“A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight.” Oswald Chambers

The end is coming (of first quarter). Friday marks the first “ending” of this school year. The students have mixed feelings about this. Some are excited because it will be a half-day rather than a full-day of school. Some are relieved glad to have finished all of their work. Some are frantic trying to finish their work, yet others are neither agitated nor excited.

Have you ever felt irritated about completing something? Faced with duties below your position or that make you feel like you are wasting your time? Sometimes doing small things makes us feel small in the impact we might have. It is almost as if we lose sight of the main objective when stuck doing small things. There are times when I feel that some things do not make a difference. It is my failure to understand or comprehend the magnitude of when these things have an incredible influence upon the future.

Missed opportunity is one of those merciless and gnawing events. It eats away at a person causing sleeplessness, loss of appetite (or the opposite), depression, anger—and/or a lot of other discomforts. There is a story about a man in the Bible who did a simple thing really well. He did it so well that it had a major impact upon his life. His name was Enoch, and in Genesis 5:21-23, you can read about him. He loved God and spent time with Him. In the end he did not die, but was taken by God to heaven.

Oswald Chambers once said, “A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight.” Enoch did a simple thing well; he walked with God. Because he was focused on the right thing at the right time, it meant that he did not have to die. I wonder what would happen if each of us took the small things more seriously. How would the lives of those around us be influenced or even changed? 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it” (TMSG).

Since second quarter begins Monday, our students will have the opportunity to try doing the small things differently. I hope that some will understand better the importance of small things. I hope you will consider the small things that you are being asked to do, and consider doing them well. You never know what will happen.

Thanks for reading.

“more people believe in Santa Claus than in the Great Pumpkin, but let’s face it; Santa Claus has had more publicity." Linus Van Pelt

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was on television last evening. This animated TV special first aired October 27, 1966, and has been a classic ever since. It is a fun story about the Peanuts gang getting ready for Halloween. The story opens with Linus and Lucy going out into a pumpkin patch to find a pumpkin. Linus points out several pumpkins, but Lucy is not interested. Lucy then points to a large pumpkin and Linus then has the job of rolling it home. Once they arrive Lucy takes a big knife and slices into the pumpkin to gut it, at which point a mortified Linus says “Ohhh, you didn’t tell me you were going to kill it!” and starts wailing.

A couple of weeks ago I shared with our students what I call the “Pumpkin” chapel. I bring a pumpkin to school and carve it while the kids watch. I start the chapel by sharing about the origins of pumpkin carving explaining that it was out of necessity that people carved gourds so that they could use them as lanterns to see where they were going at night. Today it is different, people still have the need to see where they are going, but they have more efficient means of casting light into darkness. We then talk about why people carve pumpkins today and most of the answers center around the idea that it is a festive event to do around Halloween. My pumpkin on the other hand is used as an illustration of a person and the Christian life. My story begins with a pumpkin covered in mud who wants to meet God. The pumpkin tries to clean itself up by washing off the mud, but soon discovers a problem. He learns that God is not so concerned about the outside, but He looks at the heart. So now the pumpkin has to trust the hand of His maker to clean-up his heart. At this point I cut open the top of the pumpkin and begin scooping out its’ guts. I usually make the most of this by having students smell the inside of the pumpkin and see how slimy and gooey the insides are. Some of the gunk comes out easily, but then the hard part comes. “Sometimes to bring about change you have to be scraped” I will say. At this point I ask the kids to name the kinds of feelings and or thinking that may need to be “scraped” out of a person’s heart. They usually respond with answers like, lying, stealing, cheating, angry feelings and other hurts. After cleaning out the inside, I hold the pumpkin up and show the students how clean it is. I then tell them that God loves them so much He would never leave them empty, but puts His light and love inside of us. I put a candle in the pumpkin and put the top back on. After a short amount of time the candle goes out, and the students are all clamoring to tell me that I have forgotten to make a face. I usually cut a funny face into the pumpkin and then re-light the candle explaining to the students that when God places His light inside of us it is so that we will shine His love and truth to all who are around us. If we try and keep His light to ourselves it soon goes out. At this point we dim the lights and sing, “This little light of mine…”

Linus is convinced that the Great Pumpkin will bring toys to the child who waits in the most sincere pumpkin patch. The problem is that while his belief is sincere it is incorrect. This does not make him a bad person only misguided. Hopefully, people like Linus will see God’s light in us and put their faith in something that lasts forever.

Thanks for reading.

Ben Franklin - "One today is worth two tomorrows; what I am to be, I am now becoming.”

Many of you might be familiar with Judith Viorst’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It’s the story of a little boy whose day falls to pieces.
“I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard...and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.” (Viorst, p.5).

Alexander’s day just gets worse as he goes to school, finds himself at the dentist, and has to go shopping with his mother. No one looks forward to a day filled with obstacles, trials, and setbacks, but I wonder how often we approach a day in the same way as Alexander. How often do we start the day with a flat tire even before we get into our car? How often do we set our course with a bad attitude and then act surprised when our day falls apart? Even as I write this I am wondering if I should change my line of questioning. Let me ask, how often do you have a great day? What would a great day look like to you? Would you say that it is the norm to have a great day, or the exception?

To me it all boils down to choice. I have to make a choice about my day before it begins. What will you choose? There is no doubt that our days will be filled with events beyond our control. So how are you going to allow those events shape you? Truly, the only area in our lives we can control is our choice in how we react or respond to what happens.

John Maxwell, says this about choices/decisions, “Successful people make right decisions early and manage those decisions daily.” I believe he is saying that the sooner you decide the important decisions and the longer you manage them, the more successful you can become. Persons who neglect making decisions and fail to manage them will often look back on their lives with sadness and regret.

I would encourage you to begin each day with a word of thanksgiving to God. Begin your day with Him and allow Him to change your outlook and attitude about what is to come (Phil. 4:4-9).

May God’s peace reign in your heart and mind. Thanks for reading.