I'm a Single Pringle!

*Disclaimer Almost all of the stuff I am quoting is from Pastor Ben Lamb from Grace Point church. He did all the research, I am just putting his points into my blog because he did an amazing job today presenting this very hard topic. *

I started visiting a new church two weeks ago, just to give me a change in scenery. This church, Grace Point, has started a series called "Fixing Us" and it is about relationships. This week's message was, "The message every 'single' person needs to hear". The emphasis was on single, meaning everyone of us needs to hear it, but it was pertaining to single-hood. When I heard about the topic last week, I was very excited.

This next part is going to be me summarizing, using excerpts from the handout that Pastor Ben had during his message and interjecting my own personal thoughts. *My intro is bland and to the point because I wanna get to the good stuff and because I am sick. So, please forgive me.* 

Pastor Ben on Singleness:

He started off with this verse from Psalm 37:3-5 (NLT)

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will act." 

My thoughts on this verse first:  "befriend faithfulness" this phrase can relate to a relationship, any relationship be it sibling, parental or with your significant other. But first and foremost, we need to be faithful in our relationship with God. Next part, "he will give you the desires of your heart" when we "delight" ourselves in the Lord. We must also "commit our ways to the Lord" and "trust in him". First off, we have to be active in our relationship with God. We have a part to play here.

Pastor Ben:

"If you have the desire to be married, I assure you that God also wants you to be married. God is a good Father who only gives good gifts to His children."

Pastor Ben talked about how each of us were a gift from God, and that we had to take care of our gift. He also said that "The reason you're single could be because you aren't a good gift yet. It doesn't' mean you are rotten, you're just not ready." Our lives are made up of different times and seasons. For example, the time and season I am in right now (graduate school for my masters in teaching and working full time) is not the wisest time for me to pursue a relationship with anyone. I am focused on serving God and following this step he has placed in front of me. I know that by going to Grad school, I am following His will for me to use my gifts to serve Him better. I honestly don't believe that it would be wise for me to pursue a relationship or to even look for one right now because of the season I am in right now. Does this mean that if I meet someone who is amazing and great, that they aren't from God? No, God could have me meet someone next week who seems "perfect" for me. But, I don't honestly think He would do that. Not when I am striving to follow His will for me. 

Moving on. Pastor Ben then used a passage from 1 Corinthians to emphasize the positive thing about being Single.  

1 Corinthians 7:32-35 (NLT)

"I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord's work and thinking how to please him. But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible." 

I believe that this passage from Paul is not speaking against marriage, just letting the people of the Corinthian church (and every believer in the future) know that there is a massive positive side to being single, you are able to serve God without your interests being divided like they would be when married. He isn't saying that you can't serve God when you are married, it is just in a different capacity. When you are married, you have obligations and duties to your spouse and to God. But, since I am not married, I don't really know what those are, so I shall move on! 

Next, Pastor Ben addressed 5 lies that we are led to believe about marriage and single hood.

1. God has forgotten me. - False, he has not forgotten us. 

2. God is punishing me. -False, He is not punishing you, He is preparing you.

3. God will do it all for you. -False, we cannot lock ourselves up at home and expect God to drop our future spouse off at the door like package delivered from Fed-Ex

4. There is a magical someone out there for me. -False. This is from Pastor Ben who did the research. Did you know that Plato was the originator of the "soul mate" theory. Something along the lines of Plato said that a soul was split into two, one male, one female. And that they were the only right ones for each other. If this is true, then what happens if someone marries the wrong person? It messes EVERYONE up. 

Pastor Ben had this to say:

 "A soul mate isn't something you find; a soul mate is someone you intentionally and prayerfully become.God desires for us to have a soul mate. And the one He wants us to have is the one to whom we already said, "I do." (that is Jesus) God designed real and lasting love to be something you do, not something you mystically have."

5. Finding someone will complete me. -False, if someone can "complete" you, then they have the ability to "un-complete" you. "It is not about Chemistry, it is about Character."

To sum all of this up, Pastor Ben finished with the verse from Proverbs 4:23 (NLT):
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it determines the course of your life." 

So, my final thoughts on all this:

I desire to be married some day. But, I have always said I would rather be single than married to the wrong person. This means I have work to do. I have to seek God, build my relationship in Him, I have to make myself the person that the person I am looking for, is looking for. Is it going to be easy? HA! No. Am I going to get lonely? Oh yeah. But I take comfort in knowing that right now, I am where God wants me to be and I get to serve him with out distractions. 

Peace and Love to all

-Boots ;)

PS. if there are any spelling/ grammar mistakes, please forgive me and don't judge too harshly. My English Major brain is turned off due to being sick. 

Childlike Faith and Joy

(Written over Christmas Break, posted Today) 
Over Christmas Break, I was given the opportunity to babysit for a fellow teacher. In my opinion, it was going to be the most exciting part of my break (I was right). I was not feeling very Christmassy (or in the Christmas spirit, as normal people put it) this year and other than family coming to visit, my break was going to be quite dull.

I was to watch her three kids and her sister's two boys. I have had lots of experience babysitting, so I felt I was adequately prepared for the job of 5 young ones all under the age of 11. Sure enough, they were a great batch of kids and things went great. We had lots of fun all playing and making sugar cookies. (Sorry Sophia, I totally put your kiddos on a sugar rush!)

The best part of the night was right before bedtime. They wanted to watch a movie and I let them pick one from my Netflix account. They picked The Polar Express. I internally held in a sigh. I am not too big on Christmas movies. The only one I really like is White Christmas. But, I agreed and we started the movie. We all cuddled up on the couches and I made them popcorn. As the movie began, I saw how excited and into the movie they all were. 

It was then that God showed me that I had not been feeding my inner child and that I was suffering from a lack of pure joy that children seem to so easily attain. I have been so caught up in my new job that I have not taken time to do things that brought out my inner child. Things like drawing, watching kid movies, or even playing. I have been too caught up in my "adult self" that I was slowly starting to show signs of being "one of those" twenty-somethings that I despised. Those who did not know how to have fun and enjoy life outside of work. 
At one point in my high school life, a friend of my mother's who was a counselor told me that it was very important, no matter how old the person, for that person to feed their inner child. It helped them grow and develop as a person.
Our inner child is inside of us to keep our hearts young and to help chase out the bitterness that this cruel and corrupted world daily injects us with. 
Even Jesus has something to say on this matter of the mind of a child. It says in Matthew 18:2-6, "He called the little child and had him stand among them. And he said: 'I Tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven..." Basically, Jesus is saying that we must have childlike faith in Him. If we do not feed our inner child, how can that inner child inspire childlike faith in Jesus? 

About twenty minutes into the movie, after I had this inspired revelation, I was just as enthralled as the kids were. I was gasping at the intense parts and cheering at the ending with them. All of this happened because I allowed myself to indulge my inner child. After the movie, I put the youngest three to bed, and then allowed the elder two to stay up an extra hour. I read out loud to the eldest two for an hour straight (much to the pain of my throat and voice). Then I carried the younger of the two up to bed, for she had fallen asleep in my arms as I read. All in all, a perfect ending to a wonderful day.

This revelation that God gave to me, enabled me to be more proactive in feeding my inner child. I have seen a change in my teaching style, my attitude at home and the attitude towards my daily devotions all because I followed God's direction. 

I encourage all of you, no matter how old, take some time to indulge and feed your inner child today. Watch a kids' movie, pull out a coloring book, build with Lego's, anything that brings some good, childlike joy to your heart. Thank God for giving us the ability to retain our inner child and nurture it. You will be surprised with the changes He will work in you through it. 

Crazy Things Student's Say

Last year in China, my teammate Hannah had the foresight to start a quote book. I thought this was a great idea and loved it! And, I ended up in said quote book a lot because, I often speak without thinking. Near the end of the year, a lot of our students began saying funny things and they began popping up in our quote book. When I cam back to America, I knew that I wanted to keep a quote book of things my students here in America said. I was unsure if it would make any sense, but it has paid off already. My High school Speech Class and my 8th grade Bible class all know I keep one and constantly ask if they are in it yet. To make sure no one is embarrassed, I keep it completely anonymous. Some are really funny, others are just strange. I hope these at least bring a smile to your face on this very cold winter day.

2nd Grade Student: “Mrs. Jordan…”

Me: “Miss. Miss Jordan, I am not married.”

Student: “Well, I know...but I wish you were married!”

Me: “Why???”

Student: “So I could meet your husband!”

1st grade Girl: “You AREN’T MARRIED????!!!! Then why do you have a job?”

I was too busy laughing, so I couldn't explain that unmarried people also need to work.

(Apparently a lot of my students are concerned with the fact that I am not married or seeing anyone. I feel like I am back in China. *sigh*)

8th grade boy: "Guuuuuyyyyyys, she is giving us that look again! That means she wants us to be... quiet..."

Student talking about his Speech Topic: 

What I heard: “I think Skirts should be shorter."

What he said: "I think school days should be shorter."

Student playing off the "skirt" joke: “I want to do a speech on long skirts or short skirts, I like short…. just kidding Miss Jordan!”

Student: “You’re killing me Mr. Jones” 

Mr. A. Jones: “Eh, death happens”

-(He is their English Teacher and I happened to be walking by)

6th Grade Boy: “So in Asia, they put this fan on the roof and it gets the humiliation….err, humidity out of the room.” 

Speech Student Male:

What he said "I need to gain my composure"

What I heard: "I am in a gang."

9th Grade Speech Student: “Narwhals are REAL??? I thought they were like unicorns, made up!”

To which a female student replied:  “Ah, narwhals, the unicorns of the ocean!”

7th grade student: “Miss J, last night I was watching Doctor Who, and a character looked just like you!”

Me: “Aw how cool! which episode?” *conversation ensues*

Later, as I walked away, her friend says: “See she is cool, she likes Doctor Who”

(Coolness factor just went up!)

*upon hearing a loud noise outside my classroom*

Student 1: “Was that a bomb?”

Student 2: “If you call Mr. Jones The Bomb, then yes!”

*quiet giggling ensues*

*30 seconds later* Student 3: "That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

“Aliens would find us ugly”- Impromptu speech on beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Speech Student A: “I know nothing about politics, so vote for me…”

Speech Student B: “ Like Obama”

Speech Student before class began- “Adolf Hitler was rejected from art school. One thing led to another and the US dropped atomic bombs on Japan. " (Uh what? Where did this come from???)

Student 1: "G, what is your speech on?"

Student G: "Bad things!"

Anyways, so far these kids have been keeping me on my toes and making me laugh almost every day. I love my job so much! As this new year begins, I am eager to see what things my students are going to say and what kind of challenges they bring me.

- <3 -

Hilary