Who Me, Patient? You Really Don’t Me Very Well.

I met a new hairdresser this week. She was really fabulous! We chatted a bit about families. She got married at the same age as me and has two boys. The subject of schooling came up. Ugh. I braced myself for the usual onslaught of, “Why on Earth would you want to do that?” when I told her I homeschool. I didn’t get that. She said, “Wow. That is really great. You must be so patient!”

(I can hear people who know me in real life laughing all the way through their computers.) Ah, no. That is something I really have to work on.  Every. single. day.  Schooling, not schooling-it doesn’t matter. I have to really try not to lose it on people, electronics, inanimate objects- you name it.  I realized the depths of my impatience one day as I was loading some books into Library Thing.  It took a whole 1.3 seconds to find a book on there. I was in the process of telling Mark how I was getting frustrated with this thing taking “forever” and I looked at the result time. Ouch. (maybe that is why I never actually finished cataloging our books.)

While it may sometimes add some comedy to our day when I am getting impatient with stuff-the boys remind sometimes that yelling at the computer will not make it load any faster- it is not so good with people. I sometimes run out of patience by telling a certain son a million gazillion kabillion times that putting his clean clothes in the closet floor is NOT putting them away.  I get impatient when I say bring me the sheets off your bed and am asked, “Does that mean the pillowcase, too?” (((slaps forehead and replies YES)))

Do you know how many times patience is referred to in the Bible? I don’t know an exact amount, but let me just say its a lot. Some of the most toe-stomping ones to me are:

Ecclesiastes 7:8
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. (Hmm…. makes me feel self conscience about not finishing cataloging books…. and not finishing so many books I start)

Romans 12:12
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (really toe-stomping because I tend to be more of the “why me wahhh” type than patient in tough stuff)

1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant (Wow, Christians are told that we will be known by our love.  {see John 13:34-35}Love is patient. That is a hard pill to swallow)

2 Timothy 2:24
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, (Yes, I know that this directed to pastors, but aren’t all Christians called servants of the Lord?)

1 Thessalonians 5:14
And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. (This is probably where I have personally dropped the ball the most. I have high standards and somehow expect others to follow my rules. I would never make a good therapist. I tend to want to tell people to stop their sniveling and get a life.)

The verse about patience that stands out to me the most is this one:

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

God is patient with us. Even me and my rudeness. It is through His power that I am often able not to stick my foot in my mouth. It is His Spirit that keeps me from saying things that I know I am going to regret later. When I am talking to someone who has bad theology He reminds me that I have sometimes believed things that are not doctrinally sound. (My husband would tell you that I still cling a bit too close to Rome on something, but that is a whole ‘nother can of worms) When teaching my children God reminds that there once was a time where I did not know my multiplication tables or the differences in declarative and imperative sentences.

I often hear people saying not to pray for patience because it will result in God sending things, people, and situations into your life that make you exercise patience.  I think  that is ridiculous reasoning. If we want to improve something, we HAVE to exercise it more.  If you want to improve your strength on bench-pressing what do you do? You do bench presses. You add more weight on your bar so that you get more strength in your arms. So, shouldn’t we pray for patience if we truly want to be a patient person striving to be more like God? There are going to be things in life that stink, whether you pray for patience or not. I feel that by praying for patience, God is faithful to answer that prayer so that when difficult or whiny people (other than myself 🙂 ) are in my life I have the grace to be patient with them, rather than telling them off.

The Lesson God Reminded me of in the Charter Office

While in town yesterday, my family stopped by the cable/internet/phone company to pay the bill because, well, we kind of enjoy those services and it would make our lives more difficult if those services were suddenly interrupted. It would appear that  everyone in Marshall county must have decided that their bill had to be paid YESTERDAY. The line was was backed up all the way to the door. UGH. So I take my place in line. A man came in after me. He said “Did you make this line?” Uh, no. It was here when I got here. So anyway, this man very loudly complains about the company and how he waited SEVEN hours to get his cable hooked up when he moved to Boaz from Albertville. He also said several times how he was thinking about dumping this company and getting a satellite. During all of this ranting and raving, he said a few things that weren’t very nice. As I FINALLY got to the payment counter I heard him say to someone “Hey, don’t you go to my church?” WOW. That really hit me. Here he was saying some bad stuff one minute, then talking about church the next. The lady said she wasn’t sure if they went to he same church or not so she asked which one. He said Lifepoint. He proceeded to tell her what a wonderful church it is and they always a good time  have a meal every Sunday night and where it is located.  What a bad witness he was for his church. First of all, he was not exactly the best witness of a Christian to begin with. As believers we are called to represent Christ in our lives.

1 Peter 2:9~But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Our job/duty/responsibility wherever we are is to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us” . We aren’t doing a good job of that if we are complaining and stirring up strife. We aren’t doing what we have been called to do if we are yelling at our kids. We are doing anyone a service if we are berating and belittling our husbands.

Another thing that struck me is that he was such a poor witness to his church. No mention of teaching. No mention of great ministries. Just that they have a good time and have a meal every Sunday night. Maybe that church does not have good strong teaching. Maybe all they have to offer is a good time and a meal. If so that is not the kind of church I would ever want to be associated with.

This was a wake-up call to me. I never know when people might be looking at my life. How I treat my family. How I treat the server at the restaurant. How I react to the moron on the street.  If you are a believer, your words are a very powerful witness to the world. Think about this :

James 3:10~From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Early Childhood Memories

On a homeschool forum someone was asking about memories. She was wondering if her kids are actually going to remember the stuff they are learning in homeschool. She was asking people to post memories they have of their early childhood days. That made me a little nostalgic. Most of you will probably be bored to tears if you start reading this, but some of you actually know me and might even remember something similar.

• Pre-K- I had the most fabulous baby-sitter! She had a daughter just a little younger than me. We would play, make things, she cooked “blue salad” (a jello salad thing), she would take us to the park and zoo. We would play outside. She lived close to a sewing factory. Her daughter and I always wanted to play in the factory parking lot.
• K- We only went 1/2 the year. My boyfriend kissed me behind the Christmas tree. My teacher was the sweetest and most enthusiastic teacher in the school. (as far as I knew) The second half of the year my grandfather lost his job so he was my babysitter. We would go to the beer store. I would sit at the bar eating peanuts and drinking Dr Pepper. We would make a chocolate cake in the afternoon to eat for breakfast the next morning.
• 1-My teacher (who to this point I adored) asked to see my brand new shiny Calvin Klein belt. I thought she liked it. She used it to SPANK a boy in my class! My boyfriend of all the boys!!!
• 2- I had the most precious teacher ever. Really. There was a girl in my class who would periodically get taken from her home and placed with foster parents. When with the foster parents, she came to school clean, fed, etc. When with her real parents, not so much. My teacher would get her off the bus early in the mornings, feed her breakfast, give her clean clothes to wear and brush her hair. That teacher came to a yard sale at my house to buy my old clothes that summer. My grandmother found out what she wanted them for and gave them to her.
• 3-I had a rude wake up call! I went from wonderful teachers to a mean woman. She paddled the whole class, one at a time, in the class, in front of everyone, for not making 100 on a science test. (Her answer key was wrong,so some of us actually got 100) A girl in my class had to go on nerve pills because the teacher put so much pressure on us with timed multiplication tests. I made my first B.
• 4- my school was having financial problems. I was in a class that was split half 4th graders/half 5th graders. I remember wondering if the white streak in the front of her hair was actually gray or if she just bleached that one part. I remember my reading teacher that year was the “complain about how teachers are underpaid type.”
• 5- I was devastated the first day of school. We had two 5th grade teachers. The “cool” one and the mean man. Guess who I got? The man!! The big scary man who made people do math out of SEVEN different books!! (what older kids told me) I learned that year that sometimes the “cool” teacher is not so cool. (she was my reading teacher, I began to hate reading time) and that wherever my friends are is the cool class. Even if that means going to the class room that is separated from the rest of the school and I have a big mean-looking man who smokes every day after lunch for a teacher.
• 6- I had a really good teacher. She read the Bible to us every morning. Even though she was told not to. She taught from her heart. She made history come alive. We wrote a class newspaper. We sang. We did art. We learned TONS about Mexico. We had an end of the year fiesta, complete with us making costumes and learning songs, which we went around to the whole elementary school to perform. It was great!
• All years (K-6) I had the same librarian. She was precious. She would let me get books above my grade level. She used to make library day fabulous! She read aloud to us, even when we were not first graders. She picked stories that really got us excited. I can remember we would beg her to read more than one chapter. She was really great.
• If you have vivid memories, why not share them in the comments?

Ahhhh…..Monday

Yes, I know that most people hate Monday. With a passionate, deeply rooted hatred, they despise Monday. I am not like most people. I have begun to LOVE Monday! It is a brand-new day! Its the beginning of a brand new week, full of possibilities. Anything that didn’t go so well last week, we have the opportunity to correct or replace this week. I never thought I would think of Monday as a gift from God, but it is, really. It is a picture of how He makes all things new. This is a new week. New time for me to bond with my kids. New opportunity for us to serve him. New week to learn more about him. So,what are you waiting for? Go live for HIM!!