Category: Building Christian Character

As Christians, people should be able to look at us and see Christ. People should be able to see who we serve in the way we act.

Showing Not Telling

Posted on by Wendy
When we show our faith instead of telling about it, we might be more effective.
When we show our faith instead of telling about it, we might be more effective.

Last week I spent three days subbing in an elementary school art class. The assignment for each child was to create a pumpkin, leaf, or turkey design for the upcoming Thanksgiving Feast. I spent the first few minutes of each class, reading the directions and giving all of the details.

Each child could pick the size of paper they wanted, then draw out a design in pencil, trace in Sharpie, color, and then cut out. Sounds simple, right? By the third day, with six classes each day, I could almost recite the directions without reading them.

The third day, however, presented a new challenge. I had three, yes three, students, each in a different class, who didn’t speak English. They spoke Bulgarian, Chinese and Spanish.

Each child sat and listened to the directions and smiled and nodded. But, when they came up to my desk, to choose their paper, they had absolutely no idea what to do. Those seemingly simple directions, might as well have been a physics lesson.

How could I communicate words like trace and Sharpie with them? I tried explaining a few times and then I had a light bulb moment. I actually showed them what they were supposed to do. I asked them to point to a design and then I asked them to point to the size of paper they wanted.

Next, I walked back to the table with them and picked up a pencil and showed them what to do. While each child worked, I went and got a Sharpie and showed them that they were to trace it. Then I picked up crayons, markers and colored pencils, indicating that they could choose which medium they wanted to color with.

My demonstration paid off. The first two students did a great job with their art.

Then the student who spoke Spanish came in. I speak a little Spanish; a little being the operative word here, I decided I would speak to her instead of show her. She laughed and shook her head at my rusty attempts at her native language. I ended up showing her too and got the same results as the other kids.

I chuckled to myself the rest of the day. Communicating can be hard. Communicating with people who don’t speak your language, can feel close to impossible at times.

I think that’s a big challenge for the Church in the times we live in. We can talk about the Gospel all day long. We can quote scripture and preach it from the pulpit. We can use words like grace, love and mercy when we describe Jesus to others.

But, to those who are lost and suffering, we are speaking a different language. There are many people who have never witnessed true Christian love, many people who have never been extended grace or mercy. When life has been nothing, but hard and harsh, those words are just words. They mean nothing.

Perhaps to bridge the gap, we need to show grace, love and mercy to those who need it the most. We can extend kindnesses, throw open our church doors and welcome in the lost, but also try to meet them at their eye level, right where they are. Isn’t that what Jesus did for us?

I think the key in sharing our faith is showing not telling. I was grateful for the lesson. It may be one we all need to hear.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Life Lessons from Crayons

Posted on by Wendy
Potential is useless without action.
Potential is useless without action.

While subbing for a few days in an art class last week, I came into contact with a bunch of art supplies, from paint brushes, to glue, to scissors, to clay, to colored pencils and crayons. In my opinion, crayons are one of the coolest inventions ever.

They are cheap. They are readily available and simple to use. The novice can proudly create pictures by using them to scribble and the most talented of artists can create masterpieces.

The interesting thing about crayons is that they come perfectly sharpened and ready to go. I remember as a kid, opening that brand new box to use on a school assignment. I don’t know about you, but that first stroke with an unused crayon, could make me giddy with excitement.

I never got the same feeling about using crayons, once the perfect little tip was gone. A pile of used crayons in a box, for some reason, is kind of ho-hum. We still have the same colors. We still have the same potential to create. What’s the difference?

Perhaps the perfect unused crayon represents potential. If that crayon has never been used to color anything, it’s up to us to make it count. We have in our hand, the possibility of creating something new and beautiful.

But, as long as that crayon is perfectly shaped and pristine, it hasn’t been used to create anything. Potential is great. There’s are a ton of people and ideas with potential. The thing about potential, is it can live and die inside of our heads and hearts. Potential is useless if we don’t act on it somehow.

Potential requires action to become something great.

As I looked around the art tables, I found crayons which had been dulled from use, broken ones, ones that had the paper pulled down or off, and ones that were really short from use.

It's only when crayons are used, that they have added color to the world.
It’s only when crayons are used, that they have added color to the world.

When I thought about it, those were the crayons that had made a difference for some young artist. They had actually been used to spread color to a blank space and the color helped to make it something new and unique, something creative and beautiful.

We all start out like those perfectly pristine crayons. We are all full of potential of some kind. Some of us choose to stay in the box, safe from any wear and tear, safe from getting damaged or broken.

But, it’s only in using what we have been given, to add color and beauty to the world around us that we are able to reach our potential. That requires risk of getting used and broken, yet it’s what Jesus calls us to do.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Perhaps we should ask ourselves if we need to get out of our box.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Lessons from the Art Room

Posted on by Wendy
Lessons from the art room
Lessons from the art room

Last week, for three days, I was a substitute teacher in art, for grades third through fifth. As always, being in the art room was an interesting experience. I had subbed in there before, but not for three days. Three days spent doing anything, can give you a new perspective.

Their assignment was simple. They were supposed to create either a pumpkin, leaf, or funky turkey to help decorate their school for the Thanksgiving Feast. They had some examples to look at, but they were given a white sheet of paper, the size of their choice, and a pencil. After drawing, and then tracing in Sharpie, they could color in any way or design they saw fit. The turkeys could be dressed in any crazy costume that the kids could dream up.

After three days, I noticed a pattern. The third graders were super excited about the assignment. They gleefully took paper and got busy. My challenge with them was to get them to keep drawing and stop sharing their creations with their friends. They were also very encouraging to each other. I witnessed a lot of kindness.

The fourth grade, just one year older, tended to play it safe. They tended to choose the pumpkin more than anything. They would sometimes trace a perfectly round circle and they tended to simply color it orange. They were more self-conscious  about their art. There wasn’t as much sharing.

The fifth grade had two distinct groups. There were those who loved art and knew they were good at it and those felt they had an hour to kill. The ones who loved art and creating, always went for the turkeys. They dressed them in a wide array of outfits, from Bulldog jerseys to pearls and earrings. There were fat ones and thin ones. The ones who enjoyed creating were focused solely on their creation. They didn’t seem to care much what the other kids were drawing.

It was the ones who didn’t feel like they were, “good at it,” who seemed to spend the most time looking at what their peers were creating.

As I thought about the art classes, they seemed like a perfect example of people in general, and our creativity as well. When we are young, we feel like there is nothing we can’t do.

When was the last time you attended a high school graduation? That valedictorian gives his/her speech and those graduates believe there is nothing out of their reach. But, as the invisible door silently closes on high school and life begins, dreams and aspirations tend to get lost.

Life happens. Like those fifth graders, we begin to compare ourselves to everyone else in big, and sometimes dream destructive, ways. Our dreams get lost, forgotten or put away. Some were meant to die, but some were planted by our creative Creator.

Once life happens and we have a spouse, kids, and a mortgage, we feel it’s too late. But, the bottom line is that it’s simply never too late to chase a dream. If God is behind it, it can happen at any stage of the game.

But, how do we know if it’s from Him? We have to pray a lot and spend a lot of quiet time listening. Perhaps the most important step is spending time in His Word. He would never have us pursue something contrary to scripture. It’s also really helpful to have some other Christian friends to bounce ideas off of.

Once we do all of that and that nudge is still there and that dream that we’ve locked away for so long is still calling to us, it may be time to take a leap of faith.

Stop comparing and worrying, like the fifth graders, just jump. Don’t play it safe like the fourth graders. If God has called you to it, you are in for a wild ride. What are you waiting for?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Praying for His Will

Posted on by Wendy
As we grow in faith, we strive to learn to pray for God's will, not ours.
As we grow in faith, we strive to learn to pray for God’s will, not ours.

Last Sunday, our pastor was preaching about the passage in Mark, Chapter 10, where the brothers James and John, approach Jesus and ask him for a favor. They approach him and say, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” Mark 10:35

Hmmm, how many of our prayers begin the same way? “Dear, God, please give me A,B,C and D and quickly please.” Are you squirming a little? I know I am.

They then go on to ask Jesus to let the two of them sit on his right and left in his glory. They would like to be exalted above the other disciples and anyone else, for that matter.

It’s easy for us to sit and judge these guys. Isn’t it? What a selfish request for them to make, right?

But, when we honestly look at our own prayers, do we fare much better?

My pastor pointed out that Jesus often answers the simple prayers of young Christians, to let them know He is listening and to grow their faith. I know he answered my prayers for good grades on tests, when I was in high school. Perhaps you had similar prayers answered.

But, as we mature, our prayers become more complex. When we pray for our team to win a football game, or when we pray that we get that job we want, there are consequences. What if the other team is praying for a win? What if someone else is praying about that job?

Aren’t we actually praying for favoritism over someone else? James and John aren’t looking quite so selfish.

As we mature in our faith, our prayers are supposed to mature too. There is absolutely nothing wrong with bringing all of our concerns, heartaches, pain and troubles to God. That’s what we are supposed to do.

The problem arises when we expect Him to act as some type of cosmic genie and answer all of our requests in the way that we request and on our own timeline. When that doesn’t happen, we sometimes decide that God doesn’t answer prayers.

We forget that sometimes the answer is, “No.”

What we need to strive for is the, “Thy will be done;” part. For example, if we are looking for a new job, we can ask for guidance and for God to show us where we should look, instead of, “Please give me this specific job now.”

What if He has a different plan for you? A large part of faith is learning to trust in His plan and not ours. It’s tricky because we believe we know what’s best for us. We can pray for patience and perseverance too. Now we’re talking about fruit of the Spirit.

The James and John exchange with Jesus, has made me take a look at my prayers. I’m reminded to focus less on my wants and will, and more on God’s. Sometimes I need reminding. Maybe you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Getting off the Sidelines

Posted on by Wendy
One brick can't do much, but a bunch of them together, can build a fortress.
One brick can’t do much, but a bunch of them together, can build a fortress.

Seems like everywhere I look these days, there’s some new controversy about sports and prayer. In September of 2014, the ACLU told a Tennessee high school that they were no longer allowed to have a prayer over the PA system before the game. They were allowed a moment of silence.

The two cheer captains from each team, decided to stand up on their own, and lead their teammates in the Lord’s Prayer. When they were obedient to God’s call, the Holy Spirit stepped in. The entire crowd in the stands joined in. They were amazed. It was completely unexpected. But, that’s what happens when we step out in faith.

There wasn’t much the ACLU could do about it.

The latest prayer war is happening in the state of Washington. At Bremerton High School, a football coach named Joseph Kennedy, has been walking to the fifty yard line to kneel in prayer, after each game, since 2008, when he saw the film, “Facing the Giants.”

He always says some form of the following prayer: “Lord I thank you for these kids and the blessing you have given me with them. We believe in the game; we believe in competition and we can come into it as rivals and leave as brothers.”

It’s pretty shocking, I know. Apparently the big issue for the school district was that he used the word, “Lord,” in it.

Well, last Friday night was their homecoming game. The coach was told he could no longer pray in the locker room or on the field after the game, because he was still on the clock for the school. He was told by the school district if he prayed, he would lose his job. He agreed not to pray in the locker room because he did in fact, have a captive audience.

Did I mention that Coach Kennedy was a Marine for twenty years? He served in Dessert Shield and Dessert Storm. Kennedy said, “He spent twenty years defending the Constitution and the freedoms that everybody has.”

After the game was over, as usual, he went to the fifty yard line and took a knee and prayed. He always has players who voluntarily follow him, but last week, the team on the opposing side and their coaches joined him.

Not only that, the word had gotten out about his situation and fellow prayer warriors showed up. One man had never been to a Bremerton football game, but came because he was tired of, “ACLU bullies.” Another man hadn’t been to a high school game in forty years, but came to pray with the coach. A State Representative came and stood by the coach through the entire game.

Who knows how the story will end? Coach Kennedy has kept his eyes focused on the, “things of God, not the things of man.”

But one thing is for sure; this is how revival starts. Christians don’t have to ram our faith down anyone’s throat. We don’t need violence. We don’t need protest signs. We don’t need hate speech or to try to put someone out of business because they don’t believe like we do.

All we have to do is remember that the God we serve called the universe into being. He is all-powerful and in control. Then, we need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow prayer warriors in Christ.

The Holy Spirit will do the rest. The only question for us, is are we willing to stand up or in this case, take a knee? Perhaps it’s time to get off of the sidelines and into the game.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Being Understandable

Posted on by Wendy
Perhaps communicating the Gospel clearly, should be a priority or all Christians.
Perhaps communicating the Gospel clearly, should be a priority for all Christians.

My pastor called my two teens into the parking lot on Sunday before church, for a little chat. I’ll have to admit that I was super curious what it was about. My kids adore him. They call him, “Captain,” which they got from the Robin Williams movie, “Dead Poet’s Society.”

I later learned that Captain asked them to take notes during his sermon and jot down anything that they didn’t understand, from vocabulary to concepts. During the sermon he said that John Wesley had done something similar, with a young servant girl. He asked her to raise her hand when he used words that she couldn’t understand. Turns out, her hand was in the air almost constantly.

I find being understandable a fascinating concept because last week, I wrote a post about experiencing God and I had someone comment that, “I had written in a way that all could understand.”

I was floored by the comment simply because I never really thought about it before. Shouldn’t we all communicate in ways that everyone can understand, especially if we are sharing ideas and truths about God? Shouldn’t being understandable always be our goal?

Is, “The Church,” failing in communicating plainly with the world around us? When I say, “The Church,” I mean all of us who follow Jesus. “The Church,” is people not a place or a denomination. We are the Body of Christ. That’s a really big role to play. We should probably take it seriously.

What are we communicating to non-believers? Are we unclear? Are we teaching and preaching one thing at worship service and then acting entirely differently when we exit the building?

Do we preach grace and forgiveness to those who visit, but then change our message entirely after they join? Does church membership become about rules and appearances? Do we preach the importance of loving others, but then do nothing for those who are in need?

There are some highly educated people out there who seem to enjoy using big words whether spoken or written. I personally find essays or books that are written with words that cause me to find a thesaurus, to be tiring. I’m likely to put a piece of writing like that, down. It doesn’t matter how profound the message may have been, if it gets lost in five dollar words and abstract concepts.

The world at large needs to know about Jesus. Christians are called to share the Gospel with the people around us. Perhaps we should take a little time to be sure that we communicate clearly with our words, as well as with our actions, who it is we serve and why.

Perhaps we should follow the lead of Captain and make every effort to be understandable to everyone who God sends across our path. Sometimes I need reminding. Maybe you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Are We Part-Time Christians?

Posted on by Wendy

Related image

Photo courtesy of Red & Black- Mark Richt prays with Nick Chubb.

My Facebook page has been extremely populated with anti-Mark Richt comments the past couple of weeks. The Bulldogs lost to Alabama and then to Tennessee, and a vocal contingent of the Bulldog Nation has been calling for his resignation. It doesn’t matter to them what his record is. All that matters is that they want to beat Alabama and win a national championship.

Who doesn’t? I think that the majority of college football fans are tired of mouthy Alabama fans, and is there a fan out there who doesn’t want their team to win a national championship? That’s a fabulous goal. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to win, unless perhaps it defines you.

When we decide to win at all costs, sacrificing integrity, decency and everything else in the way, winning becomes an idol.

Mark Richt is in his fifteenth year of coaching at UGA. His players have an 82% graduation rate, tying with Vanderbilt for number one in the SEC. In a 2014 ESPN article, of the top twenty-five programs in the country, according to the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll, UGA ranked third in the country, in players who graduate, right behind Notre Dame and Stanford. Since less that 4% of players go on to play in the NFL, that’s a big deal.

When the disastrous Tennessee game played out a couple of weeks ago and Nick Chubb was injured, Richt was caught on camera, praying with him. He felt like prayer was that important.

During Saturday night’s game against Missouri, I saw Todd Gurley sitting on the sidelines with Chubb, throughout the game. Gurley is now an NFL star. He certainly had better things he could have done on his week off, yet there he was supporting his injured former teammate. The week before he had tweeted prayers for him.

Praying for each other and supporting one another, isn’t that what those of us who claim to be Christians are called to do? Is there any way we can avoid giving Richt some credit in that friendship?

Richt has been quoted as saying, “My identity is not in being a national championship foot ball coach. My identity is in Christ. Do I want to win one? Yes. Does that define me as a person? No.”

He has also said that he has been asked by moms to help make their son into a man. That’s the sad reality that we live in these days. Richt has tried to rise to the challenge.

So, with all of these thoughts and facts that have swirled in my mind, I have to ask the questions, “As Southerners, who consider ourselves God-fearing Christians, men and women of faith, are we part-time Christians? Are we only Christ-followers on Sundays? Do we put away our faith for Saturday football?”

As Christians, it seems to me that what happens to those young athletes in the years after college should matter to us. Do they deserve to have a productive life after college? Do we pray that they come to know Jesus as their savior? Do we pray that they be able to have a positive impact in their world, (our world), after college?

Are their lives worth more than a national championship? Mark Richt seems to have his eyes focused on the things of God, not the things of man. Can the Bulldog Nation honestly say the same?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Boundless Borderless God

Posted on by Wendy
The God who created the universe is not bound by human understanding.
The God who created the universe, is not bound by human understanding.

I was recently having a conversation with a friend of mine about a book study she is doing at her church. It’s supposed to be about, “Experiencing God.” She was super excited about the class because she’s fairly new to the faith and she’s found that a lot of the, “studies” that she has participated in are fluff.

She was hoping to get down to some serious discussion about actually experiencing God, which involves way more than getting dressed up and attending church for a couple of hours on Sunday. She was quite disheartened to find that her new study began with a video that basically listed all of the ways that you can’t experience God.

Now I’m sure that the guy who wrote the book and created the video are way more educated than I am. Perhaps that’s the problem.

I’m really not sure how anyone can tell you how you can and can’t experience God. When I pointed out to her that God made a donkey talk, and showed up in a bush, and sent ravens to feed Elijah and that I felt like He could communicate with us in any way He sees fit, she said that the group’s answer to that was, that was in the Old Testament.

Um, hold the phone. If we believe that God never changes and that He’s all powerful, do we honestly believe that He is bound by any constructs that humanity can come up with? My friend said her group said, since we now have the Holy Spirit, that God no longer communicates in the same way as He did in the Old Testament.

But, didn’t the Holy Spirit come to help us and counsel us? He didn’t come to bind God in any way.

I told her that I felt like that one of the most dangerous pitfalls of modern day Christianity is that we have become like the Pharisees. We know all of the rules and can recite many of the verses, but we miss the majesty of God, the mystery of God.

We can’t explain it; so we don’t talk about it. There was a book that came out several years ago called, “Heaven is for Real.” Do we discount that boy’s story because we don’t understand it? What about all of those people with near death experiences who see a light? We can’t explain that either. Are all of those people making it up?

God is boundless and borderless. We couldn’t possibly fathom all that He is capable of with our small human minds. We can and should read the Bible to learn about His character and how He has acted in the past. We have to know that He would never instruct us to do something that is contrary to scripture. We also have to keep in mind that we have an enemy who would.

But, other than that, the Creator of the earth and sky, the One who calls the stars by name, the One who created me and you and numbers the hair on our heads, well His powers are limitless. I think we should always remember that.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Appreciating the Valleys

Posted on by Wendy
We get to see all of the beautiful details at the bottom and on the journey.
We get to see all of the beautiful details in the valleys and on the journey.

“Humility is the mother of giants. One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.” GK Chesterton

I read this quote for the first time the other day and I was so struck by its truth, that I wrote it down. Humility is not something that we value in our culture. We like the biggest, and the fastest, and the best. We worship the winners. We strive to be on top at all times.

We want to be first in the race, the boss, the president of the organization. Don’t get me wrong; those are all fine aspirations. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with attaining something that we’ve worked really hard to get.

The journey to get where we want to go, often begins at the bottom and is filled with humility. When we first start to run, we often finish close to last. It’s humbling. When we lose more games than we win, it’s humbling. When we first begin to apply for jobs and don’t get chosen, the rejection is humbling.

When we find ourselves in the valley, we often find ourselves drawing very close to God. When we have very little, every little gift means a lot. When we are humbled by our lack, or by our failures, or simply by the unknown future, we know in our hearts that we need God. Prayer sometimes becomes our constant companion.

Then prayers get answered and our situations change and we are so thankful and grateful for a time. We notice all of the scenery on our way to the top. No detail escapes us.

We’re gearing up for another election cycle soon. Think about how humble candidates are during a campaign. Think about how grateful they are. Think about how their attitudes seem to change after the election. The humility often evaporates.

I’ve witnessed the same phenomenon happen when someone gets a big job promotion as well. Humility gets lost. Pride steps in and when pride steps in, it gets bigger and bigger and the need or rather the acknowledged need, for God gets smaller and smaller.

Pride brought down a certain angel named Lucifer.

It seems when we reach the top of whatever it is we so desperately strive for, we tend to let everything else get small except for our achievement.

Of course we have a choice. We always have a choice. We can choose to keep God close no matter where we are in our journey. We can choose to be thankful in the valleys and the peaks. We can pray for humility once we reach the top. We can choose to know that we need God wherever we are, and that can make all of the difference.

But, if you find yourself in a valley today, take heart, the beauty is in all of the details of the journey and the perseverance comes from the One who always walks with you. You never travel alone.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Surviving the Switchbacks

Posted on by Wendy
Don't get discouraged. The view from the top is stunning.
Don’t get discouraged. The view from the top is stunning.

I love to hike and this is my favorite time of year for it. There air is cooler and the leaves are turning. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that some of the most beautiful views require a fair amount of effort to enjoy. Some of the most beautiful scenery God ever created is on the top of a mountain or looking over the top of a waterfall.

But, there’s a catch. To really appreciate all of the glory that nature has to offer, you have to start at the bottom and hike to the top. Sometimes the trail is a gentle walk with very few obstacles. Sometimes you can reach the top in no time.

Sometimes, however, the trail is covered with exposed roots and you have to watch your footing or you will fall. Then there are the trails with the dreaded switchbacks. There are some trails that are way too steep to go straight up, so someone along the way, created a more even system to reach the top. Unfortunately, they are quite tedious.

You walk awhile going in one direction then you get to the end and you are pointed back in the direction you just came from, but a little bit closer to the top than before. I have walked a series of switchbacks before where I felt like I had very close kinship with those hamsters in their little mazes. I wondered if I would ever each the top.

But, I had to keep walking. At some point, I realized I had come way too far to turn back. I was ever so sure that the summit was just around the corner and I resolved to keep going. I did stop for a water break at times. Sometimes you just have to rest and catch your breath.

But, when I reached the top, well, the sheer beauty made me feel closer to God. But, isn’t that always the case when we travel towards some kind of destination that seems out of our reach?

We begin with some kind of game plan or map and we get started. Sometimes we get to where we are going quickly. But, sometimes the road is long and the path is twisted. Sometimes we only take what feels like the tiniest of baby steps and we truly believe we are getting nowhere.

But, if we are following God, we may just be in a series of switchbacks, which means we are getting there, but at a slower, safer pace. Sometimes we need to take a break on our journey and take a little rest. We can pray for continued strength and guidance.

Wherever you are today in your journey, rest if you need to, but then, get up and keep going, even if you feel very weary or even discouraged, because in the end, if you are following Him, you will reach the top and the view is stunning.

 

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂