Character Counts

Jun1

Tonight, our school, Trace Academy, will hold our graduation and awards ceremony. Unlike other schools, we don’t give individual awards for attendance, or service or scholarship. Those often are just compiled by the few. Instead, we give each child an award for character. Each teaching team spends a lot of time praying and pondering on each child and what we have seen in them this year. We want to encourage those things. We pick a character trait that we have seen in them such as honesty or good friend or resourcefulness and present them with that at the ceremony, along with a ribbon and a magnet with that word and a Bible verse that goes along with it.

Character counts. It’s who you are when no one is looking. It’s not the persona of an athlete or a scholar or a good citizen who picks up trash or feeds the homeless or collects money for the starving children in Africa. Those are all good things. But in the dark, where only God can see you, are you humble and gentle of heart? Do you pray for the salvation and needs of the world? Do you love others like Jesus loved? Are you honest and pure?

I will be up on the stage tonight, handing to my  10 second graders blue ribbons and magnet cards, but what I really hope to hand to them is encouragement to keep letting God build in them good character, which is only produced by perseverance.

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:3-5).

Thankful today for:

333. summer break!

334. our Incredible Journey plans coming together

335. the opportunity to sleep in, even if it doesn’t happen

336. my friend Sheryl, celebrating her birthday today

337. tonight’s event

338. sweet gifts and cards from my students

Doing Things Well

May30

My son posted this status on his Facebook page today: ‎

” A normal person practices until he gets it right, a Ranger practices until he never gets it wrong.”
– Ranger’s Apprentice Series, John Flanagan

Something to think about, isn’t it?

Thankful today for:

327. the youth ministry at our church

328. Netflix

329. silly movies

330. the last day of school

331. games

332. fluffy white clouds

 

 

God Bless America

May28

Today is Memorial Day. Unlike Veteran’s Day, which is set aside to honor those who have served our country in military service, Memorial Day is to remember those who have actually paid the ultimate sacrifice: They lost their lives in the service of their country. Neither my dad nor my brother ever served in the military, but my grandfather did. He earned a Purple Heart for being injured in the Battle of the Argonne Forest in WWI. I also had a great-uncle I never got to meet because he died in WWII. And my uncle is a WWII vet. My father-in-law is a veteran. David’s grandfather was a veteran. My pastor’s son is an active-duty marine.

We are touched every day by those in the military service. But not all of us have experienced the death of a loved one because of it. My eldest child has aspirations of being a fighter pilot in the Air Force. I fully support him in that effort, but the idea of him actually flying in war scares me to death. He thinks it sounds exciting and adventurous. I only picture his handsome, youthful body being blown to bits. Would I hold him back? Not in a million years. Even if at this moment, his idea is not that of protecting freedom but simply doing what he loves, I think his goal is honorable.

Some people deride our military and our leaders by saying they have callously sent young men off to fight needless battles in foreign countries. I picture this:

Say you were out watering your lawn one warm summer afternoon, living the high life, loving your freedom, when all of a sudden you hear a scream from the house next door. What in the world is going on over there?  you might wonder. You might even look closer to see what was happening. You might see a husband beating his wife and children. You would be shocked, or maybe even annoyed that this drama is playing out next to your quiet yard.

But, you may think, that’s their problem. Let them take care of it. It’s not on my property they’re having this trouble. 

Really? Wouldn’t you call the police and report a case of domestic violence? If you saw someone threatening a young child with a gun, wouldn’t you do something about it, even if it wasn’t your own family? Or is your motto “don’t get involved”?

That’s how I pictured the situation in Iraq years ago. The people were being beaten down, killed, evilly oppressed by Sadam Hussein. It was not right for us to just sit by and do nothing. When people can’t fight for themselves, we have a moral obligation to fight for them. Proverbs 31:8 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed” (New Living Translation.)

Do our leaders always make the right decisions? No. Is war a terrible thing? Yes. Is it necessary to battle evil? Absolutely. I’m no war monger. Ask my boys. I hate guns and fighting and weapons of all kinds. But do I believe the oppressed need to be fought for? Yes.

Thank you, all you who have sent loved ones off to their deaths in the service of our country, to help ensure freedom everywhere, not just on American soil. I’m so sorry for your loss.

God bless America.

Thankful today for:

321. All our military personnel: past, present and future

322. A day to remember those who have died in service to their country

323. Finally being able to use my massage coupon from my sisters

324. Friends coming over this afternoon

325. Only a bit of wind from Beryl (as of yet)

326. The testimony of a family I don’t even know during the hard-fought battle of their infant son. He lost the battle yesterday and is now in the arms of Jesus.

What Teaching Has Taught Me

May26

Tuesday ends my second year as a second-grade teacher. If I think that I have been in that classroom simply to teach those 10 8- and 9-year-olds reading, writing and arithmetic, then I am sorely mistaken. I’ve been in there to learn things myself. Here are a few of those things:

Our innate desire for justice is very strong.

Other people cannot know what we need if we don’t tell them.

Forgiveness sought and given restores relationships.

Our desire to flee increases exponentially with the difficulty of the task before us.

Even though we might fight it, we thrive when there is order. Chaos makes us crazy.

I may hear you, but sometimes I’m not really listening.

I won’t really learn if I don’t participate.

Every time we get together is a reason to celebrate.

Thankful today for:
312. A good school year
313. Bug spray
314. Life lessons
315. Seeing old friends
316. 3-day weekends
317. Those who gave their lives in the service of our country
318. My nephew Aaron whose golden birthday was yesterday
319. The sound of a horse’s whinny
320. My co-teacher and TA this past year

Luna, the Little Lost Dog

May23

On Thursday, my niece in the Seattle area posted on her Facebook page that they had lost their little dog, Luna. I have never met Luna, but my heart went out to them. Apparently, my nephew had come to take her with him on a bike ride, couldn’t find her collar, and took her without it. She had, after all, never strayed from him before.

ImageBut this time was different, and Luna got away.

If you’ve ever suffered the heartache of a lost pet, you know that it’s very real. No, they are not people, but they are certainly members of our family. My younger sister in Colorado reposted the picture of Luna, asking friends in the Issaquah area to keep an eye out. I, in Florida mind you, reposted the picture of Luna, asking my friends in the Pacific Northwest to keep an eye out if they happened to be in the right area. We prayed, we asked friends to pray, all for one little lost dog.

No, more than that, for a member of my sister’s family.

Bummer was, where she was lost was 20 miles away from my sister’s house. She wasn’t going to be able to get out and look for her until today. On Monday, my niece posted that there had been a Luna sighting by someone who had seen the “missing dog” posters they had put up in the area. Hope was reborn. I was so glad, thinking maybe she was in danger of being eaten by a mountain lion. I don’t even know if there are mountain lions in the area.

Yesterday, my niece went looking for her again. Came home wet and dogless.

Then today, hope was reborn again when they got a call this morning that Luna had been seen in the backyard of someone who had seen the signs. God is good. As soon as she could, my sister headed to the area where Luna had been seen, and took their other dog with her.

Within a couple of hours I received this text from my sister: “Luna has been found!” Three minutes later, my niece chimed in: “My mom just found Luna!”

She was roaming around some neighborhoods and just came running when my sister called. Both of them were hysterically happy to have found each other again.

Even though I had never met her, I shed some tears at Luna’s return.

This reminds me of two Bible verses: “When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:4).

And “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

When my niece posted that Luna was lost, people everywhere went into action, praying that the God Who Sees would bring her home. Lost though she was, Luna would not go to the first person who spotted her, though his intentions were clearly good. She didn’t know him, and she wouldn’t go. But as soon as she heard my sister’s voice, she came running. She knew her master’s voice, and she loves her, so she came running.

When my sister saw her, I can only imagine the joy that filled her heart. One she loved had been found. There was great rejoicing–not only in her heart and in her household, but for all of us who had been praying for this end.

How much more does God rejoice when one whom He loves returns to Him. There is much rejoicing, as Luke records that Jesus said. And for those of us who have been praying for those who are lost, there is no better news.

Welcome home, Luna!

Thankful today for:

309. kindhearted people

310. Luna’s return

311. hope that turns to joy