The Gideon Complex- Complex Gideon?

So I was recently reading Judges chapter 6 as it was the daily reading for the Girlfriends in God devotional. Like many others, I have probably read this passage before but never fully realised its significance. Take for example the part where Gideon was threshing wheat in a wine press (v.11). To thresh wheat in a wine press meant that he was hiding what he was doing from his enemies and it meant- well he was a coward. If you read earlier in the passage you would realise that the Israelites had again forsaken God and He allowed their enemies to capture them and of course they quickly cried out for God to save them. 

There are many of us who ask for God's help and deliverance when tragedy strikes and when He lovingly reminds us that we are here to point people to the cross and to deliver the hope message we say, "Nah boy wrong person eh!" and we produce a list of 'what I am nots' to a God who firstly, created us and designed us for the purpose at hand; secondly, the God who is Great and can do anything and thirdly, well, the God who created the universe out of nothing. 

Gideon was an unlikely candidate for champion. If the world were auditioning for a new superman, he wouldn't get the part by far. So imagine Gideon's surprise when this angel shows up and tells him that "the Lord is with him, mighty man of valour". Gideon probably raised his eyebrow and looked around like 'is who you talking to really, can't be me?' Immediately, he starts making excuses, this sounds familiar? (Exodus 3:11).

But that's just it, God uses the unlikely candidate or well the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, the weak things to shame the strong and the lowly and despised things, you know the things that are not to nullify that which is- 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. So basically, God specialises in turning things on their heads, in doing the impossible and of course using the least likely person- a coward to lead his people to victory. This is basically the theme of many of our story books and movies we love to see the rise of the underdog.

Now, before God could create that champion that was inside Gideon, He had to wake up the beast, so to speak, and like Moses and Peter, He had to sandpaper the rough edges and turn that fear into faith and that faithlessness into faithfulness. That's just it, like he told Samuel, He sees on the inside at the heart while man looks outside. How great it is to serve a God who sees what you can become while you are still wrestling with who you are, this is quite different from how the world sees us.

God knew that Gideon was timid at first, and that is possibly why he entertained his requests. I mean, like many of US, we ask God for a sign that something is His will (because it wasn't enough that an angel from Heaven visited him personally) and to confirm it. God did just this, with the unleavened cakes and meat. Gideon, was a signs man, he had to see it to believe it, so he asked for another sign and God obliged, and then he asked for another sign and in between there after the angel disappeared the voice of the Lord spoke to him.

I don't think that God gets annoyed with our requests (within His will) or with our praying but the lack of faith after He has proven himself is what probably causes Him to call us 'Ye of little faith'- Matthew 8:26. After all, the disciples were with him and watched him work miracles and still got scared because of a little wind and wave.

We all need to be more confident after we have boldly approached the throne of grace. We need to rest assured that once God has confirmed it in His word (most importantly) over and over again that we do not then renege on our contract of faith.

I myself am not quite there yet but I endeavour to push on and I thank God for His signs and for bearing with me. When I was faithless, He remained/remains faithful. When I chose to follow the voice of others, the devil and myself and not His voice that was loud and clear, he stayed with me and loved me regardless. Thank you for seeing the mighty woman of valour inside me and for nurturing it.

"Strap up me Gideon boot, now me ready fi d war, satan wa tek me fool, not this yute, but me and Jesus ah par, haffi defend this truth, stand spiritually sound so me na dilute it no. We've got to live pure, I wanna make my election sure..."- Positive

Rear View Mirror

So today I was preaching to someone, (it sure felt like it) and I just thought I'd share some of the rhetoric.

I don't usually share where I'm at mentally with a lot of people, well actually, I think I keep majority of my thoughts to myself or just share them with God. Anyways, I was thinking about some of the missed-takes in my life and how they affect my life today. It was a full on assault of the mind by the devil, which left me drowning in what was a big pool of self-pity and condemnation. Though I swim through the murky waters of the Dead Sea, I will make it to the Sea of Galilee! 

I eventually gave those thoughts to God and went to sleep. After, I had the opportunity to share with someone when they admitted that they didn't know where "life started and where it ended". I think I just dove in when I should have asked for wisdom. Nevertheless, I pray God guided my tongue. 

My response (with minor changes):

"Hmm well I do that sometimes, I wonder about the choices that I have made and if they were the right ones. Sometimes, I think my thoughts would drive me insane. But while it's good to reflect on the past, we should not stay there. Don't look back they say, unless it's a good view. We can't change the past but we have right now to make it right- to start again. A whole world of new experiences await us and there are missed-takes to be made; but the thought of failing must not stop us from trying and living. So look up and look ahead."

It's not like I have all the answers or I am in a state of mind to be a life coach but I can drop pearls of wisdom, that at the same time help me to quiet the noise and assuage my fears. God does that sometimes. As 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.[a] 

As Children of God let us be comforted by the fact that though we go through the fire, the waters  and the flood they would not harm us, burn or overpower us (Isaiah 43:1-2). For we have a lifeguard who walks on water and a fourth man "with the appearance of the Son of God", in the furnace, enduring the flames (Daniel 3:25).

In closing, Hebrews 4:15 says:

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Grace and Peace. 

Bitter-Sweet

Over the last couple weeks or so, I've had to fight for my peace of mind. From short bouts of illness, to the death of a friend and my own internal warfare of the mind, In this time, I have grown to rely on the promise that 'God's grace is sufficient.' So we've got to glory in the bad times as well as the good. For it is easy to be happy when times are good, but joy must manifest when times are bad, because it is then that we look to our Lord, Saviour, Redeemer, and the God of all comfort. For instance,

How would you that God is healer, if you've never been sick?
How would you know that what getting up felt like, if you've never been knocked down?
How would you know appreciate what you have, if you've never gone without?

These are all questions that the suffering Christian must ponder. Why would you look toward a heavenly home if this earth were a bed of roses? So we shift our perspective, and we pick up our crosses and head to Golgotha by way of Gethsemane and Gabbatha, on this Via Dolorosa.

I love writing these blog posts because I get to encourage myself as I push through the process and hopefully, I get to encourage others as well.

Something else that stood out to me, these past few weeks  were the names: Marah and Elim.

If you remember the story of Ruth, Naomi remarks that her name is no longer Naomi but Mara, for the Lord had dealt bitterly with me (Ruth 1). Marah is also mentioned in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 15 (Exodus 15:22-27). The Israelites were in the wilderness and came upon Marah- a place of bitter waters.

Like, a lot of us Christians, whose memories sometime fail us, they forgot that the same God who brought them to and through the Red Sea could do anything, and had they had enough faith they would have seen the sweet in the bitter. So they murmured with Moses (Poor Moses- opposition left, right and center)!

Moses looked to God who showed him a tree that when thrown into the water made it sweet- bittersweet. Selah.

God has the power to turn bitter things sweet, if we just hold on. But this, my friend, was only a foretaste of things to come. When they journeyed a little further, they came to Elim- the place of Twelve Waters and Three Score and Ten (70) palm trees. Selah..

Note here that, twelve, in the Bible is the number of completion and according to Matthew Henry's Commentary- one for each tribe so they didn't have to fight over it, and there were trees to shade them from the heat. Isn't the LORD wonderful?

"Though God may, for a time, order his people to encamp by the waters of Marah, yet that shall not always be their lot. See how changeable our condition is in this world, from better to worse, from worse to better."- Matthew Henry (Matthew Henry Commentary).

Let us now hear the conclusion of the matter. Though for a time we are faced with momentary trials (2 Corinthians 4) , we are comforted by the fact that it would not be our portion forever, Great is Thy faithfulness!

One of THOSE days

Today has just been one of those days! This cliche phrase is often used to sum up a hectic, crazy, and horrible day. For me, it was none of the above but it has been one of THOSE days. Let me explain.

This morning, I woke from a bad dream. I realised that if I don't plug into God like really tap into the 'source of that life giving juice' according to Eshon Bombay, the devil was going to take me out like the certified sniper he is (1 Peter 5:8; John 10:10). You know when the breeze is blowing really cold and you need to snuggle up under your blanket? Well, I needed to snuggle up under the blood of Jesus because if satan caught me slipping, he will come for me, 'stumps' me, clean bowl.

So, I drew for my spiritual armour and took out my sword. I emerged myself in the Bible, devotionals, prayer and instrumentals- then I wrote. Thank God for the talent because it is so cathartic.

I saw this picture and I just couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. I just knew that God was speaking to me. There's that moment where your past just creeps up out of nowhere and just drop kicks you, I posted a whole long text on instagram. You just got to know that when your past comes a-knocking, God will silence that noise. The enemy knows that you are destined for greatness and he will try to trip you up with roadblocks, to slow you down and keep you from reaching the destiny God has planned for you. Just like Adam and Eve, he wants to lead you into temptation. When you've messed up and you're feeling ashamed, your natural inclination is to hide and turn from God and wallow in self-pity.

However, we should do just the opposite because then the enemy's voice of condemnation will drown out the voice of God calling out or rather it will cause you to want to ignore that voice because we feel unworthy to stand before God in our 'nakedness'. Do the opposite. Run from the devil and run to God. We have what Adam and Eve didn't have. Jesus died to repair that broken relationship, our sins are paid and we've been set free. Do not live in condemnation for what happened three (3) years ago that God has already forgiven. If you've confessed it, He has thrown into the sea of forgetfulness, don't go there digging it up with a shovel. Do not give life to dead situations! I repeat, do not perform CPR on your past!

That was my first truth of the day.

The next truth which I think blew me away was the fact that I saw Jesus in the Good Samaritan story (Luke 10:25-37). Let me explain. I thought of the man who was robbed and left for dead. While the scripture doesn't state this, imagine if the people who robbed him were his own people. Then, to add insult to injury, his own people even men of the 'cloth' crossed the road and offered him no help. These are men who knew the scriptures and the law of Moses and all the teachings and yet refused to offer a helping hand (much like many of us Christians).

Nevertheless, an unlikely candidate- a man of Samaria, who by the way was an enemy of the Jews (See the story of the Samaritan Woman at the well (John 4). Think about it, Jesus was rejected by His own people, betrayed by His own, and killed on the word of His own people. While the injured man had a rescuer, Jesus had none, He willingly drank that cup for our sake. Only a few people stuck around like the Marys and His mother and Joseph of Arimathea who asked for His body and prepared it for burial.

Sounds familiar?


The last truth of the day was about Saul or King Saul.

The verse in 1 Samuel 16:7 says:

"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (NIV).

This verse was speaking about another man who appeared to look like the next king but he was not God's chosen, an unlikely shepherd boy was.

Let's backtrack, Saul appeared to have the right characteristics, he was tall, well-built and handsome. He appeared to have the characteristics of a leader but he was really timid, coward and was a troubled man with lots of issues or insecurities. So much so, that when he was about to be anointed as king, he was found hiding among the baggage. It is when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him that he was able to defeat the enemy at Jabesh Gilead. But, like many of us, Saul got haughty. He took his eyes off the Lord and sought to do his own thing. His displeased God and ran when he should have stood up and fight.

In fact, his son Jonathan was probably more courageous than him. Nevertheless, because of his disobedience God numbered his days as king and named David as his successor.

When God has appointed you to do a job don't get haughty or proud, stay humble. Do not take matters into your own hands. Just as He can establish, God can pull down and remove your lampstand out of its place. Many people appear to have the right traits and characteristics and while we may choose people based on the outward, God looks at the heart. That is how He judges us, our motives and our actions.

There's so much more that I can say but just remember to keep your eyes on Jesus to weather any storm. God has revealed so much today and I'm thankful, keep holding on and keep pressing, Keep encountering God and seek to have fellowship with Him,

Grace and Peace.

Exhale. Inhale. Repeat. Just breathe.

For the past few days, I've felt so broken. You know that feeling where everything is falling apart inside but the outside appearance looks well put together. You're a really private person and perhaps it's just pride that keeps you from saying anything, so you fight the war on your own. Yes, depression rared its ugly head, death to that beast! Looks are definitely deceiving. I've got to stop running. That's the conclusion. I've got to stop trying to escape my feelings and deal with them. Not banish them into a deep abyss or the twilight zone but let God heal me then and there and move forward.

It's amazing how God always sends a scripture to comfort me during a season like this (Psalms 34:18 & Psalms 147:3). This is a season, and this too shall pass. A season where I feel like life is being subtracted from me. Everything I make two steps forward spiritually, the devil just pushes me back down the staircase and I've got to begin again. FAITH, I need to add faith to this here equation and fill up on prayers and the word. My soul needs to find rest my soul in Christ alone.

BREATHE, EXHALE, Face the demons and kill them with the word. Don't fight them on your own but let God war on your behalf. We often try to fight flesh in our own strength but that will get us killed on the battlefield. Put on your armour of Christ, not the physical armour, but clothe yourself in Jesus and go with God- like young David the day he slew Goliath. Have you ever sat down and reflected on that story? Or is it like one of those surreal stories we read, gasp in awe and forget it along the way? God chose to reveal himself in that way so that everyone would know God won the victory and not through David's strength, It's not by might, it's not by power but by the SPIRIT says the Lord. What was seemingly improbable with man and defied every human logic was made manifest through Jesus.

The God who caused David to slew his ten thousands, the God of hosts and Angel armies is willing to fight on your behalf. He's willing to wage war on your enemies, and to protect you from the arrows that fly by night (Psalms 91:5).

I will not fear for my God is waging war on my behalf. Let me drown my tears and fears in the river of Trust and let me walk upon the waves of Faith let me stare upon your person and not look down. Let me tightrope across the mountains of despair and rest in the valleys of comfort. Let me continue to trek up the rugged terrain of whatever problems and climb steep hills of doubt but dwell in the pasture and at the brook of grace in the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Pottery Class

I prepared this lesson for my youth group but I knew that I had to share it with others. This month we're looking at 'Creative Passion'. This is understanding that God created us for a reason and has birthed in us talents and gifts for His glory. Once we understand that we live, move and have our very being in Him and we were created for His glory, it tends to shape our perspective and life.

So, I started the session with an object lesson (divinely inspired of course). There were a list of materials for them to choose from namely:

Paper towel rolls          Rubber bands       Markers and pencils
Old newspapers           Glue
Scraps of cloth             Scissors
Coconut shells             Paper

The scenario was a simple one, They were shipwrecked on a deserted island and had the choice of two or three of the above listed materials to construct something that will help them to either survive or get off the island. Two of them chose to build objects that would aid in them leaving in the island (noteworthy).

Anyways, they built boats, rafts and food container. I liked the food container because I was able to use it as an example. This was a vessel just like we are vessels of Honour. God has ingrained in us varying gifts and talents which we must unearth, we first have to tap into Him to discover what they are.

Imagine, God in his chamber in heaven while creating us took raw materials (dust) and created us. He said, I will equip ___________ with a beautiful voice and dance skills for MY GLORY. He sits waiting for __________ to ask what are those said gifts, but they never ask. Now, although God may choose to bring these talents to the fore even before we ask we still ought to use them for His glory, because He made us and not we ourselves for His GLORY.

I went on to share with them how God created something out of nothing (Ex Nihilo). He spoke into the abyss that was the unformed universe and it was- no big bang could ever be an apt theory for me. Yet God wants to do the same with us but in this regard we are our own worst enemy. God wants to use us for His ultimate Glory that is why He gave us our gifts and talents but we refuse to live for Him.

Just as they made various vessels and objects so to are God's people diverse. Made with different skillsets- a pot pourri of races, cultures, personalities and gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Romans 12:4-8).

We then looked at (Jeremiah 18:1-12) where God gives Jeremiah His Rhema word. God wants to mold us and reshape us. It doesn't matter if we are broken, lumps of clay, messy or messed up, God sees beauty, purpose, fine pottery and a masterpiece. Will you allow God to shape and mold your life? Will you allow Him into your heart to change it and to take up permanent residence there? Or will you continue like Israel in Jeremiah 8 and turn from God unto your own idols and gods? Will you use your God-given gifts to further His kingdom or will you continue selfishly profiting from God's investment?

Lastly, I reminded my charges that even though they were blessed with gifts they must not chastise or make fun of others who do not have the gifts (differently abled), especially, if they are doing it unto the Lord. For the same way it was given it can be taken away. Also, don't bury your talent like the man with the one talent (Matthew 25:14-20). Do it all to God's glory.

Selah.

P.S: Watch this amazing video from Our Daily Bread Ministries.

Grace and Peace.

"How to Kill A Spider".

Ok. First let me say that this blog post has nothing to do with killing spiders. Sorry for those who are disappointed but stick around to find out what this post is all about.

This post is in response to a sermon I heard last Sunday. The preacher told a joke that though humourous was very serious. His message was entitled 'Our greatest enemies'. We were reminded that as a Christian our three enemies are "The World, The Flesh and the devil" and of course the last is behind the first two.

This sermon was timely and sought to remind us that we are fighting a spiritual warfare (2 Corinthians 10:4). We are fighting against unseen enemies who are waging war for our souls (Cece Winans- Waging war; 1 Peter 5:8). Therefore, we ought to equip ourselves by putting on the armor of God, for this warfare. We must strip off the sin that so easily trip us up and run with endurance the race set before us (Hebrews 12:1).

In giving an example through humour, he told the tale of a man who at prayer meetings would always pray that "God remove the cobwebs out of his life". Apparently, the brother was struggling with some perpetual 'thorns in his flesh' that were causing him great discomfort. After noticing this, when the gentleman got up to pray the same prayer, another brother went over to him and shouted "Lord, kill the Spider!!", *Cymbal clap*.

WOW! This really got me thinking. How many of us are struggling with sins that we are praying for God to remove that seemingly resurface time after a time. Is it that God does not heal, or that he does not care? NO! It simply means that we're asking for the symptoms to be removed without touching the root of the problem. Sin is indwelling- it's in our nature, and unless we ask God to really uproot the 'mahogany-sized' trunks in our lives and replace it with His Spirit then of course the problem will resurface. If we are not actively pursuing God and keeping away from certain situations and sins, our 'spiritual acne' is bound to flare up.

God's shouting...Pursue ME!!! Why aren't you listening? If you spend time pursuing God you will be too busy to entertain distractions. If you find your joy and your completion in Him, then you would not need other broken cisterns or 'functional saviours'. Why? Because Jesus is the END ALL. He is not the means to an end. He is the beginning, the middle and the end. He is EVERYTHING.

He will keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3).

This week I was reminded of Jesus the tradition breaker. He saw the Samaritan woman at the well and He pursued her. He broke rules to get to her, because He know her life was a mess and that at the rate she was going she was looking for happiness in all the wrong places; relationships, sex, and pleasure. He offered her water from a fountain that never dried up, a fountain that will spring up inside you as rivers of joy- an overflow. She need only drink from His fountain of eternal life and she will never spiritually thirst again (John 4).

He was plugging the hole in her life and giving her what she truly needed. She was created to give God glory, to live in that glory, she was a sinner, she deserved death, but God in His great wisdom and mercy sent a redeemer through His Son to offer her eternal life (Five-Point Summary of the Gospel). Awesome and indeed amazing!! See yourself through the eyes of the woman of Samaria and encounter Jesus at the well, He's waiting for you to offer you Himself and you will not be disappointed.

So, let's not just ask God to remove the cobwebs but to kill the spider(s) wreaking havoc in our lives. Resist the devil saints and He will flee from us. Go in freedom and grow in grace.

Love you all saints.

Mind your own Beeswax

In my recent quest to find 'raw, organic beeswax', I came across a problem that I'd like to share some light on. Now I am no expert in natural hair care but I've returned to natural for over four years, I've done my big chop twice and I am involved in a Natural Hair team that seeks to promote natural hair care and health Beautiful Crown SVG.

So, I went around the length and breadth of Kingstown and I could not find this beeswax. How frustrating! I went into a couple stores and was directed to a certain brand of Beeswax for hair, with one lady telling me 'I'm just going by what's on the front, and it says '100% Pure beeswax'. Upon further observation, I turned the jar around to discover that what was labelled as 'Pure' on the front, actually contained petrolatum and fragrance. At first, it wasn't an issue but after a few stores, I realised that 'ignorance is one crazy thing'.

When I first became natural back in 2011, one of the things that other naturals cautioned about was about reading labels. There are a lot of products that are advertised as 'natural'. The higher up on the ingredient list a product is, the higher the concentration. Many of these 100% products really only contain a small amount. Thus, if it says 'Argan Oil' or 'Shea Butter', if it's not on the top list of ingredients after 'Aqua/Water' then chances are it's not what it says it is.

Research has shown that ingredients like Petrolatum, Mineral Oil and a list of ingredients that you cannot pronounce often do more harm than good. Not all of these unpronounceable ingredients are bad for you but it would be wise to research the ingredients list of a product that you use or are thinking of using. Knowledge is power and one of the best uses of the internet is research!

Rehabbing Rahab

I saw that title somewhere else and decided that it would be perfect for my blog post. So undulated credit goes to the original conceptualiser. So I am trying to plan a study on Joshua for my youth group and suddenly a question pops into my head. Little did I know that that question would lead me here! Alright!!!

Rahab much like Ruth were gentile women. Rahab however was a prostitute who earned an honourable mention in the Bible for housing two Isreali spies.

Such a dishonourable woman for such an honourable task, some may have thought, but God tends to call the pure in heart, despite their outward appearance and shortcomings  (1 Samuel 16:7).  It reminds us of Jesus' ministry of calling the sick and not the healthy because He is the Great Physician. His mission of reconciling sinful man to God, He often used the most unlikely candidates- the underdogs so to speak (Acts 4:13).

So here is a woman who defied all odds by being a working woman in a culture that was hostile towards women, but at the same time she was not in a noble profession. But this was secondary to the task at hand.

Nevertheless, she faced an ultimatum- 'life' or death. If she chose to hide the spies and the officials found out she risked death- not just her death but that of her family. On the other hand, if she chose not to house the spies she would have missed out on the greatest honour and blessing of her life, but she would have her life- for a time

Thanks be to God, that Rahab chose the former. She risked death because she had heard about the God of the Israelites and all that He had done and how He had destroyed all of their enemies and delivered them from Egypt  (Joshua 2:9). In a holy fear of God (which was amazing because her people were not God worshippers), Rahab submitted to the will of God. Her willingness had only one condition that when they came in to possess the land that they would remember her and her family.

They agreed, they made a promise to her and they kept it. She need only tie a scarlet ribbon from her window (scarlet- like the red on the doorpost in Egypt and the blood of Jesus). Not only did they honour that request but God honoured it in a MAJOR way.

What a brave and amazing woman. When the officials came knocking, Rahab said she had not seen them and sent them on a wild goose chase, then she let them down her window (which was near the city gates) and sent them on their way safely. Though, the issue to some here may be the fact that she lied, God is holy and does not condone lying, but one must remember that Rahab had still been of the flesh and thus operated in that- human kind based on our Adamic nature are prone and programmed to sin- that we must not forget. But, thank God for the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7).

Anyway, God used this experience to transform Rahab and to show us an example of faith in action- Faith without works is indeed dead. This action of Rahab not only saved her life but God set her in the lineage of the Messiah (Matthew 1:5)! There is another example of a faithful woman from pagan heritage who also made it in the line of the Messiah (Ruth).

All in all, God rehabbed Rahab. He took an unlikely, imperfect candidate and used her in His will. God also does the same with us. He takes us imperfect and unlikely candidates and transforms us and uses us to move mountains and to do His will on earth. He ordained us for extraordinary works before the foundation of the world or before we were conceived (Ephesians 2:10, Jeremiah 1:1-5). Rahab was born for such a time as that! It is when we think of our lives as engineered for God's glory and we seek His will in finding our true purpose we realise that we were born for such a time as this.

God rehab us and let us seek your will instead of ours. Let us seek you and find you and may we seek to know you and power of your resurrection (Philippians 3:10).

Is it time to check into spiritual rehab?

Flexible Learning simplified

As a teacher, I daily try to find ways to inspire my students and make learning interesting. There a lot of flexible and blending learning approaches or pathways to take but as of late, I have been really thinking about ways to inspire my students.

Let's face it! We live in a modern age and our students have shorter attention spans and fifteen minutes into a lecture hour or double period they're already fidgeting on their devices, thinking about what's happening on Facebook/Twitter, putting together their weekend outfit or thinking about their children or significant other.

So, the question is. How do we capture and captivate the attention of these teenagers?

Well, I am Indiana Jonesing- I am digging for lost treasure, digging for gold! I have not quite found it but I'm making head-way. My treasure map and Guide are trustworthy and it looks promising. In light of this, I have conducted some experiments.

DISCLAIMER: These are my suggestions and are not the result of professional research and experiments. Therefore, choosing to follow any of the advice below does not ensure guaranteed success.

1) Let them do research and teach!

After, a session on 'Flipping the classroom', I decided to let my students venture to the good ole library and use the archaic tools of their ancestors- you know- 'books'- (hyperbole alert). Trust me, you'd be amazed at my students reactions to books and anything more than 140 characters, so, it's safe to say that many won't be reading this.

Onward they went to research a topic with the intention of presenting to their peers. When a recap was done at the end of the class and at the beginning of the next, my students were spewing answers at me like water from a water gun (pew pew pewsh- OK maybe this sounds like video game noise but you get my point).

They really enjoyed the research and the information stayed with them as opposed to listening to a lecture where half of it they don't remember.

2) Recording recap videos

So, I must admit I've only done one but I want to test the waters before I dive in. So far, students liked the video and being able to hear my voice and view the content was a plus. There are several apps to help you achieve this (Lensoo create, Explain everything etc).

3) Get creative with your lessons

So, if anybody knows me I am artistic to the marrow. I absolutely love the performing, visual and creative arts. Therefore, my students have to display creativity in their presentations and projects. I have asked my students to dramatise, or sing (a cappella or accompanied) what they have learnt as a way of testing their understanding of concepts or pronunciation (foreign language). At some point, in collaboration with another lecturer, our students presented their marketing strategies and product prototypes. We had a range of items- from cosmetics to sports drinks and even some weird ones in the mix.

The bottom line is to find out what your students' passions and seek to unearth them. Chances are if they use their skills and talents in learning, the lesson may be more memorable and enjoyable.

4) Use resource personnel

This one is another favourite. I have had resource personnel within a specific field address my students. Of course, they must be able to capture their attention and not bore them with rhetoric. They were privy to young entrepreneurs and they even got to sample some products and got good advice (this was their favourite). Some of the entrepreneurs even gave them special discounts. All in all, they loved the diversity and it helped them to remember certain topics based on these.

5) Get out of the classroom

Let's plan to embark on more field trips! While, these field trips can be time consuming and costly, they are a great way of engaging your students. While, travel (local, regional or international) may be a delight, field trips may not be solely seeing but doing. They can take the form of a skills-training exercise or simple research around your school campus (Market research)..

Now, I know that your subject area may not lend itself to merry making and doing many activities but it does not mean that you cannot get creative with your lessons. The key is to get students to look forward to coming to your classes because as they say variety is the spice of life. Of course this is not an exhaustive list and if you have other ideas or suggestions- feel free to leave a message or shoot me an email.

Let's not just teach, let's engage!!!