Analogies...
They go together like Lamb & Tuna Fish! Or mayb
e Peanut Butter & Jelly, if you're more comfortable with that analogy? Haha, great line from a great movie. So today's post I'm going to be comparing two things, which may sound like Lamb & Tuna Fish, but in the end it's really like PB & J! Teaching my Theology of the Body CCD Class is like giving Copper (
my dad's dog) a bath. Uh, Okay? Well I really do think this. Last night I decided Copper was very very dirty, so dirty that her white fur was gray from all the dust and dirt outside. As I was trying to give her a bath, she fought it and fought i
t. She is a beagle and naturally she just doesn't like water. Well this bath usually involves 5 steps. First I have to get her fur wet. (Since she's so small, i just pick her up and put her in the bathtub, unlike Nilla, my Yellow Lab who was harder to coax into the tub cuz you can't just pick up an 80 pound dog an put her in the tub!). So after I finally get her fur wet, I have to get her soapy, and usually she shakes off and I end up getting a bath too. Then when she's finally all full of bubbles, I once again get to rinse her off. When she's soap free, I tell her that she has to shake off 5 times. Usually 5 times gets her dry enough to not be dripping everywhere. Then as I'm waiting for her to do that, I clean the water out of her ears so they don't get infected. Finally when she is finished shaking I let her out of the tub and try to towel dry her off. Then I release her and she goes mental! She'll start running her hot laps around the house and acting insanely crazy! So now as I was giving her her bath last night, I was like, "Wow, bathing you is like teaching my CCD class!" Getting her into the tub is like getting the kids to class, 95% of them can't drive so they are dropped off by their parents against their own free will. So getting them there is the easy part. Well then the hard part begins. Like getting Copper's fur wet, we have to settle the kids down and get them to try to pay attention. This is usually interrupted by them talking and not paying attention. Kinda like Copper shaking off and trying to get away from me, not paying attention to what I'm doing and not caring in the least! Then we delve into the tough stuff, we start to teach them what it is we have planned for that day. Usually by this point they have given up and just sit there lethargically. Copper does the same, as long as shes not getting water poured on her, she sits pretty still letting me get her all soaped up! Then we split the class up into 2 groups and do some discussion time. This usually gets them excited again. They basically try to plan their escape and not really wanting to pay attention
again. Or they start to fight it. They usually will ask questions or argue or something that makes them no longer want to be there again. This is like rinsing Copper off cuz, once again, this pup hates water! Finally we take the kids upstairs into the Church to sit in front of the tabernacle and lead them in a closing prayer that usually lasts 5 minutes. They must stay there until they are dismissed. So like Copper, who has to shake off five times, she's stuck until I let her out. Usually all parties involved wait patiently until the 5 shakes/minutes have happened. Sometimes there's a little whining/whispering but this is why they spread out. It works wonders! Then when they are dismissed Copper runs out of there as fast as possible and runs her hot laps and the kids bolt out of that church to their awaiting cars to speed off into the night. Bringing it all together: So as I was bathing Copper this thought occurred to me and I said it to Copper, "You may not like getting your bath and the process of getting it sucks, but look at you in the end! You are clean and soft and pretty and you don't stink like an old man anymore!" Kind of like my CCD kids, they don't like going through this, but in the end they have been given the tools necessary to be clean and beautiful and they don't stink like sinners anymore. Haha! I sound crazy, but that's beside the point. We are making them go through this process of shedding off anything that they have acquired by their actions thus far, and are giving them the tools necessary to live a life that's clean and good. I didn't like CCD either but I wish I would've been able to do what they are doing now. My CCD experience was very different from theirs. Not to mention a whole year longer! I didn't ever want to go like a lot of them don't want to go. I was forced too. I am thankful for some of my experience, but I wish I got more of what they are getting now. Today we are teaching with the interest of the students at heart. Not just we're gonna read out of this book and this is the way it is cuz I said so. I want these kids to love God, and I know if they do have some sort of a conversion, it's going to be because of their own accord, not necessarily because of my teaching style or what I said. I struggle too. Sometimes I don't want to be there teaching them because my Monday's Tuesday's and Wednesdays are so crazy that I can't wait for Thursday to come so I can have a break. Well again I say, Giving Copper a Bath goes with Teaching CCD like Lamb & Tuna Fish!
e Peanut Butter & Jelly, if you're more comfortable with that analogy? Haha, great line from a great movie. So today's post I'm going to be comparing two things, which may sound like Lamb & Tuna Fish, but in the end it's really like PB & J! Teaching my Theology of the Body CCD Class is like giving Copper (
my dad's dog) a bath. Uh, Okay? Well I really do think this. Last night I decided Copper was very very dirty, so dirty that her white fur was gray from all the dust and dirt outside. As I was trying to give her a bath, she fought it and fought i
t. She is a beagle and naturally she just doesn't like water. Well this bath usually involves 5 steps. First I have to get her fur wet. (Since she's so small, i just pick her up and put her in the bathtub, unlike Nilla, my Yellow Lab who was harder to coax into the tub cuz you can't just pick up an 80 pound dog an put her in the tub!). So after I finally get her fur wet, I have to get her soapy, and usually she shakes off and I end up getting a bath too. Then when she's finally all full of bubbles, I once again get to rinse her off. When she's soap free, I tell her that she has to shake off 5 times. Usually 5 times gets her dry enough to not be dripping everywhere. Then as I'm waiting for her to do that, I clean the water out of her ears so they don't get infected. Finally when she is finished shaking I let her out of the tub and try to towel dry her off. Then I release her and she goes mental! She'll start running her hot laps around the house and acting insanely crazy! So now as I was giving her her bath last night, I was like, "Wow, bathing you is like teaching my CCD class!" Getting her into the tub is like getting the kids to class, 95% of them can't drive so they are dropped off by their parents against their own free will. So getting them there is the easy part. Well then the hard part begins. Like getting Copper's fur wet, we have to settle the kids down and get them to try to pay attention. This is usually interrupted by them talking and not paying attention. Kinda like Copper shaking off and trying to get away from me, not paying attention to what I'm doing and not caring in the least! Then we delve into the tough stuff, we start to teach them what it is we have planned for that day. Usually by this point they have given up and just sit there lethargically. Copper does the same, as long as shes not getting water poured on her, she sits pretty still letting me get her all soaped up! Then we split the class up into 2 groups and do some discussion time. This usually gets them excited again. They basically try to plan their escape and not really wanting to pay attention
again. Or they start to fight it. They usually will ask questions or argue or something that makes them no longer want to be there again. This is like rinsing Copper off cuz, once again, this pup hates water! Finally we take the kids upstairs into the Church to sit in front of the tabernacle and lead them in a closing prayer that usually lasts 5 minutes. They must stay there until they are dismissed. So like Copper, who has to shake off five times, she's stuck until I let her out. Usually all parties involved wait patiently until the 5 shakes/minutes have happened. Sometimes there's a little whining/whispering but this is why they spread out. It works wonders! Then when they are dismissed Copper runs out of there as fast as possible and runs her hot laps and the kids bolt out of that church to their awaiting cars to speed off into the night. Bringing it all together: So as I was bathing Copper this thought occurred to me and I said it to Copper, "You may not like getting your bath and the process of getting it sucks, but look at you in the end! You are clean and soft and pretty and you don't stink like an old man anymore!" Kind of like my CCD kids, they don't like going through this, but in the end they have been given the tools necessary to be clean and beautiful and they don't stink like sinners anymore. Haha! I sound crazy, but that's beside the point. We are making them go through this process of shedding off anything that they have acquired by their actions thus far, and are giving them the tools necessary to live a life that's clean and good. I didn't like CCD either but I wish I would've been able to do what they are doing now. My CCD experience was very different from theirs. Not to mention a whole year longer! I didn't ever want to go like a lot of them don't want to go. I was forced too. I am thankful for some of my experience, but I wish I got more of what they are getting now. Today we are teaching with the interest of the students at heart. Not just we're gonna read out of this book and this is the way it is cuz I said so. I want these kids to love God, and I know if they do have some sort of a conversion, it's going to be because of their own accord, not necessarily because of my teaching style or what I said. I struggle too. Sometimes I don't want to be there teaching them because my Monday's Tuesday's and Wednesdays are so crazy that I can't wait for Thursday to come so I can have a break. Well again I say, Giving Copper a Bath goes with Teaching CCD like Lamb & Tuna Fish!
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