Monday, August 17, 2009

School Days: A Diary of the Impossible

Four days into the school year and, things were different. After three days of relative quiet, some students decided that they needed to make their presence known. There were several almost-fights, some between male/female, and some between the very large student and the very tiny student. It was something that you would normally expect much later in the year.

We had an assembly of the 7th graders at the end of the day; it was already planned, though the events of the day probably made it more urgent. During that assembly, the principal said something that was very profound. She said, "He who defines is the master. He who is defined is the slave." I thought, "Wow!" I had never heard it put like that, but that is powerful.

We are always defining, trying to be the master, trying to be in control. "He's weird, she's dumb. He's a Christian, she's not. He's too big. She needs to gain weight." Perhaps we would do well to remember....

...we are not the Master, we have no business trying to define. We should only speak what is, what has already been defined.

...when we speak in defining terms, we should speak what the Father says about the situation, not what we think. We might not like the person, thing, idea, or situation, but it cannot come to us unless it has come to Him first.


And finally, if we can ever learn how the Definer sees us, nothing will be able to stop us from fulfilling our destiny.

More to come....

Thursday, August 13, 2009

School's In: A Diary of the Impossible.

Okay, so I am back at school and so are the kids--just finished the second day. Everything about the school has changed, from the structure of the classes to what students we accept. So far, the classes have been okay, though I am already identifying problems. Hopefully, this year is shaping up to be a much better year than last.

I called this a Diary of the Impossible because some of these students are thought of as "impossible students," the throw-aways in the district. My pastor preached a sermon last night talking about how the Lord calls us to do the impossible, so that He alone can get the glory. This is one of those situations. I must pray for these students, that the Lord will open minds and hearts, and that the fear of the Lord would be the beginning of knowledge.

More to come from the 2009-2010 school year.