etc.)
2. Plan Spending: set goals for what you want to do with your money, freedom is based on how we spend, and learn how to live on less so that what is left can be shared (tithe, etc.) or saved.
3. Save for the Future
4. Return First Portion to God
5. Enjoy What You Have: don’t let your yearnings outpace your earnings

This afternoon after completing a writing project (which still has me thinking and is interrupting sleep – therefore, I am up writing a blog post!), I took some time to listen to the ParentFurther webinar.  I was not shocked – but sort of was! – that many of the principles from today’s sermon mirrored the webinar’s concepts.  The webinar did take it a step further by encouraging parents to be in discussion with their children about spending habits and how to create financial stability.  And the webinar had some astounding statistics about child and teen spending as well as information about advertisers targeting children and teens specifically as consumers in order to draw them in at younger and younger ages to spend what they have today without planning or budgeting for tomorrow.

We have not always been the best at this, but many times these principals come back into our lives.  Last August while our kids were away working at Village Creek Bible Camp in Iowa, the huz and I spent many hours in the evening in what can only be called “budget talks.”  I blogged about these instances a bit on August 12.

Throughout the talks were on the same side – Team Bender,  but we had competing values that we brought to the table from our personal “money stories” that we had learned from our parents.  When those values could not be settled in our earthly ways, we often had to ask ourselves just whose money is this?  When we remembered that the money came from God and ultimately belonged to God – entrusted to us to do great things for His kingdom – it was a bit easier to settle our differences because it brought our wants versus our needs into light.  And the concept reminded us that our number one purpose was to use these resources wisely.

These are the concepts about money and spending that we need to pass on to our children.  The sermon today, the webinar, and the personal finance class teach us the how in terms of financial stability, but God wants us to remember at all times the why of financial stability.  When we remember the why – even in times when unexpected expenses come our way or in times when we have made poor choices – we can start again today to see the way we manage our finances as a way to worship and glorify God. 

Maybe that thought will make paying the bills and balancing the checkbook just a tad easier next time?

These are concepts that we need to teach to our children from the time that they are old enough to sit in the cart at the grocery store and beg us for that special treat that, honestly, is unhealthy and just is not in the budget.

Where Have I Been?

My last post was on April 13, and I did not realize then (it was about a book called “The Survivors Club”) that I would take so much time off.  I had made a commitment to myself in August to blog daily, but I have realized that it has become more than I can handle at certain times.  I need to let myself have some grace and post when I can or when I want to do so and not be so tied to this “commitment” that I miss out on other things.

What have I been up to?

Well – mostly, I have had pneumonia!  I seem to be coming out of the woods on this, but -  WOW! – pneumonia is the worst. Coughing is awful.  If I were ever captured and tortured to get information from me, giving me something that would make me cough would definitely make me talk.  I highly suggest that chicken broth become a prescription, and why don’t they just hand out a 5 day dose of prednasone (sp?) right away?  I even skipped a fun weekend away because of this.

I have also been doing a crazy amount of driving for my job with testing season and court season in full swing.  I head to International Falls on Tuesday – that is on the Canadian border!  I do love to drive, but I am currently out of books on CD.  The library is on my list of stops tomorrow.

But – the fun part of why I have not been blogging is that I have been working on a project for ParentFurther.com.  They asked me to write some content for the bullying part of their website. This has been so much fun!  I just wrapped up 10,000 words of content and sent it off for their approval.  I am dying to hear back from them because I have no idea if it is what they want.

All of this to say to you all a few things:

1.  Don’t get so set on something that you miss out on other things.

2.  When you are sick, take the time you need to recover.

3.  Go after your dreams. Some day, you might just get that writing gig that you have always wanted to get.

Tangent: Drive-Truancy-Support Network

Oy vey!  I love to drive; I really do…but this month is hitting an extreme.  For my job as dean of students at an online school, I do a bit of traveling to attend court for students who are truant.  Today I am in Hibbing, MN.  Where is that?  Google it.  Next week, I will be in Thief River Falls, MN.  And the week after that, I will be in International Falls, MN – almost in Canada!  Fun stuff…and tiring.  I left my house this morning just after 6 a.m. (not on time, by the way), and I was thankful that my maps were correct in their estimation rather of how long it takes to get there.  Today is a long day.

How can a student be truant in an online school?

Great question!  It is the question that consumes most of my working (and lots of other) moments.

Being truant in an online school is easier than in a traditional school.  Do not be offended by this, but truancy in a traditional school can most easily be avoided by simply showing up.  The student does not have to do work. The student does not even  have to stay away.  If the student’s butt is in the seat, the student is in attendance.  In an online school, attendance is defined as the progress that a student makes.  This still does not ensure that the student will pass or do quality work, but I do believe that it is one step closer to a decent requirement over the butt in seat requirement.

What are you up today? 

My office is the Hibbing Public Library. 

No cell phones!

Ssssh!

I can honestly say that if you are not thinking about how you can be a part of student’s life, you should consider it.  Students need support networks.  Every student that goes to court has a situation that makes my heart sad.  I am not asking everyone to be everything for every kid.  I am asking you to consider how you can be part of a network…how you can be one part of a fence that goes around a kid to support success.  Maybe you are good at something…like encouraging the student to dream…

What do you think?  Who was your support network? How was that network important to where you are today?  What is the small thing you can do to be a part of something great?

Looking at Life Through New Lenses

A few weeks ago, I went to the eye doctor anticipating that I may need some touch-ups to my lasik surgery from a few year back.  Instead it turned out that my issues were muscular in nature rather than with the shaping of my cornea which is what lasik fixes.  After 26 years of not wearing glasses, I could not believe that I would be wearing glasses to drive and to work on the computer.  Honestly, I was not too happy about it, but I have to realize that I am not getting any younger.  Eyes, like everything else, may need some help as I continue to age.  When I picked up the glasses on Friday, I tried them on so that the technician could make any needed adjustments.

I was shocked!

I knew that my eyes had been straining for quite a while, but I was completely in awe of the crispness with which I could now see through my new lenses.  I remembered the first time I had glasses (back in third grade – urgh!) and how I kept taking them off and putting them back on to see the stark difference.

Today is Easter Sunday, the day on which we celebrate that Jesus rose from the grave after dying on the cross and being buried.  In His death, our sins are forgiven.  In His resurrection, we have new life because He has conquered death.

I know that many people struggle with whether Jesus is the only way to eternal life or if we need our sins to be forgiven.  I have chosen to have the Bible be my compass and my guide.  I have chosen to believe that it is true because, of all of the choices we have in this world, it makes the most sense to me. 

Christ’s resurrection provides me with a clear vision of my life. Through it, things either make sense at some point or I can have hope that there is bigger plan in the works.  Without Christ in my life, I fear that I would have less clear vision…like when I do not wear my glasses.  With Christ in my life, I have a focus, a purpose, and a hope that – although most things are beyond my understanding – God is working all things for good.

As I celebrate Christ’s resurrection today, I celebrate what that meant for all of us; however, I also celebrate for me…knowing that Christ died and rose for me – as well as for all.

Most of the time, I try not to be terribly “preachy” on my blog.  But today I want to be clear of my beliefs.

The Apostles’ Creed sums it up for me:   I believe in God the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and of earth, and in Jesus Christ – His only son, our Lord – who was conceived by the Holy Spirit (yes – I believe…), born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.  He descended into hell (I cannot imagine how the Trinity endured this…). The third day he rose again from the dead.  He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God.  From thence He shall come to judge the quick (living) and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Amen.

With Christ as my lens, I can see clearly.

How is your eyesight?

Happy Easter!

Guest Post: A Poem by the Girl

The girl wrote this when she was in elementary school. She has written many poems since then; however, this one remains my favorite.  Hearing her perform this was one of my proudest moments as a mother.  As an English teacher by training, I can objectively attest to the fact that she is quite talented.  As of the publishing of this post, her career goal is to be an occupational therapist; however, I can guarantee that writing will always be a part of the person she is.

All in a Room

by Elizabeth Bender

I am in a room;

it is cheerful in this room,

many cheerful people are in this room.

But sitting in the corner there is an old man.

Unlike the others, he wears no smile in this room.

I think of going over to him;

touch his shoulder;

touch his life…in this room.

But how in this room?

What if someone saw in this room?

Is it the right time in this room?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

There is a loud noise as that of thunder in this room.

Rain begins to fall in this room.

How in this room?

The old man is weeping in this room;

the doors begin to disappear in this room.

Hail, rain, and now lightning in this room.

The man vanished in this room.

Are we now to suffer in this room?

“How could we have prevented it?” asked many in this room.

Only I know of the people in this room.

Next time perhaps I will touch a shoulder or a life . . .

in this room.

Guest Post: A Poem by the Boy

If this does not make you think, maybe you should read it again…and again…and again.

Peaceful Murder

by Josiah Bender

She used to live in happiness,

‘Til all she knew was torn away.

For her family was poor,

And needed the money offered.

She was five, had barely lived,

Before she was forced to die.

Inside the room,

The dark, dark room,

She would lie upon the bed.

Until, one at a time,

Men came would take her life again,

Would take the rose that she once was,

And choke it ‘til it died.

Naked, exposed, unable to fight,

She would lie upon the bed.

And every sound was like a beast,

And every noise was like a fiend,

And everything was like a Reaper,

Which came to carry out,

As it always did,

The peaceful murder.

And she forgot her life,

That she had known,

Before she had died.

And soon she came to think,

That she had always been in the room.

That she was bread in captivity,

For the hungry men that came to take her life.

The darkness used to frighten her,

But then it became her friend.

They would play games together,

And talk of things that never had truly been.

And the darkness began to whisper,

Wise and wonderful words.

That she could be free,

That she could escape,

That she could know life.

And when a man,

One of many,

Came to kill her again,

She grabbed his throat,

And hugged him tight,

Until she could hug him no more.

And then it was him who lay,

Helpless upon the bed,

And she ran and ran,

Until she thought she was safe,

And she turned to laugh with her friend,

The darkness,

But the darkness was not there.

All that was there was a man,

A man who used to take her life.

And he had come to do it again,

If only once more.

She used to be happy,

She used to be safe,

She used to have all she might want.

Until the day that was taken from her,

Until the day she died.

A Day in Small Town Minnesota

Another day of travel for truancy meetings and court today led me to some truly awesome finds.  The girl joined me today because she is on spring break, and we had a great day! This was not how I thought the girl would want to spend one entire day of her break, but having a driver-secretary-companion along for an eleven hour day was something that I will miss next Tuesday when I head to Duluth and Hibbing without her.

The girl had a great time shopping at the Albertville outlet mall while I had my first meeting in Wright County.  We then headed south toward Watonwan County.  About an hour and a half into the drive in that direction, we thought that lunch needed to be found.

And find we did!

Cindy’s Kitchen on the west side of Hwy 169 in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, sits across the highway from Emma Krumbee’s – far more famous but far less yummy.  The girl and I had vegetable beef soup that had a tomato juice base (I asked Cindy herself!), and it was very good.  The girl also ordered fries. They were the thick ones that the girl likes but are not my favorite.  Great food.  Great value.  Excellent service.  Will I go back?  Yes, indeed!

From there, we headed south to St. James where I had court hearings for a couple of students.  The girl had researched ahead of time and had found that a coffee shop – The Stray Cat - is located near the courthouse on the main street of town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This seems to be a great place to hang out – in fact, when I returned to collect the girl, a group of women sat in the corner pictured below as they planned some big event.

If you head to this coffee shop, be sure to bring cash because they do not accept credit.  They do, however, trust you.  The nice man behind the counter was willing to bill me and let me send him a check.  Fortunately, the girl and I scraped together the $5.15 that we owed the shop.

I have to admit that there is something very appealing about living in a town like this.  Even though the nearest Culvers and Target are hours away, I might be able to learn to love the pace of life and the “know your neighbor” way of life in this small town. 

Especially because they have a movie theater.  Guess what is playing?

That’s right – The Hunger Games.

Safe and Surrounded

Yesterday I spent six hours in a car because I had to attend court as part of my job.  I am the dean of students at an online school, and I deal primarily with students who have attendance or truancy issues.  When I saw the sign for my exit off of I-35 about two hours north of Minneapolis, I was excited to see that another sign – one for Jay Cooke State Park – followed. 

I.  Love.  Jay Cooke State Park.

I have to be honest that I was not thrilled about being on the road yesterday.  My kids are on spring break, and work is a little nutty.  I could have skipped the road trip and would have been just fine.  However, I am so glad that I ended up being on the road with a ten minute stop at my favorite state park.

This view from the swinging bridge took my breath away. 

In my previous visit, I had thought of some profound correlations between the river and myself.  Yesterday, though, a profound message came in a different way.

Life is crazy, isn’t it?  At any given time, we all have something stressful going on in our lives or in the lives of those we love.  Someone needs surgery, someone dies, someone loses a job, someone gets engaged, someone has a baby, and someone moves away.  Like the river, we are constantly going.

We do not stand still – at least, not for long.

And when we do, we are just waiting until the next move.

And sometimes I ask myself, where is God in this?  If I am the river and if the things that “get in our way” are rocks, where is this God in this analogy?

I actually asked God this question as I stood on the bridge.  Where are you?

And then it came to me…not an audible voice…but an obvious light bulb moment.

Have you ever noticed the rocks surrounding the river as it rages? 

Psalm 139:5 - You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

We go along in life – raging and resting – like the river. Things get in our way – by our choice or by life’s circumstance – like the rocks coming up from the bed of the river.

And all the while, we are surrounded – like the ledges surrounding a river – by a God who loves us, cares for us, and guides us.  No matter how our life rages, we are safe because we are surrounded. 

And for that, I am thankful.

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Getting Wild in the City!

Friday’s are hectic days in my office, but last week turned interesting when a hen turkey decided to take a walk right in front of my office windows. 

Believe me when I say I was surprised!

What has surprised you lately?

Eyebrow Raising Moments–Round Four

Happy Monday to you all!  Here are some things that have caught my eye over the past few weeks. I will try not to whine too much about these items as that makes the boy annoyed.  Not all of them are bad things…they just caught my eye.

Number One

I saw this hanging in the produce section of my favorite Cub Foods store (Fridley off of University and 694).  The sad thing is that renovations are taking over and reducing the size of the store. This means narrower aisles and a possible reduction in stock.  Sad news.  The sign caught my eye because I had just been to see my doctor for my physical.  She told me that one half of my plate should be fruits or veggies for lunch and dinner.  That seems to be an area where I need to improve.  But – one thing at a time, right?  Water Only April is the priority right now.

Number Two

I found this chart at my Brooklyn Center Target store as I wandered the aisles and waited for a pharmacy order.  It was before my eye appointment, and I thought maybe my issue would be resolved by readers.  I tried on the different strengths, and none of them helped my issue.  This was confirmed by my eye doctor who determined that my vision issues stemmed from some muscular issues that hindered full focus.  I found the chart interesting, though, and very helpful.  I know the day is coming when readers may be part of my life as well.

Number Three

I saw this sign at the Maplewood Mall a while back.  I was completely enamored with the phrase “ignite hope” as hope is one of the most important emotions we can have. Hope keeps us alive when we are in difficult situations.  Hope inspires us to improve ourselves and our situations.  Hope is what allows young people to persevere through difficult times and change the way they see the world around them.  Even though the sign has to do with scholarships rather than some great youth development program (as I had thought it was), the sign remains inspiring to me.  The scholarships that the Maplewood Mall and its owners have for young people can do exactly what it says – Ignite hope.  If anyone actually applies for this scholarship because they found it in this blog post, please comment so that I know.

Number Four

I judged speech meets every Saturday for two months.  I have not spent that much time in traditional school classrooms for over seven years.  I will be honest – I have no desire to return to the traditional classroom any time in the near future.  This is just one of the many things that I do not miss about being in the classroom – classroom management.  I simply do not understand why kids feel the need to write on things in schools.  I took another photo in this school’s bathroom, but I decided that was even less appropriate than this is.

My eyebrows go up for lots of reasons – what has made your eyebrows go up lately?

Hosanna! – It’s No Joke…

Today is an odd conflation of church tradition and April Fool’s Day.  I could not pass up the opportunity to blog about the somewhat ironic nature of this co-occurrence, so here it is.

Today is Palm Sunday in most Christian churches around the world.  Today we celebrate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem where He was recognized as the Prince of Peace coming in the name of the Lord.  Many churches will sing songs of Hosanna and praise while little children (and often even adults) waive palm branches.  This is to re-enact in a small way the laying down of palm branches as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey.

It is right for us to recognize Jesus in this way, to praise Him, and to remind ourselves of the place that He has in our lives.  He is the Prince of Peace; He came to provide salvation for us through His death to pay for our sins and His resurrection as defeating death.  The songs that we sing today praise and glorify Him!

In contrast, April Fool’s Day’s history, though a bit uncertain, comes from a calendar change in France (in the 1500s) moving New Year’s week from March 25-April 1 to January 1.  Apparently word did not get around very quickly because many people did not realize that the calendar had not changed.  Those who did not were considered “fools,” and tricks were played on them.  The fun has now spread world-wide, and wherever you are on this day you can be assured that some kind of prank will occur near you if not to you.

How could these two topics ever have anything to do with each other?  How do we think about these two seemingly different concepts on the same day?

Well, actually, the Bible does that for us!

Consider 1Corinthians 1:18-31 -

¹⁸For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” ²⁰Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, ²³but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.²⁶Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, ²⁹so that no one might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

I know that there are many who think that following God is foolish, that it is a waste of time, or that it is not for them.  But honestly, it is the only thing that seems to make sense out of my life and life in general.  God is not a joke; the fact that Jesus saves is not a joke.  It is a reality of a relationship that transcends all of the ugliness that is around us and that pulls us up from the depths of despair into the loving arms of a Father who loves us and a Savior who died for us.

Consider Psalm 30:11-12 -

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

The bizarre thing about Hosanna and April Fool’s Day is that they do conflate well together in a sense.  When God has turned my mourning in to dancing and has clothed me with gladness, I am free from the burden of grief and can laugh!  When I think of the Hebrew dance parties that I have seen in various movies about the time period of the Psalms, I know that this type of dancing involves laughter.

In the foolishness of the cross, we find freedom from our guilt and shame.  That freedom allows for joyful dancing, gladness, and singing the praises of the one whose wisdom seems foolish.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!