Salt and Light

 Her alarm rings. It is Tuesday morning.

She drags herself into the kitchen for a cup of “awake.”

She is tired. Last night she worried about some of her students. But she finds her way to that familiar spot of refuge with the steaming cup, Bible, and journal.

As she prays, she asks God to forgive her for the lack of enthusiasm and the failure to remember those words of Scripture beyond a brief minute. Is she just going through the motions? Why didn’t God send her to be a missionary to China—or at least let her teach a Sunday School class? She wonders, when will she actually be used by God for His Kingdom work?

The caffeinated time with God is over, and it is on.

So much to do.

On the way out the door she grabs an extra sandwich and that sweater she found for Angela. Angela is going through a rough time at home and came to school without a sweater or lunch twice last week.

When she gets to school, there is a substitute in the room next door, so she sticks her head in and helps her find what she needs to do her job today.

The bell rings.

Fifth graders fill the hallway—some loud, some sullen, some excited, some just going through the motions. She notices the attitude of each student as she greets them with a smile, even the ones who, for whatever reason, really wish they were in the more popular teacher’s class today. She realizes that thought was from the enemy and shakes it off.

Some of today’s lessons go well, and some fall short. She makes a mental note of each student’s understanding and how to improve it tomorrow. New ideas and tried-and-true techniques mingle in her mind while she notices student interactions and heads off issues before they surface.

She dries tears, fixes wardrobe malfunctions, redirects the mean-girl group before they can go on the attack, and attends ARD meetings for her students with special needs. She also finds a moment to discreetly give Angela the sweater and sandwich.

Then she remembers—Tuesday means lunch duty. Sigh.

She helps open Capri Sun boxes, locates a missing lunch ticket, and strikes up a conversation with Sam, the lonely new boy. She quietly nudges one of her kindest students to include him.

The bell rings, and the afternoon continues.

It rings again. The class day is done. Next is bus duty. She smiles and waves at impatient parents in the long line of cars, stopping to tell Jesse’s mom what a great friend he was to the new boy today.

Finally, the workday is over. Blessed peace. She checks on the substitute again and thanks her for helping a coworker on baby leave.

Time to gather her things, stop at the store, and head home. She remembers she needs to cook extra tonight so she can send a meal to her sick mother-in-law. And she needs to check the spare bedroom—family is passing through tomorrow and will need a place to stay.

Dinner is finished. Dishes are done. She grades a few papers in front of the TV, puts them in her bag for tomorrow, and falls into bed for a well-deserved night’s sleep.

⸻

The alarm rings. It is Wednesday morning.

She drags herself into the kitchen for a cup of “awake.”

She is tired. But she finds her way to that familiar spot of refuge with the steaming cup, Bible, and journal.

As she prays, she asks God to forgive her for the lack of enthusiasm and the failure to remember His Word beyond a brief minute. She talks to God about Angela and Sam. She asks again why He didn’t send her to be a missionary—or at least let her teach in a Christian school where she could share Bible stories and quote Scripture.

She wonders, When will I actually be used by God for His Kingdom work?

And somewhere between the prayer for Angela…

and the concern for Sam…

and the quiet obedience of showing up again…

the answer has already been given.

She is.

⸻

“You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.”

—Matthew 5:13–14

Bless My Husband's Heart

I worked on a new blog all day. Then I realized my thoughts were not cohesive and I needed more understanding before I published it. So it will not be published. Following is an explanation of my strange writing process and how I decide whether a blog is ok to publish or if it needs work.

I have been told I can be a condescending know-it-all and if I was a man, I would be called a mansplainer. My reason for explaining so much is really simple so let me ‘womansplain’ it to you and maybe someone out there can relate.

Teaching is the way I learn. And I love to learn! Yep. I have been doing this since I was a little tyke sitting in my bedroom explaining lessons to my imaginary friends. By voicing the steps of a new procedure or thought I quickly find the holes in my understanding then go back and search for the missing pieces. Sometimes my theory is hopeless and sometimes I learn something new. Occasionally, it leads me to a new area of interest.

When I read a book that has interesting new ideas that I have never heard before, I have to either voice them to my poor husband, teach them to myself or blog about it to see if I really understand it. By the time I finish, I have internalized the information and understand what I don’t understand. This is what it takes to get stuff through my thick head.

When I was in college I was taught that there were different types of learners. Unfortunately my type was never discussed. I wish I was like those of you who can simply learn by tinkering, reading or listening. And if you think what I’m saying is crazy-talk, you are probably one of those fortunate souls. Please be tolerant of my nonsense. I am learning.

And bless my husband’s heart.

Christian Educators, Pray!

 If the Rapture were to be tonight, I believe tomorrow there would be scarcely a handful of teachers left in public schools. Yet, daily we are labeled as subversive and hear accusations of indoctrination and worse. They say we are teaching our students heinous things when in reality, we protect them, love them and make every effort to teach them to read, write, think and cope in this world. Public educators are being discredited, and slowly, slyly, gradually de-funded. And the worst is probably the looks of distrust we get when we admit our profession.

As a group we are the majority. We are also kind, trusting and compassionate and easily pushed around. This has left us vulnerable to political attacks and use as political pawns. As educators we can’t wrap our heads around why people would knowingly do this. That is because we are not running the same race as them and certainly are not motivated by the same things. If we were, we wouldn’t be educators.

So what can we do? Two things will help, the third is the real answer.

First, we must educate ourselves as to how the enemy works and who the enemy is and what is his motivation. Ignorance of the enemy is not acceptable. Read and enroll in online educator political discussions. This is non-negotiable.

Second, we must vote and vote only for those we know and trust. No straight ticket votes and no assumptions due to a D or an R or any rhetoric or promises. Vote based on actions, not words. And if you don’t know about a candidate, do not guess and vote. Just skip voting for that particular office. The ballot is not a STAAR test. You can leave some blanks.

Third, and this is the most important thing: pray. Pray daily and pray big and pray again. Pray for every child and every parent. Pray for our state leadership. Even if it is only five minutes, make time in the morning to bring it all to the Father. He is why we do what we do. He is all-powerful and you are His child who serves His precious children.

The Greatest "Aha Moment" of All Time

 I love aha moments when I get to discover a new connection or all the pieces of the puzzle fall together. The feeling I get leaves me with joy that wants to bust out like Julie Andrews singing, "The hills are alive", on top of a mountain in Austria. I usually make everyone around me listen to my connection hoping they will get as excited as I am. I am annoying that way.

Yesterday I got that little thrill of making a new connection. I was in the Texas State Capitol building with my husband. He was there to visit with a state representative about school safety. He gave his business card to the representative’s aide. The aide commented that his school had the same mascot as ours and we quickly connected the dots and realized this aide was from my hometown in New Mexico. It put me in a happy place for the entire evening and I wanted to share it with anyone who would listen.

Another example of an aha moment has happened when I finally understood a difficult concept that I had been struggling with for a while. Or another was that wonderful moment when, as a teacher, I saw the lightbulb come on in a student and the student quickly began explaining to other students what they figured out.

Jesus disciples were clearly C+ students. They were witnesses to unspeakable greatness but just couldn’t put it all together. That is, not until the last moments in the presence of Jesus on this earth. After Jesus had risen from death, when he was beside the lake where he cooked, ate and talked with his disciples came the greatest aha moment in history. It can be found in Luke 24:44-48.

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms .” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

I can just hear the disciples’ collective, “Ooooh”! All the pieces finally fit together perfectly in their minds. And they had a front row seat the whole time. We can guess what their reaction was since we know what began there spread and continues more than 2000 years later. Thankfully, gratefully, we know they finally understood and became A+ students.