The Cornerstone Devotions for Teachers

5 habits to increase your joy in the classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:51:00 +0000

Joy, happiness, and contentment don't always come naturally during the hard work of teaching. Waiting for those positive feelings to come to us might result in a looong stretch of unhappiness in the meanwhile! Instead of sitting back passively and hoping our feelings will change, we can stir ourselves up and create habits that cultivate joy:

Habit 1: Write down the funny, cute, and sweet thing students say.

I did this my first year of teaching and can remember so many of the great moments I had simply because I took thirty seconds to write them down. It really entrenched some wonderful memories in my mind. How this cultivates joy: Recording the hilarious and adorable moments from your day will increase the likelihood that you'll remember the good stuff instead of the bad.

Habit 2: Keep students' cards, letters, and pictures and look through them when you're discouraged.

If you're having a conflict with a parent, re-read that thank-you note another parent once wrote. If your students are draining your patience, glance through the pictures they've drawn with the words "best techer evr" on them. How this cultivates joy: Keeping these tangible reminders of the times when your hard work paid off helps you remember that you'll reap a harvest in due season if your don't give up!

Habit 3: Tell someone about your students' breakthroughs.

Instead of listing everything that went wrong throughout the day and replaying all the annoying stuff that happened, zero in on one or more moments of success, and share it! Call a parent and announce that his/her child earned an A on a math test for the first time. Tell your coworkers in the teachers' lounge that your entire class turned in their homework. When your spouse asks about your day, say that you had a student finally master the six times tables or independently solve a social problem on the playground. How this cultivates joy: Sharing good news with others creates positive feelings in them, and feelings are contagious!

Habit 4: Pray for your students individually.

You can do this as you stack chairs and straighten up the classroom at the end of the day. Or, look over each name on your list while taking attendance and/or recording grades, and ask God to help you meet your kids' needs. I used to pray specifically for a few kids on my list each morning, rotating through their names alphabetically so I'd have prayed over each of them at some point during the week. How this cultivates joy: This habit can remind you that you're not trying to do everything on your own, and invites God to equip you and take over the parts that you're not able to handle.

Habit 5: Create personal ways to incorporate the sacred into the mundane.

Ask another Christian teacher to do devotions, a Bible study, or just pray with you quickly before everyone else arrives at school--get there early and have breakfast together on occasion to talk about the great things God is doing. Listen to uplifting worship music during your planning time. Write encouraging scriptures on index cards and post them inside your lesson planner so you see them when you look over the day's plans. Pray before your lessons that God would help you communicate and connect with your students, and thank Him afterward. How this cultivates joy: Scripture tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. We can keep ourselves from feeling week and discouraged by constantly connecting with God and drawing strength from the joy and contentment we have in Him. Let God be a part of everything you do!

How do YOU create habits that increase your joy as a teacher? Tell us in the comments or in The Cornerstone Devotions community on Facebook.

Witnesses

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:22:00 +0000

I haven't been very good about reading the Bible lately. I used to start every single day in the word, and now I find myself making excuses. I'll do it later this afternoon. Tomorrow. I'm reading a book by a Christian author right now, so I can skip the Bible today.

This morning when I woke up, I asked myself, What would I be most satisfied in accomplishing today? And the answer was--spending some time with God. So I did it first thing.

Just a few minutes out on the balcony, sipping my coffee, starting the book of Acts because, why not? Let's look back at the early church to see what examples they've left for us how to do life. I get as a far as the 8th verse when something hits me. Jesus's final words before ascending to heaven were these:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

The key word here for me is witnesses. Jesus asked His disciples to be witnesses for what they had seen. Not lawyers, arguing the case for Him and fiercely debating anyone who disagrees. Not judges, determining a punishment for those who think differently and condemning them to what we believe is the correct fate. Witnesses. We are tell what we've seen, what we know to be true in our own lives. We run into all sorts of problems as Christians when we attempt to be lawyers and judges running a moral courtroom that God is in charge of. What if we were to take a step back, and return to the humble role of witnesses, simply testifying on behalf of Christ in our daily lives?

It's a small revelation, one that took less than 10 minutes to get. I can't help but wonder how many other things God has wanted to tell me that I wasn't able to hear, simply because I didn't make the time to read and listen.

Lord, thanks for breaking through my stubbornness this morning. Help me to connect with You in Your word everyday. Not out of guilt or obligation, but out of a sense of awe and wonderment, and excitement to see what you want to show me next. Give me fresh revelations so I can be a witness for all that You do.

An invitation to something new

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 07:14:00 +0000

My name is Angela Watson, and I write teacher devotions.

Theoretically.

You see, I've maintained this blog with free teacher devotions since 2005 and I'm currently writing a book with more devotions. But it's tough to find the time and energy to compose all this stuff (on top of being an instructional coach, maintaining a classroom management website, and all the other wonderful things I love to do in my personal and professional life.) One devotional blog post a month is considered "regular" for me.

Here's what I've always wanted: a way to share the little stuff that God's doing in my life, without having to wait for a momentous breakthrough worthy of a formal devotion. I've always hoped to find a community of Christian educators who encourage and inspire one another. A place where teachers can feel a little less alone in pursuing their calling. A place where we can freely ask questions, share ideas, and pray for one another, knowing that we're among sisters and brothers in Christ who are working toward the same goals of knowing God more and being continually transformed into His image.

So why not use Facebook? Most of us already spend time there, anyway, right? It's the simplest, easiest way I can think of to connect with people online.

Some of you have been following my journey for years now through this devotional blog, and this doesn't spell the end for our time here. Rather, it's the next step, a different opportunity, a chance to connect with one another on a more personal level...and hopefully a tool to keep us more closely attuned to how God wants to use us in education.

Would you click 'like' on the The Cornerstone Devotions for Teachers page on Facebook? Introduce yourself on the wall. Tell us what you teach and what you need prayer for. Share something awesome that God's doing in your classroom or in your life. Or just hang back, and wait for something that's posted to speak to you. I don't know exactly what this whole endeavor will look like, or what each of our roles will be, but I'm excited to see what God has planned.

God's Reward System

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:18:00 +0000

There's a lot of controversy over the best way to reinforce children's good behavior in the classroom. In fact, it seems like "reward" has become a bad word. So recently I started thinking: what is the Biblical perspective on rewards?

If we look to Jesus for our example of how to do life, we recognize that our ultimate reward for following Him is heaven. And the proper view of eternal life is to look forward to it with anticipation...but not at the expense of focusing on what we're supposed to be doing right now. We're not working in order to get to heaven, we're sacrificing and doing unpleasant things here now because we know it's going to pay off in the end. Our momentary trials are working for us an eternal reward!

We also discipline ourselves to follow God's expectations for our behavior because we understand His underlying reasons. We know that deceiving people will hurt them and cause more problems for us. We know that cheating will compromise our integrity. Choosing instead to do life God's way will spare us from negative consequences and result in rewards that come naturally when we make good decisions.

The most important aspect of God's reward system is that through it, we learn to trust Him implicitly. We experience firsthand His promise that He has a plan to prosper us, not harm us, and that all things are designed to work together for our good. There is a great deal of love and respect between God and His children, and that makes our obedience much easier.

It seems like the same should be true for the children in our classrooms, right? We want students to have something to look forward to and be excited about, even when the task at hand goes against what they want in the flesh. But we don't want them to be only following our guidelines so they can earn a reward.

Rather, we want them to understand that we enjoy giving them good things not because they've behaved perfectly, but because we care for them. There should be ample evidence of grace in our interactions with students. We want our students to sense our desire for them to succeed and trust that the guidelines we have in place are designed to help them become better people. We want to help them see the correlation between how they choose to behave and how much they enjoy their lives and experience success.

The Bible doesn't explicitly tell us how to manage every aspect of our work. But we can follow the model of Jesus' life and get some pretty good clues as to how we're supposed to treat people and care for them. And if we love like Jesus did--selflessly, with great compassion, yet without wavering from the truth--we can't go wrong.

A Lapse in Judgment

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:24:00 +0000

"How could I have DONE that? What in the world was I thinking?"

We've all had times when we acted poorly. Maybe you've responded too harshly to a child and punished him or her unfairly. Maybe you've criticized a parent and gossiped about a situation before you knew the whole story. Or maybe you've undermined a colleague or administrator, and are experiencing regret about not choosing your words more carefully.

It's a bad feeling to know that you've caused problems and pain for someone else due to your own selfishness or impulsivity. And that's especially true when there's no taking it back: what's done is done, and the consequences now are out of your hands.

I think we've all been in that terrible predicament, and this morning I read in Daniel chapter 6 about how King Darius experienced it, as well. It's the well-known tale of how Daniel was ordered to be thrown into the lion's den because he continued praying to the Lord and not the king. But in hearing that story over and over from childhood, somehow I missed a really important part: the king did not intend for Daniel to be harmed, and his response to the harm he inflicted is a actually an amazing model for us.

The king's advisers--those he had chosen to give him counsel and help him rule--were wicked, and their jealousy over Daniel caused them to look for fault in him. Finding none, they attempted to nail him for his religious beliefs. They convinced the king to sign the decree that would send praying people to the lion's den.

When the king realized that he had surrounded himself with corrupted counsel who had trapped him into sentencing his trusted friend Daniel, the scripture tells us in verse 14 that the king was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. He tried to change the law, but it was out of his hands. So the king gave the order [to kill Daniel], and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!"

King Darius knew he had really screwed up, and there was nothing further he could do to rectify the situation. So, he accepted the mess for what it was, and trusted God to mitigate the damages.

Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"

Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king." The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

Because of God's intervention, the king was able to issue an order against those who sought to kill Daniel, and they themselves received death. God did His part, then King Darius did his. The king wrote a new decree to prevent the situation from ever re-occuring, declaring that:

"...in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."

Sometimes we won't be able to make things right when we've done wrong. And that's the time to go before God in prayer, not in shame and condemnation because our sin has already been confessed and forgiven. No, once we've admitted our wrongdoing and done what's in our power to rectify the problem, it's time to give the situation over to God. Speak boldly about God's power to make all things work together for good for those who love Him, and trust Him to save the innocent. Afterward will come a time of rejoicing, and a time of prevention.

If you are feeling condemned about how you've hurt another person, take comfort in the fact that you haven't sentenced them to death in a lion's den! And if God could protect Daniel from THAT, surely He can protect the one you hurt, as well. Allow Him to work, and then give Him the glory afterward.

A Gratitude Adjustment

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 19:46:00 +0000

How long does it take before complaints and discouragement overpower your enthusiasm for the new school year? Do you make it until the second or third week of school? Or are you mumbling under your breath before the kids even start?

I usually find myself grappling with complaints in the very first hour back. THIS is the new schedule? I'll be teaching in THAT classroom? HE'S the student assigned to me?

You'd think a solid eight weeks of rest, relaxation, and traveling would immunize me against complaints for longer than twenty seven minutes, but it just doesn't work that way.

Over the last few months, I've been trying something different. When I feel a complaining spirit rising up in me, I say THANK YOU. Sometimes out loud, sometimes in mind. Usually when I say it, I don't even know what I'm saying thank you for. But as soon as the words leave my lips, the gratitude starts flowing.

Sitting in traffic: Oh, geez, here we go, I'm going to be late! [Sigh.] THANK YOU, Lord, for giving me the opportunity to go to this place I'm traveling to. Thank you for bringing me this far and being with me now--thank you that I am never alone! It looks like there is an accident up ahead. Thank you for keeping me safe. Lord, please be with the people who are in that car! Thank you for helping me to get a bigger perspective here. Thank you for giving me patience.

Getting dental work done: As much as I hate being at the dentist...thank you. THANK YOU! I am so grateful to have good medical care and a dentist that is kind and competent. Thank you, God, that because of this discomfort right now, I won't have to go through a lifetime of untreated pain! Thank you for your assurance that you will never give me more than I can bear.

Irritated with a stressful situation at work: I can't believe this is happening. I'm so angry right now...but...thank you. Thank you, Lord. I'll keep saying it to myself until I figure out what I'm thankful for. Thank you giving me this job. Thank you for equipping me to handle everything that comes my way. Thank you for the chance to be a positive influence when other people have creating a discouraging situation. Thank you for helping me figure out what to do next. Thank you for working everything together for my good.

It's amazing how just the utterance of these words shifts my whole outlook and mood almost instantly. One moment I feel like I could moan and groan forever about what's going wrong, and suddenly I am deep in conversation with God, completely refocused on everything that is right in my life.

Next time you find yourself complaining--whether it's about something legitimately awful or a simple overreaction--I hope you'll give this practice a try. Just say THANK YOU. Watch the way these words can humble even the hardest heart, and take the most frustrating events and put them in the proper, eternal perspective.

God tells us to give thanks in ALL things. More and more, I understand that this directive is not for His benefit, it's for ours! We're the ones who are most blessed as His peace and contentment flow down to us. When we recognize a complaining spirit and take just a moment to cultivate a grateful heart, we bring our thinking in line with God's word and open ourselves up for Him to work. The negative feelings which were overwhelming us then subside, leaving us refreshed and ready to take on whatever comes next.

Thank you, Lord!

Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:46:00 +0000

I am beyond thrilled to announce that my second book has now been released! It's called Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching. A HUGE thank you to all of you who responded to my request to pray over this book. I truly believe it is going to change people's lives!

I wrote this book to encourage teachers who WANT to stay positive and keep a good attitude, but struggle because of the random, endless list of stuff that just seems to pop up everyday, all day long in school. Awakened provides specific actionable steps you can take to change your perspective and response to stressful situations. Though this is not written just for Christian teachers, each suggestion is based on biblically-sound principles. My intention is that people who don't know the Lord will gain solid, common-sense, practical advice, and believers will recognize tips that reinforce their faith. Here's more info from the back cover copy:

Do the never-ending pressures of teaching drain you emotionally? Is a lack of support and resources stealing your enthusiasm? Are the small daily hassles adding up and overwhelming you?

Effective teaching requires serious mental fortitude. Awakened will empower you to develop the resilient, flexible, positive mindset you need to:

Consciously challenge the negative thoughts that discourage you
Build your tolerance for frustration so you become less ‘disturbable’
Live beyond your feelings to stay motivated when you don’t see results
Change your perception of setbacks so they feel less stressful
Let go of unrealistic expectations, standards, and comparisons
Realize a sense of accomplishment in a job that’s truly never done

Awakened provides simple steps to help you feel peaceful and energized no matter what’s happening around you. Drawing upon principles of stress management, cognitive behavioral therapy, spiritual truths, and personal experiences, Awakened helps you develop thought habits that produce an unshakeable sense of contentment, motivation, and purpose. Learn how to renew your mind and take a fresh approach to the challenges of teaching!

The book is available in paperback and eBook editions (including versions for Kindle, Nook, and other eReaders.) All the info you need for purchasing is on the Awakened page of my website.

My husband and I are off to Costa Rica this week to celebrate our anniversary and relax together. I hope you all are enjoying the rest of your summer! May your hearts, minds, and bodies be refreshed and prepared for the amazing work God has ahead of you in the fall.

Every Hour I Need Thee

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 01 May 2011 04:41:00 +0000

Ah, the month of May. State testing will be finished. Spring break is a distant memory. The countdown is on and we know exactly how many days of school are left. It's time for teacher cruise-control: being more laid-back, more informal, more creative. The hardest days are behind us, and we can relax and enjoy what's ahead.

But don't forget that we are most vulnerable to an attack from the enemy NOT when we're at our weakest point, but when we're at our strongest.

What believing teacher doesn't say a prayer before the first day of school? Who doesn't murmur "God help us!" during standardized tests? Our awareness of how we are totally dependent on God is highest in stressful times because we can't imagine doing it without Him. We know we need Him to survive and don't dare try to do anything on our own.

But now, as the warm spring air fills our classrooms, it's tempting to let our guard down and try to get through the day in our own strength. It's the easiest time of year, right? We can handle it! And so we miss the opportunity to commune with the divine in our daily tasks. We shut God out and just try to make it through the last few weeks.

I'm experiencing this phenomenon on two levels this year: as an instructional coach whose school year is winding down, and as an author who has just about finished writing a second book. A few months ago when a blank computer screen taunted me, I was always on my knees. I was completely dependent on God to place every word in my heart and tell me what I need to write. But now it's tempting to think the creative work is done, and I need to focus on editing, I need to choose the cover, I need to handle the publishing technicalities. My human nature keeps concluding Thanks, God, you did great so far, but I think I've got it from here. If a minor disaster occurs, I'll be sure to check in, but otherwise, I'll be handling things myself. Kthxbye.

And so it's a conscious, daily decision to STOP. To silence my mind and feel with my spirit. To ask God:

Would You make Your presence known to me? Would You be a full part of every moment and guide me each step of the way? Don't let me get overconfident, God. Don't let me think I can do this on my own. Everything turns out better when You're involved. And every moment becomes more precious and enjoyable, knowing that You're there. Keep the song placed in my heart: "I need Thee, oh I need thee, every hour I need Thee." You placed the lyrics for that hymn in the heart of a housewife as she went about her daily routine; you directed her to write it so that we would have inspiration in even the most mundane tasks. Inspire me, too, Lord! Fill me with your presence and give meaning to every hour. Let things of great beauty come from times of monotony. Help me to be receptive to Your spirit in everything I do.

I pray that this prayer stays on your heart as you finish the school year, so that the Lord is with you every moment of every day, filling you with peace and contentment and purpose. And can I ask that you pray that prayer for me, as well? Ask that God continues to guide me through these last crucial steps so that the message I publish is one that is pleasing in His sight and gives glory to His name. Though the book is not written just for Christian teachers, it is biblically sound and establishes important truths that will help teachers combat worldly, fleshly ways of thinking and bring their thoughts in line with what the Bible tells us is most beneficial and edifying. It's designed to help teachers renew their minds and take every thought captive. At least, that's my prayer. It would mean so much if you joined me in asking God to use this book to help change the lives of stressed out teachers and help them accomplish their calling with enthusiasm and purpose! Thank you, as always, for your unfailing encouragement and support.

[The book is called Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching. You can read more about it here.]

[And if you're not familiar with Jars of Clay's version of "I Need Thee Every Hour", check it out. Beautiful.]

The reason for our hope

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:04:00 +0000

As Easter approaches, I've been thinking a lot about judgment day. This sounds really depressing, mostly because talk about that subject usually involves scary terms like day of reckoning and accounting for sin. Most Christians go out of our way to avoid thinking about what happens at the judgment. Even though we believe we'll enter the kingdom of heaven, the idea of standing before God and dealing with our sin is not a pleasant one.

But what if Jesus' death on the cross has actually made judgment day the most profoundly beautiful experience of our lives? What if it's something we SHOULD be thinking about, regularly and with great hope?

I've had conversations with people who have suggested that the day of reckoning will not be a true judgment for Christians; everyone else will give an account of their actions, but we will be welcomed in. These people believe that instead of hearing God list everything we've done wrong in our lives, we'll hear everything we've accomplished for the kingdom, followed by a welcoming, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

While this is a comforting idea, it seems like an affront to God's holiness to me. It trivializes why Jesus needed to die, and prevents us from fully appreciating the magnitude of His sacrifice. As I learn to understand and experience God's grace and mercy, here is what I've begun to conceptualize.

When I cross over from death, I see myself encountering the presence of God. His form is a blinding white light and a deep voice which seems to come from every direction. The words He speaks to me resound and reverberate through my entire being: "I am a holy God, completely without sin, and I dwell in a sinless place. For your soul to enter in, you must be free from sin." His tone is free from condescension and anger: He is stating a simple fact, a basic truth.

I imagine my legs collapsing underneath me. I fall to my knees, shielding my face from the light and trembling in awe from hearing God's voice other than as a still, small whisper of the Holy Spirit. I fumble for the words to answer Him. "Um, I haven't, uh, exactly met that criteria."

A deafening whooosh sound envelops the air around me. I squint up and realize God is unfolding what seems to be an endless scroll. On it is a list of every transgression from my life. Not just the big stuff and the times when I broke the ten commandments. This scroll lists each moment when I was rude to a student, impatient with my husband, and thoughtless toward a friend. It details the times when I selfishly pulled ahead of someone in traffic. It records the days when my spirit craved time alone with God but I watched T.V. instead. There are entries about my dubious intents, false motives, gluttony, bitterness, and envy. Every instance in which I gave into my fleshly instincts is carefully inscribed. I cannot fathom how large this scroll is; it never seems to end.

As I try to take in the magnitude of this list, my heart is crushed with the weight of every time I've fallen short of perfection. And God, who has no physical form in my envisioning but whose presence in power and light is overwhelming, booms in His powerful voice, "This is your record of wrongs. How then do you plead?"

At that moment, I imagine tears streaming from my face as I fully understand for the first time what Jesus did on the cross and why. I have seen in a mirror, dimly, but now I see face-to-face, and I understand at last. "I...I am...guilty. I am being judged according to my works, but I cannot be saved according to my works. I am here in Your holy presence with no right standing of my own; my righteousness is as filthy rags before Your perfection. But there is One who was perfect, who paid the price in my place. I don't stand before you on my own accord, but covered by the blood of Jesus. I am not worthy, but He is worthy. And I trust in Him to be my advocate."

I imagine Jesus sitting on the right hand side of the Father. He is the same being as God yet somehow, incomprehensibly until that moment, a separate manifestation. And He knows me. He knows me! He knows my love toward Him. The Father knows this, too, of course. But I have the gift of free will, and God has waited for me to choose to acknowledge the presence of His Son, to choose to profess my trust in His sacrifice.

I have acknowledged my own inability to ever be good enough or perfect enough to dwell in a place where there is no pain, or sin, or evil. I have chosen Jesus as my mediator, as the One to intercede on my behalf. The scroll snaps closed in an instant and is consumed in a raging fire. Sometimes I imagine my sins projected onto a giant screen which suddenly goes blank; the data has all been deleted. I am now blameless before God.

And in that moment, the veil between my earthly existence and my eternal existence, between my sinful being and an omnipotent God, is torn in two, and I enter into paradise. I am weeping tears of joy as I fully understand the mercy and lovingkindness of His grace. All of the suffering in the world, all of the scriptures I found cryptic, all of the mysteries of human life suddenly make sense in a way that I cannot grasp here as I write this. I am so overwhelmed--in this current moment, and in the one I envision--by the beauty of God's plan for salvation that I cannot help but worship Him, eternally. My gratitude and thanksgiving simply must overflow; there is no way I could hold it inside, and no way I could ever stop singing and praising. And so I join the millions of other souls who have been worshiping in the presence of God before me, and into eternity future.

Is this conceptualization what will REALLY happen on judgment day? I doubt it. I don't think our limited human minds and confining verbiage can do justice to the experience. But I do believe the mercy and love God feels toward His children will be fully experienced in that day. And I do believe that He wants us to anticipate that moment with great pleasure now. It should give us unspeakable joy to know what the future holds for us.

I'm sure there are people who think I am insane for believing this. They don't understand why Jesus is necessary; they don't understand why any salvation at all is necessary. They think of Christians as those people with megaphones who shout "Repent!" on street corners and condemn others to hell. They wonder what is so good about God who only lets certain people into heaven.

But if we as Christians hold this view of judgment day as a beautiful experience, it shows others that trusting in Jesus isn't about condemning others to hell; it gives us ALL a reason to hope. We as believers have no more right to enter the presence of God than any one else. We don't have a 'free pass' and we're not superior. It's each person's choice to stand before God on their own accord, or with the intervention of a mediator who advocates for them.

This is the true meaning of the 'free gift' we Christians always talk about. It's the reason why we want everyone to know Jesus. It's why His death on the cross means so much to us. And it's why Easter is a time of great rejoicing and celebration for everyone who understands its real meaning. This is our hope in Christ! May your Easter be filled with reflection on the sacrifice Jesus made, and the great joy we can experience now in anticipation of what's to come. Hosanna in the highest!

God is in the Interruptions

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Ironically, I had just typed this title when my cat's litter box jammed. It's a self-cleaning type and the rake just stopped in the middle of the box and started making an alarmingly loud clacking sound that caused the cat to cower behind the dining room table and caused me to realize the devotion would have to wait. It was no easy fix, either: I just spent forty-five minutes cleaning jammed cat litter out of the rake's tracks and sweeping up the gigantic mess I made. Ewww.

Good thing I'd already made up my mind: I won't mindlessly lose my peace over every interruption.

God is in the interruptions. You've probably heard that before. *I've* heard that before. But tonight, driving home in my car and listening to a random preacher on a random radio station, I got it. I finally got it.

When things go smoothly, that's my plan. When there are interruptions that I didn't forsee or even want, that's God's plan. He willed or allowed those things to happen. To fight them is to fight His permissive will. So, getting irritated or trying not to have interruptions is missing out on the joy of being part of God's plan.

Why do little interruptions occur? As I meditate on this topic tonight, I've come to realize they accomplish one of three purposes in our lives (and the 'best' interruptions accomplish all three):

1) Interruptions allow us to bless someone else. When I'm busily typing along and my husband wants help finding his wallet, that's an opportunity to be a blessing to him. When I'm trying to get the class to line up and a child asks for help zipping her coat, that's a chance to meet her need. Each time a person interrupts our tasks, we can choose to see ourselves as the hands and feet of God and let Him use us to meet their needs. Or we can sigh and get impatient. It's totally our decision.

2) Interruptions provide unforseen opportunities and blessings for us. Having a flat tire can mean making an awesome friendship or business connection with someone else who's waiting at the repair shop. Having to dig through your files for a colleague who needs an extra copy of a form can mean rediscovering that fantastic math activity you'd forgotten and lost. And you never know, having a jammed litter box can turn out to be the perfect opening for a blog post. Practice recognizing each little win not as a coincidence, but as a blessing from God and a reward for doing the right thing with the right attitude. You'll get much more satisfaction that way.

3) Interruptions strengthen our self-discipline. That doesn't sound like fun, but truthfully, life is a whole lot easier when you have a great deal of self-control and aren't led by your feelings. Every interruption, if we choose to view it that way, is an opportunity to build our self-discipline. All moments of being tested (even trivial interruptions) produce patience, which produces endurance, maturity, completion, and perfection. If nothing else good comes from an interruption, at least we can know that working through it with a good attitude and a humble heart has planted more seeds of self-control within us which we'll be happy to reap later on.

We have so many opportunities during the day, especially as teachers, to bless other people through interruptions. We can choose to focus on our agenda that they're interrupting, or open ourselves up to God's plan which allows us to be used in ways we never imagined.

Overcoming Procrastination

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:36:00 +0000

Is procrastination a sin? I've never chosen to view it that way, but if we consider it within the context of spiritual warfare, I'm pretty sure that God's not the one prompting me to spend more time on Facebook. Usually my urge to procrastinate is a distraction from the enemy or an indulgence of the flesh, which means it's not going to reap good fruit.

Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. (Romans 7:20-21)

Recently, I decided to get serious about procrastination and stop making excuses. Yes, procrastinating is totally understandable and complete normal...but that doesn't mean it's part of God's best plan for my life. It doesn't mean I'll get right results.

The confounding thing about procrastination is that it's one of the few temptations that doesn't bring pleasure in the moment. If you eat half of a delicious chocolate cake when you meant to just have a bite, it's because you got so much pleasure from eating it that you couldn't stop. If you overspend when you're out shopping, it's because you were so excited about finding that new pair of shoes that it was too hard to say no. Indulging ourselves in gluttony, lust, greed, angry outbursts--they're all pretty gratifying in the moment, and it's easy to understand how we get sucked into those habits.

Procrastinating is different--it helps us avoid unpleasant tasks, but ironically doesn't bring much inherent pleasure itself! Whenever I'm wasting time, I feel restless, guilty, distracted, or like something's hanging over my head. I don't fully enjoy the non-productive activity, and I certainly doesn't feel good about it later. Sabotaging your productivity for something that's not even enjoyable while you're in the midst of indulging? It's completely irrational.

So what's the opposite of procrastination? Exercising wisdom. Joyce Meyer once said, "Wisdom always chooses to do now what it will be satisfied with later on." We can choose to be led by wisdom rather than our feelings. We can choose to make smart decisions for ourselves that make us good stewards of the time God has given us.

Applying this principle practically has taken some experimentation, but I think I've finally found a way to outmaneuver myself. I often try re-prioritizing my tasks so that the tendency to stall works in my favor.

I used to think, "I need to grade papers and clean my house, but I want to watch T.V. I'll just lay here and watch one show and then get my work done." Of course, one show turned into three and the next thing I knew, it was time for bed and I was procrastinating with that, too. Now I'm accepting of the fact that I will probably get wrapped up in whatever's happening in the moment and use that tendency to my advantage. It's the opposite frame of mind: "I want to get this stack of papers graded and clean my house so that I can watch my favorite show in an hour. Let me just wipe down the kitchen counter and correct this one test and then I'll be ready to watch T.V."

In this way, I've minimized the unpleasant tasks and made my end goal getting to do something fun. This is the reverse of whining to myself about the tons of stuff I need to get down and pretending that I'll only spend a few minutes doing something fun. I've told myself I'll just take a minute to clean so that it doesn't seem so bad. But of course, as soon as I wipe down the counter, I want to rinse out the sink, too. And hey, why not unload the dishwasher since I'm standing right there?

After that, I realize the frig needs to be cleaned out, but since I only intended to wipe off the counter, I don't feel bad for not doing it--I actually feel really good about myself since I did more than I even intended! That feeling of accomplishment energizes me to grade the test papers. And typically after I'm done, I go ahead and knock out another set of papers, too, since I'm on such a roll. And if I don't get through them all? No problem, I only committed to one set of tests. I can actually relax and enjoy my favorite show without guilt. And because I haven't spiraled into a depressing procrastination cycle, when the show is over, I'm often excited to tackle more tasks.

"I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive. (1 Cor 10:23)

This system has really worked well for me: I choose to perceive my work as quick and manageable so I can get it out of the way and spend time doing what I really want to. The more I use this strategy, the better it works. Since I made good decisions today, tomorrow the kitchen will still be relatively clean and I'll have only a few papers to grade. I can tell myself, "Just get rid of a few things in the frig, you don't have to scrub it--that's for another day--and then grade the kids' essays. After that, free time!" The cycle of delaying and stalling will continue and I'll actually feel good about it!

Changing my procrastination habits has been an ongoing process. Walking in wisdom is always ultimately a moment by moment decision. We can't decide we're only going to make smart choices from now on and never procrastinate again. Instead, we have to choose in this moment to do what's honoring to God and the calling He's placed on our lives. Sometimes praying for strength and disciplining ourselves is effective; other times, the battle against procrastination can mean re-framing unpleasant tasks in your mind so they seem manageable and rewarded. However you choose to address it, procrastination is a habit worth reconsidering.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time... (Ephesians 5:15-16)

How do YOU battle procrastination? Share your strategies and experiences with us in the comments!

Complete.

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:17:00 +0000

It was the compliment I never thought I'd get. Someone who knows me quite well remarked that I'm a very patient person. "Wow, Angela, I'd be so frustrated in your situation. That's so cool that you have such a peace about it and are just content to wait patiently."

I burst out laughing.

"Why is that so funny?" she asked.

"ME? Patient?"

She nodded. "I mean, everyone has their moments, but I would definitely say that overall, you're a patient person. Don't you see yourself that way?"

I paused for a moment and thought about all the personal things I've confided in this friend and all the tough situations she's seen me through. How could she possibly think I was patient? Then I realized I'd only known that friend for four years. She didn't know me before I started following Christ, or in those first few shaky years when I wasn't strong in my beliefs or (more) consistent in my behavior. She honestly couldn't picture me as self-centered, impatient, and rude like I know I was...and often still criticize myself as being. In many ways, I still think of myself as the person I used to be at the beginning of my journey with Christ. I forget how far God has brought me and fail to recognize just how much progress I've made.

Isn't this true even beyond my spiritual walk? As teachers, we sometimes grow frustrated with ourselves for not having accomplished as much as we'd like. We see only our shortcomings: when we yell at the kids, when we're too lazy to plan, when lessons go poorly, when we don't step up like we should. We define ourselves on the basis of every mistake we've made. We speak judgment and negativity over our practice: I'm disorganized. I'm bad at teaching science. I'm not tech-savvy. I'm not creative.

And sometimes we see only the shortcomings of our students. We complain about a child having tantrums every week and forget that he used to have tantrums every day. We lament that a child is reading two years below grade level and forget that she used to refuse to pick up a book and try at all. We get so bogged down in the daily tedium of slow growth and that we lose sight of how much our students have progressed since the year started.

So why do we fail to recognize improvement? Because we view things through human eyes rather than through God's eyes.

God doesn't constantly replay our mistakes. When He looks at His children, He doesn't remember all the times we fell short. Our sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west. Neither does God view us in terms of how far we have to go. He sees His children as restored.

Maturity is a process. But we know that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. We know from His Word that we are accepted, loved, redeemed, and forgiven. If God views us as perfect and complete in Him, then we'd do well to bring our mindsets in alignment with His. God rejoices over us even in our current state. We should be rejoicing with Him!

Such confidence we have through Christ before God! Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God...Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Cor 3:4-5, 17-18)

If you are feeling bogged down by a spirit of condemnation or frustrated with a lack of progress, remind yourself of where things started. Each level of improvement made by me, you, and our students is part of God's perfect plan. Our loving Savior views this process as a thing of beauty: let's delight with him in the transformation.

The Most Important Back-to-School Task

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:27:00 +0000

Preparing for the new school year is such an exciting and busy time. It can also be a time of great anxiety--almost every teacher I know has back-to-school nightmares and trouble sleeping the night before school starts! With so much on our minds, it's easy to get focused on the details and lose sight of the big picture.

Over the last few days, the Lord has really been pressing on my heart to share this message with you all: the most important thing we can do is PRAY FOR OUR FUTURE STUDENTS. Jesus wants to be involved in your preparations even before you've met your kids, and even before they've been placed on your roster. He wants to prepare your heart for the children He has selected to be a part of your life for the next ten months. And, He wants you to start covering them in prayer now. Incredible stuff is about to happen--the things God wants to do in your students through you are beyond anything we can imagine! There is peace and purpose when we realize that and invite the Lord to take control of our classrooms.

Here are two prayers which I've prayed in past years prior to school starting. The first one I shared in my post Oh, no, you got HIM in your class?!:

Lord, even though I don’t know who my students will be this year, You do, and I am so grateful to be a part of Your perfect plan. I pray that you keep my students and their families safe as the summer comes to a close and bring them to me with an open heart, ready to learn. Please help me to get to know each student and family for who they are, and to see them as You see them: they are Your creation, your beloved children, and I want to love them like You do even when they don’t seem very lovable. Help me to stand strong when I want to speak negatively about my students and remember how precious they are to You. Please show me Your divine purpose for placing each child in my class this year, and help me to walk with You, relying on You for strength as I work to accomplish Your perfect will. Thank you for the fantastic year ahead, Lord! Amen!

And this one is from Who's in Charge Here? which is both a prayer and a classroom dedication:

Powerful and almighty God, You are so amazing! You’ve had a plan for these children since before time began, and you’ve always known that our lives would cross paths this year. Please give me the gift of discernment to understand their needs and how I can meet them. Show me everything I need to know to teach these little ones and develop the gifts that you’ve given them. Let my enthusiasm be evident every day, because my joy doesn’t come from having a perfect classroom, it comes from knowing You. Jesus you are ever-faithful and unchanging, and I pray that you would fill me with your strength and perfect peace each morning and carry me throughout each day. Put a genuine smile on my face and help me to be as patient and loving with these children as You have been with me. Remind me that this job is a privilege and that I am fulfilling Your call on my life by showing up in this classroom each day. Surround me with supportive, positive influences and help me to speak only truth and light so that my colleagues and supervisors will consistently see You in me. I dedicate this classroom to You: let Your name triumph over any negativity and may everything that happens here bring glory to Your name. I thank you for giving me Your holy Word so that I have a place to turn when I need to be uplifted. Thank you for filling me with the passion and enthusiasm that can only come from having ‘God within’. May Your name be glorified in everything that happens here as Your mercies are made new each morning.

I'll be praying these prayers along with you all once again this school year! Though I'm doing instructional coaching now and don't have a classroom of my own, I'm already asking the Lord to place me with the teachers that I can support the most and make the greatest difference with. I'm so excited to see what He's going to accomplish this year! Many blessings to all of you and your students in the 2010-2011 school year!

Living the Good Life

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:52:00 +0000

Did you know you're probably one of the wealthiest people on the planet?

It's true. As much as we complain about paltry teacher salaries, if you make $33,700 per year, you're in the top 5% of wealthy people on earth! If you make $47,500, you are in the top 1% and richer than 99% of people in the world.

So when Timothy gave instructions to the rich, he was actually talking to you and me:

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (I Timothy 6:17-19)

This summer, I've been relaxing and indulging myself in some of my favorite luxuries: traveling, taking long walks on the beach, getting pedicures, hitting the sale racks at the mall, and eating lots of delicious meals (sushi, anyone?). I'm a very frugal person, but like most educators, I don't mind splurging a little bit in the summer. I want to use this time to rest and regroup in preparation for the hard work that's ahead of me in the fall.

But Timothy reminds me that this is a time for building a firm foundation for the eternal time to come. We're not just getting ready for the hustle and bustle of back-to-school; we've got work to do for the Kingdom, because the time is drawing near. Ultimately, we need to use our summers to prepare ourselves and others for eternity. And that means using our wealth and our time to bless the people in our communities and throughout the world.

As we savor the last few weeks of summer, let's focus on "doing good and being rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share." That mindset not only benefits others, but gives meaning to even the most trivial tasks and enhances the pleasure of doing the things we love. As Timothy reminds us, being rich in good works is the way to "take hold of the life that is truly life."

A Daily Battle

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:30:00 +0000

I know the type of educator I want to be. I know the type of wife I want to be, and the type of friend, and the type of citizen. I see the changes in myself: with each passing year in my walk with God, I become more like Christ and less like, well, myself.

And because of my progress, I thought if I just sought after God enough, I would finally become that Godly woman I want so desperately to be. It always surprised me when I would do well for awhile and then stumble. I’d be loving and kind for a few days, then start putting my own needs and feelings ahead of other people’s. Sometimes these periods when my agenda was more important than God’s would last for days or even weeks, other times for mere minutes, and I saw the duration of those shortcomings decrease as I matured spiritually. So when I messed up, I concluded that I must not have really internalized God’s Word, and needed to become more mature in my faith. I figured if I did more studying, more praying, and listened to more sermons, I could finally be a woman who is consistently led by the Spirit.

All of that thinking changed recently when my pastor preached on Exodus 17. It’s the story of the Israelites battling the Amalekites:

Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword...And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner [Jehovah Nissi]...”

I always thought this was a strange story. If God’s in control, what difference did it make whether Moses had his arms up or his hands in his pockets?

That day in church, the Lord spoke straight to my heart and my struggle: the position of our hands MATTERS, because we need to have them continually outstretched to God. The moment we stop reaching up for His protection and covering, we start losing the battle.

Moses couldn’t just lift his arms up once: he had to keep them up. It was a moment-by-moment decision to rely on God. And it was exhausting. But the Lord had a provision: He placed Godly people around Moses to help keep his hands lifted high and support him when he was too weak on his own.

And Moses wasn’t standing throughout the battle: he was resting on the rock. He had a firm foundation from which he could draw strength. Throughout the Bible, being seated represents being in a place of rest: Moses wasn’t struggling for victory, he was seated from a place of victory. The battle was already won; he simply needed to keep reaching out for God and ensure His banner was lifted high.

It sounds so obvious to say that Christianity is a daily battle. But until that moment, I never truly comprehended that I won’t ever become a Christ-like woman once and for all, nor is that what God expects of me.

My job is just to reach out for Him every moment of every day. If I am impatient or disrespectful, it’s not because I haven’t gotten to the point spiritually where nothing bothers me. It’s just because I got tired and let my arms down for a moment. The flesh is weak, but with support, I can put my arms right back up and still claim the victory.

God designed our walk with Him as a daily battle, because He never wants us to put our hands in our pockets. What He wants more than anything is for us to look continually to Him. And what could be more satisfying than to spend every day of our lives seated on the Rock, hands and faces upturned to our Savior, beholding His glory and marveling not at the intensity of the battle before us but at the magnificence of a battle that is already won.

Where I'm At

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:00:00 +0000

After nearly five months of relentless searching, my husband and I finally found the apartment we knew was meant for us. We knew it the moment we opened the door. The process of obtaining a co-op in New York City is excruciating, and it took over a month for us to complete it. The 14 page application, 8 letters of reference, credit checks, tax returns, bank statements, a meeting before the board, and even an inspection of my husband's current residence. The stress of it all took a heavy toll, but we kept our faith throughout the process: this place is ours, and we have God's favor.

The moving company was scheduled to come in 8 days. Then we found out that our application was denied. No reason was given.

I think "stunned" is the word that best sums up our initial reaction. We knew, we just KNEW, in our heart of hearts that the apartment was ours. And then...it wasn't. What now?

I was waiting to post here on the devotionals site until after things were settled down. I wanted to share with you the amazing story of how God had shown us the perfect apartment in New York, and found us renters for the condo in Florida, and how I transitioned seamlessly to my new life. And yet, here it is nearly May (3 months after I quit my teaching job), and none of those things have quite come to pass.

Apparently, that's not the story I'm meant to tell. We don't have the 'happily ever after' yet. But here's what I do have...and I suspect this is what I should have been sharing with you all along:

The satisfaction of doing the work God has called me to do. I've posted more information about my educational consulting jobs here on my other blog, but the most important detail is that I love my work and I know I'm making a difference. It's satisfying and challenging and fulfilling and I can't believe this is really what I do for a living now. Though it requires flying back and forth to New York, quite honestly, I've been doing that for years in order to see my husband, and I'm thankful that I no longer have a full-time job in Florida that's continually pulling me away from him. We are together most of the time, and when we're not, I get to be with my best friends and family in Florida. It's the best of both worlds in a way, and it's clearly what God wants me to be doing for now, so I'm content.

A new appreciation of both my husband and the spiritual growth I've made through our relationship. Curtis is the person you want in your corner during tough times, the one who sees the big picture and is unwavering in his belief in God's faithfulness and provision. That side of him has been profoundly evident over the last few months...and it was even more amazing to see how he's helped me become that person, too. After the apartment debacle, I was not the blubbering mess I once would have been, requiring his encouragement while I played the self-pitying "Why, God, why?" card. This was our first major blow as a married couple, and it truly made our bond stronger. We came together on the same level spiritually to support one another, and that was POWERFUL.

A deeper understanding of the character of God and faith in His ways. We've spent hours talking about who God is and what He's done for us, reflecting on how He has always provided, and sharing the lessons He's taught us in the meanwhile. The catalyst for those conversations was something the enemy meant for our harm, but the resulting spiritual growth is irreplaceable. There is nothing, NOTHING, no material possession in the world that could replace the fullness of knowing God...not for a moment would I trade that apartment for the deeper relationship I have with Jesus. I truly count it all as loss compared to knowing Him.

A feeling of peace that I can only describe as supernatural. I know that I'm following God's plan for my life. I'm committed to serving Him, and I trust Him completely. My soul is at rest.

Sometimes it's more encouraging to hear from other Christians who are IN the fire and storm, rather than just those who have come out on the other side. So if any of you are waiting to see what God has in store--trusting Him to give you a spouse, or a child, or a home, or a job--please know you are in good company. The tough times are always the opportunity for the most growth spiritually, and if you can connect with the Lord in the middle of it all, the rewards are beyond description. I'm not sure that I can yet count it ALL joy like Paul did, but I'm closer to that understanding than I've ever been.

Thank you all for your unwavering prayers. I'm going to continue posting teacher devotionals, now that I've broken my little streak of writer's block. And in God's perfect timing, I'll post back with fantastic news on the housing/moving front. The awesome thing about serving our God is that He can change any situation around on a dime, clear out of the blue. There WILL be an upcoming post that includes the phrase "But suddenly, God...". You can count on it. :-)

My resignation is official.

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:59:00 +0000

I have a problem writing blog entries after something major happens in my life. Do I try to compose a heart-rending account that encompasses the wide range of emotions I've been feeling? Should I give a quick bulleted list to catch you up on all the main points at once? Or try to gather some witty anecdotes for a humorous retelling? I don't know how to tell the really important stories, so I end up writing nothing at all. And since it's now been a month since I've posted and I still lack the words to express everything, I'll have to settle for the words I have right now.

My last day teaching in Fort Lauderdale was January 31st. I am no longer "in the classroom". It was a fantastic job, and I'm surprised at how little sadness I feel about leaving. Actually, I feel a bit guilty for not being sadder.

There are so many things I want to share with you, namely where I'm living (or more accurately, waiting to live) and what I'm doing now (which I love, love, love, love, did I mention I LOVE what I'm doing?). And I have so many reflections on things I've seen and experienced in this whole new aspect of education. But I think the end to my teaching career is significant enough to warrant it's own blog post.

The kids were really sad when I told them. However, I did it on a Friday afternoon, and when they came back on Monday morning, things were back to normal. Thank God for the resilience of children. My replacement worked the last three days with me so the transition was perfectly (and surprisingly) smooth. I think she's fantastic: young, enthusiastic, organized, strict, knowledgeable, and professional. After a few hours with us both in the classroom, one of the kids asked, "Are you sure you can't stay so we can have TWO teachers?" It's been a few years since I've experienced it, but that last week was a powerful reminder of how incredible team-teaching can be when both people are on the same page with discipline and teaching style. Wow.

So New Teacher taught everything on my last day, freeing me to collect handmade cards and goodbye presents (including early Valentines Day gifts "because you won't be here") and focus on not choking up when kids came over to hug me. I did get a bit teary-eyed on the playground when a group of 7 girls said they wanted to sing a song they'd been practicing in honor of me moving away. Imagine my surprise when they belted out, "Now you're in Neewwww Yoorrrrkk! Concrete jungle where dreams are MADE of! There's nothing you can't do! Let's hear it for Newww YOOOORRK! These streets will make you feel BRAND new, big lights will inSPIRE yooou, here in the New York! New York! Newwww Yorrrkkk!" I got a little panicky when they got to Jay-Z's portion of the song (just what I need, an inappropriate song lyric scandal on my last day as a public school teacher) but quickly redirected the girls back to Alicia Key's solo. Whew, crisis averted.

When I walked out of the classroom for the last time, I handed New Teacher the keys to the room, and I felt like the torch was officially being passed. It was a surprising moment because I wasn't expecting the gesture to mean anything at all, but it totally did. I felt a weight lift off my shoulders, and I saw the excitement in New Teacher's eyes as she slipped them onto her key ring. I realized this moment was actually a dream come true for both of us: after two years of subbing, she was finally getting her very own classroom (and with amazing kids in the best school, ever). And I was finally getting to move on to the next chapter of my life and make a difference in education on a larger scale. It was beautiful.

As I re-read this post, I'm realizing once again how blogging is such an amazing tool for self-reflection. Just moments ago, I wrote that I felt guilty for not being sad about leaving my kids halfway through the year. But now it's so evident why I feel such contentment: everyone is exactly where they're supposed to be. Despite the emotional ups and downs, each event from the past few months has unfolded exactly the way it was supposed to.

There's so much more to tell. Stay tuned.

How I Saved a Child's Life (A True Story)

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

I am a teacher, and I saved the life of a child who was dying a thousand different deaths.

He was drowning in a sea of technicalities and red tape, of bureaucratic limitations and endless uncompleted forms. This small child was tossed about in unrelenting waves of systemic failures that pulled him underwater again and again, each contingency a riptide he was powerless to swim against.

My heart sings, because I saved that child's life.

He was suffocating from the intensity of his unmodified workload, struggling for air under the weight of criticism and impossible expectations that were crushing his chest. He was pinned to the ground by his own reputation, gasping for breath, unable to shake off the stereotypes and assumptions associated with his ethnicity and social class.

My heart sings, because I saved that child's life.

He was starving for validation and his hunger for a sense of accomplishment was nearly fatal in its intensity. Emotionally emaciated and weak from a lack of attention and acknowledgment, he lacked any ability to nourish his own body, mind or soul.

My heart sings, because I saved that child's life.

With a raft of interventions, I pulled him out of the murky water of bureaucracy and set his feet on firm, dry land. I lifted the suffocating weight of self doubt and gave him tasks he could accomplish. I nurtured him with a steady diet of praise and affirmation. And with assurances of hope, I delivered him into the arms of an anxious, desperate mother who had spent a decade praying for the rescue of her precious and deeply troubled son.

In the tedium of classroom routines, in the midst of the mundane, in the center of daily perseverance, there was purpose. I saved a child's life by keeping these words continually on my lips: Lord, how can You use me today? Here am I! Send me.

I received the credit, but it was He who saved a child's life.

And today His heart sings.

Are you listening to me?

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:00:00 +0000

I love the blog of Magical Mystical Teacher. This post (based on Psalm 115:6) is just one of many reasons why:

“J-Boy, get back in your seat!” I say to one of my most active students at least three dozen times a day. I wish I were exaggerating, but I’m not. (Does this kid have rocks in his ears?)

“We did problems like this together ten minutes ago,” I say to T-Girl, as she asks me—again—how to round numbers to the nearest hundred.

“If you’re talking, you’re obviously not reading,” I say—for the third time—during the daily ten-minute period of SSR (Silent Sustained Reading).

And then there is the phrase I use so often during the day that I sometimes get sick of hearing myself say it: “How many times do I have to tell you ____ [fill in the blank]?”

Two of my students do have hearing impairments—but what about the other twenty? What’s their excuse? I’ve come to the conclusion that they are like the idols of silver and gold, contemned by the psalmist: They have ears, but do not hear.

Lest I become too smug, however, I need to ask myself: How’s my hearing? Am I listening for the voice of the Spirit throughout the day?

Do I hear the Spirit telling me to be gentle with the child who heard his mother getting beat up—again—last night?

Do I hear the Spirit telling me to be patient with the child for whom math is a struggle, and who may need to have a concept explained and illustrated fifteen—or more—times until she finally “gets” it?

Convicted yet? There's more--check out the full post here.

Gratitude

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:02:00 +0000

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, filled with time to relax and reflect with your families. I wanted to share with you some precious things my third graders said they were grateful for this year:

I am grateful that so many of my students are being raised in God-fearing homes. You can view more of what my kids wrote here.

No Fish to Fry

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

At least once a day, I have to sit myself down and give myself a good talking to.

The other evening, I had an interpersonal conflict. (If I'm truly honest, I'll admit it was also an INTRApersonal conflict mostly created inside my own mind.) I was talking myself down as I usually do: Angela, this is a minor thing. It's nothing worth discussing or addressing, because it's not creating any real problem. Everything between you and this person is fine. I exhaled. Relax, and go to sleep now, there's nothing to worry about. I breathed deeply and snuggled into the pillow. This is not worth your mental energy. After all, you've got more important things to worry about than this.

[Insert sound of record screeching to a halt.]

"Bigger things to worry about than this?" Where did THAT come from? Is this like the old adage You've got bigger fish to fry? It must have come from my past, my pre-Christ mindset. I used to tell myself not to sweat the small stuff because I had bigger problems to resolve.

And that's when I had my epiphany.

I actually have NO BIGGER PROBLEMS TO SOLVE.

In fact, I have no problems AT ALL to solve. Sure, I don't have a place to live in New York, or renters for my place in Fort Lauderdale, and there are uncertainties about my work and health insurance and a whole host of issues that haven't been settled yet. But I can just go to sleep peacefully. God is at work, He's in control. He knows the outcome, and He'll show me any steps I need to take. In the meantime,

I will both lie down in peace and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

I've known Psalm 4:8 for years. But that night I realized that I KNOW it on the inside now. It was a such a gradual process that I missed the magnitude of what was happening: I have experienced the peace that passes understanding. The peace offered by Jesus Christ is true for me in my life. Maybe not every minute of every day yet, but it's a good start.

I wasn't going to do a Halloween post, but...

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:54:00 +0000

...there's something I heard on TV last night that I want to share. Many of you won't even read this until after Halloween; perhaps this post isn't for you. But the Lord wants someone out there to understand and pray against what's happening this weekend.

Celebrating Halloween with children (especially in a Christian home) usually focuses on costumes and trick or treating. Lots of churches and families have Halloween alternatives (such as harvest celebrations) that allow kids to dress up and play games in a safe environment. At our school yesterday, we commemorated Halloween with a 'wholesome costume' parade, fun pumpkin activities, and lots of candy. Looking at that, many Christians would say, what's the big deal? Halloween is about candy and costumes for the kids.

For you and your family, this may be true. It's not for me to determine whether Christians should or shouldn't let their kids go trick-or-treating, because every family creates their own parameters. I'm simply cautioning you to be aware: for some parties and celebrations (and Halloween has become a HUGE occasion for adults to go crazy), there is serious danger.

As believers, we know that spiritual warfare is REAL, and there is a literal yet unseen battle between good and evil raging on this planet every minute of every day. We need to always be mindful and prayerful of that. But on certain occasions, that battle is raged more fiercely. During the Christmas season, most people (even non-Christians) sense a peace that descends over our country, and the Lord reigns through an apparent presence as people more readily practice kindness and goodwill. On Halloween, the opposite is true. Darkness, death, and fear are celebrated, and an uneasy or spooky presence surrounds us. The spiritual battle is taken to new heights, but this time, the enemy's side has the advantage.

I was watching the NBC show "30 Rock" (a fairly entertaining sitcom which comes on immediately after my favorite show "The Office"), and one of the characters explained the Halloween atmosphere from a worldly perspective in a really clear way. He was trying to rile up disinterested friends and convey why Halloween is so awesome:

"Halloween is a time when girls dress in slutty costumes and drink too much! It's a time when down is up! Up is down! Good is evil, and evil is GOOD! We CAN'T give up on Halloween!"

That's an unwittingly powerful statement, and a perfect explanation of Halloween's appeal to adults. The lines are blurred between right and and wrong, fantasy and reality, truth and deception. If you're used to celebrating with your kids at home, you may not be aware of the chaotic atmosphere that is created by millions of people in bars, clubs, and parties throughout the weekend of Halloween. Those people need a prayer covering that only God's people can offer up.

For that reason (and for the sake of children who are vulnerable to the dark overtones they see around them this time of year), we as Christians need to have a prayerful mindset on Halloween and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. We need to be the light in the darkness, and pray against anything the enemy is trying to stir up on a night that was created to celebrate everything he represents: fear, deception, confusion, and chaos.

I encourage you as you read this (whether it be before Halloween or after) to say a prayer binding the enemy from doing his work, and speak the blood of Jesus over every evil intent or deceptive practice that may occur in your community. Pray that people's eyes may be opened to the light, and that any evil works conducted on Halloween in the name of fear would be undone through the power of Christ. Pray for spiritual protection over our young people in this country, and wisdom and discernment for adults. Pray that the weekend would pass with the Lord triumphant, with His people still on their path, straying not to the left or the right. And perhaps most importantly, pray that those who have experienced the darkness this weekend and do not yet know Him would be drawn even more to the light.

Not by might, nor by power...

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:30:00 +0000

...but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.

Most of us can complete that sentence easily, maybe even hum the tune to the classic Leslie Phillips song that declares Zechariah 4:6. But how often do we practice that scripture? If we know that nothing is accomplished but by His Spirit, why do we try to make things happen in our own strength?

I think this verse applies especially to our work in the classroom. It is a natural tendency to think that kids with challenging behaviors should respond to our might and power, and it's often our first and last resort. Do it, because I said so! We are quick to impose our own authority over rule-breakers and rarely think to pray for God's authority over the situation. However, the real, true, and lasting change we're seeking is produced by the Spirit of the Lord, and it usually starts with change in our own hearts.

Father, help me to remember this week that You are the Almighty, the center of the universe, and everyone is made in You.

I'm not actually late with posting these wedding photos...

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:45:00 +0000

…assuming you agree to pretend with me that sharing them on our three-month anniversary was the plan all along. Since most of you dear readers are educators, I am confident that you, too, have mastered the art of Creating Alternative Reasoning for the Purpose of Disguising Personal Screw-Ups, and you are immediately empathetic toward my little ruse. Surely you have used this strategy with your class on more than one occasion, a la “I’ve decided to push back the math test to Monday because I want to give you one more day to study” [and also because I forgot to have the copies run during my break due to excessive gossiping around the soda machine]. So without further ado, I present my extremely well-planned September posting of the long-awaited wedding pics. Happy third (month) anniversary to us!

But wait! There’s more! Several dozen more, actually, on my Facebook fan page, which you can view here.

Divine Intervention

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:00:00 +0000

There's a child whose behavioral and learning problems are beyond anything I've experienced in the past decade. Will I be able to get through to this kid? Is improvement possible? What can I possibly do to catch this little one up to speed?

I was just sitting on my couch trying to figure out a battle plan when I came across this post from the Christian teacher blog Teach On Purpose:

Just got done praying for my kids. I can't even tell you how much this has changed the relational connection to my students. Nothing helps me put down my agenda, see them as real people, and treat them with the dignity and humanity they deserve like spending a minute or two praying through each class roster.

I'm not great at this and I often miss days, but just like every other meeting, prayer time is scheduled into my calendar. Every day my calendar pops up a to-do list during planning time, and at least 3 days each week, that list includes prayer. You know how long it takes to pray through 2 classes per day, mentioning each child by name? Somewhere around 2 minutes, and as packed as my schedule gets, 2 minutes is often the only manageable time I have to refocus, re-purpose, and rethink the people I serve.

Ah, yes. Of course there's something I can do. In the midst of all my modifications and differentiations, how did I forget the most important intervention of all?