Be Still

Have you ever watched a movie or TV show and found yourself in tears over a song that was playing in the background?

That happened to me a few years ago on Abby’s last NCIS episode. The final montage was sad enough with her departure from the show, but the song that played with the montage is what really got me.

The thing is—I’m not exactly sure how it fit with her departure. The song, “Be Still” by The Fray, seems to me to be a song that assures us of God’s presence in our lives. Abby’s character was a Christian; the actress who played her is a Christian. Maybe she selected the song as a quiet and final expression of her faith? Maybe the song is somehow how she wanted us to remember her?

Regardless, the song made an impression on me that night…and then again last Thursday after I wrote my note “Scattered Thoughts.” As I drove home that night, “Be Still,” came on my playlist and I immediately knew that it was supposed to be part of my sermon. It wasn’t until late Saturday night, though, that all of the parts of the sermon finally fit together. Here is how it all played out:

A few weeks ago, sitting right here at Pleasant Memory, I heard God’s voice as clearly as I’ve ever heard it. “Be still, Deanna, Be still.”

*insert Be Still and Know*

Restless and distracted, I made myself sit up straight and put both feet firmly on the ground. “Be still,” I heard, more loudly, “Be still.”

*insert Be Still and Know*

Finally, with my body and spirit settled, I was able to hear the message God had for me that day. The next day, I wrote:

*insert 9.9.19 note…Yet just as I love my little space cadets who cannot sit still, God loves God’s humans who, too, struggle to be still. And just as I try to be patient with my Kindergarten students as they mature in their abilities to do school and learn, God is patient with us as we mature in our faith…*

Be still, congregation. Be still.

*insert Be Still My Soul*

Last Thursday, when I sat down to write my weekly blog post, I couldn’t help but notice just how restless and distracted I had once again become. When I tried to write, all that emerged was a jumbled mess...and, yet, at the end, a clear message emerged:

Be still and know that I am God.
Breathe.
Be still...

*insert Be Still, The Fray*

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the LORD has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
--Psalm 46*

Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nUuBjz4Vhc

Scattered Thoughts

I’m feeling a bit scattered today.

I’m preaching on Sunday. I have a passage of scripture. I have studied the passage. I have a central idea. I know what I feel led to say. I just have no idea how to move it from a paragraph into a sermon. I think I may have sermon fright…

I went to the fair two times this year. I was there for around 9 total hours. In chronological order, I ate: frozen apple cider, a fried cheeseburger, half of a Thanksgiving egg-roll, muscadine juice, a chicken pita, mini-donuts, tempura vegetables, half of a Korean pork roll egg-roll, a gyro, and a piece of fried pumpkin pie. I think I’m still full…

I ran into three students at the fair. Two were brothers who have never been in the car rider line but somehow their parents recognized me. One was a girl who is a car rider once a week yet her mom looked at me like she might have to hurt me for hugging her daughter who had suction-cupped herself around my waist. I’m thankful that I had on my RedForEd shirt so that I at least looked something like a teacher…

Evidently, five little pumpkins are sitting on a gate. They can speak. And their words rhyme. And the five little pumpkins rollllllllled out of sight…

I’m pretty sure that Halloween and haunted houses are to blame for clowns and dolls now being associated with spooky things. I blame the same for today’s perception of organ music. Organ music originated in the church but is no longer known for being music for worship but for being music for haunted or scary things. I think this is sad…

I’ve been having some trouble with my voice lately. Specifically, my singing range has drastically decreased and my voice isn’t as strong as it used to be. Even so, a Kindergarten student looked at me today and said, “You have such a beautiful voice.” He was so genuine in his compliment. It made me feel good…

The Kindergartners were drawing words for the letter D the other day, and one student drew me. I think that’s pretty cool!...

I have a dog that comes through car rider line with his big human every day. His name is Noah. His little human’s name is B. Yesterday, over the walkie talkie, I didn’t call for B. Instead, I called for Noah. Oops!...

I had a hat behind my desk the other day, so I threw it on really quickly for car duty. When I got outside, one of my Kindergarteners said, “You don’t have your thing on,” and she gestured for a jacket. Afraid that my nightmares were coming true and that I was somehow shirtless, I looked down. I had on my shirt, but I didn’t have on my safety vest. Oops! I’m just impressed that someone noticed…

I have at least two sets of car twins in the car rider line now. Sometimes, I call the wrong name. Oops…

My hair caught my earring last night and knocked my earring out of my ear. Somehow, the earring disappeared. It was a piercing stud that I’ve had for well over 20 years. I’m sad…

“Be still and know that I am God.”

*breathe*

Be still…

JD's J

Have you ever overlooked something that was sitting right in front of you?

I did that on Thursday and only noticed the object today.

On Thursday, J, my autistic student who expects a banana or apple every time he comes to music, was sitting in his normal seat at my computer when he picked up a ballpoint pen.

I’m used to J having a dry erase marker so that he can draw the cutest letters and characters you’ve ever seen, but I was not used to seeing J with a pen in hand.

J had unearthed a copy of his favorite book, “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,” and had it open at my desk, so I thought he was going to draw faces on all of the letters. Knowing that we’re trying to teach J not to draw in books, I was prepared to stop him (although I secretly wanted him to mark the book). But he never drew in the book. As far as I knew, he never actually drew anything.

Except he did.

He drew a capital J on a post-it note and placed it on my file cabinet in the midst of my motivational sayings and things that make me smile.

For some reason, I didn’t see J’s “J” until today. And when I did, I grinned.

J, in his own way, had left me his very own love gift.

And my heart overflowed.

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When is a time that you overlooked an object that was right in front of you? Please share. I’d love to read your story!

But Have Not Love

If I teach lessons that would make all teachers and professors proud,
but have not love,
then I am only a busted drum, a clanging cymbal, or a room full of recorder players playing loud and free.
If I have the gift of wisdom that can fathom and solve all behavioral mysteries and challenges, and
If I have a memory that memorizes all cars in the car-rider line,
but have not love,
I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to my Title 1 students and
Never miss a day of work
but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy other’s time,
It does not boast of minor accomplishment,
It is not proud.
It does not dishonor others with gossip and verbal attacks,
It is not self-seeking to the detriment of others,
It is not easily angered,
It keeps no record of petty wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects those who cannot protect themselves,
Always trusts deep intuition,
Always hopes for the good,
Always perseveres.
Love never fails.

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God, help me to love—help us to love—help us to live for the name and sake of Love. Amen

The Magical Power of Words

If someone were to ask you to respond to the topic, “The Magical Power of Words,” then how would you respond?

For me, I immediately thought of words as creation. When we speak, we create. We put ideas into tangible expression. We introduce positive or negative energy with just one movement of the tongue, stroke of the pen, or touch of the keys. We ignite a fire with just one strike of a linguistic match.

I wrote:

The creation of the
Heavens and
Earth came through the
Magic of words.
And words are still creating:
Growing goodness,
Inspiring peace,
Challenging status-quo,
Overcoming ignorance that
For too long has destroyed.
Words:
Occupying time and space,
Rolling from tongue and pen,
Declaring old things new,
Saving the world with power…

A friend’s daughter responded differently, though. For her, words are indeed powerful, yet their power lies less in creation than it does destruction.

She wrote:

…So when wanting to do harm with words
Think about what you say
For someday after now
You will regret the harm you caused
Because your words will never return
They will stay above your head
No matter what you do
And no one will be friends with you…

What about you, friend? What do you say about “the magical power of words?”

Sacrifice

After singing a song this morning, a second-grade student raised his hand and asked, “What is sacrifice?”

Not expecting the question, I quickly thought of an answer that didn’t include the word itself. (You’d be surprised at how difficult it is to define a word without using the word or a derivative of the word in its own definition.)

I said, “A sacrifice is something that’s difficult to do. It’s something that you might not want to do but that you know is for the best, so you do it anyway. For instance, a military person might have to go far away from his family for a year. He probably doesn’t want to go far away from his family for a year, but he knows it is his job, so he does it anyway. He makes a sacrifice. Or. Maybe you don’t want to do your homework when you get home but you know you need to do it. In that case, you sacrifice your time to do your homework—something you don’t want to do—because you know it’s the right thing to do. Does that make sense?”

“Yes. It’s like when a military person knows that he might get shot but does his job anyway?”

“Yes…Yes…That is sacrifice.”

And, oh, sweet boy, there are so many sacrifices that people make each day:

A teacher who spends her paycheck on supplies and materials for her students because they otherwise wouldn’t have them;

A mom who skips supper because there isn’t enough food to feed everyone in the house;

A family who chooses not to eat out for the month because they hear of an orphanage that is in dire need of funding;

A couple who tithes every month even though they are barely making ends meet;

A big brother who goes without underwear so that his little brother can wear their one pair;

A doctor who leaves a six-figure job in the city to move to a small town that needs good medical care;

A friend who forfeits concert tickets so that she can visit a friend she knows is hurting;

A parent who buys all of his clothes at the thrift store and packs his lunch every day to save money to send his children to college;

A mom who leaves her family behind to come to the United States to make enough money to provide food, clothing, and shelter in a third world country;

A perfect man who gave his life to pay the price for others’ shortcomings…

So many people make sacrifices each day. But how often do we stop and say thanks?

Loving God, for the sacrifice of your Son, we give you thanks. And for the sacrifices that are made each day to make this world a better place, we offer this prayer of praise. Give us eyes to see the sacrifice around us and give us the bold wisdom to encourage those who need it most. Amen.

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What is a story of sacrifice that moves or inspires you? I would love to hear.

World-Transforming Tasks

Today during 4th grade music, my students drew their favorite orchestra instruments as part of a debriefing of last week’s symphony field trip. One particular student did a really good job with her drawings, so I made sure to tell her that she was a gifted artist. She responded, “But I like soccer.”

A little while later at lunch, that same student called me over and asked, “If you could do anything in the world other than be a music teacher, what would you do?”

Without hesitation, I said, “I’d be a preacher or chaplain.”

When I asked her what she’d do if she could do anything in the world, she hesitantly declared, “I’d be a soccer player.”…

Last night, I was struck by this prayer in my devotion book:

“Giver of Peace, slow us down so that we may be driven, not by our desire to succeed or to be rewarded, but by your will, so that we may be rested and ready for the world-transforming tasks you give us. Amen.”

Did you catch everything you just read?!

“Giver of Peace.” A beautiful name for God. An acknowledgement that peace comes only from God.

“Slow us down.” A constant need in this fast-paced, over-worked world. A call to be still. To breathe. To stop doing so much and practice just being.

“So that we may be driven not by our desire to succeed or be rewarded.” What the world tells us we need. Success. Rewards. To be the best. And that need is what so often drives us.

“But by your will.” By God’s will. By a will is higher than our own.

“So that we may be rested and ready.” Rested and ready! The opposite of tired and unprepared. The opposite of how we feel most days. Rested. Because we have slowed down. Ready. Because we have sought God’s will.

“For the world-transforming tasks you give us.” The world-transforming tasks of everyday life. Not redundant, boring, pointless, time-filling tasks. Not waiting for something more. But world-transforming tasks of everyday life right now. Life given to us by God.

I don’t know about you. But I want this prayer to come true! I want to slow down. I want to be driven not by my own desires for success but by God’s will for hope, joy, love, redemption, reconciliation, forgiveness, and justice. I want to feel rested and ready for my days. And I want to see my work as world-transforming tasks given by God.

Who knows. Maybe that simple conversation with my 4th grader began a transformation in her world. Maybe she now knows that she is a talented artist. Maybe she now knows that she can play soccer if she so chooses. Maybe she now knows that there are people who work in churches for a living. Maybe her world began transforming today. And maybe mine did, too. Because maybe I’m ready not to be driven by my own desires for success and understanding but by God’s desires alone.

“Giver of Peace, slow us down so that we may be driven, not by our desire to succeed or to be rewarded, but by your will, so that we may be rested and ready for the world-transforming tasks you give us. Amen.”

And Amen.

Tender Heart and Tough Skin

This prayer popped up on my FB memories today. It’s from six years ago when I was re-beginning my journey in the public schools. In so many ways, so many things have changed, and yet…I still find myself needing to pray:

Dear God.
Revive my spirit with
positive goodwill to others,
renew my love for
the crankiest and most hurtful people
I know or meet, and
replenish
my inner security so
I will have
a tender heart and
tough skin.
I love you.
Help me to
love this world
with your love.
Amen.

Maybe you need to pray these words, too?