Teach...With Your Life

"Be careful little feet

where you go;

for it's the little feet behind you

that are sure to follow."

-Casting Crowns (Slow Fade)

For the past few days, I've been trying to think of how I've been an example to others.

I will explain what I came up with in the words of The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything:

"Nothing, zilch, nada."

Today is Youth Sunday at my church. I was going to try to speak on a time that I was an example to others. That's not going to happen-simply because I can't think of anything. I'm not sure why I am having this problem. I'm sure I have been an example to others before.

The youth Sunday message is on 1 Timothy 4:12. The New International Version states: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

I think I like the way the Message words the verse better: "And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity."

"Teach...with your life..."

Somehow, that seems more natural than "set an example." Trying to set an example, to me, makes me feel like I'm trying to get people to look at me and what I am doing. For the most part, I don't like that kind of attention. Teaching with your life just seems like something that happens.

And, I suppose it does, even if I don't notice it. I mean, people look at what I'm doing all the time. How would I know if an inappropriate joke I told to a friend was heard and then repeated by a younger child? For all I know, people might look up to me.

I've been struggling through some issues over the past couple of years. I've had plenty of times where I've wanted to give in, but somehow I kept going. My friend, Becky, told me today that's a "great example of perseverance." She also said that I'm a good example of how a friend should make somebody feel.

And I'm not trying to be an example in these situations. I'm not trying to be an example to people on punctuality when I try to get to events, meetings, or jobs early. I wasn't hoping to be an example when I refused to fight back when I was harassed in middle school. I didn't fight back simply because I was afraid of what would happen if I did.

I think one of the reasons I had a hard time coming up with ways I'm an example to others is because I don't really see myself as being an example. But, I guess I don't need to try to be an example. It just happens. People see what I do and what I say, and just based on that I'm an example.

I'm sure Josh and Anna Duggar weren't trying to be an example of how it's possible to wait until marriage to have sex or even kiss. They did it because that is what they believed was the right thing to do. But the rest of the Duggar children saw what the couple did, and who knows how many more saw this happening when they tuned into 17 Kids and Counting? Whether they intended it or not, they became an example to others. Who knows? Maybe they've helped to teach some young people that it is possible to wait for the person God has for them.

For me, 1 Timothy 4:12 is a reminder that people see what I am doing, and I am an example through that. If I say that I'm a Christian, but I'm not like Christ, I'm just an example of a hypocrite. Someone who looks up to me might see what I'm doing and copy it without me even knowing. Tomorrow, I could be at the store and a little girl who sees me and immediately thinks I'm awesome might see something I do and then copy it.

It's always good to remember that people see me, and that that alone means that I'm an example. I have been told countless times before things like: "You may be the only Bible someone ever reads." It's important to be careful about my words and actions, even in the small things. 

"Teach...with your life." That's the easy thing. I think it comes automatically. The hard thing is making sure that how you are teaching with your life is in a positive way. Who knows who may be watching and learning from the example I set? Because I'm setting an example all the time: whether I want to or not.

Love,

Lissa Kristine

I Felt Like I Should Blog for Once...

I don't write in here as much as I should, but I don't really have much to say. Or at least, I don't have anything to say that I'm willing to share on here. Nothing's really going on in my life. Sunday was the Fourth Annual Purpose Driven Life Day. Today (Tuesday) is exactly three years from the day I first went to (what was once called) Velocity. 

I'm really not sure what I should write in here. I am working on a blog entry that I can post in the future, but I won't be able to post that until Sunday at the earliest. If I get to post it at all. I'll figure this all out later.

So, I guess I'll close with a poem I wrote last year. I'd love to post more recent work, but none of my 2009 poems are really ones I'm ready to share with anybody yet. Well, all except for one, which is the second version of a poem I wrote with my friend, Alex, in 2007 called "Mama Moo Moo." I might share that one later. 

Take care!

A Prayer (February 10, 2008)

I long to hear that voice inside

when no one makes a sound

I long to feel Your touch

when no one is around

My life is made of shattered hopes

and I've learned how not to dream

How can a heart so broken still beat?

How can this silence scream?

Once I saw that glimpse of light

I felt the chains break

but darkness has come again

and I don't know how much more I can take

I have been beaten

and pain is my familiarity

but my heart cries for comfort

my soul begs to be free.

Hold me, though I'm broken

I am filth and I am dirt

right now I am nothing

but nothing can still hurt

Do not be fooled by a smile

I put on my unworthy face

Inside I am a broken child

in need of Your amazing grace

Hold me tonight as I cry

Promise You will never let go

And when I feel the opposite

I will trust the promises I know.

When I feel alone

I will trust You are there

When I feel invaluable

I will trust that You care

When I feel ugly

I will trust that I am beautiful still

and when I feel I deserve this pain

I will trust that is not Your will

In everything that is left of me

this is what I'll do:

I will use what's mine to trust these lies

but first, I will give it all to You.

Reading the Bible

I'm not one to open my Bible much. Yes, I carry one with me almost everywhere I go (I switch between the NIV and Message). Yes, I'm taking Old Testament History right now. But I rarely open my Bible. 

I think I've set a hundred resolutions to do daily Bible reading. I never make it even one day. It's not that I don't have the time. I'm just not motivated. I just don't do it. 

There's something new going on with the Velocity website. This week, we're going through the book of 1 Timothy. For the first time that I can remember, I'm actually opening my Bible and reading it. 

The last time I did a regular devotional was back in April 2006 when I did the Purpose Driven Life with my friend, Alex. We had weekly online "meetings" to discuss what we read and what we got from the book. 

I think having the motivation of having other people doing this with me helps. I look forward to reading the daily chapter and then commenting on the website. I check every half-hour or so for new comments. 

I'm really hoping this continues.

Although, I must confess. I haven't opened my Bible since Monday. 

I use Biblegateway.com. 

(Unrelated side note: I'm watching Law and Order. A lawyer is trying to convince the court that a woman who murdered and cremated her 8-month-old daughter is not-guilty [even though she already confessed to killing her daughter] because she was a good person and "God wanted it to happen.")