Giving Up Power

   When I was just beginning college I helped with my high school soccer team. I knew many of the girls there. There were a few girls there who used to have a hold on me. There was a lot of drama in high school soccer. A few of the girls on the team thought they were so good. They also used to talk about people behind their backs.

   When I went back to help with my high school team when I was in college, I realized how crazy it was that I let these girls have power over me. These girls couldn't control my actions or my thoughts. They could try but I am the only one who controls me. In trying to please these girls I let go of some of my power. In trying to prove these girls wrong I let go of some of my power.

   Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." I was feeling inferior to these girls because they were popular in high school. But, in the end, high school isn't life. In the end these girls wouldn't have power. They would have to work their way back up the food chain.

   When I was helping my high school team in college it opened my eyes. Rather than being self-confident I needed to be God-confident. Yes, I was different in high school, many people were. In college I realized that God made me and loves me no matter what. It didn't matter what these other girls thought about me. When I helped, they had no power over me. That's because I gave God the power, because he technically already has it whether we realize it or not.

   So, is there anyone who has a hold on you who shouldn't? Do you have self-confidence or God confidence? What can you do to gain more God confidence today?

   Proverbs 14:26 and 2 Timothy 1:7

   Image from here.

Don't Focus Too Much on the Past

   The past is important. The past can help us learn from our mistakes. The past also shapes us into who we are. However, if we focus too much on our past is that a good thing?
   In Genesis 19 we find the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Two angels come to the city and Lot, Abraham's nephew, invites them to his home. Some very odd events happen but in the end the angels tell Lot and his family to leave because God is going to destroy the cities. Lot is hesitant at first so the angels grab his hand and his family's hands and take them out of the city. The angels tell Lot and his family to flee to the mountains and don't look back. Lot asks to just go to a near town named Zoar. The angels agree to this because of the Lord's mercy. Then God destroys the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Unfortunately Lot's wife looks back at the cities. Because of that she is turned into a pillar of salt.
   What was going through Lot's wife's head? We don't know. But, I have a guess. She might have been thinking: "I really miss my home. I worked so hard to get the decor just right. And, I miss my friends. Why would God destroy my friends and my home? Why can't we go back? I had such good times there. Doesn't God care about that? Maybe if I could get one last glimpse of my home that would suffice." Then she looks back and BAM! She turns into a pillar of salt.
   Many of us probably wonder why she looked back when she was told not to. But we forget, she probably wasn't just looking back because she was curious. She was looking back at her home, her friends, her past...
   We may be tempted to think we would never do such a thing. But, in a way, some of us have. Have you ever reflected back on your life and thought "wow I had some good times then and there. I wish I could go back." When you do that you are doing what Lot's wife is doing. You are focusing too much on the past. Now, I'm not saying that you should not reflect. Reflecting is good and important. Reflecting helps us learn from mistakes. But if we focus too much on the past to the point where we are not moving forward that's a problem.
   Philippians 3:13-14 says "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." I love the way Paul uses a word picture to get his point across. If you are running a race and you look back too long what will happen? That's right, you will crash and burn. We are to look forward to our goal. What's our goal? Our goal is heaven. If we are focused on heaven then we will do what we are called to do. If we are focused on heaven we will follow what God wants us to do each day.
   So, are you focused too much on the past? What can you do to focus on your heavenly goal today? How can you follow God in your life every day?

Image from here.

How Much Can You Handle?

   In my Kindergarten classroom we are talking about habitats and life cycles. To do that we have gotten an ant habitat so we can observe ant and talk about what they need.
   Through this experience I have learned more about ants. Ants can lift 20 times their own weight. But what would happen if that ant would try to lift something heavier than that? It would get squashed.
   Many times people are like ants. We all live together in the habitat called earth. We all work in different ways but we work for the greater good. And, we get dealt more than we think we can handle. Maybe you messed up at work, a coworker yelled at you, your friend blamed you for something you didn't do, a family member died, and you are having health problems. All of that may be happening at the same time and you begin to crumple under the weight of all of that.
   I've heard many people say "God's will never give you more than you can handle." Well, no disrespect to those people but I disagree with that. I've been through a lot in my life and I've had times where a lot of bad things happen at once. And, in those times, I break down. I feel like I can't go on and I crumble under the weight of all of it, if I try to get through it on my own.
   I want to change this saying. I have started to say that "God will never give you more than you can handle with him." God is always on our side but we need to learn to lean on him. When we start to crumble under the weight of our problems we can either keep trying to handle all of the weight on our own. Or, we can call on God and say "I need you! I cannot do this on my own. Please help me be strong in you."
   I don't know about you but I've already got a pretty bad back. I cannot carry the weight of all of my problems. So I have given all of my problems to God. He comes in, grabs the rock of all of our problems, and takes it off of us. Will all of our problems be fixed the exact way we want them to? No, but God has a perfect plan for our lives. He will be with us every step of the way if we choose to walk with him.
   So, will you continue to try and keep the weight of all of your problems up on your own? Will you choose to lean on God when you are not strong? Will you trust that God has a perfect plan for your life?

   Proverbs 3:5-6, 1 Corinthians 10:13

Jesus' Bubble

   As a teacher, you would expect that I would get hugs from students; because students are very touchy feely. It's true, I do get hugs from students. However, my love language is not physical touch. In fact, if someone is standing too close to me I feel like I need to move.
   See, I have what I call a large bubble. If someone stands too close in that bubble I get on edge. Some people have small bubbles. They enjoy standing really close to others. They like hugs and handshakes. I don't get it, but if you have a small bubble maybe you do.
   No matter how big or small your bubble is I'm sure there is someone who had a smaller one. Maybe you know him? His name is Jesus. Think about it: how many times was Jesus surrounded by a crowd? How many times did he touch someone to heal them? How many times did random people touch him in order to be healed?
   I remember in college we watched a clip from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. In the clip Jesus is overwhelmed with all the requests of the people. The people surround him and basically Jesus says "it's too much." Does this sound like Jesus to you? Because, it doesn't to me. Jesus can handle all of our needs and prayers. We may not understand that, because of our finite minds, but it's true.
   Now, that doesn't mean that Jesus gives us everything we ask for. He's a good father. If you had children and they asked for candy for supper every night, would you give it to them? No, God knows what we need.
   We can choose to give it all to him. He can handle your problems. We don't  have to carry our burdens. Your chains of burdens can be gone. Jesus is a big boy, with a tiny bubble. He will take your burden so you can be closer to him.
   So, do you believe God will take your burden? Have you chosen to give your burdens to him so you can be closer to him? What can you do to remind someone who is struggling with burdens that they can give it to Jesus today?

   Matthew 11:28-30 and Psalm 55:22

   Image from here. 

The Little Things

   One saying that I have begun to say a lot, in soccer and life, is "do the little things." In soccer, there is a very simple objective: put the ball in the other team's net. However, to actually get the ball in the other team's net you have do many different things well. You must pass, do moves, communicate, switch the field, defend, transition, check in and check out on throw ins, be aggressive, support your teammates, shoot for the corners, etc. If even one of those things isn't done well it is possible that that simple objective of getting the ball in the net will not happen. If a soccer team does the little things well, they can make big things happen like scoring and winning the game.
   In life we also need to do the little things. We need to serve joyfully, do our best each day, love others, trust in God and his plan, be patient, be loyal, have self-control, etc. It may be easy for you to do some of these things. Some of us are good at serving, for others it is a struggle. Some of us are good at trusting in God's plan, others have problems trusting in him. Some of us are good at controlling ourselves, others have issues controlling themselves.
   Doing all of these things is not easy. However, if we do these little things big things will happen. Others will see that your life is different if you do these things. That may lead them to ask you why your life is different. Then you can tell that person about Christ and the person then has the opportunity to accept Christ in his/her heart. That's the biggest thing in the world to happen. If that happens that person is now saved. That person is now our brother or sister in Christ.
   That's why we need to do the little things. We need to do our best to emulate Christ each day. Ephesians 5:1-2 says "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Jesus did the little things. He loved others and followed God. He then did a very big thing: he died on the cross to save us from our sins so we can be with him forever. It's amazing if you think about it. Christ's actions of little things led up to the biggest event in the history of mankind. And he calls us to do little things as well. What big things could we make happen if we would do the little things God calls us to do?
   So, are you doing your best to emulate God each day? Are you doing the little things in order to make big things happen? Image from here.

Quoting Love

   It is finally here. The day that is either relished or reviled: Valentine's Day. If you have a significant other, you may or may not enjoy Valentine's Day. Whether you enjoy Valentine's Day or not it is a good holiday to remind us about something really important to God: love.

   Love is a word that tends to be overused in today's society. Even though it is sometimes overused, or even used incorrectly, sometimes something very profound comes from society using this word. With that in mind, I'd like to go through some quotes about love that remind us of the true meaning of love.

   Piglet: "how do you spell love?" Pooh: "you don't spell it, you feel it." I don't know if you know this but Winnie-the-Pooh is a very profound character. He has some of my most favorite quotes and I'd encourage you to check out some others. Back to my point though: this is one quote that I don't entirely agree with. Many people nowadays think that love is just a feeling. However, in Matthew 22:37-40 says: "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Of course, we are called to love God, but we are also called to love our neighbors. Do you love everyone you come into contact with? Do you feel good, fuzzy, kind feelings about the person wrongs you? No? That's because love isn't a feeling. Love is a verb. Love is showing respect to someone even if it doesn't seem like they deserve it. I mean, just look at what Jesus did on the cross for us while we were sinning against him.

   Dug: "I was hiding under your porch because I love you." In this movie, Up, Carl is an older man who just wants to be alone. Even though he yells at Dug, who is a dog, Dug still stays loyal to Carl. He still loves Carl. Dug is like Jesus. He is always there for us; we just need to choose to let him in. It is just like in Revelation 3:20 "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." Jesus doesn't force himself on us. He gives us free will to choose Him. He loves us enough to wait until we are willing to let His love in.

   Olaf: "Some people are worth melting for." Olaf is a snowman in the movie Frozen. You and I both I know what happens to a snowman when he gets in front of heat: he melts. Olaf chose to care for Anna, who was sick, when he knew he could melt. Olaf is willing to sacrifice himself to care for someone else. Jesus gave an even greater sacrifice than Olaf. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus died to save all of us from our sin. He died because he loves us. He died so he could be with us in heaven. We are called to follow his example, take up our crosses, and die to ourselves each day. We are called to love others as well.

   So, on Valentine's Day, I encourage you to think about love today. Are you showing love to others no matter what? Have you let Jesus' love into your heart so you can be with him forever? What can you do to show Jesus' love to others today?

   Image from here.

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During Tests of Life...

   How can you worship something/someone you can't see? That's a question that Christians get sometimes. The argument being that we don't actually know what God looks like and we never actually hear anything from him. Why should we believe in someone we cannot see, hear, or touch?
   I don't know about you but even though I cannot physically see, hear, or touch God I know he is there. I know because I see God in the little things. When I need something like water and suddenly someone brings water to me, by coincidence, I know that is God touching me. When I'm struggling with something and someone comes to talk to me and see how I'm doing I know that's God speaking to me.
   But, sometimes I cannot see, hear, or touch God. I just cannot seem to find him. And, normally, when I cannot see him I feel that I really need him. I feel like I cannot go any longer without him and his help because I've just been beaten down by everything in life. I try to find the positive but it's hard to see the light when you are drowning in the sea of problems.
   In those times, I remember that God never gives us more than we can handle through him. Also I remember this quote from God's Not Dead 2: "the teacher's always quiet during the test." In life we will have times of trial and times of testing. Trials come from Satan. He wants to bring us down and separate us from God. Tests come from God. God wants to see if we will follow him no matter what, which is why he gives us tests (think of Abraham having to sacrifice Isaac).
   God is our teacher. He gives us everything we need to know in the Bible. He also walks with us in life. However, there are times he wants to see how much we have grown, just like any other teacher wants to. Teachers do not talk during tests. They want to see how much the student has learned; and what the student can do on his own.
   After the test is over, the teacher lets the student know how well he did. I don't know about you, but I always worked my hardest to pass tests. I wanted to become better, learn more, and grow. Therefore, I needed to know certain topics before I could learn other, harder, topics. Tests during life seem to be the hardest ones because sometimes you don't know you are in a test. But, whenever something happens in my life I try to look at it through different lenses. I look at it from my perspective, other people's perspective, and God's perspective. I do my best to pass these tests and trials in a godly way.
   So, do you ever have problems finding God? Do you see God in the little things? Do you work your hardest to pass tests given to you?

   Joshua 1:9, James 2:1-4