Gwendolyn Harmon's Blog: Learning Ladyhood, page 23

Slow to Wrath

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” James 1:19

A classroom is an excellent place to learn the importance of being slow to wrath. Each morning I stand in front of a room full of students, each of whom has had widely varying experiences before getting to school.

Some have not slept well, others have family drama weighing on them, still others are wrapped up in some little thing that didn’t go their way or are reeling from a car ride with a ...

Slow to Speak

It may seem odd to start off the schoolyear with a post about speaking less, particularly because I am a teacher. I literally get paid to talk.

That’s really the reason for this post, though. Over the past couple weeks, I have been thinking about this verse from James and how it relates to me:

 

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (1:19)

 

This is part 2 of my series on this verse, and for me, it’s one of the most convicting.

Part of being a...

Swift to Hear

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who obviously wasn’t listening? One of my biggest challenges as a teacher is helping my students learn how to actually listen. After all, a student who isn’t listening isn’t learning.

But what about me? How often do I let my thoughts drift when I should be listening, or internally plan out what I will say in reply, instead of actually caring about what someone else is saying?  

The Bible has a lot to say about listening. I’ve been studying through Pro...

Abide in Me

The week of teacher inservice always seems like a mad rush to get everything done, and to have everything perfectly set for the coming arrival of our new students.

But in the midst of running here and there trying to find just the right nameplates for the tables, or the right color for the shelf I want to repaint, the perfect journal in which to record the trials and triumphs of a new schoolyear, there’s a quiet voice inside, calling to me:

Abide in Me

It’s easy to feel like abiding in Christ is j...

When Bad Gets Worse

The last couple weeks, the government leaders in my area have made some decisions which I found disheartening. On top of that, this week has brought news from around the world of injustices, persecutions, and the dramatic rise of oppression in a land where many American lives have been sacrificed for the establishment of freedom, only to have that freedom ripped away.

It seems like as time passes, the bad just gets worse, and looking around at the state of my local area, my country, and society ...

A Place to Pray

During the last couple of years, I have developed a habit of going to specific place to write a couple times a week. It’s nowhere spectacular, just a parking lot with a nice view.

Perhaps it’s silly, but for me, there’s something inspiring about being “outdoors” in my car with the breeze coming through my windows and the birds and other wildlife placidly living their lives out on the pond. Being surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation seems to help my thoughts to flow better.

When the schooly...

The Result of Prayer

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you probably know that prayer is important. Living with a prayer-warrior like my mom keeps the necessity and the power of prayer right in front of me all the time, and yet, I still need to be reminded to do what I know. I am thankful for one friend in particular who often quotes this verse to me:

 

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6)...

Quality to my Quantity

Have you ever realized partway through the year that there’s something missing from your Bible reading plan?

This year, I decided to see if I could read through the Bible twice. I have been reading the Bible through once every year for about eighteen years now, but I have never read it through twice in a year. This year, with a bit lighter schedule and a few less responsibilities, it seemed like a good time to up my Bible reading goal.

At first, it was wonderful! I began with a goal of 8 chapter...

Christ Interceding

Romans 8 is one of those chapters that always encourages me. I have read it more times than I can remember, and yet, it seems like there is always something new to discover.

Recently, I noticed the following verses:

 

“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”(33-34)

 

The words are so familiar, and yet, ...

When We Don’t Understand

I was reading in Luke 18 earlier this week, and was struck by the following passage:

 

“Then He took unto Him the twelve, and said unto them,

 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge Him, and put Him to death: and the third day He shall rise again.

And they understood none of these t...