The doing is in the trying...

I am amazed sometimes at the honesty of kids. In martial arts we are working to instill the character of perseverance; giving it your very best - 100%. It never ceases to amaze me at the kids who say, "No! I don't want to." We may ask, "who's going to give it 100% today?" and it is not unusual for 1/3 of the kids to say, "No!" Some have even just walked away during class (I'm pretty sure my sensei would have told me to just keep right on going out the door). Now, before you say, "Well, it's just too hard for them." I'm not talking about training for a marathon, just simply moving sometimes. It saddens me the culture of quitting that has developed in our kids. And it's not just physical, it is evident in their school work and relationships as well.

While I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, I have seen all the movies. And the famous scene between Yoda and Luke always draws me back to the need to teach and mentor. Luke is struggling to do as Yoda instructs and has excuses as to why he cannot do it (granted, lifting a fighter out of the muck seems rather difficult, but Yoda knows Luke has the ability within him). And Yoda's famous line, "No!, Try Not! Do or Do Not, There is No Try" rings true because I believe what Yoda was teaching translates for us in the real world, "The Doing Is In The Trying!" Saying "No," or just walking away is simply not an option, especially for many of the kids we get to minister to. And since we slip in through the backdoor we are translating that to Scripture and the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:31, "...whatever you do, do all for the glory of God." Most of them have never thought of that before, or even know who God is. But, when we can talk about doing things for the glory of God and not for ourselves they start thinking and asking good questions.

A lot of our students come from environments of not just quitting, but much of the time just not even trying. Without fail, however, when they "try" they "do." It's clearly not a lack of ability, it's a lack of motivation. So, again, slipping in the backdoor with "Truth," and not just movie lines we are introducing another Scriptural truth from Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, "...the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." I hate to say it, but for many that truth is completely foreign.
So, now in addition to creating a character of "trying is doing," and
perseverance we are creating the character trait of "motivation." "No Work - No Eat" really challenged the mindset of some of our students, for which we are so thankful

Another motivation was not being rewarded for something the student cannot do. Unfortunately, many of our students are in a school district that cannot pay their teachers so they have "sick-outs." The students know that they will often be passed on, so their expectation is that they will just be passed on in martial arts as well. Not passing created a motivation as they understand that working for something you want has intrinsic value that just "getting" it doesn't.

Life skills and character development through the back doors of students lives. It's hard work, but when a students character starts to change you begin to really see the hand of God at work in their lives, whether they recognize it as such or not.  

Pray for us as we continue to minister in creative ways, with students who are becoming hungry for more "character" change as they see different results (the hand of God moving in their lives) occurring.

Blessings on your weekend!
Shawn and Rochelle

My Thoughts from 1 Year Ago. Still True.

Beware, you may not like what the Word has to say today...

A tough message for the Church:

"but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have chariots of iron and though they are strong." (Joshua 17:18 NASB)

Why is that so interesting? A forest is a thicket, a intertwined mix of branches that form a place of safety or refuge from the world around. It is a place that lacks cultivation. A place to run to to escape the distress of the world. Could it be that we have allowed the Church to become a forest? Jesus said we are the branches and He is the vine (John 15:5). Have we become so afraid of the world that as branches we have decided to interweave ourselves with other branches and have unwittingly created a forest that others cannot run into and we cannot get out of? Is God asking us to clear away the forest so that it can be cultivated land? What are chariots of iron? This is personal for my family, clearly for us they are cars. When we think of the car industry where do we think? Detroit.

Jesus, help us through Your Holy Spirit to clear away the forest so the land can be cultivated. May we not be afraid of those strongly entrenched forested areas but rather see them as land ready to be cultivated so that new seed may be sown to produce a harvest.