This weekend I went on a High School retreat up in the mountains.
No, I am not a High Schooler. :)
But I did hang out with High Schoolers all weekend. And that means I didn't get enough sleep. But now it's a week later and I've mostly recovered.
But the most striking thing about this weekend was something our speaker said. He said that we have to "live weak". He was talking about 1 Corinthians, where Paul talks about his "thorn in the flesh" and when he is weak, then he is strong.
Runks (our speaker) was talking about how we always try to live in our own strength, but really we need to be counter-cultural. We need to live weak.
Huh.
I never really thought about how often it means to live as a Jesus Follower means to be counter-cultural. And it struck me that unless you aim to be counter-cultural, you really are not any different than everyone else around you.
Counter-cultural.
Fitting in, being like everyone else, going with the flow - these are all things that go AGAINST us being counter-cultural. We need to go against the flow, not with it. We need to live weak. Because only then can God really work through us to accomplish much greater things than we can by ourselves.
Counter-cultural: my new favorite word.
K
Friday, February 15, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
tears
Today in class there were tears.
No, this is NOT the first time that has happened, but fortunately it doesn't happen all that often.
In 4th Grade, we started singing military songs. I have to teach them the songs for all the branches of the military, so I started on that today. One verse into the Marine's Hymn, one of my sweet little 4th grade girls started tearing up. By the end of the song she was full on crying.
So I asked her what was wrong, and if she was OK.
She said that her Grandpa gave this song to her mom, and he had passed away this year.
She was just sad.
...
Well, I totally was not sure what to say, at that point, because I understand missing a grandparent that has passed away. I've had 5 Grandparents that have passed away, I even wrote about 2 of them here. But I gathered my thoughts, put my arm around her, and gave her what I hope is good advice.
I simply told her that I understood why she is sad, and that is normal. I was there myself. But, we all need to take these times and use them to remember all the great times that we had with our grandparents. We need to look back and be grateful for those great times, and remember what was great about them and what was great about the time we spent together.
...
She breathed, and and nodded, and pulled herself together. So I gave her another hug, and sent her off to PE. And gave the PE teacher a heads-up that she might be a little emotional.
What a blessing that I get to walk with my kids through these kind of things, and that God gives me the calm thoughts to be able to speak what they need to them.
Oh, and later that day...she brought me a little present. A bookmark that she made in library.
I treasure it.
K
No, this is NOT the first time that has happened, but fortunately it doesn't happen all that often.
In 4th Grade, we started singing military songs. I have to teach them the songs for all the branches of the military, so I started on that today. One verse into the Marine's Hymn, one of my sweet little 4th grade girls started tearing up. By the end of the song she was full on crying.
So I asked her what was wrong, and if she was OK.
She said that her Grandpa gave this song to her mom, and he had passed away this year.
She was just sad.
...
Well, I totally was not sure what to say, at that point, because I understand missing a grandparent that has passed away. I've had 5 Grandparents that have passed away, I even wrote about 2 of them here. But I gathered my thoughts, put my arm around her, and gave her what I hope is good advice.
I simply told her that I understood why she is sad, and that is normal. I was there myself. But, we all need to take these times and use them to remember all the great times that we had with our grandparents. We need to look back and be grateful for those great times, and remember what was great about them and what was great about the time we spent together.
...
She breathed, and and nodded, and pulled herself together. So I gave her another hug, and sent her off to PE. And gave the PE teacher a heads-up that she might be a little emotional.
What a blessing that I get to walk with my kids through these kind of things, and that God gives me the calm thoughts to be able to speak what they need to them.
Oh, and later that day...she brought me a little present. A bookmark that she made in library.
I treasure it.
K
Friday, February 1, 2013
AWESOME!
I watched this video today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o
This kid is cool! Kid President, I mean. But he says that "we were made to be awesome".
I just want to say YES! We WERE made to be awesome. God thinks we are awesome! If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. So I just want to say a big YES to being awesome.
You were made to be awesome.
And don't you forget it.
K
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o
This kid is cool! Kid President, I mean. But he says that "we were made to be awesome".
I just want to say YES! We WERE made to be awesome. God thinks we are awesome! If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. So I just want to say a big YES to being awesome.
You were made to be awesome.
And don't you forget it.
K
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