Jesus Loves You No Matter What

   As many of you know, at least those of you who know me or have read my blog, I am a teacher. Currently I am a preschool teacher. At the school I work at we try many different theories of education but one of the main ones is love and logic. In love and logic it talks about having natural consequences for children and adults keeping their cool by having a phrase they answer the children with. Sometimes love and logic works. Other times it does not.

   One time, during nap, I was trying to get a child to sleep. I rubbed his back calmly for about 15 minutes. Then my co-teacher left for her break. This child who I was trying to get to sleep decided he didn't want to sleep. He began trying to get up. Now, during nap, we require students to stay on their beds and stay quiet for the friends who are trying to sleep.

   Long story short, this child decided to cuss at me, kick me, pinch me, hit me, and bite me because he did not want to sleep. He wanted to run around the room and wake up his friends. All the while he was doing these things to me I was trying to follow love and logic. I kept saying "I love you and I know you'll make the right choice." Obviously it was not working. My director finally came in to relieve me after 45 minutes. But, the whole time I was trying to protect this child and the other children I was thinking how crazy I was. What kind of person would tell someone they love them when all that person was doing was hurting them?

   After I got past the trauma of the whole situation I began to think. I wondered if anyone else had ever gone through something like that before. I wondered how someone could keep saying "I love you and I know you'll make the right choice" to someone who kept hurting them. Then I stopped. I realized that I have done what this child did to me to someone else. I had done that to Jesus.

   Every time we sin we are hurting God. He cannot be with sin because he is holy. But, Jesus is a good teacher. God is a good father who cares about us. God sent his son to die for our sins to show his love for us. Now, if we accept Christ, our sins are washed white as snow. When we make the right choice, Jesus says "I love you." When we are faced with temptation Jesus says "I love you and I know you'll make the right choice." And, when we do sin, Jesus says "I still love you, come back to me and I'll wash your sins white as snow."

   Jesus is the ultimate example of love. You may never face the same situation I faced. But, you probably will face a time where it is difficult for you to love someone. We are to be Jesus' example on earth. That means we are to love others even if they hurt us. We are to love others even if they are mean to us. We are to love others even if they never ask for forgiveness or say "sorry." Is it easy? No, is it what we are called to do as Christians? Yes, we are called to love others.

   So, will you love others even when it's hard? Will you ask for forgiveness for your sins when you mess up? What can you do to show someone you love them today?

   1 Corinthians 13:4-8, John 3:16, John 13:34-35

   Image from here.

Be Thankful in ALL Things

   It is Thanksgiving! It is when we celebrate everything that we have and that we have been blessed with. However, this year, Thanksgiving is a bit different. Some of us may not be meeting with family. Some of us may not be traveling or having some of the same traditions occur.
   This year it seems like much has been taken away. Some of us may have lost our jobs, lost a family member or friend, lost the ability to do something you love, etc. This is not what we would call a "normal year." It may not be a "normal year" but we all have a choice of what to do with this not so "normal year." We can choose to let it make us bitter or let it make us better.
   There is incredible power in perspective. We may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can control how we react to it. We can choose to react in anger or react with God and his plan in mind.
   We also have control over our thankfulness. I do not know about you but this year more than ever I have been thankful for the little things. Many times, around thanksgiving we focus on what we are thankful for. Many times, we say we are thankful for a home, job, health, family, etc.
   I am thankful for those things but this year I am more thankful for the little things. I am thankful for the way my dog is always excited to greet me when I come home, I am thankful for the little bit of time I got to spend coaching my High School goalies and my College players (shout out to Donegal and LBC players). I am thankful for how my mom is willing to listen to how my day went even if she is tired. I am thankful for my siblings who still enjoy playing games with me (I like playing board games). I am thankful for my co-workers who uplift me in hard times. I am thankful for my dad who can fix many of the things around the house when they break. I am thankful for Jesus who died on the cross for my sins so he could be with me. And believe it or not, in certain ways I am thankful for COVID.
   You probably heard screeching tires there. I mean it, in certain ways I am thankful for COVID. In the past, I have written a blog about blessings where I say that blessings are not always what we would call "good things." Sometimes blessings are what we would call "bad things." Have "bad things" happened because of COVID? Yes, but have "good things" happened too? Yes! Again, it all depends on how we look at it.
   Romans 8:28 says: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Did you catch that? The Bible says, "in ALL THINGS God works for the good of those who love him." So many times we forget this verse. Many times, we forget that God is working things for our good. He has a plan in the good and the bad. That is why we can be thankful in the good and the bad. That is why we can praise him in the good and the bad. That is why we can trust in him through COVID, through loss, through fear, through death, and through it ALL!
   So, what is your perspective on this year? Does your perspective need to change? Are you thankful and trusting God in all things? How can you trust God more each day?

   Image from here.

   If you would like to hear more about blessings check out this sermon (search "Beatitude Blessings" in the sermon search link on this website http://maytowncog.org/services.htm)

Are You Actively Involved?

   I've recently been told I am a "sporty girl." I don't entirely agree with that. I enjoy wearing athletic clothing and playing sports. However, I do not enjoy watching sports. Can I watch a game if it is on? Yes, but I'd rather play sports than watch them. And, if I'm being honest, I don't really enjoy working out or running. Do I work out? Yes, but it's a struggle if I'm not playing a game or a sport while working out.
   Now, you may be wondering, again, what this has to do with God or the Christian faith. I'm glad you asked again. Sometimes Christians have a tendency to just watch. They look at the world and see the sin, they see the hurting, they see what other Christians are doing for the kingdom, or they see things they could be doing themselves and they choose not to join in. You may have heard the quote "life's not a spectator sport." Well, the Christian life isn't a spectator life either.
   James 2:14 says: "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?" James is saying that if we have faith we should show it through our actions. He isn't saying that our works get us saved (which is how some interpret this verse). He is saying that if we believe in Christ we will emulate Christ in our everyday lives. When we see someone who is hurting and feel called to help him we will listen to the call. When we feel led to pray for someone we will do it.
   If we don't show our faith in our actions it does us, others, and the kingdom no good. Being Christian should change our thinking. Being Christian should make us want to help a hurting world. Being Christian should make us want to be more like Christ in our actions, words, and thoughts.
   So, are you actively involved in the Christian faith? How are you working each day to show Christ? 

   Image from here.

I'm a Fixer

   I am a fixer. I enjoy fixing things and problems. When there is a problem that needs solved at school, my co-teachers come to me. If we need a shelf, but don't have one, I am the one who makes them out of cardboard. When someone is going through a hard time, I try to give them advice or brighten their day in some way. However, there is an issue I run into sometimes: I cannot fix all the problems.
   Many times people have had a problem I could not fix no matter how much I wanted to. Maybe someone in their family is having a health problem. Maybe there are too many people involved that the problem cannot be handled. No matter what the issue is, there are just some problems we cannot fix. What do we do when we cannot fix the problem? Many times, as Christians, when we don't know what to say or do we say: "I'll pray about that for you." But, there are times when that just seems like saying that's not enough. Why is that?
   One of the reasons why saying "I'll pray for you" doesn't seem like enough is because sometimes people don't actually pray when they say they will. That reason aside, when we say "I'll pray for you" we tend to be giving up hope. But is that really what we should be thinking?
   Romans 8:26 says: "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words." Many times we tend to go to God as a last resort when it should be our first. We have a tendency to want to fix things ourselves. But, if you try to lean on yourself you'll end up falling. Instead, we should lean on God and trust in his plan. We should pray about our problems and trust the Spirit to lead. We should trust the ultimate fixers plan.
   So, are you leaning on yourself or God? How can you trust in God's plan for you each day? 

   Image from here.

Are You Anxious?

How many of you have ever had a pet? I'm sure many of you have. You care for your pet and love them. You give them everything they need. Sometimes they are even spoiled. I can tell you that my dog Jak Jak is loved and probably spoiled. However, there is something that Jak Jak has that concerns me.

See, we got Jak Jak when he was 3 months old. He was the first ever puppy, not dog, in my family's household. Thus, Jak needed more attention and care. He was like a baby. He couldn't do certain things like jump on chairs that were high up. He wasn't potty trained. And he obviously couldn't get food for himself (I enjoy pretending to talk like him and I say "I don't have opposable thumbs)." So, my family and I did all these things for him. Unfortunately, Jak Jak developed such an attachment to us that when he wasn't with someone he would whine. This whining and not having someone around developed into anxiety.

Here's the thing I couldn't understand. We love Jak Jak. We give him everything he needs, plus some things he doesn't. Why did my little boy have anxiety? I didn't know and I still don't. But this situation got me thinking: why are we anxious?

We are God's children. God is a loving God. He cares for us. He gives us everything we need and some things we don't need. Yet, we still are anxious about different things. Now, you may be saying "it's different. We have many more problems than pets do. We have to provide for our families. We have to deal with annoying people at work. We have to care for the children and our parents." Yes, we do have to do all that (though I would like us to get to the point where we say we "get to" do all those things but that's a blog for another time). But, we are not required to worry about all of that. In fact, we are told not to worry about those things.

Philippians 4:6-7 says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Okay, the Bible says we are not to be anxious. Why? We are not to be anxious because we are to bring our concerns to God. What happens when we do that? If we let God handle our concerns, then we get peace. We don't get the peace where we have a spa day, a vacation day, or quiet. We get peace in our hearts to know that even in all the crazy of life, everything will be okay. Everything will be okay, why? It will be okay because God's got this. He has a plan. He cares for you. He loves us enough to be a part of our lives. He has a relationship with us, if we choose to have one with him. We just need to trust in him, instead of worrying.

So, are you worrying too much? What can you do when worries and anxieties come up? How can you do a better job of trusting God today?

Image from here.