Bring Your Bible To School Day 2016

If you have children of your own who attend public school, take a look at Focus on the Family's page on Bring Your Bible to School Day. This year's event falls on Thursday, October 6, which in Idaho is a teacher in-service day, meaning students aren't in school. Check your school calendar to find out if your child's school is in session, then see if the event is something you and your child want to participate in. So many teachers, parents and students are unaware that it's legal for kids to take a Bible to school. The Web site includes downloadable free speech tools to help raise awareness.

Narratives of Grace

Narrative is a powerful way of connecting people with people. The best teachers use it to connect students with wisdom and knowledge to encounter their world with confidence. The best writers tell stories to help readers learn about their own journeys and the heroes they could become.

Reading in Luke Chapter 4 this morning, I'm struck once again by the compelling nature of the Gospel story. Jesus, born to a virgin, fulfilling prophecy, teaching his teachers, well-pleasing to His father, refuting the Devil's blasphemies, casting out demons, healing the sick--loves me. That's a story I want to read and share again and again while it is "the favorable year of the Lord" (v. 19).

Even as a public school teacher whose job requires prudence in the matter of living my faith, I know that God will be faithful to bless the opportunities He gives outside of the classroom to witness of God's grace to me. And in the classroom? Faith is the conviction of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). God's power extends beyond the limits of my free speech. When our lips are silent, God still works.

Be faithful to tell your story of grace to those around you with humility and love.

More Goodies in the Mail

I must not be checking my mail often enough. Somehow, all these goodies keep arriving in batches. Today's mail brought me three special blessings!

First, the July/August issue of Christianity Today. This issue alone is enough to make me urge you to subscribe (and no, I'm not an affiliate of theirs!). The focus for July/August is "Meet the Makers: 20 Leaders Mixing Faith and Innovation." Featuring creative people like Pete Docter, story creator and screenplay writer of Inside Out, and Lara Casey, who founded Southern Weddings magazine, the issue has my creative juices flowing already, and I've only just skimmed it. Even my four-year-old finds it inspiring. He's making me repeat the names of the art tools on the cover to him over and over again!

Second treat in my mailbox: my new business cards from Vistaprint (nope, not affiliated with them either). Love them!

Single-Column ESV Journaling Bible

And third, my order from Dayspring (yes, I'm proud to be affiliated). As soon as I saw the Single-Column ESV Journaling Bible, Summer Garden, I had to have it. It will be a Christmas present for me from my husband. (Surely I'm not the only one who Christmas shops this way?) And my other Dayspring goodie was Sadie Robertson's Scripture Shareables. They're business card-sized, cute, and perfect for tucking in a card or putting out on the table at conference sessions like the ones I'm presenting in July. Fun surprise when I got them, they have cute heart-shaped cut-outs in the corners. I guess you could put the cards on a ring for easy memorization. I think these and the journaling Bible would both make great gifts.

Scripture Shareables

That's all for now. If you'd like to give someone else "Goodies in the Mail," I love Dayspring's eCard Studio. It's easy to use, and the cards emphasize encouragement and the light of the Word.

After two spontaneous day trips to the mountains, I'll soon be free to wrap up Unstructured Play Week. Hope to see you here!

Unstructured Play Week
Day 1 Paper dolls
Day 2 Kitchen Chemistry and Cooking
Day 3 A Hike Up the Creek
Day 4, Part 1 Every Child an Artist, including 12 Suggestions for Grown-ups in the Lives of Young Artists

Thinking Differently

Being the wife of a bookseller has its advantages. Books for my kids, books for my classroom, and of course, books for me all find their way into my house at little to no cost to me. When I help sort through giant bins of potential inventory, I often find books on theology, psychology, literature, travel, biography, and other subjects I'm currently interested in. My most recent treasure is a Ryrie Study Bible published by Moody.

Now that I've had my new/used Bible a few days, exploring its notes and cross-references a bit as I reread and meditated on I Timothy, I realized that even though this Bible is the same translation as my previous one, I am thinking in different ways about the words. Even though I've read them before, they seem fresh and new. They fairly jump off the page.

Is it the fresh typeface? Having fewer words per page and more white space? Perhaps the newer binding? (My old Bible was also a salvage treasure). It could be the Ryrie study notes, naturally. Or maybe I'm just falling in love with the Scriptures all over again. But I think it's the combination of all of those things. Having a new Bible is exciting! It's an example of how shuffling can rearrange thinking.

Teachers naturally capitalize on this phenomenon in the classroom. One day in my senior English class, I decided to change the seating chart. The students were suspicious, even defensive. "Are you moving us because we're so naughty?" one asked. Although a few members of the small class did tend to get chatty when seated near their friends, I opted for a more palatable and more accurate reason: "When you sit in a different place, you think in different ways."

The seniors were still skeptical.

"Look at you and [Laura]," I said to one girl. "You two are best friends. Sometimes you read each other's minds. More than once, you've turned in paragraphs that were practically identical. You didn't copy each other. You just think alike because you're so close. If we separate you, it'll allow you to expand your thinking."

The class agreed to the new seating arrangement, and sure enough, it created new discussion leaders and new perspectives immediately.

Sometimes all of us need to shuffle the deck and start fresh. What a refreshing thought for spring!

Book-at-a-Time Bible Reading Plan

NavPress has made available Discipleship Journal's Book-at-a-Time Bible reading plan online, here. This is a user-friendly plan that I've used over the years in its print form. I love it because it is flexible. Read books of the Bible in the order of your choice. If you take the time to read every passage for each day, you'll read the whole Bible in a year. I am a little slower than that, let's just say. Want to get the app on your phone? Look for DJ Bible Reading Plan.