A Season of Getting

   

    Breaking News: The season of giving has become the season of getting. Many people say that Christmas has become too secular. It isn’t that hard to look around at Christmastime and see what Christmas has become. Black Friday has now become black Thursday (THANKSGIVING), people believe they just need more stuff, and the true meaning of Christmas has been forgotten by most. So what can Christians do to show others the real reason for the season?

    Let’s look at it this way: everything is shouting God’s glory. Wait, what? Didn’t I just say that Christmas has become too secular? Yes, I did but stay with me on this. God created everything in the world for HIS good. He gives us all unique abilities and talents. We don’t just discover new abilities by chance. He gives the abilities to us in order to glorify Him. Nothing on earth happens by chance. God works through coincidences. I mean, who would have thought God’s son, our savior, would come to earth and be laid in a manger? Who would have thought Shepherds would be the first to know? This story is something no one could write until it happened, because it’s incomprehensible to us that God would send his son that way. The whole story is His story; and it’s his gift to us. That’s why he wants us to give of ourselves, our material items, and our talents. It’s because he gave so much and he wants us to be a part of His story! Isn’t that amazing?

    ​So back to the getting things for Christmas: the bottom line when it comes to the Christmas season is that it’s not about what we get, but about what we do with what we get. Remember that God gives us gifts to glorify him. He also gave us the greatest gift: salvation through his son. So what are you going to do with the gifts you have, and the gifts you get this season? Will you give to God and others?

    I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Thanksgiving Edition

 

  And here is your one million dollar question: What was the name of the ship that the Pilgrims came to America on? If you said the Mayflower congratulations you've just won one million dollars. You are going to be happy for the rest of your life! LIES! People who are rich are not always happy. Just look at Robin Williams or Marilyn Monroe. Why weren't they happy? Because money doesn't buy happiness!
    So many times we look at our lives and think "I would be happy if I just had..." Then sometimes we get what we think will make us happy and guess what; it doesn't make us happy. The things of this world will never bring us true happiness. This includes money, time, and adventure. We ask God for more money because we "need" more things. We want to go back to when we were children because life as an adult is too hard. We want to grow up and be out on our own. We want this event to come or this event to be over with.
    Well what if we just stopped? Hit the pause button and thought about the here and now. What do you have to be grateful for this year, right now? Don't over think this, it should be simple. Think of your house, friends, family, or your job. Now think about all the problems you have in life right now. I'll bet that there are less problems than blessings in your list.

    This Thanksgiving I encourage you all to stop worrying about what you need to get done a week from now or what happened to you the other day. Take some time to thank God for what he has given you and then relax, spend time with family, or do whatever you need to do today. 
    Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
    
1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Breaking News

               Breaking news Ashton Kutcher is caught in a cheating scandal! How many times have we heard these kinds of headlines? People just love to get into other peoples’ businesses. It is true that without the news we would not know what is going on in the world; but sometimes I think the news takes it a little too far. In fact this story is not even about Kutcher directly; it is about his brother. His brother, Michael, cheated on his wife, Katie. There are a few major problems with this article. First of all it is focused on the “big sin” of cheating. Yes, cheating is a sin but there is another big problem with this article. It completely ignores the fact that it is gossip. Yes, there is probably some truth in this article but there are certain things that are false. For example a source was quoted that when Kutcher finds out about the restraining order “he’s going to hit the roof.” They do not know if Kutcher will freak out about it. It is speculation and gossip and a sin.

                In Bridges book Respectable Sins he talks about how he has never committed any of the big sins; however he has committed some of the smaller sins like gossip. We as Christians need to stand up against these respectable sins. That is why as a teacher I will discuss with my students how all sin goes against God’s will. We need to stomp out the small sins in schools and our lives.

                http://www.nationalenquirer.com/celebrity/ashton-caught-cheating-scandal ​

Oh be Careful Little Tongue What You Say

               Ephesians 4:29 states: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” It seems like anywhere we turn today people are not following this verse. I believe this is one of the most overlooked sins of Christians today. A person only needs to look at the media or Christian blogs to see that this is happening. In fact in Dr. Cleary’s blog he states “Everywhere one turns the tv, or radio tuner, at least everywhere there are people talking about news and/or sports, Rice is being roundly condemned.” Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but there is a fine line between saying what you believe and tearing someone down with our speech. Other people are also talking about Rice hitting his fiancé; but they are not saying what they believe as kindly as Dr. Cleary was. We, as Christians, need to be careful not to fall into the trap of complaining, tearing others down, and gossiping.

                This is especially important when it comes to being a teacher. Some students struggle in school. Teachers need to do what is best for their students. This does not mean that the teacher can talk about how much of a pain the student is. Rather the teacher should look for the positives in each student and situation. We need to condition ourselves to think positively and not tear others down.

                http://clearysviewpoint.blogspot.com/​

I Am a Saint

                Have you ever heard someone say the phrase “he’s a saint?” Did you ever stop to think about what that meant? Bridges sheds some light on that subject in his book Respectable Sins. According to Bridges a Saint is: “someone whom Christ bought with His own blood on the cross and has separated unto Himself to be His own possession” (13).

                This is not what a person usually thinks about when they hear the word Saint. In fact many people think about an older man who is spiritual. Typically most people will think about Catholics.

                One big topic in the Catholic Church right now is Pope Francis’ opinion on homosexuality. People were surprised to hear the pope say about gay people “who am I to judge?” 

                This is a newer view for the church but I believe the pope has a point. It is true that a saint is someone who is bought with Christ’s blood; but Christ died for all those who would accept him, no matter what point they are at in life. We are all sinners so why do we think we have the right to judge others?

                As a teacher I will have to deal with topics like these every day. I will have students who are from different families and cultures. I must accept them for who they are, love them like God does, and let my light shine in the hope that they will see I am different. I am a Saint.

                http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/09/19/pope-francis-church-cant-interfere-with-gays/comment-page-34/

The Shoe

               

                The Shoe. It is a strange name for a blog from a soccer player and future teacher with not much of a fashion sense; but I did not choose this title because I wanted to be fashionable. Instead this title came to me this week as I was contemplating what I wanted the blog to be called. I wanted it to have a deeper meaning behind the title. This is when I came up with the title The Shoe.

                Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (ESV).

                You see we are all on a journey and on this journey we have many choices. One major choice we have is whether we will trust God or not. God wants to be a part of our journey and, if we trust him, he will be with us and see us through all of our trials in this life. So I encourage you to put your “shoes” on and continue your journey with God.