Write it Down!

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”
~William Wordsworth

That is why I write. To fill paper with the breathings of my heart. So, dear students, I invite you to do the same. Much of what I have to teach you is mechanical in nature, but much of what I want to teach you is how to “fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” I know academic writing can be laborious in nature, so let’s use this blog time for musing on life. Right now, we are reading “Children of the Storm” by Natasha Vins. Natasha is faced with the hard decision to stay true to her Christian beliefs, even when persecuted by her atheist teacher and peers. Luke 14:28 says, ”Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’”

What does this verse say to you? What does “counting the cost” mean in today’s culture? Let me know what you think!

Here I am, sitting at my kitchen table, engaged in the marathon of grading research papers, final tests and last-minute-late assignments. There have been lows. Oh, yes, lows. Moments of teacher frustration. Were you [my sensational students] listening? Did I teach you anything? BUT, there have been highs. Oh, yes, highs. One particular high is Sophie’s timed essay on “Are people defined by what they do?” She writes,

“One’s daily routines do not efficiently
show who they are. Or do they? 
Indeed, colossal accomplishments and
acts of bravery may shed a
positive light of admiration on one’s character,
but if we were to peel back the external layer and
dissect a person in hopes of discovering
who they are on the inside, one would 
be surprised at how miniscule
acts reveal slivers of truth about a person.

Perhaps someone is following the path
someone else has set out
for them and must define
themselves in different ways.
Even though some people put up a facade to shield their
true heart, even this front may reveal things about them.
Do they have a sharp tongue?
Do they always need something?
They may be hateful or discontent.
Do they play the chameleon game? They may be
insecure or feel inferior.
These characteristics define a person. 

Smaller things, such as hair-twirling or nail-biting,
or some other obsession, also
reveal a deeper side of a person—be it positive or negative.”

Bravo, Sophie! I would love to see you finish this essay. I know the 20-minute time constraint is difficult. Yes, there are a few little fopa’s here and there, but you really got to the meat of the subject. 

Okay, guys and girls, give Sophie a BIG round of applause! I am seeing the finish line of grading, preparing summer reads, and scheduling the 2009-2010 school year, so be on the lookout for your final grades!

Keep writing it down!

“A book must be the ice-axe to break the frozen sea within us.”

Found this quote today and boy, did it resonate!  For this prompt, write about a book that has had this effect on you. A book that has perhaps awakened something in your life that was sleeping. Or thawed something that was frozen. Or healed part of your broken heart. Or opened your eyes to a need in the world. It may be as simple as the story of Miggery Sow in “The Tale of Desperaux.” When I read Kate DiCamillo’s sweet tale of this forlorn little girl who longed to be a princess and longed to be loved by a father she had never known, I felt as if I was looking into a mirror. Perhaps you’ve met a character in a book that has had an effect on you. Can’t wait to hear it!

P.S. All your prompt responses are due by Thursday! Be sure to finish well!

Late again. So sorry. The days are so full for me right now and suddenly they slip away. Forgive me, please. We have one week left, dear students of mine! Last night, I was graced to watch Coldplay perform. Chris Martin’s passion for music takes my breath away. He becomes one with sound. His reckless abandon echos the movement of King David, as he danced wildly before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:13-15, NIV). In our last prompt, we were to live a “wide-awake” life. Today, I want you to notice the SOUNDS of your day. Did a particular sound pierce your ear, penetrate your heart, capture your imagination, or take your breath away—like the sounds of Chris Martin’s fingers making his piano sing? Help me “hear” the sound through your words. And, listen closely.

“Keeping a journal is living a wide-awake life. Whatever its name—notebook, sketchbook, log, daybook, diary, or journal—the blank book we fill with bits and pieces of our lives affirms and validates our experiences. It also provides a safe place to make discoveries, celebrate one’s story, and to confide, confer, question, and confess. Alert to the outside world, attuned to the inner one, the journal keeper lives with the consciousness that his or her life matters” (Graham ix). 

Are you living a wide-awake life?
Today, share a story about something you observed today.
Make me feel like I am seeing it with my own eyes.

For example,

“On the way home from having maintenance done on my car,
I began seeing signs for “Faith Farms. Fresh strawberries.” 
“Fabulous,” I thought. “Fresh, local strawberries.”
The signs led meto a quaint local farm, off the beaten path.
 As I drove down the long, winding gravel road,
I felt far away.The sounds of the city were slowly
fading into the background
and the smells of country living filled the air. 

The only sound I could hear now was the slight crunching
of the gravel underneath my feet.
All of a sudden, much to my surprise,
a peacock—yes, a full-fledged royal blue crowned peacock—
stood in front of me. Gasping, I couldn’t help exclaiming,
“Well, hello beautiful! How in the world
are you?” My conversation with this stunning bird continued,
“Oh, can I take your picture? Stop! Hold still!”
Luckily, my camera was in the zipper pouch of my purse. 
Posing regally, of course, this proud peacock 
honored me with his picture. I couldn’t help but smile.

All I wanted was a basket of organic strawberries.
Once again, God surprised me. He does that a lot.
In the midst of my ordinary day,
He does something extraordinary. 

(A little blurry, but radiant!)

On page 142, BJ writes “How often do we really live as Christ? How often do we lay our own dreams
and wants down for God? At church camp? On missions trips? Maybe even every Sunday or Wednesday?
But Christ says DAILY. Too often we attempt the whole ‘Christian living’ on Sundays and Wednesdays,
and forget the whole ‘DAILY CHRISTIAN DYING.’
Christ calls us to die daily.”

We are all very familiar with Luke 8:22-23 (NIV) which says,
^“Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me,
he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for me will save it.’”

Now read it in the MESSAGE Bible:

Then he told them what they could expect for themselves:
“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead.
You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am.
Don’t run from suffering; embrace it.
Follow me and I’ll show you how.
Self-help is no help at all.
Self-sacrifice is the way, my way,
to finding yourself, your true self.
What good would it do to get everything you
want and lose you, the real you?
If any of you is embarrassed with me
and the way I’m leading you,
know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed
with you when he arrives in
all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels.
This isn’t, you realize, pie in the sky by and by.
Some who have taken their stand
right here are going to see it happen,
see with their own eyes the kingdom of God.”

Many of you are learning to drive or have recently gotten your license. Let me ask you one question. How hard was it to be in the driver’s seat YET have your Mom or Dad in the passenger seat telling you what to do all the time? Did you enjoy that experience? Was it ever challenging? Now, relate that to the above scripture interpretation from the MESSAGE. The beginning of this particular version says, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am.” Jesus is saying that we have to let him lead. We have to take up the cross and die daily to our own intentions and stubborn attempts at controlling our own lives. Write about a time when you wanted to do something YOUR way (hence, take the driver’s seat and CONTROL the circumstance) but God intervened and led you to do it HIS way. Was it a struggle, a challenge, or no big deal?

“You never know why you’re alive
until you know what
you would die for.”
-B.J. Higgins

On pg. 203, B. J. writes,  ”Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13, NIV). This passage has a double meaning. One, that Christ is the ultimate example of love (being that he is God and God is love), and two, that the GREATEST love is to sacrifice yourself for your friends. [When I say love is a verb], this is the action I’m talking about. Not necessarily to literally get killed to save someone, but to lay your life down: to become selfless and act for others instead of yourself, or to devote your life.”

The MESSAGE Bible narrates John 13:11-15 this way. I love the fluidity and vulnerability:

“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.”

Selfless is an adjective defined simply as “to be more concerned with the needs and wishes of others than with one’s own; unselfish.” True love is selfless and boy, oh, boy, it is hard to be selfless. 

Your prompt this time is two-fold:

1. Be on the lookout this week for an opportunity to be selfless.
2. Write about a time when you were blessed with the opportunity to display selflessness. It might be hard
   to write about this—you may feel as though you are “tooting your own horn”—but think of it as an 
   opportunity to spread the word about being selfless and to raise awareness about real friendship. Typically,
   teenagers are considered “egoentric” — prove that wrong! 

“God will always be here, even though WE will not.
EVERYTHING else will fade and fall in this world
(meaning the physical world, because I know that my
spirit and soul will live forever), 
but God will not. I will never have to rely on myself,
although I have tried before, and every time I did,
I fell and failed.
Never will the day come that I will have to rely on myself,
and never will the day come that God won’t exist.
(Chapter 16, www.prayforbj.com)

In many ways, B.J.’s story is hard to read.
Reading about the death of a fifteen-year old is a downer, yes.
I get that. But, it is a sobering reminder that
life is fragile. Life is short.  

Tell me about a time in your life where you relied on
yourself, instead of relying on God.
Perhaps you “fell and failed.”
I could list a thousand—because
I have had to learn the hard way that
I must lean on God in EVERYTHING.
When I try to do things myself or think
I don’t need God, it usually gets ugly.

P.S. I’m finishing up my research paper today. Came across this powerful insight and wanted to share it with you all.
Dr. Mark McMinn writes, “Every Christian must be a broken person. To enter the kingdom, we must acknowledge that the inner peace we yearn for can never come by our own efforts but only by admitting we are powerless to conquer our self-centerdness and by turning over the rule of our life to Christ. Our sinful hearts show themselves through what we do and what we fail to do. We end up broken not only because we are victims but also because we have hearts of rebellion and stubborn independence. The gospel gives hope for broken people, but only after they recognize their brokenness” (19). Agree or disagree?

          In our reading, B.J.’s parents write, “In his Awakening journal, he [B.J.] listed ‘video games’ and ‘media’ (TV, movies, news, Internet) as things that numbed his mind and blocked his view of God. He also included ‘Girls’ on the list. During middle school, he had struggled in an off-again, on-again relationship with a young woman. He knew God wanted him to make some changes–right away  (Higgins 99). I wonder if there is anything “numbing your mind and blocking your view of God?” It can be something very small or something rather intense. Share about a time when you felt something or someone numbing your mind and blocking your view of God. 

 NOTE: Send me the address to your blog(s) as you finish them, so I can add you to my BLOGROLL. I already have Josiah’s and Emily’s!

“Our disappointment is his divine appointment.”

Today’s writing prompt:

Read page 71, paying special attention to Walker Moore’s quote, “Our disappointment is his divine appointment” and the narration, “When things don’t go as anticipated (and they hardly do), student missionaries know that they must watch carefully to see what God has planned instead. The teaching and experience they receive on the mission field teaches them firsthand how to suit up in their spiritual armor as they prepare to withstand Satan’s vigorous attacks. They also learn how to watch as God brings himself glory, even through things like a painful stingray wound.”

Share about a time in your life when God transformed a disappointment into a divine appointment. Remember, great writing is in the details!

P.S. Would you pray for me over the next few days….I have a 15 page research paper due!