This past week I had the opportunity to take 10 students from Eden Christian Academy to participate in the Zimbabwe Student Convention. I love this week not just because of all the fun competition, meeting new friends, and cheering on my kids, but because something special happens at Convention. I glimpse the potential of orphaned kids that believe they hold no value. I watch as through a week of interaction with other students in both social and competitive settings their confidence skyrockets and they catch the vision, even if just for a short week, that God created them uniquely and with wonderful abilities. My heart soars as I watch what God can do in people's lives through events as simple as finding out you can memorize lines for a play or run faster than your average peer. I also marvel at how as humans we seem to counteract His work with our own actions and words towards each other. My fellow sponsor Debs and I always lose our voices at Convention. See we love our students and we love to cheer for them. We love to cheer on students from other schools as well. I try so hard to make sure they hear me encouraging them to run faster, smile while singing and praising them for scoring a soccer goal that it physically hurts my voice. I care enough about them and the situation to appear and sound absolutely ridiculous so they know I am standing with them and cheering them on.
I have a dream.
What if for one week in everyday life we could encourage one another, praise one anthers gifts and cheer one another on in our race towards God's Kingdom every moment. I think, like for my students at Convention, we might be able to change the lives of numerous brothers and sisters around us. What if we yelled our praise and encouragement so loud and long that we hurt our voices?
Will you take up the challenge? Will you and I train out tongues to indeed follow Eph. 4:29?
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others upaccording to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
I have a dream.
What if for one week in everyday life we could encourage one another, praise one anthers gifts and cheer one another on in our race towards God's Kingdom every moment. I think, like for my students at Convention, we might be able to change the lives of numerous brothers and sisters around us. What if we yelled our praise and encouragement so loud and long that we hurt our voices?
Will you take up the challenge? Will you and I train out tongues to indeed follow Eph. 4:29?
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others upaccording to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
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