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Praying for Back-to-School Joy

Jeannie Waters12 Comments on Praying for Back-to-School Joy

 Will COVID-19, a potential joy thief, rob families and educators of joy in 2020? Which safeguards are trustworthy? Do we have a responsibility in the current school year dilemma? Yes, I believe we do.

Let’s join together in prayer for each student and educator facing a year of uncertainty.

But first, let’s recall happy back-to-school days.

Do memories of a new school year make you smile? Do you recall the smell of new crayons and the joy of seeing friends again? Remembering my own school days and those of my children spark joy.

From the moment our son played on the playground and noticed the bright yellow doors, he was ready to start school. Chocolate brown eyes danced with excitement as he entered Mrs. Tippett’s kindergarten class.

Memories of his first second-grade homework assignment make me laugh. Not understanding that his teacher meant essay, he wrote a summary of his summer activities and titled the paper “My S. A.” (I didn’t say a word knowing it would give his teacher a smile.)

Our daughter, never one for the ordinary, chose either sparkly silver pencils or those with a Strawberry Shortcake motif for her school debut. Ponytail bouncing, she skipped in daily with enthusiasm as she chatted with friends.

My favorite school memory of her was the day she insisted on “taking” her brother for Show-and-Tell! (He obliged her.)

Will the happy back-to-school memory bank be filled this year? At the beginning of this 2020-2021 school year, we see more questions than answers:

  • Online school or in-person?
  • Can kindergarteners understand social distancing?
  • Will teachers get sick?
  • How will working parents manage?
  • What extracurricular activities?

We hear more doubt than certainty. We suspect more fear than joy will capture us. We wonder how effective online education will be.

Yes, this school year will be challenging at best, but I believe each of us can contribute to effective education for all children and joy in learning How?

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.               

Colossians 4:2

As a retired teacher, I remember the energy required for reopening school. Long hours. Little sleep. New requirements. Diverse needs. It’s hard, folks. A blessing—but HARD.  Educators and families need God’s blessings.

Here’s a suggested prayer guide. Please add your own requests.

A Prayer Guide for the 2020-2021 School Year

Pray as you ride by public and private schools and as you see school buses and children in your neighborhood.

Lift up home school students and parents.

Pray for wisdom for board members and advisors.

Ask God to equip educators with stamina, health, joy, and insight into students’ needs.

Pray for students and parents who are fearful as you pray for academic achievement. Pray for joy.

Pray for students with disabilities and for those learning English as a second language.  

Here are groups of people to lift in prayer:

  • students and families
  • teachers, including new teachers
  • paraprofessionals
  • counselors
  • clerical staff
  • bus drivers
  • custodians
  • administrators
  • substitute teachers
  • board members

Without setting foot in a school, we can impact student learning and our community through prayer. Did the start of a new school year bring you joy?

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:13

Image from Pixabay

Help a Sister Out

Jeannie Waters36 Comments on Help a Sister Out
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Dawn Bata, Author

What joy to welcome my guest blogger today. Wife, mom, and writer extraordinaire, Dawn Bata is a new friend. When you read her short post, you’ll want to click on the book photo link at the bottom to check out her ebook. Her bio is there as well.

You may want to purchase the ebook or recommend it to a friend, relative, or neighbor who needs encouragement. I’m loving these short but powerful devotions with endearing stories.   Here’s Dawn’s post:        

Help a Sister Out

When our middle daughter, Sophia, was eight years old, she ran her first season of track…and her last. The track meet was underway, but unbeknown to Jeremy and me, Sophia was assigned the mile event. What was her coach thinking? Sophia had never run the mile event before! Eager to see the outcome, we waited.

The event started and off she went. Our family began shouting, “Go, Sophia!” She was making great strides, but our excitement soon turned to concern. Her pace slowed and the look of defeat was written all over her sweaty face. Sophia was out of steam. What happened next melted my heart. Big sister Meredith dashed onto the track to finish the mile with her.

Victory! Not in the means of winning the race, but in winning at life. Although Meredith was ten years old, in the eyes of her little sister, she was a hero. They finished the race together. Way to help a sister out! 

Isn’t that what we are called to do? To run the race of life together, alongside our sisters in Christ? First Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are doing.”         

Go ahead, and cheer on your sisters in Christ! We don’t have to run this race alone! Motherhood is a marathon, entailing long distances, deep breaths, and determination. Some days we need a friend to run alongside us to encourage us. Together we are stronger and more impactful.

If you see a sister facing hurdle after hurdle, overwhelmed, and discouraged, offer her a hand and finish the race together in His love and strength. Help a sister out!

Please share your thoughts with Dawn in the comment section below. Has someone helped you out?

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Dawn would love to connect with you at dawn.bata@gmail.com

Dawn is a mom on a mission to share her passion for family, friends, faith, and home. She is a wife and mother of three who encourages and inspires moms to live and love life to the fullest! She is the author of In the Midst of a Masterpiece: Moments Celebrating the Joys and Struggles of Motherhood and Co-Founder of Moms’ Musings Writers Group. Dawn enjoys using her love for writing to encourage moms on this amazing yet bumpy journey of motherhood. Join her and navigate the joys and struggles of motherhood together.

What I Learned About Growth

Jeannie Waters20 Comments on What I Learned About Growth
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“I think she died,” I said to my husband as I lamented the appearance of my friend, the tree who once stood proudly along the fence line.

Each fall for decades she’d graced our backyard with a striking combination of colors. Every spring and summer her green waxy leaves provided beauty and shade. But on that mid-spring afternoon, she showed no signs of life. No leaf buds emerged from her long, bare limbs.

This mighty tree spread her branches at ninety-degree angles from the eighteen-inch-thick trunk. She stood in sharp contrast to the spring-green leaves and grassy lawn around her.

The black gum, otherwise known as black tupelo, owns a beautiful scientific name—Nyssa sylvatica. (I named her Nyssa for short.) Surely this fall, I would miss her glorious, postcard-perfect hues. As I grieved her demise, I researched a quick-growing replacement with pretty foliage to take her place.

Imagine my surprise when one late spring morning, I spotted tiny green leaves on Nyssa’s branches. In a few days, more leaves unfurled as her limbs reached out to embrace spring. Can a tree make a person as happy as I was that day? You bet it can.

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Now my spring, summer, and fall views would be graced with beauty, and my walks around the yard promised to include the comfort of refreshing shade. My deciduous friend was simply a late “leafer.”

“Thank You, Lord,” I said with sincere gratitude.

As God accepted my thanks, He taught me a lesson—growth and potential are not always visible and may require time to bear fruit.

In my estimation—from outward signs–I pronounced my beloved black gum tree dead and began seeking a substitute. Unbeknownst to me, the stately “resident” of our back yard was teeming with robust growth under its gray furrowed bark. In a few weeks, verdant evidence popped into view.

Scripture instructs us to seek spiritual growth, but sometimes changes are invisible and seem slow to blossom into fruition.  

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

  2 Peter 3:18

When we take the first step of our journey by seeking forgiveness for sin and surrendering to Jesus, God creates new life in us as surely as spring trees birth new leaves.  

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Along the pathway, we sometimes struggle to be patient with ourselves and others when we can’t see signs of improvement. Thoughts of “I did that again,” and “I despise this sinful attitude,” are frustrating, but they lead us to our knees and serve as proof that God is transforming us.

Complacency and failure to seek God’s instruction and correction have no place in a believer’s heart. Obeying biblical truth is important, but when we remember it is the work of the Creator that molds us to the image of Christ, we have hope.

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We can trust the One who generates new plant cells in dormant trees, to mature us season by season according to His plan. Resting in His strength to change us as we yield to His nurturing care, brings assurance and peace.  

My back-yard nature lesson reminded me that spiritual growth is sometimes slow or invisible. We may not see instant evidence as God tills the soil and plants seeds of truth in our hearts. He later nourishes our development, prunes errant branches, and leads us “in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake (Psalm 23:3). He promises to guide us.

What is our responsibility in the process? The Bible offers guidelines:

Pray

Pray without ceasing. 

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Study the Bible.

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

Psalm 119:11

Participate in Christian fellowship.

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Listen to wise teachers.

Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.

Proverbs 23:12

Find opportunities to serve others.

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Peter 4:10

Let’s ask ourselves these questions:

  • How can I follow biblical teaching to grow in Christ?
  • As I look back on my salvation journey, in which areas has God helped me mature?
  • Am I patient with others as God works in their hearts?
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When we long for spiritual growth and insight but feel like a leafless tree—stagnant and fruitless, God offers the refreshing shade of His presence, the power of His Son’s light, and the rainfall of His love. He promises,

He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6

How great are the works of our God!

Which biblical principles help you grow in your walk with Christ?  

Bible verses are taken from the NKJV.

Some Trust in Chariots

Jeannie Waters30 Comments on Some Trust in Chariots
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My daughter’s attention was riveted to the tale of a brave mongoose who protected an Indian family by fighting cobras. Proud of my efforts to introduce her to classic literature and convinced she was now old enough, I read the story she’d selected, a cartoon-illustrated version of “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” by Rudyard Kipling.

Have you ever made what you deemed a wise decision but lived to regret it?

“I loved Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Mama. He was brave. But, Mama, what if cobras get into our house? We don’t have a mongoose. Can we buy a mongoose, Mama?”

“Honey, cobras don’t live in our part of the world, and no, we can’t buy a mongoose.”

“But one could come here, and get under the house, and come into my room,” she responded.

“I promise you cobras don’t live in our country. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi lived in India, and the author made the story up. It’s not true. Now go brush your teeth and get ready for bed, and I’ll come pray with you.”

“But, Mama, one might come here. I can’t go in the bathroom. Ask Daddy to check it first.”

Even after my husband checked, our little bookworm refused to budge from the sofa.

Oh, I know what I’ll do. Surely this will convince her.

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“Let’s look at the globe. Here’s where we live, and waaaaaay over here, on the other side of the world, is India. That’s where the story took place. Look at the huge oceans between us and India. See? No cobras can get to us.”

“They might be able to swim, Mama.”

Why did I read that story at night? Why did I read it at all?

No amount of words or geography lessons from tired parents could solve the argument.

Maybe if she talks to Daddy. She thinks he knows about everything, especially animals.

“Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you call Granddaddy and ask him about cobras?”

She called my dad and returned from the kitchen smiling. “Granddaddy said cobras don’t live here. They live in India, and that’s far away. Granddaddy knows everything. I’m going to brush my teeth. Can we read “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” again tomorrow night?”

What? That’s exactly what we said. But she believed her grandfather because “he knows everything.”  

Whom do you believe when you face fears? During the Covid-19 pandemic we hear advice from an alphabet soup of “experts.” CDC, WHO, FEMA, FDA, FOX, CBS, CNN, etc.                                

In addition to the acronyms, we’ve garnered advice from pastors, family, friends, social media platforms, and others. “Facts” presented by one source are disputed by another or changed the following day.

Three feet apart or six? Wear masks or don’t? It’s safe to go out; no, it’s not. Asymptomatic persons can carry the virus; no, they can’t. The conflict can frighten us and rob us of sleep.

Whom are we to believe? Who is credible? Are our sources basing their commentaries on God’s Word?

Satan, our enemy, uses fear to attack our peace, a fruit of God’s Spirit within believers’ hearts.

News updates serve a purpose, but they can also become incubators for panic. What protection does God’s Word offer?

When David faced physical enemies in battle, he said,

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Psalm 20:7

Some of David’s enemies depended on horse-drawn chariots and mighty warriors to wage war. Armies with this equipment and personnel often decimated opponents on the battlefield.

When fear rears its ugly head, it’s easy to turn to the arsenal of strategies we’ve used in the past with some measure of success.  Although we should utilize God-given skills and resources, placing our faith in God is vital if we are to win against distress. His gifts equip us, but we depend on Him for victory.

Depending solely on our own abilities, money, the help of others or information brings short-term success at best and does little to yield long-term peace. Let’s ask ourselves: Where does my dependence lie today? Where do I turn when I’m afraid or anxious?

Some versions of Psalm 20:7 substitute remember or boast for trust. Surely David recalled the numerous times God granted him military and personal victory as he counted on continued protection.

Does remembering God’s work in your life fortify you to face uneasiness?

Remembering a few of God’s many names helps us focus on who He is—His character.

El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty)

Jehovah Shammah (The Lord is there.)

Jehovah Jireh (The Lord will provide.)

Jehovah Raah (The Lord my Shepherd) 1

Do one of these names of God or others comfort you in otherwise scary times?

In child-like faith, our daughter believed her granddaddy because of his proven record with her. In child-like faith, we can run to our Abba Father when enemies assail us. He actually DOES know everything and He cares for us.

Meditating on God’s names and His character reminds us of who He is. Perhaps in the face of battle, David focused on God’s faithfulness, His sovereignty, or His strength. Maybe at other times, the shepherd-king considered God’s lovingkindness or His longsuffering with His people.

Which traits of God help you to trust Him?

Whether our fear stems from the coronavirus, relational issues, financial concern, events in the news, or other sources, God’s names and His character remain the same. I hope you find encouragement today in the peace God offers to His followers. Jesus said,

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

John 14:27

Try listing the names of God and His character traits. Concentrating on one per day and finding related Bible verses helps us conquer anxiety.

Do you know someone who needs these truths? When the peace of Christ fills our hearts, others are drawn to Him. Hearing the way God calms our fears can encourage someone else.

Please share how concentrating on one of God’s names or an aspect of His character helps you fight fear.

This week when news alarms us, let’s say with David,

…We trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Psalm 20:7

Bible verses are from the ESV.

1 https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm

Images from Pixabay.com

Who Invited You?

Jeannie Waters37 Comments on Who Invited You?
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Now that my blood pressure is normal again, I’ll share my story.

While I was minding my own business, participating in an online writing critique group, a predator snuck onto my deck. At the end of the meeting, my friend, Jean, mentioned she planned to create a blog post and a video about the serpent in Genesis three.

As soon as we finished, and without my contacts, I headed toward the deck. The storm door hadn’t been closing properly, so when I saw something stretched across the horizontal metal piece in the middle of the door, I thought my husband had placed weather stripping there.

“How tacky! I’ll ask him to get rid of it when he gets home.”

When I moved one step closer and put my hand on the storm door handle, the three-feet-plus-long “strip” moved, turned its head downward, and stuck its forked tongue out at me.

I’m pretty sure I invented a new dance step and uttered a guttural sound of disgust before I yelled, “What are you doing here?”

I took pictures through the glass for identification purposes because I planned to prosecute and have Hubby Hero execute the rascal. Split-second thoughts flashed: “Don’t kill good snakes,” they say. “We need good snakes,” they say.

Well, THEY are welcome to have this “good snake” in THEIR yard, IF in fact, he IS a good snake…IF there is such a thing.

Would you like to know how tenacious the creepy thing was? I closed the back door and banged on it as hard as I could. Then I opened the door just a tad and peeked out to see where he went, if anywhere. He budged not an inch! Did he not hear me pounding on the door?

Next, to add more slither points, he faced left and began to crawl back over his own body. Ew, ick, yuk! I slammed that door shut!

Whew! Deep breath. Danger averted. Down, blood pressure. Down, I say.

Knight-in-shining armor hurried home on his trusty steed, aka green work truck, and urged the hideous intruder off the deck with a long piece of metal conduit. Sir William (his first name) reminded me of his warning–my birdhouses would attract snakes. (Why is he ALWAYS right?! Don’t I get a turn?) 🤣

The black snake (identified later by his line-up mug shot) was there all along, stretched across the storm door. God knew; I did not. I thanked my heavenly Father for the protection of the glass and the last-second realization that I should stop. (If I’d gone onto the deck, I might have suffered a heart attack or broken my leg jumping off the deck. It could happen.)

When I calmed down, I remembered Jean telling us at the end of the meeting she planned to work on her video and blog post about Satan, the Garden of Eden serpent. As she spoke–at that very minute–a serpent sat on my door. Shudder, shudder. The comparison repulsed me.

Jean’s topic and my experience—what a parallel.

God spoke two messages into my heart.

  • Jean spoke of Satan slithering in snake-like fashion, waiting for an opportune moment to strike when we are either unaware or wandering, perhaps into deliberate sin. The scaly reptile I saw approached in silence to a place I never expected his kind to appear. Keeping our eyes on God helps us stay alert to the uninvited, cunning schemes of the evil one. The Bible compares Satan to a roaring lion:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5:8

Although this verse warns us to be watchful, we are not to fear our enemy. Believers in Christ can state with assurance,

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1 John 4:4 b
  • The second lesson: proper correction provides clear vision. Without my contact lenses, I almost opened the storm door and gave that snake a free ride. That action would not have ended well. God’s Word serves as vision correction for our lives. Through Bible study and prayer, the Holy Spirit sharpens our focus on God’s wisdom. When we converse with Him and read the words He inspired, we’re better prepared to make wise choices and stand guard against the uninvited enemy of our souls.  

Due to my experience, I have a visual representation in my memory—not one I cherish—of our enemy, the devil, who lies in wait. However, my friends, there’s no need to fear. When we as believers look to God, He sharpens our vision with His Word. What an encouraging truth!

The snake is gone, but the memory is fresh.

God is faithful.

How has God protected you? Do you have a scary experience to share? A snake story, perhaps?

Bible verses are from the NKJV.