A Pursuit of Christ Alone

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As a teenager and young college student, my life was very much consumed with people giving me advice about relationships. I didn’t want to be focused on finding a Christian guy to ‘pursue me’, but I was sent a message that I should be. The more women told me, “God will bring you a man if that’s your desire” the harder it was to set my mind on things above, not on earthly things.

Waiting on a man gives our faith a very “me-centered” focus. All of a sudden it’s about God providing ME with a relationship…God providing ME with a happily ever after. And while He is fully capable of providing both of these things, it is not the picture of submission to Him we see in Scripture, nor is it the goal of our faith. The pressures of an ideal relationship and potential marriage cause girls to make lists of qualities they want in a guy (I’ve been guilty of this). Because apparently the God who created us, who is “intimately acquainted with all we do” (Psalm 139:3), needs us to give Him a little reminder sometimes of what we’re attracted to. And as if that isn’t bad enough, girls pray over their lists,…instead of spending time praying for those who don’t know their Savior. I could be mis-interpreting Christian books I’ve read, but I’m pretty sure one of them encouraged me to do this.  When did Christianity become about ME?

Our purpose is all about HIM. Allow Him to use you in whatever way you can be the most fruitful in your fleeting time here on earth. Trust me (no, trust Him), He knows the desires of your heart. But our utmost desire should be to serve Him, not for Him to serve us. We were created to glorify God, make much of His name, and enjoy a personal relationship with Him. Our calling given in Scripture is to GO and make disciples. Over and over we’re told to share the love that we’ve received with those who don’t know of the hope we profess. We’re also told that God will equip us with all we need to accomplish His purpose here on earth. Yet a message is being sent to young women and youth saying, “don’t WORRY girls…God will show you who your husband is going to be. Wait on God for him.” And yes, of course we are called to wait on the Lord, but specifically waiting for a GUY is different. If we trust in the Lord and have full assurance in His ability to provide, then we should GO and make disciples, knowing that if we will be the most fruitful in a relationship leading to marriage then He will make that clear. And if we are to be single our whole lives because we can accomplish His purpose more effectively that way, then that is what we are to do.

Waiting on the Lord does not mean waiting for Him to provide us with OUR desires. It means being faithful to our calling in Scripture and allowing Him to provide the rest. Christian girls need to hear a new message. Our God is so much bigger than the little genie we like to make Him sometimes. We like to think of Him as someone we can go to when we need a favor or need assurance that someday __ will happen. This is so far from our purpose.

Be obedient to His purpose for your life, and He will equip you with all you need in doing so. He wants us to lead fulfilled lives. He wants what’s best for us…and that’s HIM.  The most loving thing He will do is move us to a place where we cherish Him more than anything else. So why are we still chasing worldly things? Sometimes our desires reflect a worship of the created over the creator. We cannot seek our highest satisfaction in anything of this world. It’s destructive to the human soul to take a created thing and make it an ultimate thing. I think a better line than “do you trust God with the pen of your love story?” would be “do you trust God with the pen of your life? Will you be completely fulfilled in your love relationship with HIM and allow Him to decide what comes next?”

Matthew 6:31-33 “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Lord I pray that you would be our utmost desire. More of You, a walk with You daily, a higher satisfaction in You... 

We don't delight ourselves in the Lord in order to get something else, just like we don't seek first the kingdom to then gain something in return. We have an eternal hope and joy, so why settle for a temporary one?

As a wife I’m held to the same call I was before: glorify God and make much of His name. I have been given a partner in this journey, but my aim and ultimate goal remains the same. I realize my ultimate satisfaction can be found in Christ alone. As a wife, I finally see the importance of girls pursuing Christ in their singleness, so that they can be intimately acquainted with Him in their marriages as well. Marriage is the most amazing thing I’ve ever known because I get to see my husband how he is behind closed doors when no one is watching. I see him cry over lost people, find him buried in our closet praying, and hear him asking God everyday to make him into a more Godly man. I see his PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus and I want it. I want to know God more because of how Austin knows Him. We must know how to individually pursue Jesus now, so that we’re still pursuing Him in our future.

SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Healthy Eating

Healthy breakfast, lunch, & dinner 

No dairy or added sugars.

Meals you come up with during snowed in days with a full fridge!

My favorite slow-cooker chicken recipe:
http://www.food.com/recipe/salsa-chicken-slow-cooker-recipe-396495

Tortilla recipe:
http://family.go.com/food/recipe-896759-homemade-corn-tortillas-t/

AND a healthIER way to do spinach-artichoke dip!

Pinterest (n): Reflection of Pursuit

I realize that when most girls (and some guys) see this title they’re going to think, “you better not bash pinterest!” Trust me, I love Pinterest like the next girl, but lately I’ve felt some convictions surrounding it. At church on Sunday Austin preached on 1 John 2:15-17.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

What does John mean by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life? These are things we desire, things we see and want, things we invest in, things we spend time on, etc. Your heart is either going to be given to God or given to the world—you can’t pursue both at the same time. I realized that the easiest way for me to figure out whether I was desiring the things of God or just things was by looking at my pinterest account.

Pinterest is made up of virtual bulletin boards where you can ‘pin’ things you find on the internet that you want to save. Titles for boards include “clothes I want” “dream vacation” “hair/makeup” “foooood” “dream wedding” and thousands more. There are so many things in this world that we want and “need.” We want to dress well, be beautiful, get a six pack, go on vacations to Bora Bora, find our dream man, and have the most amazing wedding (with the most amazing pictures) anyone has ever seen, have cute babies, take creative pictures that go viral,…and the list goes on and on. Where does it all lead? What happens when we gain it all? We want more. We’re never satified.

Luckily someone has gone before us that not only desired these things, but gained them. Solomon’s story is in 1 Kings and Ecclesiastes. He had everything—he was the wealthiest man to ever live. Solomon had everything he ever wanted and at the end of his life he says, “ALL IS VANITY.”

“So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:9-11).

What am I pursuing? Am I pursuing things of the world, or the things of God? Am I attempting to build my kingdom here or in Heaven?

God is interested in people. Am I showing a love for people and desire to reach them and bring them into the kingdom of God?

It’s easy to keep these idols in my life just because they are the culture right now, but I’m realizing that we’re held to a different standard as Christ followers because we are not from here! John says in the book of John “do not love the world.” In what areas of my life do I need to refocus or realign my priorities? What do I desire? What am I pursuing? I want a heart aligned with Jesus' heart. A mind that sees that this life is temporary and I can't take these things with me. Ears that desire to hear "well done my good and faithful servant."

Opening classroom doors and re-evaluating “class lists”

Education is changing. Demands on students and teachers alike are becoming more and more rigorous. Higher accountability means more in-depth lessons, using strategies and structures, and teachers providing students with everything they need to be successful. Classrooms have changed from “close the door and teach your lesson” to collaborative teams of teachers that all teach the same lesson on the same day—without the use of textbooks. What our team has decided to do is take this a step further.

How can we meet the needs of every individual student while still providing whole-class instruction? Is it possible for each teacher to teach what THEY specialize in? How can we decrease stress on teachers while increasing effectiveness in the classroom?

Teaming and deployment

This year I am on a team of 3 teachers: John, Tracy, and myself. We decided we wanted to step out of the box. We are teaching remedial math and each specialize in a grade level—mine is 7^th grade. Here’s how our team works:

Students are not assigned to a specific teacher or classroom. As a matter of fact, their schedules just say “math lab.” We have the use of 3 classrooms next to each other, and instead of having a teacher’s name on the door, they are named: Mission Control (computer lab), Minecraft (individual desks), and Think Tank (cooperative learning tables). We deploy students according to collected data from their math class, test scores, participation, behavior, gender, grade level, etc.

Benefit to students

No student falls through the cracks. If a student struggles on a test or pre-quiz, they may be put in one of the classrooms with just 5 other students to work with one of us for a week or more until they feel comfortable with the subject. While I might have 6 students, the other students that have math that class period are broken into two groups to go with John or Tracy. Those classrooms would either have centers, a large group game, or a computer inquiry assignment.

Students’ interests are used in our decision making. For example, the interest survey they filled out at the beginning of the year through google forms is now used to divide them into 3 classes: one studying math in video games, one studying math in cooking, and one studying math in music for a 2 week long study (hypothetic). This increases engagement, as students study what they care about.

Benefit to teachers

As teachers we also have the benefit of designing one lesson and having all 3 groups of students rotate into our class to do our lesson. The students look at the door each day to see what room they’re in. This week the 7^th graders were in my class Monday, 8^th graders Tuesday, and 6^th graders Wednesday. I taught a lesson on the rules and procedures for math lab. Tracy taught a lesson with centers, and John had them set up their Ed Modo accounts in the computer lab. By the time I got to day 3 of teaching my lesson, it had gotten 3 times as good! I only had one “First period trial class” rather than every teacher teaching the lesson the same day and having three “1^st period trial classes” each day. I only had to plan ONE lesson for 3 days, while other teachers in the building are stressing planning lessons every night. Pictured is an example of how we can use this with content.

 

This Math Lab teaming has been the best experience of my (short but sweet) teaching career thus far. I see the way the students benefit from changing groupings and teachers. Students come by my classroom ASKING if they can be in Math Lab (remember,….it’s a SECOND math class…and it’s REMEDIAL!) No more “my student has a bad math teacher this year. They’ll just have to deal with it until next year.” Also, there is the potential to have no more instances of one math class scoring exceptionally on their state exams while the one next door does mediocre at best. No more Mrs. Smith having 35 students 2^nd period while Mrs. Johnson only has 11.

We finally have a method of recognizing the needs of EVERY student without having to close your door, “do the best you can,” and make 10 versions of your lesson to accommodate the needs of every student. This is a breakthrough in education.

This teaming can be done in Core classes as well. If all 6^th grade ELA (English) classes meet the same class periods, teachers can move students around in 3 day rotations, and each design their own book study or project. Even better, teachers can come up with a week-long project or lesson and then students rotate to a new teacher each week. Teachers benefit from the ability to design an AMAZING lesson and perfect it over 3 weeks. Students benefit by experiencing different teacher’s styles and classrooms.

Teaching is the best profession in the world because we teach every (future) profession! I can’t wait to see how the students do in Math Lab as this year progresses. I am so blessed to work on a staff that isn’t afraid to try new things and do what’s best for the STUDENTS. When we were first developing this class others were hesitant…I’m ready to prove all of our conventional classroom minds wrong.