When I said first class, I meant it. The women I am teaching with this month are all sorts of classy. We have applied corporate creative genius to multiple different lesson topics during our short tenure with Nueva Generacion as each school is at a different point in the 15-lesson curriculum.
Our “Honor your Mother” lesson went over quite well, though, no student could tell me where the tradition began or if his or her mother genuinely appreciated her pre-dawn wake up call.
The teaching on Principals and Values included props, games and actual affirmation of comprehension on the part of the students. I just tickled me watching the light bulbs turn on one by one around the room.
But it is our lesson on thought that has me — wait for it — thinking.
The lesson opens with a drama about the battlefield of the mind. Good thoughts. Bad thoughts. Lies. Doubts. Truths. Certainties.
Then enters, Choice.
What will you listen to?
Will you always listen to that which is loudest because it is convenient, placed right in front of you refusing to be ignored?
Or follow when given the most detail because it seems clear?
Dare you strain to listen past the noise to the whisper just above the silence?
Or take action where there is little information because something, something tells you it is best?
Encouraging the students to be aware of their thoughts and to take responsibility for the actions that result required me to be critical of my own success or failure in this area…
What is loud in my life right now? What is demanding my attention but may not merit all the pomp?
Re-entry. Next steps. Future.
“I, THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, am with you and for you. What more could you need? I offer abundant Life; your part is to trust Me, refusing to worry about anything. It is not so much adverse events that make you anxious as it is your thoughts about those events. Your mind engages in efforts to take control of a situation, to bring about the result you desire. Your thoughts close in on the problem like ravenous wolves. Determined to make things go your way, you forget that I am in charge of your life. The only remedy is to switch your focus from the problem to My Presence. Stop all your striving, and watch to see what I will do. I am the Lord!”
~ Jesus Calling by Sarah Young
What thoughts are fleeting, quiet and complex but so worthy of my time and attention?
This view, that smile, His song over me.
I can hear Him, what He is telling the whole world and even me here: this is for you. The lover’s smile in the morning, the child’s laughter down the slide, the elder’s eyes at eventide: this is for you. And the earth under your feet, the rain over your face upturned, the stars spinning all round you in the brazen glory: this is for you, you, you. These are for you – gifts – these are for you – grace – these are for you – God, so count the ways He loves, a thousand, more, never stop, that when you wake in the morning you can’t help turn humbly to the east, unfold your hand to the heavens, and though you tremble and though you wonder, though the world is ugly, it is beautiful, and you can slow and you can trust and you can receive each moment as grace.
~One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp
What lie am I walking in as truth and what truth is being called into question by my ever present “accuser”?
Recent critique: “You lack spiritual depth.”
My knee jerk response: “I will work harder”
The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.
~ Exodus 14:14
“And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
~ 2 John 5, 6
I thought, as I meander along in this life quest of knowing better He who created me and what He created me for, I would share some of my ponderings. That I would offer a glimpse into the mess of my mind in hopes that some of spilt spaghetti encourages you and brings glory to Him.
– DON’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF. I can bring good even out of your mistakes. Your finite mind tends to look backward, longing to undo decisions you have come to regret. This is a waste of time and energy, leading only to frustration. Instead of floundering in the past, release your mistakes to Me. Look to Me in trust, anticipating that My infinite creativity can weave both good choices and bad into a lovely design. Because you are human, you will continue to make mistakes. Thinking that you should live an error-free life is symptomatic of pride. Your failures can be a source of blessing, humbling you and giving you empathy for other people in their weaknesses. Best of all, failure highlights your dependence on Me. I am able to bring beauty out of the morass of your mistakes. Trust Me, and watch to see what I will do.
~ Jesus Calling by Sarah Young
