Non-Negotiables

Be kind.

Be safe.

Be respectful.

In my music classroom, these are my non-negotiables. Any space that is filled with children needs guidelines. Simplifying my classroom expectations has become a life lesson for me and my students.

Instead of a long list of dos and don’ts, we navigate our way together with the expectation that we are to aim for kindness, safety, and respect in everything we do.

The first step to implementing this set of guidelines was to help my students understand what “non-negotiable” meant. Trust me, these children know how to negotiate, but they weren’t clear on the meaning of a non-negotiable.

Negotiating goes on daily in my classroom. It usually goes like this, “if we finish our work, can we play Pass the Beat?” Or “If we promise not to talk, can we sit by our friends today?”  Or “If we win the game, can we have a Skittle?”

Teaching them that a non-negotiable is an absolute – a guideline with no exceptions was new for some of them. My goal was to help them understand that our behaviors can be filtered through the lens of kindness, safety, and respect.

Kindness. We defined kindness as uplifting words, treating each other with tenderness, accepting differences, and being gentle with mistakes.

Safety. For us, safety means keeping our physical bodies safe and providing a safe space for feelings, expressions, and thoughts.

Respect. There’s nothing a teacher appreciates more than respect for his or her role in the classroom. That means good manners and no eye-rolling. Our room is a place where every voice is heard, and every life is honored.

These are big expectations for such young lives, but I view this as foundation-building.

In the church setting my ministry was to help children build a faith foundation – to know the stories of God and God’s people, and to follow God’s way. My work in the classroom is also about building foundations for children.

Kindness, safety, and respect are used to measure everything we do. They are the building blocks for God’s command to love each other and love our neighbor as ourselves.

With my students, the question isn’t, “Why did you do that?” The question is, “Was that kind, safe, or respectful?” From that point, we build an understanding that the choices we make have consequences.

God laid some non-negotiables before us too. In Micah 6:8 we read, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” These are the measuring sticks for the children of God.

Things tend to fall apart when we lose sight of God’s non-negotiables. Our egos take over, and we lose connection with our true selves. It happens in the classroom, the workplace, the political arena, and yes, even in the church.

In the current climate in which we live, we are being called to examine our relationships with the world, with each other, and with ourselves. Instead of falling into the habit of dwelling in the shallow space, it is time to allow ourselves to be led to the deeper places – the place where only God’s spirit can lead us. It is time to seek to understand the depths of our fellow brothers and sisters and view them through the lens of God’s non-negotiables of justice, loving-kindness, and mercy.

Immersed In Jesus

Beauty and tranquility are gifts from God. Immersing ourselves in these gifts is a calling to draw near to the one who formed and created us.

My latest blog has been published by the Jesus Worldview Initiative. I hope you will follow the link below, read the article, and checkout the good work being done by John Pierce the director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative.

https://jesusworldview.org/guest-post-immersed-in-jesus/

An Invitation

Many of us choose resolutions to mark the beginning of a new year. Those resolutions might be taking up a discipline or resolving to accomplish something new and challenging.

Alongside a resolution, some choose a word or a mantra to cling to in the new year. I have chosen the latter - to carry a mantra with me into 2024. My hope is that these words will shape my outlook and form a conviction in me that keeps me moving forward.

My mantra for this year is, “be not afraid.” I chose these words during the Advent season when many of the liturgical readings included the angel encounters from the Christmas story. When angels appear in the scripture their salutation is often, “be not afraid.”

In the Advent stories, angels appear to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. “Be not afraid, Zechariah.” “Be not afraid, Mary.” “Be not afraid, Joseph.” “Be not afraid, you lowly shepherds.”

As I mark time in this new year of 2024 and I open my journal to begin to write, I start with the words, “be not afraid.” These words are written as a prayer that God will give me whatever it is that I need to live courageously.

Admittedly, when first reading these words in scripture they suggest a vision of Mary or Joseph covering their eyes in fear, or shepherds cowering to the ground petrified of the loud voice and bright light. Perhaps the angel’s declaration of “be not afraid” holds more than that. Maybe it isn’t meant to be a calming of the fears from the actual angelic encounter, but more of an invitation.

When the angels spoke to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, they were inviting them into something. They were extending an invitation into courageous living – an invitation to see the holy work of God and to join in that work with God. Scott Erickson in his book, Holy Advent, describes the angel’s declaration as an invitation “to consider every situation no matter how despairing, as something we don’t have to walk through alone, but as the birthplace for divine participation.”

Being unafraid doesn’t always mean we won’t be fearful. Instead, it means that we are able to keep moving when we are afraid because we are held by Divine presence. Courage means speaking when we are afraid, or putting one foot in front of the other when we are weak and grief-stricken. It’s knowing that God understands our fear and gives us power through that fear.

I love these words by Arthur Riley – “a quivering voice is still sacred.”

In this new year, I think the takeaway for me is that there is much to fear, but I won’t let fear silence me. I won’t let fear stop me from praying, acting, and proclaiming. I won’t let fear stop me from fulfilling my dreams and goals. I won’t let fear hinder the flow of God’s divine love in me.

My voice may “quiver,” and my hands may tremble, but I believe that God holds me in those moments. And I believe that God continues to send holy messengers into our world to invite us into holy living. “Be not afraid.”

Prayer by Arthur Riley

I will not be silenced by fear.

A quivering voice is still sacred.

God, my soul trembles.

Steady me in your arms.

I will meet this fear with rest.

God, steady me in your arms.

Amen.