Choosing Christ

The sermon this morning at church was from the passage in Philippians where Paul says that he counts all his worldly accomplishments as losses, that he might gain Christ (Phil. 3:7,8). I was sitting in the pew reflecting on all the things I've been striving for this week, and wondering how many of them were important in eternity.

It's easy to chase the rainbow and let that be the first priority in my life. It's harder to be humble and seek the good of others and the glory of God.

I think the Devil puts in in my head that certain achievements are high priority. He makes me feel that if I don't get these things, then I am missing out. I feel I need to put all my time and energy into these projects.

Now, don't get me wrong. What I strive for is not always bad on its own. It is good, for example, to be a good employee. It is wrong, however, to let being a good employee keep me from following Jesus wholly.

Here I have two alternatives. Satan wants to tie me down, to keep me running like a hamster on a wheel. Jesus wants to set me free; for in doing His will, I find ultimate freedom from the pressures of life and carnal desires.

I pray that day-by-day I will have the wisdom to toss aside all other endeavors, and choose Christ.

My Banned Books List

I admit, I was more than a bit angry and annoyed today by something that was partially my fault.

What happened was that I bought a book from the bookstore just because it looked interesting. It was in the fantasy genre, which I totally love. And there was a picture of a sword on the cover. How could I resist? I skimmed through the pages, and didn't see anything objectionable. When I checked the back and saw it cost less than $10, I decided to buy it.

Last night, even though I should have been grading homework, I started reading this book. It was everything I could ask for in a fantasy novel. Colorful characters, intriguing plotline, a dash of romance-- this book had it all. 1 AM found me still reading.

Skip forward to today, after lunch. I pulled the book back out, got a few more chapters in, then had to stop. The male lead character was seducing the female lead character. She had told him she never intended to marry, and he replied that he would take her any way he could get her. Then they have sex.

Yikes! This is not the kind of book I want to read OR want my younger sisters to pick up and read. Thus I immediately trashed it.

Then I started to have a mental debate. Not about this particular book, because it had no redeeming qualities, but about other books. I have been OK with reading other books where characters have had sexual relationships. I was trying to decide what exactly it is about a book that makes the difference.

Here's what I've come up with so far:

• What is the author saying about the relationship? Does he approve of fornication, or is he speaking against it. (Example: in Anna Karenina, Anna commits adultery, but the author is contrasting Anna's sad, selfish life with the life of another young woman who is true to her husband.)
• How graphic are the actual words? There is a big difference between suggesting a sexual relationship and describing a sexual relationship. (By the way, one of my problems with Twilight was that it went overboard in describing sexual feelings and desires, even though the characters never actually have sex.)

Many people I know will probably think I am too strict. I am OK with that. I have my own conscience to live with. It doesn't matter to me if another person thinks I am self-righteous because I don't feel that I am. And honestly, some things can be OK for some people, but not for others.

What do you think? What standards do you use for judging books? Have you ever had to stop a book in the middle because it didn't meet your standards?

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. Psalm 101:3

Going Into the Third Week of School

The good news is, my school reverted back to the old lesson plans (that were quicker to complete). The bad news is that I still didn't get everything finished last night like I wanted to. It only took me an hour and a half to finish up tonight, though. (If I had remembered to bring home all the papers I need to grade, it would have taken significantly longer.)

The beginning of the school year has been suprisingly easy so far. I have had some problems with some classes, but nothing like last year. The kids have been fairly compliant and I have only sent three students to the office for discipline. I hope it stays this way for the rest of the year.

The best part of being a second-year teacher is that I have already taught my subject once. I just have to review a bit, revamp the lesson by throwing away what didn't work last year and adding some new touches, and voila! I am ready for class.

It's past my bedtime. 5:30 comes early. Goodnight all!

Sorry, I'm Too Busy For You

There are many topics I could possibly post about. However, I am a bit behind on getting my lesson plans together for tomorrow. (Saturday night just wasn't long enough!) Our new lesson plans are much more detailed than our old ones were; guess I will have to budget extra time for that. I'm hoping this will save me time during the week, since I will only have to get materials together and grade papers. But in any case, I don't have time to put a blog post together. Maybe tomorrow?

Back to School

School starts on Wednesday. I'm planning to spend tomorrow and Tuesday getting my room straightened up and getting things together for the first days.

Our Open House was last Thursday. I was encouraged at the number of kids and parents who came out to the school. I bet I had 15-20 students who came by. Everyone seemed upbeat and ready for school to start.

Of course, I have one year of teaching behind me. In light of that year, I have compiled a list of

Things I Want to do Differently This Year:

1. I want to start the year off more organized. Last year, I tried to be organized, but because half the time I had no idea what I was doing, I often made up assignments on the fly. Then I didn't emphasize enough the projects that I really wanted to be done well (like their binders). This year, I am probably going to spend half a class period just discussing the binders (what needs to go in them and exactly how they need to be organized).
2. I want to be more encouraging. I started off cheerful and optimistic last year, but as the year went by, and I got bogged down in teacher stuff, I became, well, a grouch. It took me half the summer to recognize and get over that. I am going to watch my attitude, pray a lot, and do my best to keep smiling this year.
3. I want to be more helpful to low-performing students. I had several kids who failed last year, and while some of them did very little or no work, and thus probably couldn't be helped, there were some who I could have worked with more. I am going to try to identify the failing kids early on in the semester and get them the help that they need to pass my class.
4. I want to share Jesus with my students. Yes, I know that the classroom is not a place to "preach," but I have many many opportunities to share my faith and my moral values with my students on a daily basis. I want to be open to those opportunities. I want them to know that I am who I am because Jesus is who He is. I want them to know that they can have God's peace and joy in their lives too. (Another reason why I need to work on #3.)

This is just a short list. There are dozens of other aspects of my job that I am going to work on this year. I think I'm ready!

Shouldering A Burden

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1, 2

Lately it seems like I've been bearing a lot of burdens for other people. Some things have been going on with friends and family that have just been heavy for me.

Part of the problem goes back to my idea that I can take care of things, that anything can be solved, given enough thought. When someone shares their burden with me, I start trying to solve it for them. This usually results in an earache for them, and a headache for me.

My premise is not true, though. I sometimes can give good advice, but usually, I can't help at all. I am not able to DO anything, except listen and pray.

This really bothers me, though, because now I am carrying around the pain and heartache as well as the person who shared it with me. It hurts, it really, really hurts.

The Bible says doing this is fulfilling the law of Christ. I suppose it means when Jesus said, "Love thy neighbor as thyself." Maybe it is a form of love to listen and to care about the burdens of others. Maybe I don't have to have an answer. Maybe I can just be kind, listen, and love them.

What do you think?

Empowered... But Somehow Emptier

Urgh! I am sick of watching shows and reading books about women becoming empowered. I need to figure out why this bothers me so much. Read on for a little (poorly done) psychoanalysis.

I started thinking about this while I and my siblings sang songs from The Little Mermaid last week. The hidden message in The Little Mermaid is obviously female empowerment. (I would say the empowerment of women, but I don't think a mermaid is a woman.) Think about these lines: "Betcha on land, they understand, and they don't reprimand their daughters/Bright young women/Sick of swimmin'/Ready to stand." It was Ariel's choice to become human, and she did it, despite her father's command to stay in the sea.

Then, while I was sitting here trying to think of a good topic for this post, I started watching a movie on Hallmark. In this movie, Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith, the lead character is a woman in mid-life, going back to college. Mrs. Washington asks her roommate, a 20-year old character, for advice about dating. "Don't be passive," Zoe tells her, "Don't wait for him to call, call him. Be persistent." Which, of course, Mrs. Washington goes out and does, which lands her a man and allows her to dump her philandering husband.

Why does this rub me the wrong way? I guess because the more empowered women get, the more passive men seem to be. It is backwards from what really works. Do men like it when women pursue them? Do women like pursuing men? Is it a good idea for young ladies to ignore the advice of their fathers? Would the world be better off if women were more like men, and men were more like women?

I don't think so.

I appreciate men who treat me like a lady, not like another dude. When they open the door for me, it makes me happy. When they ask if they can carry my stuff, I almost always say yes.

I somehow think that the reverse is true as well. I bet men appreciate ladies who act like ladies, not like men. I bet they would like it if we allowed them to make decisions for themselves. I bet they would like it if we asked them for advice, then heeded it.

If you think my ideas are totally sexist, ask yourself why. Ask yourself if your way of thinking holds up in reality. Ask yourself if you have been brainwashed into this whole female empowerment bit.

And lighten up. At least you're not a mermaid who sold your voice to an octopus witch.