Is Teaching My Spiritual Gift?

On Sunday, the former SS coordinator came up to me and made this intriguing remark.

"I say this by way of encouragement. You remember the time you applied for a music teaching position and it didn't work out? I thought it was because that's not where you were meant to be. This (Sunday School) is where you are meant to be."

I am intrigued because she hasn't seen me in action as a SS teacher. How would she know if I am (or am not) cut out to be one?

Or perhaps she is referring to the obvious enthusiasm and delight on my face since I started being officially identified as SS teacher?

I must have a conversation with her to understand where she is coming from, and also because I want to learn from her how to manage an unruly group of 7-12 yos. She always seems so calm and in control, whereas I'm lucky if I manage to deliver 20% of what I prepared. The rest of my time is spent trying to get the kids' attention, breaking up fights, keeping them focused and engaged.

What am I not doing right?

How can I draw the children in so that they want to hear God's Word and learn it for themselves?

How do I help them to love the Bible and to read it with delight and a genuine desire to get to know God?

My only SS experience before AUS was a short stint teaching the 4 yos at PLCMC just before we migrated. And trust me, there is a HUGE difference between teaching Asians and teaching angmohs.

God has used the church camp and Geelong conference to reawaken in me a love for His Word and a desire to rediscover Bible stories. I want to pass on this desire to my SS kids. I want every one of them to come to a point where they can, with a clear mind and open heart, invite Jesus into their lives as their personal Lord and Saviour.

Most of all, I want to see them transformed and renewed, going out into their schools and extracurricular classes as salt and light, sharing the Good News with their friends, bringing many to Christ, and modelling decency, justice and purity.

Not growing into jaded, cynical teenagers with body piercings and tattoos, whose preferred entertainment is spouting meaningless sayings on FB (with bad language, misspellings and bad grammar treated as de rigeur), texting non-stop, smoking, drinking, partying and no-boundaries behaviour.

I have been reading the Left Behind novels, which have given me an insight into the literal seriousness of our spiritual situation. This is not about us anymore. It's a cosmic battle between the forces of evil and the forces of good. It sounds like something out of a movie but it's not. The trouble is that we take God so lightly and we treat the Bible as just good reading, when it contains prophecies and warnings of what is going to happen in the future (the Rapture, the 7-year Tribulation, the Beast and the Antichrist are cast into the lake of fire and Satan is bound, the Millennium when Christ returns to earth to rule, Satan is released for the final Battle of Armageddon before being cast into the lake of fire to suffer forever with the Beast and the Antichrist, the new heaven and new earth).

Meanwhile, we go about our daily lives, oblivious of the spiritual forces that are around us fighting for our allegiance.

We grumble about going to work and look forward to weekends.

We fret over mortgages and school fees and childcare fees.

We worry that we won't have enough money.

We spend more time having fun and entertaining ourselves with our surround-sound TVs, internet, computer games and communication gadgets, and less time reflecting on deep questions that do not have immediate answers.

We schedule our lives around our children and their involvement in dance, language, music, sports. Outwardly we complain that we are busy and tired, but inside we are actually proud of ourselves because we think we are being good parents.

I say this to myself also, because I am just as guilty.

But God has given me another chance to live differently, and I want to honor Him.

I will begin by getting into the Word of God and letting it soak into me and penetrate every part of my mind, body and spirit, so that I can be fully equipped to do every good work. Including teaching His children the truth, so that they will know the truth and be set free.

As He is willing, so let it be.

Decluttering by Deblogging

Today, I was inspired to clean up my life by...deleting two of my five blogs.

First, I found out from Blogger how to export them in XML format to the external hard drive.

Then I clicked Delete Blog.

Easy as.

Two less blogs to update, and more energy and focus for my other blogs.

I've also thought of consolidating the three blogs into one, but I would feel overexposed. Besides, I am anal about compartmentalizing my life. One blog for kids' issues, one blog for life in AUS, one blog on my personal growth and thoughts about God - that works for me.

Opening My Golden Mouth

When I was growing up, my mum used to call me Golden Mouth. She said I had trouble opening my mouth (to speak up, to respond to requests I didn't like), so it must be made of gold, so precious. LOL

And she was right. Even though I am going on 40, have had 2 children, am happily married, enjoyed a prestigious, financially rewarding job in law for 11 years etc etc, I still have trouble opening my mouth to ask for things, to express an opinion, to engage in a discussion.

I battle constantly with a feeling of unworthiness. Of not being smart enough or knowledgeable enough. Of not knowing the right words to say. Of looking foolish. So I prefer to smile and hover in the background.

Which is all very well if you are contented to spend the rest of your life under everyone's radar, never fully being yourself and never daring to dream big.

But here in AUS, it's everyone for himself. If you don't ask, you don't get.

Today, I finally learned to embrace the risk and ask for something I wanted.

But first, some context.

There is this lovely lady (LL) I met at a market who sells books and educational resources through a network marketing plan. I've bought a fair amount of stuff (all of excellent quality) off her for my children and constantly marvel at her exuberance, marketing flair and confidence. She always knows exactly what to say to people to bring out their best, and she's such a natural at selling. She's constantly on the go, organizing and attending parties and fundraisers and market stalls.

No wonder she made sales leader in less than a year of joining the company...

Unlike me. I work with one of the best in the market for certified organics and I believe in my products. It's telling people about them that's hard.

What do I say in my marketing emails?
Who can I email without being accused of spamming or compromising a friendship?
What do I say on FB beyond shout-outs, industry updates and the latest promotion?
How do I follow up when someone shows a glimmer of interest?
How do I respond when someone talks about their personal or health problems?

So back to LL.

Today, she messaged to say she's got my thesaurus and she's coming by to deliver it.

And I thought: so far our relationship has been pretty one-sided. It's all about me buying her products. I've never even once had a chat with her about her health needs or how my products might be able to help her.

So I decided: I'm going to ASK.

I didn't even know what I was going to say. I rehearsed various possibilities and configurations in my head, and eventually settled on "Would you like to get together for a chat one of these days about your skin care needs - I know you like aromatherapy - or would you prefer me to give you a catalog and you can browse through it in your own time?"

In faith, I went to the car and got out my ONE AND ONLY catalog, which I'd been meaning to give to a friend who'd mentioned her skin breakouts. I also inserted the pricing list that I'd JUST printed off to give to another friend who had asked for it.

Soon enough, LL was at my doorstep. At the first natural pause after I'd handed over the money, I said pretty much what I'd scripted in my head.

And you know what she said?

"Sure! In fact, I was going to ask about your Healthy Hair Pack because my husband has psoriasis on his scalp. And I have a friend who's running a fundraiser at Mossfiel Kindergarten in Sep and is looking for stalls. Do you think you might have enough product to do a display? It's just $10 to book a stall."

Which of course made it easy for me to hand her the catalog and pricing list and remind her that the Healthy Hair Pack will be at the discounted price I'd emailed her previously.

So just by opening my Golden Mouth, I've got the possibility of new business flowing into my life.

How great is that?

Thank you God for the courage to speak, and wisdom to speak at the right time using the right words.

Thank you for showing me that when I ask, I will receive, just as you promised in Matthew 7:7-8.