You Are Seen: Faith, Pressure, and a Fredericksburg Getaway

 In this episode, Mac and Rhoni unpack what it means to be seen—by God, in our daily lives, and even within systems like education that are designed to measure growth and accountability. From the deeper meaning behind the names of God to the real purpose of STAAR testing in Texas, they bring clarity and perspective. Then, they lighten the load with a relaxing trip to Fredericksburg—German food, sweet memories, and a reminder to slow down and enjoy the ride. 

Featured in This Episode

Fredericksburg Favorites

•  Rockbox Theater - https://rockboxtheater.com/
•  Altdorf Biergarten - https://www.altdorfs.com/
•  Pasta Bella - https://www.pastabellarestaurant.com/
•  Pritzer Sweet Shop - https://pritzersweetshop.com/ 
•  Clear River Ice Cream & Bakery - https://www.icecreamandfun.com/

Local Bonus

•  Chrissy’s Homestyle Bakery (Llano) - https://www.facebook.com/ChrissysHomestyleBakery/

Education Info

•  Texas Education Agency (STAAR overview) - https://tea.texas.gov/student-assessment/staar

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Transcript

Introduction

Mac 0:12

Hey, welcome to the Weekend Joyride. I'm Mac along with Rhoni, and this week we're starting with something a lot of folks are dealing with right now: Staar Testing season here in Texas. The pressure, the opinions, and what it actually means for students and schools. Then we're going to step back and look at something deeper: the names of God and what they really tell us about who He is, especially in those moments when we feel uncertain or not enough. And then we're taking a trip to one of our favorite places, Fredericksburg, Texas. Good food, sweet memories, and a little reminder to slow down. So wherever you are, come along for the ride, the Weekend Joyride.

Rhoni 1:10

And if you're a parent or a teacher, you probably have some feelings about it.

Mac 1:16

Like a lot.

Rhoni 1:17

Like a lot. There's stress, there's pressure. I'm just gonna be honest. There are a lot of opinions.

Mac 1:26

It is funny how people feel so strongly about it, either one way or the other, isn't it?

Rhoni 1:32

Right. But there's something that we don't always stop and consider that I think matters, uh, and that is accountability actually does matter. There was a time in education when not every student was really counted. I think the parents with kids in school today may not remember that. But when my parents were growing up, your parents were growing up, there was really no accountability. Some kids quickly fell through the cracks.

Mac 2:10

I think even when I was in school, it was probably a lot more like that than it is what it is now, to where they actually try to make sure that every student is being seen now.

Rhoni 2:22

Yeah. Uh uh it at its core, it's not just really about the test. I think that's a misnomer out there. It's about making sure that every child matters. I really think a lot of people misunderstand what the Texas Staar Test actually looks like today. It's really not just memorization anymore like it was with we used to say it like this, TAAS and son of TAAS, which was TAKS.

Mac 2:51

Son of TASS.

Rhoni 2:52

It's not just a memorization kind of test, but today students are actually reading multiple texts.

Mac 3:00

So it really it's about testing how they process information, not just what they know and can repeat, huh?

Rhoni 3:06

Exactly right. They have to show thinking. But here's the part that most people outside of education really don't fully understand. Schools in Texas are rated through TEA, Texas Education Agency, not just on overall scores, but on how different groups of students perform.

Mac 3:26

Now I know that you're not talking about fifth graders versus ninth graders versus seniors. That's not the groups you're talking about. There are groups within those groups. Like there's different groups within, say, sixth grade, huh?

Rhoni 3:40

Exactly. I'm talking about what the state calls student groups, uh special populations.

Mac 3:46

Okay. I've heard that term.

Rhoni 3:47

And that includes students who are in special ed, emergent bilingual students who are still learning English, students who are economically disadvantaged, students with 504 accommodations, people that's an educational term. It's any other situation that would impair a student's ability to learn.

Mac 4:13

Okay.

Rhoni 4:14

Um exactly, and that is important because schools are not just responsible for high-performing students, they are responsible for every single group of students. Every single group. So just consider the emergent bilingual students that may be learning academic content and a new language at the same time. Or students receiving special education services who may be working through learning differences, and they require additional support. So the work that public schools are doing is layered and complex.

Mac 4:57

It's a lot to balance. It's like spinning plates, isn't it?

Rhoni 5:00

It is. It really is. And that's why accountability isn't about blame, it's about responsibility. So the system that we have in Texas is designed to make sure that no group of students is overlooked or underserved. And then because of all those groups, and because all those groups are included in accountability, then your school ratings reflect how well all students are being supported, not just the average. Exactly. But I want to rewind here and remind you that the star test is not the same as prior tests. Okay. It's not a knowledge comprehension level test.

Mac 5:53

Okay.

Rhoni 5:54

It requires thinking. So to compare, well, our schools are doing X, Y, Z way today compared to how they were 50 years ago. Well, we tested them different. Pay attention to that. It was not the same test, right? This is a a thinking test. But here's something else to think about. Let's talk private schools versus public schools. Private schools are not held to the same state testing accountability system. So they often have a lot more flexibility in how they assess students. Public schools, on the other hand, we're really talking about transparency and accountability in public education. They're not apples to apples comparisons.

Mac 6:37

It's really funny because I I had the opportunity for one year as I was growing up to go to a private school, and it felt very different than public school. It was my eighth grade, I guess. And I went to a a private school in Dallas, and it really was different, learning different, teachers were all weird, you know.

Rhoni 6:58

But listen.

Mac 6:59

It was just different.

Rhoni 7:00

Yes, but you are actually highly intelligent with no learning disability.

Mac 7:06

Yeah.

Rhoni 7:06

That's a whole...

Mac 7:07

I didn't mean to say it like that, but yes, I understand what you're talking about.

Rhoni 7:10

You know, think of this, because this matters when students struggle on the test, then it leads to additional support needed intervention, targeted instruction, extra time to build skills. So it's just a whole different system. And it can shape what comes next to a student. If again the goal behind this state testing is making sure no student is invisible, but everyone matters. And here's where the accountability piece really comes in. In Texas, the TEA uses an A through F rating system for schools.

Mac 7:49

For the schools themselves.

Rhoni 7:50

Public schools. Yeah.

Mac 7:51

Oh, yeah. Not private. Right, okay.

Rhoni 7:54

And those ratings are based on three main things. First, how the students perform on the Texas Staar Test. Second, how much students grow over time, which is what you want. And third, how well different groups of students are doing.

Mac 8:09

So it's not just about getting the highest score, it's not about everybody getting 90 or whatever. Exactly.

Rhoni 8:15

A school is not judged on top performing students. That's a wake up to people. Me. Um it's judged on growth, progress, and then whether all groups of students are being supported well. And here's where it gets real. Different student groups come in with very different starting points. So some are learning content, but others are learning a new language. And some of those students need additional support. And so the work that schools are doing is so layered and complex.

Mac 8:47

That sounds like uh like we say, herding cats.

Rhoni 8:50

I mean, it's just uh wow, that's a lot to balance, and that's why accountability is not about blame, it's about making sure no groups of students are overlooked, which is really what public schools are called to do.

Mac 9:07

It is.

Rhoni 9:08

And this is the part that's important for parents to understand. When a school underperforms in the accountability system. Now remember, all of those student groups are a part of that rating.

Mac 9:23

Okay.

Rhoni 9:25

Then it doesn't just stay on paper.

Mac 9:28

It's not just filed away somewhere. What happens to it then?

Rhoni 9:31

No, it affects the whole campus. So a rating can drop. Remember, they're rated on this A through F scale. Rating can drop, and that impacts how the school is viewed in the community.

Mac 9:44

Of course. I mean, we do that. I mean, so they get that school's got a D. You know, wow, what are they gonna do? Yeah.

Rhoni 9:49

Schools have to create improvement plans. There's more oversight by the state, there's more pressure on teachers and leadership. Schools are already understaffed due to budget constraints. Oh, yeah. And for students, then that often means more required intervention time. It means more structured support. It sometimes changes their entire school day. And so the goal is to help, but it does change the experience for kids. So honestly, it's not just a test that comes and goes. It's so much bigger than that. It it actually shapes what happens next for a school and for students.

Mac 10:33

So it really matters how the kids show up for it.

Rhoni 10:35

Oh my goodness, it does. It really does. And and something a lot of people don't realize, most private schools are not even held to the same state testing and accountability systems as public. They often have more flexibility uh in how they assess students. But as we've said, public schools on the other hand are responsible for showing how every single student is doing. And that is really about transparency and accountability in public education.

Mac 11:02

That's a big difference.

Rhoni 11:04

I think one of the biggest pieces in all of this is us the adults. Our kids are listening to how we talk about the test. If we dismiss it or act like it doesn't matter, they take our cues from us and they will too. But if we say, Do your best, this matters, that changes how they show up.

Mac 11:25

And they pick up on that fast. We know that from our own kids and grandkids. They're listening all the time to everything. All the time, yeah. Right.

Rhoni 11:32

All the time. The system, is it perfect? No. But the goal behind it is making sure no student is invisible and that matters.

Mac 11:41

Okay.

Rhoni 11:43

At the end of the day, this is one moment, not the whole story of a child, but it is a moment where effort, preparation, and mindset count. We don't have to love the test, but we can value the purpose behind it. Public schools don't get to choose which students count. Every student counts.

Mac 12:36

And those are the exact moments where what we believe about God uh really matters most, I think.

Rhoni 12:44

Absolutely. Uh, one thing I think a lot of people don't fully understand uh is the names of God. You hear names like Yahweh. I was just singing a Phil Wickham song with Yahweh in it. Um but sometimes people wonder why are they calling God that?

Mac 13:02

It's actually really powerful. Now, in scripture, God reveals himself by different names. He does. And each name tells us something different about his character. It's not random, though, it's very intentional, and it shows us who he is uh in different situations.

Rhoni 13:20

Right. So when we hear Yahweh in worship, what does that mean?

Mac 13:25

Yahweh is the personal name of God. It comes from when God speaks to Moses and it says, I am who I am. It means he is eternal, he's self-existent, he's not dependent on anything. So when you hear that name, it's a reminder that God simply is, always.

Rhoni 13:44

Right. And I've also heard it that it's also the air that you breathe. So when you breathe in, it's the yaw, yah, and then exhale his way.

Mac 13:54

Interesting.

Rhoni 13:55

So that's very powerful. He is the air that you breathe, Yahweh.

Mac 14:00

Yeah. And that's that's really comforting when everything around us feels sometimes so uncertain.

Rhoni 14:07

Just breathe, and you can think Yahweh. I think it's just I think that's really powerful. Just breathe. Yeah. Breathe in the name Yahweh. One of my favorites is El Roi. That's the God who sees, because I think a lot of people sometimes feel unseen.

Mac 14:46

Interesting. That name comes from the story of Hagar in the wilderness. She f she felt abandoned, overlooked. God met her there, though, and she called him El Roi, the God who sees me. Not a crowd, not a whole group, me.

Rhoni 15:01

Mm-hmm. I love that because even in the classroom or in life where you can feel like just one of many, it's about God seeing you individually as He created you.

Mac 15:16

Chris Tomlin has a song that's called Whom Shall I Fear? God of Angel Armies.

Rhoni 15:21

Yeah, that name is Yahweh Sabaoth, and it means Lord of the Heavenly Armies or God of the Angel Armies.

Mac 15:54

It means He's the Lord of heaven's armies. He commands spiritual forces that we can't even see. We don't even know that they're there. I mean, we know that they're there, but we can't see them. So when life um feels overwhelming, uh remember that because you're not standing alone. We're not standing alone. And God's fighting for us even when we don't realize it.

Rhoni 16:15

It does change how you walk into situations when you know all these facets of God's personality and his power. And that is exactly what the Hebrew children called upon.

Mac 16:28

Yeah.

Rhoni 16:29

Whatever the need was, they recognized that facet of God.

Mac 16:35

And that name. And there are so many more names. Jehovah Jireh is God our provider, uh, Jehovah Shalom.

Rhoni 16:43

God of our peace.

Mac 16:44

There's Jehovah Raah, our shepherd. Yeah. Each name is a different way. God shows up for us. It's that's very cool.

Rhoni 16:53

Mm-hmm. I think that's what I love most about this: that God isn't distant and He is not one-dimensional. He meets us in different ways, depending on exactly what we need in the moment.

Mac 17:06

That's right. Whatever season you're in, there's a name that reminds you of who God is in that moment.

Rhoni 17:14

Whether you're walking into a test, walking through something bigger than life, you're absolutely not alone. You are seen, you are covered.

Mac 17:23

And the same God who is, is the God who sees you, he provides for you, and he stands with you.

Rhoni 17:31

So know his names, and you will know his heart. I think Jen Johnson has a song called The God Who Sees, and that's the direct connection to El Roi. There's also Elevation Worship, You See Me, carries the same idea, and again, that's the same idea of El Roi.

Mac 17:51

Okay.

Rhoni 17:52

You may not always hear the name El Roi, but you're going to hear the message that God sees you. Phil Wickham's Battle Belongs is the same as God of the Angel Armies. It's about God doing battle for us.

Mac 18:05

And then Elevation Worship with Jireh.

Rhoni 18:08

Right? They also do that with Maverick City music.

Mac 18:11

And then there's Jehovah Shalom.

Rhoni 18:13

Hope Durst's song, Peace Be Still, is that same idea about God. Lots of people love that song. So even when the name isn't said, the nature of God is being declared in some of these songs that we're singing every day or hearing every day on the radio.

Mac 18:46

Very cool.

Rhoni 18:47

And one one that I can't pass up is Goodness of God by Cece Wynans. And that's Jehovah Raah, our shepherd. The shepherding theme.

Mac 18:57

You just had to get a Cece song in there, didn't you?

Rhoni 18:57

I guess. I did...mm-hmm.

Mac 20:06

We really enjoy Fredericksburg, Texas. Thankfully, we don't live too far from it, and we can jump on the road and get there. But we had an opportunity to uh double date with your parents uh not long ago. We did a show, and it was sweet.

Rhoni 20:17

You know, we both have a history in Fredericksburg. My aunt grew up in Fredericksburg.

Mac 20:23

Yeah.

Rhoni 20:24

And therefore much of my childhood was on her ranch. And then if you have a history there.

Mac 20:30

Yeah, I grew up kind of in Kerrville in the Kerrville area. And of course, I think you didn't go to Fredericksburg unless you needed to fight somebody, but but as I got as I got older, uh Fredericksburg became m more home than than Kerrville. I worked there off and on several times. Right. I'd work for a while and move away and come back. But it always feels like home.

Rhoni 20:51

Yeah, and it's very much common ground for Mac and me.

Mac 20:54

Yeah, it is. Yeah, it's it's neat. It's a beautiful town. If you've never been, I can't imagine that you've never been, but it's a it's a German town. It's wonderful. You're still likely, more so when I first started going there, and probably when you were a kid too, Ronnie, that uh you would hear German in the stores.

Rhoni 21:11

Oh, yeah.

Mac 21:12

As likely as you were to hear English.

Rhoni 21:13

Oh, exactly. Yeah.

Mac 21:15

It's interesting.

Rhoni 21:15

So I I think there's so many things we could cover about Fredericksburg, but since we were focused on German food.

Mac 21:23

Mm-hmm. That's what we wanted. I wanted German food.

Rhoni 21:26

Right. So there's several restaurants. We actually went to Altdorf. Food was great.

Mac 21:31

Yeah.

Rhoni 21:31

They have a very cool well that you get to look in. How far does that go down?

Mac 21:36

I don't know how far it goes down, but it's far enough to get your attention. Did you happen to see that there's actually a picture uh off to the side of that well, like back when cameras were b first invented, I think, of the house that it was in. Sat outside this house. This well did. So they've covered over this well with a real thick plexiglass and they've lighted it.

Rhoni 22:00

Down but it's creepy the thought of people that might have fallen in a well. It's anyway, that's not why we went to the restaurant. It's a great restaurant. And I really their red cabbage is so good. I'm I like German food.

Mac 22:14

You and your mom kind of got a little uh we were uh testy with each other about red cabbage and sauerkraut versus sauerkraut, huh?

Rhoni 22:20

Red cabbage and sauerkraut are not the same thing. They are both made from cabbage. Yeah. But red cabbage is red cabbage and it's a little bit sweeter. Uh-huh. And I guess I don't mind saying when I make my sauerkraut, I usually mix sauerkraut and bavarian because I like it a little bit sweeter. But fermented foods are really good for you. There's a all the health craze going on now says you really need promotes the idea of having fermented foods, which sauerkraut, red cabbage, kefir, yogurt, all of those things are good for the gut. We went to Altdorf, but there are many other German restaurants that we've been to. We like them all.

Mac 22:57

Like Auslander, there's uh Friedhelms, which is down on the far end of the street.

Rhoni 23:01

Friedhelms has a really good schnitzel.

Mac 23:04

Do they?

Rhoni 23:05

I think their schnitzels are really good.

Mac 23:07

Oh wow. So I didn't even know what a schnitzel was. And still have a little trouble with that. And I have to read the explanations on the menu to find out exactly what it is.

Rhoni 23:16

I could be wrong about this because it's been a while since we went to Friedhelms, but I believe Friedhelms has one of the bigger schnitzel menus.

Mac 23:25

I think they have quite a few different schnitzels. Okay.

Rhoni 23:30

But then there's Der Lindenbaum, and that's that little house on the other side of the street.

Mac 23:35

It's kind of a smaller, more cozy restaurant. I think it is. Maybe a little more upscale, maybe.

Rhoni 23:41

Maybe. But it's also across the street from Fredericksburg Brewery, which has wonderful German food. They have a big mixture on their menu, but they have great German food there.

Mac 23:51

Mm-hmm. And uh there's so many, so many different kinds of restaurants. I mean, there's good Mexican food in Fredericksburg, there's good everything, good barbecue, you know.

Rhoni 24:01

Well, let's throw in Mac's favorite restaurant.

Mac 24:03

Pasta Bella.

Rhoni 24:05

He loves that place.

Mac 24:06

I do. And I don't know why. It's just and it may not even be as good as it was, but Pasta Bella is just a little Italian food restaurant where you sit at long benches in there and it's comfortable and it's uh uh the food's just really good.

Rhoni 24:20

I have a hard time wanting to eat pasta when I'm in Fredericksburg because I want German food.

Mac 24:25

Yeah, me too.

Rhoni 24:26

But he's right, Pasta Bella is very good from scratch, Italian. It's been there for 20 years. Oh, at least very good.

Mac 24:33

Yeah, at least.

Rhoni 24:34

And we don't get out of town without one thing.

Mac 24:38

We're guilty. Very guilty, yeah.

Rhoni 24:41

We tell our secrets on here. We told about ice cream not long ago.

Mac 24:45

Yeah, yeah.

Rhoni 24:45

We do tell our secrets.

Mac 24:47

German pretzels.

Rhoni 24:48

Man, they're good.

Mac 24:49

German pretzels are flaky, kind of, but they're flaky pastries that are s that are sometimes they have cinnamon on them, sometimes they don't, but they're always drizzled with the white icing that that hardens, you know.

Rhoni 25:05

It gets all over you when you eat it, though. It just flakes all over you. Don't wear black when you eat one.

Mac 25:09

It's so good. It's wonderful. Eat it coming out of the sack.

Rhoni 25:12

So Pritzer's Bakery is where we get really good ones there because Fredericksburg Bakery closed.

Mac 25:18

Yeah. Fredericksburg Bakery used to be the spot, and it was a great big old bakery.

Rhoni 25:22

Or was it Dietz Bakery?

Mac 25:23

Yeah, well, Dietz was too, but I don't think I ever went in Dietz as much as I went in Fredericksburg Bakery. But um I guess the uh German pretzel attitude moved to Pritzer's. And Pritzers is small. I mean, it's smaller than this room that was.

Rhoni 25:38

Like you walk into a closet. It's like there's no there's not room for two lanes in there. No. You walk in and you have to squeeze together to walk out. That's right. But you have to get the the German pretzels before they sell out. And if they sell out, you can still get what's called the little pecan wheels. Yeah. And they're mostly just like a a flat German pretzel with a little more pecan goo on them.

Mac 26:01

Maybe so. That's so good. So good. And of course, all these places have strudels and um Oh, but go for the German pretzels.

Rhoni 26:08

That's what you need to go for. But I will say this, uh, because we ran into this situation. They were out of enough German pretzels to keep us from all fighting in the car. So we walked across the street, my dad and I did, to an ice cream place called Clear River. And that place also is a bakery, and they had German pretzels as well.

Mac 26:33

Interesting. Well, yeah, we would have fought in the car for the case.

Rhoni 26:36

We might have, but I also want to share a secret. And that is that in Llano, Texas, Chrissy's Bakery has German pretzels that rival Fredericksburg's.

Mac 26:51

They do. Chrissy's Bakery is this little small in an old granite building office, I think, or something. But uh it's right there on on 16 as you go through town. And just before you get to the bridge, it's on the north side of the of the bridge, kinda. Look for this little house. But Chrissy's has some fabulous baked goods in there too.

Rhoni 27:11

I happen to know that our church family listens to this. And I I know we just we just came from there, but I think we need to plan a trip back because guess what's coming up?

Mac 27:21

What?

Rhoni 27:22

Remember, Fredericksburg is the peach capital.

Mac 27:24

Yes.

Rhoni 27:25

It's coming up on May, yeah. Where you will have maypees. Remember, the May peaches are smaller.

Mac 27:31

Okay.

Rhoni 27:32

And in Fredericksburg, you can find a couple of places when you're strolling down the sidewalk that they will have bushels and bushels of fresh peaches.

Mac 27:41

That you can have a little scoop of a little scoop of ice cream with some peaches in it. Man, that's some good thing.

Rhoni 27:48

So I think we ought uh maybe look ahead, mark it on the calendar. Road trip. Road trip to Fredericksburg coming up.

Mac 27:58

I do want to talk about before we go, uh I do want to talk about one of the reasons we went that night and we had the double date with your parents, was I just happened to be, I don't know, looking at uh as part of my job, I have to look to see what's going on around, and and so I can tell people uh uh what's going on and different things to do. And I happened to see that there was a Glen Campbell tribute artist guy coming into Fredericksburg to play at the Rock Box Theater. And uh so I thought, well, let's just call Rhoni's parents. We're just sitting in the living room one night. And I said, Hey, you think your parents would like to do that? She said, I bet they would. So we called them up, and sure enough, they were like, Yeah, we'll do that. So, I mean, I'm gonna keep you up late and everything, but they were sure, yeah, let's do that. So, so we got tickets at the rock box theater, and it's if you've not been to the rock box theater, it's a lovely place to go see musical performances. It's smaller. I wouldn't say how many people fit in there, honey. Maybe there were a couple of hundred.

Rhoni 28:57

No, there was more than that because that group of fifty.

Mac 28:59

Oh, yeah, that were taking a lot of things.

Rhoni 29:00

So I would say I believe two or three hundred people could probably fit in there.

Mac 29:04

Okay, but it's still it's a small venue, it's got good sound. And I understand there's a new guy running, his name's Landon. He introduced himself from uh from the stage. And uh this guy did this uh Glenn Campbell tribute, his name is Andy Kahrs, it's K-A-H-R-S. And uh and he had a a guitarist with him, and they played Glenn Campbell songs, and it was really a lovely evening. It was laid back. Yeah, it wasn't they didn't get up there and try to act like Glen Campbell or anything. But the songs were sweet, and it was I mean, you knew the words to almost every one of them.

Rhoni 29:35

It's a great theater. It's small, but it's easy to get in and out. It's right there on the street. So I'm really looking forward to going back to whatever's coming up next.

Mac 29:44

Yeah, I'm not even sure what's coming up next, but we'll we'll post a link to uh to the R ockBox Theater on the uh synopsis of the show.

Rhoni 29:52

So what a fun night that was.

Mac 29:54

It was food and it was fun and it's and and your parents are fun to go out.

Outro: Enjoy the Ride

Rhoni 29:58

They are That's your Weekend Joy ride from Staar testing and showing up when it counts to the names of God, Yahweh El Roi, the God who sees you and stands with you.

Mac 30:12

Fredericksburg joy, too , German pretzels and peaches ...slowing down.

Rhoni 30:17

Because life is all of it responsibility, faith, and the moments that fill you back up.

Mac 30:25

So wherever you are this week, do your best. Remember you'r e seen, and don't forget to enjoy the ride.

Rhoni 30:31

We'll see you next time.

Mac 30:32

On the Weekend Joy ride.