Back to School!, by Anonymous

Back to School!

By Anonymous 

Maybe you’ve bee in school all summer, or maybe you’ve had the summer off. Maybe you are in a private school, maybe you’re home schooled, or maybe you go to a public school. Maybe there’s lots of people around you all the time, or maybe just a few.
No matter what, you can glorify God in your unique place! You are called to honor God, right where you are.
1. Doing your best, for the Lord!
People notice, and then you can explain why you do your best, when the opportunity comes.
Worried? It’s not being a teacher’s pet or a stuck-up….IF you are humble and your motive is to please God! God made you wonderful, and you honor Him when you do your best. That’s what matters. 
2. Witnessing through school supplies?
Have a notebook or binder? Buying pencils? Decorate them to say "Jesus loves you!" or with some Christian lyrics that praise God!
School supplies decorated with a theme pointing to God can be an awesome witness, not just for classroom settings, but also while you are in the doctor‘s or dentist office, shopping around town, on a trip, with a home school group, anywhere!!
Not only that, but I bet it will keep you encouraged throughout the year. Besides, they can be fun to make. 
3. Mean girls - being light and hope is hard but worthwhile.
Personal Story:
I know how rough it is to listen to all the girls whisper and know they are saying things … bad things … about me, my friends, or innocent new people.
Want to know something awesome?
If you do your best to be kind to them despite them being mean to you, it goes a long way. If when you are with others, and they start talking about how mean those girls are, you say (instead of a juicy tid-bit about how they hurt you also) "We ought to just pray for them." .... If you pray for them daily and look for ways to share God with them, and His love toward them, life will be a lot easier. It's hard at first to learn to live like that, but it pays off HUGE. My yearbook for my senior year proves that.
People who lied about me, were absolutely cruel to me, and brought me to tears once, saw my reactions (though sometimes I failed). Generally they must have seen Christ instead of me, cause in my yearbook, they complimented me genuinely and thanked me for being there when they had a rough day. I cried when I got home after reading some of those.
Honest, I've lived both ways, the other way hurts more, even though it seems logical to take revenge or be upset or anything else.
The End.
4. How are you spiritually prepared this year? 
Here’s some quizzes that might be cool to start off the school-year with! Quizzes For Your Life!
5. Sharing in love, being unashamed 
When someone asks you about your schooling, say it with spirit, and try to turn the conversation to point to God and how He is working in your life! Even the topic of school can be a way to witness, then! Don’t get impatient with questions or embarrassed.
6. Pray 
Whether your curriculum includes many of God’s truths or not, you can be growing closer to Him by reading the Bible and then seeing how your schoolwork can teach you more about God, the people He loves and made in His image, and the awesome world He created.  Pray about tests, about what you are gaining in knowledge, and trust God that He will use all these things for His glory in your life.