Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

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This is a very special week in the life of my wife and best friend Patricia Ann Hudson. On yesterday, May 24, she said goodbye to her students for the school year. Every teacher knows that feeling.

Not only did she say goodbye to students she has educated since last August, she also said goodbye to a 41 year teaching career at Indianapolis Public Schools.

It occurred to me today that while she said goodbye to being a school teacher, I know she will continue to educate at one level or another. Educators are lifelong learners and communicators of knowledge and understanding.

This fruitful career was her journey, but Patricia did not travel alone. I was blessed to share in that four decade journey. We met and fell in love when she was an education student at Ball State University. We were married as 22 year olds and began to raise our first child, Michael.

Patricia's first teaching assignment was fourth grade at Henry W. Longfellow Middle School #28. At that time we lived in far Northwest Indianapolis and the school was in Southeast indianapolis. Every day, with one car in the early days, we made that long drive to take Patricia to her school, our son to his grandmother, and I went to work. We reversed that journey every week day in the late afternoon.

41 years later, we are blessed to have four children, all through college and in careers, and three grandchildren. One of our children, Jonathan, is an educator. Patricia also has hundreds of other children that she has loved and nurtured one year at a time. God has been faithful to her and to our family!

The last two weeks have been full of tributes to my wife from educators, friends, family, New Covenant Church family, and students. It's very difficult to find the words to fully express the positive impact she's had on the lives of children and future educators she has mentored.

I've shared with family and friends photos and videos of Patricia's career and in person tributes from the past two weeks. These are now memories and a legacy that will live in the hearts of minds of students, many now all grown up, for a lifetime.

Well done Patricia and THANK YOU!

God Bless and Be Encouraged!
~ Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.

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Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

A lot of things, occasions, and holidays were designed to influence our thinking and actions.

• Do you know why the National Anthem is sung at sporting events?

• Do you know why “In God We Trust” is on our currency?

• Southern Baptist Convention was founded in 1845 in support of slave-owning church members. James Boyce, the SBC seminary’s first president and a slave owner. He was chaplain to the Confederate Army.

• The “Lost Cause” and Confederate Monuments were establish to re-cast Confederate defeat as a moral victory. 1,747 monuments erected to honor defeated Confederate rebels and portray them as heroes, affirming white supremacy.

• Anti-Critical Race Theory actions are another example of influencing thinking. People brand CRT as “Marxist” There is work to “sanitize” (re-write) history and ease “guilty” feelings.

Critical Race Theory is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old. The core idea is that race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies. https://alsoacarpenter.com/2021/06/06/crt-commonplaces/

2 Peter 1:3, As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.

The “knowledge of God” as a relationship opens all kinds of doors. Things that pertain to “godliness,” come from relationship with God.

Some Higher Thoughts (From The Obstacle Is the Way - by Ryan Holiday)

1. See the opportunity within your obstacle: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
2. Failure shows us the way—by showing us what isn’t the way.
3. Everything we do matters
4. Think progress, not perfection.
5. Can we see that this “problem” presents an opportunity for a solution that we have long been waiting for?
6. Nothing can ever prevent you from trying. Ever.
7. We don’t get to choose what happens to us, but we can always choose how we feel about it
P8. ersistence is an action. Perseverance is a matter of will. One is energy. The other, endurance. And, of course, they work in conjunction with each other.

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Have you ever woke up feeling tired? Do you feel tired and tense over all?

Ecclesiastes 10:10 reads, "If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success."

Imagine if you needed to cut wood with an ax or a saw. A dull tool would make that task more difficult and tiring. We know what it is like to use a dull knife in the kitchen, which can be a little dangerous. There was a dialogue between two people that went like this:

“How long have you been sawing that tree?"
"A long time!"
"Why don’t you sharpen your saw?"
"I’ve been too busy sawing!”

Sharpening your saw, resting well, and taking care of yourself, is one of the best things you can do to overcome the feeling of tiredness and tenseness. As Solomon said, "If the ax is dull, then he must use more strength." What we need is the strength of better habits and God's grace helping.

We read in Psalms, "He makes me lie down in green pastures." Think about this as an invitation, not something we have to do because of a crisis. As Solomon said, "Wisdom brings success."

Sharpen your saw. Some things you can do to help yourself includes getting good rest and developing better habits.

For your encouragement, I've included a link to my teaching entitled "Habit: The Faithful Servant - Seven Key Habits"

God Bless and Be Encouraged!
~ Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.

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Your Constant Companion

“I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am at your command. Half of the tasks that you do you may just as well turnover to me and I will do them quickly and correctly. I am easily managed, you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done. After a few lessons I will do it automatically.”

I am the servant of all great people, and alas, of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great. And those who are failures, I have made failures. I am not a machine, but I work with all the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a person. You may run me for profit or run me for ruin, it makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me and I will lay the work at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you. Who am I? I am called habit. Habit is my name.” (author unknown)

"A habit is the intersection between knowledge, skill and desire.Common sense is not always common practice." Stephen Covey, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”

"Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters." ~ Nathaniel Emmon

Having an appreciation of time is a good habit.

chronos (clock time) and kairos (opportunity time)
Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV, Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity [Kairos], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE
By Stephen Covey

1. Be proactive, not reactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think Win Win
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the Saw
"If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success. "Eccl. 10:10

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Mothers are so inspiring! On Mother's Day in our service, we listened to reflections from mothers and adult children about their mothers. Here is a YouTube link to those talks.

We also reflected on those whom we call in our community, “mother-like-ones.” Those are aunts, grandmothers, and mentors will fill the voids in a child's life who did not have the presence of their mother.

My mother, Gaynell Hudson, passed away 20 years ago, at what we now consider the young age of 65. As I shared last week, she was a towering figure of compassion and love, with this words, “Be Encouraged!” Last November I celebrated my 65th birthday.

All the inspiring reflections caused all who were gathered together, and who watched on live stream, to reflect on our mothers and motherhood.

One major blessing of having been mothered, is a deeper sense of care and compassion for others. There is also the strong sense feeling protected and, and the willingness to do anything for your child, and for other loved ones.

One of our young mothers reflected on the parallel between how a mother loves her child and how Christ loves us. She shared how much more clear God's love became after giving birth to her own child.

Maya Angelou wrote: “To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.”

This captures the almost indescribable impact of mothers, and mother like ones. We love our mothers and their memory.

God Bless and Be Encouraged!
~ Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.

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