Turn the corner to Christmas

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2: 6-7

Mary and Joseph turned many corners on their journey to Bethlehem. All the way from the acceptance of the news of the impending birth of a savior to a virgin, to turning the corner behind the Inn only to see the feeding trough that would hold the Savior of the world.

And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger. Luke 2:16

The shepherds in the field that quiet night did not even know a corner was in their future. They traveled from their field around the twists and turns of Bethlehem in order to be the first visitors to see the Baby born to bring us peace.

And going into the house they saw the Child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Matthew 2:11

Think for a moment of all the turns made by the magi as they followed the prophesies turning down the road to Bethlehem. What did they think of the Toddler whose face peeked around the corner? Were their hearts filled with joy upon the realization that this Savior sought them, too?

Two thousand years later our children are turning a corner to see the splendor of Christmas. We approach this season, each year, knowing that whatever the year has brought us, the love of God, as seen in the tiny babe wrapped tightly in a blanket, can turn our hearts to joy and hope.

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15

In our world, today, there are many who hide behind the corner of despair. This is not God's plan for any of His people. The saving work of His Son brings us forgiveness and salvation. The faith-building work of the Spirit moves us to take the Gospel message to every corner of the earth.

Abba, Father, Amen.

Walking in a straight line

Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. Psalm 5:8-9 ESV

Humans can't walk in a straight line when blindfolded. We may think we can, but 80 years of research has found otherwise. We need a reference point, such as a building, or the warmth of the sun on our face; without such aides, we walk in hopeless circles until we end up, in the best case scenario, back where we started.

Check out the National Public Radio story on this topic here.

Yup, without help, the best we can do is walk in circles. If you are still not sure this is true, ask someone who grew up a generation ago on a farm, to tell you about walking in fog or blizzard conditions. I remember driving to teach at my country school in the fog and while I did find my way, I felt most disoriented by not being able to see landmarks. I got to school only because the road got me there.

While you may grumble about the useless nature of some avenues of research, (no evidence that government money funded this research) you have to admit that as a Christian this strange tendency to veer to the right or left should not come as a surprise. If left to our own ability, our desires, misperceptions and sins lead us off of the straight path and onto a circular path that leads back to our starting point. We are hopeless without God's guidance; we are hopeless without God's correction; we are hopeless without God.

The image of me walking in circles, blindfolded, arms fruitlessly flailing around, is a strong and troublesome one. It describes so much of my faith life. It is the image that comes to mind when I think of the many times when I was sure that I was in control. I ignored God's guidance, or refused to trust that He knew best the path before me and struggled on in my own darkness.

Watch out for that tree!

Ouch, that's gotta hurt.

Let's think, instead, about taking the blindfold off and taking the hand of God. With God's guidance the distractions of our own desires, the misinformation in the world around us, the temptations, designed to lead us astray, become ineffective.

Anything is possible:

So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. Joshua 6:20 ESV

When we walk in God's wisdom and grace we walk straight. Here the soldiers walked around the city of Jericho. Every day, for a week, they walked in circles: a tireless, seemingly endless trek. They did so with their trust in God and He led them straight into a stunning victory.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, holding on until Friday, and then after the weekend we are back, again, to Monday it may seem like our life goes round in circles. Here it is Thanksgiving and Advent reminds us that Christmas is coming, soon. Didn't we just celebrate the Epiphany? Even my years go around in circles.

As long as those circles travel around my Savior and His Word, then they are circles I don't mind traveling. God's Word, His sacraments, His abiding love, lead me straight to Him.

If it ain’t broke

One of my classes is a Special Education class on Autism Spectrum Disorders. It is a fascinating class for me because it is out of my department so I am in class with people working on different degrees. It also includes virtually no stats; right now that is a big plus.

Autism is tough to nail down. We typically think of the child who is a non-communicator, calming himself down with repetitive motion or a savant who can perfectly play a piano piece after hearing it only once. But, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) can also include the child with weak social skills who constantly reads and talks about one particular topic as well as a whole host of symptoms somewhere in-between these two extremes. The first part of the course covered a long list of characteristics so now I have a hammer that says ASD and every problem I see is a nail. I also find myself worrying that my lack of enthusiasm for social situations means I might be afflicted, as well. How on earth do medical college students make it through school without diagnosing themselves with every illness they study?

There is an interesting debate in the world of autism, including those with milder forms as well as parents with children severely affected. One group wants a cure and the other insists they don't need to be fixed. Depending on the type of autism and its severity a child can be disabled or merely different. For those who work with such children it can be a challenge to identify which skills need work. Certainly a child needs to be able to communicate with other people, but do they all have to have the same level of social skills? Sometimes something viewed as a disability can actually be an ability in a different setting. I remember speaking with a friend who told me her husband had dyslexia but that it was an asset on his job because he could create a mirror image as a tool and die maker. If we "cure" every symptom of autism, will we lose some gifts as a result? Maybe some characteristics of autism do not indicate brokenness.

The struggle with the difference between what is different and what is broken can creep into my faith life, too. I agonize over my looks, my age, my style of dress, gray hair, weight or whether or not my peers think my opinion is valuable, or if my students think I am a good instructor. These are not things worth my worry as they are differences, not brokenness.

What is broken in my life? My worry over differences is a sign of a lack of trust and that is brokenness. My daily, hourly, minute by minute sins are a sign of my brokenness. My misdirected time and attention toward my petty problems and away from God's word, His work and His people, is a sign of my brokenness.

These are the things for which I need a cure.

But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him. Numbers 15:30-31 ESV

We sin, we doubt, we neglect, and in so doing we create our own brokenness. God our Father picks up the pieces of our brokenness; the saving act of Jesus in His death and resurrection restores wholeness; the Spirit grants understanding allowing us to worship God with a whole heart.

When our brokenness meets God's mercy and forgiveness our differences no longer matter. We are His and we are whole.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved

In him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. Ephesians 1: 3-10 ESV

A wake up spill

I pulled a super klutzo the other day. I just set down a full glass of pop on my desk. I went to reach for something and slipped and knocked over the glass. 12 ounces of ice cold liquid spilled all over my work, all over my pants and almost all the way across the room as the glass slid on the floor. The good news is I spilled it all over my textbook on multiple regression so I had to wait until it dried to read about single linear regression.

If I were a psychology student I would probably call that a Freudian slip.

I got much from that experience: a temporary reprieve from reading, a heightened awareness of my lap, and enough wakefulness that I may be able to forgo the need for caffeine for awhile.

I also got a good laugh and laughter is good for reducing stress. When you laugh at yourself you put your situation into a better perspective.

I need to take a shower in diet Coke more often.

Life has many conundrums but one I have been considering lately is how even though I know myself better than anyone else on earth knows me, I can't really know myself because I can't step back and see me from a better perspective. I know only what goes on in my head. I see the world through a dark glass and cannot know, completely, how my actions affect others.

I also can't see the big picture; my memory of the past is highly selective and I have no hope of seeing what is around the corner.

But I do have hope. I have a hope that is an assurance and that comes from knowing that God has that perspective. He has that perspective of the bigger picture and He uses it to our advantage. He knows, now, what we need and He knows the best way to provide it for us so that we have what we need for our lifetime. He has the big picture perspective and He shows it to us as we need it.

The other day I was driving home after a long day of rain and classes. I saw a piece of a rainbow that periodically would show itself as traversing across the sky. For a few seconds I could see a triple rainbow and then suddenly just a small piece of the arc.

When we see just a piece of the rainbow we know it has the potential to be much more. We trust that the rainbow really goes all the way across the sky and sometimes God lets us see that beauty. Even if we can't see the whole rainbow, we know that God can.

I don't know what God is teaching me about statistics. Apparently from the results of my last test it is not very much about confidence intervals. (sigh) But I do know that He has the big picture and that the perspective is a good one.

Our cat got a wakeup call the other day. My husband dialed his cell phone in order to locate it only to see a strange expression on the cat's face; she was sitting on a vibrating phone.

May God bless your day with laughter, perspective, rainbows, pleasant wakeup calls and HOPE!

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. Deuteronomy 7:9 ESV

Apple of His Eye

I started reading my text book for the stats class I am taking. I kid you not—this is what it says:

We wanted to write a brief manual for our students. And we started to do this. We soon realized, however, that it did not seem possible to write a brief exposition of multiple regression analysis that students would understand. We then decided to write a book. (Pedhazur, 1997)

This precedes 1028 pages of numbers and words that will define my life for the next semester.

I know I am stressed because I can feel it in my temples, jaw and neck. I presume this means I am clenching my teeth. I know I am stressed because I have a persistent ache in my shoulders that sometimes travels down my arms to my fingertips and cascades down my back. I know I am stressed because I have a headache all the time.

And I know why I am stressed.

Sure, it is true that I am in way over my head in this stats class. It is also true that I have a stressful semester as I am teaching two new classes with a total of 85 students. And I am equally sure that a complete change of routine – even moving to a new office, increases stress; at least until I get used to things.

But, that is not why I am stressed.

I am stressed because I think I am in control and that makes me panic. But, I am not in control, God is.

God loves me, no matter what. He doesn't ask me to do anything to earn that love. He just loves me, because He is God; He is my creator; He is my Savior; He is my Comforter.

And He knows about multiple regression analysis because He created it.

He doesn't look at me and shake His head. He doesn't grumble to Himself "If only she would trust me. It's not like I haven't solved problems for her before. Will she ever learn?"

He doesn't do this. Instead He loves me, forgives me, comforts me.

Because of this all encompassing agape love, He teaches me to trust.

If it is God's will, I will pass this class. If I can get my teeth to stop clenching I might even learn something. If it is not God's will for me to pass, He will bring good out of it.

I have seen Him do it before; He will do it again and again and again.

Because He loves me.

Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17: 7-8

Does Teacher Know Best?

I have been reading the textbook I was given for the class I will be teaching at UNL this fall. I have moved on from study skills to teaching a sort of Educational Psychology 101. I am pretty excited. The text book is well written but reading it has reminded me of a big question I have had since starting graduate school: "why is research so ineffective in influencing practice?" In other words, even though there is a ton of research being done on children, teachers and learning, very little of that research seems to trickle down into the classroom.

One thing I have noticed is that much of research suffers from OTS (omniscient teacher syndrome). It is not that the research is useless, that it doesn't make sense or that it is wrong; it is just that the suggested practices that come from much of research would only work if the teacher was omniscient.

For example, we are supposed to teach with intrinsic (natural desire) rather than extrinsic (rewards or punishments) motivation. However, in order to do this correctly we have to know what intrinsically motivates each child. For many, it is just easier to use extrinsic motivation because we can pretty well predict what rewards or consequences will work. Extrinsic motivation does work – in the short term; in the long term – not so much.

Reading instruction is another good example of OTS. Almost any reading method works with equal success provided we know what is best for each child. Most children will do well if the reading material they have to work with is in their instructional level, meaning it is not too hard and not too easy. This is easier than it sounds, of course, as it requires teachers to know exact reading levels. Even tests can't tell us exact reading levels because it is not just a matter of the number of words per paragraph, but also the interest level, and whether or not the child is intrinsically motivated to read that book.

Discipline is another huge OTS area. In order to teach perfectly, a teacher needs to be able to apply law and gospel perfectly. So that means we have to know what motivates each child, whether the child genuinely repents, what is the best way to redirect, what is the most effective consequence, and does that child in "time out" really think about what he/ she has done?

Then there is the need to be omniscient where parents are concerned; let's not even go there.

Teachers have a tough job. Find a teacher and give him or her a hug,

and some chocolate,

and maybe some bath salts, or a beer or something.

I mean really, how many of you have to be omniscient at your job?

Think, for a minute about the blessing of God's omniscience. He knows everything about us, our sins, our wants, our needs. Jesus died and rose again to work our Salvation even before we started sinning because He knew it would be necessary. The Spirit intercedes for us when we don't even know our prayers well enough to put them into words. God knows everything about us and He still loves us.

When we are extrinsically motivated; He still loves us.

When we don't know the right answer; He still loves us.

When we think and do evil, nasty, shameful, embarrassing things; He still loves us.

He knows what we need: forgiveness, grace, mercy and love. He knows this perfectly. He knows and loves us perfectly and completely.

My Teacher knows best.

Abba, Father, thank you!

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3: 17-19

You may notice a new badge on my web page. I have joined High Calling blogs. I encourage you to check them out.

Working hard at play

I have been reading journal articles for a paper I am writing on play.

Yeah, the irony of working on play has not slipped past me.

I spent many years teaching parents about the value of play. It is an easy thing to see, when you spend hours observing children play, but it is a difficult thing to explain to parents when they are worried about how their 5 year old will do on standardized tests in three years. It seems to make sense to cut back play time and spend more time teaching the facts and figures that will be on the test.

It seems to make sense, but it doesn't.

I usually explained to parents how learning is a social thing and their children are developing social skills when they play. Still, I wondered if play helped children develop social skills, why did I spend so much of recess dealing with arguments over playground territory?

I had better success pointing out that children talk when they play, which means they develop language skills. Well developed language skills are the basis of any good learning; especially math and reading.

These are good reasons for defending play, but as it turns out there are more important, more fundamental, more urgent reasons why children play. Play develops something called executive function which allows children to self-regulate. Three of the skills involved in executive function include inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility and working memory.

And you thought they were just playing tag.

You see, stopping yourself from running after the ball when you are playing goalie in soccer, so you will be in the right place when the ball comes to you, is the same skill you need to ignore noise in the hallway when you are working on a test. The same skill that lets you predict what a friend will do, and change your actions to adapt, is the same skill you need to realize that you should be dividing those numbers from that story problem instead of adding them. And it seems that the same skill you use to remember your role in the game of "house", as well as the roles of all other participants, is the same skill you need to monitor your comprehension while reading.

In other words, if we don't let children play, they may not learn the brain skills necessary to learn what else school has to teach them. They need to play so they can learn. If they don't get to play, learning is harder and less efficient.

Wait. . .what? In order to be better learners, children should study less and play more? Who invented that system?

God did.

I just love how God created a way for the brains of children to develop that works naturally. We don't have to take extra time to help them to do better on a test. We just need to let them do what their brains were designed to do. For every hour they spend playing, the more they will get out of teaching and studying. Cool plan; someone ought to package that, get government funding and sponsor legislation that forces every school to follow this.

Hmmm, I'll get right on that; as soon as my work is done.

In the meantime, I feel blessed to see a new way that God works in my life. God gives children the desire to play and play prepares them for learning and eventually ministry. I know, too, that the work God puts before me, is preparing me for learning and ministry.

I have developed a pretty strong ability to delay gratification. I suspect this is a genetic thing – being able to put off play, reward or rest. While it can be a good think in terms of meeting goals, it is probably not a good thing in terms of living a healthy life. Still, the opposite, to turn to immediate gratification, does not seem right either. That is selfish and just as harmful.

I think what God is teaching me, here, is to be gratified with what He has planned for me to do. I do not have to wait to be happy until I get this next paper done; I can be happy in the act of writing the paper. I do not have to wait to relax until the last stats final is handed in; I can rest in the assurance that God is working with me and providing me with all I need to learn. No matter how I much I delay, there will be no reward this side of heaven. Working in the here and now is instant, long-term gratification. Working in the here and now is preparing me for what is ahead.

Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,
and wickedness as with cart ropes,

to those who say, "Let God hurry,
let him hasten his work
so we may see it.
Let it approach,
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come,
so we may know it."

Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.

Isaiah 5:18-20