By Name

2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. John 10:2-3 (NIV)

Have you ever been called by the wrong name? My older sister is just two years older than I am, and growing up, people often called me by her name. Even as adults, I still get called by her name occasionally. There are many times at school that students have trouble remembering my name. What teacher hasn’t been called, “Mom” or “Ms. ___(insert last year’s teacher)__”? Sometimes we answer to “Hey, Teacher!” Or maybe you’ve even been called “Grandma!” (Yes, it has happened to me!)

As a young person, it always felt like an insult to be called the wrong name. So as a teacher, when I do this to my students, I profusely apologize, because I feel so terrible about it.

There is just something very significant about being called by your name. At school, I work hard during the first few days of each school year to learn the students’ names. In my position, I work with students in every grade level from kindergarten to fifth grade. It’s a small school, but I put in a lot of effort to learn each student by name and to use it when I greet them in the hallway because I know that it makes students feel noticed and important.

I know most teachers and school workers try to learn the names of the students. One of our school custodians who has passed away modeled this for me. Jerry knew every student in the K-8 building and would purposely call them by name when he met a line in the hallway. I have another teacher friend who works with middle and high schoolers. She won’t let her students leave her room the first day until she can correctly call them by name. It sends a message when we care enough to learn their names-- that we know who they are, that they belong in our building or classroom, that they are important to us.

When I think about these verses from John 10 today, I am amazed by the idea that Jesus knows me by name. I am not just another person in the crowd to my Lord. He knows more than just my name, too. He knows me. Completely. More than I know myself! And this makes me feel loved and cared for, secure. It creates a sense of belonging to Him.

Jesus knows your name, too. He knows you inside and out--your thoughts, your feelings, the number of hairs on your head! And He loves us, just as we are. I don’t have to do anything spectacular to gain His attention so that He will take note of me. I don’t need a name tag for Him. I am His, and He knows my name.

Not only does He know my name, but He calls me by it. He speaks to me and directs me like a good shepherd. I have to learn His voice, just like a sheep learns the voice of its shepherd. That kind of recognition takes time and develops through my relationship with Him. And I am learning to be more attentive to His voice -- especially when He is calling my name. I don’t listen perfectly, but I’m trying, and He is very patient with me.

I want to encourage you today, as you work to learn your students’ names and use them each day at school, to also work to learn Jesus’ voice. Spend time reading the scripture and praying each day so that you can answer obediently when He calls you by name.

Father God, Thank you for being a God who seeks to have a relationship with us, for knowing us by name. Thank you for caring for us like a good shepherd. And I pray that each one reading this devotion will understand fully that You know them by name and that You love them more than they can imagine. Let that truth sink deep into our hearts today.

For small groups:
Share about a time when someone called you by the wrong name.
Share about a special nickname you have and how you got it.
Pray that God will help us learn our students names and how to connect with them this year, and also to recognize His voice when He calls our names so that we can be obedient to follow.

Ready or Not!

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” I Peter 1:13

Are you ready for school to start? I never really know how to answer that question, but I hear it an awful lot this time of year. I often answer with, “Well, ready or not, here it comes!” Summer break for me is busy, but since it is so much more relaxed than the school year, I always hate to see it end. In the summer, I have more control over how I spend my time, and I miss that when it’s over.

But, at the same time, I love Back-to-School season! When my kids were babies, I stayed home for six years with them, and I can honestly say that every year when August rolled around, I genuinely missed being part of the Back-to-School frenzy. As a teacher, it is my favorite time of the year! Everything is new and fresh and the possibilities for the upcoming year have me re-charged and excited.

I think it’s fair to say that most teachers spend many, many hours preparing for the new school year. We do our best to be ready for the year. We prepare our classrooms by rearranging the furniture, decorating, organizing, and cleaning out. We prepare materials for our students. We prepare timelines to make sure we can cover all the curriculum we are asked to teach. We prepare new units and lessons and projects. But I feel like I often neglect to prepare in one vital area: do we prepare our hearts and minds for the spiritual battles to come?

Teaching is a wonderful profession, but it is very demanding in so many ways. The challenges faced in a single day at school can be overwhelming. As teachers, we deal with people all day long. Little people who push our buttons and try our patience and melt our hearts. Co-workers who sometimes need us, who sometimes oppose us, who have different personalities and perspectives and teaching styles. We deal with administrators who want us to be at our best at all times and who are also feeling that pressure from the school board and community. We deal with parents who want to help but are not equipped, parents who have serious challenges at home and at work and in their own families, parents who demand attention, and parents who avoid attention. There are papers to grade and tests to create and plans to make. There are last minute meetings and surprise announcements and assemblies no one told us about. And this is barely scratching the surface!

Are we ready for all that? How can we even begin to prepare for all that!? I want to be able to stay focused on God’s plan and His work in and around me during the school year. I want to always be obedient to the whisper of His voice asking me to step out and minister to those around me. This school year, I want to make a difference in my world for His kingdom and His glory, but with all of the challenges of teaching, I know I will get distracted. I need to “prepare my mind for action” as Peter wrote.

First, I need to pray. Mark 1: 35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Jesus did this to prepare for ministry, and if He needed it, how much more do I?

Second, I need to enlist the help and support of other believers in my building. I need a community to hold me accountable, to pray for me and with me, to give Godly counsel, to share the burden. Hebrews 10: 24-25 says, “And let us spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some ar in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

This is my challenge to you today: Prepare your heart and mind for the work God has planned for you this school year. Start each day with a few minutes of reading scripture and praying on your own, and connect with a small group to meet with each week for more prayer and support. Because, let’s be honest, whether we’re ready or not, the challenges are going to come. I know I would like to be as prepared as I possibly can be.

Father God, Thank you for each and every teacher who is reading this blog. I pray that you will help us to prepare our hearts and minds for this school year. Help us to make prayer time a non-negotiable priority each day. Help us to find other teachers who will pray with us and for us. Lord, our job can be really hard, but we want to serve You this year by serving those around us. Thank you for the students, families, and co-workers You will place in our lives this year. Show us how to minister to them. Fill our hearts with Your love for each one of them, and guide us as we try to show that love every single day.

What's the Apple of Your Eye?

“Keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye” Proverbs 7:2

Welcome to my new blog! I am excited to start this new adventure this school year! I am so blessed to have a wonderful group of fellow Christian teachers in my building. A small group of us used to meet each week for a short devotion and prayer time. That became difficult for several in our group due to some life-changing circumstances, and so we did not have our meetings last school year. But I missed them, and I am hoping to start up again this year.

And instead of digging through various devotional booklets each week to find something appropriate to share, I’m going to attempt to write my own devotions each week that are relative to teachers. I know for me, keeping in God’s Word regularly is crucial. I need God’s truth to guide me and comfort me and teach me. I need to keep God’s Word as the apple of my eye. (And I’m guessing I’m not the only one!) Writing my own devotions will certainly help me to keep Bible study a priority!

My plan is to write and post a new devotion here each week, starting the week of August 20. My hope is that you can use them in a small group meeting in your school building, but you can also use them on your own. If you like them, share them with other teachers! You can type your email address into the “Follow By Email” box (top right) if you want to automatically receive an email each week when I post a new devotion.

There is also a box below for comments. Comments are always welcome! In fact, I need them to help keep me going. It can get discouraging to keep posting when you’re not even sure if anyone is reading, so even a short, simple comment is valuable to me. So please, please, please, leave me some comments now and then! (Yes, I'm begging!)

Know that I will be praying for you each week as I write a new post. I would love it if you’d do the same for me, please. (Do I need to beg some more?)

I have also included a “Contact Me” gadget at the bottom of the page. If you have prayer requests or questions or suggestions that you don’t want to be posted publicly, you can use this tool to contact me privately. I will do my best to respond quickly.

So start contacting some of your teacher friends and set a time and place to meet together each week, sign up to follow by email, and pray that God will use this to strengthen us and encourage us and to glorify Him!  See you back here next week . . .