Hey Reader!

“You are unique! God has made you specifically just the way you are.” Has anyone ever said that to you? How does it make you feel? Years ago, someone challenged me to look in the mirror and tell myself “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14) I cried when I did it. In fact, I couldn’t even get the full sentence out the first time. It actually took quite a few tries over the course of several weeks before I was able to stand in front of my mirror and confidently say it.

Why do I even bring this up in a space that’s meant for early childhood professionals and parents of young children? I bring it up because I believe all of our young children should hear these words on a regular basis – “You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” “God made you on purpose, just the way you are.” For most young children, they already believe these words – most of the are very confident in who they are! HA! However, as they get older, those insecurities about how they look, how they sound, how they act in certain situations, etc will bubble up. We want to build deep ruts in their brains (and their hearts) about the Truth of who they are – who the Creator of the Universe says they are.

We just published a new course in our course library called “It’s You, I See! Addressing Race In The Classroom”. As I reviewed the video and edited the course, I was reminded about how important it is that we look for God’s design in our students. Our identity is so much deeper than our race or our family history or our current environment. However, all those things and experiences impact who we become!

I want to offer you two challenges:

1. Look yourself in the eye in the mirror and tell yourself “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” How does your heart respond?
2. Look around at your students, their families, your coworkers, or even the other shoppers at Costco. When you look at them, how do you see the creativity of God expressed in them? Some are tall, some are short (me). Some have dark, straight, shiny hair; some have blond, frizzy, curly hair (me). Some have pale peach skin with freckles and a sunburn (me) and some have smooth, chocolate-milk skin. Intentionally notice the people around you and call out their beauty.

I definitely believe that there is so much more to all of us than our outward appearance – those differences that are easily spotted. However, I also believe that we can’t just skip over the outward and become “color-blind” as a way to avoid messy conversations. God is infinitely creative in how He has designed each one of us. Are you able to celebrate your own unique beauty? Are you able to identify and proclaim the unique beauty in others? Turn the hearts and eyes of your students (and yourself) intentionally to God’s design for the nations. Jesus lived and died for us all.
Wanna dig into this topic a little deeper? Check out “It’s You, I See! Addressing Race In The Classroom” in our course library.

Cheering you on this week!

-Your ECCN team

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Equipping you personally, professionally, and spiritually at these events! North State Conference August 1-2, 2024, Lewisville, TX SOLD OUT! Please pray for us! REGIONAL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Sept 14, 2024: East Texas – Tyler​ Early Bird ends on Aug 9th! Oct 12, 2024: Bryan/College Station​ Early Bird ends on Sept 6th! Nov 2, 2024: West Texas – Lubbock​ Early Bird ends on Sept 27th! More info please? Show me all events! Show me online courses!

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Colossians 3:16

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”