Hello, two people who read this (Hi, Kristi!! Thanks for being faithful!). So here's my question: What does it actually look like to "surrender" your plans to God? Does it mean ceasing to desire it altogether? Or is it simply drawing the bottom line that you want what the Lord has for you no matter how much that differs from what you want. Surrender is something we always aspire to, but can we even define it? Or give someone practical steps to do so?
Random, I know...but it's been on my heart a lot lately.
Totally off topic, I love teaching my preschoolers Scripture! We have been talking about one fruit of the Spirit each month (Sept.=love, Oct.=joy, Nov.=peace, etc.). With each fruit, we learn a Bible verse. I cannot tell you the joy it brings to my spirit when I hear little four-year-old voices saying, "His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7b." Another great thing, hearing them explain what love, joy, and peace actually are. It's actually more difficult than it sounds coming up with preschool age-appropriate definitions for these character traits. Love is easy. Joy, a little bit more difficult but not bad. Peace--wow. How do you even describe peace to four-turning-five-year-olds? I really struggled with this for a few days in preparation for the lesson. Here's what I came up with (or should I say, what the Spirit gave me): Peace is knowing deep down in your heart that everything's going to be O.K. because God is in charge. That's basically what peace is, right? Hearing my kids define peace this way and tell me that they "prayed for God's peace to know it's O.K." when they were scared of the dark the night before is absolutely amazing.
Maybe you have to be a teacher to understand. Or a parent. But watching kids internalize and really comprehend God's Word and character is indescribable. Ok, gotta go eat lunch. See ya Tuesday, Kristi :)
About Me
- Jessica
- Hello! For those of you who may be new to my story, I am moving from sunny Southern California to Kalispell, Montana. It has always been a dream of mine to move to a less crowded, more country-feeling area...and now I'm doing it! I will be teaching 6th and 7th grade History and Language Arts at Stillwater Christian School. I plan to use this blog to update you with funny stories, pictures and videos so that you can follow along with me as I make this journey. Thanks for stopping by!
4 comments:
Surrender. Always been a hard one for me to be completely honest. I think it's ok to have desires but I think surrendering to God's plan is to say that you understand that those desires may not be part of that plan. And I think you have to pray with that in mind...not our will be done but His, even if that means that it doesn't turn out the way we want. Trusting that God is sovereign. Those are my thoughts but again, not an easy thing for me. On another note, I'm so excited for next Tuesday. I'm sorry that you had to be best friends with your toilet bowl the other day, I hope you are feeling better! Can't wait to spend time with you!
Thanks for your thoughts on surrender. My deal is--what if I get to the point that I can't say "not my will but Yours" because I don't ultimately trust that God's plan will make me happier than my own plans. I should know better and just accept God's sovereignty. But fighting it is better than walking away from it, right?
I am feeling better. Thanks. I was able to keep normal food (well, salad) down last night, so that's progress. How are you feeling? I'm really excited for next Tuesday, too! It will be good to reconnect! And thanks again for being the one person who reads this thing! :)
Um, are you ever going to come back to the blogging world???
Hmmm...seeing as how it's just you and me reading/responding to this, why don't we just do coffee once every few weeks or something? Is this better? I don't know. Sorry for my absence. Maybe I'll post again soon. You never know...keeps you checking :)
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