Steady and Calm

If you’ve ever played Jenga, then you know that you need a calm, thoughtful approach and a gentle, steady hand if you want to succeed in removing a block. You also know that you need to be careful which block you choose lest the entire tower come crashing down…

This Thanksgiving, as you step away from your classrooms and jobs for a few days, may you find the rest and spirit of thanksgiving that you need in order to face the busyness of the holiday season with a calm, thoughtful approach and a gentle, steady hand.

We Are Thankful

My 5th graders got into an argument this morning. The big debate was over whether God and Jesus were the same or different persons. Sometimes, I let students solve their own debates. Sometimes I intervene. Today, after a solid minute of debate, I intervened. I explained that in the Christian tradition, God is three parts: God the Father, or Creator; God the Son, or Jesus; and God the Holy Spirit, the part of God that is with us today. So. Yes. Both sides of the argument are correct. God and Jesus, in the Christian tradition, are both the same and different persons all at once.

And just why were we having a very abstract and difficult to understand theological discussion in 5th grade music class? Because we were talking about things and people for which we are thankful. One boy said that he was thankful for Jesus Christ because he died on the cross for our sins. Another boy said God. Another boy said God and Jesus. And there the debate began…

In less abstract and complicated answers, many of my students have said that they are thankful for: friends and family; food and water; shelter; clothes; life; and the ability to come to school to learn. One boy said that he was thankful for the time that he got to spend with his grandfather before he passed away. And another boy said that he was thankful for music. I almost cried at those two…

What about you, friend? What people and things are you thankful for this Thanksgiving Season?
And when was the last time you had to explain the sometimes difficult and abstract parts of your faith?

Dear God: Thank you. Thank you for being beyond human comprehension but still giving us the drive to seek and try to understand—even as children. Help us always to be grateful, especially this holiday season. It’s in your Name I pray—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Buy One, Get One

Sometimes I’m lazy. Sometimes I’m spoiled. Sometimes I’m both. On Thursday afternoon, I was both…and so I found myself waiting for coffee at Starbucks for no less than 30 minutes—and I’d even placed a mobile order and driven for 7 minutes after placing the order.

The wait was quite ridiculous, really. But I suppose it was for a reason: It was “buy one get one free” day…

Except I wasn’t getting buy one get one free. I was just getting one for the next morning.

I drink my coffee cold. I was out of coffee at the house. I thought it would be quick and easy to get a coffee from Starbucks on my way home. I told you. Sometimes I’m lazy.

I was wrong.

After about twenty minutes, I thought about leaving without my coffee, but I’d already spent over $5 on it, and I’d already invested a good chunk of life in it, so I decided to stick it out. I told you. Sometimes I’m spoiled.

And so I sat and waited. And waited. And waited. Less patiently than I would have liked. And waited. Until finally they called my name. And I took my coffee. For Friday morning. And went home.

As I sat there waiting, I began to think: Wouldn’t it be nice if the many people who cared so much about getting “buy one, get one free” at Starbucks also cared about children in our schools—or about persons starving in third world countries—or about missions efforts in our churches—or about social justice in general—or about simply slowing down and waiting to hear God’s voice…and the thoughts went on.

Unfortunately, I think, we have begun to value the wrong things in this society of plenty...

God, forgive our laziness—our greed—our misplaced time, energy, and money—and begin to transform us…transform me…one cup of coffee at a time. Amen.

The Power of Human Touch

For a couple of years at JES, my morning duty was to stand in the hallway and greet students as they arrived at school. During those years, I gave and received a lot of hugs. Countless students needed to start their days with hugs. One of my students, T, even needed a kiss on his forehead.

Because I do car rider duty every afternoon at GES, I don’t have a morning duty. Because I don’t have a morning duty, I don’t give and receive morning-duty hugs. I’ve fully begun to realize the implications of this reality over the past few weeks, and I’ve realized that I feel a slight disconnect with my students because of it. Truthfully, I’m not sure that some of my students know that I care about them.

So I did something different as my most challenging class entered my room this week: I greeted each student with either a wave, a fist bump, or a hug. Students got to choose which greeting they liked. I expected a lot of fist bumps and waves. Instead, I received hugs from over 85% of the class. I was genuinely surprised by this response, and I was surprised at how tight and how long some of my 4th grade students held on.

I think sometimes we forget the power of human touch.

I know that I must be careful. Touch has too often been used to hurt and abuse, and only God knows what my students see and feel at home. But I think I’m going to start trying to give more hugs, or waves, or fist bumps.

I need for my students to know that I care.

What is something you want to start doing? What led you to your decision?

Veterans Day Interview With My Dad

What branch of the military did you serve in? US Army

How long did you serve? 28 years

How old were you when you enlisted? 25

Why did you enlist? I wanted to be an Army chaplain. I felt that God was calling me to do it.

What was your highest rank? Lieutenant Colonel…and I was a Command and General Staff College Graduate.

What were your jobs in the military? I first served as a Supervisory Chaplain for the 171st Support Group, US Army Reserve. I then served as a Command Chaplain of the Civil Affairs Psychological Operations at Fort Bragg. My last assignment was Deputy Chaplain of the Special Operations Command of the US Army at Fort Bragg.

What did you do as a Chaplain? I led worship services, coordinated interfaith workshops, provided personal counseling, maintained personal proficiency so that I was ready to fight, and evaluated Chaplains in my chain of command.

Did you ever go to a combat zone? No. But I was deployed to Equador to support nation building efforts. I served 1100 troops from various countries.

What was the hardest part of being in the military? Having to be away from my family.

What was the best part of being in the military? The sense of bonding and belonging to people who loved you and would die for you.

What do think the most important part of your work was? Bringing men and women to God and God to women and men.

How did you serve people who were not believers? I accepted them as being created by God and being deserving of all the compassion, counsel, and help that I could give them.

You currently work with the Veterans Treatment Court in Harnett County. What do you do in that role? I am the Chaplain to the Core Treatment Team that includes the Judge, Clerk of Court, District Attorney, Defense Attorneys, Probation Officers, Veteran Service Administration, and Mentor Coordinators. I also counsel with individuals when asked and visit the jail as directed by the Judge.

What is the goal of the Veterans Treatment Court? To assist Veterans who are in trouble with legal issues in finding a wholesome lifestyle and understanding of self that will enable them to function as an asset in our society. In other words, working with broken people and trying to make them whole by utilizing all the resources we can find.

How do you think we can best honor our Veterans? Value Veterans as ordinary people who have been called upon to do extraordinary things under very difficult circumstances and listen to what they have to say. If someone presents a need that we might be able to meet, then meet it. Someone may need a ride to the doctor or need their grass cut or somebody might need help retrieving medicine. That’s stuff we can do. But we have to know people in order to meet their needs. In short, be a good neighbor as we understand how Jesus meant to be a neighbor.

What else do you want us to know on this Veterans Day? We need Veterans and their families who come from and represent all parts of our society, and we need to maintain our desire to uphold the constitution of the United States and defend the idea of democracy that values all people.

Proud of Our Veterans

On Monday afternoon, one of our assistants asked what her son should wear to the program on Monday night. He had told her “nothing.” She knew that he wasn’t supposed to show up naked. So I told her jeans and a patriotic-colored shirt…

Last week, one of our other assistants shared that her husband’s birthday was over the weekend. As part of her birthday present to her daddy, the assistant’s daughter gave him, a veteran, her performance in Monday’s night program…

Before the performance on Monday night, one of my students left the stage crying. He was trying so very hard but he was simply overwhelmed with nerves. My PE teacher saw him leave stage and went to talk with him. After a few minutes of calming down, she encouraged him to get back on stage. And what was it that convinced him to get back up there and try again? His mom. He knew that if he could make it through the performance, then he would be able to salute his mom as part of one of our songs…

“We are proud of our veterans, proud of you all. You are patriots and heroes who answered the call. With courage, strength, and sacrifice, you saw our country through. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to you…” (*insert sign language for “thank you.”)

After the program, my very anxious student walked arm in arm with his mom, still dressed in her army uniform. He had just told her thank you for being a combat veteran…

My one assistant had just watched her daughter’s whole countenance change when she saw her daddy arrive at the program from his work. Her daughter was able to give her daddy the gift of saying thank you…through music…

And my other assistant had just watched her patriotic-color-clad son salute his father, also a veteran. She wrote, “R was so proud to salute his daddy…”

“We are proud of our veterans, proud of you all. You are citizens with honor and faith standing tall. Our freedom is assured to us because you all came through. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to you.” (*insert a physical salute*)

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Special Note: When I programmed the song, “Proud of our Veterans,” I knew that it would be special for our Veterans, but I had no idea how special it would be for my students. I feel honored to have been part of this experience.

Performances: On Changing My Mind

I must confess: I’m not a huge fan of performances. They take A LOT of work and the work takes A LOT of time. For example: We’ve been in school a little over nine weeks, and I have been working on a performance with my 2nd and 3rd graders since week one. The performance is tonight. It will be the first performance at GES in years. I am nervous. I would have been fine not doing a performance. And yet. I know that performances are important.

On Friday night, I went to my niece’s piano recital. At the beginning of the recital, her piano teacher gave a little speech about the importance of…performance. It was as if she’d crawled into my head and read my thoughts. She said that performances are important because: 1) they give students a goal to work toward; 2) they provide students with a sense of accomplishment; 3) they give students the opportunity to receive applause and recognition; 4) they require courage and self-confidence; and 5) they create opportunities for working together and following leadership.

When she finished her speech, I felt about an inch high for not being a fan of performances. Yet I simultaneously felt about an inch taller because I knew that tonight was going to do all of those things for my students…as well as provide parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, teachers, friends, and neighbors an opportunity to be proud of their little people. I know that I was super proud of my niece after she played Friday night, and I imagine that there will be some pride tonight after our performance.

Finally, tonight’s performance will honor our nation’s veterans. We have talked a lot about veterans and how important they and our current military personnel are to our country. We have discussed that sometimes the best thing we can do for someone is say thank you. Tonight’s performance will give us that opportunity to say thank you.

So…I must confess: I’m not a huge fan of performances. But. My mind is changing. After 15 years of teaching, my mind is changing…and my niece’s piano teacher can be credited for beginning the shift.

What is something that you have begun to or completely changed your mind about recently—even if it’s something you’ve held to for years? Can you pinpoint an exact moment when your thoughts began to shift? Please share. I’d love to hear.

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!