Providing Love in Public Schools: A Christ-Centered Goal

On the first day I have spent any time on Facebook in three or four days, I stumbled upon an amazing article about Christians becoming involved in public schools.

Here is my heart:

I want to love children throughout their education. I want to be a loving presence in a broken life. I want to be encouragement where there is none. I want to make a difference in their lives whether they be 18 or 8 or 8 months, whether they be deaf or hearing or stubbornly ignoring the world. I want to be there for them when crises arise. I want to save them from their broken and neglecting homes. I want to create a safe haven from them. I want the love of Christ to be obvious to them in how I treat them, respect them, teach them.

I did go to a private school for a while, both in elementary school and in college. But my heart is truly in the public school system. And this can only be because of Christ. We are not to isolate ourselves.

Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.... (Philippians 2:14-15)

I know that the public school system has its flaws and that Christians might not be able to reform every school, but being there, present in the midst of all the darkness, might bring Christ's light to someone who might not have known it otherwise.

This article has a lot of really good points. I would encourage you to read it, whether you agree or not. Gaining knowledge helps you form more Godly opinions. Read the article and read your Bible. But disregard the article if you have little time. Dig into the Word and pray about where God is leading you, public schools or not.

Psalm 102:7

I didn't sleep well last night. Not a super big deal, but still, it always makes for a rocky start. Every time this happens to me, I seem to fall asleep hard right before my alarm goes off. Like within the seven minutes after I hit my snooze button.

However, this morning, I was reading my Bible and was encouraged by this little verse. It's not earth-shattering, but I really enjoyed it.

I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. (Psalm 102:7)

An Acceptable Time

When I am learning something, when I am struggling to understand a specific truth, God brings to life His promises. I am learning that He has a specific time for everything, and I need only wait.

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. (Psalm 69:13)

His time is the best time.

"Hope is Coming for Me"

Two of my favorites:

Brooke Fraser and C.S. Lewis

Brooke Fraser is an amazing musician that always seems to get to the heart of things, and C.S. Lewis was an incredible writer than teaches me about literature and about God in all of his works.

This is a combination of the two. Please enjoy.

Psalm 27:8

Just shy of the 2 month mark from my last blog, I venture to it again. School can be mightily overwhelming, and as apparent from my lack of blogging, writing for school became more important than writing simple blogs.

Over this Christmas break, I have been able to sit and reflect on the Word of God, blessed also by my spontaneity in purchasing myself a journal. Now if you know my history with journaling, you would think this a stupid waste of money. I tend to struggle to fill the pages of journals. All but one that I own have only a few entries. The one that is filled consists of church notes more than journal entries. However, I now have a journal and am making significant progress on my way through it. Though the art of journaling is still a mystery for me. I sometimes still feel as though I am writing for someone else when in reality, I am just writing for me and my Jesus.

Reading the Word of God has become a staple of my mornings. My last blog post shared how I struggle when I forget to read, and since that fateful week, my Bible is the first thing I read in the morning.

I am currently reading Psalms, working my way through the poetry. A few days ago, I read a verse that has stuck out to me and continues to crop up:

"You have said, 'Seek my face." My heart says to you, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek'" (Psalm 27:8).

Every day I am drawn back to this verse. Not only do I like the way it is writing (yes, I am an English major), but the sentiment is exactly what I want. I want to seek after God's face always.

Thus, Psalm 27:8 is likely to be the verse for 2011. Now I hate to make hasty pronouncements about what will happen this year by selecting a verse for it, but this verse encompasses the prayer I have and I will continue to have. Seeking His face is something I am determined to strive after.

So, dear reader, continue to seek His face. Because without His face, all would be hidden in shadow of evil and sin.

All for His glory.

Remembering the Word in the Morning

I was sitting in my apartment this morning after a significantly crazy week reading my Bible. This is the first time since Sunday that I have made time to actually read God's Word before I ran off to my day. And I realized that this should never happen...EVER AGAIN. My soul was soothed by the words of James, but it made me realize that my heart was parched and dying. I felt rejuvenated for the first time all week.

This is the only way to start the day out right. Without it, the days go wrong, I get crabby, and nothing really works out right. I feel my temper rise, I complain, and I just feel off over all.

With the Word in my head and heart, I feel on fire, I get giddy, and I feel restored. It seems to obvious that I would want this over the alternative, but sometimes school creeps up on me and pretends to be my all-in-all. Academics are a battle I fight every day, and I need to remember that they are just a part of this life that is passing away.

So I started my day today in James. Truth was imparted to my soul:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James
1:17)

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to
visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep unstained from the
world. (James 1:27)

Every gift, and I have been blessed with many, comes from my Heavenly Father who will never change. He is the Father of lights, and He will wipe out the darkness.

Keeping unstained from the world is not easy, but with the help of the Holy Spirit and the truth imparted through the Word of God, it becomes a lot easier.

So my dear readership, remember to soothe your soul with the water that is only of the Word. Be rejuvenated in it. Remember to be thankful to God for the blessings that you have received, and in that thankfulness, remember to be unstained in the world so we can be a good witness for our Father.

And remember:

Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless
and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and
twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to
the word of life.... (Philippians 2:14-16)

All for His glory. Forever and ever.

Meat and Potatoes

This semester has been filled with surprisingly busy things. Some wonderful and amazing, others a little less so. But Jesus still manages to be present in my days.

I was reading Hebrews 5 this morning, and the end of the passage really hit home:

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have
become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you
need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You
need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the
word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature,
for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to
distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:11-14)

This passage made me pause. I really feel like I can only handle milk some days. The basics are all I can handle. I need to be able to handle and understand that which is milk before I can learn to eat solid food.

But I want to eat solid food. I want to savor meat and potatoes. I don't want to be complacent and just drink my milk. I need to be able to handle the milk and really be nurished by it, but I want to eat it in conjunction with those meat and potatoes.

For His glory I want to eat solid food.