Book excerpt: Teaching Tips from Week 36

As we come to the end of our school year, I just wanted to share a few pages from my book that will help you coast your way to the end.  Sometimes you just need a little reminder...  

Ten Tips For Better Teaching

1. Purpose – Remember that you have been destined and designed for this.  Regardless of what you think, God has created you, everything about you to impact the life of your students.          Jeremiah 1: 5
2. Prayer – Continue to pray without ceasing.  Be specific in what you desire and what you need. God has promised to give you wisdom and rest.  Just A.S.K. (ask, seek and knock)  Matthew 7:7 and Matthew 11: 28-30
3. Power – Understand that you have been given power from on high to trample the enemy.  Your words, God’s Word spoken again by you are weapons against the enemy and they are life to your every need.  Speak life.           2 Corinthians 10: 4-5
4. Preparation – Plan up to the very end.  Kids who have nothing to do can and will begin to get on your nerves.  You don’t need the bible to tell you that!
5. Pollinate – Although you may feel a little stretched, be willing to speak encouragement or help out a fellow teacher (especially the new ones) during this time of year.  Help out those who need help in growing. 
6. Perseverance – 2 John 1: 8 Says it best: Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.  Don’t give up now.
7. Personality – Nehemiah 8:10 says that “the joy of the Lord is your strength”.  Now’s not the time to be a sourpuss.  Draw joy and love from Jesus so that you can be a reflection of His joy, His compassion, His loving kindness towards others.  Let your light so shine…
8. Pleasing – Hebrews 13: 20-21 says “May the God of peace,… _v21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ…”  Allow God to do the work in you so that you will be pleasing to Him.  In doing so, you will also become pleasing to those around you.  
9. Placement – Jeremiah 29:11 God knows the plans He has for you.  This tip on placement is not just about a choice in grade level, school or district, but it’s much deeper than that.  It’s really about trust.  Trust God to place you in situations, in ear shot of conversations, around your colleagues so that you can be used HOWEVER God needs for that particular need.  Someone may just need your smile or encouraging word and God places you two in the hallway alone.  Every time, every situation belongs to God.  
10. Peace - Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.  Trust in God and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct you paths.  Peace comes directly from God. Seek Him and you will find it.

Hold His hand and finish this race.

Remember keep starting your Monday with the Master.

Young, T. (2014). Start Your Monday With The Master. Sandston, Virginia: JDI Publisher Co.

Image retrieved from:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/471611392198706215/

Forty Days of Prayer for Education: Day 31

Section 5: For Our Students

Join with us today and pray our prepared prayer on pages 53 and 54 from the FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR EDUCATION free eBook or pray independently from our focus scripture, Psalm 133:1 NKJV  and enjoy the accompanying song entitled, "Open Our Eyes" by the Gospel Clefts. 

Continue praying for the word of God to dwell richly in the hearts of His people all over our country so that we may be messengers of the love of Jesus.  Pray scriptures of peace and racial harmony over your school system and the communities it serves.  

A PRAYER FOR RACIAL UNITY

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 

Psalm 133:1 NKJV 

Dear Heavenly Father, 

You are a Father of many children of different colors and cultures. Through Your sanctifying work on the cross, You, Jesus, have given the world access to be adopted into Your family. You look neither at country nor continent, but look only to the believing heart and hold out Your hand to welcome them in. As You continually welcome in person after person, You ask that we would love as You love and be unified with one another. Yours is a mandate to the church to come to the unity of faith and maturity to welcome Your return to this earth.

 

Father, please forgive us for being prejudice and judgmental towards our students and our coworkers. Forgive us for harboring and passing along the hate and ignorance of earlier generations. Forgive us for covering up our own ignorance with indifference and denial. Your word says that if we freely admit that we have sinned and confess our sins then You

will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thank You Lord for Your cleansing power.

Father, help us to be Your example of unity. Remind us when we want to segregate ourselves in faculty meetings, prayer groups, and invitations to church events, that it is good and pleasant when Your people dwell together in unity. 

When we want to judge our students and their families because of where they live or what school system they transferred from, remind us that dwelling together in unity first begins with how we perceive people. Remind us that we have the mind of Christ and You dwell within us. 

Because of Your indwelling, we will think and speak from Your heart that beats deep within us. Help us to be an example of your unconditional love for all of our students. 

In Jesus' name, 

-Amen

Forty Days of Prayer for Education: Day 29

Section 5: For Our Students

Join with us today and pray our prepared prayer on page 50 from the FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR EDUCATION free eBook or pray independently from our focus scripture, Isaiah 54:13NKJV and enjoy the accompanying song entitled, "Let There Be Peace on Earth" by the Harlem Boys Choir. 

As you continue in prayer, speak peace over your community and school system.  If you can, get a list of the schools in your city/county/parrish/borough.  Pray scriptures of peace over them throughout the school year.

THE PEACE OF OUR CHILDREN

All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children

Isaiah 54:13

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for being a promise keeping God. You are not a man that You should lie. What You say, You shall do. Thank You for giving us Your peace. Yours is a peace that passes all understanding and  guards our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

image source:<peacepalacelibrary>

Today, Lord, we ask that all of the children of this land will be taught by You. Your word says that we have not, because we ask not. We ask this, believing that it can happen. As You release Your word to be incorporated into our daily curriculum and release prayer back into our schools the world will begin to see a change in the educational system. Your name will be lifted up as the peace of our children, peace in the classrooms, and peace on our college campuses increase. You, oh Lord will get the glory as this divine peace flows from the hearts and mouths of teachers and administrators.

Shine Your light through Your believers and multiply those who hunger and thirst after righteousness in America's education system. May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in Him to teach our children so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus' Name,

-Amen

Wear Your Worship Inside and Out

When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed.  Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.  Then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.  Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.                -Psalm 126 NIV

Hi educator friend!

I just wanted to remind you this week of your assignment to be God's change agent in your school! You are His beloved, cherished and highly favored child.  

Your worship... our worship... draws us closer and closer to Him. This loving relationship that we develop with God not only pleases Him and us, but it overflows into the lives of those around us. Through our times with Him we hear and see His desire to call others to that same love that we experience.  

It's such a blessing to be saved and filled with His Holy Spirit. It's unexplainable  peace and joy in the midst of  test and trials.  It's perseverance well after the human spirit feels like giving up. It's favor in conjunction with the creativity you were born with.  It's wisdom welding the sledge hammer to break up that wall that your back is against.  It is His love deep within us and there is nothing on this earth that equals or surpasses it. 

Psalm 126 reflects on God's goodness from this liberated side of salvation. It is sung by people who are so exuberantly filled with joy that "the [gentile] nations", people who previously were oblivious to the very existence of God, now acknowledge not only His existence but His goodness to His people.    It is a song of Ascents, a song sung while going up God's mountain to worship Him.  Thankfully, we do not have to trek up a specific mountain to worship before the Lord!  We can actually do it right where we are by praising Him and acknowledging our love for Him.  Hallelujah Jesus!  We love you!

So together, we'll trek up this mountain of worship.  As we head up, let's stop and smell the flowers. Let's pick a few and create a garland to place around our head or neck. Don't worry about your allergies, you'll be just fine. Trust Him.

This beautiful garland that we will  wear is going to be so strikingly beautiful and creatively intertwined that others will ask, "Where did you get that?" "How did you make that?" "Where can I get one?"   This garland is our salvation testimony and each flower represents every triumphed test and trial bound together with the True Vine. Wearing this give credence to the saving power and grace of God.

Dear educator, do you wear your testimony so that others may marvel at it? Are you willing to allow others to see and smell the saving grace of God in your life?  This is the essence of you being a Change Agent. While the bible says that it rains on the just and the unjust, our outcome should be different from those who do not believe in God.  We all may experience budget cuts and financial burdens, but God's educators come out on the other side laughing and singing His praises.  We all may experience difficult working environments and annoying people in which we have to interact with, but God's educators come out on the other side laughing and singing His praises.  Why, because although we may cry, we sow seeds of righteousness in the midst of (Hosea 10:12) and reap the fruit of His unfailing love.

We are the evidence of His love. Confidently speak of His goodness and live (as Joel Osteen would say) your best life now. Be God's evidence of provision in your patience, comfort in your calling and help in your hardship.

Romans 10: 14 But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? 

Wear this...

 to show them this.

They won't believe unless you show them the evidence.

Dear Grace giving God,

Thank you for loving us so much that it overflows in our speech.  Thank you for giving us so much joy that it is heard in our laughter and songs. Thank You for blessing us with garments of praise and the oil of gladness.  We bless You and honor You and say "Hallelujah" for creating beauty out of the test and trials of our lives.  Help us to confidently and boldly display the splendor of the saving power and grace of Jesus Christ to those we encounter on a daily basis.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

Please enjoy this week's song:  "Something Within Me" by Take 6

Climate Change

It is truly a blessing to be called a child of God.  Moreover, that blessing becomes even more valuable and meaningful when we work in service to others all for the advancement of His Kingdom. Unfortunately, this service that I call "teaching" hasn't seem so blessed lately.  The climate of peace that once enveloped my classroom has shifted into something that I've been staring at like an impending storm.

What I am learning is that my old way of praying isn't enough.  I am learning that I'm going to have to have a fresh boldness to take back what belongs to God. I need to update my prayer and update my praise!   

So why is it so important to set the climate in your classroom and school?  What does it really mean to "set the climate"?  In Matthew 8:23-27  Jesus is asleep in a boat with His disciples while they try to manage the untameable wind and waves all around them.  When they realize their efforts are not working, they call on Him to save them from their obvious demise.   Jesus silences the violent wind and cause the roaring waters of the Sea of Galilee to immediately be still.

When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. And the disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us, we are going to die!”  He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was [at once] a great and wonderful calm [a perfect peacefulness].  The men wondered in amazement, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Matthew 8:23-27 AMP

Not only did Jesus calm the immediate atmosphere of weather, He shifted the climate ( long termed averaged atmospheric occurrences) of faith in His disciples.  He demonstrated His authority over the things He created and exercised His dominion on this earth.  

As Believers who are also educators, we are are called to exercised our God given dominion on this earth through the power of His Holy Spirit working in us. We speak with and in the authority of His Name over those things that come against His principles and our assignment to love others and lift Him up. Everything we do is for the glory of God and the increase of His government over the enemy's.  It is for the spiritual lives of our students and our coworkers that we have been assigned to that school or that classroom to show Jesus through a life of love, obedience to the Father and service to others.  

I'm sure if we could be like these weather workers, things would really begin to change in our schools.

Joshua asked for the sun to stand still -  Halt any actions that do not edify God before your students and coworkers.

Elijah called for drought -  Speak a drying up of those things that are not of God in your school.

Gideon asked for dew -      Don't be afraid to ask for the impossible.  With God, all things are possible.

Samuel  called for thunder and rain -  God can use you to show His existence and power.  

Jesus calmed the wind and waves -  Tell the complainers and those that seek to take your peace to be silent.

Jesus caused an eclipse  - While there may be a darkness that you don't understand, know that Jesus, as a perfect sacrifice, empowered you to be strong even in your weakness.

Paul and Silas caused an earthquake - The praise and adoration of God that you do before those who do not believe in Him has the power to loose the chains of unbelief in their life.

This week as you prepare for work, pray that God will show you what needs to dry up and what needs to be rained on.  Pray that He shows you how to cause praise induced earthquakes and to expect the refreshing Dew of His Spirit everyday.  Pray for a peaceful climate to overtake your school and alertness and energy to wake out of your slumber to silence the enemy. 

 

Update your prayer.         Update your praise.

Take control of your environment and set the climate.

The Lord is with you and you are loved,

Toni

Please enjoy this week's song!