This post is going to be short on text because I have a couple things that I have found bring me closer to God when I think about them on a regular basis. Try it out and see what you think!
1. Everything we've done in the past shapes the Christian that we are today.
2. There isn't ONE thing in your past that God cannot use to make you a better Christian.
He wants us to repent and start over no matter how terrible we have been. You are putting limits on God if you think that He cannot use you!
Are you consistently giving your past to the Lord? Or are you putting them in your worldly closet and keeping them hidden?
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Be Still
One of my firm beliefs about life as a Christian is that my walk HAS TO BE a daily renewal of a commitment to be more Christ-like. I try to consistently remind myself that I may do a better job at some things than I did in the past but in no way shape or form am I ever close to achieving the level where I can quit trying to be a better, more Christ-like person.
I found a verse in my night Bible readings that really threw this in my face.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says:
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
There are so many Christian women I know, including myself that have serious issues in these areas. I often think, “Wow, that woman is addicted to drama.” I’ve always thought that this was not a good way to be, but I had no idea that it was addressed this specifically in scripture.
Lead a quiet life and mind your own business is just as relevant today as it was back then. We need no extra visualization to tie this to our own lives. Women must have been gossipy beings ready to spew any information they had about anyone that people may want to hear even back two thousand years ago! I like to talk and so sometimes I find myself talking about other people. I am praying about and trying to train myself to be aware when these conversations go beyond what I would be comfortable discussing in front of the person in question AND my grandmother. Just prayer for awareness has started to change. Gossip feels different when you are conscious of the fact you are directed to stay away from it in this passage and others in the Bible.
Work with your hands can mean be productive, you can say that you are valuable until the cows come home but until you earn the respect of your peers in any situation you will not truly be independent or have the appreciation that you want and deserve.
My prayer for you this week is that you take this verse to heart and actively think about times when Jesus would tell you, “Be still.” Be it your mouth or your mind, I hope you are thinking daily about how you can be a better Christian.
Keep storing gifts for yourself in heaven sisters and brothers, and we will celebrate together some day!
I found a verse in my night Bible readings that really threw this in my face.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says:
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
There are so many Christian women I know, including myself that have serious issues in these areas. I often think, “Wow, that woman is addicted to drama.” I’ve always thought that this was not a good way to be, but I had no idea that it was addressed this specifically in scripture.
Lead a quiet life and mind your own business is just as relevant today as it was back then. We need no extra visualization to tie this to our own lives. Women must have been gossipy beings ready to spew any information they had about anyone that people may want to hear even back two thousand years ago! I like to talk and so sometimes I find myself talking about other people. I am praying about and trying to train myself to be aware when these conversations go beyond what I would be comfortable discussing in front of the person in question AND my grandmother. Just prayer for awareness has started to change. Gossip feels different when you are conscious of the fact you are directed to stay away from it in this passage and others in the Bible.
Work with your hands can mean be productive, you can say that you are valuable until the cows come home but until you earn the respect of your peers in any situation you will not truly be independent or have the appreciation that you want and deserve.
My prayer for you this week is that you take this verse to heart and actively think about times when Jesus would tell you, “Be still.” Be it your mouth or your mind, I hope you are thinking daily about how you can be a better Christian.
Keep storing gifts for yourself in heaven sisters and brothers, and we will celebrate together some day!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Creation in Action
I want to dedicate as many posts as I can to my personal experiences with our products. As the education director I feel that it is my duty to try out the material that I put in the product. One main goal that we have for BSFK is to give new ways to teach and to have ways that the children can teach themselves.
I wanted my Sunday school class to experience all that goes into preparing a good lesson. They are 4th to 6th graders and can all read. We are blessed to have been able to scrape together enough archaic equipment to have a computer lab in our church. I had eight regulars in my class so I put them in groups of two and had one group for each of the weeks’ lesson.
I did the activity over a whole quarter (three months) so that saved the church money on educational resources and allowed me to have the students complete many tasks.
The tasks that I had each group complete were:
• Making a task list
• Choosing their lesson material from the teachers guide
• Typing up a script
• Photocopying their activities and worksheets
• Teaching one week’s lesson
Task List
The first week we had a guided discussion of what pieces there are to a lesson each week and how a teacher has to plan for those things. I took notes as we discussed and at the end of the lesson we had a good list of tasks for them to complete before their presentation days.
Lesson Material from Teacher’s Guide
The teacher’s guide has more information than they could cover in one lesson’s time so I had them choose what they were going to cover and who was going to cover it. Some of the groups typed their script right out of the material while others chose to hand write a list of what they were going to say and type from that.
Typing up the Script
I didn’t feel that my students would be able to present from just an outline, so I had them type a full script. I showed them how to put the name first followed by a colon and then what they would say after that. An example is below:
Sarah: God said, “Let there be light”
Ian: We know light as coming from the sun but this was God’s light. The sun had not been created yet.
It took them several weeks to get this done. Some of the groups finished before the others so I let those students explore some of the suggested activities in the teacher’s guide.
Photocopying Activities and Worksheets
This was the last step before they presented. They had to make enough copies for the class and a key for each of the presenters/teachers. They all thought it was neat to get to go to the office and use the copier.
Teaching
I brought my laptop each week for their presentation. We used the manual advance version of the Creation lesson. One of the presenters advanced the slides and the other held the script. They were a little slow because I didn’t have a good rehearsal week. That would be something that I would do differently next time.
The kids had a great time with this unit. They learned a lot about their content area and also that there is a lot that goes into presenting a lesson. When they were getting weary I reminded them that their Sunday school teachers had to do this every week and that their school teachers had to do it five times a week!
This was a wonderful experience for the students and I both. We all really enjoyed the new approach to Sunday school. They had to do a lot of problem solving and collaborating. I also feel that the more presenting children do at a young age the better they will do at speaking when they are adults.
This week’s reflection verse is 1 Samuel 12:23. It says, “As for me, far be it for me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.”
This is how we should feel about any of the children whose lives we touch by teaching them. It touched my heart and sums up how I feel about all of you educators who take the time to read my reflections and visit our site!
I wanted my Sunday school class to experience all that goes into preparing a good lesson. They are 4th to 6th graders and can all read. We are blessed to have been able to scrape together enough archaic equipment to have a computer lab in our church. I had eight regulars in my class so I put them in groups of two and had one group for each of the weeks’ lesson.
I did the activity over a whole quarter (three months) so that saved the church money on educational resources and allowed me to have the students complete many tasks.
The tasks that I had each group complete were:
• Making a task list
• Choosing their lesson material from the teachers guide
• Typing up a script
• Photocopying their activities and worksheets
• Teaching one week’s lesson
Task List
The first week we had a guided discussion of what pieces there are to a lesson each week and how a teacher has to plan for those things. I took notes as we discussed and at the end of the lesson we had a good list of tasks for them to complete before their presentation days.
Lesson Material from Teacher’s Guide
The teacher’s guide has more information than they could cover in one lesson’s time so I had them choose what they were going to cover and who was going to cover it. Some of the groups typed their script right out of the material while others chose to hand write a list of what they were going to say and type from that.
Typing up the Script
I didn’t feel that my students would be able to present from just an outline, so I had them type a full script. I showed them how to put the name first followed by a colon and then what they would say after that. An example is below:
Sarah: God said, “Let there be light”
Ian: We know light as coming from the sun but this was God’s light. The sun had not been created yet.
It took them several weeks to get this done. Some of the groups finished before the others so I let those students explore some of the suggested activities in the teacher’s guide.
Photocopying Activities and Worksheets
This was the last step before they presented. They had to make enough copies for the class and a key for each of the presenters/teachers. They all thought it was neat to get to go to the office and use the copier.
Teaching
I brought my laptop each week for their presentation. We used the manual advance version of the Creation lesson. One of the presenters advanced the slides and the other held the script. They were a little slow because I didn’t have a good rehearsal week. That would be something that I would do differently next time.
The kids had a great time with this unit. They learned a lot about their content area and also that there is a lot that goes into presenting a lesson. When they were getting weary I reminded them that their Sunday school teachers had to do this every week and that their school teachers had to do it five times a week!
This was a wonderful experience for the students and I both. We all really enjoyed the new approach to Sunday school. They had to do a lot of problem solving and collaborating. I also feel that the more presenting children do at a young age the better they will do at speaking when they are adults.
This week’s reflection verse is 1 Samuel 12:23. It says, “As for me, far be it for me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.”
This is how we should feel about any of the children whose lives we touch by teaching them. It touched my heart and sums up how I feel about all of you educators who take the time to read my reflections and visit our site!
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