No Fish to Fry

At least once a day, I have to sit myself down and give myself a good talking to.

The other evening, I had an interpersonal conflict. (If I'm truly honest, I'll admit it was also an INTRApersonal conflict mostly created inside my own mind.) I was talking myself down as I usually do: Angela, this is a minor thing. It's nothing worth discussing or addressing, because it's not creating any real problem. Everything between you and this person is fine. I exhaled. Relax, and go to sleep now, there's nothing to worry about. I breathed deeply and snuggled into the pillow. This is not worth your mental energy. After all, you've got more important things to worry about than this.

[Insert sound of record screeching to a halt.]

"Bigger things to worry about than this?" Where did THAT come from? Is this like the old adage You've got bigger fish to fry? It must have come from my past, my pre-Christ mindset. I used to tell myself not to sweat the small stuff because I had bigger problems to resolve.

And that's when I had my epiphany.

I actually have NO BIGGER PROBLEMS TO SOLVE.

In fact, I have no problems AT ALL to solve. Sure, I don't have a place to live in New York, or renters for my place in Fort Lauderdale, and there are uncertainties about my work and health insurance and a whole host of issues that haven't been settled yet. But I can just go to sleep peacefully. God is at work, He's in control. He knows the outcome, and He'll show me any steps I need to take. In the meantime,

I will both lie down in peace and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

I've known Psalm 4:8 for years. But that night I realized that I KNOW it on the inside now. It was a such a gradual process that I missed the magnitude of what was happening: I have experienced the peace that passes understanding. The peace offered by Jesus Christ is true for me in my life. Maybe not every minute of every day yet, but it's a good start.

I wasn't going to do a Halloween post, but...

...there's something I heard on TV last night that I want to share. Many of you won't even read this until after Halloween; perhaps this post isn't for you. But the Lord wants someone out there to understand and pray against what's happening this weekend.

Celebrating Halloween with children (especially in a Christian home) usually focuses on costumes and trick or treating. Lots of churches and families have Halloween alternatives (such as harvest celebrations) that allow kids to dress up and play games in a safe environment. At our school yesterday, we commemorated Halloween with a 'wholesome costume' parade, fun pumpkin activities, and lots of candy. Looking at that, many Christians would say, what's the big deal? Halloween is about candy and costumes for the kids.

For you and your family, this may be true. It's not for me to determine whether Christians should or shouldn't let their kids go trick-or-treating, because every family creates their own parameters. I'm simply cautioning you to be aware: for some parties and celebrations (and Halloween has become a HUGE occasion for adults to go crazy), there is serious danger.

As believers, we know that spiritual warfare is REAL, and there is a literal yet unseen battle between good and evil raging on this planet every minute of every day. We need to always be mindful and prayerful of that. But on certain occasions, that battle is raged more fiercely. During the Christmas season, most people (even non-Christians) sense a peace that descends over our country, and the Lord reigns through an apparent presence as people more readily practice kindness and goodwill. On Halloween, the opposite is true. Darkness, death, and fear are celebrated, and an uneasy or spooky presence surrounds us. The spiritual battle is taken to new heights, but this time, the enemy's side has the advantage.

I was watching the NBC show "30 Rock" (a fairly entertaining sitcom which comes on immediately after my favorite show "The Office"), and one of the characters explained the Halloween atmosphere from a worldly perspective in a really clear way. He was trying to rile up disinterested friends and convey why Halloween is so awesome:

"Halloween is a time when girls dress in slutty costumes and drink too much! It's a time when down is up! Up is down! Good is evil, and evil is GOOD! We CAN'T give up on Halloween!"

That's an unwittingly powerful statement, and a perfect explanation of Halloween's appeal to adults. The lines are blurred between right and and wrong, fantasy and reality, truth and deception. If you're used to celebrating with your kids at home, you may not be aware of the chaotic atmosphere that is created by millions of people in bars, clubs, and parties throughout the weekend of Halloween. Those people need a prayer covering that only God's people can offer up.

For that reason (and for the sake of children who are vulnerable to the dark overtones they see around them this time of year), we as Christians need to have a prayerful mindset on Halloween and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. We need to be the light in the darkness, and pray against anything the enemy is trying to stir up on a night that was created to celebrate everything he represents: fear, deception, confusion, and chaos.

I encourage you as you read this (whether it be before Halloween or after) to say a prayer binding the enemy from doing his work, and speak the blood of Jesus over every evil intent or deceptive practice that may occur in your community. Pray that people's eyes may be opened to the light, and that any evil works conducted on Halloween in the name of fear would be undone through the power of Christ. Pray for spiritual protection over our young people in this country, and wisdom and discernment for adults. Pray that the weekend would pass with the Lord triumphant, with His people still on their path, straying not to the left or the right. And perhaps most importantly, pray that those who have experienced the darkness this weekend and do not yet know Him would be drawn even more to the light.

Not by might, nor by power...

...but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.

Most of us can complete that sentence easily, maybe even hum the tune to the classic Leslie Phillips song that declares Zechariah 4:6. But how often do we practice that scripture? If we know that nothing is accomplished but by His Spirit, why do we try to make things happen in our own strength?

I think this verse applies especially to our work in the classroom. It is a natural tendency to think that kids with challenging behaviors should respond to our might and power, and it's often our first and last resort. Do it, because I said so! We are quick to impose our own authority over rule-breakers and rarely think to pray for God's authority over the situation. However, the real, true, and lasting change we're seeking is produced by the Spirit of the Lord, and it usually starts with change in our own hearts.

Father, help me to remember this week that You are the Almighty, the center of the universe, and everyone is made in You.

I'm not actually late with posting these wedding photos...

…assuming you agree to pretend with me that sharing them on our three-month anniversary was the plan all along. Since most of you dear readers are educators, I am confident that you, too, have mastered the art of Creating Alternative Reasoning for the Purpose of Disguising Personal Screw-Ups, and you are immediately empathetic toward my little ruse. Surely you have used this strategy with your class on more than one occasion, a la “I’ve decided to push back the math test to Monday because I want to give you one more day to study” [and also because I forgot to have the copies run during my break due to excessive gossiping around the soda machine]. So without further ado, I present my extremely well-planned September posting of the long-awaited wedding pics. Happy third (month) anniversary to us!





But wait! There’s more! Several dozen more, actually, on my Facebook fan page, which you can view here.

Divine Intervention

There's a child whose behavioral and learning problems are beyond anything I've experienced in the past decade. Will I be able to get through to this kid? Is improvement possible? What can I possibly do to catch this little one up to speed?

I was just sitting on my couch trying to figure out a battle plan when I came across this post from the Christian teacher blog Teach On Purpose:

Just got done praying for my kids. I can't even tell you how much this has changed the relational connection to my students. Nothing helps me put down my agenda, see them as real people, and treat them with the dignity and humanity they deserve like spending a minute or two praying through each class roster.

I'm not great at this and I often miss days, but just like every other meeting, prayer time is scheduled into my calendar. Every day my calendar pops up a to-do list during planning time, and at least 3 days each week, that list includes prayer. You know how long it takes to pray through 2 classes per day, mentioning each child by name? Somewhere around 2 minutes, and as packed as my schedule gets, 2 minutes is often the only manageable time I have to refocus, re-purpose, and rethink the people I serve.

Ah, yes. Of course there's something I can do. In the midst of all my modifications and differentiations, how did I forget the most important intervention of all?