Kyndal’s Classroom
So recently I’ve been substitute teaching and it’s been teaching me a lot. I talk to kids of all ages all day, from 5 years old to 16. One thing I have learned across the board is that you must establish control immediately. This means you must let them know exactly what you expect or they will walk all over you. I learned this the hard way.
The first day I walked into a second-grade classroom, I was all nice and ready to be someone’s favorite teacher—HUMBLED. Those kids would not sit down—it was a mess lol. Instead of staying in their seats and raising their hands, they would all get up and come tell me whatever they had to say—all 22 of them. This meant everything from bathroom requests to stories about dead foxes and cousins who live in Delaware. They did not hold back.
After that, I vowed to set expectations from the beginning. I walked into my next class with instructions ready, and my grown woman pants on. Ms. Harp was a different lady today! The next few classes were a much different experience!
If I’m honest though, that’s not the only place where I needed to exercise control. My mind has been like that first second-grade classroom. No control. God showed this to me this morning as I was struggling. I was just letting things slide. The chaos I felt mentally was because I had not been firm in what I expected of my mind. Thus, Kyndal’s Classroom arose!
Kyndal’s Classroom
Here you can see a picture of my classroom. There are different groups of students in each section.
At the identity table:
A Child of God (John 1:12)
New Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Heir (Romans 8:17)
Adopted (Ephesians 1:5)
God’s Workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)
A Royal Priesthood (1 Peter 2:9)
*For those struggling with this, there is a resource attached below about the things God says about you and I encourage you to declare them daily!
There’s the Fruit of the Spirit section (Galatians 5:22):
Joy
Love
Goodness
Gentleness
Peace
Patience
Self – Control
Faithfulness
Kindness
And then there are others in the classroom like Grace, Faith, and Mercy. There are a few key jobs in our classroom. If you see Praise, she’s standing up reading the morning announcements—a constant shower of praise to Jesus in the room. And then you see Espy! Espy is short for Esperanza, which means Hope in Spanish and French. Espy is our class pet (and my cat in real life so she hangs out in our class too!). She reminds us that Hope is always with us.
Class Rules
LIES. LEAVE. IMMEDIATELY.
As soon as a thought comes that is not true, we immediately send it out. The principal—Jesus—handles it from there. Just like in the classroom, I have to nip unwanted behavior in the bud immediately or it keep growing until it’s out of control.
Kyndal says it [1] time. No arguing.
I do not argue or go back and forth with lies or demons when I say something that’s it. In class I found myself repeating stuff over and over and over and I did the same thing with darkness. We can get stuck wrestling with something that had to leave as soon as we told it too. I’m not asking more than once. PERIOD.
No Darkness.
The third is just in general, every dark thing. Spiritual blocks, Cynicism, Fear (is not allowed on campus), pride (does not go to this school)—They are not in my class so they cannot be here.
A Day in Class
Let me share how this played out today. So, there were some things attacking my faith today. As you can see, faith sits at the circle table in my classroom. I sent them out and it was like I visualized two boys, two snakes’ line up outside my door and as I spoke what is not allowed, they straightened up and stopped talking. Jesus took care of them, but what is so beautiful. I went on teaching (I was going over Ephesians chapter 1). I saw Jesus usher somebody back in. At first, I saw who it was and brushed it off but then froze. It was peace. It’s like I saw this little girl named Peace and Jesus ushered her back into the room. I didn’t even realize that she had left. God is so beautiful—that confrontation had scared her away and he brought her back.
God is so faithful and sweet. He restores what was lost in the room. So, I hope that today, you realize that God is so intimately for you. He will show you how to take your thoughts captive and submit them to him, but not only that. He will then fill your mind with his truth so that you may walk abundantly in Him.
Luke 10:19 (ESV) Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
*Resource (Poster): Things God Says About You
