A little about the Trivium...

I thought it would be good to speak a little about the Trivium and Classical Education. The longer I am involved with Christian and Classical Education the more wisdom I gain as an educator and parent. I want to take this opportunity to share a little of that wisdom.

Thus, what is the Trivium? It takes learning and divides it into three stages – grammar, logic and rhetoric. Those stages cut with the grain of how children grow and develop. When children are in the grammar stage, they are easily able to store large amounts of information. For example, a few days ago my wife and I went to get our two year old daughter up from her nap. As we entered the room and approached her bed, she looked up at us and began to sing…ABCDEFG…and on went the song until, next time won’t you sing with me. We were shocked. We had sung the ABC’s to her, but she had never sung the entire Alphabet. How was a barely two year old able to remember 26 bits of information? God designed her to be able to remember information, especially when it is set to a tune. Now if I broke the alphabet down and asked her what letter comes after R or even why there are 26 letters, of course she would not be able to answer me. But we have laid the ground work to build on and that building begins in 7^th grade as students formally move into the logic stage of learning, our Dialectic school.

Dialectic school is distinctly different than grammar school because we now begin to teach Logic and we open up the classroom for debate and discussion. The role of the teacher changes from that of a giver of knowledge to facilitator of understanding. Opened ended questions and logical discussions are the order for the day. But we have to have something to discuss, so in the 7^th grade our students begin to read the Classics along with many other Great Books, along with studying Hebrew and Greek. This is when the true academic rigor that the students have been prepared for through the Grammar school begins.

Finally in the 10^th grade our students enter into the Rhetoric School. For us at Bethel Prep, the Rhetoric is our capstone. It is where our students use the facts from Grammar School and their logic from Dialectic School to express their thoughts and ideas on the various subjects they have learned about. Rhetoric School puts a heavy emphasis on being able to clearly articulate and express the student’s wisdom that they have gained over the years.

Books I Am Currently Reading...

Playing in the Rain!!

Can You Tell Me How To Get...

Yes, yes...I have heard the cries of my people, Canney Family Nation demanding for posts. I know there have been many of an angry Town Hall Meetings across the nation screaming for a new post. Well here you go, my people...

The Canney Family recently journeyed north of Philadelphia for a day of fun in the sun at Sesame Place. After stopping to sing for directions, we safely arrived to begin our day. It was Addison, Melissa and myself, along with our friends Rob and Christy, with their almost two year old son, Caleb.

We splashed in the water, rode rides, changed poopy diapers, watched shows, took in a parade, changed more poopy diapers, ate lunch, splashed some more, stared in amazement at poor parenting, more rides, more food and then more diapers. Whew what a day. All in all, the napless kids did great and we, the parents, managed to keep it together too.

Here is a link to more pictures (and more of my skin) than you probably would like to see, but it appeases the grandparents so I do what I must.

Cheers.

Having To Do All The Things...

Dad is closing in on his first week at home. I have talked to him a few times and he sounds upbeat and positive. When we talked last (4/1) I asked him, "What is the best part of being home?" He responded by saying "Not having all those people taking care of me." I followed up by inquiring what was the worst part of being home. He quipped "Having to do all the things that everyone in the hospital did for me." =) Typical Dad and a typical man!

As we chatted Dad said things were going good. He has begun outpatient therapy and he said he was pleased with how it was progressing. He did comment that his right leg is still bothering him, which inhibits his ability to walk. When he wakes in the morning it feels good, but as he goes through the day, the swelling and pain return. He was also was a bit stressed because Tax Day is barrelling down on us all.

I had a good time sharing with Dad some of the things we have going on in our family. My daughter, Addison (who is twenty months today), had a fun time telling Grandpa that she was eating a Boo Pop (translation = a blue Popsicle) while I chatted on the phone.

Dad said people have been visiting and encouraging him. I could tell he appreciates all the support he has been getting. He was especially touched by the reception he received at Church this past Sunday. He said it was "kind of a big deal" when he showed up.

Thank You

As Dad prepares to come home today, I think it is appropriate to take a moment to say Thank You to all of you who have done so much to support Dad and the family through his surgery and recovery. What we had hoped would be four to six days has turned into two months. It has been a long and hard two months. Your support, kindness, and generosity has made this ordeal easier to cope with. I know Dad needs and appreciates all the encouragement he has received. Many of you have eased Missy's worries by providing food, kind words and selfless actions. She wanted me to make sure I relayed how thankful she is for each of you.

As Dad begins the next chapter in his life, I ask that we would continue to pray for Dad's recovery. When I talked to Dad yesterday, he was excited to go home, but at the same time he kept expressing he was worried about the unknown. We can pray that his mind and heart would be at ease as he comes home. We can also all pray for Missy as she takes on the roles that the nurses had in the hospital. They both need our continued love and support.

Remember, we are NOT doing a surprise welcome home party for Dad. We think it is best for him come home quietly without much pomp or circumstance. You are welcomed to stop by for an encouraging word, call or send cards.

Thank You and God Bless.

Here Comes Bim!!

I gave my dad a call Sunday night. We talked for about forty minutes about a variety of things. I shared a lot of things that are going on in my life here in New Jersey. He was excited to hear from his Granddaughter Addison. She told him 'hullo', 'I luv you' and 'ga-night' among other things. =) She is quite the talker for a 19 month old.

Dad was open and honest about how things have been going. He said rehab has been going well. He did tell me, however, that he has been feeling 'blue' lately. I encouraged him that this was of course to be expected and that acknowledging how he was feeling would greatly help in his recovery.

Of course, Dad is excited to be going home Thursday (3/26). He has a countdown of days going on until he leaves that he informs me of each time we talk. He also has a count-up going on of how many days he has been in the hospital. Thursday will be exactly two months since his surgery.

We have decided not to do any kind of welcome home party. I think Dad would like to come home quietly with just him and Miss. I do encourage (with Missy's and Dad's blessing) friends to stop by, say hello and offer encouragement. Cards are still welcomed, as are phone calls. Dad still needs all our support and help.

Thanks!

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

We love you and we hope you have a great day!!

Ready...Set...WAIT!!

Once, when I was about 10 years old, I was walking up to soccer practice. The team was scrimmaging a little before practice began and as I approached the field the coach started to holler for me to jump in and play defense. I was intimated because this was one of my first practices with a new team in a new league of older kids. I did not jump in and a kid scored a goal. The coach was upset and disappointed with me, thus the tone was set for the remainder of the season. I did not like the coach and he did not respect me as a player.

I share this story because Dad is not coming home from the hospital. He has been granted another week, and while I would love for him to be home, I want him to as ready as possible so that it is a positive transition. I also count it as blessing that Missy gets another week to prepare for Dad coming home. The move will be more difficult on her than anyone else, so I ask that you would be sensitive to ways you can help her. Thanks!

The target exit date is now set for next Thursday.

Get Ready...Get Set...GO...HOME!!!

Yes, you read the title correctly...Jim Canney MIGHT be coming home today, Thursday 3/19!!! We will find out sometime this afternoon if he has been cleared for take-off from Riverside.

Missy is thinking of doing a Welcome Home greeting. If he is coming home today and we plan to have a Welcome Home party, I will post it here as soon as it is confirmed. What we are thinking of is having anyone who is available to be outside the house as Dad arrives home. It will be a an encouraging and uplifting time for him.

There is a chance he will not be discharged. If such is the case, it is not a set back. The original target date was NEXT Thursday, so the idea of him being homeward bound this Thursday is speeding things up at bit.

Thank you and stay tuned...

TOBY!!!

Dad is progressing steadily each day, but as we all know stroke recovery is a long road. Unfortunately, no one knows where the road will end or what detours we will encounter as we travel, so we must accept that the journey on this road is now part of our lives. More so for those who are closest to him.

Dad is going through the paces, and as I have stated before he is a 'good' patient. He is doing all the things he is asked to do. However, when is the last time any of us remembers Jim Canney being the employee?? =) He has been the 'bossman' for as long as I can remember. I think prefers being his own boss! Hopefully the thought of getting out soon and coming home will give him the motivation he needs to make the most of his remaining time at rehab. When I spoke to him Monday(3/16) night on the phone, he knew exactly how many days until he is out of Riverside! =D

The rehab staff are terrific. Dad and Missy are glad they had the chance to stay at Riverside. Dad is still looking at a discharge date towards the end of the month, but it could be moved up if he can do what he's currently working on as an outpatient. The outlook for outpatient rehab is that Dad will continue twice a week with all three therapies. The plan is to stay with Riverside's program at a center in Upper Arlington for the outpatient rehab.

Jim had a nice surprise visit Sunday(3/15) from Toby, Dad and Missy's(really Dylan's) dog!! She was excited to see Dad and proceeded to sniff everything in his room. He was happy to love on her too!

An Over Due Update

I offer my apologies for not having updated the blog recently. I have been busy celebrating my wife's 30th birthday day!! Anyway, here is an update from the middle last week...

Dad is seeming more like himself as the days progress. On Wednesday (3/11) Dad went on an outing with two other patients and three therapists. They had planned to go to the Jack Nicklaus museum, but for some reason they ended up going to Target! Dad the other two patients and told Missy all about their experience. They were all happy to be doing something we all take for granted! It has to be great to get out of the hospital after having been couped up so long.

Dad's stamina continues to improve. He is sitting up in a chair all day and working at therapy. After having spent many a meals with Dad watching him eat, Missy invited him to the cafeteria to watch her while she ate. He responded with "If you want me to." That is a very typical statement for him, so off to the cafeteria they went. =)

Dad is fortunate to be in Riverside and they are doing a great job of helping him get better. This week Dad had the help of two good friends. On Tuesday a good buddy was his rehab 'partner' and then Friday another friend had the same honors. It is great that Dad has had such supportive and caring friends. Those two are an example of many that have been reaching out to Dad, Miss and the kids, along with the rest of Dad's family. It is very encouraging to see how much everyone cares and is helping Dad through this challenging life experience.

For more information about stroke and how it affects people, you can go to the National Stroke Association website.

Doing the Laundry

Dad is continuing the rehab process. Once again, it is broken into three parts. Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy. Here is an update on each.

In Physical Therapy Dad is working on stretching out the right calf and leg. The blood clots in the right leg are still creating a lot of swelling and giving him a good amount of pain, especially later in the day. He is now walking consistently with the aid of one person to provide support and help with balance. Melissa has now been 'officially' trained and is permitted to take him on walks. I told her to be careful he does not walk her to the car in attempt to escape! He is working on building up endurance and keeping good posture. He has worked on other balancing exercises, which help build strength in both legs and 'the core'. We all know that strengthening 'the core' is the big exercise fad these days, right?? He has practiced climbing steps. He is also working on right arm movement and stretching out the shoulder, which he had surgery on awhile ago to repair some damage.

Occupational Therapy works on an assortment of 'real life' things. I have heard Melissa is really emphasizing that they work with Dad on vacuuming and the laundry. =) Oh, and putting the seat down...if they can do that I think all women would classify these people as miracle workers and send their husbands for 'rehab'! =) In actuality they address fine motor skills, sorting and organizing items, plus the 'real life' skills.

Speech Therapy encompasses so much more than making sounds. Their job is to 'work the brain'. Doctors and other such know it alls are always telling us to keep our brains active as we age with crossword puzzles, word problems, etc... That is the type of stuff they have Dad doing. He is literally working the brain muscle. This includes problem solving, reasoning, and memory exercises. By doing this he is strengthening his brain. He is also teaching it to 'rewire' itself. It helps him to search for new ways to do old things. Melissa has said she is amazed at his improvement in just one week.

Dad also gets to do recreational therapy a couple days per week. This therapy tries to incorporate all three therapies into an activity that is fun and interesting. It also involves other patients. A great idea was that the therapist rolled out some fake golf turf with putting holes. He had Dad stand practice putting. Then Dad had to provide instruction to another patient on how to put the ball. They were not too pleased when Dad tried to set up a Skins Game of a dollar a hole with the guy, but hey...Dad will be Dad! =) Recreational therapy is also beneficial because Dad and Melissa get to know the other patients and their families on the unit.

Dad continues to eat great. He still has a consistent and steady stream of visitors. Many of them(you) back for the 5th, 6th or 7th visit!

Dad wants to go home, but has accepted the fact that these people are the experts and can help him get back to where he wants to be. Of course nothing will help him more than all our prayers, so continue to petition to God through Jesus Christ on behalf of Dad.

Thank you and God Bless.

Update

A quick update on Dad. Rehab is going well. He is making significant gains each day. The team of specialist recently met and gave their assessment of how is doing. They also laid out their goals for him. At this time they estimate a target discharge date toward the end of the month. Obviously Dad would like to be home sooner. But we all want him home to stay when he is released, so let us continue to pray that his rehabilitation goes well and he keeps making great gains each day!

How much is one trillion?

$ee for yourself...

ONE TRILLION BIG ONES

Thirteen

Dad has been busy with his therapy sessions, getting on with the business of getting better! Monday was a good day of therapy. He had two sessions of each therapy. I was able to sit in on one of them, speech. They are doing some evaluation work on him, so they had him answer different questions and problem solve. It can be funny to see him sarcastically or humorously answer a question or two. Usually the therapist is not sure what to make of such answers. She will watch him closely for a grin or some facial expression that lets her know if he is serious or not. I take these as signs that the ole Bim is still rattling around in there. She had him do some math problems too. It was all operational stuff, moving from the simple to a bit more complex. He missed a few, but I was impressed with his division skills...quick...what is 377 divided by 29? Put down the paper and pencil...Dad solved it mentally!

Physical therapy went well as Dad climbed some stairs and he said occupational therapy was easy.

Above all I am pleased with the attitude I saw Dad have. He worked hard, listened to the nurses and therapists, and had a good attitude throughout the days. Therapy can be exhausting. My wife Melissa and I had lunch with Dad on Monday after he had already had three sessions. We got back to his room with only an hour to rest before 90 minutes of therapy would begin. After the afternoon sessions were done, Dad plopped into bed. He followed that up with a "dang it, they're going to come get me for dinner soon." It was neat to see him after he got back in bed though. A few times he closed his eyes with a soft, relaxing smile on his face. It was a tired smile, but a good tired.

Again, thank you for your support. The amount of cards in Dad's room is amazing! I flipped through two or three and one of them just happened to mention this blog. That was neat for me to read, but of course this is not about me. I know many people are keeping up to date with the blog, so I will keep it up!

May God's blessings rest on all of us! Amen.

PS The answer to the division problem?? Did you solve it yet? If so, you now understand the title of this blog! =)

Party Pics

Here are some pictures from our birthday celebration

with Dad on Sunday (3/1/09). Enjoy!

The gang getting ready to eat some cake!

Hunter(3), his mom Jamie, Addy (19 months) and her dad Joe.

Entertainment was provided by Addison Canney. =)

Melissa, James and everyone else enjoying the opportunity to fellowship.

Nanny and James keeping an eye on the kids!

Grandpa and the Grandkids

As previously mentioned on this blog, Dad has been moved to a rehab center. Rehab centers do not waste time, nor their efforts. They set to work immediately on helping Dad recover and rehabilitate. He was moved on Thursday and then had three hours of rehab on Friday. Each weekday he has six half hour sessions scheduled. Saturdays are three half hour sessions and Sunday is a day of rest...amen. His rehab is a mix of physical, occupational and speech therapies.


On Saturday I joined Dad, with my wife Melissa, for two of his rehab sessions. The first was physical therapy. They had Dad stand and stretch his legs. Then they had him walk the halls with the use of a walker. Dad completely used his own power and balance to navigate the halls. We walked the 'horseshoe' from the therapy room back to his room. Dad did great. After that, it was off to a speech therapy meeting. They are still doing evaluations on Dad to see what he needs to work on.


Today, Sunday, a large crowd of Canneys came to visit Dad. We gathered in the dining room of his floor to celebrate the birthdays of Hunter(3), Jamie(29) and my Melissa (20-10). It was a great time of presents, cake, kids playing, laughing and visiting.


A special treat for me was to watch my daughter, Addison, interact with Dad. After we got to the hospital we went to his floor and walked down his hall toward his room. We entered the hall from the far end, Dad was entering the hall from the other end, leaving his room. We were a good 20 to 30 yards apart. Immediately Addison recognized her Grandpa and began to excitedly wave, bounce and laugh! She was happy to see Grandpa, to say the least!


With all the work Dad is doing, he gets very tired. After our little birthday celebration, which included Dad eating some cake, he headed to his room for a nap. I walked with Addison down to his room. Addison was adorable as she put a finger to her mouth to say 'ssshhhh' and 'nite nite' to Grandpa. She then kissed him goodnight and said 'I vavue.' =) Dad grinned a soft, warm smile and he told her that he loved her too. Addison is hesitant around men, even men she sees all the time. Today, I do not have a doubt she would have crawled in bed with Dad if we had let her. She was so happy to see him. Later, when we went to leave, there were more kisses, love yous, hugs and blown kisses. Dad enjoyed seeing Addison, along with his two grandsons Hunter and Ayden. There was no doubt they enjoyed seeing him also.


I will post some pictures from the party later on.

Cheers.

It's Good to Hear Your Voice

Tonight at about 6:00, my cell phone rang. The caller ID said Missy, but the voice was nothing close to Missy's. My dad talked to me for the first time in four weeks and one day. The last time he spoke to me was the Wednesday before the surgery. I called him during Lost and we briefly talked about the about the next day's events. Not being able to talk to him for the past month has been difficult. Not because we talk all the time. But rather because any time I call to talk, he is always available. I know that not being able to hear from Dad has been difficult for many. A lot of people depend on Dad and his steady advice and encouragement. It was great to hear from him.


Now, do not let me lead you astray. As many know and as has been reported hear at Canney Family, Dad has been talking for a week or two. Tonight, however, was my first time talking to him as he was well enough to use the phone. Our conversation was short. It was mainly me blabbing excitedly about various things that are going on in my life. I was surprised to hear from him and just rambled about anything that popped into my mind. One funny exchange occurred towards the end of our conversation. I told him that it was good to hear his voice. He responded by saying "It is good to get my voice out." I thought at the time that it was an interesting and telling statement.


There is more good news to report. It was actually the reason for Dad's call. He has been moved from his recovery room to a rehab room! He will do his rehab at Riverside. This is the moment we have been waiting for. The time in which the active and visible recovery can begin. The answer to many prayers! Dad is also able to swallow. He ate three 'real' meals today! It has been four weeks and one day since his last meal of actual food.


Now is a great time to offer your encouragement to Dad. Day in and day out, the experts will be working to get Dad home. Let us all join together in prayer and support to make it happen!

Treading Water

Dad and Miss
in NYC!











Each day for Dad has become a repeat of the last. There is not much going on...no physical therapy, no activity. We are all waiting for the meds to eliminate the small complications that have developed. Things are pretty boring at this time. A lot of television. A lot of nurse check-ups. A lot of visitors. Not a lot of news to report.



This has been very difficult on Dad. As most of us know, he has not gained much moss through his years. He is always on the go. Meetings, rounds of golf, basketball games, trips to Florida, South Carolina, California, Arizona, Wisconsin...and I think this is all in the last two years! Thus, having your life play out in slow motion is challenging for the spirit, the mind and the body. Dad has remained solid through all of it, but of course he is restless and ready to say good-bye to Riverside. Soon, we know, he will!



When Dad was about ten years old he had to go to Riverside, the same hospital he is in now, for a procedure on his leg. As a good Catholic boy, he had recently finished his religious education classes (CCD). As he entered the hospital he was greeted by a smiling employee who said "Welcome to Riverside Methodist Hospital." Dad's eyes widened in shock as he announced, "I can't come here...I'm Catholic!" His parents and the employee assured him it was OK for a Catholic boy to get help from a Methodist hospital. =) And now, I think Dad would be fine with never seeing the inside of Riverside again. Not for the lack of care, but as anyone knows...to stay in a hospital for an extended time as a patient wears on a person.

Three Weeks

Today marks the conclusion of the third week since the surgery. I was talking to my sister Jamie the other night and we both remarked how it seems to be much longer than three weeks since Dad had the procedure. It truly has been a long and hard time for us all. But we pray that, Lord willing, Dad is on track for a full recovery.


Dad is still showing positive signs of neurological recovery, and he is regaining the control and movement of his right side. He is voluntarily lifting his right knee and is doing so more and more, which is wonderful to see. Plus, Missy has continually stated that she has no doubt Dad is comprehending everything that is going on around him.


Dad did have some set backs today. He has developed some complications that are not a surprise for a patient that has been laid up in bed for three weeks. They are not serious complications, but the slight derailment means Dad will be kept at Riverside for five to seven more days. This is a little discouraging, especially since one of the rehab centers we are considering stopped by today, saying they had an opening. The key word through this whole process has been patience, so we will exhibit some more and continue to support Dad through his recovery.


Let us all continue to petition God in prayer for Dad's healing and offer praise in Jesus' name for the progress that has been made so far. =)


May God Bless Each of You!

Here's Looking at You!

I thought I would share a fun pic of Dad and Toby at Halloween. Enjoy!

ICU later

The title says it all. Dad was moved out of the ICU last night and into a luxury suite at Riverside. =) Maybe a slight exaggeration. But progress none the less.



Whether it was the move or some other factors I am not sure, Dad's spirits were improved today. This is great to see for those close to him, but not a surprise to any of us. Some other good news was that Dad and Missy met briefly with the surgeon and he said Dad would definitely walk again. It is just a matter of time for him to get his energy and strength back.



This is the stage of the game we all wanted to get to after the surgery...the recovery. It was very difficult for a while to continually get bad news, followed by an excruciating period of waiting. Now we are getting to the action part of this story. It is uplifting for us because we all feel like we
can do something. We can help. Which reminds me...thank you for all your help!






Just a little pic here of Dad opening a Christmas present from his kids the winter after the Sox won the series!

The Needed Support

Greetings to each of you. Thank you for your continued support and prayer for Dad. It means everything(literally) to him and to all of the family. I do not think anyone has a true understanding of how far and wide the support for Dad is reaching, but I know of, and have heard stories of people who have never met Dad gathering together to pray for his healing. And they continue to pray for his recovery. Of course, if that is what people who have never had the privilege of meeting Dad are doing, you can imagine what those who know him well are up to...and of course you may be one of them! =)





Dad continues to make progress in his recovery. He is alert and aware (maybe too aware) of what is going on around him. Physically, he seems sound, although he has understandably lost strength from being laid up in a hospital bed for two and half weeks. He is regaining strength though. He has had some good Physical Therapy sessions and the therapists are pleased with his attitude and progress. It is important that he gets good nutrition, so we have had to decide to make some adjustments in how he is getting his food.

At this time I ask you to put yourself, if you have not already, in Dad's shoes. Can you imagine the frustration? the anger? the sadness? the boredom? the bitterness? the restlessness? the exhaustion, the way his body must feel? I cannot, but I know all of those feelings are there. Especially now as he comes to understand fully what has happened. Why do I bring this up? Because many people ask how they can help. The best answer is...in whatever way you feel comfortable or are moved. I ask you to offer encouragement to Dad, such as a short visit with you being a 'cheerleader' and even talking about other things than him and his situation. The greatest thing any of us can do is praying for him - his health and spirit.

Thank You and God Bless!

Please excuse this interruption...

I am sorry, but I have to break into our regularly scheduled blog to make this important announcement...my sister, Beth Hamilton, is engaged!!! Her boyfriend, John Pelletier, popped the question Friday night! And of course, she said yes!

We here at the Canney Family Blog are extremely excited and proud for the happy couple! Although we are all still a little weirded out about her marrying a John, we all agree he is a great guy and could not be happier!

CONGRATS BETH AND JOHN!!!

Dad (2/13)

Yesterday, Friday, was another good day of progress for Dad. Physical Therapy came in to assess him and work him a little bit. They had him sit in a chair for 30 minutes! One thing I have learned about PT through the years is that they do not mess around. They push patients and push them pretty hard. It is one profession were they do not listen to 'no's' and 'I don't want to's'. The good thing is that I believe Dad will be receptive to the therapy. Many of us saw him rehab his shoulder after surgery recently with a great amount of zeal and focus. Do not underestimate the power of 18 holes to motivate! =)



Dad was tired throughout the day, so he rested and was advised to not talk much. Again he had many visitors and encouragers. I'm sure the weekend will have a lot of people stopping by for some good news too!



As far as the outlook in the near future, Melissa met with a Neuro-doctor and he said Dad would stay put over the weekend and then hopefully step down to a regular room for a bit. After that he would go to a rehab facility.

Here is a great picture of Grandpa Canney with the grandkids!

"Would you like to hear some good news?"

This is how Missy began our phone conversation at 5:55 tonight(2/12)! She reported to me that Dad had the vent removed and even said a few words! Hallelujah!



Dad is doing well, but very tired. Visitors have had to been limited a little bit so he can rest. I figure he has had two weeks to rest! =)



It is actually a very interesting story of how the decision was made to have the vent removed. I will not tell all the details for the sake of privacy but what I will relay is this...Miss has done a great job of paying attention, asking questions and writing down notes. She has recorded physical observations of Dad and the meds he has received. She has also tracked his dose amount of the various meds. This has helped her, and the family, play an active role in Dad's recovery. This has been crucial to keeping us all in good spirits and focused on what we can do. A funny side note...the family in general is designed to do what Melissa has been doing. In the hospital we monitor Dad's vitals (HR, BP, etc.) with great attention to detail. The day they hooked up Dad's brain to the 'brain stuff', my Uncle Johnny went home and learned how to read the monitor which showed Bim's brain activity on the Internet.



It is mind boggling to think that Dad's surgery was two weeks ago today. What many said was impossible was achieved...Dad was speechless for two weeks! =D Sorry I could not resist.


The past week has been very hard on all of us. Dad has been making progress, but slowly. Today is what our hearts needed...as if this is even about us. I know that as Dad continues to gain consciousness his fighter's spirit will return. Dad is a battler and he will be determined to get back to being the dad, husband, son, brother, boss and golfer we all love!

My Dad (2/10/09)

Yesterday (2/10) was another day of small progress. The doctors are continuing to wait for my dad to become more alert so they can take off of the vent. That is a day we are all looking forward to!

The surgeon came in for a visit. He got Dad to go through his paces, including the 'thumbs up' on his left hand. The doctor said that he thought Dad was doing well and was ready to move forward to get off the vent. They lowered the current sedation medication and we saw a much more alert Bim throughout the day. He is still tired, but more alert. He made good eye contact, and showed some facial expressions. It looked like he asking how the Celtics were doing! =)

Believe it or not, they removed the staples from the incision! He is going to be bummed that he did not get to show those off. More good news is that his swelling is down and he has regained his Canney hands back! His central line was removed and new IV's put in his arm.

Nanny is now calling the waiting room the 'Amish Room' and rightfully so...it has been taken over completely by the Amish. Johnny and her seem to making some new friends. Johnny is interested in the food they bring and also seems to be trying to get some wood working pointers.

In all seriousness, Dad has been through so much. It is hard on our hearts to see him in his condition. He continues to be strong and brave. Prayers, visits, care and concern from so many are helping to sustain him. Missy also appreciates everyone's care and concern. It seems when she gets to a low point, a smiling and encouraging face comes into the room for an uplifting visit.

Thank you!

Nanny and Bim

What a great picture of Nanny and her baby, Bim!
They have such a special relationship, which is only natural because the two of them have special relationships with so many people. Nanny has been particularly strong and steadfast throughout Dad's surgery and recovery. Missy put it best when we were talking the other night. She said Nanny always remains positive. Missy is exactly right. My grandmother, the current matriarch of the Canney Clan, has been one of the most positive people I have encountered in my life. She has lived through the after effects of WWI, the Great Depression and WWII. She has navigated her way through the loss of family and close friends. Yet she has remained one of the people I, and so many others, enjoy to be around the most. Missy also correctly stated that Dad has much of the same disposition. He always remains focused on the positive and does not let the negative, whether it be people or circumstances, keep him down. Except of course when he is watching the Buckeyes...then, not so much! =) I know that if anyone of us were in his place, he would be doing exactly what all of us have done. He would be there with encouraging words, a quick smile and the occasional fist bump.

Dad's condition remained stable and steady today. He performed a lot of the same functions as yesterday, which is good. He remains on the vent and is still very tired. As the meds wear off he will become more alert and awake, which will lead to the removal of the vent. The important thing to remember with brain trauma is that there will be days with no steps forward, but no steps back either, which I consider progress.


Melissa(Missy) seems to be losing her voice a bit! Maybe a sign of how many visitors have been coming in for Dad. Please continue to pray for her and dad. Pray for recovery, for wisdom. Pray for strength, for encouragement. Pray for the family, for the friends.

Thank you.

Germanic Invasion

Today, Sunday, was another day of steady improvement for Dad. Early in the morning, as the nurse checked him, he showed increased signs of alertness. He opened his eyes, raised his right arm and was able to track with his eyes. Later in the day he was able to squeeze Missy's hand and again move some body parts. To say we are encouraged and uplifted would be an understatement.

The nurses had to give him some light sedatives to keep his body calm as he recovers. Every four hours or so, they can shut those sedatives off to check his progress.

Dad had many visitors today and that is a great source of encouragement to the family. I believe he can hear the voices in the room and while he might not remember everyone being there, the positive atmosphere around him definitely aides in his recovery.

The hospital has been great to us. We bring an army of visitors each day and are constantly questioning the nurses and doctors about what they are doing. The sad reality of being there day after day is that we see many of the same families day after day. Being a speciality floor, we are all going through the same 'trauma' together. Well last night it took a turn for the bizarre. Late in the evening three Amish women showed up. They were in the waiting room with us, which has two TV's on. They could not figure out how to turn it off, so they asked us. Then today, the waiting room was packed with Amish folks. We lost our claim to the only table in the room, much to the dismay of my crossword solving grandmother, Nanny. She was even ready with two pencils today! =)

Thank you for your prayers and positive support through this ordeal. It is exactly how Dad would respond. Focus on the positive and take it one hole at a time!

The Calm before the Storm

This picture says it all about Dad. Beantown Boys hat on backwards, Yankees Suck across his chest and arms sunburned to a crisp!

Saturday(2/8) was a good day of positive progress. Brain trauma steps are measured with baby feet, so the progress is slow but Dad is improving. I met with a Neuro-doctor Saturday morning. He again reiterated the seriousness of Dad's condition and informed me that at this point the doctors are in the same boat as us. Progress is measured by what we see. CT's do not reveal anything at this point. We are looking at what he is able to do physically as he emerges from his medically induced coma. And Saturday we were able to see a lot! (again, think baby steps!)

• Dad made a grimace on his face as we wiped his mouth and nose. It was a 'leave me alone' look that we all said 'no way' to! =)

• Dad wiggled his toes on BOTH his feet! The nurses would check his feet reflexes and more importantly, Missy would tickle his feet. He reacted to both and I could have sworn I heard him say 'Whitey...' as Miss tickled him.

• Dad raised his left arm. His body is aware that he has a tube going down his throat and he wants it out. He is reaching for it and the nurses actually had to restrain his arm.

• The doctors took the 'brain stuff' (as I call it....the medical term is electrodes I think) off his head because he did not show any seizure activity for 36 hours.

All of these things, plus him not running a fever are excellent signs for him and for us. Which brings me to the title of this post. For all of us, Bim's family and friends, we have had time to come to grips with everything that has happened to him. Dad, on the other hand, has little to no idea. It is really freighting for me to watch the nurses tear off day after day on the calendar in his room. I can only imagine his reaction when we sees the time that has passed and his condition...not to mention his big brother there! In all seriousness, it will be traumatic and Dad(along with the family) needs our prayers. Continue to lift my dad to the Lord.

Thank you for all your support and again, feel free to leave comments for Dad, Bim, Jim, Uncle Jimmy, Jim Canney or whoever he is to you! =)

My Dad (2/6/09)

This have gone pretty well today, Friday (2/6). My dad is pretty stable and is slowly moving toward consciousness. We are seeing some of his reflexes come back and his brain wave activity slowly increase. He still is battling a fever.

As his consciousness increases, he becomes more aware and aggrivated with the things that he is hooked up to. He is coughing a lot and his heart rate is elevated because of the vent tube going down his throat. The nurses may have to sedate him a little because he is basically fighting the vent. The vent is programed for 12 breaths a minute, but he is taking 16 to 18, which means he is breathing over top of the vent. When he is aggrivated he is taking 26 or so breaths a minute.

We found out today that the waking process may take three to four days, or even a week. This is discouraging for me, because I would like to be here when he 'wakes up'. I would love to see him open his eyes.

There have been a lot of visitors. A lot of family but also a lot from my dad's professional world. It has been neat to talk to them and hear about their interactions with him. My dad is the superientendent of Madison County MRDD. He has been invloved with MRDD for about 30 years, thus he has lots of close friends throughout the state. People have been coming from all over to see him. And people are really shook up over his condition.

Thank you for the prayers, cards, emails, and calls. They mean a lot to me and the family.

My Dad (2/5/09)

Today is Thursday(2/5) and here is a brief recap of the last two days.

Melissa and I drove back to NJ on Tuesday evening/night. We arrived to about 6 inches of snow, thus school was canceled for Wednesday. This was a blessing to us because it allowed us to get a lot of things caught up. We finished our school work, including report cards.

There is not much news to report on my dad from Wednesday. He was pretty stable, but he was battling infection and pneumonia was confirmed.

I left NJ at 6:45 Thursday morning to drive out to Ohio. I drove straight to the hospital and arrived at 2:30. During the drive I found out that they began to wean my dad off of the sedation meds in the morning. By noon there were no longer giving him sedation meds. We then began the wait of his body processing the meds out. We were told it can take 24 to 72 hours.

When I arrived I immediately noticed my dad was very swollen/bloated. His Canney Hand's were gone, replaced by pudgy pokers that are very uncharacteristic of us Canneys. His belly is very bloated too and he continues to battle a fever (103 when I left at 10:30pm). We were able to watch his brain waves steadily increase throughout the day. Also he regained his gag reflex and moved his fingers a little when pinched. I am interested to see his progress when I go in Friday morning.

On another note, the Canney family is very spread out...we live all over and rarely get to see each other. So it was nice to see and spend time with my family as we all rally around my dad. My brothers James and Rick, along with my sister Jamie have all been at the hospital a lot. My uncle Johnny drove up from Florida and the 85 year old matriarch, Nanny (my grandmother Canney) has spent a lot of time at the hospital. My stepmom Missy has been spending 12 to 14 hours a day at the hospital. This is tough because she has two high school aged kids at home.

My Dad (2/3/09)

Today was my dad's first full day being intubated. It is very scary to see him in such a state.

There is not much news to report. They have brought his brain function (the amount of electric signals being sent) down to the low levels they want. The bad news for the day was that at about noon he began to develop a fever and had fluid in his lungs. The risk of infection is high and dangerous. His fever at the time was 102. They gave him Tylenol, ice packs under his arms and later a cooling blanket. By 9pm or so his temp was down to about 100.

The plan is to leave him intubated until Thursday morning. On Thur they will start to let the meds wear off to see if he is still having seizures. If he is they will keep him sedated for longer.

Melissa and I decided to come home today. We have school stuff to take care of and Melissa and Addison both have doctors' appointments. I am going to look into flying back to be there Thursday.

Thank you for your prayers and kind words. My step-mom continues to be strong thanks to your prayers.

My Dad (2/2/09)

I thought I would give everyone an update on my dad.

Today was a difficult day. It started well with a Physical Therapy session that went good. However later in the day we met with a neuro-doctor who delivered serious news. My dad has suffered a stroke. It has caused his right side to not function and caused him to lose the ability to speak. It also caused his seizures. It was a small stoke that grew larger.

The immediate concern is his seizures. None of the meds have stopped them. If they continue they will be permanent because the brain will re-wire itself. The doctor recommended intubation with heavy meds to bring his brain function to zero. They will then slowly bring him back up in a few days, hopefully with no seizures. If he continues to have seizures they will do the process over again. If not he will be slowly taken off the respirator and then moved to a physical therapy/rehab facility.

This is completely unexpected and a series of worst case scenarios. The surgeon told us today that the chances of all that has happened to him was less than 5%. Today(Monday) was the day he was suppose to go home. Instead we are looking at a long and difficult recovery. At this time there is no way to tell what and how much damage was done. We have no idea what to expect.

I know many of you are praying for my dad. Thank you and please continue to do so. Also, please pray for my step-mom Missy (believe it or not, her name is...Melissa Canney...weird...I know = ) This has been unbelievably difficult on her. She has had to make decisions that are difficult for any wife. Ask for strength and wisdom.

Thank you,
Joe

My Dad

My dad had brain surgery for a brain aneurysm on Thursday in Ohio. We were planning on going, but did not because of the weather. He came through the surgery well, but began to develop complications late Thursday. We thought it was due to swelling but I found out late Saturday night that the doctors fear he may of had a stroke. He is conscious, but very tired. He cannot talk and has no movement on his right side. He has had at least 6 CAT scans. He is not getting worse, but not better either. At this time they are not sure what is causing his complications. Could be a stoke, could be from his brain swelling. Late yesterday and continuing through today he is having small facial seizures.

We left late yesterday and arrived today. We will be here at least through tomorrow.

We would apprieciate your prayers.

Thank you,
Joe and Melissa

A Scary Day

The Canney's had a real scare on Monday(1/26) and I thought I would give everyone an update.

After a day of teaching, at about 3:45, Melissa was walking to her car with some school stuff in her hands and she fell on the blacktop as she stepped off the sidewalk in front of the school building. She had a second grade student at her side helping her carry some things. Melissa fell belly first, with only a small scape on her knee and her watch a little scratched up too. Her belly took the majority of the impact. A co-worker(Val) rushed to get me and once I was outside I had our secretary call 911.

Val was a true blessing and covered us in prayer as we huddled on the ground. After she went inside Melissa and I had some time to pray, as it was a very scary time for us. By 3:55 Melissa was loaded into an ambulance and was taken to Underwood Memorial Hospital (where Addison was born) based off of the EMT's recommendation. At Underwood we were sent directly to maternity and sometime between 4:15 and 4:30 Melissa was hooked up to some machines to check the baby's heartbeat. Watching them search for the heartbeat for a few moments was one of the most anxiety and fearful times of my life. They found it right away though, and there were some joyful tears of relief for Melissa and I. They kept her hooked up, drew blood and gave her a bag of fluid. Everything came back fine and around 7:00 our doctor came in and said everything looked OK. We were on our way home around 7:30. Obviously we were relieved and thankful that everything is fine.

Melissa was however in a lot of pain. The worry for the baby subsided and we then realized that her back was really sore along with the other aches and pains from the fall. She has recovered quickly though and is doing better than what we expected as far as pain and soreness. We praise God that He protected us from serious harm during this scary episode.

God does have a sense of humor

Exhibit A

and even more humorous

Exhibit B

Obama the savior...

just not of babies. A disturbing article related to a pro-abortion president.

Church and Civil Government, Part III

I was reading a blog from Pastor Doug Wilson and he wrote an excellent piece on the separation of church and state in a post. The post is in response to an atheist he has debated in the past, who is railing against the Christmas season. Here is an excerpt from the blog regarding the church and the civil government...

The United States Constitution does not mandate separation of church and state. The phrase "wall of separation" comes from a letter that Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists, and that phrase has no constitutional authority or ground. It was Jefferson's opinion, which, when he was alive, he had a right to. What the Constitution actually mandates with regard to religion is two-fold -- one, the non-establishment of a national church by act of Congress, and two, non-interference with the free exercise of religion by Congress. Got that? No Church of the United States, comparable to the Church of Denmark, or the Church of England. When the Constitution was ratified, nine of the thirteen colonies had established state churches at the state level. There is no conflict if the national bird is different from the various state birds, or the national flower from the state flowers, and so on. But if one Christian denomination were privileged at the national level, this could and would lead to conflicts with the established churches at the state level. Prior to the War Between the States, the country was governed on true federalist principles, and all this made sense. But get this down. The Constitution prohibits establishing a national denomination and supporting it with tax money. It does not require every branch of civil government, down to the smallest municipalities, to ignore the nature and will of the triune God. Still less does it require them to pretend that Jesus Christ, by His birth in Bethlehem, did not actually come to establish a new humanity in His own person and work.

Church and Civil Government, Part II

To continue from my last blog, church and state 'overlap' too much when a pastor becomes a mayor. If the argument is that pastors should not preach about politics, nations and the world we live in, I disagree. Reverend Jeremiah Wright is a kook. However that does not mean all pastors are kooks and that they all lead their flock astray. If a pastor does not lead his congregation in a certain area, who does? CNN, Newsweek? Yikes!! To expand on my earlier point...is Wright only a kook when he talks about the 'state'? Safe to say no. No matter what he is preaching on, he could be leading the flock astray. That is for the people who attended his church to decide and judge…we are commanded to…

19Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5 (New International Version)

The biblical references for the type of pastors I am talking about are the prophets Amos and Jeremiah. They spoke against the political establishment of their day. Their message was "knock off the sin, thus sayeth the Lord. God's judgment with fall on all of us!" We need pastors who speak the truth and declare the need for repentance to our political leaders. After all, who else will?

Church and Civil Government

I believe in the separation of Church and state…after all God ordained it. He created three governments. The Family Government, the Church Government and the Civil Government. Each one has responsibilities and duties. The civil should be separate from the church. In other words a pastor should not be the mayor of a township or the governor of a state. However the governments do overlap. Here is an illustration…lets say a math teacher goes to a diner for breakfast. He orders three eggs over-easy. Fifteen minutes later two eggs appear in front of him. He tells the cook…”Hey I ordered three eggs!” The cooks replies…”Do not tell me how to cook!” The math teacher responds with…”I’m not…I telling you how to count.” Their professions overlap. The same is true with the church and politics. When our government leaders meddle in sin we need pastors to stand up and declare God’s law and truth. When babies are slaughtered on a daily basis and marriage is redefined in this nation we need pastors to say…”Knock it off…thus sayeth the Lord!”

Pendulums and Wedding Dresses

In a recent conversation with some friends I lamented the fact that the modern church has become more and more casual in the attire of its members. This can be seen with adults, but especially with children. It concerns me with children because the message is that church is a casual place that deserves no reverence and that anything goes.

Where did the casual influence come from? I believe from two places. First, the world...specifically the business world. Work has become more and more casual and unfortunately the church has followed 'suit'. The other influence is a religious one. Modern church leaders place a heavy emphasis on a person's heart. It is the inside that matters, not the outside they tell us. God is concerned with heart issues, not with designer clothes. While I believe God starts with the heart, it is out of our hearts all things flow. That is why foul language is foul...it is a pipeline to the anger and bitterness in a person's heart.

In Matthew 23 Jesus said...
25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

So Jesus the inside matters, but the outside does too. I believe that our clothes should reflect the condition and attitude of our heart...and often they do. Black at a funeral comes to mind. When the Saints gather to worship God on Sunday there is significance in the day. It is important. God is gathering with us and that deserves our respect. Our clothes should reflect the importance of what we are doing at church.

Often people are concerned that if visitors come in they will feel out of place if they are not dressed correctly. Specifically if they are underdressed. But I would contend that how they are treated will be the greatest factor in whether they feel welcomed to come back the next week.

There is also a concern of people faking it..dressing up for church, but being crummy on the inside. My response is that God never jumps at a pump fake. He is not fooled and usually His children aren't either.

So the pendulum has swung from formal to informal. While I do not believe church should be super-formal, I think that most modern churchs are way too informal. But does it matter? I obvoiusly think it does and I think the illustration of a wedding perfectly relates how I feel. For our wedding, Melissa wore a beautiful white wedding gown. She was adorned with simple but spectacular jewelry and her make-up along with her hair highlighted her natural beauty. Simply put she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

Now would our wedding have been less of a union with God if she was in jeans and t-shirt? Would the day have been less important? No and No. However, would it have been as sacred? as meaningful? as symbolic? No, No and No. The dress and the accesories inhanced the ceremony in my eyes and in God's eyes. There was reverence, importance and symbolism.

I believe this is a good illustration because what is the church? We are the bride of Christ. And every Sunday we should clean ourselves up from being dirtied by the world and go meet with the Bridegroom in a ceremony that is important and significant. Our hearts should be right with God and our clothes should show Him the proper respect He deserves.

Sabbath Living

Over the past week I asked God to show me where our small group should go for the next few weeks. What came to my mind was the fact that we will look at what Biblical marriage is after the new year and how that it is the opposite of what the world says. Thus to prepare us we examined antithesis and what God says about the world. Please examine the following verses...

James 4:4-10
James 1:27
Romans 12:1-2
1 John 2:15-17
John 15:18-19
John 18:36

After examining what God says about the world, look at God Himself...
Rev 1:8
Malachi 3:6
James 1:17

Next, it is important to look at the Ten Commandments...
Exodus 20
Deuteronomy 5

A personal observation is that most Christians believe and honor all the commandments sans one. Most believe is it is sin to break nine of them, but if you mention the Sabbath they say..."well that is just an Old Testament thing. Our culture is different...the world is different." But we know what God says about the world and our relation to it.

So I challenged my small group to observe the Sabbath.

Melissa and I have agreed to. On Sunday we will rest from our work, gather with the Saints to celebrate what God has done for us, to feast and to rely on Him to provide for us. I invite your families to join us. We talked in detail what we think it means to observe the Sabbath and I will share more later. Now I ask you to look at the scripture, pray and discuss it with your family to see what you think.

To go back the the original idea, this is one way we can be the antithesis to the world.

I pray that this finds you with a open heart and mind. Comment if you have any questions.

Bethel Prep and Thanksgiving

The following is from a speech I gave before Bethel Prep's Third annual Thanksgiving Celebration. Before we feasted three of our classes performed performances that displayed what they had been learning.





Greetings to each of you. For those who do not know, my name is Joe Canney and I am the Upper Grammar school teacher, which this year includes our fifth and sixth grades. I am also the lead teacher here at Bethel Prep.


Before we get started I wanted to give you an idea of what you are seeing today and more importantly why you are seeing the performances you are seeing. I would like to begin by highlighting the content of our three performances. At Bethel Prep we study the history of western civilization, our history, from the beginning, creation, up to the present. We do this three full times. Once in grammar school, once in dialectic school (our middle school) and once in rhetoric school (our high school). The performances today all come from our grammar school. In grammar school, we focus on our students acquiring knowledge – what can be called the grammar of history. So what is the grammar of history? It is people, places, events and dates. We take the history of western civilization and teach it chronologically over five years beginning in second grade. In doing so, we are laying a foundation of knowledge that will be built on in dialectic and rhetoric school. So with that in mind, the first performance you will be seeing today is our third grade. In history the focus for them is the Old Testament, Ancient Greece and Rome time period. Our fourth grade then picks up about where third grade leaves off. Today our fourth grade will share what they have been learning about the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Reformation. Our final performance will be from my class and what we studying this year – the events leading to the founding of America. My class will perform a play that will focus only on the first nine events we study this year – the events leading to the first Thanksgiving. But what is interesting to examine is that all three performances move in chronological order. Thus it is easy to move backwards in time and to realize and understand that all of the performances in order are the events that lead to the first Thanksgiving – a timeline of about three thousand years.


So that is the content of our performances, but I also wanted to mention why and how we perform. First is how. The common thread you will see in all the performances is song. Music is a powerful tool for any educator. Students in the grammar school are able to easily remember baskets full of information when it is put to a tune. But it is more than just finding a trick to get kids to remember stuff. When we sing at Bethel Prep, we make a joyful noise…it is fun. We are creating a culture where students sing everyday and multiple times a day. Many of you here attended our number parade. Some of you have seen Memory Period in action and others have heard your child singing some a familiar tune with unfamiliar words from the back seat of the car. It is fun, engaging and most importantly we use quality music. When our students attended the Veterans Day Service many of them recognized the official song of the navy – Anchors Aweigh because it is the tune we use for a science song. For me personally, many of a car ride and tubby time with my daughter Addison is spent singing the classic nursery rhymes, along with many Bethel Prep jingles. Now I do not encourage any of you to subject your children to my singing, but it has been a blessing to see how Addison has developed and interacted with us because of the use of music. It has also been a blessing to see how our students increase in memory power because of the use of songs. And they enjoy it.


That addresses one way we learn and the how to our performances. The other piece I wanted to touch upon is why. At Bethel Prep we want, Lord willing, to produce students who can articulate and communicate the truth. In order to be able to do so, they must be comfortable talking to and in front of large groups. We as educators and parents know that the best way to prepare our children to do something is to practice. That is why our students stand to speak in the classroom. It raises them above their peers and all eyes focus on the speaker. In the beginning some students are uncomfortable, but over time they adjust and soon it is no big deal to rise up and answer a question. Doing our performances today is taking it one step farther. The audience is larger and older…by larger I meant there is more of you. Again, if the students come up on stage enough, soon it becomes no a big deal. What you will notice in our final performance, which is a play, is that every student has an individual speaking part. It is part of our focus to educate the entire child and prepare them for the work God has for them.
One final note…for the performances today, we chosen to have our 3rd-6th grades perform. At Easter, our Kindergarten – 2nd grades will perform. We thought it was better to give the younger students more time to prepare. Also in the spring, Bethel Prep will be putting on a major production under the direction of our music teacher Miss Lia DiOrio that will feature many of our dialectic students.


So my hope is you understand that while today’s performances are cute and fun, that they are much more than just the opportunity to showoff. They are part of the much larger picture of Bethel Prep, which is serving God in training students to shape the future and restore our Christian Heritage with Jesus Christ at the center of everything.

Football and Classical Education

So I watched my beloved Buckeyes put a whooping on the Wolverines of Michigan. It was our fifth win over them in a row and seven wins in the last eight years, which co-insides with the tenure of Jim Tressel, Mr. Sweater Vest - The Senator.

About eight years ago, when Tressel was hired, I listened to his press conference as I drove to Columbus for the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Conference. A reporter asked the exact question I wanted an answer to...what kind of offensive system are you bringing coach?? The answer was wonderful...Coach Tressel basically said I bring no set system. I adapt to the strengths of my players. If I have a featured running back, we will feature him. If I have a strong armed QB we will take advantage of it. And if anyone has watched the Bucks for the past eight seasons, that is exactly what they have done.

Last winter Michigan decided to hire Rich Rodriguez as their coach. I did not hear the press conference when they hired him, but I doubt anyone asked what system he was bringing. Anyone who pays any attention to college football knew exactly what Michigan was getting. Rodriguez is a one system man.


So what does this have to do with eddy-cation? Everything I say. Bethel Prep (the school that employs me) is a liberal arts school. Liberal comes from liberty which means freedom. A Liberal Arts education gives the learner just that...freedom. Freedom to become whatever he or she wants because a true liberal arts education teaches a person HOW to think and HOW to be a life long learner. In other words, it is people who can adapt to virtually any situation because they know HOW to think. They can use their skills to adapt.

Contrast that with most schools, elementary through college, today. Where is the focus? In getting students on to a 'track'. Communications...education...nursing...whatever. Students take tests to determine what track they belong on (in high school) or declare a major (in college). They are then prepared for the next four to eight years to perform in exactly that field. Never mind the fact that people are switching jobs and careers at a faster rate than ever. Our schools prepare them to do a job which virtually none of them will be doing in five years.

So back to football. Who is Tressel? He is the classically educated mind. Able to think and adapt to what he has in front of him.

Who is Rich Rodriguez? He is the modernly educated child. He has one system and is unable to adapt to the resources around him.

There are many true Liberal Arts colleges still alive and producing wonderful fruit in America. What is fascinating is that they have NO (or one) major. That is it.

Calvinism vs. Arminianism

I am involved with a small group Bible study that is part of Gloucester County Community Church's Circle of Friends ministry. We have a great group that recently has been discussing God's will, what love is and John 3:16. This post is from an email exchange we have been having as a group. This is my email giving my thought to John 3:16.



Greetings,



When discussing John 3:16 I believe our thoughts are falling into two categories. One is salvation and how it works and the other is the atonement(or redemption).



Now whether we know it or not, the discussion is basically Calvinism vs. Arminianism. What has been posted so far leans toward Arminianism, naturally, because we attend an Arminian church. A brief church history lesson tells us that Calvin was a reformer of the Roman Catholic church in the mid 1500's. He, along with Luther and others, gave birth to the Protestant church. What is not usually known is two things. One, Calvin was rediscovering and reteaching the theology of one of the great church fathers, Augustine of Hippo of the late 300's. In other words Calvinism is the modern nickname for what is truly Augustinism. Arminianism came last, as a response to Calvinism in the late 1500's. John Wesley (founder of the Methodist church) was an Arminianist. An interesting note at this time of year is that the Pilgrims and Puritans were Calvinists.



So enough about history, on to the debate at hand. I will try to focus on Christ's atonement and Christ's salvation. The two are obviously connected, so some ideas will overlap.



16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.



These verses(16-17) hinge on two key words. World and Save. The Calvinist struggles to explain World in this passage and all others that use World. World can mean a lot of things, but it never means a few or a remnant. They have a hard time explaining who the World is. The Arminian has a hard time with the word Save. It does not say that Jesus will try to save the world. It does not say maybe...it says He will save the world. But we know all are not saved, so they have to water-down the word Save.



My reaction is that I take the verses at face value. Jesus does not fail. Perfection does not lose. So if it says He will save the world, I believe He will do exactly that. I believe God chooses who He wants to save. I believe He calls his children home and sets us apart to do His will. I believe His will is perfect and just. He is a fair God and I do not question that. If He damns some, it by definition cannot be unfair. I have no problem with that.



God told Jeremiah..."Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." Does God only do that for some?



I do not think so because in Ephesians Paul says... "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." His will and plan are perfect. How can it be up to us? How can God depend on us to make the right choice? We are fallen...we are sinful...of the flesh. To say that God leaves it up to us is to argue in favor of Deism. That God created everything, put the plan in place and then sits backs and hope we choose wisely. How can the world be Saved if the Savior is not the one calling the shots? Now I know I am overstating somethings, but ponder the idea of how could God leave the decision up to us...the sinful lot? Do we, in the image of God, parent as such? Is this how we treat our children? I am reminded of Adam Sandler in Big Daddy...of course the kid will always choose junk food. Bethel Prep parents...do your kids get to choose where (and if) they want to go to school? =D But do not misread me.



I do believe in Free Will. And that is where my part comes in. Think about this. You profess to believe in Christ...you are saved...you are a Christian. Then someone pulls you to the side and says "psst...I got something to tell you...God chose you...God has a purpose for you...God set you apart to be part of His mighty salvation plan for the world." Wow...very powerful. For me, I now realize it is not up to me. I am total depravity(original sin). But I realize that in God's grace He has a purpose for me. He has, out of His Grace given me the Holy Spirit which will NOT fail. It will work in me to do His work. I am a Christian and I am marked by my baptism. I am reborn.



Another analogy came to my mind when I was chatting with Melissa. Does Addison have free will? Yes, she chooses what toys to play with and such...but does she get to choose her mother and father?


I will close with a Bible reference. John 10...the emphasis is obviously mine.



11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." 24The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." 25Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one."



And remember, why did the Jews not believe Jesus was the Christ? Isaiah tells us in chapter 6 and John quotes him in chapter 12:9



He(the Lord) said, "Go and tell this people(the Jews):

" 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;

be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;

make their ears dull

and close their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed."



So to summarize Jesus says there is one flock (Jew and Gentile) and He lays His life down for his sheep, but that those who do not believe are not His sheep. And they do not believe because He makes thier hearts calloused, ears dull and eyes closed.



Cheers,

Joe

Book Shelf

I have decided to keep a log of the books I have read. If you look to the margin you will see a new section called Book Shelf. It will be a log and brief review of the books I have read in the previous month.

Cheers!

Halloween 2008

Addy and the Toothbrush

Addison Rocks the Beach House!

Addy's First Birthday Party

Addison eating....cereal