Service/Mission/Leadership Blog

Life is CRAZY!

The end of the semester at Judson always, always, always sneaks up on me. No matter how much I plan, schedule, and work to get ahead…the last six weeks of school finds a way to leave me with a pile of papers to write, lesson plans to tweak, and assignments to turn in. And since I’m the poster child for Type A personality, I tend to sweat the little things in a really huge way.  Even as I sat down to write this blog, I thought to myself, I’m too boring to blog around this time of year…all I do is homework. In my third year of college; however, I think I’m finally learning how to let a few things go (but just a few). I could be worried about upcoming deadlines and assignments, but I’d rather be excited about the weeks ahead.

Mrs. Frances was my supervisor during last summer’s internship with Sowing Seeds of Hope, and I’m really looking forward to spending some quality time with her on the way to the Community Development Academy in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.

Speaking of which…I just found out this week that I’ve been accepted to serve in Perry County again this summer through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s student mission board! Words cannot describe the nervous excitement I already feel for being given the opportunity and responsibility of being involved in what God is doing in Marion. I already worry if things will be different and how my past experience working for Sowing Seeds of Hope will affect this summer…but I’ll worry about that when it gets here.

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Without Wax,

Did she say that our paper was due today? I thought she said it was due next week.

I told you seven o’clock…but the invitation actually said four o’ clock.

The concert is on Tuesday, not Thursday…where did I get Thursday?

Mom, I meant to call you once I made it back to Judson, but I forgot.

Bethany, you need to check your voicemail…how did you break your phone this time…

Communication is the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs.

Communication is something that we all struggle with, or struggle through, at some time or another. And it is quite an exhausting task!

In my Classroom Management course we’ve been discussing the “Teacher’s Voice” and how our communication strategies (good or bad) influence our teaching, our students, and the general atmosphere of the classroom. As a result, I’ve recently been hit with the research-based evidence that my words, tone, and attitude (good or bad) influence people, inside and outside of the classroom.

In the textbook for Classroom Management, the author gives an example of her response to a student’s art project. The middle school child had been given the task of creating an illustration to represent a very important house from the novel the class had been reading together. On the day the project was due, the teacher approached the student with criticism, claimed that the house looked nothing like the one from the story, labeled the student as lazy, and insisted that she put some more time and effort into the project.

A few days later, the teacher discovered just how much time and effort the student had put into her project. She had searched for days for the perfect house to photograph, developed and enlarged the photo herself, and spent an endless amount of hours adding a detailed background to her own unique depiction of an important element of the novel.

There was obviously no imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs in this scenario, and the author admitted her failure to communicate, wishing that she had simply asked the student to explain her artwork. The teacher and class could have benefited from a new perspective, and the student wouldn’t have been left feeling so incompetent and discouraged.

You meant that, but I heard this.

I wish they would have called me back…I worried about that all weekend.

I don’t want to listen to this right now.

Are you even listening to me?

Don’t talk to me right now; this conversation is getting nowhere.

Lately…examples such as this one have really gotten me thinking about more than my future teaching methods. The power of a voice, the power of my voice, has recently become very evident.

I have to wonder how many feelings have been hurt, how many relationships have been damaged, and how many confidences have been destroyed because of a voice, because of a few words.

But then I also have to wonder how many words of encouragement, comfort, and trust have been shared.

As an “almost-teacher,” a sister, a friend, an acquaintance, or a total stranger...being the salt and light to a dark world should involve a great deal of this imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information  with the communities I participate in and the people I cross paths with.

I don’t know why I’ve never been hit with the importance of my voice before…maybe I’m just now noticing it because of all the miscommunications happening lately in my own life. Or maybe I’m just immature.

But either way…I think they should add a little classroom management to Sunday School :)

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Colossians 4:6

Without Wax

Coming to Judson has given me the opportunity to meet quite the assortment of characters.

I’ve been here for three and a half years now, but I am still always surprised when I meet someone who was not raised by country folks. It startles me to know that there are people in this world who don’t fix the sink when it leaks, walk barefoot in the spring, play the guitar when they’re sad, and enjoy the satisfaction of home-grown tomatoes. During some of my younger, more judgmental, years at Judson I often wondered how these people had survived so long in life without the knowledge that would seem like common sense to the people I grew up with.

Irene Latham is one of these characters, but the leading lady in her book Leaving Gee’s Bend knows something more of the country life I’ve described. Mrs. Latham is a poet and author from Birmingham, Alabama, a white city girl, who has written a beautiful children’s story about a young black girl overcoming the struggles of rural poverty during the Great Depression.

                  Mrs. Latham was asked to share her journey in writing Leaving Gee’s Bend with Judson girls this week during chapel, and I must admit how surprised I was to see a beautifully poised white woman step up to the podium. The author shared her discovery of Gee's Bend, its stories, and her immediate connection to the history of the small rural community. She told of her journeys to Gee’s Bend, of sinking her toes in the Alabama River, walking barefoot down a dirt road, and sharing many conversations with the famous Gee’s Bend Quilters.

Mrs. Latham admitted her fears in writing the story, feeling, at times, that she had no right to assume that a white, middle class woman from the big city could understand and relate to the life of a young black girl growing up in poverty.

As a middle class white girl from a supportive family, community, and school system looking to teach the lost and forgotten “reject” students who are subject to the viscous cycle of American poverty…Irene Latham’s story really hit home with me.

The author told Judson students about her feeling of standing barefoot before God in a place that she had no context for understanding…a feeling I have every time I stand before a class of first graders in one of America’s poorest counties.

I often wonder why God has called me to such an unlikely profession…teaching people that I don’t really understand, and lately some feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty have been creeping into my thoughts during class, while working on homework, in conversations with my education professors, and when I should be sleeping. I'm worried about the day when I'm not surrounded by the support of Judson girls who understand this passion for using educaiton to inspire hope. I worry about relating to my future students, their families, and their communities, and I wonder, much like Irene Latham did when meeting the people of Gee's Bend, if these people will truly accept me. Thankfully; however, Judson gave me the opportunity to cross paths with yet another character to calm these fears, and the author assured Judson's audience that after the people she encountered realized her heart and her passion, they accepted her with open arms. To this day, Mrs. Latham claims that as long as the people she met in Gee's Bend are honored by her book, she won't care what anyone else says or claims to know about her. I hope I remember her words a few years from now when I'm teaching somewhere it seems I don't belong. I hope I know that as long as my students are honored and are receiving their teacher's absolute best that it won't matter what reputation I may have.

  Most importantly, I hope I always remember to stand barefoot before God,wherever he takes me, waiting for Him to use me.

As a junior in college, it feels quite strange to think back to my junior year of high school.

 I have a great deal of very fond memories from my high school years, but there is one that stands out in my mind around this time every year. And just like any old lady with a story to tell…this older Judson girl remembers it almost as if it were yesterday…

What is this memory, you’re wondering?

The college search

My college search wasn’t much of a search, actually, because I always knew that I wanted to come to Judson. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true! I’d heard about this wonderful little school from a Judson alumna when I was in 9^th grade, and I even came to visit the campus once during my freshman year. Of course, I didn’t really become serious about choosing a college until my 11^th grade year; however, and my mom and I made the drive up to good ole’ Marion, Alabama, for Judson’s Scholarship and Preview Day.

It was so nice to be welcomed into Judson’s elegant parlors, sit down with a cup of coffee, and spend time getting to know current students. I can still remember Mom and I talking to Dr. Price, who ended up teaching two of the math classes I’ve taken at Judson, and the campus tours led by student ambassadors really gave me a picture of what campus life really looked like.

To be fair, I have to tell you that Judson was not the only school I looked into. I checked out Tulane, only because I’ve always wanted to live in New Orleans, but I never even committed enough to go for a visit. I also considered the University of Alabama after spending the summer of my junior year there for a special program.

What did Judson have over these other colleges?

Judson immediately felt like home. Class sizes were small, people remembered my name and actually took the time to get to know me. The dorms were clean and cozy (unlike the dorm I stayed in during my summer at UA), and the food in the dining hall was pretty good…not my granny’s cooking…but still pretty good.

I wasn’t even intentionally looking for a Baptist college, although I was raised in a Baptist church, and I definitely wasn’t searching for a women’s college. But now I’m blessed to have the opportunity to speak about my faith in class with women who share my goals and passions. My education professors are concerned with teaching Judson students the best research-based teaching practices, but they also encourage conversations on how to truly nurture and care for our future students, even in public school settings.

In fact, one of the first things I remember Judson’s president, Dr. Potts, saying at my first Scholarship/Preview Day went something like this:

At Judson, we are not only interested in your mind, but in your soul, as well.

I honestly believe that this is what makes this wonderful women’s college so special, and I know that this is why I’m a Judson girl now.

But don’t take it from me…make your own Scholarship/Preview Day memories this spring, and join us on February 19^th for a full day of the Judson experience. It could be the beginning of a new story for you just as it was for me!

 Without Wax,