St. Johns County Christian Educators celebrated the 24th annual Honor the Graduate awards. Honor the Grads is a special evening of celebration where seniors, selected by their peers, are honored by parents, family, youth groups and community members because they were chosen as an excellent example of integrity to others. Students in the FCA or other Christian student groups in our local high schools nominate one senior who walked his/her walk, talked his/her talk generally displaying a Christ-like lifestyle throughout high school. Five high schools were represented: Bartram Trail High School Dylan Chiedo Creekside High School Samuel Beasely Ella Diab Allen D. Nease High School Daizy Beatty Joey Zoon (unable to attend) Pedro Menendez High School King Benford Diana Ramos St. Augustine High School Alexa Gregory Sophie Pearson Favorite verses:
Some of the comments shared by the graduates this year include:
After the student testimonies, the families and supporters gather around for a time of prayer from all who feel led. All were then invited for a time of fellowship and snacks.
Congratulations graduates! May the Lord bless you and keep you. Karen Seddon CEAI FL Director
1 Comment
Dear Christian educators, It doesn't seem possible that we have prayed Scripture for the last 40 days. What an honor and privilege to share with you. May God bless you and your family as you celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ tomorrow. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to the Lord for the remainder of the school year. Day 40 Psalm 143:1 English Standard Version (ESV)My Soul Thirsts for YouA Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! At the conclusion of this Lenten season, who could have ever imagined a Holy Week and Easter celebrations as shut-ins? Many Christians around the world will come outside tomorrow morning at sunrise and lift their hands to the Maker of Heaven and Earth to stand in awe of the ultimate sacrifice ever made. Let us give grateful thanks to Jesus as we gather tomorrow in creative ways. I have a daily podcast, "Around the Word in 180 Days" that is now in special edition mode called, "While We Wait....." where we read the Bible with our brothers and sisters in the public schools. Since this school year has been interrupted by the Coronavirus COVID-19, it is all the more imperative that we are in the Word of God and prayer for strength, wisdom, grace and mercy. While we wait......we will be reading one chapter from the Book of Proverbs each day, praying Scripture, meditating and praying community prayers until the school year resumes. Please consider joining us. Prayerfully yours, Karen Seddon Dear Lord,
What a blessing to pray Your Word these last 40 days. Your Word is so encouraging, so instructional and so convicting. Hear my prayer, O Lord. Please give ear to my pleas for mercy. I yearn to love and love others as You have commanded us to do. In Your faithfulness, answer me in Your righteousness. Will You open the hearts of all educators to pray deeply and walk with You each and every day in school? May our prayers be a sweet incense to You. I love You Lord and thank You for the risen life of Your Only Son, Jesus. I ask in His Beautiful Name. Amen. He is risen! He is risen indeed! Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, On this Good Friday, we pause to give thanks to our faithful God Who gave His only Son that we may have eternal life. Think of all the generations that have existed since Christ until now. As the God of generations, He has sustained His church throughout the ages. The good news is that our next generation has its own leaders rising up to bring glory to God. Each day during this season of Lent, I will post one verse and pray it with you. Consider saying the verse in your quiet time and praying it also. You may use the same prayer or try your own. Each day until Easter (except Sundays) there will be a new post that contains: a verse, a small reflection, a prayer using the Scripture and an image. Feel free to share the images because I made them with the Bible Lens app and took all the pictures. What a creative God we serve! Day 39 Psalm 100:5 English Standard Version (ESV) 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Do you ever ponder this high calling of teaching is to touch the next generation? Every educator will make an impact. We can only hope that it is kingdom impact for their souls. Making an impact on the next generation is critical to passing along our heritage. One of the ways we honor the next generation is with a ceremony called, Honor the Grads. Two seniors from a set amount of high schools are honored because they walked their walk with Christ through high school. The best part is that they are chosen by their peers. The students are invited to a ceremony where they give a testimony, tell about their future plans and share a favorite scripture. The students receive a medallion, a certificate and a $100 scholarship. This is one of the the greatest impacts on the next generation we have been a part of in the Central FL area. For more information, check out our Honor the Grads page. Dear Lord,
You are so good, Lord. Your steadfast love endures forever and Your faithfulness is to all the generations. Lord as we anticipate Your coming we yearn for the next generation to be whole-hearted for You. There are so many young people who are so in love with You. I love to hear their testimonies and take great strength in the next generation. Thank You for being a God of the generations. Thank You for allowing us to impact the next generation in our schools. We love You Lord and thank You for this gift in the faithful name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE team Dear Christian educators, Do you pray? Is it a pleasure or a checklist item? At an acceptable time, our God will answer in abundance. Never grow weary in prayer. He taught us to pray in the pattern of the Lord's prayer. Start by hallowing His Name, then pray for the many kingdom ministries pointing others to Christ, then ask for your daily bread. Finally pray for forgiveness and give Him thanks. May your prayers be a delight to You and especially out God of abundant steadfast love. Each day during this season of Lent, I will post one verse and pray it with you. Consider saying the verse in your quiet time and praying it also. You may use the same prayer or try your own. Each day until Easter (except Sundays) there will be a new post that contains: a verse, a small reflection, a prayer using the Scripture and an image. Feel free to share the images because I made them with the Bible Lens app and took all the pictures. What a creative God we serve! Day 38 Psalm 69:13 English Standard Version (ESV) 13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. So can you pray in school? Educators do not leave their First Amendment rights at the school house door. In fact, a school covered by praying educators is blessed. Learn the law and then live in the freedom you have been afforded as an American. You cannot pray with the students, but you can pray with your colleagues before or after contract time. You can always pray silently in private and personal prayer anytime. Many educators make it a practice to pray in the seat of every child at various times throughout the year before they come into the classroom. Many have joined us in the 1:16 PM prayer movement praying every school day with hundreds of Christian educators across the nation. Pray, my friends. Pray with delight. And of course, we all know that as long as there are tests in school, there will be prayer! Dear Lord,
I love to pray to You! At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me in Your saving faithfulness. You save sinners, for which I am humbly and deeply grateful. You are always there for me. You are abundant in Your grace and I love You so. Blessed all the children and educators today with Your saving faithfulness. I ask in the incredible name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Kare and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, As we draw close to the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we celebrate because of the Father's steadfast love that extends to the heavens and His faithfulness to the clouds! Only a gracious God can give life and life more abundantly. We love Him because He loved us first. I am so grateful for His deep, deep love and desire to save us. Aren't you? Each day during this season of Lent, I will post one verse and pray it with you. Consider saying the verse in your quiet time and praying it also. You may use the same prayer or try your own. Each day until Easter (except Sundays) there will be a new post that contains: a verse, a small reflection, a prayer using the Scripture and an image. Feel free to share the images because I made them with the Bible Lens app and took all the pictures. What a creative God we serve! Day 37 Psalm 36:5 English Standard Version (ESV) Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. I have no idea how an educator can have such steadfast love that it reaches to the heavens or such faithfulness that it reaches to the clouds. However, this I know: Christian educators have a supernatural ability to love with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. What school would not benefit from Christian educators on campus who purposely live their lives through the Fruit of the Spirit? What school wouldn't want educators who love, have joy and peace, show goodness, kindness and gentleness, maintain patience, self-control and faithfulness? You see against these things there is no law. We are commissioned to display the Fruit of the Spirit because He lives in us. Dear Lord, You alone, O Lord are over the entire universe! Your steadfast love extends to the heavens and Your faithfulness to the clouds. That is greater and more wonderful than humankind can grasp. Yet we know Your love is everything. We celebrate the Resurrection on Sunday because of Your steadfast love and desire to save us through Your Only Son, Jesus Christ. May this Sunday's celebration be a tribute to Your glory and Your steadfast love and faithfulness all over the world. I pray in the faithful Name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, Work is worship! When we work hard, we mirror our Lord's hard work. His work is always done in faithfulness. Every time we come to school when we don't feel like it, we are faithful. Every time we get to a meeting on time, we are faithful. When we participate in learning communities and do what we are asked, we are working in faithfulness. When we are faithful, He is glorified. Each day during this season of Lent, I will post one verse and pray it with you. Consider saying the verse in your quiet time and praying it also. You may use the same prayer or try your own. Each day until Easter (except Sundays) there will be a new post that contains: a verse, a small reflection, a prayer using the Scripture and an image. Feel free to share the images because I made them with the Bible Lens app and took all the pictures. What a creative God we serve! Day 36 Psalm 33:4 English Standard Version (ESV) 4 For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. How can we display faithfulness in the classroom? Do we dress professionally? When you select your clothes, why not pray about it? Ask God how you would represent Him best. To some it may seem silly to pray about what to wear, but that focus of dedicating your day to Him, makes decisions about appearance simpler. We all know that our students notice everything we wear and often have plenty to say about it. Being faithful to your appearance as an ambassador of Christ is noteworthy. As you drive to school and process all the things that have to be gathered and organized, be faithful to guarding your tongue. Another great prayer is to ask God to help you prepare the words you will say and that you may be a blessing to your students. Being faithful to using words of encouragement, kindness and gentleness to our students does not always come easy, but that’s why we pray! Be faithful to the integrity of the content you have been charged to teach. Being compliant to the standards and rules set out by your district and principal are a sign of your faithfulness and help your administrators to see you as someone they can always rely on. As a Christian educator, your expectations are higher since you work first for the Lord and then for your district. Faithfulness to prayer, your appearance, the words you say, and obedience to authority are signposts of an educator who understands their high calling. Being faithful is not always easy, but it is always rewarding. 3 John 1:3 - It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. Dear Lord,
Your Word is upright. It is the Lamp unto my feet and the Light unto my path. There's something in the Word for every one of our human conditions. Guide us Lord to the Word for solutions to our problems. Help us to drink in Your promises and to really believe them. Lord, Your work is done in faithfulness. Its manifold witness is shown throughout the heavens and in the beauty of the earth. Lord help us to display work as worship that we may be a great example of hard work to our students and colleagues. May You receive all the glory in our work for You. We ask in the upright name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, What an analogy! Just picture what a city broken into and left without walls would be like in ancient times. Walls protected the people from invaders, wild animals and much more. Without walls, there would likely be no city. In our lives, no self-control is the sign of a broken life. Self-control affords us boundaries to keep us safe. Remember that it is a Fruit of the Spirit for which we can ask for help. It's not easy to have self-control, but so worth it for a life well-lived. Each day during this season of Lent, I will post one verse and pray it with you. Consider saying the verse in your quiet time and praying it also. You may use the same prayer or try your own. Each day until Easter (except Sundays) there will be a new post that contains: a verse, a small reflection, a prayer using the Scripture and an image. Feel free to share the images because I made them with the Bible Lens app and took all the pictures. What a creative God we serve! Day 35 Proverbs 25:28 English Standard Version (ESV) 28 A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. As a Christian educator, we must demonstrate self-control in the classroom. We are a constant example to our students because they are always watching us. Being out of control is not an option in the classroom for the sake of the students. When a young student is out of control, it is very difficult to deal with them because they really don't know their boundaries. Modeling self-control and being merciful graces the students with hope. Students that are out of control are like the analogy in this Proverb - a city broken into without walls. May the Lord help us all to have self-control at school at all times. Dear Lord, Thank You for the Proverbs. The wisdom of Your Word never ceases to amaze me. Like a city broken into and left without walls is our lives without self-control. Lord, help me in the areas where I am weak and let the walls down. Send a double portion of self-control through Your Holy Spirit so that I may serve others more and they may see You in me. To You be all the glory because You are truly the only One with unlimited self-control. Thank You for Your gracious help. I ask for this in the tender name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, I never thought of supplementing my faith, but when I think about it, I take supplements for my health, why not have supplements for my spiritual health? This verse admonishes us to supplement our faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness and steadfastness with godliness. That's a big order! If we take baby steps, we begin our walk with virtue - always being truthful no matter what. As we add supplements we look for knowledge which comes from the Word of God. As the Word of God dwells in us through the Holy Spirit, self-control is desired. This self-control leads to steadfastness - being ever faithful to our Lord and this steadfastness leads to godliness. May it be so. Each day during this season of Lent, I will post one verse and pray it with you. Consider saying the verse in your quiet time and praying it also. You may use the same prayer or try your own. Each day until Easter (except Sundays) there will be a new post that contains: a verse, a small reflection, a prayer using the Scripture and an image. Feel free to share the images because I made them with the Bible Lens app and took all the pictures. What a creative God we serve! Day 34 2 Peter 1:5-6 English Standard Version (ESV) 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, This verse would make the perfect poster in school! We would have to leave off the address and the godliness but perhaps it could look something like this: A Recipe for Success this Year Supplement your studies with virtue. With virtue add knowledge of your studies. With the knowledge, sprinkle self-control. Self-control will lead to steadfastness which will lead to success. Needs a little work, but has potential. We need someone like Carol Ann McGuire to make it look great. Dear Lord,
This is a big order for us, yet we know it's what we need to live a life for You. Abide in us so that we supplement our faith with virtue leading to the knowledge of Your Word which then leads to self-control through Your Holy Spirit showing us steadfastness through Your love and leading to a life of godliness. Lord, this is what we want as we represent You. We are asking because You said through James that we have not because we ask not. We are asking Lord and waiting expectantly. Thank You gracious God. We ask for this in the steadfast name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, Self-control is really not "self" control but Spirit control. When we attempt to control ourselves (like our tongues!) we fail. It is no wonder there is so much frustration. It's like Paul explained: "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do." We need help! The good news is that when we believe in Jesus, He gives us another Advocate, the Holy Spirit who will guide us in all things. Each day during this season of Lent, I will post one verse and pray it with you. Consider saying the verse in your quiet time and praying it also. You may use the same prayer or try your own. Each day until Easter (except Sundays) there will be a new post that contains: a verse, a small reflection, a prayer using the Scripture and an image. Feel free to share the images because I made them with the Bible Lens app and took all the pictures. What a creative God we serve! Day 33 2 Timothy 1:7 English Standard Version (ESV) 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Self-control, to me, is an oxymoron. Can we really control ourselves? Without the help of the Holy Spirit, unequivocally – no! However, with the gracious goodness of our God, we can learn to ask for His quick conviction. As long as we are human, we will sin, but as a Christian we must repent and change immediately. Self-control in the classroom covers our mistakes, our foolish comments that we never meant to say and the areas we need to overcome. Our students should not be the recipients of our issues. We must make a conscious effort to present ourselves as an educator of excellence for their sake. In Dictionary.com, self-control is defined as: self-con·trol [self-kuhn-trohl, self-] noun, control or restraint of oneself or one's actions, feelings, etc. In the classroom, self-control encompasses every fruit of the Spirit, every emotions and feeling, and everything we do. Being in control of oneself, is being on time, being an example of faithfulness to our students and colleagues, using words that are kind and good and being aware of our influence. All teachers are change agents, but not all change is positive influence. With God’s help and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, Christian educators can walk out their high calling with grace and confidence while always being lawful. Some probing questions that may help with self-control in the classroom are:
Dear Lord,
You gave us a spirit not of fear! Instead, You gave us a spirit of power and love and self-control. Only Your Spirit can make that possible in us O Lord. Thank You for the daily encouragement of Your Word for it is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword, rightly dividing soul and spirt, bone and marrow and discerning the intentions of the heart. Create in me a clean heart O Lord, that I may have the spirit of self-control. Thank You for this bold promise. I ask in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, I just watched soccer practice this evening as ten 7-9 year old ran around in what seemed like an unorganized mess. I observed one little player disobey, disregard and ignore his coach. For anyone else, this child may have caused them to lose control, but this coach was so patient with him, yet did not let him get away with his shenanigans without consequence. I would definitely count that patience as a model of our Lord's patience. He's so good to us. Each day during this season of Lent, I will post one verse and pray it with you. Consider saying the verse in your quiet time and praying it also. You may use the same prayer or try your own. Each day until Easter (except Sundays) there will be a new post that contains: a verse, a small reflection, a prayer using the Scripture and an image. Feel free to share the images because I made them with the Bible Lens app and took all the pictures. What a creative God we serve! Day 32 2 Peter 3:15 English Standard Version (ESV) 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, Patience in the classroom takes a lot of conscious work. I wrote a blog entry about patience in the classroom. This is an excerpt: With first things first, pray for patience. Be specific. Ask God to help you with that particular child that knows how to push all those buttons. Ask for intervention when you are unable. Sometimes “we have not because we ask not.” Ask! Next, practice. Be purposeful about addressing those things that wear your patience down and then practice having a different reaction. For instance, if the way the students enter your classroom in unruly and unorganized, instead of getting heated and getting on them for being so noisy, laugh about it. Add a little humor and then practice, practice, practice until they please you and then praise them. Too often, the management chaos in our classrooms is our fault for not setting routines and expectations and then keeping up with them. When things become too familiar, we get sloppy (the students and us!) Change it up. If a routine is not effective any more, make a new one and practice, practice, practice. Going home exhausted by a chaotic day does no one any good. Bring patience to your classroom with practiced and purposed management. What about the student who makes the little hairs on your neck stand up when they enter the room? We’ve all had them, but the difference between being stressed and being patient is how it is handled. When “that” student begins to move your patience meter down, pray immediately for wisdom and guard your mouth. Be especially careful, not to say what is in your head and heart at the moment. He/she is an image bearer, don’t forget. Next, begin targeted prayer for the child. Sit in their desk before school starts and pray for his/her family and home life. Ask for help with communication with the parents before you call home. Ask for private time with the student to discuss goals for success in your particular class setting. Pray for patience. There is no easy method for solving the stress of having students who are disrespectful or unruly, but praying for them changes the situation and us. Dear Lord,
Thank Your for Your patience which leads to salvation. Lord, how do You do it? How do you wait on Your people to return to You throughout the generations. Please forgive our stony hearts and wayward ways. Help us to be whole-hearted for You because of Your great patience and love. Thank You for Paul, our beloved brother who wrote so much of the New Testament for us. Help us Lord to look to Your Word for guidance, wisdom, knowledge and reproof. Lord, we love You and ask for Your guiding hand in the patient name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team |
CIPE Team
Archives
April 2023
|