Under the Influence

Have you ever stopped to consider the people that influence your life? Or on the flip side, the people you influence? Every year I ask the Lord to give me a theme for the year, and I don't have my verse yet (but it's only the 28th) but the word INFLUENCE keeps permeating my thoughts. So, I began thinking about the people that have influenced me. I quickly divided the people into two groups: 1)people that I know and love dearly 2)people that either I have never met, or only know from a distance, yet they exert great influence on my thinking and behavior.

If I wrote about those of you that I know that have influenced me, you would quit reading because it would be so long and of course it would include many of you reading! So, I thought it would be fun to share mine, and see who your influences are that you haven't met! That means this blog is interactive so be thinking about your top influencers that you have NOT met! Here we go in no particular order:

1. Jars of Clay

If you know me well, this is no surprise, but over the last ten years, they have influenced me through music more than any other group. I have had the pleasure of meeting the guys from Jars a few times and I will tell you the day they followed me on Twitter, I did fangirl and screenshot it. But other than the few conversations I have had with the guys, and a batch of yummy vegan cookies from them, most of what I know about them comes from their concerts, their writings and the Twitter feed. This photo is really old (2006) and they have matured very gracefully, and most have much shorter hair, but I'm ten pounds lighter in this pic than the most current one, so I'm acting like it's ThrowBack Thursday even though it's Saturday.

One of my favorite Jars songs is Jealous Kind from almost ten years ago. The lyrics haunt me today still:
One hundred other lovers, more, one hundred other altars
If I should slow my pace and finally subject me to grace
And love that shames the wise, betrays the heart's deceit and lies
And breaks the back of foolish pride 

Who can write like that I ask you? Pierces me every time I hear it (ok sing it) when I think of the love Jesus has for me!

Another aspect of Jars I really respect is their desire and action to serve so many unfortunate and impoverished. If you are not familiar with BloodWater: Mission you should check it out! Great ways to give and serve the least of these.

2. Dave Ramsey

I fell in love with Dave during the first class I took from Financial Peace University! I have never met Dave personally, but I feel like I know him from the class, reading his blog, and following him on Twitter. His influence on my thinking about money and my resulting behavior, is nothing short of astronomical. Life-changing I tell you. I use Dave's principles (based on all Biblical principles) about money in my Economics classes daily. I try my best to teach my students all about wise money management and how to THINK and ACT differently about money, saving, spending, and blessing others. They may not remember monetary policy when they leave my class, but they won't forget Dave! A couple of my kids have even tweeted him and got him to retweet them! Yeah, they got some extra credit!

3. Beth Moore

I have lost count of how many of Beth's Bible studies I have done and/or led a group through. But they ALL influenced me in some way, and God used each one of them to teach me something unique. I have met Beth a couple of times in passing and in the pictures above she was signing a book to my firstborn, Kendall, after she taught a Bible study. This is a sweet book about a young daughter of the King of a land and of his unconditional love for his disobedient princess daughter. It's a beautiful picture of Christ and His love for us and gives great hope to all of us princesses! Beth's study "The Patriarchs" probably influenced me more than any other in two ways. One, it gave me a great appreciation and love for the Jewish people and their rich heritage. Second, God used it to confirm several promises in my life that changed my life forever.

I have never had a real sit down conversation with Beth, (though I did try to run into her at the airport in Houston, but I ran into a former student instead...stalker? I think not!) but if I did, I would probably have a hard time conveying to her how much influence she has had spiritually in my life even though we have spent no time together personally.

On another note - just as much as we are influenced, we also influence others. May we be very cognizant of that face and careful in how we influence. Wouldn't you love to make someone else's Top Three Positive Influences?

Ok - your turn! I told you this was going to be an interactive blog! Let's keep it positive - list only positive influences in your life! You can comment here on the blog, or on the Facebook page, or on Twitter, but I would love to hear back from your experiences!

Why Did They Cheat?

It's a disappointment every teacher experiences at some time: some of my students cheated on my test. It became very obvious as I graded the test that a handful of students made uncharacteristically high grades on this test that was a bit tougher than normal. Evidently, some student(s) helped themselves to the key of the test which was in a folder on my desk, used their phones to take pictures of the key and then they proceeded to text the answers out. With the help of my assistant principal, we resolved the issue and since the integrity of the test had been compromised, the test had to be given again.

As you ponder the situation, the question becomes, "why did they cheat?"

In all fairness, I think there are multiple answers to that question. A few students acted in desperation because they currently have low grades and they saw this as a last ditch effort to bring their grades up. Some cheated, not because they didn't know the material or have good grades, they didn't trust themselves when they had the chance to use the answers. For others, the temptation was just too great. And of course, it was much easier than actually studying and learning all the information.

Are you and I any different than my students? Why do we think we always need all of "the answers" to everything life throws at us?

Sometimes in the earthly realm, there are no answers for questions like, Why does my child suffer?, Why do I have cancer?, Why did my marriage fall apart?, Why can't I find a job?, or the ultimate question, Why didn't God heal _______________?

Sometimes there is just no answer key to these questions. And we have to learn to be ok with that.

On the other hand, there is ALWAYS one answer: JESUS. Ephesians 2:14 tells us that Jesus is our Peace. When you can't find an answer to a question, you can find Peace in the absence of answers.

Jesus - the answer to your financial problems. Jesus - the answer to your health problems. Jesus - the answer to your marital problems. Jesus - the answer to your children's problems. Jesus - the answer to your career problems and any other problem you encounter. He is the ONLY answer.

Jesus was not randomly sent to earth to turn water into wine or heal the blind. Jesus was answers to those problems, but He is so much bigger. He is Salvation, Grace, Refuge, Provision, Healer, Strength, and Power.

If you are not living a life where Jesus is all those things to you and more, you are cheating yourself out of the life that was intended for you to live. You are no different than my students searching for answers in the wrong places. Rather than learning, they took the easy way out - and ultimately failed. Every time you search for answers and relief in shopping, eating, drinking, coveting, gossiping, relationships, or anything else, you are CHEATING yourself out of the most intimate, sweetest relationship possible.

If you aren't currently searching for Jesus, He is not hard to find! The Shepherds watching their flocks by night were the first to search for Jesus. The Scriptures in Luke 2 say when they hurried off seeking Him, they found Him! When you seek Christ, He doesn't make Himself hard to be found.

Search, seek, and study the Word made flesh. If you find yourself questioning and pondering on this and not quite sure what to do with it - talk to someone you KNOW is a Bible-believing friend or comment here. Don't cheat yourself on what is the most important test in your life!