THaNksGiviNG Thursday...Intentional Thanksgivings

Before a new curriculum was implemented, I had the pleasure of teaching the old testament to my seventh graders for eleven years.  We would spend a good portion of the year with Moses and the Israelites.  After some time reading about the adventures of the Israelites in the wilderness, my students would begin to pick up on the pattern of behavior of the people.  My students would exclaim (sometimes sarcastically) things like "Oh, no!" and "They're grumbling again?!"  I would always smile and ask them, "Sound like anybody you know?"  

It doesn't take much to cause us to complain. Slow traffic, stormy weather, delayed flight, burnt toast, long line at Starbucks are all minor nuisances that can cause us to swiftly and easily grumble to the point our whole day seems to be ruined.  Grumbling breeds negativity.

I'm Grumbler #1.  I've become more of one recently because things haven't been going my way and I think I'm entitled to gripe.  Unfortunate key phrases there are "MY way" and "entitled."  No wonder I've been grumbling.  

One way I've tried to help my students to keep from grumbling is by using two different colored beans and a couple of jars.  I've labeled one (smaller) jar "Grumbling" and the other (larger) jar "Thanksgiving."  The black beans represent every time someone grumbled.  The white bean represent every time someone gave thanks.  

I would encourage my students to feel free to put a white bean in for each thing they were genuinely thankful for.  There was no limit of how many beans they put in.  Likewise, they were told to put in a black bean every time they heard a complaint or they themselves complained.  The purpose was to make them more aware of when they grumbled, to be more intentional on giving thanks, and to be more motivated to give more thanks.  Interestingly, one hundred percent of the time, the class as a whole would want the thanksgiving jar to be full.  I even had to go out and buy more beans one year because of all the thanksgivings!

Every year I put out these jars, it is amazing to experience how quickly the atmosphere changes and how quickly students become aware of what is coming out of their mouths.  Likewise, how quickly things would change for me if I gave more thanks.  God's way, not "my way," graciously gives me a reason to always be thankful.  May we all intentionally praise God and give thanks so that He doesn't have cause to say, "Oh, no! They're grumbling again!"

"Praise the Lord!  

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever."

~Psalm 106:1

Testimony Tuesday...Struggle+Praise=JOY

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

~James 1:2-4

When you're going through a difficulty, trouble, or struggle, what is your first response?  To praise God??!  Um...hmm...that's most likely my last response.  My first response typically is to complain about it and chew on the taste of that complaint until the flavor runs out.  

A couple of months ago, God was teaching me to praise Him as my first response to a struggle, and God, of course, was testing me to see if I was learning what He was teaching.  He tested me, though, in a way that wasn't directly about my own personal struggle.  He wanted me to pass on my knowledge of praising Him to one of my sweet seventh graders, who was the very definition of struggle ever since I met her last year.

This young lady has many challenges academically. She has to work ten times harder than other students her age.  Her brain doesn't make the normal synapse connections, and so learning, remembering, and applying concepts is especially difficult.  This year, however, she has put forth tremendous effort and with the help of a very supportive family, she has made great progress as a student.  Unsatisfactorily, she still doesn't always make the grade she would like to.

One afternoon, I was tutoring this young lady, and she just wasn't getting the concept.  She gave me a look of defeat that I had seen so many times before.  I gazed into her sad eyes and asked her if she wanted to pray.  She said, "Yes."  I told her that we have prayed together before to ask God for His help but we never prayed to praise Him for the struggle she was having. 

"Would you like to praise Him for your struggle?" I asked as I thought about the lessons God had been teaching me.

"Yes," she said, "I would like to praise Him."

"Oh!" I replied with surprise. "Okay, then.  Let's pray and praise God for struggles!" I smiled big at her, and she mirrored back a big smile.  Then we bowed our heads and praised God.

The rest of our tutoring session that afternoon went smoothly.  Joy took over both of our hearts.  We actually chuckled after the prayer because if you think about it, it is pretty funny to thank and praise God for struggle.  What a silly thing to do!

I loved having that moment with my student.  I loved that God entrusted me to share new knowledge with her that I had gained from Him.  I loved that I saw her learning something about faith at age 13 that I didn't learn until age (eek!) 36.  I loved seeing the joy in her face and the peace in her demeanor as we continued our session.  I loved even more what God did for her the very next day and then again two days later...

The very next day, I received an email from my student's history teacher saying she got the highest grade on the test out of the whole class.  The history teacher was beside himself and just couldn't resist sharing the astounding news!  Her grade? A 97.  Not that grades can and should really put value on us, but for this student, this was everything!  Prior to this grade, she had been receiving grades well under 97.  

Two days later, she received her science test back from her science teacher.  The grade?  A 100!!!!!!!!!!  So amazing was this, that the science teacher had her phone ready and recorded the event!  My seventh grade student burst into tears of utter joy, and even now, tears fill my eyes as I think about the feeling she must have had in receiving that grade.  What better way for God to validate her prayer of praise and all of her hard work!

Since that time, my student has been continuing to struggle and continuing to praise God and work hard.  She was one point (ONE POINT!!) away from Honor Roll last quarter.  So amazing!  The next quarter ends this Friday, and I am waiting with bated breath to see if she makes Honor Roll.  Whether she does or not, I know she will continue to praise God because she's the kind of girl who may struggle academically, but when it comes to faith, she struggles not.  Wow...I still have so much to learn from my students!

Praise God

"Praise the LORD, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the LORD's faithfulness endures forever. Praise the LORD!"

~Psalm 117

Praising God is easy when joy fills our hearts and we are overwhelmed with the feeling of being blessed.  But what about when life is not so joyful or so blessed?

I know when I recently was betrayed by someone who was suppose to be by my side, praising God was not a thought in my head or an expression in my heart.  But, that's exactly what God wanted me to do.  He wanted me to praise Him for the heartache.  He wanted me to praise Him for the unjust situation.  He wanted me to praise Him for the hurt.  He wanted me to praise Him for the disappointment.

And so, I did.

It was not easy, but I surrendered to God's request because I thought, 'Why not?'

Why not praise God in our trials?  Why not praise God in our sufferings?  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  (James 1:2)  There's not much else we can do in those situations.  We can't change what has happened.  But God can.

He began to change my heart and how the betrayal affected me.  When I began praising God for the situation and all the hurt I felt, I began to feel joy replacing pain.  What release of freedom overcame me!

God didn't change what happened to me, but He changed me.  That in itself is worth praising God for!  Only when we begin to praise God for everything, do we begin to really love God for everything.

I needed to really love God in the hurt of my situation.  I needed to praise Him.  Jesus understood my hurt.  He, too, had been betrayed by someone who was suppose to be by His side.  In fact, in the hour Jesus needed a friend the most, Peter denied him.  Peter-the same man who hours before said he wouldn't desert Jesus even if everyone else did (Matthew 26:33)-left Him when He needed someone the most to stand by His perfectly innocent side.

Jesus still loved Peter.  Jesus still loves us.  Jesus still loves me even when my world is crashing down around me or even when I sin.  His love isn't in the hurt.  His love is in our hearts.  And when we begin to praise God for everything, including our hurts, He reveals His love to us in ways He couldn't if everything in our life was perfect and wonderful.

Experience the indescribable joy of the Lord today.  Praise Him not only for the good in your life, but also for the pain, the unjust situations, the heartaches, the people or things that are making your life difficult, the hardships, the laundry that needs to be done, the toilets that need to be cleaned, the work you've put off, the unanswered prayers, the mistakes, the challenges, the disappointments, the illnesses, the weaknesses, the imperfections.  Praise God for His faithfulness!  Praise God for His gracious, abundant, powerful and unfailing love!  Praise God, all you nations!  Praise God, all you people of the earth! Praise God!