Being Different is Okay: Lessons from The Greatest Showman

   I'm sure that you have heard the hype about The Greatest Showman at some point this year or last year. People have been saying many things about it. I saw it and there are so many great messages behind it.
   Barnum came from a poor family and felt that he had to prove to others that he was more than what he came from. He starts a circus. He puts people who were rejected by society on stage and gives them a purpose. Many people did not like that but others did.
   The show became a huge success. But, there were still some people who protested the show because it celebrated people who were different.
   God created all of us differently. We may wonder "why do I have to be so different?" God has a purpose for everything he does. It's not easy to trust him sometimes but it is worth it. These people in The Greatest Showman were rejected because they were different. Because they were different they were able to do things that other people couldn't do. Through the the process of putting on a show they became a family and changed the way people look at others.
   I won't go into too much more detail in case you haven't seen the movie, I do recommend it by the way. There are some other really great messages in the movie as well.
   So, when you see someone who is different what will you do? If you are treated like an outcast what will you do? Will you trust in God and his plan?

   Psalm 139:14, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 13:34

   Image from here.

5 Minutes of Fame

   We've all had that dream in one way or another. Many of us, especially when we are little dream of being famous in one way or another. We want to be an actor, scientist, inventor, sports player, etc. We work hard to get better so that one day we will be recognized on the street and people will say, "there goes ________ he's/she's famous."
   Have you ever noticed how many famous people are not all that happy? Have you ever wondered why that is? It may be because of different reasons; but have you ever wondered what those people had to do in order to become famous?
   There's a song by Barlow Girl called 5 Minutes of Fame. In it they talk about how much someone has to sacrifice for 5 minutes of fame. They question if it is worth it? Sometimes people have to give up relationships, morals, money, etc. Just to get what they think they want. But, is what they want what they need?
   Many times we pray to God to ask for things we want. We want a new car. We want our house to be fixed. We want this burden to be taken from us. But, God knows what we need. He sometimes gives us what we want because he loves us, but he always makes sure we have what we need for his plan to come about.
   However, sometimes we are not okay with what God gives us. We want what we want when we want it. We want to be recognized for something. We want people to love us. If we have to bend our morals here and there, so what? We can still go back to God later and he will forgive us, right? Yes, God will forgive us but people may look at us differently. Our testimony will have changed forever.
   Switching gears a bit, if you are willing to give up so much for fame what are you willing to give up for God? He offers us eternal life. He loves us and wants us all to be saved. We just have to give up our pride, admit that we cannot do this on our own, and ask God to forgive us. He will forgive us for it all. We may not have fame and fortune but we will have the greatest thing we could ever be given: God's love and eternal life with him.
   So, have you compromised your morals to get what you want? Will you choose to follow God and trust him no matter what?

   John 14:15 and Proverbs 10:9

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