Oddly Awed

 

Oddly Awed

Love our international kids! This is from April 18, 2014!

We had no school today due to this being Easter weekend. As with most holidays, it came at a very opportune time! This is an extremely busy time of the year for me. I am in charge of three school chapels next week and working on plans for my summer mission to Can Tho, Vietnam. Additionally, our Honduras/Haiti collection goes into high gear in about ten days which is fun but very demanding on my time and energy. There are lesson plans to be finalized and regular life errands to run and blogs to be penned. On top of that, I gave tests in all my five classes two days ago and by school policy, they must be graded and recorded on RENWEB, our communication system with parents by this coming Monday morning. So, I spent three plus hours today grading Bible exams. AND I FINISHED!

Grading the tests today, I found something that was fascinating. I have quite a few Chinese students spread out over four of my five sections. A number of them on Wednesday wrote down a completely wrong answer to a question and yet I counted all of the replies as correct. Perhaps I should explain. Part of the test covered the raising by Jesus of the widow's only son in the village of Nain as told in Luke 7. We discussed some particulars of the story and finished with the response of the crowd and how this fantastic news went everywhere in that part of Israel. The question in question was, What was the reaction of the crowd to the raising of the boy? To my amusement, quite a few of the kids from China put this in the blank: 
odd
Instantly, I realized what had transpired. When we took notes, I told them the crowd had been awed. Well, if English is your second language and context is not your strength, that answer made perfect sense! (I should say here one of my American students put Ahhhh!) You know, come to think of it, odd and awed sound almost identical! I can say with certainty those kids had their listening ears on!

As I thought about the mix-up in vocabulary, it occurred to me that there was some irony in the answers. The raising of the dead in the scriptures is an exciting concept to the believer, culminating with the resurrection of Jesus and the promise that His followers will live again, hopefully filling us with the sense of wonder and leaving us awed. But to those who don't believe, that foundational tenet of our faith is strange or bizarre, even odd. Paul, in 1st Corinthians, used the term foolishness in describing the world's view of the crucifixion while the Christian connects it to the power of God. Truthfully, I'm glad we had the glitch. It makes me aware of my responsibility in sharing the good news with teenagers from all around the world and even from different religious backgrounds.  Odd or awed? We all have to decide. It will be the most crucial choice of our lives, no matter our native tongue.

Applicable quote of the day:
"If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a shortage of flowers."

Doug Larson

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

It's All In The Wrist

 

It's All In The Wrist

I still swim constantly but now at my fitness center. This is about something I found on a previous swim at my apartment. It is from May 29, 2010.

During the summer, I still get up early to run in our apartment pool. This morning, I hit the water at 6 AM, the perfect time weather-wise and crowd-wise. After completing my thirty-five minute run, I climbed out and was walking toward the gate when I found a little bracelet on the concrete. It was one of those WWJD? bead wristlets that were so popular several years ago. Apparently, a swimmer did not want want to wear it into the water and so laid it down...and forgot about it. I put it on one of the circular tables covered by umbrellas that decorate our pool area. I hope whoever it belongs to- and I'm guessing it's a girl- will come back and retrieve it. I would hate for it to end up discarded in the trash can.

In his epistles, Paul makes use of figurative language. We know about his admonition in Ephesians 6 that we should put on the full armor of God so we can withstand Satan. What's interesting to me is that he never mentions taking it off. To me, it's implied that once we put on the armor of God, it's permanent. We need it and it becomes part of us. In actuality, I think we sometimes wear our Christianity like that WWJD? bracelet I picked up this morning. We wear it when it's convenient and doesn't get in the way. But when it's not comfortable or popular or easily explainable, we slip it off, fulling intending to slip it back on at some point in the future when it's not quite so cumbersome. Maybe that's the point about armor- it's difficult to put on so it's not so easy to remove at a moment's notice. And, you never find it laying around the pool.

Applicable quote of the day:
"Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that men can understand.''

S.D. Gordon

God bless,
Steve

Luke 18:1

Five Is >Than Three/Risk Versus Rewards

 

 Five Is >Than Three/Risk Versus Rewards

We still do this except now, a three is worth six on some days! This is from April 6, 2018!

We started basketball practice the way we always do this morning. The girls stacked it up and prayed and then we talked for a minute or two. The topic was an odd one for a basketball off-season workout. I asked the young ladies, including Taylore, our student coach, and Coach Watson, if they knew what determines whether a high school boy asks out a high school girl on a date or not. They appeared puzzled so I told them: It's risk versus reward. Is the reward in the chance she will say yes greater than the risk of embarrassment that she will say no? I told them that from my perspective, that's what keeps lots of boys dateless. When I mentioned that in my high school classes, the female students concurred when I said I thought that many boys are too scared- that lots of girls would go out with them if they would take the chance they might get turned down. Life in the love lane!

You might be wondering what that has to do with basketball practice. Here is the connection. Our perimeter kids are on the short side and not great three point shooters. When we play, they are very reluctant to shoot from behind the arc. They don't perceive it to be worth the risk with a low payoff. So when we played today, I changed the rules. Every successful shot from behind the three point line would count as five points. You can guess what happened- the shots were flying! The kids shot a good number of threes and at close to a fifty % clip! (To give our post players an incentive as well, we counted each offensive rebound as a point!) But there was an unexpected development to our rule change. With the three pointers being worth five, the defensive players overplayed the potential shooters, leaving lanes to both cut back door and shot fake/drive. The risk versus reward sword cut both ways! As you can guess from my writing tonight, we had a good practice this AM and a good morning practice makes me a happy classroom teacher for the rest of the day!

You know, we'll have to go back to the traditional scoring system- it would be unrealistic to the kids' development if we didn't. But I had to do something to get them in the mindset that it's permissible to shoot the longer shot. I think they were surprised at what opened up when they at least tried. I can understand in an non-basketball sense. I'm an introvert and definitely not a risk taker. This characteristic infiltrates most segments of my life. Let me give you an example from my time as a kid. My mother, rest her soul, told me I always liked girls who already had boyfriends because I had a built-in excuse not to ask them out. Mom always know more than we give her credit for! She was very accurate in her assessment. There's another area of my existence in which I was no risk taker. I've always been a homebody. If you told me twenty years ago today, April 6, 1998, that I would begin traveling all over the world, I would never have believed you. But late in that spring of '98, I got a call from Steve Davidson with TORCH Missions in Nashville, informing me that someone had paid for me to go with his group to Honduras that July! (I still have no idea who the donor was.) The thought of leaving the US to talk about Jesus had never crossed my mind. That first trip to Honduras with Steve and Company led to ten more to Honduras and then to Haiti, China, and now Vietnam. And like the girls on my team had unexpected discoveries when they shot threes, I learned there would be a ripple effect for me to deal with. I learned there was a great big world to see and how  little I knew about life outside our borders. I met face to face so many people whose language was strange to me and vice versa, people who both loved God and needed God, just like me. But first, I had to take the risk. More accurately, I had to be shoved out of the safe parameters of my world because I would not have taken what I perceived to be a risk without a push. Sometimes, you need that nudge to get over whatever is holding you back. This week, I gave our players five little nudges to get them out of their cozy basketball nest- and I think it's working. Time and accuracy will tell. I'll keep you posted!


Applicable quote of the day:
“I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot...and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why... I succeed.”
Michael Jordan

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Maggie's Test

 

Maggie's Test

There are things about certain kids that stick with you. This is one o those things and one of those kids! It's from May 20, 2014.

 I'm in the middle of grading final exams and I need a break. My eyes are weary and the task can be absolutely numbing. I have roughly 1400 pages to grade by hand and I'm half way completed.  I have to be finished with the grades entered into the computer by Friday so I'll make it.... but I need a break. That brings me to Maggie. I've known Maggie since birth as she is a member of my congregation and has been at WCS all her life. I taught her brother, her folks are friends of mine, and to top it off, we are neighbors. I have a little change holder she made for me out of clay when she was a small girl. I'm not quite sure where it is but that has more to do with the state of my apartment than the beauty of her pottery skills!

Before finals, we had several days of review in all our classes. My last day to give a regular test was last Wednesday and I used it. I have come to the conclusion that there is never surplus time when teaching and if the parents are paying for it and God is expecting me to use it, I have no excuse for wasting one second. I should have also mentioned that for seven school days previous to last Wednesday, our kids taking AP classes had their end of the year exams for their subjects. Last Tuesday afternoon, Maggie and a number of other students took the three hour AP Human Geography final. That meant she missed the final day of notes and material that would be covered on the next day's test in Bible 1. As I always do, I announced on Wednesday that anyone missing the day before could choose to delay their test and take it with Cindi McLeod who proctors all of our makeup exams but that I always believe they are better off taking it with us as I do a intense review right before I hand out the papers. I also tell them that if they choose to take it on time, I will grade a little less stringently as they are at a distinct disadvantage. I think there were three others besides Maggie in her 6th period class who had the AP exam twenty-four hours previously and all decided to take Test # 11 on Wednesday, which in all honesty, is easier for me. Making sure all tests are taken before finals can be a pain.

I didn't get around to grading the tests until Saturday as finals' reviews took precedence. When I came to Maggie's class and then Maggie's test, I found she had penned her favorite Bible teacher a note at the top of the first page. It read:

I did take the AP Test but don't grade it any easier  PLEASE

As a teacher, let me tell you how refreshing Maggie's request was. We live in a world of excuses and whining in academics and sports and you name it. I know there are times and situations where guidelines need to be relaxed and hard and fast rules need to be not so hard and fast. But making exceptions has become the new normal in so many aspects of our lives. Not with Maggie. She didn't want a crutch or a helping hand- she just wanted a chance to succeed on her own with the opportunity to prove to herself that she could excel without lowered expectations and I did exactly as she asked. That in itself is success, my friends. Coming to the realization that you are the one ultimately responsible for your own triumphs and setbacks is a huge mile marker on the highway of maturity and Maggie just moved a little further down that road. I probably should mention one other small detail about this awesome young lady and her test; she made a 100. I'm pretty sure that's Maggie's new normal.

Applicable quote of the day:
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” 
Napoleon Hill

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Future Generations

 

Future Generations

Most of my students assume I was born in Nebraska but as you will see, that is not the case. The following is from April of 2007.

One of my students, Lauren, just returned from a trip to New York to explore modeling possibilities. At worship services, her mother asked if I had ever been to the Big Apple. "Been there? I was born there!" Actually, it was Brooklyn and we moved when I was young but there is just something about the locale where we first see the light of day. Many famous people were born in New York; not so many where I was raised in Nebraska. Communities try to link themselves to favorite sons or daughters as a matter of civic pride. Sometimes the link can be financial if the birthplace becomes a tourist attraction. But what if the celebrity is fictional and is still two centuries away from birth? Sound crazy? Not to the good folks of the very real speck on the map, Riverside, Iowa. With a population of less than a thousand, Riverside has proclaimed itself the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the Starship Enterprise from the Star Trek television show and movies. Star Trek creator Gene Rodenberry once made mention that Kirk would be born in a Iowa village. The citizens of Riverside made the next logical step by announcing that Kirk will be born in their Washington County hamlet on March 22, 2228. It has to be true- there is a plaque to prove it! (Perhaps not coincidentally, William Shatner who brought the role of Kirk to life, has March 22 as a birth date. Ironic.....or fate?) With no opposition from the Star Trek copyright holders, Riverside now plays hosts to Star Trek gatherings in a hope to bring badly needed income into the local coffers. There is talk of building a Star Trek museum in Riverside. In the great state that gave us Field Of Dreams, it has a certain appropriate feel to it.


Who would proclaim the birthplace of a hero in a tiny out of the way hick town centuries before it would come to pass? Who would come up with a crazy prediction like that? (I know you are way ahead of me on this one.) In Micah 5:2, it is prophesied that there would be a mighty one born in Bethlehem, an obscure Judean village. The scholars knew this scripture well, quoting it to Herod when he became worried about the rumored baby the Magi were seeking. Hundreds of years before it would come true, the birth of the Savior was foretold. I can't tell whether they had any conventions or nailed up any plaques in Bethlehem. I don't even know if the people there paid the words of the prophet any heed. But what a baby...and what a Messiah! No fiction, no actor, and no sequels. Just the most perfect script that only God could write. None of us will be around in 2228. What are the odds of a baby boy being born in Riverside, Iowa on March 22, 2228, which just happens to be a Saturday and the 297th birthday of William Shatner? Based on population trends, I am guessing the odds are slim but it could happen. More incredible things have come to pass in off the beaten path places. Just ask some shepherds in Bethlehem.


Applicable quote of the day:
"Most legends have their basis in facts."
Captain James T. Kirk ( from the episode And The Children Shall Lead)


God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

The Milk Man

 

The Milk Man

One of the principles of the Christian life is to serve. If you are not sure where to get started, I can offer a suggestion; Be Like George! To find out how, read this entry from January 7, 2007. 

The phone rang last night and George was on the other end. George, an elderly brother in my congregation, needed help this afternoon and asked if I was available. Normally, I would have had to decline due to school work responsibilities but since the semester doesn't begin until tomorrow, I accepted his offer and met him at our church building at 1:30 PM. I have worshipped with George and his lovely wife, Reba, for nine years but I learned more about him in three hours today than in the almost decade since Houston became my home. I found out he was in the military and graduated from Texas A+M. Like me, he has lived in Nebraska, as well as Oklahoma and Kansas. George and Reba were married in 1949, the same year as my folks and they have one daughter. He had a successful business career and his family has been a part of our church since its inception in 1963. That's a profile that would fit many folks. What I really learned about this afternoon was George's mission. He is in charge of the food pantry at our congregation, the Westbury church of Christ, that feeds and clothes five hundred families per month. I was along with George as we picked up milk that was donated by Borden's at two different downtown supermarkets. His old pickup has 168,000 miles, racked up almost exclusively from back and forth trips to grocery stores. As we filled up six refrigerators in our pantry with milk, cottage cheese, and eggnog, George told me about the work that is part of his life. Bread, vegetables and fruits, and milk are distributed on Tuesdays and Thursdays as the poor come to be fed. We also try to feed them spiritually by setting up Bible studies with those who are willing. Translators from our Hispanic congregation assist when interpreters are needed. George rattled off his list of volunteers who help him but he admitted you almost have to be retired to be the leader of this sort of effort. George is eighty-one years old and says he is trying to groom a replacement. A clone won't be easy to find. George took the reins several years ago from Bill Sellars who was also in his eighties when he relinquished the post. I am convinced George won't hand it over to just anyone. The problem is, the Georges of the world are a rare breed.

When I was a high school basketball coach and someone in our admissions office would tell me there was a new girl interested in playing basketball, I never became too excited. You don't win championships with players that are interested. You win with players that are committed. Missions like a food pantry don't survive easily. A committee probably won't get the job done. You need a small core of committed people, or more often, just one, who make that work their priority, their passion. Interested people aren't passionate, they are....interested. Commitment in a food pantry becomes a passion for the poor which in reality is a passion for the Lord. Jesus, in his Matthew 25 treatise on entry into heaven, greeted those joining him with these words:
"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink..." 
Jesus will come to visit George about five hundred times this month. George will be ready with the bell peppers and the eggnog and the loaves of bread. This month, Jesus will be white and black, Latino and Asian but George will still recognize him. And George, the Lord has a long memory. He will never forget your face, either.

Applicable quote of the day:
"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."
Vince Lombardi

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

The Guidance

 

The Guidance

I still get lost! This is from April 1, 2018!
Ron Rose has something in common with a number of my Facebook friends- we've never met in person, at least I don't think we have. We do share 143 common friends so sometimes you can almost feel like you know someone in person.  I've become a daily reader of his morning posts about people he meets while drinking coffee. Like all good writers, Ron has the gift to be able to draw the reader into the story and in his case, the character who makes up his daily vignette. On Friday morning, his posting had to do with Jesus' words from John 16:13. Ron quoted from the NLT so I will as well:
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.

Man, I need that guidance! To believe there is wisdom and truth I can be led to perceive with more clarity by the Holy Spirit is such a comfort to me. When I rely on myself, I flounder. When I lean on the Spirit, my footing is sure. 

Two days ago, I drove to downtown Houston- no school due to Good Friday! I was on the hunt for gifts for my players to be given at our end of the season party. Twice, I took wrong turns. It wasn't my GARMIN'S fault- I just wasn't paying good attention. Five years ago, I would have become very upset at losing my way but not anymore. You see, I know my GPS will always guide me back to the right path, even when I mess up. The GARMIN can take my mistakes and still get me home. It might, and usually does, take longer but the end result is the same.

Several years ago, I wrote a blog about a wonderful girl who often swims when I do at my fitness center. (If interested, here it is: http://stevehawley.blogspot.com/2016/03/swimmers-and-sting-and-scott-and.html)  She is a terrific athlete and her mother coaches her, sometimes from an adjacent lane. I happened to see them today at the pool and mentioned I was writing a sequel to her story; mom and daughter beamed! This is what I had been meaning to write: As the young lady swims her workout, her mother is always talking into a small machine as she walks by her lane on the concrete deck. I thought it was something like a dicta-phone where they can review the comments when they leave the pool. But recently when our paths crossed poolside, she told me what it really is. She holds a microphone and talks to her daughter, who wears an earpiece, while she's swimming. My guess is she is helping her child constantly make adjustments while she sprints through her laps. You know, you can't see yourself swim but someone above and out of the water can and suggest the corrections which make your journey easier and your times improve. My swimming buddy, who is now twelve, has continued to get faster so Mom must be a wonderful coach! I already know she's a great mother!

Here's where I have a confession to make, and it's just coincidental that today is Easter Sunday; I really don't comprehend the influence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I know the Scriptures and all the references but the moving of the Comforter through my existence remains mysterious to me. I can give examples, like the voice on my GPS or the swimming prodigy being led by her mom, but that's about the extent of my childlike grasp. Faith leads me to unwavering belief that he is with me and walking with me but I can't explain that faith to a non-believer. Believers, maybe! And when I look back at the verse Ron shared, I'm reminded that Jesus promised the Spirit would guide us into all truth, not all understanding. That I understand. But some day, I'll know. And we'll know. We just don't know when.


Applicable quote of the day:
The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people
A.W. Tozer

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1