A Little Soul Searching

I rarely bare my soul via this blog, but the Lord has really convicted me today, and I feel the need to share with my readers (all 2 of you).

I grew up in the church. My family has always been involved in some sort of ministry at every church we've gone to. I've never gone through a super rebellious phase in my life. I was on leadership teams throughout college at my Christian university. I know all the Sunday school answers. I read my Bible and pray regularly. I am a good Christian girl.

But here's the thing... All of those sentences begin with the word "I" (except for the one that starts with "my," but you get the idea). I know what's expected of me, so I do it. And I believe that Jesus died for my sins and that I will spend eternity with Him, but do my actions and thoughts convey this belief? Do I really live my life in a way that says "I am forgiven for everything I've done wrong... EVER?" Does my heart actually understand what that means? My mind gets it. I sin. Jesus died. I get to go to heaven because I've accepted His forgiveness. But have I let this knowledge saturate my heart? If so, my every thought and decision should be based on what would bring God glory, right? What does that even mean?

I'd hate to admit how little I actually know about my Savior. There's a song by Addison Roads that gives me goosebumps because it so accurately states my relationship with the Lord. It says "If You touched my face would I know You? Looked into my eyes could I behold You?"

I think it's time to make my relationship with Jesus about Him. He is Holy. He is Gracious. He is Good. And I can't even begin comprehending what this actually means.

Job 26 sums it up pretty well:
5 “The departed spirits tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants. 6 “Naked is Sheol before Him, And Abaddon has no covering. 7 “He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing. 8 “He wraps up the waters in His clouds, And the cloud does not burst under them. 9 “He obscures the face of the full moon And spreads His cloud over it. 10 “He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness. 11 “The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke. 12 “He quieted the sea with His power, And by His understanding He shattered Rahab. 13 “By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent. 14 “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

I often share something without knowing if I'm making sense. If not, I apologize. I hope this time I did make sense.

My Hero

I cannot help myself. This song makes me want to dance around the room like a pentecostal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-vtflKzeNU

My fourth graders love it, as well.

Oh, How I Love Jesus

Last year, by some twist of fate, I found myself teaching first grade. Trust me when I tell you that no one saw this coming. However, it was one of the most fun adventures I've ever had.

One day, one of my little girls comes into the classroom wearing a cross necklace. Not just any cross necklace, though. This one glows in the dark!

Side note: Last year, when my class was getting too loud and I needed to regain control of my students, I'd turn off the lights- they would have to freeze and listen for instructions.

This particular day, I had to turn the lights off two or three times. Each time, however, this necklace would start glowing. Have you ever seen a group of seven year old children when they learn that something in the room glows in the dark? "Look at your necklace!" "Oh, it's so beautiful!" Turning off the lights ended up being a bigger issue than whatever caused me to turn them off in the first place.

At the end of the day, she walked up to me tenderly holding her necklace with a thoughtful look on her face. We had the following conversation:

"Miss C, know what I love most about Jesus?"
"What's that, honey?"
"He has the best toys!"

Then she walks away.

And I thought Toys-R-Us had the best toys... Boy, was I wrong!

Kids Pray the Darndest Things

Every morning my class prays together. Everyone enjoys this time of day because they get to share their prayer requests and the whole class has to pay complete attention to whomever is sharing the burdens on his or her heart. Some days we pray for things like the big Redskins game that is coming up, or for a pet dog who has, once again, eaten all of the chocolate in the house. Other days we pray for our troops in Afghanistan and family members who are suffering from serious health issues.

The other day, as we were preparing to bow our heads in prayer, one little boy raises his hand and states that he has a very serious prayer request that he has to share with the class. Generally, coming from this child, this means, "There's a wrestling match on tonight. I pray that my dad let's me stay up to watch it." Not this day. This day, he has a real burden: "Today I'd like to pray for my uncle. He has prostitute cancer." How can you help but love a child who has such concern for his uncle with prostitute cancer?