Take 5 Minutes To Stand For The Weak!

The article below was on the front page of our paper today! I am asking every person who is willing to take a five minute stand for the weak to type the following comment at the end of the article: "Disabled children should never be locked in isolation rooms at school!"

I am not a politician, but I have received a big dose of political "smoke and mirrors" during this process. For instance, Jack Johnson proposed a bill that can be read online at the TN State Legislature site by simply typing in SB2517. The bill (that has been tabled) very plainly states that it would allow educators the right to physically restrain and lock special education students in isolation rooms at school based on the total subjectivity of what teachers would consider to be "emergency situations".

The current TN restraint and isolation laws , proposed and successfully passed by Jack Johnson, allow physical restraint and isolation rooms for special ed students. Johnson's addendum (SB2517) proposed early this year would have added a LOCK on the isolation room door....basically making the school a prison cell and the teacher a police officer.

If you read the Tennessean article, however, Johnson states he is against restraint and isolation rooms. What???

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101031/WILLIAMSON10/10310312/2040/WILLIAMSON10

PLEASE, consider taking the time to post a comment on the article. If our voices are heard, perhaps legislators will think twice before proposing reckless legislation that impacts the most vulnerable of our society. To post a comment, you will have to register (it is free and quick)...and you will be allowed to use a fictitious name as well. Scripture calls us to stand for the weak. This is an easy stand to make!

On behalf of little Hope and Charlie....Thank you!

Hope and I Did An Interview With Channel 5 News!!!

Sign Ordinance Limits Last Minute Stumping - NewsChannel5.com Nashville News, Weather & Sports

What does restraint and seclusion mean to your Special Needs child? - Nashville Special Needs Kids | Examiner.com

What does restraint and seclusion mean to your Special Needs child? - Nashville Special Needs Kids Examiner.com

Free Political Speech In Franklin, TN? Not for this candidate!

Five year old TN girl locked in an isolation room while at school withou...

Disabled Children Are People Too!

Melanie Hollis For State Senate, TN

Watch This Video So You Will Understand

Watch this video and have a deeper understanding of what the disabled children in our country are facing. The video depicts the actual restraint of a young boy in a Knoxville TN school. His crime? He was crying when his mother left him. The mother heard her son crying and came back to his rescue only to find he had been locked in a room and was being forcefully restrained. The educators refused to let her in to help her son. For three hours he suffered the abuse. Physical Restraint with Special Education students in schools is completely legal in TN and throughout the United States. It is imperative that ALL Americans view this to better understand why we need change. Be prepared to be shocked....it is legalized abuse.

http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyTfOnPLnSM&feature=player_embedded

CONTEST!!!

CONTEST!!!

If I receive 800 "likes" on my Facebook Community Page by Friday, October 15th: "Write In Melanie Hollis, State Senate" (shown on the right column), I will draw one of the names from a hat to win a $100.00 gift certificate to http://www.147millionorphans.com/ . They have a great store, and 40% of all proceeds go to feed the hungry in Africa (win/win for everyone!) So, if you haven't visited my facebook campaign site, do it today....and tell your friends to as well. When you get on the page, choose "like" and your name will be in the drawing.....it is that simple! Together, let's get the word out that it is the responsibility of the strong to defend the weak!!!

What am I attempting to accomplish? For me, every single time a person in my district (District 23) writes my name on the ballot on November 2nd, they will be writing in support of my disabled children and the disabled community at large. Every vote for me will send a louder message to our state senator: "Disabled school children do not need to be locked in isolation rooms when they are at school, they need compassion."


Yesterday afternoon, I officially began campaigning for State Senate. I am not a politician, so this is new to me. Have you ever stood on the side of the road holding a sign while waving at total strangers? It is an interesting feeling. Many people returned my wave, and some even honked their horn in approval. Score a few points for my babes. Thanks for your support!

Happy 16th Birthday To Caleb!!

The Hollis family has had such fun over the last several days....On October 7th, Caleb turned 16. After his football game on Thursday evening, we hosted a surprise party for him.....And he was definitely surprised! Chappy served as resident Disc Jockey for the evening spinning some beach tunes while the kiddos did some old fashioned "shagging" to the old fashioned music. Shagging is cool at every age, isn't it? (To be honest, some of the teenagers thought so, but others didn't!)

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The following day, Friday, was Franklin High's Homecoming Celebration. At 10:30am, we gathered at the downtown square to watch the parade pass through one of the oldest towns in TN on a beautiful, warm sunny day. Excited teenagers filled the brick lined sidewalks while the marching band and floats passed by. Cheers literally filled the air! The Freshman float came in 3rd place this year (Caleb was hoping for 1st place since he had a couple of scraped fingers from stuffing tissue paper for hours last week)....and he shouted out a loud "Momma!" as the wagon loaded down with Freshman football players passed us on the street. Quickly, his sisters asked: "What about us?" Ha! Ha! I had to teach the girls a quick lesson on "who" comes first in the family pecking order with teenage boys---it's always the one who feeds 'em. Ha! Ha! The day ended at the Homecoming Game where Franklin High beat their opponent quite handily.

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The chaotic week was capped of with the Homecoming Dance on Saturday evening.....Caleb's first official "fancy/schmancy" boy/girl dance! He took a precious girl he has been friends with since 6th grade, and they double-dated with some friends. Chappy and I were the drivers for the evening, so we decorated the "party van" and had a great time (we possibly had more fun than the teenagers!)

"Jesus"

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"God invites us to see His face, so He can change ours. He uses our uncovered faces to display His glory. The tranformation is not easy, but our Lord is up to the task. He loves to change the faces of His children. By His fingers, wrinkles of worry are rubbed away. Shadows of shame and doubt become portraits of grace and trust. He relaxes clenched jaws and smoothes furrowed brows. His touch can remove the bags of exhaustion from beneath the eyes and turn tears of despair into tears of peace."

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"How? Through worship. We would expect something more complicated, more demanding. A forty-day fast or the memorization of Leviticus perhaps. No. God's plan is simpler: He changes faces through worship. Consider King David's definition: "Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together."
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"Worship is the act of magnifying God. Enlarging our vision of Him. Stepping into the cockpit to see where He sits and observe how He works. Of course, His size does not change, but our perception of Him does."

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"Avibrant, shining face is the mark of one who has stood in God's presence. After speaking to God, Moses had to cover his face with a veil (Exod. 34:33-35). After seeing heaven, Stephen's face glowed like that of an angel (Acts 6:25; 7:55-56). God is in the business of changing the face of the world."

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"Our goal is not to conjure up some fake, frozen expression. Our goal is simply to stand before God with a prepared and willing heart and then let God do His work. And He does. He wipes away the tears. He mops away the perspiration. He softens our furrowed brows. He touches our cheeks. He changes our faces as we worship. But there's more....not only does God change the face of those who worship, He changes those who watch us worship."

My little Hopey told her pre-school class today about her very favorite Person in the world. Jesus. When I picked Hope up from class, her teachers said she had repeated His Name several times. Jesus. Jesus.

Our girl may not say alot of words, but how thankful I am to hear she is saying the most powerful Name in all the earth. The name of Love, Healing, Forgiveness, and Salvation.

Oh, Hopey, when I look at your precious face, I behold true beauty. And I find myself longing to know the Artist who carefully molded you, and then placed you into my life, even more! Just as you are. Just as I am. We come.

(excerpt above taken from "Just Like Jesus" by Max Lucado)