Making the right choices

I'm entering into a new phase of my life.

For the longest time, I've had what I like to call "Career ADHD." My resume is voluminous to say the least. I have had a hard time really finding what it is I want to be when I grow up.

And now, here I am at 33 years old and I once again am making preparations to continue on my merry-go-round of experiences. I'm going back to school.

I've been feeling the pushing and prodding for some time now, and this past fall I finally made the decision to take the plunge and enter graduate school. I will be returning to my alma mater, Slippery Rock University, and will study special education.

The past few months have been an education all in itself for me as I have investigated all that I need to do to enter back into the student world. I've had to reteach myself about financial aid, teacher certification, and taking tests.

One of the requirements for acceptance into the Special Ed. program is taking the Miller Analogies Test.

I have not taken a standardized test since I took my SATs when I was junior in high school. I defintely felt ill prepared for this exam and began to hit the interwebs in search of sample tests and strategies.

Luckily, this test is a multiple choice test, but the questions are pretty hard. It all deals with analogies and being able to know your vocabulary and how things are related. The framers of this test are tricky too, they start off easy and as the test goes on, it gets progressively harder. Many times, answers are so close that you really have no clear choice.

This is when the strategies come into play.

The trick is to narrow down your choices. Each question has four multiple choice answers. Usually you can eliminate two choices right away. That leaves two possible answers and a 50% chance is better than a 25% chance.

The logic is undeniable, but sometimes it just doesn't feel right.

Teenagers live in this world everyday. They have choices to make. The have decisions and sometimes they need to determine the logic and differentiate that from the emotions. It's hard.

It requires us to make that connection between the logic and the emotion and to feel comfortable in that decision. We try to do that in youth ministry and sometimes we win and sometimes we lose.

How can we give these teenagers more success? We need to apply the strategy and give them better odds. We need to help them eliminate some of those choices that they could make, by giving them Jesus. We need to invest some energy and time into them, and show them how to make the connection between heart and mind.

Will they always make the right choice? No. But 50% is better than 25%...

But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom,
and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--
he will be blessed in what he does. James 1:25