“Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”
C.S.Lewis
Jesus Christ
Maybe we should begin with balloons?
As the clock ticks over the 11pm mark on this sultry summer eve, I am contemplating the year ahead. Yes, I know we have already celebrated the New Year (and for some reason I like even years better than odd ones! Is anyone else with me on that?) But in just 9 hours time the working day will officially begin and I will be “back” for the school year – along with a few hundred eager, or not-so-eager, students. I’ve spent the day, and the last few weeks, preparing for what is to come. This waiting period is often more stressful than the actual event. Once we are back at school the tasks become more about the day to day than staring blankly at a whole term or year and wondering how on earth we will get through it all.
The students will bring their own problems, concerns, interests and passions. It is up to us as teachers to teach them to be learners, life-long learners, who look at life with a positive outlook, take hold of opportunities and seek to be the change in situations that frustrate them. We encourage them not to let the problems they bring, or the excuses in their head, or their poor self-esteem, hold them back. As you can imagine, this task is no small thing. And half the time we have problems, excuses and doubts about how we as teachers can make a difference.
As Christian teachers there is an extra challenge – or two. We try our best to model Christ, to be Christ-like in our dealings with students. We seek to achieve restoration when students break trust or relationships with us and others. We try to share the Gospel – ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us.
With all this on my teaching plate, I ask you fellow bloggers to spare a prayer for me when you can, that I can be some small positive influence in the lives of students this year – and that through me they can know a little more of Christ and the acceptance we know in Him.
Blessings!
Ros
(Note: The photo is the final day of school for the students I looked after as Year 12 Coordinator in 2015. Apparently the balloons were biodegradable, in case you were wondering. 🙂 Maybe we should begin with a balloon release.)
Watch “The Christmas Chord || Spoken word on Christmas” on YouTube
This is a great one to file away for next year. It gives an engaging summary of the Christmas story – which is so much more than just a story: a world-changing and heart-changing event which continues to strike a chord with people for the first time every day of the year. What constant rejoicing there must be in heaven! Blessings to you for the year ahead. May you grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)
Another Christmas has come and gone
Belated Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you had a lovely time with family and friends, celebrating the great gift of God, Jesus, Emmanuel. This was our breakfast for the day. Best wishes for the final week of 2015. Blessings, Ros
Watch “Alison Krauss, Yo-Yo Ma – The Wexford Carol” on YouTube
Just in time for Christmas!
Just in time for Christmas, my new arrangement of “Sleep, Jesus, Sleep” is now available through Heart Publications! This tender Christmas lullaby is a beautiful addition to your church’s Christmas repertoire. The simple SATB voicing can be learned quickly, and the included parts for violin, bass, and guitar/harp add layers and depth to the piano accompaniment. The arrangement works well with choir as well as smaller groups. You can purchase the arrangement at Heart Publications’ website here, and see a score sample here.
Also, All Saints’ Church (Northampton, UK) is accepting pre-orders for their latest recording, Be Merry!, which will be released November 1. This recording includes my Still, Still, Still and is the first professional recording of the piece. I’m excited to hear it! This CD also includes settings by Forrest, Courtney, and Anglea, among others, and you can pre-order here.
How do you measure if Christ is growing in you?
If you want to get serious and take an honest look at your Christian walk, then these eight questions (from Tim Keller’s book Center Church) will be very helpful. They have been effectively crafted to make you take a good look at your progress in becoming more like Christ. Talk them through with your growth group or a spouse or close friend or prayer partner. Pray about them too! They won’t make you feel comfortable, but since when was change comfortable? God is most definitely in the business of changing us.
- Do you have spiritual assurance of your standing in Christ? How clear and vivid is it?
- How does the Holy Spirit bear witness with your spirit that you are his child? Are you conscious of a growing spiritual light within, revealing more of the purity of the law, the holiness of God, the evil of sin, and the preciousness of the imputed righteousness of Christ?
- Is your love for Christians growing? Do you find yourself have a less critical, judgmental spirit towards weak Christians, those who fall, or those who are self-deceived? Have you been cold to anyone?
- Is your conscience growing more tender to convict you of the very first motions of sin in the mind, such as the onset of resentment; worry, pride or jealousy; an inordinate desire for power, approval and material comfort; and an over-concern for your reputation? Are you becoming more aware of and convicted about sins of the tongue, such as cutting remarks, rambling without listening, deception and semi-lying, gossip and slander, inappropriate humour, or thoughtless statements?
- Do you see signs of growth in the fruit of the Spirit? Can you give examples in which you responded in a new way – with love, joy, patience, honesty, humility, or self-control – in a situation that a year or two ago you would not have?
- Are you coming to discern false, idolatrous motives for some of the good service you do? Are you seeing that many things you thought you did for God you are actually doing for other reasons? Are you coming to see areas in your life in which you have resisted the Lord’s will?
- Are you seeing new ways to be better stewards of the talents, gifts, relationships, wealth, and other assets that God has given you?
- Are you having any seasons of the sweet delight that the Spirit brings? Are you finding certain promises extremely precious? Are you getting answers to prayers? Are you getting times of refreshing from reading or listening to the Word?
Discussion Questions for GOSPEL RENEWAL (from chapter 6 of Timothy Keller’s Center Church, 2012)
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