Know the Truth, Love the Truth, Live the Truth

One of the privileges of teaching in a Christian school is sharing the Truth with my students each day. Our society is filled with mixed messages about truth, often from the viewpoint that there is no absolute truth - what is true for one person might not be for another. I want to help my students learn to be discerning when they hear these messages and recognize that there is an absolute truth - God and His Word. And I love our school's theme for this year: Know the Truth, Love the Truth, Live the Truth. 


I was part of a small committee chosen to develop the theme and plan/write our school's spring program. We focused on each of the three aspects: know, love, and live. Throughout the year we've talked about knowing God through the creation and the Bible and focusing on God's plan for salvation. We've discussed ways we show love to God in gratitude for His love and grace to us. And each grade planned service projects to demonstrate ways to live in thankfulness to God.


The culmination was our school program on April 19. The children (preschool - 4th grade) proclaimed The Truth through song, scripture, instruments, sacred dance, pictures, and narration. It was a beautiful worship experience and I was so blessed to be a part of it.  

This is one of the many reasons I am so thankful for the opportunity to teach in a Christian school.


I was able to videotape parts of the program; below are some video highlights.

Stand on the Rock, Firm Foundation, Hide God's Word

3rd grade liturgical dance (Here With Us, Joy Williams)

Jesus Loves Me (GoFishGuys version)

Service Projects

Go Light Your World

(the final song is "This Little Light of Mine" but I couldn't record it 

as I was leading my class down the aisle)

Senior Dog

One of my spring break projects was to update my dog's "room" to make it easier for her to get around. I took down the crate that's been taking up space for almost fourteen years; she loved it when she was younger and used it as her hideout. But it's been used more as a shelf for my stuff during the past few years, so it was time to pack it up.  Here's a photo of her "remodeled" room - designed to make things easier for her.

Notice the new rug on the floor - so she won't slip and slide with her unsteady legs.

Take a look at the brand new orthopedic bed - purchased to alleviate the arthritic legs. See the towel on top of the bed? That's to entice her to actually use the bed (it's her special towel). Hasn't worked yet, though. She prefers to sleep on the living room floor when she's not sleeping on the futon. 

Finally, can you see the raised dog dishes - yes, newly purchased, so she won't have to lean down to eat; again trying to help with the arthritis.  Do you notice that the bowls aren't actually on the raised shelf? That's because she totally ignored them for the first two days when they were higher. The goal is to gradually get her used to the new dishes and then try putting them on the shelf again to see if she'll use it correctly.  

I'm trying, but finding it hard to teach an old dog new tricks a new way of life.

God Gave Us Hands

When God made us humankind, God gave us hands:

God gave us hands to build ... but we learned how to damage.

God gave us hands to stroke ... but we learned how to hurt.

God gave us hands to help ... but we learned how to wound.

God gave us hands to give ... but we learned how to steal.

God gave us hands to invite ... but we learned how to reject.

God gave us hands to care ... but we learned how to be indifferent.

God gave us hands to protect ... but we learned to kill.

Gd gave us hands to pray ... but we learned to curse.

For this, God sent someone, whose hands:

build, stroke, help, give, invite, care, protect, and bless.

But the rest of the hands nailed him to the cross:

Pilate's hands,

powerful hands,

religious hands,

betrayer's hands,

our hands,

my hands.

For God loved the world so much, that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him, will not perish, but will have eternal life.  (John 3:16)

The above was used a few years ago in my church and is from the Reformed Churches in Hungary.

Book Learning

I love to read. Whenever I have free time, you’ll find me stretched out on the couch or sitting on the back deck with a book in my hand. I also want to learn from the books I read. So I often look for books that will introduce me to new cultures, expose me to other points of view, and stretch my thinking.  Books like The Poisonwood Bible, Room, The Help, and even The Hunger Games trilogy all caused me to think about the world, society, religion, and good and evil.

But the last two books I read have gone beyond simply offering a new perspective on the world and our society. They have brought about both a sense of thankfulness for my blessings as well as a feeling of helplessness for people I don’t know and have never met; who suffer every day.

The books, A Walk Across the Sun and Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, both take place in the land of India and deal with people who have little control over their lives.  The characters and their life-situations have troubled me and stuck in my mind.

The first book, A Walk Across the Sun (by Corban Addison), shows the prevalence of the sex trafficking “industry” not only in India, but around the world. The book is a novel; however the author spent several years researching modern-day slavery and spoke to activists and former trafficked victims before writing the book.  Although it’s a difficult read, it’s an important one in order to become aware of what’s going on in the world and how widespread this problem is (even here in Michigan).

The second book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, is a true story, written by Katherine Boo, who spent three years visiting the Annawadi slum and interviewing residents in order to tell their story. I admire the perseverance many of these people have, but the widespread corruption throughout the government leaves them very little chance to improve their lives. The contrast between the wealthy (and even middle-class) and these slum dwellers is frustrating to read about; yet this contrast occurs even here in America.

I can’t get these books out of my mind. I think of how different my life is and how grateful I am for the blessings I have, including freedom. So many people in the world, especially women, do not have the freedom to live, work, vote, own land, and make their own decisions. I don’t take this freedom for granted.  But I’m also troubled. What can I do to help? As a Christian, I strive to live by the motto of “Love God and Love People.”  I need to take seriously Micah 6:8 – “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” How can I make a difference? Even giving to charities that try to help these people is no guarantee as I realize that money is often used fraudulently (evidenced in K. Boo’s book). It leaves me with a feeling of helplessness.

And yet I’m glad I can’t easily shake these books off. I’m glad that I read them and have been introduced to these realities.  And I pray that God will continue to work in my mind and my heart - teaching me about this broken world and helping me to make a difference.