One on One

One to one is the best way to communicate. I am all for e-mail and for the old telephone but if I really, really want to talk to someone I want to see them over lunch or in some way a face to face encounter.

Because of the hectic pace of the current life, it is sometimes easy to forget that this one to one is important. First, it is important to have a one to one with God. Don't we like our children to talk to us.

Also, in getting a child "up to speed" in school work there is nothing like one to one. A parent or a tutor needs to sit down with a child and help him understand.

Last year, we were able, thanks to a grant from a local church, open inside Verbo Church a tutoring program for children most at risk of failing in grades 1-5. These children were recomended to the program by the principals of the local schools.

The children were greatly helped and one young woman improved so much in math that she was able to enter school contests. Her entire personality changed as a result of her success. She had no one to help her at home.

This is what we are learning. In the poorer communities in America, the parents cannot help. They may not read their own native language. They do not read English. They have no time and can't help their own children in many cases.

Jesus said: 
COME TO ME ALL YE WHO ARE HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.

The child is doomed for failure without intervention but with attention and hours and hours of tutoring help these children have a chance to win at the school game. More than that they receive a "I can do this" attitude which we all know is a secret to getting through the long, hard thing called life.

We need more one to one tutors out there.

I remember so well my own Dad who sat with me night after night as I struggled with story problems in math. What if my Dad wasn't there for me? What if my mother worked 3 jobs and didn't even read English to help me with the problem?

I would be left to struggle and fail. And no doubt I would have flunked in math that year without my one to one tutor.

Let your heart absorb what this means. A few hours of volunteer time can change the entire life of a poor child.

Training

Recently a new fence was put up as I was thinking about the idea of training. When we have children we are training them in everything we do..good and bad. This is rather awesome. Children are informed by what they see us do. Later, they are informed by what they get from others ie their friends.

Because I like to garden one of the thoughts about the new fence was how nice it would be to have a pretty vine growing up. Of course, vines require training. You have to give them support so they will go up and over the fence not sprawl all over your patio.

Children need to be trained up so they will be tall and strong. How to do this?

We know that we are as Christians to instruct children in the way they should go. They need to be taught the Bible. The verses need to be repeated and learned and the need to see the Bible lived out in us. Wow!

The Bible promise is: 
TRAIN UP A CHILD IN THE WAY HE SHOULD GO AND WHEN HE IS OLD HE SHALL NOT DEPART FROM IT.

How the vine is trained makes all the difference. Did you know that America when it started had a PRIMER that was filled with Bible verses that children memorized. Bible reading was common in families all across the country as this country grew.

As you know we cannot teach the Bible in schools today. It is not allowed. So more than ever the teaching of what makes for strong character rests in the home and in the church.

The Leader - Steve Jobs

Steve Job's death has been all over the news. He made such a mark that he was "The Story" in the Wall Street Journal.  One of the lessons learned from looking at his journey was that it wasn't straight up. When he left Apple to others, the company faltered. He was the creative "visionary" plus sales person that made it come together.

Leadership in business is important. Leadership in our call is also important. We each have "something to do"...a path, a journey that we must go on. In this particular niche we are THE LEADER.

If we are a mom and wife with a husband working 12 hours a day, we must become very small and still help our husband survive.  If we are a husband at home and our wife is "knocking herself out..out there," then we must also take a serving roll in order to help her live.

Jesus said, "He who is greatest must be servant of all."

This is still true. God looks at our attitude. Lots of times, mine needs a major makeover. It is very hard for us get small enough to let God get big enough. If we belong to Him then He is the ultimate leader and we keep learning and obeying and getting correcting through all of the journey.