Last Sunday we read and discussed the last two questions on Chapter 2 and the first two questions on Chapter 3 in Max Lucado’s book “Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World.” Interestingly, the Meditation at the end of Chapter 2 was the Prayer of Saint Patrick, and last Sunday was St. Patrick’s s Day.
Much of the discussion centered around Max’s pointing out the difference between guilt that comes from the thought “I did [something] bad,” and guilt from the thought “I am bad.” Some parents echoed this theme by pointing out that they love their children for who they are, not just for what they do.
Several teachers in the class related this thought to how they handled misbehaving students. They punish the behavior, not the person. One member pointed out that a punishment, although possibly severe, was over once administered, and that they did not hold the previous behavior against the student later on. Another member summarized this thought by saying that there are no bad kids.
Continuing this discussion, yet another teacher stated that when a student says (for example), “I can’t read,” the teacher says, “You can read, just not as well as you would like to be able to read.” Thus the focus is on improvement not on inability.
This Sunday, 3/21/19, we will start by reconsidering Question 2 on page 164, for which we didn’t have time for a complete “conversation.” Max asks us to read Genesis Chapter 3, then to consider how Adam and Eve might have confronted their negative thinking following their fall from grace in the Garden of Eden.
Hope to see you in class Sunday, normal time and place, between services starting at 9:45 in St. Mark’s Room, second floor in the Leadership Center.
In Christ,
Peggy and Paul Foerster
