Lesson(s) Learned

I had some random thoughts today. The theme of my thoughts? Hope. But not just any flat-out-boring-sized human hope will do. As in, "I hope it doesn't rain today."  or "The only thing I can do is hope and pray for the best." or "I hope to make a difference in the lives of others." or "I hope for world peace." Blah, blah, bland. These kinds of statements don't necessarily focus on hope, hopefulness, or the hope that is to come in the situations aforementioned. Rather, they disgustingly focus on the hopelessness within the situation(s) at hand, put 'prayer' as a last resort, and depict 'hope' as a destination that may or may not be attainable on this train-ride-go-around of life. And, let me tell you people, that kind of hope simply won't do. Which is why I'm not referring to that kind of hope…. I'm referring to something more. A much greater Hope altogether. In Goof Troop The Movie, dad and son are pictur...

Out of sheer personal curiosity and for no clear objective-meeting reason, I posed this question to my students a handful of weeks ago. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Other than just learning more about my students' ambitions and passions, I'm not really sure what I was looking for with this exercise. Did I want a pat on the back or credit for the things my students would go on in life to accomplish? Not necessarily.  Did I want confirmation of what I already knew about my students' goals - the far-fetched ones and the practical ones alike? Possibly. Was I prepared for what I heard next? No, not at all. Aside from my boys that wanted to become professional Halo gamers/testers, I had a good portion (dare I say 2/3) of my class say they wanted to be….. wait for it…. a TEACHER when they grew up. Wow. Perhaps, God's using me to do something right in the lives of these kids, so that they want to grow up and be a TEACHER just like ME. Or perhaps, ...

The "Sinful" Woman I grew up in what I would call a level-headed, balanced, talked-about-and-lived-out kind of Christian home, faithfully attended a good-'ole Southern Baptist church, and dedicated thirteen years of my almost-perfect-attendance to a Bob-Jones-KJV-only-type Christian school. With the combination of these three "extremes" (if you will), I feel like God well-rounded me, humored me, and taught me many, many life lessons about Him, His standards, His grace, and His unwavering love for me - no matter what. While I agree theologically on some things that go on at Bob Jones, I wouldn't exactly say they've got it right on all accounts. I'm not down with blue-and-pink-genderized sidewalks, nor am I offended if someone flashes off their un-panty-hosed ankles in my direction. However, after reading through and teaching a Bible lesson to my students out of the Bob Jones curriculum today, I have a whole new respect for the writers at BobJonesPr...