We’re
Teaching This:
When
you were little, what did you dream about becoming? An astronaut? A ballerina?
A professional wrestler? Whatever it was, chances are it was something that you
felt was important. Something big.
That’s the thing about little kids— they dream big because no one has
told them that they can’t do
something yet. They literally have no
limits. But as we grow up we start to see the areas we lack. We’re not the
most popular, influential or talented. And eventually we start to wonder if we
can ever do or be anything significant. That’s exactly what happened to a guy
named Moses. With a tough past and not many real skills, he had no reason to
believe that his life would be used do anything extraordinary. But after a few
encounters with God, Moses’ perspective changed completely. He found that with
God, there is no limit to what you can do.
Session 1 Summary: Talking Trees (2/18)
So, what would happen if God showed up and talked
to you—out loud? What would you want
Him to say? What would you not want
Him to talk about? Now imagine this: what if God showed up and told you that
your influence is unlimited? That the impact of your life can and will extend
farther than you ever dreamed? Would you be scared? Would you want to run away?
Would you have a ton of questions? Absolutely! And that’s what happened to
Moses. He probably didn’t think of himself as a guy that anyone would pay
attention to, as anyone of real influence, but God saw something in Moses that
he didn’t see in himself—the potential to lead. And as we take a closer look at
his story, we find that sometimes the only step we need to worry about is the
very first one.Session 2 Summary: Great Expectations (2/25)
Do you ever feel like everyone expects too much of you? Like the pressure of it all is just too much and it makes you feel like you shouldn’t even try? Or maybe you feel like no one expects much of you. No one pushes you or believes in you. Either way, facing the expectations of others can feel paralyzing. And, in that way, we have a lot in common with Moses. God had given him a task that felt way outside the limits of his ability, way outside of anything he could do on his own. Moses felt underprepared and overwhelmed. He was ready to quit. But in his most anxious and fear-filled moment, God said something to Moses—one phrase—that changed the way he saw himself and everything around him. And it has the power to do the same for us!
Session 3 Summary: Let the Countdown Begin (3/4)
So much can happen in just one minute, one hour, or one day. Think about it. How many times have you watched a football game that came down to the last play in the last minute of the game? Have you ever been late to a movie and missed a crucial opening scene? Minutes can change everything! The truth is, time is valuable but we don’t always treat it that way. As students, it’s easy to feel like we have all the time in the world. And so we waste it—a lot of it. But what would you do if you knew your days were numbered? What would you change if you knew your time was limited? The truth is, our time is limited. We’ll never have more than we do right now. So, if we want to make wise decisions, to make the most of our time, we must learn to number our days.
Do you ever wonder if you’re that parent? You know the one. The imaginary bar determining your success as a parent is always just out of reach. Or maybe you worry about over-parenting. You know you should probably back off a little bit—but you can’t help but always push, expect, encourage the best from your student. The truth is, parents usually are not satisfied with how they’re parenting—whether that is too much, too little, or a strange combination of both. And, every student is different—so it’s hard to gauge whether we are pushing them to succeed or pushing them to the brink of a breakdown. At some point or another, most of us wonder whether we expect too much or too little.
Research seems to suggest that, knowingly or unknowingly, most of us err on the side of too much pressure. In the Pew Research article, Parental Pressure on Students, authors Richard Wike and Juliana Horowitz ask, Have American parents become too pushy about their kids’ education? Many experts seem to think so, judging from several new books by journalists and psychologists that bemoan the growing pressure students feel to do well in school. But at least one group of non-experts — the American public — begs to differ. According to a Pew Global Attitudes survey, most Americans think parents are not pushing their children hard enough.
In other words, while most of us think we aren’t expecting enough out of our students, researchers and experts feel our expectations may be a little too high. So what exactly are we supposed to do?