The Woman Behind the Mask

   Halloween: a time of costumes, scary decorations, and sugary coated sweets. Why do people like Halloween so much? Children would probably say because of free candy. They may even say because they get to dress up as their favorite character.
   When I was little I liked Halloween because of the candy. But, as I grew up, I still liked the candy 😊. However, it became more about the costume for me. Seems odd that a 5th grader would have liked dressing up but I have a reason.
   Some of you may know that I like acting. I like bringing made up characters to life. I like to make situations and stories real for the audience. I also liked being something/someone that was not me.
   See, we know ourselves better than anyone else in this world. We know our good qualities, talents, and likes; but we also know our bad qualities, problems, and downfalls. I know that I'm not always the most patient person, I could be a little more compassionate at times, and that I don't know everything I want to know (because I'm still growing).
   When I was acting I wasn't myself. Sure my character may have had downfalls, but that wasn't my problem. I just loved the fact that I could be as crazy as I wanted to and it didn't matter because everyone in the audience would know I was acting. Those judgements that people would have casted on that character didn't matter because it wasn't me.
   During Halloween I can pick any character I want to be, act like that character, and not have anyone think I'm nuts. But, when the candy's all gone, the costumes are put away, and the decorations are taken down my mask is taken off as well. When that happened I had a tendency to go back to caring what others thought about me because I was myself.
   As I grew older, I realized that it doesn't matter what others think about me. It just matters what Jesus thinks of me. He is the one who is able to bring me peace. He is the one who loves me already. He loves me no matter what I do or what I say. Does he get upset when I don't follow him? Yes, but he still cares about me and is willing to forgive me when I fail.
   With God, we don't need masks. We don't need to be anyone but ourselves. Isn't that how we should act with others? We should want to be with people who accept us no matter what. We should want to be with people who love and forgive us when we fail.
   I encourage you to take off any masks you may be wearing right now. I know it's fun to pretend to be someone you are not. But, I guarantee you that people respond to those who are real with them more than fake people. Will you get hurt if you take off your mask? Probably, but you know that you have opened yourself up to make an impact on others. That is what we are called to do: spread the gospel and reflect God's glory.

   Romans 12:2, Psalm 139:14-16, Romans 8:35-39

Being Gentle to Others: The Fruit of the Spirit Series

   “Nothing is so strong as gentleness and nothing is gentle as real strength” (Ralph Sockman).

   I have been called many things but gentle is not one of them. I am a goalie. I am supposed to be tough and I do not smile much. Yet, I am a teacher. I am a living contradiction. How can I be gentle? The answer is by taking off my mask and putting myself in someone else’s shoes.

   Some of you know how soccer has changed my life. In my last season at LBC (fall 2016) I chose to be myself with the girls. See, before that I had put up some masks at different times but that year I did not. During the season I was kind, crazy, and sympathetic towards the girls. And, I actually wanted to be there at soccer because the girls liked the real me. But, one event puzzled me that happened during the season. I was called a teddy bear by one of the girls.

   Now, if you know me, you know I’m not a cuddly person. That’s why when she told me this I was confused. But then I realized this girl wasn’t saying I was cuddly. She was saying that I loved the girls and cared for them. I always try to love others and put myself in their shoes. In order to be gentle one must be “free from harshness, sternness, or violence.” In other words, gentleness is showing sensitivity to others no matter the situation.

   It is not always easy to be gentle. Sometimes circumstances lead us to lose control, or to not have patience. But, it is important to be gentle because when one is gentle they are able to reach others more. When we put ourselves in others’ shoes we are better able to show them the love of God. Then we can help encourage them, or even lead them to Christ.

   So, are you willing to take off your mask in order to be gentle to others? Will you put yourself in others’ shoes in order to be sensitive to their needs? Will you try to be gentle toward others?

   Titus 3:2, 1 Peter 3:15, Philippians 4:5, Galatians 5:22-23

Being Faithful to God and Others: The Fruit of the Spirit Series

   “Challenges will come to you but as you trust in God they will strengthen your faith” (Neil A. Andersen).

   If one is faithful it means that he is “steadfast in affection or allegiance” (Merriam-Webster). In other words, that person is loyal. Christians are called to be faithful not only to God but to others as well.

   In order to be faithful to others a person must not betray that person’s trust. However, that is almost impossible not to do because we are human. That is why, along with faithfulness, comes forgiveness. When someone hurts us we must be willing to forgive because we have been forgiven by a faithful God.

   Which, brings me to being faithful to God. In order to be faithful to god not only must someone obey God’s commandments, but the person must also not have any idols. Nowadays idols are not typically statues (at least that Christians worship). Idols are anything that hold a higher place than God does. In other words idols can be television, technology, work, other people, etc. These things are good in moderation but if they take away from your relationship with God there is a problem.

   In order to be truly faithful to God you must have a relationship with him. That means you need to have a friendship with God. To do that you can pray, read your Bible, and follow his commandments. That is the only way to be truly faithful to God. But, since we are sinners, we will fail at being faithful to God. Luckily, God is faithful to us. He forgives us when we are not loyal to him, but we should still work on being faithful to him. We just need to lean on him in order to be loyal.

   So, are you being loyal to your friends and family? Have you been faithful to God? Are you willing to turn back to God if you have been disobeying him, or were not faithful to him?

   1 Samuel 12:24, Ephesians 2:8, Proverbs 28:20, Galatians 5:22-23

The Goodness in Choosing Right: The Fruit of the Spirit Series

   “Goodness is about character, integrity, honest, kindness, generosity, moral, courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people” (Dennis Prager).

   When you hear the word goodness what do you think of? You probably think of people doing nice things for others. It sounds a lot like kindness doesn’t it? Why would Paul put both kindness and goodness in the fruit of the spirit if they are pretty much the same?

   Kindness and goodness are not the same. You can be good by showing kindness. But, goodness is “the deliberate preference of right to wrong, the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary). In order to be good one must choose to do right rather than wrong. And, ever since sin entered the world, that isn’t easy.

   The way to learn right from wrong is either by studying or by learning from a teacher. While I was student teaching, in my last semester at Lancaster Bible College, I was having a really difficult time getting the students to learn. I could not understand why the students did not want to learn more about their world, especially when I was doing it in a fun way/trying to cater to their individual interests. On top of that I was getting frustrated because I felt like a failure as a teacher.

   Then I had a conversation with my professor. She told me that I seemed to be getting frustrated because students did not want to learn and they were misbehaving. Then she told me that I have a definite sense of right and wrong. I feel that students are always growing but they can either grow the right way or the wrong way. It became my goal, after that conversation, to plant seeds of learning in students to help them grow the right way.

   In order to choose right rather than wrong, one must know the word of God. And, like I said the best way to learn right from wrong is to study or be taught. But, there is no way that we can always choose to be good because we are sinful creatures. We need to pray to God to help us choose his path rather than the wrong path. With his help we can choose follow his ways.

   So, have you chosen to follow God? Do you have a teacher in your life to help you learn right from wrong and keep you accountable? Do you believe that it is only through God that you are able to choose right from wrong?

   Psalm 23:6, Romans 12:9, Galatians 6:10, Galatians 5:22-23

Show Kindness Every Day: The Fruit of the Spirit Series

   “A simple act of kindness can make a tremendous impact on a person’s life” (anonymous).

   Picture a college dorm. I’m not talking about a guy’s dorm where there are probably stinky smells and clothes everywhere. I am talking about a girl’s dorm where there are good smelling soaps and organized clothes. That is where this story begins. At Lancaster Bible College each student who stays on campus is required to do dorm duties. When I was there each girl needed to do one job per week. There were jobs like cleaning the toilet, cleaning the shower, vacuuming, taking out the trash, taking out the recycling, cleaning the sinks, etc.

   Most people did not like doing those jobs. But, since we did them once each week, things did not get too messy. There was a point in time where most of the girls were getting stressed. I decided to do all of the dorm duties for the girls, but I did not tell them I did it. All of the girls were so surprised and thankful. Some of them still do not know that I was the one who did that. I did not tell them because I wanted them to thank God for the blessing they received.

   Kindness is “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate” (Oxford dictionary). Seems like a pretty simple and straightforward definition but being kind isn’t always easy. Sometimes there are people who we just do not get along with. And, other times we feel like we just do not have time to be kind.

   Many people think that in order to be kind one must do extravagant things. That simply isn’t the case. I have found that most people feel more blessed by the simple acts. Every day we are given the chance to do a random act of kindness for at least one person. What does kindness look like? It is letting that person go in front of you in line. It is picking up trash on the floor. It is holding the door for someone. Kindness can be shown in the little things we choose to do every day that will bring a smile to someone’s face.

   So, are you willing to go out of your way to show kindness to others? Do you believe that kindness can be shown in the little things you choose to do for others?

   Colossians 3:12, Proverbs 3:3, Luke 6:35, Galatians 5:22-23