WONDERMENT — THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD

14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

Children have the amazing gift of innocent wonder. It is a gift that we, as adults, try to grasp again through the eyes of our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We borrow their vision temporarily before returning to the view of the world through our own eyes that are less innocent, less awestruck. Yet, if we could capture that wonderment and hold onto it through every age of our lives, we could daily see how God wants us to behold the world He made– just for you and me.

How our children see God’s world:

W= WOW!               Everything is awesome: A bullfrog croaking.

O= Observant.        Down to every detail: “What’s that? How? Why?”

N= New.                 Treasures!  A dandelion puff. Blow! Catch the wind.

D= Delight!             Chasing a rabbit. Running hard with little legs.

E= Excitement!       “Look!” Pointing. “Look!” A bird flies overhead.

R= Reverence.       Falling leaves. Trying to put them back up, each one.

M= Marvel!             Running barefoot in warm sand. Splashing into a wave.

E= Ever.                 Always ready. “Let’s go!” Tugging mom’s hand.

N= Novice.             First-time look, touch, smell, sound, taste of creation.

T= Take in.            The world and all of nature, overwhelming wonder.

Let the little children come unto us.
If we could only see what you behold,
Our eyes would not seem so very old.
Unfold the world, refresh our view;
Help us become God’s children anew.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 05/31/15)  teacherforjesus.com    Meditations on God’s Word

S:  Soldiers, when committed to a task, can’t compromise. It’s unrelenting devotion to standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it’s been done. (John Keegan)

A: A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. (Joseph Campbell)

C: Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often affected. (Billy Graham)

R: Remember fallen heroes. Remember fallen angels. “My father used to call all soldiers angel warriors…Because usually they get boys to fight wars.” (Lt. Carroll, pg. 44, Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers)

I: I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country. (Nathan Hale)

F: For love of country, they accepted death. (James A. Garfield)

I: I have long believed that sacrifice is the pinnacle of patriotism. (Bob Riley)

C: Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared. (Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I hero)

E: Each man is a hero or an oracle to somebody. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

IN MEMORY AND HONOR OF VETERANS WHO GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR OUR FREEDOM. IN HONOR OF THOSE SOLDIERS WHO CONTINUE PROTECTING OUR COUNTRY AND THE FREEDOMS ESTABLISHED UNDER THE FIRST AMENDMENT.

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Going to War as a Christian
(Deuteronomy 20:1-4) 1 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3 He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. 4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

Some of us may actually engage the enemy in another country, while others watch as sons and daughters depart to a foreign place in preparation for battle. Although most of us will not physically go to a war front in another land to face an enemy, there are many battlefields we confront as Christians. The manner of battle is different, being more spiritual than physical, although we may have physical confrontations with those who do not support or defend the Word of God. The Lord may require sacrifices of us in these battles against the Father of Lies, including the ultimate one–the giving of our own lives–as Christ did before us. God’s promise is that we are not alone. He is with us and goes before us. The victory is His.

Each quote cited applies to our personal Christian duty and responsibility. We must each have the commitment, courage, love, and devotion of a dutiful soldier to further the cause of Christ in a world that is moving away from Him, either through passive/aggressive unbelief or confrontational verbal and/or physical acts. We are soldiers for Christ, and we have a solemn duty to fulfill. Our courage comes from God’s promise to us. We know Who wins.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 05/24/15) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor. 5:10)

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The author stared at an empty page, pen in hand, poised to write. How should he fill this page- and the next page- and the one after that—and . . . There were so many possibilities, so many results from the possibilities, so many effects from the results. It took contemplation. “You are the Author of your own life story,” he thought. And he began to write. . .

That quote was displayed in two posters in my classroom, above and below my Little Free Library, which consisted of an open cabinet with shelves of books written by many different authors. I wanted each of my students to realize that, like the authors of these books, they also had their own life stories to write—and, in fact, were doing so every day and every moment. It should take contemplation.

Each writer of the books in my classroom library once faced the blank page and had to fill it—and continue filling the blank sheets until the story concluded on the last page. Sometimes, though, there was an added postscript revealed in an epilogue—“a section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened” (www.googlesearch.com). This additional end portion of the book could also be referenced as the “Afterword.” What happened “after” was the end result and effect of the possibilities chosen by the author to fill the pages of his story.

We each have a pen in our hand and blank pages before us. The Creator God has given His creation mankind the ability and freedom of choice to write its own story—with every man and woman in creation a personal author. How we each fill the blank pages of our life story with “the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” will determine our “Afterword” as we face the judgment seat of Christ.

What will Your Afterword be?

DEPART—I never knew you. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:22-23)
—-OR—-
ENTER—Good and faithful servant. His lord said unto him, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:21)

It takes prayer, before filling the pages of our life stories. The epilogue must be contemplated in each page as we earnestly direct our lives toward that desired Afterword— to ENTER an eternal beginning with the Lord.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 05/17/15) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
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Teacher, nurse, doctor, lawyer, judge, chef, hygienist, interior decorator, mechanic, psychologist, hairdresser, librarian, negotiator, cheerleader, financial advisor, role model, and so much more.
MOTHER: Multi-Occupational, Talented HER.

HER role is pivotal in the life of her children. HER influence emanates through the life of her child from birth to death—and throughout eternity. When a God-fearing mother is that influential presence, Proverbs 22:6 can be fulfilled. Father and mother are both the responsible trainers in their children’s lives, but the mother has the initial bond internally in child-bearing and continues to be the child-bearer in many ways throughout the life of her daughter or son.

“Being a mother means that your heart is no longer yours; it wanders wherever your  children do.”     (Author Unknown)

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”  (Washington Irving)

A praying mother is a powerful presence, moving through time with her sons and daughters.
“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”  (Abraham Lincoln)
A praying mother has no boundaries of space, traveling ahead of her children with protective prayer.
“If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.” (Robert Brault)

God gave mothers a special place in His plan. A human mother bore the Savior of us all. Mothers bear the children who have the potential to become the followers of Jesus and carry on His work here in His church and throughout the world—if properly trained, if earnestly prayed for, if devoutly reared by a Godly mother.

May we be mothers who carry forth the plan God designed for us. God, help us faithfully nurture and raise children who will know the Way to go and never depart from it. Amen.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 05/10/15) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word

³² When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

³⁴ “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵ Jesus wept.                                                              ( John 11: 32-35)

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The day after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, where twenty young children and six adult staff members were fatally shot, I faced my senior English class students and asked them one very important question: “Did you cry?”

It wasn’t an academic question related to grammar, literature, or writing. It wasn’t a question that would fit the rating scale for evaluation by an administrator. But it was one of the most significant questions I asked that class the entire trimester, because it was a human question. Some nodded directly looking at me, tears welling up in their eyes. Others lowered their eyes, using their shirtsleeves to wipe away tears. Some sat silently. In the room, there was a unity of emotion– sadness, sorrow, loss. Yes, some had cried and some were still crying, more than were showing it.

The human experience involves a sharing of sadness and joy. Jesus understood this and wept at the grief He witnessed from Mary, who had just lost her brother Lazarus to the end we humans face—death. Jesus wept at the great sorrow expressed by those Jews who were also mourning. Even though Jesus knew joy would follow as He raised Lazarus from the dead back to life, He still wept with those who mourned, empathizing with their sorrow and their loss. It was a human reaction, a human experience; He was a human Savior.

Jesus taught us how to be human in this short verse of the Bible. “Jesus wept.”

Let us not forget His example of humanity in the midst of suffering in our world today. Did you cry for those grieving the deaths of thousands in Nepal? Did you cry for those mourning the loss of the refugees drowned in the seas? Did you cry with those lamenting the loss of family and friends from the plane crash in the French Alps? Did you cry with your brother or sister in Christ today?
1 Corinthians 12:26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.                  

                                                              DID YOU CRY?
The response reveals our humanity. The answer has been given to us in a very real demonstration of love: “Jesus wept.” So must we. But He didn’t stop there; He took action to help relieve the loss. And so must we.

(Sharon G. Tate blog 05/03/15) teacherforjesus.com Meditations on God’s Word