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How to make great decisions

ROAD RULES FOR THE REAL WORLD
How to make great decisions
Brandon Hopkins
1-13-02
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Everyone must make decisions everyday…if your parents make $30,000 or $300,000 a year, you must make decisions everyday.

DECISIONS WE MAKE TODAY, IMPACT THE FUTURE

One last thought: Everyone has CHOICES, but not everyone chooses to allow God to guide their CHOICES. The choice to do so, will influence all your future CHOICES.

Whether you score perfect on the SAT or you only get points for spelling your name right, you must make daily decisions, and the…

QUALITY of your life will be determined by the wisdom or foolishness of those DECESIONS.

“…a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind…They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.�? James 1:7-8

You’re all at the age right now that the decisions you make, are going to affect the rest of your life.

I’m reminded of a girl we’ll call “Tina�?. Tina was going through life just like most of you are right now. She was on fire for God, and leading a small group.

Then she had an opportunity in her life where she met a young man. She knew this guy’s reputation as well as everyone else did. He was never faithful to the girls he dated, but he was very convincing and sweet-talking. He started paying more and more attention to her every day, and Tina liked it.

Before she knew it, she was dating him, and spending a lot of alone time with him every day. When asked about her reasons for dating him she said “I’m going to witness to him, and bring him to Christ.�?

Don’t get me wrong; this is very noble, and also completely UNscriptural.

Bad company corrupts good morals. 1 Corinthians 15:33

Tina’s boyfriend was bad company, and he ended up corrupting her good morals.

She brought him to church a few times, then she slowly stopped coming, stepping down from her small group, then not coming at all.

Tina graduated, and then decided to move in to her boyfriend’s apartment.

After they started living together, they started having sex, and then Tina got pregnant.

At this point, Tina had made a lot of bad decisions, and it only gets worse.

Tina had one more major decision to make, keep the baby, or abort it.

Well, I saw Tina driving the other night, and I hadn’t seen her in years, no baby in the back seat, and her same boyfriend next to her. Tina made a decision to abort her child, and stay with her boyfriend, and continue to live in sin.

This didn’t all happen at once, Tina gradually made decision to get to the place she is at today. She knew the truth, and she turned her back to it.

Fortunately for us, God does not do that. He does not turn his back on us. As soon as Tina is ready to repent, God will be their waiting to take her back.

DECISIONS WE MAKE TODAY, IMPACT THE FUTURE

In the Real World indecision makes you…
• STRESSFUL – worried
• FEARFUL – What if I make the wrong decision?
• VULNERABLE
• DECEITFUL

“The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make.�? Colossians 3:15

Follow God, and he’ll guide you to peace

DECISIONS WE MAKE TODAY, IMPACT THE FUTURE

If you don’t stand for anything, you’ll fall for everything.

If you are different at school than you are here, you need to decide what you stand for.

Do you stand for cussing? Secular music? Alcohol? Drugs?

What do you stand for?

It’s too late to decide you don’t stand for alcohol, when your already at a party.

ADMIT YOUR NEED for help, wisdom, and guidance.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.�? Proverbs 14:12

You may think you know what’s right, but you may be on that path leading to death.

How do you know your not? Ask your CHRISTIAN friends what they think about what you’re doing. Ask your parents. Ask Greg, ask me, and ask someone grounded in the Bible what he or she thinks about what you stand for.

“Get all the advice you can, and be wise the rest of your life.�? Proverbs 28:26

If you don’t ask for advice because you think you know already, you’re prideful.

Pride will destroy relationships, and then your life.

Pride is described by Webster as: Conceited, Cockiness, having a Big Head, Overconfidence.

The opposite of pride is Humility.

If you walk in here, sit in your chair, then start talking or not paying attention, looking around, thinking about other things, trying to impress other people, you are being prideful.

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.�? Proverbs 11:2

DECISIONS WE MAKE TODAY, IMPACT THE FUTURE

BELIEVE GOD WANTS to help you in your decision-making.

God wants to help make EVERY decision.

READ JAMES 1:5-6

God wants to help you make EVERY decision. If you don’t believe that, you misunderstand God’s character.

Don’t place your limited thinking on the unlimited God.

I don’t know if anyone here watched a show that was on TV a couple weeks ago, but it was called Domino Day 2001, did anyone see it?

If you didn’t, what they would do is set up anywhere from 1,000 dominos, to 50,000 dominos, then knock them all down. These people were serious about setting up dominos; they made pictures, and had rulers that calculated how far apart the domino must be, down the millimeter.

If there were one domino out of place, that creator would know where is goes, because each one was marked. The same goes for God, he knows where you have a hole in your life, and he knows exactly what is supposed to be filling that empty space.

DECISIONS WE MAKE TODAY, IMPACT THE FUTURE

CHECK OUT GOD’S standard for living

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.�? Psalm 119:105

“Your Word�? could be substituted for “The Bible�?. The Bible guides you, and lights the way.

This next part is the absolute favorite part of the lesson for me.

I named it the Decision Test.

With these 5 points, you can make every decision in your life, and make it a good decision.

1. The ideal test: is this decision in harmony with God’s word?
2. The integrity test: would I want everyone to know about this decision?
3. The improvement test: will it make me a better person?
4. The independence test: could it become addicting?
5. The influence test: will it harm anyone else?

DECIDE AT LOGICAL times and move on with living life to its fullest.

Making decisions on what you feel is irrational and dangerous.

Almost all suicide occurs when people are having a bad day, or something tragic happens to them. Only 15% of suicide comes when people are being treated. That means 85% of suicide comes at times that people aren’t fully expecting it.

My grandmother always told me, never make a decision at night. The reason for this is, more people are more emotional at night. You don’t think through it, and your tired, and more likely to make a decision based on emotion rather than thought.

“It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows.�? Proverbs 20:25

The Bible here is talking about guilt, “later to consider his vows�? meaning after you’ve made a bad decision, you’ll know it.

Whether this decision is to put yourself in a sexual situation, committing suicide, or just going to a party, you will regret it later.

DECISIONS WE MAKE TODAY, IMPACT THE FUTURE

Make good decisions now, and have a good future later.

By |July 27th, 2005|About Me, Christian|4 Comments
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Religion finally Back in Schools – 10-26-99

Religion finally Back in Schools – 10-26-99

Religion is now back in schools as one jury decided Monday of last week. The trial was Green v. Board of Education, and Mrs. Green did not like a short prayer being recited after the Pledge of Allegiance. That is just too bad the jury decided. Mrs. Green was quoted as saying “I’m taking all my children out of public schools and home-schooling them.� After a short deliberation, the jury decided to allow the prayer to be recited by a 6-2 vote.
In this case, the defense asked the question “Does the reference to God in a classroom imply that the school supports a specific religious doctrine?â€? The answer is apparently “No,” and jury member Tim Johnson said after the trial. He was also quoted as saying “In no way does this make the school Christian or Catholic, every major religion has a ‘God’, and that’s all the prayer talks about.â€?
In each classroom at Mohawk Elementary School, children recite the prayer every day and some stay quite. When one boy was questioned about why he did not recite the prayer and remained silent, he responded by saying “My parents said that is not what we believe.� This is what transpires in a lot of the classrooms, some children recite the prayer, and some choose not to.
The issue of being able to ‘choose’, as the defense made a point of, is free to every student. No children are forced, persuaded, encouraged, rewarded, or penalized if they choose to say or not to say the 23 word prayer. The prayer is not mandatory.
Some positive effects of this prayer is one, that it might result in a decrease of violence. This might happen by students remembering what the Bible says about certain subjects, and then deciding to not indulge in those actions. While some individuals may see the prayer as harmful, in reality, it is not. If people don’t want to take part of the prayer, they are not required to, and may remain silent at their own choosing. How can remaining silent hurt someone?
I personally agree with the decision of the court and jury. I am religious and do regularly attend church. I am Christian, and do not believe that this ruling can be harmful in any relevant way.

By |July 27th, 2005|About Me, Christian|0 Comments
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The Wise Men of Chelm


Major Objective: In the beginning of the scene Rebbe Pinchas is trying to do what is “right� by burying Gimpel, since Gimpel believes that he is dead, and has convinced Rebbe Pinchas of this as well. I think that it is important to note that due to the part of the play that we chose to do, we never got to the major objective which is to find the stranger to get back the towns valuables. Although this play has a definite plot, it is a comedy and I believe that the character of Rebbe Pinchas, although an important role, is mostly there to aid in the comedy. That said, in the second scene, when I take on the part of the stranger, I believe that his objective is simply to become wealthy, and take advantage of the people of Chelm. In the third scene, when I play Rebbe Pinchas again, I believe his objective was to convince the stranger to sell his cow. And in the last scene, I believe Rebbe Pinchas’s goal was to relay the news that the cow doesn’t give gold, and then to find some way to get back their valuables. But like I said, I very rarely felt as though Rebbe Pinchas was the person who provided the conflict throughout the scenes, I often felt like the character of Rebbe Pinchas was created by the author simply for comedic purposes.

What stands in the way: I believe that what stands in the way of Rebbe Pinchas fulfilling his objectives is the fact that he is a fool. Although Rebbe Pinchas would like to consider himself wise, he simply cannot because he is often proved wrong by others throughout the play. I think Rebbe Pinchas’ major objective is to be a wise man, but his foolishness stands in the way.

Physical and Emotional Traits: Rebbe Pinchas is very physical. He moves his hands and body frequently throughout each scene. He makes funny faces, especially when he is offended by something. Rebbe Pinchas always tries to continue looking “wise� at all times. I like to think that Rebbe Pinchas and Rebbe Mottel have a sort of competition going on. I think that Rebbe Pinchas enjoys telling Rebbe Mottel that he is doing things wrong. Above all else, Rebbe Pinchas likes to have others compliment him. Rebbe Pinchas is angered easily, especially when he is challenged by others. Rebbe Pinchas is very hot blooded, and his temper is wild, but overall he is a kind man, especially towards Gimpel. I believe Rebbe Pinchas looks as Gimpel as sort of a Protégé. Pinchas is often frustrated by others easily, especially because he always thinks he is right, even if logic says otherwise.

Relationships: Pinchas has a different sort of relationship with Rebbe Mottel. He and Mottel get along as long as they are in complete agreement, although that occurs very infrequently. They are constantly arguing or debating about something. When they are in an argument it seems as though both sides find their argument perfectly logical, and see no sense in the other point of view. It takes one side to be proven wrong before someone will back down. They are good friends, but they often don’t see eye to eye. Like I previously stated, I believe Pinchas and Gimpel have different relationship. I believe that Gimpel looks up to Pinchas, and Pinchas appreciates that. I think that Pinchas enjoys that attention and admiration from Gimpel.

Evaluation of the group’s process: I am not exactly sure what we are suppose to answer to here, but I will simply say that although I often was frustrated because I felt like not everyone (including myself at one time or another) was not pulling their weight, I did enjoy this process. I feel like I learned a lot through this experience. I had a chance to act, which was fun. But I also had a chance to work in other areas of theatre, because at various times I think everyone did everyone else’s job too. I really liked this project.

By |July 27th, 2005|Reviews|0 Comments
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Age Characteristics Chart

Age Characteristics Chart

Age: Pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten (ages 3-6)

Physical Development: During this period of life students are learning to master the use of their gross motor development, and they are developing fine motor skills. Mastering gross motor skills will give students the ability to run, jump, and play just like their older, more advanced counterparts. During this period some students can still have difficulty with such tasks as, hopping on one foot, walking backwards, skipping, jumping rope, as well as many others. Students will have difficulty with tasks that involve use of fine motor skills. Children must be taught how to hold a pencil, how to cut, tie shoes, and glue. All of these tasks involve the use of their fine motor skills, and therefore, prove very difficult until a child has achieved mastery.

During this stage, the students’ body is grossly out of proportion. The students head is a large percent of his body weight, and until the child reaches a growth spurt, it will remain that way.
Teaching Applications: During this period, any type of P.E. activity can be a learning experience for the child. It will provide them the opportunity to gain mastery of their gross motor skills. A good idea to remember is that when having students take part in activities, try to make them do some type of gross motor skill that they haven’t mastered yet. For example, in Kindergarten, instead of having the students run regular races have them do hopping, or skipping races.

Emotional Development: During this period students are taking their first steps toward independence. For most of them this will be their first time leaving their homes for long periods of time. The student must learn to cope with different types of stressors, such as leaving their parents, making friends, and learning about what it means to succeed and fail. Children will either be in Erickson’s stage of Initiative versus Guilt, or entering Erickson’s stage of Industry versus Inferiority. If they are still in the crisis of Initiative versus Guilt, then they will be using newly acquired language and motor skills to discover who they are. If they have proceeded into Industry versus Inferiority, then they will be focused on setting goals for themselves, and either achieving them, or failing at them and feeling inferior to those around them. Slavin (2003) writes that, “During this stage children start trying to prove that they are ‘grown-up’; in fact, this is often described as the I-can-do-it-myself stage,� (p. 82).

Teaching Applications: Give children the opportunity to use their skills to discover who they are. For example, letting students draw something that describes what they like to do, or even something as simple as writing a sentence about their favorite food, or color can help students achieve a sense of who they are, and understand that they are unique. Students at this age can use invented spelling to write sentences as long as they have a grasp of the alphabet sounds and symbols.


Social Development: During this period peers take and increasingly important role in the development. Slavin (2003) writes that, “Children’s relations with their peers differ in several ways from their interactions with adults,� (p. 73). This social interaction differs in that, it gives this age group the opportunity to interact with those at the same level of development, and it allows them to learn how to settle disputes since , “in a peer dispute, no one can claim to have ultimate authority,� (Slavin, 2003, p. 73). Because they must learn to resolve conflict, they must learn how their behavior affects the feelings of those around them, and take that into consideration. Children begin to take part in several types of play; solitary, associative, and cooperative. Students learn to cooperate in order to achieve a common goal, and in this way they learn how to work together, and how to take others opinion into consideration. Something that we take for granted, is that since this may be the first time the student has ever socialized with peers, the student may not understand what it means to compromise, or how to share. These skills will be developed during these years.

Teaching applications: I think that the best way to help students develop in this area is to give them the opportunity for play. One way to do this is to set up your classroom in stations. My classroom is set up for five stations and one of those stations is usually just for play. It is usually blocks, or legos, and it gives the students time to learn how to interact with each other. It is also good to have stations because I obviously cannot be at all of the stations at the same time, so the students must learn how to solve social problems independently.

Cognitive Development: During this period, students are in Piaget’s preoperational stage. It is during this stage that children can begin to use symbols to represent objects. This means that symbols can be understood as representations for sounds, and therefore the alphabet can be understood. Children begin to grasp the concept of numbers, and how they can represent any quantity of objects. Some important concepts that are understood are; conservation, centration, and reversibility. During this period students remain egocentric in their thinking. Slavin (2003) writes that, “Children at this stage believe that everyone sees the world exactly as they do,� (p. 36).

Teaching Applications: Because the students can use symbols to represent objects, teachers can begin teaching the alphabet, and manipulation of numbers.

References

Slavin, R. E., Educational Psychology, 2003, 7th Edition, p. 36, 73-82.

By |July 27th, 2005|General|2 Comments
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