What’s in Your Wallet?...(and I don’t mean Capital One! )

         Mom and I went shopping and when we walked out of one store, the security beeper went off.  The saleslady came over and double checked to make sure a tag hadn’t been left on something and she couldn’t find anything.  (Mom even volunteered to let them search her purse, lol  J)  The lady shrugged it off and said it happens sometimes.  We walked out and beeped again, but this time kept going. 

          The next store we went in, no beeping.  The next one, we walked in, no beeping, didn’t buy anything, and walked out and beeping.  So we stopped again.  The saleslady in this store came over and was wondering what it could be because she obviously knew we didn’t take anything…we had only been in there for a couple minutes.  (again, Mom volunteered her purse, lol!)  We waved our shopping bags through the alarm and nothing.  We waved cell phones through and nothing.  By this point we were beginning to feel like shop-lifters.  We waved mom’s purse through and this time, lights and beeping.  We looked through her purse and the lady asked if she had anything new in there.  She did:  a wallet.  Inside that new wallet there was a tiny white security tag in one of the card slots.  We took it off, threw it away, and didn’t beep for the rest of the day. 

          Isn’t that how little sins are?  We’ve not done anything big, or downright disobeyed God, but something is there causing alarm.  Since it’s not obvious, we might have to search our hearts to find it.  It may be something little like a temper or not reading your Bible as much as He would like us to.  It might be not taking opportunities to witness or not testifying enough.  Whatever it is, we need to check ourselves.  We might not think it’s a big deal, but I don’t want to get Heaven’s gate and have the alarm go off.    

“…the little foxes, that spoil the vines…”

Song of Solomon 2:15  KJV

Back to School Prayers

      Going back to school…it’s the time that inevitably comes every year.  I’ve already started having the dreams of an uncontrollable class, not being prepared, etc.  lol 

        My very favorite part of each new year, though, is when I go to start getting my classroom ready.  It’s quiet, not very many people are around, and there’s a sense of calmness.  The first thing I do each year is arrange the 25 little desks and then spend the time going by each desk and praying for that child.  I don’t know if there will be a boy or girl sitting there.  I don’t know their names.  I don’t know their background academically, socially, or home lives.  Regardless of me not knowing them, the Lord has known since before time that our paths needed to cross: That there is something to be gained from our time together.  So I pray for them.   

        I pray that the Lord will open their minds in order to learn new things.  I pray that the Lord will ease their anxieties and fears.  I pray that they will have friends.  I pray that they will learn to do what’s right.  I pray that they will thrive throughout the year and make notable progress.  But I also pray that the Lord will open their hearts.  Open their hearts to see and feel Him working and moving in their lives.  Open their hearts to hear His voice and answer His calls.  Open their hearts to be a witness and light to others.  Open their hearts to be more like Him.

        I pray at my own desk.  I pray that the Lord will let me love them even in the times they are unlovable.  I pray that He will let me get to know each and every little soul and their families and see them for who they are:  Your beautiful creation, whom You are pleased with.  I pray for patience when correcting behavior, calming fears, and teaching new skills.  I pray that His love will shine through me so evident that they can’t help but notice.  I pray that He will show me why He intended my path to specifically cross every one of theirs and give me the strength and wisdom to help them on their journey.

        Sometimes those dreams *nightmares* J do come true and there are days that seem uncontrollable, but I know that my joy doesn’t come from having the perfect classroom: my joy comes from within, from Him.  So even on the days where I may want to pull my hair out, I can wear a genuine smile, have a genuine peace, and know that His name is going to triumph because I’ve dedicated my classroom to Him.

“In everything set them an example by doing what is good.  In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech…”

Titus 2:7-8  NIV

From Worshiper to Believer

     I have always been intrigued by Lydia from the Bible.  I don’t know why since there are so few verses about her, maybe because I just like the color purple??  Lol  Anyways, I’ve been reading the verses about her for a while, feeling like there was something the Lord was wanting me to get from her.  Lydia’s story goes like this:

“On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.”

      The first part of her story that I find interesting is that the Bible refers to Lydia as a “worshiper”.  It doesn’t say Lydia was a Christian.  It doesn’t say that she loved God.  It doesn’t say that she lived for Christ.  It says she worshiped Him.  The dictionary definition of “worshiper” is a “formal or ceremonious rendering of honor”.  In other words, she went to church and went through the formalities…does that sound familiar?  Sometimes we go through the motions of singing the songs, following along in our Bibles, putting money in the plate:  we are worshipers and nothing else.

      But the next few verses are so inspiring.  It says that the Lord opened her heart to respond!  He touched her heart.  At first she simply went through the motions, but now, He had given her reason to “respond”.  Her response?  It tells us in the later verses…she became a “believer”.  The word “worshiper” in relation to Lydia is a noun.  It’s a person…it’s who she was.  The word “believer” is a verb.  It means to “have confidence or faith in the truth”.  Once the Lord opened her heart, she couldn’t be complacent anymore, she had to do something. 

        Verse 40 is probably my favorite part of Lydia’s story. 

“After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them.  They they left." 

        I take this verse to mean that after her conversion from worshiper to believer, she wasn’t content with those little meetings at the river with the other women.  I take it to mean that she opened her home to ministry and that men and women who loved God were welcome to worship and praise Him there, together.

        So many times in my life I’ve been a worshiper.  I’ve done my duties as a Christian and nothing extra.  I’ve sang the songs, read the verses, said a mealtime prayer, but then became complacent.  I’m so thankful that He is always faithful to open and touch my heart.  He makes it my (and your) decision about how we respond, or even if we respond at all.  I want to be more like Lydia and let people see the believer in me.  

Verses from Acts 16:13 – 15, 40  NIV

Pebbles in My Pocket

         I have a jacket that I keep at school for recess duty.  It’s not my best jacket, but it is the warmest and it gets COLD out there!  Several years ago, I had a little boy in my classroom who loved nature.  He loved finding things and had so much knowledge about animals and “outdoorsy” things.  He could see beauty in things I couldn’t…things like snakes and frogs and toads, OH MY!  Lol  Anyways, one day at recess he came over to me with a handful of small pebbles or rocks from our playground.  He was so excited about the treasures he had in his little dirt covered hands!  He was very animated in telling me about the rocks, how hard and how far he had to dig, and asking which one was my favorite.  I chose 2 favorites:  one that was white and a little glittery (imagine that…I picked the glitter!  J) and one that was a pretty shade of green and really smooth, but yet jagged.  He eagerly handed me the rocks…giving me his treasure to keep for my own.  I put the rocks in my pocket and went on with recess.

          To any other kid on the playground they were just rocks.  To me, they were just rocks.  But to that sweet little boy, they were small treasures, rewards from his hard work of searching and digging.  I like to think that we are Jesus’ little rocks.  To the world, I’m just another girl.  You are just another man or woman.  There are millions more like us in the world.  But when God looks down, He doesn’t see our simplicity.  He sees His treasures.  He takes a closer look and sees the jaggedness, notices the glitter, and dusts some of us off.  If we are serving Him, our lives are the rewards of His hard work:  dying on the cross.  He may have to do some searching and digging to find us, but He knows we’re there.

           Those little rocks have been in my recess jacket pocket now for 5 years and that little boy is growing up.  But the thought of his little dirt covered hand holding those treasures, and the way I felt God speak to me in that moment will stay forever!

“As you come to him, the living stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him…”

1 Peter 2:4  NIV