Changing a Stone

Have you ever felt ineffective? Like you can't make a difference no matter what you do or how you say it or how many times you try? Sometimes it feels like what I'm trying to do is comparable to changing a stone.

I love stones. They are in bowls, baskets, piles, plants, and buckets all over my house. I love the colors and patterns; the shapes. And I would never try or want to change any of them. But the other day I was having my quiet time with the Lord in my living room. In front of me on the coffee table sits a bowl of stones from Lake Superior. I picked up 3 of them to hold in my hand while I was praying. They were cold to the touch but I held them for enough time to transfer my body heat to them. I put them down when I was done then remembered someone I had forgotten to pray for so I picked them up again but of course, I couldn't remember which 3 I had originally chosen. As I grabbed them I noticed one of them was cold. I thought, "Wow, these 2 have been changed. They're different. I can even change a stone!"

I immediately thought how we're changed by God. He probably sees us as stones sometimes. His touch is what will change us. But just as the stones in my bowl will grow cold again without my touch, we need God's hand on us continually to keep us in His will, surrendered, and obedient. Staying connected to Him allows us to be the conduit between Him and our students, or family, or this broken world. We really can change stones. Teachers are living proof. With God's help, we do it every day.

Hand Written

Have you ever had your handwriting analyzed? I haven't but I am aware that there are people that have studied this science and can tell a lot about you by the way you write. While looking through holiday recipes the other day, I ran across a card in my mother's handwriting. It hit me hard because of her recent passing. There will be no more recipes passed down in her handwriting. I have what I have.

Then it hit me. I am familiar with how she wrote her letters. I could identify her words if you scrambled them up with someone else's. Don't you wonder how that happens? There are 26 letters but everyone writes them down in their own peculiar way. I was thinking about how Scripture was written. These are the most important words we'll ever read and they, too, can be recognized and identified as belonging to a specific Author. What we do with these Words is up to us. I know I love to read letters hand written by a friend or family member. I read and reread them and they warm my heart. God wrote, hand wrote, letters, lessons, and stories for us and they are bound together for us to read and reread. These words should guide us and prompt us to share what's in them and follow the messages.

As we give thanks in this season, I'm thankful the Lord has chosen to write to me; to send me a letter personally and to love me through His Words. Be blessed by the Lord and highly favored.
Barb

Not Meant to Be Like This

I found this quote by Timothy Keller. It says: "Our Christian hope is that we're going to live with Christ in a new earth, where there is not only no more death, but where life is what it was always meant to be." It was an "a-ha" moment for me when I read it. Our lives are not what they were supposed to be.  As teachers, we aren't supposed to have children from broken homes. Homes weren't intended to be broken. We aren't supposed to have children with multiple disorders and diagnoses where learning becomes an insurmountable challenge. Disorders weren't supposed to happen. Poverty, abuses, addictions...none of these household words were supposed to happen. They weren't part of God's original plan.

But we live with them. They are part of our lives and our classrooms are the showrooms of the society we're in; broken, poor, neglected, challenged, hungry, unloved, and the list goes on. These words only begin to describe what you might face at work. Your work is a mission field. It's the real world; a microcosm of a world created by a perfect God but occupied by sin. Don't let that sin get in your way or come between you and the children in your care. They are the product of a sinful world and you may be the only light they see all day. It's your job to embrace the reality of "what really wasn't supposed to be." Not supposed to be, but really is. We certainly can't overlook or dismiss all the challenges in our classrooms but I believe it is our responsibility to love unconditionally whoever comes to us. That's how Jesus lived and I think He wants us to do the same.

Be blessed by the Lord and highly favored,
Barb

Jesus at the Door

I have shared this story with several schools during a devotion time but it bears repeating. It may help one of you one day. A couple years ago I was teaching a particularly difficult class and I had to remind myself often during the day to quiet my words and hold my frustration and anger. One thing that helped me during really stressful days was to visualize a parent at the door of my classroom. I knew that if Mom was watching, I would choose my words carefully and probably be more effective in my disciplining.

While talking to one of my more challenging students, it appeared that one of us needed to get under control and it wasn't going to be me! I'm not proud of the level of my voice or what I might have said but my young student had pushed my last button. Sometime during, "I know I have repeated these directions a hundred times," and "You owe me some recess time!" I turned to see his Mom standing in the doorway; watching.  I quietly walked over to her and began to defend my actions. I explained her son had disrupted the class all morning, had not followed directions, and yes, I had lost my temper. I was caught and there was no reason to deny what was happening. To my surprise, she walked toward me, reached out her arms, gave me a big hug, and said, "You go, Mrs. Quist. You do what you gotta do." The relief was overwhelming. I felt as if I had been redeemed and set free!

I pass this story on, not because I'm proud of my teaching techniques, but because picturing a parent at the door might be worth trying. I soon realized I couldn't always picture a Mom in the door that belonged to whomever I was talking to. So I began picturing Jesus at the door. If Jesus was watching me, how would I react? What words would I choose? Then I thought, if Jesus was at the door He probably wouldn't stay there. He would join me, right at my side. He would calm me, guide me, even give me words to use. What a wonderful thought! So put a parent at the door if you want to, but for real support and the strength you need, put Jesus there. What a help He would be!

Be blessed by the Lord and highly favored,
Barb

Transformation

I read a devotion this morning written by one of my favorite writers, Sarah Young. She helped my understanding of what happens when we allow the Lord to transform our darkness into light. Given a choice, I would choose light as opposed to darkness. Most people probably would. But we live in a broken, dark world. Without the light that Jesus brings to us every day, the "dark" is all we would be able to see. We are asked to live in the world but not be of the world. A trick? Sometimes, but really, if we let Jesus be our Light, keep Him and his hope in us, allow Him to guide our steps and surrender to his will, it is his Light that will let us see, obey, trust, and live in the darkness of our world. He has promised us that. We are not promised a perfect world. But we are promised a Light to help us in our world. What else do we need? Allow yourself to be transformed. Allow Light on your path.

Check out Psalm 18:28  "You, O Lord, keep  my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light."

And Psalm 119:105  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."

Take solace in these Words. They are God-breathed and written for you. Be blessed by the Lord and highly favored.
Barb

Seasons Change

It's hard not to think about the season changing right now; the colors are so vibrant, the temperature changes by the day, the sun is out then it's rainy, reports come in of snow, then the next day it's beautiful again. The raking  has started, people are pulling in their porch furniture, rolling up their hoses and preparing to hunker down for the cold and winter.

Come spring, we'll see more changes. The leaves will come back, the outdoor furniture will return, the lawn mowers will replace the snow blowers, and  you'll probably see your neighbors again! The changes we see serve as time markers for us; visible evidence of time passing. Many of the things I just mentioned are predictable and fairly painless. They're expected and even anticipated with a feeling of welcome. But what will we be doing in this next season? Will anything change with us? Will we grow into something else or move through something, or experience some painful change? The changes that we might encounter may not be so welcomed or anticipated with joy and are not really predictable at all.

We are at the mercy of our Creator. He knows the future, the minute by minute passing of every day. Everything that will happen to us or has happened to us has been ordained by Him. No harm will come that He doesn't already know about and He's prepared to give us what we need to deal with that season.

So as  you witness the changes in our visible world, watch for changes in your personal season. You might even be intentional about initiating a change that you've been wanting to make. In our busy jobs where we are constantly doing for others and meeting everyone else's expectations, consider thinking about making a spiritual change or a "next move" or an "upgrade." What do you think the Lord wishes you would change? Ask Him for help or guidance in making a seasonal change that will be for your good and  His glory.

Be blessed by the Lord and highly favored.
Barb

Be Still and Know that I Am God

As believers we live much of our lives in "trust" mode. This isn't a bad place to be but sometimes it doesn't feel like solid ground. I have been spending a lot of time in this mode since the passing of my mother last month. I share this with you because part of the legacy that she left me, makes for a great devotion.

 Her favorite verse in the Bible was that very familiar Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God." After her passing I wondered what that meant to her and then started wondering what it really meant to me. I did a little research in preparation for what I would share at her memorial service and found the second half of that verse. It says, "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." My notes explained the meaning further for me. They said, "Reverently honor him and his power and his majesty. Take time each day to be still and exalt God." I knew then and there that was what my mom wanted me to remember.

Further study took me too MacArthur's commentary and it said, "These twin commands to not panic and to recognize his sovereignty are probably directed to both his nation for comfort and all other nations for warning." This part grabbed me and made me pause. Telling the nations that did not accept God that they should be still and know that He is really God and a God that they should exalt, comes out as a warning! But what a comfort those same words are to us, His children. He is our Father and uses those words to tell us that. I marvel at how those same words are both warning and comfort. 

I would encourage anyone to spend some time meditating on those very words. Being still isn't always an easy thing to do these days, but God deserves our highest praise and being still can reveal His welcome comfort.
Be blessed and highly favored.
Barb