Major Bambi
Donnie Dunagan is a pretty tough guy. Pictured below, you see him as a tough-nosed, highly decorated career marine. But Donnie had a secret. Something he did't want anyone, not even his wife, to know. As a young boy, Donnie was a child actor and was hand picked by Walt Disney to be the voice of the lead character in the 1942 classic, Bambi.
That's right, Commander Donnie Dunagan is Bambi, the sweet, frail, innocent, unsure of himself fawn. Not exactly the image a commander in the Marines wants to portray. So he kept it a secret throughout his career, only admitting it after he was outed by a superior officer. And once the word was out, Donnie made an amazing discovery. He was't laughed at and ridiculed as much as he was loved.
"I have some holes in my body that God did't put there" Donnie mused. "I got shot through my left knee. Got an award or two for saving lives over time. But I think I could have been appointed as the aide-de camp in the White House, it would't make any difference — it's Bambi that's so dear to people."
Behind all of the bravado, we all have something to hide. All of us, even the toughest, has fears and insecurities that we do't want others to see. So we hide our weaknesses, our frailties, sure that we could only be despised for them.
Do't wait your whole life before you discover that it is just as important to be honest and transparent about your weakness as your are about your strengths. For it is only then that others will find in you someone with whom they can relate.
Such humility not only draws us closers to people, it draws us closer to God.
"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12).
I Wish My Teacher Knew ...
“I wish my teacher knew I don’t have a friend to play with me.”
“I wish my teach knew I don’t have pencils at home to do my homework.”
“I wish my teacher knew how much I miss my dad because he got deported to Mexico when I was 3 years old …”
“I wish my teacher knew sometimes my reading log is not signed because my mom is not around a lot.”
These are just a few of the heart wrenching notes which Kyle Schwartz, a 3rd grade teacher at Doull Elementary School in Denver, CO, received from her students. The notes were in response to an assignment which Schwartz designed in an effort to better know her students and their needs. The instructions were simple: Complete this thought--I wish my teacher knew ...
"As a new teacher, I struggled to understand the reality of my students' lives and how to best support them. I just felt like there was something I didn't know about my students."
Students were given the choice to remain anonymous or sign their names if they felt comfortable. Most not only signed their names, but were willing (anxious even) to read their responses in front of the class.
"Building community in my classroom is a major goal of this lesson. After one student shared that she had no one to play with at recess, the rest of the class chimed in and said, 'we got your back.' The next day during recess, I noticed she was playing with a group of girls. Not only can I support my students, but my students can support each other."
Schwartz is sharing the results of her assignment on social media in the hopes of encouraging other teachers around the country to give their students a forum for transparently sharing their inner thoughts and struggles.
Pastor, how well do you understand the reality of your parishioners' lives and how best to serve them?
Our pews are filled with people hiding behind their hymnals and bulletins, struggling silently with life’s challenges.
Perhaps it’s fear of judgment, or maybe it’s fear that no one would really care anyway.
What if you asked your people to complete this thought--I wish my pastor knew …? Is it possible that what you learned from their responses could help you foster an environment of safety and transparency—an environment where they could feel safe to share their inner thoughts and struggles? Not only would you be better able to support your people, but your people would be better able to support each other.
“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:16, NIV).
“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, ESV).
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16, NLT).
I DARE You to Come Out
(NEWSER) – The DARE lion "Darin" is in some trouble. To be more exact, the upstate New York man who cops charged with stuffing him full of pot, cocaine, and LSD is in some trouble. Police say Gregory Bolognese, 22, was caught Monday at a Greyhound bus station in Plattsburgh with the drug-stuffed anti-drug mascot, the Smoking Gun reports, though it's not exactly clear how or why cops caught on to him. Darin comes dressed in a black T-shirt bearing the motto "DARE To Resist Drugs and Violence." Bolognese comes charged with possession of marijuana and a controlled substance.
How many of us hide behind the appearance of righteousness, hoping to throw others off the trail of their true selves?
It takes courage to step out from behind our pretenses, to live a transparent, humble and truthful life.
Come out from hiding--I DARE you!
"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-34).