Model

 “Jesus, Willard says, “does not call us to do what he did, but to be as he was, permeated with love. Then the doing of what he did and said becomes the natural expression of who we are in him.”

― Dallas Willard

This week I start teaching a once a week middle grades math class. In this class, we are going to explore the "why" of things not just the "how."

I'm going to ask kids to do the hardest thing you can ask a kid to do in today's society.

Think.

I'm way less concerned with "right answers" and way more concerned with process.

Each week we are going to look at some aspect of computation and wonder.

What happens when you multiply a three digit number by a 2 digit number? Is the answer always the same number of digits? What can we do to get the smallest number of digits? What about the largest?

In math we are often focused on the outcome (the answer) rather than the process.

I think a lot of us make this mistake in life as well.

Focusing on how our kids turn out (what college they go to, what job they get, etc) instead of the process of growing up. Leaving room for mistakes and wonder.

The first thing I've asked my students to do is to introduce themselves to me in numbers.

I never ask kids to do something I haven't already done, so last week I made my own "Me in Numbers" project.

As I met each student at open house, I walked through my project with them. "Here's a little about me" but also "Here's what this assignment looks like finished. Here's how I got these numbers. Here's how I made them into a poster."

I modeled. I showed them.

In teaching, parenting, and a number of facets of life - modeling is the most important tool we have.

Want your kid to learn to unload the dishwasher? You show them how. Then you walk alongside them as they do it. Over and over.

Want a student to write a good paragraph? You "think out loud" as you write a paragraph. You stop and ask questions - what could go next? You show them. Then you walk alongside them as they do it. Over and over.

Want someone to speak respectfully to you? You speak respectfully to them. You show them. Over and over.

If you know me, you know that "verse picking" is one of my all time pet peeves.

Singling out one verse of the bible in order to support your stance.

Verses were never intended to be taken out of context - not historical context, not cultural context, not big picture context.

We've forgotten that Jesus taught us how to be like him by MODELING.

We've gotten too caught up on individual verses and who said them and what they mean.

And we've forgotten that He SHOWED us how to live in the way He lived.

And he did what any good teacher does - He showed us. Then He walks alongside us as we do it.

He modeled.

I also think He's far less concerned with the "right answer" than He is the process of "right living."

Jesus encouraged people to THINK and WONDER.

Mama Warriors, as we continue to walk toward this election as believers, I challenge you to think and wonder.

Are you part of the bridge or part of the ditch?

I'd assert Jesus was always a bridge. Looking for connections. Finding similarities. Listening to the other side.

The ditch diggers are creating divides. Speaking more ugly about the "other candidate" (whoever that is) than speaking positively about theirs. Sharing posts that spawn controversy rather than connection.

Let's model what we want for our kids, for ourselves, for our world.

Let's SHOW others how He walked.