Time To Panic

One of the hardest things in my ELA classroom is helping kids transition from picture book readers to chapterbook readers. They need confidence and guidance to pick books they can be successful with. If they pick a huge book for their first try, they often find themselves floundering and running back to their picture book comfort zone.

Because we do a program called AR, the kids have a point goal they must reach by the end of the quarter. I break the 100% into weekly goals for them so that we can all try to stay 'on track'. This works great most of the time ... But when I'm starting a kid on chapter books they sometimes become concerned. "What if I can't test on it this week and I'm not at _____ % by Friday?!". Try as I may to explain how chapter books are worth more points than picture books and will therefore jump their percent up higher when they do test on it, that can be a tricky concept for them to understand. If they get behind on their %, they panic and want to cram in all short books again.

So, my standard phrase of comfort has become this: "Give it a try. Dont worry. I promise I'll tell you when its time to panic."

I tell them daily "don't worry, we still have time. Its not time to panic yet."

And then as we near the end of the quarter I begin telling some that have gotten behind "okay, time to kick it in to high gear! The quarter's end is coming soon."

And rarely, oh so rarely I have to say "hey kiddo ... Its time to panic."

I only have to say that rarely because we know exactly send the end of our time is coming. We know when we must have our goal reached. We've broken our progress into tanagable chunks because we had a timeline to base it on. Planning = no need to panic.

But (ready for real world application?) Guess what. We don't know when Christ is coming. We weren't given a set date by which our goal of being ready for his return must be met. We don't have a definite end time - and therefore no set 'chunks' we can break our progress in to.

So, for all intensive purposes ... Its time to panic.

If you aren't saved ... If your life isn't right with God ... If you aren't SURE of your salvation, its time to panic! Because the end of our time could be any time. Later today? Tonight? Tomorrow? We don't know. So the only safe way is to be ready already - and stay ready every day!

Even my 4th graders know its better to reach your goal early so you don't have to be stressed. They also know that once they reach their goal, they need to keep reading to work on becoming a better reader.

And so it is with us. We need to be ready for the end of our time now. Because even if our time isn't up quite yet, it is a much better feeling to be sure of our salvation than to be in panic mode. But, just like my kiddos, we don't get to quit working once we are saved ... We keep working and studying to become better Christians. If we stop and Gert stangnat, well, we may find ourselves needing to be back in panic mode again.

I'd love to tell you "Don't worry, give it a chance, we have plenty of time" ... But I won't because I can't promise you that we do.

I'd love to tell you "its time to kick it into high gear! The end is coming up soon" ... But I won't, because I can't measure for you how soon it will be.

So instead, I'm telling you this ... If you arent ready to face Him in judgment. If you aren't SURE of your salvation. If you've never been saved. If you need to make some adjustments. If, if, if .... Then its time to panic. Not panic like flail around and cry - panic like fix the problem NOW.

Its amazing what a 9 year old can do when you tell them its time to panic with AR - they are suddenly a super reader who reads in every free moment at school and takes books home to read, too, all to reach their goal and get themselves ready. They panic - make the necessary changes to their effort level - and they get it done.

How much more important is your soul than a simple reading goal? How much more worth being ready for is our spiritual end of time than the end of a schoool quarter?

So panic. Make the necessary changes. And get yourself ready today.

3 Types of People

My class watched a video about Jim Lovell, the pilot of the Odyssey in the Apollo 123 space mission, today. At the end of the video, while talking about the importance of his Mission Control team, Jim said this:

"There are 3 types of people in this world. There are people who make things happen. There are people who watch things happen. And there are people who simply wonder what happened."

Quotes like that beg the questions 'which type of person am I?' And 'Which type do I want to be?'

Those questions are easy for me to answer ... I *hate* having to wonder what happened. And I rarely enjoy just watching. So that only leaves one option.

It makes me think of James 1:22 "be ye doers of the word and not hearers only". Spiritually, we need to *do*. Do talk to people. Do get involved. Do live correctly. Do good.

We simply can't afford to just sit back and watch!

And, if at the end of our lives we are simply left wondering what on earth happened? .... Well, that is certainly not a position I want to find myself - or anyone else - in. 

So that leaves one option. Get up. Get going. Be a doer. And be the type of person that makes things happen. Pronto.

Blessings

I absolutely love listening to other people pray. Often I think what a person prays for and the way they say things give me a glimpse into their heart of hearts. I am constantly humbled by the innocense of a child's prayer and the wisdom of an old man's words. Sometimes I am blown away by the simplicity of a phrase spoken to God ... Sometimes I am left pondering a complicated thought shared. Prayers are just awesome.

Yesterday I heard my mom pray (at lunch with some of my aunts). Among other things she prayed "Lord, help us with our struggles and with our blessings."

....and with our blessings?

My first thought was a chuckled 'I usually need more help with my struggles than with my blessings!' But, the more I thought about it,  the more  I realized that isn't quite true.

I have a lot of blessings ... and when I really think about it, I need a whole lot of help with all of them!

*I'm getting ready to have a baby. That's a huge blessing ... And I am going to need oh so much help from God. For patience. For wisdom. For strength. For calmness.  For 5 billion things I haven't thought of yet that I know I will be pleading for help with. To raise our daughter in such a way that she chooses to follow God. To make the right decisions fo r her. Oh yes, I'm going to need help with that blessing.

*I have a wonderful husband who has taken the best care of pre-pregnant and pregnant me. And I know he'll be a great daddy, too. Our marriage - my best friend - is a huge blessing. But I often pray about it ... To be calm when we don't see eye to eye. To be more patient, more understanding. To be a better wife. And I've seen enough to know that raising children doesn't always make marriage easier .... So you can bet I need help with that blessing.

*My job is a wonderful blessing that I love. Yet it can be both trying and tiring. It requires patience that I often pray for. It requires dedication and hard work and pulling myself out of bed each morning even when I'm exhausted ... And so often it is a blessing I need help with.

*Our friends and family are my favorite people around. They are there for me whenever I need them. They make me who I am. They are a blessing. Yet how often do I pray for the right words to say in a discussion? The right way to help in a situation? Patience? To be a better friend? A better sister/daughter/granddaughter etc? They are a blessing that I need help with. 

*Our material things are a blessing ... Our cars, our house and all that it holds, our paychecks. And so often I pray for wisdom in how to use our things. So often I pray for help not taking what I have been blessed with for granted. Things are a blessing I need help with.

I think one crazy thing about this world is that it works to turn the very blessings we are given into the every day struggles we have. Satan works against our attitude, our patience, our better judgment ... And soon what we once saw as blessings are being viewed as simply one more thing to deal with.

Do I view my marriage as the blessing it is, or as the struggle Satan tries to turn it into at times? What about my relastionships with other people? And my children? Can I look at my job and still feel blessed? Am I using my posessions in such a way that they are a blessing or letting them become a struggle in the way of my spiritual walk?

God blesses us. Satan fights to make us overlook those blessings.

So, as we enter a new year, a wonderful blessing from God, I'll be asking (frequently) for His help with my blessings - seeing them, appreciating them, and using them for Him - because sometimes, we all need help with our blessings.