January 20, 2025 • 21 mins
We live in a time where being a Christian teacher in a public school setting can be very challenging. How do we share Christ and honor God when the expectations for us push back against our faith? Join us for a conversation with a Christian teacher about his experience following Jesus while working in a public school.
00:00 Introduction to Teaching with Faith
02:51 Navigating Improvement Plans in Education
06:09 Sharing the Gospel in Public Schools
09:10 Building Relationships Through Faith
11:52 Encouragement for Teachers Facing Challenges
14:47 Trusting God's Sovereignty in Education
Get notes + links at http://teach4theheart.com/333
For more encouragement, check out our series Answers for Your Top Teaching Questions at http://teach4theheart.com/answers
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
God is at work even when we can't see it and today's story is going to be such anencouraging reminder to you of that fact.
Welcome back to the Teach for the Heart podcast where we tackle teaching challenges from abiblical perspective.
Why are we here?
Because we don't believe that our spiritual walk and teaching profession should exist intwo separate domains.
(00:21):
Rather, the hope we have in Christ should change how we approach everything, not just athome, but at school as well.
So join us as we explore both the spiritual and practical sides of key teachingchallenges, integrating them together so we can succeed at teaching, glorify God, and make
a lasting difference in our students' hearts and lives.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
(00:45):
Today we're going to talk about how to honor God as a Christian teacher in a publicschool.
And I'm so excited to bring you a conversation with our friend who's going to share one ofhis stories and his experience.
But whether you teach in a public school or a Christian school, I think you're going tofind this story really encouraging and the lessons from it really helpful.
So let's dive into that conversation right now.
(01:08):
So thank you so much for sharing your story with us today.
Hello, my name is LJ and I am a Christian public school educator and I'm halfway throughmy 34th year of teaching.
I believe that all scripture is God-breathed and I believe that He places each and everybeliever where He wants us to share the gospel.
(01:36):
And for me, that's in the public schools now for 34 years.
But before I share my story, hopefully to encourage my fellow public school educators andeven private school educators and Christian educators,
I want to read for a passage from Philippians 1.15, and this is Paul.
(01:59):
Paul is in prison.
He's writing letters.
He's under house arrest, most likely he's in Rome.
And it says, Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has reallyserved to advance the gospel.
As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone elsethat I am in chains for Christ.
(02:20):
Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged.
to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
And so I chose that passage and that lets you know kind of where we're going.
I'm giving you the end of the story.
hopefully this encourages you to be fearless and to give the gospel and to know that itwon't come back void.
(02:48):
Well, last year,
I was, after 33 years, I was placed on an improvement plan.
And I am certainly not beyond improvement whatsoever.
But this improvement plan was decided that I needed more diversity, equity, and inclusionin my classroom and for me as an individual.
(03:14):
And so it was determined that I would meet with one of my administrators once a month
and they would select from our school district's DEI website and they would select anarticle or a video clip that I would watch and we would sit down and we would discuss it
and they would improve me through the diversity, equity and inclusion program of theschool.
(03:42):
And so I certainly did not go into this with a good attitude, I admit that.
frustrated having to invest this time and not looking at it like I just read for you asPaul said that this is a means of encouragement.
(04:04):
We know God is sovereign, but I was frustrated.
However, the very first meeting that we met, the article that was selected was about thisacademy
that has over 100 people, the average person in the academy has over 25 convictions, theaverage, and for five straight years through their diversity, equity, and inclusion, there
(04:38):
has not been one violent altercation and there has not been one failed drug test, which ispretty impressive.
I think about my school and I don't know if we could ever do that.
So as I'm sitting there speaking with my principal, and I just reiterated what the articleis about, I didn't say whether I agreed or disagreed.
(05:04):
Once we were done talking, I think he realized as well, really how foolish that was.
I mean, even at our middle school, we can't even...
keep the bathrooms clean.
And here's this, this house, where over 100 people and supposedly no physical altercationsfor five years and no, no drug failures for five years, which once again, I said was so
(05:39):
impressive.
But when I reiterated everything to him, I think he realized as well, really how empty andhollow that was, but
As I spoke with them, the main purpose of the article was to say not only are we supposedto act just in public in front of people, but we are to become just.
(06:01):
That the epitome of just.
And so I shared with them, I said,
I'm not just.
And I said, you know, I view everything through the lens of the Bible and the Bible saysthat the heart is, it's wicked and it's corrupt and it's beyond cure.
(06:26):
And I said, that describes my heart.
And I went on to give the example of if both of our lives, everything we thought,everything we said, everything we did,
was on my big screen in my classroom that I didn't know about him, but I would hang myhead in shame and walk out of the school.
(06:48):
I shared with him that first meeting, the only person that can ever change somebody'sheart as compared to what we just read about is Jesus Christ.
He's the only one that can change your heart.
And he agreed and he acknowledged and he typed his notes and we went on our way.
Well, when he walked away, I thought, okay, in a way, this is what got me in trouble inthe first place.
(07:13):
But here we go.
Because in a way like Paul, and he had guards around him in a way, this administrator wasnow chained to me.
He had to meet with me.
So the next month came up and he forgot to meet with me.
But that article was about how women are treated unfair in the workplace, which doeshappen.
(07:38):
And so I typed in my notes, sent it to him.
We met the following month and that month was straight white privilege and that we shouldbe ashamed of how we're created and the pigments that the Lord has given us.
So as we sat down for that meeting, I said, you know, when I take both of these twoarticles and put them together, one, women being treated unfairly in the workplace
(08:06):
compared to men.
And once again, social, as far as our ethnicity, I said it reminds me of a story in theBible about a woman at a well.
And so I pulled a Bible out of my top right desk drawer and I read for him, John chapterfour, I believe it's in.
(08:31):
And before I read it to him, I gave him just a little bit of background, but what aSamaritan was so he could catch the impact.
And so I read him John chapter four and afterwards told him, even though it broke all thesocial norms at the time, even though Jesus was speaking to a woman, a Samaritan woman and
(08:57):
a woman of ill rapport, this is who he went for and this is who needed to hear the goodnews.
And with that, had the opportunity to share Christ with him.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation and the HerzogFoundation's Teacher of the Year nominations are open.
(09:18):
If you know a K through 12 teacher at a Christian school who is highly respected and hasdemonstrated excellence in promoting Christian education to students, please submit your
nomination at herzogfoundation.com slash awards.
That's herzogfoundation.com slash awards.
Now back to our conversation.
(09:42):
Wow, then the next month came and now I'm actually looking forward to these meetings, howthe Lord changes our hearts, brings my heart around to say, see, this is an opportunity.
And so we start that meeting and I've given them the gospel a couple of times now.
So I started that meeting by putting the ball in his court.
(10:07):
I told him I've taken the past couple of meetings in directions
that you probably didn't think we were going to go.
And if you tell me you don't want to go in that direction anymore, you don't want to talkabout Christ, I won't bring it up anymore.
But it does let you know what I'm thinking and where my heart is.
And he said, no, that's fine.
(10:28):
You can continue to talk about it.
So inside, I'm jumping up and down for this opportunity.
Well, I had just read a devotional that week before about the woman at the well and how
She was digging her empty cisterns that could never satisfy her.
And even Christ in his graciousness to her when he asked her to go call her husband,
(10:53):
And she said, well, I don't have a husband.
And he graciously finished her story for that.
She's had five and, the gentleman that she's with now is not her husband at all.
And how she was digging her empty cisterns in relationships and it would never satisfyher.
(11:13):
And so as we sat there and talked, I told him that really he and I were a lot alike inhigh school and college.
had.
great success in athletics, but it doesn't satisfy.
And here we're now teaching at a really top-notch school in Ohio, and it still doesn'tsatisfy.
(11:39):
And I mentioned how the Lord has blessed us with beautiful families and wonderful wives,and still it doesn't satisfy.
where are we choosing to dig our cisterns that are empty?
Well, at that time, I gave them the Book of John and trusted that the Lord will use thator he'll open it at some point in time.
(12:06):
And once again, we're called just to throw the seeds, just be bold and throw the seeds.
And so that's what was done.
Well, my first semester, and all of you public educators can relate to this,
I received a skilled rating, but it was the lowest skilled rating I've ever received in mylife.
(12:26):
And we had to meet for the final evaluation.
And so our final evaluation, I decided to get him a children's Bible book because in ourlast conversation, he actually became a little transparent.
And he said, he goes, I've never grown up.
(12:49):
knowing the Bible or these stories at all.
And now his own personal children, their young children, they're starting to ask him aboutGod.
And he said, I don't know what to tell them.
And so on our very last meeting, I brought for him the the Jesus storybook by SallyLloyd-Jones.
(13:11):
And I'd ordered it, I wrote his name in the front of it from myself.
And
I told him I've always heard the best way to bless a man is to bless his children.
And I said, I purchased this book for you, opened it up and showed him that I'd signed itover to him.
(13:34):
And I said, I purchased it for your kids, but I've also purchased for you also.
I keep wanting to say his name.
But I said, I hope you read it.
And
I asked him if I could read just one page to him and it's a second or third page where itshows all these characters of Moses and David and Noah, mean, naughty Jonah, naughty
(14:03):
characters in the Bible, David, and she says something to the effect of, you may thinkthat the Bible is filled with a bunch of heroes and it is, but at the same time, most
people are not heroes at all.
In fact, they disobey God and they purposely disobey God.
And it brings it down to a real human need.
(14:24):
What are we going to do with our sin?
And so I passed that children's Bible onto him and I pray to this day that the Holy Spiritmoves him to pick it up just to read it to his kids.
Or maybe he wants to read it and it's non-threatening since it's a children's Bible.
(14:47):
At the end of this year, he took on a new position.
And so I don't have contact really with him anymore.
And so as I look back, what was the Lord doing, I think?
Well, if I was never put on an improvement plan and decided I needed diversity, equity andinclusion training, I would have never spent basically a half an hour every month
(15:16):
one-on-one, and I would have never had the chance to share the gospel with him.
But he has heard the gospel.
He's inquisitive of it, as of our last conversation.
And so it's up to the Lord to soften that heart.
But to conclude with, what stunned me is I received the second semester, the highestevaluation that you could ever receive.
(15:44):
which still stuns me to this day.
And so at the same time, was I scared to share in a way?
Yes.
Did I know what would happen, how it be received?
I didn't know how it'd be received.
But once again, we're called the throw the seeds.
Well, thank you so much for sharing just the story.
(16:05):
And I know we've talked personally and there's so many more stories of just how God isworking.
what he's doing.
Do you have any like words of encouragement or what would you want to say if there's justa teacher sitting across from you that's kind of in a similar situation?
I would encourage them.
You have been placed in at school.
(16:26):
It is no accident.
We know he orders our times.
We know we know he orders our places.
We know at the beginning of every school year there is no accident and which students arein our class.
The easy ones.
the difficult ones and first of all to pray.
(16:48):
To pray for your students, pray for your fellow teachers, pray for your administratorsbecause God has to open the heart.
for you as well to be in the Word, washed in the Word, have your mind renewed in the Word.
Because as you know, most public schools, it's an underground mission field.
(17:13):
It's truly an underground mission field.
And we need the Christian teachers there.
And third of all, let your light shine by your good works.
By God's grace, be a great teacher, be a thorough teacher.
Build relationships where you can build relationships.
(17:39):
as I'm seeing halfway through 34 years of teaching, sometimes it takes a lifetime, theLord uses a lifetime, before some of the biggest opportunities come up.
Maybe on another podcast we can share how we just had a teacher come to faith in Christthis past year.
And it took many years to build this relationship and for her heart to be soft and for herto cry out to the Lord.
(18:07):
Yeah, that's such a great encouragement.
So many good things there, that to keep at it because you don't know what's happening, youdon't know what God's doing.
And as you said, sometimes it's those relationships or those opportunities are sometimesyears and years in the making.
Can you add one more word of encouragement for a teacher that maybe is
like you, know, facing some situations where they're getting in trouble.
(18:30):
Maybe they're on their own improvement plan or threatened with one.
Any words of encouragement for them to not let that get them too down?
Wow, as Linda just revealed, getting in trouble.
It's happened more than once.
For me, it started in elementary school and it hasn't stopped.
(18:52):
I know God is sovereign.
His word says he is sovereign.
And there is the doubts, there is the worries, and our humanness or the flesh wants todoubt God.
But no matter where my heart is, no matter where my mind is, it's a decision to trust, tochoose to trust.
(19:21):
You look at all the characters of the Bible, know, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego, whenthey told Nebuchadnezzar that their God could save them.
But even if he chooses not to, they were not going to bow down and worship the goldenidol.
I'm sure they were concerned about those flames.
(19:42):
I'm sure they were concerned how angry Nebuchadnezzar was.
And I'm sure I look forward to talking to him when I get up there one day.
How afraid were they?
But they chose, despite their fears, despite their worries, they chose to trust in asovereign God.
(20:06):
Well, LJ, thank you so much for sharing your story.
And those of you that are listening, I hope so much that this was an encouragement and ahelp to you as you seek to continue honoring God day in and day out in the classroom.
If you'd like the notes and the links that come from this episode or wanna use the link toshare it with someone else, you can go to teachfortheheart.com slash 333, that's
(20:28):
teachfortheheart.com slash 333 to get those notes.
And we do so appreciate your sharing the episode, subscribing to the podcast.
That is a huge help to us.
Before we go, one other invitation.
I do wanna invite all of you to a free brand new training we're gonna be having onFebruary 10th.
We're gonna talk about how to stop feeling defeated and teach with hope instead.
(20:51):
So if you've been struggling with feeling defeated, discouraged, frustrated, we would loveto have you join us completely free.
Sign up at teachfortheheart.com slash hope.
That's teachfortheheart.com slash hope.
Well, this episode has been brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
All views and opinions are our own and don't necessarily reflect those of the HerzogFoundation.
(21:13):
I look forward to speaking with you again soon.
In the meantime, teacher, remember God is at work in you and through you, and He's usingyou to make a difference.
Keep your eyes on Him and teach for the heart.
God is at work even when we can't see it and today's story is going to be such anencouraging reminder to you of that fact.
Welcome back to the Teach for the Heart podcast where we tackle teaching challenges from abiblical perspective.
Why are we here?
Because we don't believe that our spiritual walk and teaching profession should exist intwo separate domains.
(00:21):
Rather, the hope we have in Christ should change how we approach everything, not just athome, but at school as well.
So join us as we explore both the spiritual and practical sides of key teachingchallenges, integrating them together so we can succeed at teaching, glorify God, and make
a lasting difference in our students' hearts and lives.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
(00:45):
Today we're going to talk about how to honor God as a Christian teacher in a publicschool.
And I'm so excited to bring you a conversation with our friend who's going to share one ofhis stories and his experience.
But whether you teach in a public school or a Christian school, I think you're going tofind this story really encouraging and the lessons from it really helpful.
So let's dive into that conversation right now.
(01:08):
So thank you so much for sharing your story with us today.
Hello, my name is LJ and I am a Christian public school educator and I'm halfway throughmy 34th year of teaching.
I believe that all scripture is God-breathed and I believe that He places each and everybeliever where He wants us to share the gospel.
(01:36):
And for me, that's in the public schools now for 34 years.
But before I share my story, hopefully to encourage my fellow public school educators andeven private school educators and Christian educators,
I want to read for a passage from Philippians 1.15, and this is Paul.
(01:59):
Paul is in prison.
He's writing letters.
He's under house arrest, most likely he's in Rome.
And it says, Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has reallyserved to advance the gospel.
As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone elsethat I am in chains for Christ.
(02:20):
Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged.
to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
And so I chose that passage and that lets you know kind of where we're going.
I'm giving you the end of the story.
hopefully this encourages you to be fearless and to give the gospel and to know that itwon't come back void.
(02:48):
Well, last year,
I was, after 33 years, I was placed on an improvement plan.
And I am certainly not beyond improvement whatsoever.
But this improvement plan was decided that I needed more diversity, equity, and inclusionin my classroom and for me as an individual.
(03:14):
And so it was determined that I would meet with one of my administrators once a month
and they would select from our school district's DEI website and they would select anarticle or a video clip that I would watch and we would sit down and we would discuss it
and they would improve me through the diversity, equity and inclusion program of theschool.
(03:42):
And so I certainly did not go into this with a good attitude, I admit that.
frustrated having to invest this time and not looking at it like I just read for you asPaul said that this is a means of encouragement.
(04:04):
We know God is sovereign, but I was frustrated.
However, the very first meeting that we met, the article that was selected was about thisacademy
that has over 100 people, the average person in the academy has over 25 convictions, theaverage, and for five straight years through their diversity, equity, and inclusion, there
(04:38):
has not been one violent altercation and there has not been one failed drug test, which ispretty impressive.
I think about my school and I don't know if we could ever do that.
So as I'm sitting there speaking with my principal, and I just reiterated what the articleis about, I didn't say whether I agreed or disagreed.
(05:04):
Once we were done talking, I think he realized as well, really how foolish that was.
I mean, even at our middle school, we can't even...
keep the bathrooms clean.
And here's this, this house, where over 100 people and supposedly no physical altercationsfor five years and no, no drug failures for five years, which once again, I said was so
(05:39):
impressive.
But when I reiterated everything to him, I think he realized as well, really how empty andhollow that was, but
As I spoke with them, the main purpose of the article was to say not only are we supposedto act just in public in front of people, but we are to become just.
(06:01):
That the epitome of just.
And so I shared with them, I said,
I'm not just.
And I said, you know, I view everything through the lens of the Bible and the Bible saysthat the heart is, it's wicked and it's corrupt and it's beyond cure.
(06:26):
And I said, that describes my heart.
And I went on to give the example of if both of our lives, everything we thought,everything we said, everything we did,
was on my big screen in my classroom that I didn't know about him, but I would hang myhead in shame and walk out of the school.
(06:48):
I shared with him that first meeting, the only person that can ever change somebody'sheart as compared to what we just read about is Jesus Christ.
He's the only one that can change your heart.
And he agreed and he acknowledged and he typed his notes and we went on our way.
Well, when he walked away, I thought, okay, in a way, this is what got me in trouble inthe first place.
(07:13):
But here we go.
Because in a way like Paul, and he had guards around him in a way, this administrator wasnow chained to me.
He had to meet with me.
So the next month came up and he forgot to meet with me.
But that article was about how women are treated unfair in the workplace, which doeshappen.
(07:38):
And so I typed in my notes, sent it to him.
We met the following month and that month was straight white privilege and that we shouldbe ashamed of how we're created and the pigments that the Lord has given us.
So as we sat down for that meeting, I said, you know, when I take both of these twoarticles and put them together, one, women being treated unfairly in the workplace
(08:06):
compared to men.
And once again, social, as far as our ethnicity, I said it reminds me of a story in theBible about a woman at a well.
And so I pulled a Bible out of my top right desk drawer and I read for him, John chapterfour, I believe it's in.
(08:31):
And before I read it to him, I gave him just a little bit of background, but what aSamaritan was so he could catch the impact.
And so I read him John chapter four and afterwards told him, even though it broke all thesocial norms at the time, even though Jesus was speaking to a woman, a Samaritan woman and
(08:57):
a woman of ill rapport, this is who he went for and this is who needed to hear the goodnews.
And with that, had the opportunity to share Christ with him.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation and the HerzogFoundation's Teacher of the Year nominations are open.
(09:18):
If you know a K through 12 teacher at a Christian school who is highly respected and hasdemonstrated excellence in promoting Christian education to students, please submit your
nomination at herzogfoundation.com slash awards.
That's herzogfoundation.com slash awards.
Now back to our conversation.
(09:42):
Wow, then the next month came and now I'm actually looking forward to these meetings, howthe Lord changes our hearts, brings my heart around to say, see, this is an opportunity.
And so we start that meeting and I've given them the gospel a couple of times now.
So I started that meeting by putting the ball in his court.
(10:07):
I told him I've taken the past couple of meetings in directions
that you probably didn't think we were going to go.
And if you tell me you don't want to go in that direction anymore, you don't want to talkabout Christ, I won't bring it up anymore.
But it does let you know what I'm thinking and where my heart is.
And he said, no, that's fine.
(10:28):
You can continue to talk about it.
So inside, I'm jumping up and down for this opportunity.
Well, I had just read a devotional that week before about the woman at the well and how
She was digging her empty cisterns that could never satisfy her.
And even Christ in his graciousness to her when he asked her to go call her husband,
(10:53):
And she said, well, I don't have a husband.
And he graciously finished her story for that.
She's had five and, the gentleman that she's with now is not her husband at all.
And how she was digging her empty cisterns in relationships and it would never satisfyher.
(11:13):
And so as we sat there and talked, I told him that really he and I were a lot alike inhigh school and college.
had.
great success in athletics, but it doesn't satisfy.
And here we're now teaching at a really top-notch school in Ohio, and it still doesn'tsatisfy.
(11:39):
And I mentioned how the Lord has blessed us with beautiful families and wonderful wives,and still it doesn't satisfy.
where are we choosing to dig our cisterns that are empty?
Well, at that time, I gave them the Book of John and trusted that the Lord will use thator he'll open it at some point in time.
(12:06):
And once again, we're called just to throw the seeds, just be bold and throw the seeds.
And so that's what was done.
Well, my first semester, and all of you public educators can relate to this,
I received a skilled rating, but it was the lowest skilled rating I've ever received in mylife.
(12:26):
And we had to meet for the final evaluation.
And so our final evaluation, I decided to get him a children's Bible book because in ourlast conversation, he actually became a little transparent.
And he said, he goes, I've never grown up.
(12:49):
knowing the Bible or these stories at all.
And now his own personal children, their young children, they're starting to ask him aboutGod.
And he said, I don't know what to tell them.
And so on our very last meeting, I brought for him the the Jesus storybook by SallyLloyd-Jones.
(13:11):
And I'd ordered it, I wrote his name in the front of it from myself.
And
I told him I've always heard the best way to bless a man is to bless his children.
And I said, I purchased this book for you, opened it up and showed him that I'd signed itover to him.
(13:34):
And I said, I purchased it for your kids, but I've also purchased for you also.
I keep wanting to say his name.
But I said, I hope you read it.
And
I asked him if I could read just one page to him and it's a second or third page where itshows all these characters of Moses and David and Noah, mean, naughty Jonah, naughty
(14:03):
characters in the Bible, David, and she says something to the effect of, you may thinkthat the Bible is filled with a bunch of heroes and it is, but at the same time, most
people are not heroes at all.
In fact, they disobey God and they purposely disobey God.
And it brings it down to a real human need.
(14:24):
What are we going to do with our sin?
And so I passed that children's Bible onto him and I pray to this day that the Holy Spiritmoves him to pick it up just to read it to his kids.
Or maybe he wants to read it and it's non-threatening since it's a children's Bible.
(14:47):
At the end of this year, he took on a new position.
And so I don't have contact really with him anymore.
And so as I look back, what was the Lord doing, I think?
Well, if I was never put on an improvement plan and decided I needed diversity, equity andinclusion training, I would have never spent basically a half an hour every month
(15:16):
one-on-one, and I would have never had the chance to share the gospel with him.
But he has heard the gospel.
He's inquisitive of it, as of our last conversation.
And so it's up to the Lord to soften that heart.
But to conclude with, what stunned me is I received the second semester, the highestevaluation that you could ever receive.
(15:44):
which still stuns me to this day.
And so at the same time, was I scared to share in a way?
Yes.
Did I know what would happen, how it be received?
I didn't know how it'd be received.
But once again, we're called the throw the seeds.
Well, thank you so much for sharing just the story.
(16:05):
And I know we've talked personally and there's so many more stories of just how God isworking.
what he's doing.
Do you have any like words of encouragement or what would you want to say if there's justa teacher sitting across from you that's kind of in a similar situation?
I would encourage them.
You have been placed in at school.
(16:26):
It is no accident.
We know he orders our times.
We know we know he orders our places.
We know at the beginning of every school year there is no accident and which students arein our class.
The easy ones.
the difficult ones and first of all to pray.
(16:48):
To pray for your students, pray for your fellow teachers, pray for your administratorsbecause God has to open the heart.
for you as well to be in the Word, washed in the Word, have your mind renewed in the Word.
Because as you know, most public schools, it's an underground mission field.
(17:13):
It's truly an underground mission field.
And we need the Christian teachers there.
And third of all, let your light shine by your good works.
By God's grace, be a great teacher, be a thorough teacher.
Build relationships where you can build relationships.
(17:39):
as I'm seeing halfway through 34 years of teaching, sometimes it takes a lifetime, theLord uses a lifetime, before some of the biggest opportunities come up.
Maybe on another podcast we can share how we just had a teacher come to faith in Christthis past year.
And it took many years to build this relationship and for her heart to be soft and for herto cry out to the Lord.
(18:07):
Yeah, that's such a great encouragement.
So many good things there, that to keep at it because you don't know what's happening, youdon't know what God's doing.
And as you said, sometimes it's those relationships or those opportunities are sometimesyears and years in the making.
Can you add one more word of encouragement for a teacher that maybe is
like you, know, facing some situations where they're getting in trouble.
(18:30):
Maybe they're on their own improvement plan or threatened with one.
Any words of encouragement for them to not let that get them too down?
Wow, as Linda just revealed, getting in trouble.
It's happened more than once.
For me, it started in elementary school and it hasn't stopped.
(18:52):
I know God is sovereign.
His word says he is sovereign.
And there is the doubts, there is the worries, and our humanness or the flesh wants todoubt God.
But no matter where my heart is, no matter where my mind is, it's a decision to trust, tochoose to trust.
(19:21):
You look at all the characters of the Bible, know, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego, whenthey told Nebuchadnezzar that their God could save them.
But even if he chooses not to, they were not going to bow down and worship the goldenidol.
I'm sure they were concerned about those flames.
(19:42):
I'm sure they were concerned how angry Nebuchadnezzar was.
And I'm sure I look forward to talking to him when I get up there one day.
How afraid were they?
But they chose, despite their fears, despite their worries, they chose to trust in asovereign God.
(20:06):
Well, LJ, thank you so much for sharing your story.
And those of you that are listening, I hope so much that this was an encouragement and ahelp to you as you seek to continue honoring God day in and day out in the classroom.
If you'd like the notes and the links that come from this episode or wanna use the link toshare it with someone else, you can go to teachfortheheart.com slash 333, that's
(20:28):
teachfortheheart.com slash 333 to get those notes.
And we do so appreciate your sharing the episode, subscribing to the podcast.
That is a huge help to us.
Before we go, one other invitation.
I do wanna invite all of you to a free brand new training we're gonna be having onFebruary 10th.
We're gonna talk about how to stop feeling defeated and teach with hope instead.
(20:51):
So if you've been struggling with feeling defeated, discouraged, frustrated, we would loveto have you join us completely free.
Sign up at teachfortheheart.com slash hope.
That's teachfortheheart.com slash hope.
Well, this episode has been brought to you in partnership with the Herzog Foundation.
All views and opinions are our own and don't necessarily reflect those of the HerzogFoundation.
(21:13):
I look forward to speaking with you again soon.
In the meantime, teacher, remember God is at work in you and through you, and He's usingyou to make a difference.
Keep your eyes on Him and teach for the heart.
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