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

Having Patience While Waiting: The Fruit of the Spirit Series

   “Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting” (Joyce Meyer).

   “Are we there yet?” “Is it almost time for dinner?” “When is it time for recess?” “When will Jesus come back?” What do all of these sayings have in common? They all have to do with waiting and patience. And, they all have to do with busyness. In our American culture people really have issues waiting or slowing down. Why is that? It is because we have difficulties being patient.

   To be patient one must “bear pains or trials calmly or without complaint” (Merriam-Webster). You may be saying, after reading that definition, I am pretty patient. I want you to think about the last time you were in a traffic jam. How patient were you then? I’m pretty sure you are saying that you were not that patient. See, patience has a lot to do with time. In our culture being on time is important. We only have so many hours in the day in order to get things done. We don’t want to make others wait.

   All of that can be good because we are respecting others. But, it is also bad at times because we start to get angry when things don’t go the way we planned. In order to have patience we need to lean on God. He has a perfect plan for our lives. There is a reason why you were stuck in that traffic jam. You may never know the reason, but you can rest easy knowing you are within God’s will. That’s why we can have a good attitude whenever something doesn’t go the way we planned. Think about it: will getting angry change the situation? Will getting upset change the situation? No, it probably will not. That is why we must learn to be patient and trust God’s will.

   So, are you going to change you attitude about things you cannot control? Will you trust that you are in God’s will? Will you work to be patient in all situations?

   Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 37:7-9, Galatians 6:9, Galatians 5:22-23

Peace During the Storm: The Fruit of the Spirit Series

   “Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart” (unknown).

   When you think of peace what pictures, things, or people come to mind ? You may think of Martin Luther King Junior, a calm ocean, a peace sign, or many other things. But, is that what peace really is?

   Peace is “a state of tranquility or quiet,” or, “freedom from civil disturbance” (Merriam-Webster). Can we all laugh now?  That seems like it would be a good definition for peace but I disagree.

   There is a story about a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. There were many submissions but the king narrowed them down to two. One picture was of a calm lake. Behind lake were mountains; and the sky was clear. The other picture had rugged and bare mountains. Rain fell from the sky and lightning was crashing. A foaming waterfall was down the side of the mountain. Behind the waterfall there was a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird built her nest and sat there in peace. The king chose the second picture (full story here).

   Peace is not being in “a state of tranquility or quiet.” Peace is to be in the midst of trouble and trials and still know everything will work out. Peace is learning to trust in God and his plan. Think about it. There are very few times in my life where bad things were not happening. When I stressed and worried about those things I was not helping anything; and I was just hurting myself. However, when I trusted God and had peace in my heart I felt a whole lot better. When bad things happen I know that there really is nothing I can do about them. I just need to trust God and follow him. Then I will have true peace.

   So, do you believe that peace is to have no trouble or to be in the midst of trouble and still be calm? Are you worried about everything that is going on in your life? Do you trust that God has a plan for you?

   John 16:33, 1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 4:8, Galatians 5:22-23