The World is Flat

During the past weeks, and especially the past days, I have begun reading a few pages in a very long book by Thomas L. Friedman. The World is Flat, is getting me excited for this new school year. I first encountered the title about six years ago when I received a copy of the article by the same title during my AP World History training course. This summer I stumbled upon a 2nd. edition of the book at a thrift store in my hometown.

I have only read the first sixty pages so far and have about five hundred left to go, but I find his ideas are like a synthesis to the life I have led these past years and have already learned so much about issues relating to history, politics, technology, trade, and global inter-connections that I am excited to read more. As I read, the points he explains explain how the world has changed since the early 1990s..the same period my own world became flattened as I moved to Nigeria.

I even had my own encounter during my flight from Seattle to Frankfurt when I met an Indian man in the seat next to mine. I didn't even take time to ask his name, but as we shared our stories of being transplanted to different cultures (he has lived outside of Seattle for the past ten years working in the pharmaceutical business, ironically he lives in the same  neighborhood I did before moving to Nigeria twenty-two years ago).

I am trying to envision how to reshape my APWH course to make them come alive to my students. They too have a flat world as they live in Nigeria, study in a school that has an American curriculum and mostly American teachers, and usually end up going to college in the US and connect with other international students.

Globalization is usually a topic I rush through at the end of the school year, but now I am considering introducing the topic before I even get to ancient history because I envision it serving as a great link to the past and present and connecting the world today as we discover what has shaped our development.

After feeling so dry these past months, I am relieved and excited to feel my passion for history and teaching returning...and just in time since I report back to school on Monday!

I love history and trying to make it come alive to my students and pray that my passion can ignite my students as well!Th

REST AND RETREAT

I just returned from two months in the United States. Usually when I head into a vacation time I look forward to having some time to rest, but I have learned that that does not always happen when I travel to my home country; in fact I’m often quite busy.

My family and I usually get to the US every two years and these past two years of teaching were full of challenges that often left me drained, so this time in the US I thought very little about academic concerns and even struggled to read for fun. I finally decided that was OK; I needed a break and allowed that part of my brain to rest a little.

One thing I did do with great intent was to continue the custom I’ve learned while in Nigeria these past twenty-two years and began each morning with prayer. As soon as I opened my eyes, I closed them again and thanked God for keeping me safe throughout the night and prayed for the day before me. I prayed for the various activities I would be a part of. I have learned over the years that prayer, and giving my concerns and activities to God opens the day up to His many blessing. Our trip was full of blessings.

My children were blessed through their connections with old and new friends from church, the neighborhood, church camps, soccer camps, mission trips and time with their aunts, uncle, and cousins.

My husband met old and new friends at church who welcomed him to pastors’ meetings, prayer meetings and involved him in visiting members. He also had a few opportunities to preach and we shared about Nigeria.

As for me, I too enjoyed reconnecting with people at the church I grew up in, as well as with friends from other Lutheran churches in the area. I made a few new friends through garage sales and church and began almost every day with breakfast with my mother. I did an awful lot of shopping in supermarkets and malls, cooked many meals for the family, and took many walks at the lake-sometimes alone and other times with my teenage daughter. I learned how to make cheesecake, had fun playing with a few spices and even made ice cream a few times.

One week my family and I did a lot of driving from one end of Washington state, into Idaho, and down into Oregon and to drop off and later pick up the kids from church camps while my husband and I enjoyed some time with one of my sisters and her husband.

It was a busy time! And through it all we were blessed with safe travels, the older kids were challenged to take their faith more seriously, and they all opened themselves up to new friends. I spent more time than usual with my sisters, and appreciated time with my cousins and their families and spent some time with nephews and a niece, of course the kids enjoyed time with their cousins too! But the time I prized the most was being with my mom who just turned eighty years old. She hosted us during most of our stay and she and my nephew that lives with her, put up with us as we often took over the small house and put many miles on the car.

Without her hospitality and the warmth and openness so many shared with us, our time would not have been the same. So thank you to all those who we met and thank you Mom for your hospitality, but most of all, thank you God for a blessed retreat to the US! Even if there was little actual rest, I was able to come back with a fresh perspective and feel ready to start school next week.

1Corinthians 10 is a reminder of how we, and people of the past, often feel trapped by the world around us as we search for an escape.

These days I have been amazed at how lifes challenges continue to bombard me through busy schedules, negative students, hot days, limited electricity, but God's Word and words of hope still manage to get through to me.

Escape is impossible on our own, but through Christ anything is possible. During this Lenten season remember to look not at the challenges from friends, work, busyness, family members, but to look further down the road at the Resurrection promises that wait for us.

Lifes challenges will never end, and neither will God's promises of protection and hope in eternity with him. If we can find that balance between doing our work and other tasks before us and trusting that God has control of everything, then we can hear his music to guide our dance steps even in the midst of a storm.

May His music always be stronger than Satan's lies and confusing myths. Let us find a way to dance to the cross together!

God is my Rock and Foundation

It’s been awhile since I wrote in my blog.

I was talking to a teacher colleague and friend yesterday and shared how I’m not a social person. Yet as a teacher I have to express myself so often that by the time I get home, I’m “talked out”. I’ve even started to notice that my teenage kids spend more time in their rooms these days and I think they are much like me.

With my teaching this academic year, I have committed myself more to planning my lessons in writing and developing notes for some classes. I’ve also had more writing for my women’s fellowship group since I’ve been leading devotions these past several months. I think that’s why I haven’t written much, I just feel “wrote out” and dry.

That’s not to say I don’t think about what I’m reading or journal sometimes about the sermons or chapel lessons I hear. On the other hand, I also have written fewer status posts on facebook.

I feel it’s important to have something to say, but sometimes I feel like I’m repeating myself a lot, especially when I lead devotions or write my blogs. Yet, I have to admit, that what I’m saying often does need to be repeated.

In our women fellowship devotions yesterday I shared a devotions from one book that chooses a hymn for each day and writes about the faith of the author and the meaning or story behind the hymn. Yesterday’s reading was about Joseph Gilmore, who penned the words to He Leadeth Me. The words were written as a poem during the US Civil War. They focus on Psalms 23.

These past weeks and months have demanded I place more attention on my lessons so that my classes are more organized and focused since discipline issues have taken more of my attention during individual lessons. Through it all, I have expected God’s guidance.

That expectation is one of the benefits of the intensity of my faith in God. God is my cornerstone to the foundation my faith is built on. I’m not afraid to question God, and I don’t doubt that He is who He is or that my questions will erode away any part of my faith. My faith in God has been tested over the years, but I have never wanted to disbelieve. There have been a few times where I wanted to set God aside so I could have a little “fun”, but it never took long before I realized that life without God beside me is no “fun”! Sometimes I was turning back to God's presence in a few short hours!

God is always there for me, leading and guiding me through life’s challenges and providing me encouragement and incite when I need it the most. He doesn’t care that I might be boring or repetitive or that I might shout a little and make some mistakes along the way. He keeps pushing me along when I feel unmotivated and loves it when I depend on Him. Where ever you are in your life and walk, I pray that you too can rest on a strong foundation of the Bible and the Truth and hope it offers. As a history teacher, I’ve noticed what happens to civilizations that lose an understanding of Truth and hope…eventually they either have a revolution or fall. In order to rise again they have to turn to God and have a vision. I’d like to say that they have to always focus on the Christian God, but I must admit that some civilizations have adopted other forms of belief, but I believe that that’s also why their forms of government continue to struggle. I can’t imagine life without a belief in God; I can’t imagine trying to live through life’s challenges without the hope and peace He has to offer. May you too rest in Him and never be afraid to depend on Him.

Preparing for Christ's Coming

Below is the devotional I wrote for our women fellowship group. These past weeks have been so busy and stretched that I only led the study once in November, and for that I used a devotional someone else wrote to reflect on the end of the church calandar and the truth that Jesus proclaims.

Usually I am ready and excited to decorate the house this weekend, but today I am only beginning to reflect on Christ's coming. It's good that I am reflecting on it for today's study to prepare my own heart and mind for the coming of Christ.

Most of my thoughts these days are on school activities and how to finish this semester's classes and plan for exams. It is good to step away from all that and reflect on something so much bigger.

May you too take time to pause and reflect on the coming of Christ as we contemplate what God means in our own lives. That's what this period of Advent is all about. May our time of reflection slow us down enough to remind us of the peace and joy that Christ brings to our own life!

Today is the beginning of Advent. In the church we celebrate advent by using the time to prepare for the coming of Christmas. Often people light candles each day, or each Sunday during Advent. Each candle represent part of the preparation.

The first candle is the Prophecy  Candle, next comes the Bethlehem Candle, The Shephard's Candle, and finally the Angel's Candle. Often a fifth candle is lit on Christmas Day to mark Jesus' Birth.

Today we look at the Prophecy Candle. Each day should be celebrated with the reading of a text. Our texts today come scripture that prophecy Jesus coming.   The Bible contains more than 300 passages that speak about the coming of the Messiah. Many of those texts come from Isaiah. I would like us to read two texts, Isaiah 7:14 and 2:1-5.

These passages reflect on the sovereignty of God and his work throughout human history. I find it amazing that hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah wrote of his coming. These passages represent only two of the many ways God shows us his prophetic handiwork. If we believe God is King over all then we claim that he also knows all. The Prophecy Candle reminds us that just as the wise men understood the signs of the times and acted on their understanding of them, we too should claim the handiwork of God, which foretold Jesus birth. Not only should we recognize God's handiwork, we should also reflect on how it appears in our own lives and rejoice that God is there for us.

May we celebrate the amazing act and mystery of prophecy throughout this week. Take time to reflect on how God too knows all the details of our lives, even before i they have unfolded and trust his hand in your own life, just as the prophets trusted in Jesus coming.

Questions: How did the prophets know Jesus was coming? How can we trust prophecies? How can these prophecies give us assurance for our own lives? How can you testify to God’s acts of prophecy in your own life as he guides and encourages to understand how to live for Him?

Trusting God and Doing His Will - A sermon

Enjoyed a few extra days off this week and was asked to preach so the weekend became a time of both rest and reflection.

Trusting God and Doing His Will

Psalms 40:2-9. Revelations 3:7-13, and John 4:34-4

In today’s passages we have a two-fold call, first to trust God and secondly to do his will.

            Jesus makes it clear in the passage from John that He came to finish God’s work. He made it clear that His Father sent Him. He made it clear that He has also sends us. We call this the Great Commission.

            Before anyone can accept a call, one must have trust. The one who is calling for someone to accept the task, must trust that the person can do the task and complete it. The one who is being called, must step out in confidence that he or she can do the task and step out in trust that the one calling believes the task will be completed. I hope that makes sense; because often there can be a breakdown in trust. There may be times when you are called to a task and are just not sure if you have what it takes to get it done and done well, but if the one doing the calling has confidence in you, then you are more willing to step out in faith and try to do it. God had confidence in Jesus and likewise has confidence in us to pick up the task of doing His will.

            Accepting this task takes obedience. Obedience illuminates our hearts and faces as we look toward God for His guidance. When we set our hearts and faces to the task it is like the song, “They will know we are Christians by His love” Our face takes on God’s reflection and we illuminate His love.

            I think this happened in our story about the woman at the well. We know the story. Jesus tells her about her past and offers her living water. As she yearns for the new life He is offering, she begins to absorb His love and cannot help but reflect it. She didn’t plan to become an evangelist, but it happened.

            I have been reading a book about evangelism these past days and I’m learning some new things. My Lutheran upbringing rarely mentioned or challenged me to be evangelistic, though it did happen at times. Over the years, opportunities to learn about evangelism and to share my faith have come more and more.

            In our gospel text today, the woman at the well did not share her experience with Jesus with the intent to evangelize or save her neighbors. Rather, Jesus’ words so shocked, surprised, and excited her that she couldn’t contain the message – she had to share it! She realized she was doubly saved. She was saved from her past, and she was saved for the future. She just had to go and tell someone, anyone!

            There may be times at work, school, on the soccer pitch, or in your own neighborhood when someone asks you a simple question, but you realize that an honest answer requires that you share a testimony of your relationship with Jesus. At such times what do you do? Do you keep it simple, or do you act on the promptings of the Holy Spirit and give an honest testimony of how God is at work in your life? The woman at a well had spent so many years lying about the men in her life and now she had an opportunity to share the truth about a new man; Jesus.

            Jesus had sowed a new seed in her life and it quickly sprouted and was ready for harvest. It doesn’t usually happen so fast. Usually the seed is sown and it takes years for it to begin to germinate and sprout. This is why the John passage points out that the reaper has rarely done the sowing, but it doesn’t matter who reaps the harvest, both the sower and the reaper should be glad and even excited, about the harvest!

            For many of us, there can be years of growth between the sowing and a big harvest. If fact, I think sometimes there are various forms of harvest throughout our lives and years of a little more sowing, a lot of weeding and various transformations in our lives before there is a harvest we can really be proud of.

            I don’t know about you, but this earthly life in between the harvests often wears me out. The demands from work, colleagues, students, children, neighbors, extended family etc. while often is a wonderful opportunity, can also be a challenge that demands our attention. Sometimes the demands seem to hit all at once. When that happens, how do we respond? When God places one more request or challenge before us, what do we do? Do we worry and stress how we can manage or do we turn our face to Him in obedience trusting He will provide?

            Often we have due dates and demands that hit us; how do we respond when the crunch is on? Do we shout and get all excited? Do we wave our arms hoping to clean up or erase the mess before us? Do we shake our fist and cry out, “It’s too much God?” Or do we clasp our hands and fall on our knees in prayer for God’s guidance? Sometimes we fall on our knees physically and other times it is more in our hearts as we turn our face to Him seeking His will first.

            The irony and mystery of how God works in our lives is this – when we act out of obedience and trust, he fills our emptiness and provides His strength to meet the demands before us. It is at this time we also need to remember that our pain is nothing compared to Jesus’ pain on the cross.

            Those who don’t know God or Jesus well might ask why we should be expected or even be asked to finish the King’s work. Barclay’s commentary on John gives three reasons to do the will of God. Doing God’s will is first and foremost, the only way to peace. Secondly, it is the only way to happiness, and thirdly, it is only when we do God’s will that we experience true and perfect power.

            When the woman went to the well in the heat of the day, it wasn’t because her life was so busy that she had no other time to go, rather she went because she hoped no one else was around. She wanted to avoid the usual judgment and stares of her neighbors that brought her embarrassment and pain. But then something amazing happened! When she heard Jesus words; His message made her to seek them out! Before, she had no peace, no happiness, but when she claimed Jesus’ words she had a God-given power that made her race to find her neighbors and bring them to Jesus. When she did that, she became an evangelist!

            Many churches have a habit of seeking out a known name when there is a big event in the church. We look for someone with the reputation of being a motivational speaker, someone who is an expert in the field of speaking. Few of us would consider ourselves experts in our field, but all of us are survivors of one kind or another and all of us have our own story to tell.

            Your story may be of a close call when you narrowly missed a tragedy, or when you did well on a test or exam that you thought you would fail, or when you weren’t prepared for something and God carried you through the challenge. Perhaps some of us may have thought our days were numbered as we lie ill on our beds, yet we are still here today.

            God provides for us each day, some days we may be like the widow who only had one last drop of oil and a little flour but then someone or something comes our way and we are blessed with God’s providence and provisions. If God calls you to tell your story, don’t hide it, but trust that just as God met your needs, he will supply the words to share your testimony. Perhaps you have heard that the Lutheran church is a priesthood of all believers. On October 31^st Lutherans celebrate Reformation Day, wouldn’t that be a great day to share your faith with someone close to you. Whether it’s with an unbeliever whose life is empty without God, or a believer that might be struggling in some way, your words can be a source of encouragement and a testimony to what God is doing in your life. When pastor asked if I would preach today, I was tired and wanted to dodge his request, but I have learned to listen to the Holy Spirit’s promptings, both those that come directly to my heart and those that are brought through someone else. It is when we are most tired that we realize we have nothing to offer, except by the strength of God. It is when we can only depend and trust on God’s power that he can use us most. It is when we respond out of obedience that He replaces our weariness with His peace, His happiness, and His power.

            Obedience illuminates our hearts and faces as we look to God for His guidance.

            God, may we always seek you, may we always turn to you – whether it is out of joy and thanksgiving or simply because we want to be obedient and show our trust and faith that you will continue to provide for our needs each day. Help us to seek you wherever you choose to meet us, whether it is in the midst of trials and temptations or on a mountain top as we seek you. Help us to always choose to seek you first and help us offer our testimony whenever and wherever you call on us to share it.

October Break

This past week the kids and I have been on October Break, though I didn't get much of a break! My students often tell me I assign too much work. I feel the assignments are appropriate and worthwhile, but I've spent most of the week having to mark assignments and tests from each of my classes. Plus, one of my main helpers in the house was gone for almost three weeks so I had plenty to do.

Even so, it was good to have a change of pace and I did find some time to relax. I read a little, watched a few of my favorite programs  on TV, and exercised every other day. The kids and I didn't do anything special, but at least they each had some time with a friend or friends.

A chnage of pace is important in our lives, without it we too easily get in a rut. I like times of change or breaks from work so I can take care of a few things I struggle to finish during my regular schedule. This year the school work was more than usual so I didn't even get time to attend to other household things.

Breaks are nice, but I suppose they are more of a Western idea. Many people in this world don't take scheduled vacations. I remember talking to an Indian couple some years ago who came to my school to do some work. They claimed they hadn't had a holiday for over twenty years, but I couldn't help but notice the joy in their lives and realize that they did keep themselves open to change, and even sought it out. They came to our school to share their expertise in library management, shared themselves in fellowship, and listened to those they met from my school.

I pray that as we continue school on Monday that the work is more manageable and my attitude is refreshed so that my goals for my students are both challenging and meaningful. I pray that my attitude is one of joy and excitement for both my subject matter and the relationships I have with my students. I also pray that I am not so consumed by my work responsibilites that I forget to have fun with my children, husband, and in-laws that stay with us. Life is more than just work and I pray I can remember to have a better balance as work resumes.