Opening Up

   One day my family and I went to a restaurant called Good and Plenty. It is a family style restaurant. That means you sit at a table with other people and pass the bowls of food around. While we were there we met a nice couple from Georgia. She had relocated to this area and he had traveled up to see her because it was his birthday. She did most of the talking, I assume because he was tired from his trip. She was also telling us about where she was taking him that day.

   For a good 15-30 minutes she did most of the talking with us. Then the man started to open up. We found out his family was from Cuba and they lived in Florida. As we asked him more about his family and life he became more animated. He smiled more and started using his hands more. It was then that we saw that his hand was mutilated.
   Now, some people when seeing that would have freaked out. Some may have even stopped talking to him. We just kept talking to him and her. We didn't judge him; if we would have, we wouldn't have had a great conversation with them.
   Sometimes when we walk down the street we judge people. It's something we do out of self-preservation. We don't want to get hurt so we stay away from shifty people. We think someone is different or strange so we stay away from them. Is that what God would want us to do?
   Think about Jesus. Was he only visiting the Jews and the rich? No, he went to those who were sick, looked down upon by society, and those who sinned. He loved and cared for all. He took the time to get to know them. That's what we are called to do. We are called to love God and love others. To love others we need to get to know them. That means we need to open up and they need to open up. Sometimes people have a hard time opening up, so that's when we open up first. We tell them about Jesus, because that's what we are called to do.
   So, do you judge others before you get to know them? Do you open up to others and tell them about Jesus? What can you do to show love to someone new today?

   1 Timothy 1:5 and Matthew 7:1-5

   Image from here. 

The Search

   It’s funny how much we can learn from animals. Typically I find that you can learn a lot of lessons from dogs. It’s helpful if you find the right dog for you.

   Recently, my family’s dog, Yoyo, died. We missed him so much but we began the task of searching for our next family dog. We looked so many places. We tried to decide if we should get a puppy, an older dog, a boy, or a girl. We also thought about if we wanted a shelter dog or one from a pet store. Needless to say there was a lot of thought that went into this process; and I have not even talked about the breed of dog we were looking for.

   We searched, and searched, and searched. Finally, we found the dog for us. Jak Jak is a Chion (Chihuahua and Papillon). He is about 3 months old. We rescued him today. My family is all happy to have a fur baby to love again. And, the greater miracle is that we all liked this dog, which is saying something for my family.

   Anyhow, this search got me thinking about Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for all of us. However, some of us choose not to follow him even after we hear the good news of the Gospel. Yet, Jesus died so that none will perish (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus loves all of us. He searches for all of us. He didn’t just pick one of us to save he saved us all, whether we want to be saved or not. (Believe me if my sister and I could save all of the puppies we would have :D That’s how great God’s love was for us. He goes after us. We don’t need to go after him, though eventually if you are a Christian you do go after God.

   So, today I encourage you to be thankful for what Jesus has done for you. I encourage you to think about how Jesus is searching for you if you don’t know him as your savior.

   P.S. I am sure you will be hearing more about Jak Jak in the future! <3

Luck or a Miracle?

   Each week in my classroom the students have jobs. One job is to be the line leader. During my time as a Kindergarten teacher, I had a little boy be the line leader. I noticed he was walking a little slower than most other line leaders. I looked down and noticed that he was stepping on the individual tiles trying to avoid stepping on the cracks.
   I told him that he just needed to walk normal but then I started thinking about all of those old superstitions. I'm sure this boy was doing this just to have fun and wasn't thinking about superstitions but it still got me thinking about them.
   Why do we have superstitions? It is because we believe in luck. We think we can have good luck if we do certain things and bad luck if we do others. Is there such thing as luck?
   If you need money to buy water, because you are really thirsty, and someone gives you a dollar because you helped them out is that luck? If you find a wallet on the street and return it to the person it belongs to, then that person gives you a reward is that luck? I do not accredit that to luck. Some people may call those instances coincidence but I call them miracles.
   Are these miracles like making the lame walk? No, instead they are little everyday miracles. God is everywhere. He is in all instances and things. Why can't we call these miracles?
   Jesus said all it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains (Mat.17.20). God is able to do anything, and with him nothing is impossible. If he wanted to, he could give us all the power to fly. I don't see that happening but I do see God at work every day.
   I see him in the friend who sends a text just as I need it. He's in the little ones who I teach when their eyes light up because they learned something new. And, he is at work in the hearts of those who we think are long gone (Paul). Those are what I call miracles, not luck. What do you call them?

   Proverbs 16:33, Romans 8:28-30, James 1:17

Ears to Listen

   I love to question things. I like to ask why things happen, how people are doing, and what peoples' favorite things are. One question I enjoy asking my friends is "why do you like me?" This may seem conceded, but I ask it so that I know what I need to continue doing in order to serve others to the best of my ability.
   As you can imagine I have gotten many different answers to that question. However, one has stuck out to me: "you like listening to others." I was confused at first because I didn't understand where she was coming from. Then she explained: "you would rather hear another person's voice than your own. You genuinely care about others and listen to how they are doing."
   After thinking about it for a little I realized it was true. I'd rather take a step back and help others than help myself. That's why I enjoy listening to others. You learn more by listening.
Think about it: the people who talk all the time do they know how you are feeling? Do they seem very knowledgeable about the world and people? I am sure some do, but do most? I have found that many times people who talk a lot don't think about what they say before they say it.
Take for example the prodigal son: he didn't think about the consequences of asking for his inheritance early. He was young and naive. He wasn't knowledgeable about the world around him. Because of that, he lost everything and went crawling back to his father. Is he a person you'd want to be around?
   What's the lesson here?  I think it is time we slow down our busy lives. We need to slow down and listen. We need to listen to family, friends, acquaintances, and children. Why should we do this? We must do it because it shows others that we care. You never know what someone is going through unless you ask and genuinely listen. You never learn more about the world and people unless you slow down and listen. You will never know more about God unless you stop and listen to him. We can listen by sitting in silence. We can listen by reading the Bible. We can listen by hearing pastor's preach. Just listen and you will gain more than you ever thought you could.
   So, do you think before you talk? Do you genuinely listen to others? What can you do to listen to others and God today?

   James 1:19, Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 18:13

   Image from here. 

When you are Weak you are Strong

   Strength: it's something we tend to ask for or work towards a lot. We want to be strong through every situation. We want to become physically stronger so we can beat the odds. However, is it good to always be strong?
   In times of trials we tend to do a few things: we break down when we are alone, we put on a brave face in public and say we are fine when others ask, or we tell others to the point where we complain to others. There are very few of us who actually open up to others when we are going through times of trial.
   Is that a bad thing? Is it bad to not open up to others when we are having problems? Let me tell you a quote and then you tell me: "If I don't fully share my own brokenness... there's never full communion? Maybe Communion can only happen when not only our strong parts are broken and given, but when our broken parts are also given" (Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way).
   In our times of strength we tend to tell others "it's all good." But when we are having problems we close off to others. That quote tells us that in order to have true friendship and a lasting impact on others we need to share our brokenness as well.
If people think we are strong all the time they are going to think something is wrong with them when they are going through problems. And, they may not be willing to share with you when they are going through a problem. It is only through sharing our weakness that we gain full fellowship, friendship, and communion with others. When you share your trials you are also sharing the story of God's glory and grace through you.
   Now listen, I'm not saying you should complain to everyone about your problems. What I am saying is that we should share with others so that we can walk with them, help them through their hard times, and show them what God can do through us.
   So, will you pretend to be strong even when you are not? Will you share your brokenness with others in order to be in communion with them? Will you reflect God's glory?
   2 Corinthians 12:9

Love Unconditionally: Lessons Learned from Yoyo

   What do you call someone who loves you unconditionally? What do you call someone who loves you even when you are annoying? What do you call someone who sticks with you to the end? You may call them a friend, family member, etc. But, I called that my dog.

   Yoyo Yoda Scheuing was born on May 9^th, 2008. He did not meet me until he was around a year and 1 1/2 old. We got him from a place where he was in a bin with his brother and 2 Jack Russel Terriers. He was pretty much the low dog on the totem pole. When I saw him I thought he was so beautiful, but when I picked him up he would shake. He was scared and I could tell that he had been burned before. We took him home and it took a while for him to trust us. But, when he did finally trust us you could tell. He would even do things like lean back at the top of the steps and trust us to catch him.

   Through the years I learned many lessons from Yoyo. I learned that it is important to show self-control no matter what. Like most dogs, Yoyo liked people food. He had a tendency to try to grab our food and, if he got it, he would scarf the whole thing down while hardly taking a breath. In turn, he would end up throwing up after that. Thus, why we need to control ourselves.

   I learned to be excited about the little things. Every time I would come home he would bang on the cage to be let out, or be at the door, then he would jump on me and give me kisses. He would do that every time. It may seem like routine to walk in the door each day. But, you never know how much time you will have with someone. Yoyo made each minute with me count, even if those minutes were sleeping minutes.

Yoyo Yoda Scheuing
May 9, 2008-March 4, 2019

   I learned how to show love unconditionally even when someone annoys you. Yoyo and my sister had a love/hate relationship. She loved him so much because she loves dogs. She would pet him, feed him, and give him treats. In return, he would growl, snap, and even try to bite her sometimes. As their relationship grew he would almost bite her and then lick her right after that. He did love her, as he loved all of us. It didn’t matter if we had just yelled at him because he ate trash or if we had just put him in the cage. He loved us no matter what we did. That’s why I can see that God is Dog spelled backwards.

   I’ve never had a friend like Yoyo. He was always there for me, even when I didn’t want him to be there. Now, he is gone. Yoyo died early in the morning on March 4, 2019. My sister and I were there to say goodbye. Our house will not be the same without that little Pomeranian sheltie chomping around, cleaning up messes, acting like a cat, barking at random noises, and sometimes accepting cuddles. I miss him terribly but I am so thankful for the times God gave me with him. I love you little Doody head and I miss your snapping already. <3

   So, do you take the time you have with others for granted? Will you spend each moment with those you love like it’s your last? Will you love others unconditionally?

   1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Psalm 23:4

You Are Gifted

   "Every child is gifted they just unwrap their packages at different times" (unknown).

   That is the quote I have on my resume. I am a teacher. It is my job to foster children's love of learning. But, it's not always easy. I connect with some students better than others for one reason or another. Some students like my teaching style while others like different styles. Some students are just not emotionally or cognitively ready to learn. They may not have the desire to learn, or the desire got crushed by a person or an event. I love all of my students but some are just not going to learn what I want them to.
   Do you have any idea how frustrating it is when you see such potential in someone, and yet that person does not reach his or her potential for one reason or another? You may, if you have kids or work with someone you see potential in. If you do see potential, and you do the right thing, you probably will try to push that person to get better. You may try to figure out what that person likes to do and cater projects toward that. You may find out what motivates that person and use that. Or, you may just mentor that person and walk with them. Sometimes this works and the person reaches his/her potential. Other times it doesn't work. If you are like me, then you know how much this disappoints you. You may even feel like a failure.
   Do you know who else works hard to get people to their full potential? God. He sees what we can become. He wants to help us grow in him. But, he knows we can be stubborn, annoying, and lazy. Yet, he still works with us. He loves us and knows we are gifted. He also knows that we will not reach our full spiritual potential until we are with him. He still works hard to help us grow in him on earth. He sends us teachers, mentors, and situations to help us grow. Then, when we reach one milestone, he celebrates. But he doesn't stop there, he helps us reach the next milestone. He sees the gifts that we have that he gave us. He knows we can use those gifts for good. We should want to grow and help others grow in their gifts.
   So, do you believe you are gifted? Have you tried to use your gifts for God, or help others grow in their gifts? Do you believe that God loves you and wants to see you grow in him?

   Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Peter 10-11
   Image from here.