Come, Ye Children, Hearken Unto Me

1. Invitation to Hear “Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.” From Psalm 66:16 come these words that help us center our school on the goodness and sufficiency of God. Start your day together with these and other Scripture words, to help you remember that God is working in your school. Finish the day with these words, looking back on your day rejoicing in how you see God’s hand in your school.

2. Celebrating I’m not sure when or where I first heard this suggestion for celebrating. When you think of a day of celebrating, you often think of holidays and birthdays and surely these are worth celebrating. But consider this: Wouldn’t it be fun to spontaneously celebrate one child, a parent, a grandparent, your pastor. This could be done simply by telling God how much they mean to your family, listing some reasons to be grateful for them, a note or picture of appreciation. Focus on being grateful to God for His blessing to your through this celebrated person.

3. Test What You Teach! You already are proficient in preparing and administering tests. Today I want to share my favorite test method: the informal test or the subjective test. Consider these examples: — You’ve read or lectured a topic. Test by discussing the topic, with the teacher asking the student to retell important points. The grade could be given on how you perceive the student’s knowledge. — Ask the student to write a story, summary, list or other appropriate writing, making clear certain points from your study. — Ask your student to make questions with answers. You may give topic guidelines. — You student could present subject material either as a student teacher or to your family group. — Your student could present this material either as a student teacher or to your family group. — Make Q and A cards. Student chooses most important information. Of course, ideas are plentiful. I’m sure you are already thinking of others that would suit your situation. In each of these methods the grade is subjective. You measure what was learned according to your expectations. Older students can enter into formulating guidelines for grades. 4. Chosen for Great Things What is this profound mystery that Paul writes about in Ephesians 5:22-32? It is the relationship of a husband and his wife compared to the relationship of Christ and His church. Because these verses are so familiar and have been studied often, we tend to think we know them and need not reread them. Please accept my challenge to reread them often. Scripture, which is God’s Word, penetrates the heart in new ways as we reread it. You will grow more and more aware of what is important to God and how He defines these relationships. Your very own precious family has been chosen by God to show your community a picture of Christ and His church. It is chosen to show how much Christ loves the church and how He responds when the church disappoints Him. Realizing this great responsibility could cause us to agonize but God has provided His Spirit to empower us to obey. Delight in that! 5. A Benefit from Failure Jump on the opportunity to show God’s sovereign governing power when failure hits. Discuss openly such questions as: — What can God do with this? — How do I make restitution, if appropriate? — Why did I forget? Where was God then? — How do I deal with recurring horror from this failure? Discuss these questions and others with an attitude of helpfulness. Point to Scriptures like 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And how do these words apply to my failure? Where necessary take responsibility for the failure by acknowledging where preparation was insufficient. Choose to seek forgiveness for any wrongdoing if the failure warrants. Above all, securely picture God holding you as His own and announcing to you that you represent Him and have not lost that honor. 6. God’s Glory A discipline thought: So many times in Scripture we see phrases like: “for my glory” (Isaiah 43:7 and others) “for my own sake” (Isaiah 48:9-11) “for my renown and praise and honor” (Jeremiah 13:11) “for the sake of your name” (Psalm 25:11 and others) “for his pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4-6) “for the purpose of glory and praise to God” (Philippians 1:9-11) Then in John 12:28, even as Jesus faced His coming death, He trusted His father and said, “Glorify thy name.” What a model Christ set for parents and children. Before dad even begins to discipline his son he thinks, “How do I respond for God to be glorified.” The earthly son’s goal is to listen to discipline with the goal of seeing God’s name glorified. Even just realizing this and keeping our focus on His glory will help us grow in that direction. As you forget or fail, go immediately to God for both repentance and instruction. Step by step we learn obedience. 7. Stay Calm Each of us faces bumps in the road, some of which can be crises. But worry is folly and tension is destructive. How can we find calmness when we so naturally fret? I’ll share a few suggestions. Then please share your solutions or helps. The more we share, the larger our arsenal. — Refuse to entertain run away thoughts. They snap right back when you try to get rid of them but I try to continue to replace them with a promise or phrase from Bible. — Repeat often a “go-to” Scripture. Mine is Psalm 23. Focus on the words. Picture the setting. — Sing or listen to music. Choose a favorite song or hymn. Mine is the “Lord’s Prayer.” — Realize that from your vast army of prayer warriors someone is probably praying for you OR will be praying for you soon. Great comfort! — Keep begging God for His comfort, His peace, His solutions. From what I’ve read on prayer in the Bible, begging is okay. — Think thoughts and pray prayers on praising and thanking God— even for the mess you’re in, for the answers you see coming and the strength you’re gaining in the situation. Blessings to you as you grow in resting in Jesus! Love, Becky