BOUND FOR GLORY

Centers for Children (google)

     I have two boys. My oldest is a visual/auditory learner, and my youngest is a kinesthetic/visual learner. My oldest had no problem moving from one activity to another, but my youngest, fell apart. I learned to give him three warnings within the last five minutes of the activity, i.e. we are going from here to there in 3 minutes, etc. It helped him to deal with change incrementally. There are learners who crash and burn when you give them the "plan," but will plow through assignments if you just give them one at a time.
     When I was in Kindergarten, my teacher wrote 1 to 100 on the board, and told us we couldn't go to recess until we had copied them on our paper. I burst out crying. When Ms. Usepi came over and inquired, all I could manage was, "I dus can't do it!" I'm kinesthetic too. Knowing that I was not, technically, a "writer" yet, and being required to act as though I was, just way too much to deal with. Apparently, I won her heart, and she was one of my favorite teachers.
     Even back in the 70's, centers were a necessary part of the school day. We had half day Kindergarten which was awesome! My Grandma Raines would come pick me up sometimes. I loved spending time with her and my Mama. I learned more about relationship from them than playing in centers. For those of you who don't know, centers are set up around any given class room. Children take turns moving from one center to another during free time. It helps them not to fixate on one particular project, how to move from loss to gain, cooperate with classmates, use silence to their advantage, etc. The teacher walks around the classroom, carefully listen for any signs of distress.

Field Trip (google)

      Back in the 70's and 80's, field trips were part of the curriculum. They were viewed as a necessary part of any educational system. Learning can not be confined to the classroom. By the time we got to the 90's, we became "enlightened" to the grand goal of making lifetime learners rather than teaching toward "the test." That was short lived, because right when we got there, "No Child Left Behind" arose from the pits of hell. Rather than education thriving with the new found knowledge, all it got was major pruning.
      Both of my boys attended a local middle school that took an overnight trip with 5th graders to a science camp. They had a booklet, classmates, and a camp guide with them to help them locate various plants and animals in nature. So cool! In our day, our science teacher just went to the principal and asked if she could have her classes outside in the shade due to it being such a nice day. The teacher could do that, because the hooligans were already contained in the principal's office.
      Even though I don't teach in a public school, I have worked diligently with my boys and their teachers to forgo the grade and concentrate on the concept. They are in 10th and 8th grade; they are lifetime learners. I love watching them come home totally psyched for what they are learning in school. We are total nerds, always discovering, always learning.
       So, you can imagine my surprise, when God gives me a dream that challenged MY location. He led me to a home that I had been in before. I had secretly longed for it in previous dreams, but shushed my desire. This time, I was in the kitchen when I realized that my boys and their dad were there. I needed a shower, so I took one. Then I began to explore the rooms...my joy becoming full. I went into the final room and heard the voice of my Father say, "It's yours!" Oh, but that isn't all...I got a new car too...a standard. I got into my car and backed into traffic. Any prolific stick driver can shift gears without thinking about it. I backed up, and was putting into first, because that's what you do, but my new car said in a SIRI voice, "Why don't you try third?" I said, "I'm trying...." Just in the nick of time, I got it. I woke up so irritated.

Career Shadowing (google)

      Strange...never said I ain't strange, cause I am weird to the nth degree. When I get irritated, that's when I do my best work. Why would anyone skip first and second gear to start in third? That's difficult even for one who has been driving standards their whole life...and, it's not good for the car. I began to analyze: first gear is for gaining momentum for second gear that pulls you up steep hills. Third gear is for coasting...level ground...patient...not in any hurry. Then, I saw it. I got out of my head and saw that a car, is for moving you from place to place.
        As Christians, we say we believe that God is omnipresent, but we don't reflect that in our belief systems about the circumstances we find ourselves in. Instead, we find ourselves in Kindergarten, stuck at the stupid station where you lace string through a cardboard shoe, declaring, I don't need this. I've been able to tie my shoe since Grandma taught me at 4. Missing the point, all together, at every station. Moving in time, has to do with WHOM you are moving, not where.
         When I got up from bed, I said, "Jesus, not one more dream about some pie in the sky, please. I just can't be disappointed anymore." He is so patient, and has a great sense of humor. He says, "Are you irritated? Then work at it." The moment I saw that He IS ever present, that I am never away from Him, I saw my surroundings for what they are. It never has been about getting a job, a house, a car, etc. that meets the criteria of success in America. It has always been about my Center partner who never fails to teach me something, even if I am lacing a cardboard shoe. I'm Career Shadowing with Jesus, who is teaching me how to move eternally in a time centered world.

MY SEAT AT THE TABLE

The Kid Table (google)

     Some things never change, over time. I asked my boys when they returned from Thanksgiving with their Dad's family, "Didja graduate to the adult table yet?" Even when the kids have grown into adults, it just seems easier to place the "experienced" lives at one table and the "learning" lives at another.
      When I was young I couldn't wait to get to that table because I loved big secrets. I realized early on, that big secrets have great power. I didn't want to get anyone in trouble, unless it was my sister, who just hit me. I just really liked knowing adult information that I couldn't understand. It made me feel trustworthy and smart. When I became an adult, what I found at the adult table was the exact same crap that I had been eating at the kids table.
       So and so isn't sharing. So and so stole ____, and it's not his/hers because I had it first. They hurt me so bad, I would like to maintain the solace, anger gives me, rather than make nice and move on. Her clothes are ugly. His breath stinks. He doesn't play fair. She is mean. Oh, and gossip in the form of a prayer request was the snake on the table. No boundaries. No freakin' boundaries.
        I have always been a child at heart, but my kids helped me grow up. How? By sitting with them at the table, or the couch. Tradition may make you feel good, warm and fuzzy, but really, the truth is lying on the carpet as nettles from the fresh Christmas Tree you have to vacuum after and water about 4 times a day. Yuk! For the first 3 years of my boys lives, I was nursing, cooking, cleaning up dishes, and getting them down for nap, so no adult time. I really wanted to miss it, but I was having so much fun with my boys. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/534239574516663832/ (sorry no computer skills).
       My boys and I love the tv series "Friends." We've watched them so often, we have memorized the lines. Each episode never fails to rip us up with laughter. In this video I'm sharing, Ross had met Mona out at the table where you got your seating assignments. Well, Ross wanted to sat next to Mona rather than an older relative. He asked what table she was assigned. After she left, he thought he had picked up the card for the table next to her. Unfortunately, he had read the 9 as a 6. The scene that follows is hilarious and poignant. You must have a clear conscious when pursuing your goal.

Jesus at the table (google)

       This is not a new struggle. The disciples asked Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom, and can I sat next to you, and what about John. Oh yes, there was childishness remaining in the disciples. But after the Cross and the revelation that all betrayed Him, they were left with three days of torture of conscious and a battle in faith. However, after the Resurrection, they became secure in LOVE. Fifty days later, the Holy Spirit empowers them for healing, deliverance and restoration. I would love to say that the Bible is full of children and women, but no. They are few and far between. That's because God saved the best for last. When we look at the Last Supper in the Bible, it is important that we know, seating is predetermined by God, so that no man can work his way to the Master. Those closest to Him are appointed to greatness...in suffering. To gain insight/compassion, it is required that you go to the humbling place: the kiddy table.

Wedding Party (google)

      At the kiddy table, your heart can be cleansed from goals that are self-serving, entitlements, fears, and agendas that do not bring Him glory. I read a book once from a well known "Prophetess," and was appalled by her actions. She had a dinner with several of the church's women who were spiritually gifted. One lady assumed that because she worked so closely with the "Prophetess" that she had a seat next to her. The "Prophetess" openly reprimanded her and told her she needed to go sit at the table of least importance. Surprise, its actually in the Bible in Luke 14. Jesus explains to the Pharisees that if you come to a wedding and take the seat of honor, the groom will have no choice but to humiliate you to humble you; however, if you come in humble, there is at least a chance that the groom will exalt you to a place of honor.
       What brought this on, is in this passed week, I witnessed two incidents where there was no adult manning the children. Two boys fighting in a church. Boys have to be manned all the time, looking purposefully at the direction of the heart. My boys ruff housed, but I was there to look for the subtle change in attitude. With girls, they have to be manned for picky, unkind words. You are literally giving them the tools they need to cultivate their own garden as they get older. Unattended gardens grow massive weeds, because they feel uncared for. This Christmas, volunteer to sit at the kid table, and find out what you have been missing.

RECEIVING ROSES

Mythical King (google)

     Once there was a king, known for his joyous kingdom. Everyone was happy, kind, and giving. However, one day, when the king was pondering his kingdom, he noticed something that began to dig in his great well of wisdom. He said to himself, "All of my children are obedient and serve me without question. I wonder, do they love me for my mind or my heart?" He dug into his mind, and fashioned a man, full of knowledge and great power. He was ambitious, desirable, and the love of his kingdom. One might even think, he was king!?!
     Many eons passed, and the great king dug into his heart and fashioned a man. This man was nothing to look at, and had no desire for power. He spent his days with the animals of the kingdom, keeping close to nature. He nurtured everything he touched. People in the kingdom began to talk about him, privately, "I swear, he's like a girl. He's very strange. Can he love a woman?" Prince of Power couldn't restrain the women who flocked around him, but the Prince of Peace was hard pressed for any kind of companionship.
     As the great king looked on, he pondered the responses of his subjects and determined that the eyes of his subjects were growing dim as they gazed upon the Prince of Power. His beauty was making them drunk. Their thinking was no more linear, but spiraling, like a web. Marriages were always arranged, but the great king decided to plot an experiment that would answer his question for certain. When the Prince of Peace was sleeping, he took from his heart, a pearl, and fashioned a woman out of it. Like the Prince of Peace, she was plain, but was given the gift of mercy. When he awoke, he felt different, but put the feeling in the back of his mind.
    The woman went unnoticed for a good span of time. Her life was full of sorrow and grief, but she was resilient and always managed to find humor in the worst of circumstances. The kingdom had changed tremendously over time. People were still happy, but not joyful. They seemed...bored/idle. Large groups of people who were blessed by the king, with wealth and talents, began to build and set up their own houses with lofty towers and lavish bedrooms...where they would sit all day....eating, drinking, and giving in to every desire that came to mind. The majority, though, worked jobs that kept the kingdom running, had "enough" to eat, and relaxed with their family at the end of the day.
    Right under the king's nose, as though he was too busy to notice, the Prince of Power began to build a blue city that seemed to light up the planet. People began to travel to this great light. They were drawn by the light and assuaged by the luring music that reached far outside the boundaries of the city. The closer they got to the city, the more their souls would vibrate. Don't get me wrong, the great king had power only heard of in stories, but he never really showed it. The Prince of Power...his magnificent power was seen, felt, heard...he must be a god, is what the people began to deduce.

Comparison (google) 

    One horrible day, the Prince of Power made his move. He and his servants decided to leave their positions and take on the great king. The Prince of Power had everything necessary to run and rule this planet. If his father was all powerful, really, he could make another. You see, the Prince of Power grew so drunk on his own power and the worship of his powerless servants, that he thought HE was not to be a king....another stupid king....no, HE WAS GOD! When the Prince of Power approached the throne, the great king already knew his heart. He threw him and all his cohorts into the dark...where maybe they could regain sight.
     The planet changed forever. Sadness and fear entered into a world, once ruled by love. There was no way that these new feelings could be remotely associated with a loving king. No, the great king, must have been a tyrant all along. They thought the punishment of the Prince of Power was by far, the worst punishment ever....exiled to the Abyss....where there is no light. This great king has a heart no one dares to know. Horrible and fierce in all his judgments, they came to believe. Over time, the planet became filled with fear. All the bright colors that clothed the naked people became covered in dark gray shades of black. Light and color hurt their eyes. They had to use makeup and paint to appear beautiful. At night, though, when they were naked, all was gray.
     During a parade, this woman appeared with a bright blue dress on, and her light brought great terror to the people. She refused to be anything but who she was, naked and blue. The other women spent their days making themselves up to be the brightest and the most beautiful. The women who got husbands were never plain girls. The ones who were really making an effort, got the reward. The woman with the blue dress, walked around singing...singing a song no one else could learn or sing. The women hated her and just wanted her to leave. Who cares if she was kind, sweet, generous, and loving....they could be all those things too, if they painted on the right colors.

A Mother's Duty (google)

    During this big event, the woman in blue went to find a place of rest, when a man came up and demanded her last bite of bread. She gave it. Then she went to find a seat. Her blue dress was taken from her, but not her light. Some women came up and told her she absolutely could not sit at that table. When she arrived at her assigned table, she was not allowed to sit there. She found a seat close to the stage. In the midst of all the sorrow and the sufferings, she had received a silver package of roses and other flowers. She was reading the love note of devotion from her Prince of Peace, wondering how she had always had his love, and how had he found her, and why did he have to leave his current relationship...what relationship?
     Suddenly, on the stage, children in noble dress began to sing complaints about their provisions, cussing, and declaring how they weren't going to take it anymore. They didn't want all the great king's treasures, they wanted to eat little lambs. The woman who now was only clothed in light, arose and said, "Children don't eat lambs, they feed them." The woman abandoned her whirling thoughts and forged forward with a passionate heart to get the children back to LOVE. The End
     The Moral: A woman who is safe in Love of her husband will focus on mothering her children, raising a household of peace.

CRY OF THE HUNGRY

Give me your old, expired food
Freezer burnt meat
Canned goods no one wants
I'll be the need you can meet

Clothes with holes and stains
All given in Jesus name

Stale bread and cereal
Crackers like powder for soup
I'm not complaining
Just wondering - would it be the same, if I were you

Less than best to build a nest
But the Son of God has nowhere to lay His head
Willing to give mere men - wings
But keep the Risen Savior...dead

Tick Tock, Tick Tock
Time will be gone, but not the clock

A measure of rye for the poor
A steak for the wealthy pauper
First class jet adventure
While wounded soldiers pack a helicopter

Life and Death, come and go
Moments played in rapid succession
Unaware of color and flow
Permanently being woven into eternal progression

Thoughtless gifts thrown to the poor
Bang the nails deeper through the flesh
While tatty clothes - thrown toooo
Rip from, Jesus...His royal dress

It's hard to see in the fog
Sometimes the weight of wet falls
Heavy was the Cross He bore
"Feed my Sheep" He calls

Lay down the storm
And give what's on your table
Whatever you would gift the Savior
Give it now - if you are able

      ......and Let LOVE Live
Written by Trudy Schrader on 12-02-15