Posted on November 18, 2018
Clever people go after knowledge to obtain it,
and wise people attune their ears to hear it. Proverbs 18:15
Already tempted to imagine what my daughters’ college choices should look like, and becoming dangerously obsessed over their elementary education at times, I need to be reminded of how unqualified I am to make those kind of life choices for my kids.
If we’re not careful, we can push our kids into the people we know instead of letting them grow into the people God has made them to be.
Through a brief flashback, my life is a witness to the truth of this verse. Knowledge and career can be attained in the pursuit of an education, but the full gravity of our growth lies so much deeper …and higher.
A purple and gold tri-fold board at a college fair led me to a small country town. I spent my high school years trying to figure out how to earn my way on that campus. Even though I was accepted, the cost was more than my academic achievements could afford.
It felt like torture accompanying a friend recruited to play footfall there my Senior year. I found my feet creeping up to the desk where the receptionist stood, and heard my voice ask her if there were any more scholarships I could apply for.
“Do you participate in any sports?” she asked.
“I just started running last year…”
A few minutes later, Coach sat down to talk to me, and I left that day with a better understanding of my potential.
Days later, I picked up my powder blue phone to hear his voice offering me a scholarship. Through the screeching and screaming as I ran down the stairs to tell of my victory …my life shifted.
Ashland University was a breaking off of who everyone else told me I had to be …and a chance to become the woman God had always made me to be. It was hard, and in so many ways I failed. But through my mess, I became the first in my family to earn a college degree.
Putting the dreams of my daughters’ lives in perspective, my own journey reminds me to be open to where He is calling them …and to enjoy the unfolding of the good plan He has for their lives.
Father, Praise You for college educations, and thank You for taking us on journeys in life that we have to look back to fully understand. Bless our hearts to relax back into Your arms. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Educating,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
Category: jammed daily devo Tagged: #greatgrace17, college education, knowledge
Posted on November 18, 2017
Clever people go after knowledge to obtain it,
and wise people attune their ears to hear it. Proverbs 18:15
Already tempted to imagine what my daughters’ college choices should look like, and becoming dangerously obsessed over their elementary education at times, I need to be reminded of how unqualified I am to make those kind of life choices for my kids.
If we’re not careful, we can push our kids into the people we know instead of letting them grow into the people God has made them to be.
Through a brief flashback, my life is a witness to the truth of this verse. Knowledge and career can be attained in the pursuit of an education, but the full gravity of our growth lies so much deeper …and higher.
A purple and gold tri-fold board at a college fair led me to a small country town. I spent my high school years trying to figure out how to earn my way on that campus. Even though I was accepted, the cost was more than my academic achievements could afford.
It felt like torture accompanying a friend recruited to play footfall there my Senior year. I found my feet creeping up to the desk where the receptionist stood, and heard my voice ask her if there were any more scholarships I could apply for.
“Do you participate in any sports?” she asked.
“I just started running last year…”
A few minutes later, Coach sat down to talk to me, and I left that day with a better understanding of my potential.
Days later, I picked up my powder blue phone to hear his voice offering me a scholarship. Through the screeching and screaming as I ran down the stairs to tell of my victory …my life shifted.
Ashland University was a breaking off of who everyone else told me I had to be …and a chance to become the woman God had always made me to be. It was hard, and in so many ways I failed. But through my mess, I became the first in my family to earn a college degree.
Putting the dreams of my daughters’ lives in perspective, my own journey reminds me to be open to where He is calling them …and to enjoy the unfolding of the good plan He has for their lives.
Father, Praise You for college educations, and thank You for taking us on journeys in life that we have to look back to fully understand. Bless our hearts to relax back into Your arms. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Educating,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
Category: Christian Living, jammed daily devo Tagged: #greatgrace17, college education, jammed daily devo, knowledge
Posted on October 19, 2017
Mothering two young daughters demands daily explanation, and I need Grace desperately to help me exude God’s compassionate love atop the elements I’m not ready answer. There are five words we can pick out of today’s verse to help us parent our children towards God’s light and love in all situations and towards all people.
naive-marked by unaffected simplicity; deficient in worldly wisdom or informed judgment.-Merriam Webster
We are not deficient in wisdom when we walk in God’s Word. With His Spirit resident in our hearts, the steps we take follow His Son’s. On the cross, Christ was clear: He came to save all. “Don’t be so naive,” warns us to watch out for those wandering in other lanes of traffic. Don’t merge onto their highway. Stay in Christ’s lane.
bad- failing to reach an acceptable standard. -Merriam-Webster
When immersed in “bad company,” how do we eject our presence gracefully, without seeming judgmental? And how can we aim to separate ourselves from behavior that we, ourselves, have been a part of in the past? Maybe, even the very recent past.
We walk …away. Non-accusatory, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. When we pray to God for the wisdom to know what to do and say, He will not fail us. And when there are no words, we simply walk towards Him. There’s no shame in wanting to be better, to fall less, and aim for what’s good.
corrupts- to change from good to bad in morals, manners, or actions. Merriam-Webster.
The scale of behavioral corruption is easier to spot at an extreme level that we all agree on. Murder …we all agree that’s bad. Stealing …bad. Lying …corrupt and bad. Embezelling – bad. But on the smaller scale of everyday slip-ups we walk the line of feeling uncomfortable and scared to make waves.
That uncomfortable feeling is a stirring of the Spirit telling us to get out. God’s Word clearly states what’s right and wrong, corrupt and good. When we ask Him to show us and seek Him daily, we’ll find the answers are more obvious that we suspect.
good-of a favorable character or tendency. Merriam-Webster.
Goodness is contagious. It’s fun to laugh without the aftershock of guilt in hurting someone to achieve it, and relaxing to have a conversation without pomp and circumstance. People that genuinely aim to be kind are a joy to be around. Be a joy to be around, not an eye-roll.
habits- a costume characteristic of a calling, rank, or function.
Our habits reflect the good and bad behaviors we chose to foster. Eventually, they become who we are. How do we want to be known?
Father, Praise You for breaking down our behavioral choices, and thank You for convicting us of change and encouraging to press on through pitfalls. Forgive us for our bad choices, and cure us of our bad habits. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Habits,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
Category: Christian Living, jammed daily devo Tagged: #greatgrace17, exposed, good habits, knowledge