Practice Makes Perfect August 3, 2010

Awhile back, I was at jump rope practice and Sara was teaching me a new trick called the Awesome Annie. The Awesome Annie is made up of the Toad and Crouger (two tricks I had learned previously) put together. I kept trying and trying but I couldn’t get it. I knew how to do it; I just couldn’t get it right with my rope. I kept practicing and finally I got it! Now I can do it easily. My perseverance and practice paid off. (This has been true for all of the tricks, not just the Awesome Annie. Anyone on the jump rope team would agree!)

I could have just gotten frustrated with myself and given up in the middle of trying. I tried and tried and tried. It took weeks for me to get it. If I would have just given up, I wouldn’t have accomplished anything. In order to excel in jump roping, you have to be persistent and willing to practice. And that applies to many things in life.

When you’re a Christian, you can’t just accept Jesus and live your life like the rest of the world. You have to live life the way He would want you to. Not that it’s going to make your actions perfect. You still mess up…a lot! I know this from experience. (Not that I’m making any excuses for doing wrong. You shouldn’t think it’s okay to sin because Jesus died for our sins, although He did and I’m so grateful!) But when we do sin, we can remember that Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for us. And by His grace, we can be on our guard to resist that sin in the future.

I made a really big mistake about 5 months ago. Thankfully, I have wonderful, Christian parents who helped me see what I was doing wrong and helped me turn away from it. The reason the whole thing happened was because I didn’t trust my parents enough to talk to them and tell them what was going on and that resulted in my sinning. My mom told me something really helpful. She told me, “The less you trust yourself, the more we (my mom and dad) can trust you.” I want my mom and dad to trust me and I know I can trust them. I can tell them everything that’s on my mind. They’re there to help me. That saying has really made me feel way more open to my parents and I’m not hesitant to tell them my questions, concerns, thoughts, etc… I sure wish I knew that saying a while ago. I’m glad I know it now.

So why did I title this post “Practice Makes Perfect” besides the jump rope example? Well, when I couldn’t get the Awesome Annie, I kept practicing it and I finally got it. In a similar way, knowing that temptations to sin will come, we can practice to grow spiritually strong. Some ways that I do this are reading my Bible, memorizing scripture, praying, and talking to my parents. Remember…even though we will struggle with our sin on this earth, we can look forward to heaven, where we can be perfect. God Bless!

Last Year’s Reflections February 1, 2010

Sometimes I come up with New Year’s resolutions. They are usually something like, “I’m going to read my Bible every single day” or “I’m going to try harder to have a better relationship with my brother.” When 2010 came, I realized that I hadn’t come up with any resolutions for the year. Instead, I decided to make a new tradition of remembering all of the blessings of the past year. Here are some of the many ways God has blessed me in 2009.

In 2009, God has blessed me…

• By helping me make new friendships at Sovereign Grace and growing old ones

• By giving me a new understanding of His word, prayer, and what it means to be a Christian

• By providing me with family, friends, food, shelter, clothing, and church

• By not only providing for my needs but also providing pleasures like horseback riding, jump roping, piano, and karate during different parts of the year

• By always being there for me and never leaving me

• By letting me do fun things last summer like helping at horse camp, having the St. Johns stay with us, going to Camp Susque, and going to Ocean City with my family

• By letting me do fun things to serve Him like doing Set-up/Take- down and Children’s Ministry at church

• By putting me in a church that strives to glorify God and that teaches the teens to do so also

I’ve been so blessed this past year. God is so good and faithful to me. He shows His kindness and love to me in so many ways every day.

My New Year’s resolution, and really my whole life’s resolution comes from a song on the 2009 Summer Celebration CD. I want to be more like Jesus. That’s my resolution.

Love, joy, peace and patience too//grow in those who trust in you//all who put their hope in Christ//kindness, goodness, faithfulness//self- control and gentleness//live in those who have new life!!!

I want to be like Jesus//to walk and talk like Jesus// I want live like one who follows him//I want to love like Jesus//to give my all like Jesus//I want to live like one who follows him!!!

I don’t always do what’s right//Jesus lived a perfect life//and for sins like mine he died//teach me to obey your word//help me to put others first//Holy Spirit change my life!!!

One Year Anniversary November 5, 2009

My family will have been going to Sovereign Grace Church of Frederick for one year this month. It’s been an amazing first year and I’m really excited for the ones to come. I’ve made a lot of new friends and have some awesome friendships. I’m being really blessed by the teachings and the Christians there. So, whoever’s reading this and goes to SG, thanks so much for making me feel at home at our church. You all are so amazing!!! I love you all!!!

My Walk with God in the Past Year November 5, 2009

My understanding of God has grown tremendously in the past year. I’ve been learning about a few different things especially. Realizing what a privilege prayer and devotions are, trusting God and my parents to know what’s best, and understanding the importance of my relationship with my brother are the top three. But most importantly, I’m working on owning my own faith.

When I was almost four, I prayed to accept Jesus as my Savior. I understood all that I could about God and Jesus with my four-year-old brain. But in the past year or so, I’ve realized how important it is to know God as Lord. Before, I understood that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and I had accepted him so that I would go to heaven. Now, I realize how much he loves me and I want to live my life to glorify him. During communion a few Sundays ago, I decided I wanted to have Jesus not only as my Savior but also as my Lord. I wanted to own my faith. Honestly, I don’t know if I was saved when I asked Jesus to come into my heart when I was four, only God knows. But I know now that I’m definitely covered by Jesus’ blood. Praise God!

Prayer started becoming more real to me this past spring. I used to think prayer and devotions were more of a chore. I didn’t necessarily want to do it; I had to do it. But I started realizing how valuable spending time with God is. When I pray, I’m actually talking to the Creator of everything. And it’s not just me talking, it’s a conversation. I’m not talking to God. I’m talking with God. That’s an incredible thought. Sometimes it’s hard to take time for devotions and prayer. Making time with God a priority isn’t always easy. There are many times when I don’t want to read the Bible or pray, and sadly, I don’t always do it when I know I should. I can see that God’s been growing me more. There are fewer times when I want to skip devotions. It’s such a privilege to be able to talk to God.

Two different times especially in the past year have shown me that I need to trust God and my parents. I posted them both previously (Trusting God Through Change and Trusting in God but Not in Real Estate). The experiences were so overwhelming at times. The feeling that I needed to trust God and my parents kept nagging at me. I wanted to believe that God had the perfect plan for my life but it was hard. After fighting the feeling for some time, I finally realized that I would never get the comfort that I needed without trusting so I let go and trusted. It wasn’t always easy though. Sometimes I would stop trusting, but I was just more upset and stressed than I would be by trusting. Trusting is way better than resenting.

My relationship with my brother wasn’t bad. At least that’s what I thought. It wasn’t like we were physically fighting, but my attitude towards Andrew wasn’t good. We’d get along sometimes, but most of the time, we’d be fighting or just not talking. Recently, my friend Abby had this really good idea of starting a book study together. So we started getting together with some of our good friends to do a book study. The book we decided to study was, Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. Let me tell you, that book is amazing! I realized how important it was to have a healthy relationship with my brother. [Editor’s note: Michelle’s mom here, the book is AMAZING ¾ buy it!] I’ve started working on improving my relationship with Andrew. I’m so glad that I’ve been getting along with him better. Andrew and I have been having a lot of fun together. I’m not saying we get along perfect, but I’m really enjoying my special relationship with my brother. I had no idea I was missing out on such a blessing.

Trusting in God But Not Real Estate November 5, 2009

This past summer, we had our house on the market. This experience really made me trust and rely on God more. The uneasiness, stress, and fear was too much for me to handle. I knew I had to trust God more, but it was hard. Thankfully, God and people who care for me got me through.

The fact that our house was on the market really scared me. I felt insecure and stressed. Insecure because I knew that we didn’t have anywhere we wanted to move to most of the time, yet we still had our house on the market, and stressed because it was a constant battle to keep the house “perfect”. Every time we would leave to go somewhere, we’d “stage” the house and make sure it was clean in case someone came.

I also didn’t like the fact that any person with a certain electronic card or code could come into our house anytime because we had an electronic lock box on our door. It made me feel better when Dad was home, but it didn’t always seem like home. And all of this lasted for six months. We had a few times when people would say they were coming and then cancel after they were supposed to be here. And when someone actually did come, they usually didn’t stay any longer than ten minutes. The realtors were required to give us 30 minutes notice before showing our house.

So, imagine, getting a call saying someone’s going to come see your house in 30 minutes, then you go into a crazy, nonstop “clean and stage,” get yourself and your pets out of the house, and wait. And after the potential buyers had come and gone, we would hear about some ridiculous reason why they didn’t like our house. The worst was the lady who would not get out of her car when she saw us leaving with our dogs. She was highly allergic to dogs but failed to let the realtor know that ahead of time. After showing the house we would go back inside and put things back to normal.

I wanted to be away from the house as often as possible. I couldn’t wait until it was time to go to church or to a friend’s house or to any activity. When I was home and the phone would ring, I hoped and prayed that it wasn’t someone who wanted to see the house. Two of my brothers-in-Christ/friends really encouraged me to trust God and my parents. I’m so thankful for them and I’m glad that they were always ready to listen even if I wasn’t always ready to talk.

I think that God has been teaching me the importance of trusting him through my parents’ decisions and knowing that He’s always with me and wants what’s best for me. Different things that have happened, like changing churches and having our house on the market really helped me trust God more. When situations are out of my control, I can trust God and my parents to do what they think is best. They always want what’s best for me and I can trust them. Praise God that I live in a Christian home and can learn new things about Him and His love for us.

Post note: the names of any real estate agents have been left out for their own protection (and mine too!). lol!

My Week at Camp Susque September 2, 2009

I went to camp with my family from August 9-15. Our good friends, the Rodatuses, told us about it. I’m so glad we got to go this year. I’m going to tell you about Camp Susque’s Homeschool Family Camp from my perspective.

Camp Susque was so kool! So many things happened and it was all packed into one week. So, let’s start at the beginning because… well, it’s just a good place to start.

Sunday morning we drove to the Rodatus’ house. Let me tell you, there was very little room in our van. I don’t know how we fit our dogs, all our camping stuff, and ourselves into our van but somehow we did. We got to the Rodatus’ house and headed out… on our way to Trout Run, PA!

Our drive there was uneventful but wait till you hear what happened when we got there! We arrived around 3:30 pm and, after checking in, we were going to head up to our cabin to unload. Well, it didn’t work out exactly as we had planned. First, we couldn’t find the driveway that led to our cabin (the Nature Den) and then before we even got to see it a storm hit. We had been warned that a bad storm was coming. But, I mean, in those mountains, storms hit insanely fast. We waited out the worst of the storm on the porch of the Susque Lodge. And then we ended up unloading in the pouring down rain. Fun, I know. lol! What made it worse was we couldn’t just drive up to the cabin. You had to go down a path to get to it. It wasn’t very long, but believe me; it seemed a lot longer in the rain. lol! There was a welcome cookout that night for all the campers so we went to that after we unpacked. Fortunately the rain had stopped. The first person I met that night was Danielle. After dinner, we had chapel. Chapel was kinda like church, except there weren’t as many people there. Then they did a bunch of announcements and things. After that, we went to the cabin and went to bed.

Monday morning we had chapel at 9:15. Chief Scott and Chief Danny were our worship leaders and Chief Bill taught the Bible lesson for the week. After chapel, they had a bunch of games for the youth while the parents gathered in Hemlock Hall to get acquainted. Then we had lunch, and then four hours of free time. At 1:30 they had sign ups for the activity classes. I signed up for pottery. After sign-ups, I met Christine. Christine is about a year older than me and we became fast friends.

Tuesday morning we had chapel again. And then right after chapel, I went to pottery with Christine. I met her sister Claire and her brother James at pottery and she pointed out her brother Andrew somewhere in the middle. lol! Her family was really nice. Anyway, at pottery we got a lump of clay! Sweet! lol! Chief Evan was our pottery teacher. He’s really fun. So, the first day we just played with that lump of clay and made it into things. We also picked out a mold to make. We poured a different kind of clay into the mold and let it dry during the rest of the class. It was pretty kool. Then we had lunch and free time again. By the way, we always got lunch and then free time in the afternoon. Then our family ate dinner at the cabin.

Then there was square dancing! Oh my goodness! That was SO much fun. Lots of people did square dancing for the easy session. Then the snack bar opened (it’s only open for thirty minutes each evening). After a seven minute break, there was another session of square dancing. It was harder. Christine and I wanted to dance…but we wanted ice cream too. A very BIG dilemma. lol! So…we asked Chief Bill how much time we had left before he was going to start. He said in about five minutes. So, Christine and I thought, and thought… for about ten seconds, and decided to try to go get ice cream and be back in time for the next session. Ready… Set… Go!!! We dashed across the field in between the pavilion and Hemlock Hall and found my dad. Then we got the money from him and raced down to the basement to get ice cream. There was a line so we asked Avery if he minded if we cut in front of him because we wanted to get back to the pavilion in time. He had no problem with that and he let us. We got our ice cream, paid for it, and dashed back across the field… all in about three and a half minutes! Then we ran into another problem. We couldn’t finish our ice cream in time so we had to decide, should we let it melt and go dance now or eat it and join in the dancing later? We decided to let it melt and went to dance. Christine and I were partners. We had as much fun laughing as we did dancing. Afterwards, we “drank” our ice cream. lol! Then it was bedtime.

Wednesday we had chapel in the morning. Then we had the second pottery class. We got to make more things out of lumps of clay, worked on the pottery wheel (which was really fun and messy), and got our clay out of the molds. Chief Evan said he’d put all the things into the kiln that night. Then we had lunch and free time. During free time, Christine and I went swimming in the pool with my dad, my brother Andrew, and her sister Claire. But before we went swimming, Christine and I went to try and find the Susque Duck. (The Susque Duck is really just a plastic duck with a hole in its back. It had a hole because someone had put fireworks in it and blew it up. lol! Traditionally the Susque Duck is hidden for campers to find and re-hide during camp week.) After two hours of searching under a really hot sun, we actually found it! It was hidden in a hollow stump in the woods. We saw its bill peaking up out of some leaves in the stump. We were so excited that we found it! After walking around camp with the duck for a while we finally realized that people were watching us, so we stashed it in Christine’s suitcase. Then we went swimming.

Later we got together with Josh, David, James, and Andrew to come up with a place to hide the duck. We were in Laurel Lodge talking when it started pouring down rain! I mean pouring! There was even a point when it started hailing a little bit. Well, Christine and I had to go. So, we dashed out of the lodge, ran over to Hemlock Hall to get our bikes, ran back across the field with our bikes, tried to avoid the insanely big puddles, and she finally got to her tent and me to my cabin. Wow! That was an adventure. I was completely soaked from the adventure. Then we had dinner. After dinner, my family went over to the Rodatus’ lodge and we watched “Joshua”. It was a really good movie.

Thursday we had chapel again. Then it was off to pottery again. We got to paint all of the things we made with either acrylic paint or glaze. We painted the whole time that day. It was fun. After lunch, Christine and I worked on the duck project that we had stopped the day before. We hid it and then we went swimming again. We loved to jump off the diving board. We worked on our front flips and our back dives. We also dove to the bottom to get the diving sticks we would throw in. That evening, there was a medieval banquet and tournament. The pavilion was transformed to look like a medieval banquet hall so that when I stepped into it, I could have sworn I stepped back in time…well, kinda. It was really kool. They had a few people from the dagorhir class battle each other to entertain the king while he was eating. They served chicken, grapes, carrot sticks, rolls, corn on the cob…and we had to eat it all with our fingers! The food was really good and the entertainment was kool! Then we hung out around Hemlock Hall till it was dark. Christine and I played soccer. Actually, we played soccer almost every evening. But anyway, we played soccer and then it was time to go get ready for bed.

Friday we had chapel. Then there was a special activity. It was actually a big game of Ultimate Simon Says. Chief Bill was really good at being Simon and could basically get anyone out whenever he wanted. Then we had lunch and free time. We went swimming again. Later, Andrew told me that he was the first one in the pool and the last one out of the pool. So he was in the pool for about three to four hours. Then there was dinner and then we had a family talent show/skit night. That was really fun. After that, there was a big closing campfire. Christine and I played volleyball in the dark also. Then it was time for bed.

Saturday morning we got up and packed most of our things. Then we went to chapel. During the whole week, Chief Bill taught on the objections that unbelievers might have to Christianity. After chapel, there was brunch and then we left. I slept almost the whole way home. lol! It was a really good week! I loved Camp Susque!!!

Fast Friends and God’s Family July 22, 2009

We had the blessing of having ten people stay in our driveway, in a motor home, for almost a week. It was really awesome to have Mr. Jay, Miss Heidi, Savannah, Sierra, Skyler, Spencer, Summer, Sydney, and two family friends, Caylin and Trevor stay with us. The St. Johns were here all the way from Washington state. They were doing workshops all over the United States. Caylin and Trevor joined them later in their trip.

I was really excited when I heard that the St. Johns were going to stay with us for about a week. I realized that I didn’t know exactly why I was excited when a friend asked me why I was so excited about them coming when I didn’t even know who they were. They were strangers to me at the time. That was a very interesting thought for me. After I thought about it some more, I realized, I was looking forward to making new friends who were Christians and homeschoolers.

(July 9) Thursday came at last. The St. Johns were going to get here around 7:30 and eat dinner with us. I couldn’t wait for them to get there. And when they did, it was kinda like we already knew them for a while. Well, I don’t mean that exactly. I didn’t know any of their names except for the mom and dad, but, I guess I mean it wasn’t like strangers walking in and eating with us. It was more like friends. Friends that we hadn’t known for that long and hadn’t seen in a while, but nonetheless, friends. It was really special.

(July 10) Friday, was the day of the workshops. My mom, Mr. Jay, and Miss Heidi were up early so they could get to the church around 9:15. God is so amazing. I mean, he does little “miracles” for us when we might not think they are. I’m thinking specifically about the fact that our hot water heater was still giving hot water even after eleven showers in one morning!

After my mom, Mr. Jay, and Miss Heidi left, Andrew hung out with Skyler, Spencer, Summer, and Sydney while I hung out with the rest of the teenagers in the motor home. My dad stayed home with us. It was nice to get to know everyone better and just hang out for a few hours. Well, actually, it was like six or more. They didn’t get back till around five in the afternoon. All of the kids went on a walk that afternoon. Later Trevor and I kept going back and forth from the motor home to the circuit box to fix the circuit that jumped because of the fact that they connected their motor home to our outlet in the garage. lol! Dad treated us all to pizza that night. Mom was happy since she was too tired to cook.

(July 11) Saturday was fun too. Everyone just kinda hung out. Mr. Jay, Miss Heidi, and Skyler went shopping for most of the day. The other teens and I started studying the first half of the book of James together. It was so kool to be able to have a Bible study together. After that, Caylin, Savannah, Trevor, Summer, Sydney, and I went for another walk while Andrew, Skyler, and Spencer were doing something mischievous with the hose. lol! We have a little playground at the bottom of the hill on the path. Summer and Sydney just had a ball on it! So, the other teens and I sat under the pavilion and watched them and talked. Then we realized that we’d better go back because we were expecting the other leaders of the co-op and their families (the Rodatus’ and the Greeves) to come for dinner. We all had fun then too.

We had 26 people at our house for dinner! All the teenagers ate on the patio under our deck. Josh and David enjoyed meeting everyone from Washington. After dinner the teenagers played card games in the motor home for a while. The last thing we did in the evening, right at dusk, was sing worship songs on the front porch while Mr. Jay and Sierra played the guitar. It was a really special time.

(July 12) Sunday morning they left to go back to Williamsburg and Jamestown in VA. They stayed  with someone they had met at a Baskin Robbins. Miss Heidi said it was a God thing. I don’t remember the details but Caylin wrote a blog post that explains how they met the man in Baskin Robbins. It’s under “blogs” on my blog sidebar.

(July 15) When they came back Wednesday night, it was definitely like saying hi again to old friends. All of the teenagers and most of the kids watched the movie Fireproof together. And then we had dinner together. Nothing fancy, just heat and serve… which was really good.

(July 16) Thursday was filled with fun, excitement, and crazy goodbyes. We all piled into two vans and went for a day filled with sightseeing in DC. We had so much fun. We went to the National Museum of American History, the Smithsonian Castle, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Archives (we saw the real Declaration of Independence!!!)… and then made an insanely crazy trip to take Trevor to the airport to catch his flight home. Of course, it probably didn’t help that we made a few wrong turns. We got him there thirty minutes before take off!!!!! But, it was surely an “act of God”, as Savannah and I put it, that he made his flight. After we said goodbye to Trevor, we went around the Washington Monument in circles to find parking spaces. When we finally found spaces, we had a picnic dinner on the grass between the White House and the Monument. We walked to the front and back of the White house and took loads of pictures. Then we walked back to the Washington Monument. We got to go up to the top. It was really kool!!! Then we went to the World War II Memorial on the way to the Lincoln Memorial. We didn’t get home till around midnight. We walked a lot! We had a lot of fun in DC!

(July 17) Friday morning Mr. and Mrs. St. John left to meet with a man. He was somehow connected with HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association). When they got back, they decided to go ahead and hit the road. We all helped them pack up and made sure they didn’t forget anything. We said our goodbyes and they left as friends and family (in Jesus). I’m still keeping in contact with them through Facebook and e-mail. Their visit here was so amazing. God is good!<b

Trusting God Through Change June 8, 2009

When I heard from my mom and dad that my family was leaving our old church, I was horrified! I couldn’t believe that God was letting this happen. I kept hoping that it was all a nightmare and that I would eventually wake up from it. Well, it wasn’t and I had to face reality. I was mad at God. I avoided talking about leaving our old church. If someone asked me how I felt about it (usually my parents) I would do my best to change the subject.

 

Changing churches meant that I would have to give up my Bible Quizzing team and the friends that I was starting to make. When we first visited Sovereign Grace (SG), my face and words said I was happy, but really my heart was closed to God’s will. I still wanted to go to Grace. I didn’t care what God had planned for me. I wanted to do what I wanted and I didn’t want to listen to God.

 

When we kept going to SG every week, I started realizing how excited I was when Sunday morning would come. I started opening my heart to God’s will. I let my wants go and I trusted that God was doing what was best for me through my parents’ decisions.

 

My attitude started changing toward church. The services are amazing! The worship music is really powerful and the teachings from Pastor Chris and Pastor Trav are really encouraging me to grow spiritually. I’m making a lot of good friendships. I’m so grateful for the families there. I’ve gotten to know one family in particular that I didn’t know before coming to SG. They’ve made the transition easier for me. I can’t imagine not meeting them!

 

I’d say my faith is definitely growing at SG. By God’s grace, He’s showing me how to trust Him with everything. Especially change! I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but He never gives up on me! God is SO awesome!

Peacemaker Logic (Part 2) May 29, 2009

Conflict starts in the heart

 

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. James 4:1-2 ESV

 

Our choices belong to us. We are one hundred percent responsible for our choices. A lot of conflicts start because we want our own way so we choose to try to get it. When we make choices we make them deliberately.

 

The Root and the Fruit

 

 A person can be compared to a plant. Plants that have good roots will produce good fruit. The same goes with people. If the root of a person is self-centered, the person will probably be envious, proud, selfish, and show bad fruit. A God-centered person will try to be unselfish, humble, content, and show the fruits of the spirit.

 

Bad Root, Bad Fruit

 

Selfishness:            Root: You want your own way

                                Fruit: You do anything you can think of to get others to give in to your

                                            desires

 

Laziness:                Root: You don’t want to work or have responsibilities

                                Fruit: You don’t get anything done

 

Greed:                    Root: You’re not content; you want more

                                Fruit: You complain and steal

 

Pride:                      Root: You don’t like being wrong; you place yourself higher than

                                                 other people

                                Fruit: You feel like you have to defend yourself when you are being

                                             corrected

 

Envy:                      Root: You want to have what other people have

                                Fruit: You do mean things to get what other people have

 

Fear of Others:      Root: You’re worried about what other people think of you

                                Fruit: You won’t share your faith because you’re afraid of what

                                             someone might think

 

Jealousy:                Root: You want your friends to only be friends with you

                                Fruit: You try to beak up friendships

 

Self Pity:                 Root: You feel sorry for yourself; you want others to pity you

                                Fruit: You pout

 

Good Root, Good Fruit

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 ESV

 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a ESV

 

During this section in our peacemaker study, I thought of the story Jesus told to answer the question, “who is my neighbor?” It’s the parable of the Good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:25-37. The robbers who hurt the man and took all of his money were showing the bad root of greed. When the Levite and the priest walked past the man who was hurt, I think that they were showing bad roots such as pride, selfishness, or laziness. But then a Samaritan came. He was showing good fruits when he stopped and helped the man: compassion when he washed his wounds, kindness when he took him to an inn, and unselfishness when he paid the innkeeper to take care of the man.

 

Just like the robbers, the Levite, and the priest, I have shown bad fruit sometimes. But, with God’s help, I can strive not to show bad fruit but to show good fruit like the Samaritan did. Even thought I sin, I know that God gives me second chances through Jesus.

Peacemaker Logic (Part 1) May 21, 2009

Right now, my family is going through a Bible study with some friends to learn how to be better peacemakers. We meet with Mr. Ed, Miss Georgia, and their children (Josh and David) and Mr. Rick, Miss Cheryl and their children (Brent, Emily, Allie, and Nate). We get together with them about every other week, usually on Sunday. I wanted to tell about what we’re learning together because it’s awesome and I wanted to share it.

 

We go to Mr. Rick and Miss Cheryl’s house for the study. The drive to their house is really pretty. Dad usually goes the back way. I love to look out the window and admire the beautiful countryside. When we get there, we usually get to talk for a while and then we have either dinner or snacks. Josh leads the children’s part of the peacemaker study and Mr. Ed leads the adults’ part. Sometimes Mr. Ed helps Josh lead the children’s part. The first lesson in peacemaking that we had was about the Slippery Slope.

 

The Slippery Slope

 

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:18 ESV

 

What is Conflict? Conflict is a disagreement between two or more people. Conflicts usually start when people are thinking about themselves and trying to put themselves ahead of others.

 

Responses to Conflict: There are three different types of responses to conflict: escape, attack, and work-it-out. These three responses make up the slippery slope. Escape includes denial, the blame game, and running away from the conflict. Attack includes putting the other person down, gossiping, and physically fighting. Work-it-out includes overlooking an offense, talking-it-out, and getting help. Work-it-out is at the top of the slope and attack and escape are on the edges. If you choose attack or escape, you’ll start sliding down the slippery slope. If you choose work-it-out, you’ll stay at the top of the hill.

 

Escape: Denial is pretending that there isn’t a conflict. When you play the blame game, you’re trying to put all the blame on the other person instead of taking responsibility for your own actions. Running away is avoiding the person and not trying to work things out.

 

Attack: Putting someone down always makes them angrier. Gossiping is never the kind way to work out a conflict and it’s very hurtful. Physically fighting is never right and it doesn’t solve the problem.

 

Work-it-out: Overlooking an offense is choosing to forgive the person. It’s a good way to stay out of conflict. Talking it out takes courage but it is very important. It can include admitting what you did wrong, asking for their forgiveness, and kindly telling the other person what they did to hurt you. Getting help is going to someone in authority, telling them about your problem, and asking them to help you and the other person work things out.

 

One time Mom said we could listen to some music on the way to my jump rope team’s practice. Andrew and I were arguing about which CD to listen too. He wanted to listen to Casting Crowns and I wanted to listen to the Psalms CD from Sovereign Grace. At exactly the same time, Andrew and I decided to be peacemakers. So, then we were “arguing” again —this time, I was saying we should listen to Casting Crowns and he was saying we should listen to the Psalms CD. LOL! In the end, we agreed to listen to his on the way there and mine on the way back.