Who am I?

School is back in session here in Florida.  (Sigh.)  I love my job, I really do.  I just wasn't ready for summer to end.  In many parts of the country, families are still lounging poolside or at the very least, slurping on melting popsicles after a day of summer fun and frivolity.  But not me - nope, I am already standing in the doorway of my intensive reading classroom, greeting 68 high school faces in the August heat.  It's hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago, I was frolicking in the ocean waves and wandering around Sea World with my husband.

One of the first things I ask my students is, "Do you consider yourself to be a good reader?  Tell me why or why not."  They respond on index cards which I then take home and read when I'm alone and can have a good cry.  Every year the answers seem to be the same; three-quarters of my students think that they are failures at reading because either they "can't" understand what they read, they can't pass the state test, or just because they are sitting in my class.  They are very aware of their perceived shortcomings, and it's heartbreaking.  So the very next day, I give them a reading assignment and ask them to tell me what they got out of it.  I make them show me in the text where they found or formed their response.  Then, I put on my most stern teacher face and admonish them for lying to me.  (You should see the looks on their faces.  Priceless.)  I proceed to tell them that, in doing that assignment, they demonstrated to me three things: 1)they can read; 2)they can understand what they read; 3)they can form a cohesive answer and cite evidence for it.  These are all things that good readers do!  The room falls silent as the shock wave of understanding ripples through the group.  I know that perhaps for the first time, my students have heard that they are good readers - or did something well at all.  And I will spend the next 180 days building on this moment.

I do this every year. This time, it brought me back to something I saw at Sea World earlier in the month.  Glenn and I visited the newly opened penguin exhibit, Antarctica, which not only looks like the tundra but feels like it too.  (They should issue parkas at the door!)  Of course, neither of us had ever seen a real penguin that close before, so it was very exciting.  We read every sign and asked lots of questions to the animal care specialists stationed inside.  Bringing the penguin experience to life was a very carefully done task, as we learned, so that the health and natural tendencies of the penguins would not be compromised.  Anyway, using the signs we were able to identify all four types of penguins (bet you didn't know there were more than one kind) and some of their behaviors.  My favorite was the king penguin:

Photo credit: me!

When I saw him (I'm assuming it's a "him"), I was captivated by the way he stood.  And in that moment, I heard these words, "He knows who he is."

The weight of those words took my breath away.

You see, the king penguin walks around with his head held high all the time, carrying himself confidently.  I watched as he walked - well, waddled - around with authority and purpose.  He knows no other way of positioning himself.  My students, on the other hand, drag themselves into my class as failures.  This is what they have learned from years of struggling to be "good enough" as readers.  So what about us?  I knew when the Lord spoke those words to me, He was speaking to me about me and maybe about you.  Do we carry ourselves confidently, as if we really know who we are - or better yet, Whose we are?  Do we walk in the authority we have in Him?  

Photo credit: me!

We are the daughters and sons of the Most High God.  We are His beloved children, whom He created for a purpose and for such a time as this!  1 Peter 2:8-10 (New International Version) tells us: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

"God's special possession."  I love that.  There is no shortage of Scripture that tells us who we are to God - even if we are not walking with Him, we are still His creation and He longs for relationship with us.  Get in your Bible and dig them out.  Speak them out loud.  Write them on your bathroom mirror.  Check out the list that Joyce Meyer Ministries has compiled to get you started; you can find it here.  Remind yourself who you are.  And just like that king penguin, you will step into your days with confidence, authority and purpose.  It may not change your life's circumstance, but it will change you.

Piling it on

Earlier this week, I ate lunch at the acclaimed Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, owned by Paula Deen and her sons. This was such a treat for me; I've long been a fan of the Deens from their cooking shows.  Everything was first class - we were greeted by a smiling hostess who called our names with a delightful Southern drawl and our server radiated warmth and clearly enjoyed his job.  We formed an instant bond with him! :-)  And the food...oh, the food!  We chose the lunch buffet which allowed us to sample a variety of Southern goodies: fried chicken, baked chicken, pillowy clouds of mashed potatoes with a river of butter flowing through them, greens, creamed corn, blackeyed peas, green beans that I know were cooked for hours with a ham hock, sweet potatoes, hoecakes, biscuits...you get the idea.  Then, dessert.  Dessert was complimentary with the buffet, so of course we couldn't say no!

I ate that day like I haven't eaten in a while.  I mean, you just have to try a bit of everything, and after a few rounds of doing so, I realized I was full.  Very full.  When I tell you that I ate until it hurt, I am NOT exaggerating.  I am a bit ashamed to admit it, but I ate until my stomach hurt.

While lunch was a pleasurable experience, what followed was not.  It hurt to move and breathing was uncomfortable.  I could not enjoy the sights and sounds on our subsequent wanderings in the downtown area because my insides were so angry.  In fact, what would usually be a delight to me - visiting a confectionery - was completely unappetizing and I had to leave the store because I couldn't bear to look at food anymore.

Me, not being able to look at food anymore? I know.  It's unimaginable.  But it brought to mind a spiritual truth.

Sin is much like my behavior at the restaurant.  We enjoy the experience; we dabble in a bit of this, sample a bit of that.  We pile our plates full of what the world has to offer, in small bites at a time, then finally sit back and realize that we hurt. 

If I consistently eat the way I ate at Lady & Sons, my body will probably adapt but I will surely develop a disease (such as diabetes or clogged arteries) that can lead to death.  In the same way, continuing to choose sinful items off the menu of life will certainly bring death. 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23, NLT)

So, the next day I got up and got back to a less extravagant way of eating.  Wise choices: yogurt, berries, and chicken (not fried!) were on my menu.  I encourage you to think about your temple - what are you feeding it - spiritual food or worldly junk?  Choose wisely.

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses...Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!  You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him.  This is the key to your life...
(Deuteronomy 30:19-20)