Dear Christian educators, As Christians in the public school, our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Change Maker, the Chain Breaker, the Life Giver and the One Who loves us. We do not look to convert or proselytize, but to be missional in our relationships. We are missionaries to those who are hurting and lost and by our conduct we seek to show the reason for our hope and to do it all with gentleness and respect. 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 27 1 Peter 3:15 English Standard Version (ESV) 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, Wouldn't a classroom of gentleness and respect be the goal of every school community? When we set up our rules and goals in the beginning of the year, we all seek to have a safe environment with respect and dignity. Upholding these high standards are not impossible, but improbable as the school year is in full gear. Often times we don't even see a tangible change, but attitudes and behaviors seem to slip. We need prayer each day for our students, colleagues, administration and the whole school community. Prayer for Christian educators in the public schools is never in front of the classroom, but always in private before or after school undergirding our efforts to be gentle with respect. Do you have a prayer partner at school? You can pray alone but the beauty of having a partner, triplet or group is that Jesus said that where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am among them. Let's invite Him in and you will see true transformation. Dear Lord, Let us give you all the honor and glory. You are the hope that lies within us and we can hardly wait to live eternally with you. Help our hearts that are prone to wander stay close to You, O Lord. Help us to honor You in all that we do and when someone asks why we are different or why we have such hope, show us how to be prepared to make a defense and to tell them with gentleness and respect. Lord, You are the Hope of Mankind. Help us to be contagious so that others will ask and we will be able to tell of your greatness. Blessed be Your Name. We ask for this in the gentle name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team
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Dear Christian educators, In our world today we typically associate humbleness and gentleness with weakness when the opposite quite true. In this world, we push and shove to get our way, but those who are Christ-followers are learning to be like Him. Jesus is the Gentle Shepherd. Who is more powerful than He? Jesus is the Humble Servant? Who is more important than He? I just love how Jesus turns the world's ways upside down and shows us how we ought to be. 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 26 Ephesians 4:1-2 English Standard Version (ESV)Unity in the Body of Christ 4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, I love how Micah 6:8 lays out what is important for us. "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." In our school communities, we need humble servants who treat the children with gentleness. Christian educators have the heart of Jesus and when we seek to represent Jesus we have a heart to do things His way. When it seems impossible to be gentle in a hostile environment, remember that Paul was writing Eph. 4:1-2 from prison. Now that's not a place where we would look for gentleness for sure. Let us be mindful of situations at school where we can turn the issue from hostility to gentleness with humility. With consistency, they will come to see that you are real and then you have the opportunity to tell them how Jesus is working with you. Dear Lord, You have called us to public education. Thank You Lord. Help us to walk in a manner worthy of this calling and do it with humility and gentleness, with patience while bearing with one another in love. Lord, it sounds so impossible on a day-to-day basis because life happens. Jesus set us such an amazing example of walking in humility and gentleness. He reached out to the marginalized and outcasts and came to serve. You are the Gentle Savior and the Humble Lord. We ask that Your will be done in our schools and we know that Your Word is our lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path. Show us how to be humble with great gentleness. It is not something we can attain on our own, but the Holy Spirit makes all things possible. Thank You in advance Lord for Your conviction and power. We ask for this in the Humble and Gentle Name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, Romans 2 is about judgment. Oh how easy it is to judge others and not consider the consequences. Anytime we judge another, we are condemning ourselves because we do the very same thing we are judging others for! Thank God for the riches of His kindness toward us. Praise the Lord that He is kind to us to bring us to repentance. Isn't this what Lent is all about? 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 25 Romans 2:4 English Standard Version (ESV) 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? We do not have the legal right to preach repentance in our classroom. We are teachers, not preachers, so what can we do legally? Honesty is one of the highest character values in any school setting. Modeling honesty, teaching the benefits of honesty (Honesty is always the best policy - Ben Franklin) and using quotes to emphasize honesty are all needed. When it's time to confront a lie from a student, you have set the ground work. Our hope is that they will tell the truth. We can pray privately for the Holy Spirit to convict them to tell the truth. Our highest goal is to be like God - extending the riches of His kindness that leads to repentance. Dear Lord,
Please forgive us for any presumptions we have ever made about Your kindness. The richness of Your kindness leads to repentance. Thank You Lord. Help us to tell the truth and when we mess up, lead us with the riches of Your kindness to repent quickly for You have said the if we confess our sins, You are right and just to forgive them. Lord, help us to be an excellent example of honesty at our schools and in our homes that we may bring You all the glory. We love You and thank You in the kind name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, I will be the first to admit that gentleness is not my strong suit. I tend to be more like a bull in a china shop (if that were the opposite of gentleness). However, this is one of the greatest areas of improvement we can all work on for the sake of the students. We need only to cast our eyes upon Jesus and see His gentle touch on the unlovables. What a Mighty God we serve! 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 24 Galatians 6:1 English Standard Version (ESV)Bear One Another's Burdens 6 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. I wrote an blog entry on gentleness in the classroom a few years ago. This is an excerpt from it: What might a gentle classroom look like? One of the synonyms for gentle is placid. As a lake without ripples, waves or turbulence, a gentle classroom will have a sense of calm. As the gentle leader, our students will respond to “events” in our classrooms as we do. Ask any substitute teacher about classroom personalities. If the teacher is loud, the class is often loud. If the teacher is calm and soft spoken, the class, in general, takes on those qualities. It’s a great experiment to test this theory. Speak in your normal tone while giving instructions or lecture and then mix it up with a very soft voice. Our students will immediately notice the difference, perhaps strain to listen, and if given the opportunity to respond, they will answer in a quiet tone. Our classrooms environments are set by our standards, our mannerisms and our display of the Fruit of the Spirit. Let’s be purposeful in being gentle to these precious children we will inevitably be making an impact upon. Let’s strive to be gentler in order to give our students a calm, orderly, and safe place to learning. The greatest teacher who ever lived, Jesus, was described as gentle shepherd. What a compliment if we could be like Him! These four verses are my favorite reference to gentle in the Word. May you and your students be blessed with a gentle classroom this year. Proverbs 15:1 - A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Matthew 11:29 - Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Philippians 4:5 - Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 1 Peter 3:15 -But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. Dear Lord,
Help us to have mercy with gentleness on our brothers and sisters in the public schools when they fail. You are the Ultimate Encourager and You are always so gentle. Help us not to judge, but to gently restore them in their trouble. Who of us has not failed? Help us to see the plank in our own eye before we look at the speck in their eyes. Oh Lord, give us eyes to see when we can be helpful and the wisdom to know when to intercede on their behalf. Thank You Lord for Your gentle mercies each day. We ask this in the Holy Name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, Friendship is amazing. We all have many acquaintances in life, but there are only a few true friends who last a lifetime. That kind of friend is so easy to get together with even if it has been years. You seem able to just pick up where you left off. The best part of friendship is what this verse is all about: kindness in friendship. Let us be keenly aware of how we treat others and to be particularly kindness as an act of friendship. 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 23 Job 6:14 English Standard Version (ESV) “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. What does friendship have to do with school? For some students, it's the main motivator for attendance. As educators, we are often in a position to observe when friendships are not good ones. It's very tricky to advise a student that their friendship with so-and-so is not a good one. This verse can be a great guideline for the friendship. Is there any kindness being withheld? Taking a look at how one is being treated kindly or not can help open the eyes for a student. For educators, it's a gift to have a work friend. Common interests, issues and cares can be lessened when we are kind to each other. Most of all, we would never want to forsake the fear of the Almighty by being a poor friend. Dear Lord,
Thank you for giving us friends. You have placed friendship in our hearts for which we are most grateful. Lord, help us to never withhold kindness to a friend for any reason. It would be the same as forsaking the fear of Your majesty. Gracious Lord, You even called Abraham Your friend and spoke to Moses face-to-face as a friend. Most of all Lord, we are in awe that you would call us friends when You said, "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his Master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you." Help us Lord to never withhold kindness to a friend and especially You. We all love you so much and ask for everything in the Awesome Name of Jesus. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, Yesterday we talked about loving kindness, but today I want to talk about the ability to love kindness. There is a difference. Loving kindness is a way you conduct yourself towards others. It is always about putting others before yourself. To love kindness is a mindset to make loving kindness a way of life. Can you imagine if every Christian (adults and students) in the public schools loved kindness. We would have a revolution.That's exactly what our Jesus came to do and he began the greatest revolution ever - from 12 to millions now who have professed His way and into eternity where ALL who are with Him with love kindness. 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 22 Micah 6:8 English Standard Version (ESV) He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Catherine Ryan Hyde established The Pay It Forward Foundation in September 2000 to educate and inspire students to realize they can change the world and provide them with opportunities to do so. The Pay It Forward Foundation is a small, mostly volunteer organization with a powerful heart and gift to educators. They provide Pay It Forward grants, ideas to share and an excellent website with success stories. The Pay It Forward Foundation has trademark rights to the term, “Pay It Forward Foundation.” The idea of “pay it forward,” however, is in the public domain and the foundation encourages all who want to promote the concept of paying it forward to do so. The Pay It Forward movie and website are property of Warner Brothers and the novel, “Pay It Forward”, is copyright property of Catherine Ryan Hyde. She has now given the reigns over to a young man named Charley Johnson. He developed the Pay It Forward bracelets and has distributed hundreds of thousands throughout the world. He's spoken at TED twice and is about to do his third. Here are three samples: the story behind Pay It Forward bracelet, Global Reading Flash Mob of Pay It Forward, Charley Johnson on TEDxBountiful. In April 2005, I developed a “Pay It Forward” presentation for students of all ages which encourages students to create their own movement with their families. I have presented the lessons for hundreds of children from kindergarten to college and in very large group settings and even churches. I have an annual date with one of my daughters who is a teacher on the Friday before Thanksgiving to present the concept to their families around the Thanksgiving table. If you are interested in a presentation for your classroom, just contact me. There’s no charge for a Pay It Forward lesson, you only need to agree to pass it on! Pay It Forward Day is April 30th each year. An Australian group is hoping this will become a worldwide event. Check their website at www.payitforwardday.com for more details and ideas on how to Pay It Forward! Let’s face it, our classrooms can use a whole lot of kindness. Why not make a commitment to raise the kindness level in your classroom this year and teach your students not random acts of kindness, but purposeful and targeted ways to be kind to others? Order the Pay It Forward bracelets for your students and as they do an act of kindness, they hand a bracelet to the person and encourage them to pass it on. Simply beautiful! Dear Lord, Why do we strive for what is right or what is the greatest commandment or what days do your require? You always have a way of keeping it simple. We are the ones who complicate things. You have told us what is good and what is require in Micah 6:8: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with You. Lord, thank you for this gift. Help us to do these good things as we interact with family, students, colleagues and all in our sphere of influence. I want to be known as someone who loves kindness. I'm not there yet, Father. Live through me I pray in the kind name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, Loving Kindness is a gift that comes in so many ways. I found a very cool blog post, "18 Heart-Warming Acts of Kindness That Will Make You Cry." When humans feel another human's pain or need and act on it, that's loving kindness. Jesus did more acts of loving kindness than we can even imagine. We know of miracles and healings, but did you notice that it was always for the marginalized or outcasts? It was never for the self-sufficient, self-righteous or wealthy. What an awesome example He has set for 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 21 Titus 3:4-8 English Standard Version (ESV) But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. What does goodness and loving kindness look like at school? We often call this random acts of kindness. Students generally love to participate in these types of activities. Why not start a tradition of goodness and loving kindness? Ask students to do a random act of kindness and then tell their stories. Collect and tell the story to a wider audience, perhaps posting the stories to a class blog. As more and more students do acts of kindness, it becomes contagious. Lead by example. Do some random acts of kindness or pay-it-forward activities and tell about them. Telling stories encourages others to participate. It's not about bragging about your deeds, but setting examples that others may try. Everyone wins, everyone is blessed and everyone can do this. Dear Lord,
Your Name is Goodness and Loving Kindness! You are our Savior and you save us not because of our works but because of Your mercy. Thank You for the regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit Whom You poured out on us so lavishly through Jesus. Now that You have justified us by grace, we are heirs! Hallelujah! Lord, we believe. Help us to devote ourselves to good works because they are excellent and profitable for others. Help us to on the lookout for those in need and to do something good with loving kindness for them. Thank You Lord for Your amazing examples of loving kindness. We glorify You in the good good name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, There are so many beautiful psalms and songs written about the goodness of God and it's no wonder. What a good,good God we serve. I'm sure you have a favorite song. Please share if you do. I can't claim the one below as my favorite, but it reminds me every time we sing it at church or at one of our events that He is good. I left you a link below so you can enjoy His goodness. 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 20 Psalm 27:13 English Standard Version (ESV) I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin I've heard a thousand stories of what they think you're like But I've heard the tender whispers of love in the dead of night And you tell me that you're pleased And that I'm never alone You're a good good Father It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are And I'm loved by you It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am I've seen many searching for answers far and wide But I know we're all searching For answers only you provide 'Cause you know just what we need Before we say a word You're a good good Father It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are And I'm loved by you It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am Because you are perfect in all of your ways You are perfect in all of your ways Songwriters: Anthony Brown / Joseph Patrick Martin Barrett Dear Lord, Your goodness is over us. You are always there for us. We look to Your goodness in the land of the living, in the here and now, not just in eternal life. We see the beauty of the students you have given us over the years and how incredibly unique You have made each and every one of them. Your goodness, Lord, sustains us and we sing to Your goodness. Lord, there is no one good, no not one but You. Please remind us and help us to see Your goodness in our personal and school lives each day. Thank You Lord. You are good! We proclaim Your goodness in the unmatched name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, What a psalm! Do you think it is the most famous one? It may be the most memorized one. If you haven't committed it your heart yet, I highly recommend it. This last segment of this Psalm may be the most well-known and our focus because of goodness. Let's look at all of Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me besides the still waters, He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. 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 19 Psalm 23:6 English Standard Version (ESV) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I wrote a blog post about Goodness in the Classroom six year ago that I'd like to share an excerpt from: As I looked upon the word goodness in the Bible, I was surprised to find only 19 times that the word was mentioned. Naturally, the majority of the time the reference was to God’s goodness. Do you ever stop to think about His goodness? It’s overwhelming. Everything that is good comes from our Lord. The ability to be a teacher is because of His goodness. The desire to become better teachers comes from His goodness. How can we display goodness to our students? This is not as simple as it appears on the surface. We are not naturally good as He is, but we are his ambassadors in our walk and to represent Him well in our classrooms daily, we must strive to be good to our students. As public school educators (teachers, paraprofessionals or administrators), we have the power to influence our students daily. Making a concerted effort to be good to them can change the whole focus of our classroom. Dear Lord,
Thank you for Psalm 23. Even though we are looking at such a small part of David's great poem, we are struck at how You give us confidence in our future. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life! That's a powerhouse of a gift, Lord. Thank You for eternal life through the indescribable gift from Jesus Christ. How do we take it in? Help us Lord to extend goodness and mercy to our students and colleagues all the days of our lives in school. We love you and thank You for being a God of goodness. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE Team Dear Christian educators, In Christ Jesus! God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! True peace comes from knowing that God is for us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He wants us to prosper and to give Him the glory. We are diving into the Fruit of the Spirit during Lent to remind us of the power of the Holy Spirit in us Who produces the fruit: love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control and faithful. Let the peace of God fill you today. 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 18 Philippians 4:7 English Standard Version (ESV) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. What a reminder of His promise. We looked at this verse previously, but only sought to understand the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. Today, we look at God guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Do you realize how important that is to school life? When God is for us, who can be against us? When God is guarding our heart and mind, why do we worry? Once we are secure in this promise, we can extend the love by guarding the hearts and minds of our students. What does that look like? Guarding them from wasted time at school, guarding them from unnecessary stress, guarding them from bullying and guarding them from harm are just a few ways. We can't guard them from everything, but our prayers are a hedge of protection we can lift up to God for their good. Dear Lord,
Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit Who intercedes on our behalf and convicts us to go the right way. When Jesus left the earth, He promised another Helper. What an Advocate He is! Not only does Your peace surpass all understanding, You even guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Thank You Lord, we do not take this for granted. Help us to be contagious and live like You are in us. Thank You for this gift. We praise You in the Holy Name of Jesus. Amen. Prayerfully yours, Karen and the CIPE team |
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