Author: Polly

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True Confessions

I have your attention already, don’t I?

Confession #1: I don’t really like to read.

It’s true. I’d much rather solve a puzzle than read a book. If I do read a book, I’m good for about one chapter a day…if the chapters are short. Perhaps that’s why I chose to become a math teacher. Have you ever really read a math textbook? Me either.

A Difficult Read

I say this to lead you to Confession #2. I grew up in the church and faithfully attended Sunday School and VBS, but I can’t say that I ever spent any time reading God’s word unless it was required in one of those settings. Imagine how daunting reading the Bible is for someone who doesn’t like to read in the first place. It seemed like it was written in a different language.

The Book of Jonah

My pastor led us through the book of Jonah to kick off 2026. That stirred up memories of what may very well be the most embarrassing moment of my life. I have never told a single soul, but it’s been haunting me during this whole study of Jonah. Maybe by sharing it, I can start laughing about it. If nothing else, you’ll get a good chuckle.

Confession #2: I thought the whale’s name was Jonah.

There, I said it. Go ahead—that’s your cue to LOL. I have no idea where I got the notion that the whale had a name and the guy inside its belly had none, but that’s how I remembered the story. I apparently wasn’t paying much attention the day that story was taught. What’s worse—that’s what I thought to be true until I was 30-something, married, and a mother of two. I learned the truth when I was volunteering at VBS when the kids were of age to participate. Apparently, the theme of the week was “Jonah AND the Whale” not “Jonah, the Whale!” Good thing they only asked me to play the piano!!

A Read with Impact

I am happy to say that I’ve come a LONG way in my spiritual journey since that embarrassing moment. But guess what? That progress was fueled by plenty of reading, like it or not! The Bible is the inspired, written Word of God and one of the main ways He speaks to His children today.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Reading the Directions

I often think of the Bible as God’s instruction manual for living. When you make a purchase that comes with instructions, do you sit down and read the manual first? While I’m making confessions, I’ll admit that I usually save reading the directions as a last resort. I try to figure it out myself first and then consult the manual if/when I fail. Would it be wise to read the manual first? Yep!

Speaking my Language

Though I knew about and believed in God growing up, Jesus didn’t become real to me until much later. I can’t provide a date on the calendar or even tell you a great story about that moment, but I can tell you this—it was AFTER I realized Jonah was a prophet, not a whale! I learned that, and so much more, when I started digging into His Word. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the words on those pages of the Bible started speaking to me like never before.

A Must-Read

If you came to my house for a visit, you would find a bookcase, but my books only take up one shelf. They all pertain to Christian living and have impacted me enough that they are worthy of keeping. But one stands apart from the rest, just like the One who inspired it—the Bible, a book of eternal significance. If you dig into it, it will dig into you. Try it and find out!
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The Identity Property

Lesson 1-8 Properties of Real Numbers - ppt video online download

I wrote about the Division Property of Zero in my most recent blog post and that got me thinking about other math properties that I teach my students. The Identity Property is one of them. In mathematics, an identity is defined as a transformation that leaves an object unchanged. With regard to addition, that would be zero (13 + 0 = 13), and in multiplication, it is one (13 x 1 = 13). The best way I found to explain it is by asking my students what they see when they look in a mirror. Answer: Themselves! That’s their identity. Or is it? 

What is Your Identity?

When it comes to Jesus, He has a knack for turning things upside down, including the Identity Property! As Christ followers, we choose to put our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Our identity is found in Him and Him alone. 

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

‭‭ John‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Out with the Old, In with the New

We are a child of God, a new creation, redeemed and forgiven. Unlike a mathematical identity, when one’s identity is found in Christ it is a transformation that leaves us radically changed! 

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

All Because of Jesus

Our new life would not be possible without Jesus. Keep that in mind as you gather with friends and family to celebrate His birth in the coming days. 

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Ultimate Gift

That is cause for celebration! Jesus truly is the Ultimate Gift, one to be treasured anew each day. 

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

‭‭ Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Image result for merry christmas clip art images

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Division By Zero

Impossible!

As most of you know, I teach developmental math at the community college. My basic math class took a test on whole numbers and integers recently and one of the concepts included on that exam was division by zero.

The Division Property of Zero

Ready for a math lesson? Zero divided by any nonzero number is zero. But dividing BY zero is a whole different story. I illustrate this idea to my students with a cookie analogy. If I bring ZERO cookies to class to divide among my students, how many cookies does each student receive? NONE! However, what if I bring 2 dozen cookies to share with my students and no one shows up? (Believe it or not, that HAS happened—the last part anyhow) I can’t share them, can I? No, I just end up eating too much! Anything divided by zero is undefined in the world of math.

Division Abounds

Let’s apply that concept to the world in general. I think we would all agree that there is no shortage of division in this world. If that doesn’t affect you, then let’s narrow the scope. Is there division in your country, state, county, community? How about in your church or school? Have you been affected by it? What about your neighborhood, your family, or even your own home? I suspect everyone is affected by division every single day on some level simply because we live in a fallen world.

The Division Property of Zero: A Real-Life Application

On the way to class on the morning of that exam, God provided me with a revelation and consequently some writing material. You know I’m always looking for that, not to mention the time to put it into words. With division apparent at seemingly every turn these days, just remember this math lesson. You CANNOT divide by zero. It is undefined. If NO ONE participates, division is NOT possible. Think about that.

The Opposite of Division = Unity

God has a better way. He calls it unity. In God’s perfect timing, the verse of the day as I sat down to finish this post is Galatians 3:28. It reads:

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Because of God’s amazing grace, we all stand on equal footing no matter our age, race, gender, social status, political beliefs, etc. No matter what, we are all ONE before God, standing on a level playing field created by Jesus.

Achieving Unity

As Christians, we are called to live out that unity here on earth. What does that look like? It certainly is not easy, but we have been given some instructions.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)

I believe we’ve been called to a higher standard as children of God. After all, we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. We have the power of the Holy Spirit at our disposal 24/7 to guide and direct us. As we sang in church just this past Sunday, “they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” That should be the goal!

Doing Our Part

Let’s strive for unity right where we’ve been planted. Remember, division is not possible if no one participates! I am going to put forth a more conscious effort not to engage in any activity that promotes division. To use more math lingo, I want to be part of the solution, not the problem. Will you join me?

 

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Road Closed

Obstacle Ahead

ROAD CLOSED—This is NOT a sign you want to see in the early part of a 1000+ mile journey home after being away for over three months. Actually, I’m not sure it is EVER a sign you want to see. I only know that it was particularly painful yesterday. I wasn’t sure we would ever get out of Florida! All lanes  on I-95 N were closed due to an accident just north of Jacksonville. So, we had to exit and find our way back with several thousand of our closest friends. You can imagine our delight!

An Alternate Route

My husband, Todd, doesn’t generally let me do much of the driving, but he succumbed when he had had enough of evading the obstacle keeping us from our intended route. I suggested that I take a turn behind the wheel so he could take a nap. I assured him that I wouldn’t fall asleep in such driving conditions. So, I drove. He slept. We covered 0.8 miles in the process! Finally, we made it  back to I-95 and were on our way again. By midnight we had conquered the rest of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, stopping off for the night in Elkin, NC.

Responding to Obstacles

I’m always asking God for writing material. After an altered night of sleep due to our late night, it came in the form of the Verse of the Day in YouVersion first thing this morning. As we reflect on the last week of Jesus’ earthly life, we revisited the story of Jesus going to the Temple in today’s verse. Like us yesterday, He encountered obstacles. Also, like us, He responded with anger. Okay, His was righteous. Ours, not so much. Instead of the Temple being used for its intended purpose—worshiping God, it was being used to take advantage of those who traveled to Jerusalem for that very reason.

Jesus went into the Temple area. He threw out all those who were selling and buying things there. He turned over the tables that belonged to those who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. Jesus said to them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are changing it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’”

Matthew 21:12-13 ERV

Theft

The people who came to the Temple for worship were being robbed, in multiple ways. First, the merchants were selling animals needed for sacrifice at excessive amounts, priced too high for many of the travelers to afford. That led to a second type of robbery—a spiritual robbery. Those who could not meet the asking price were excluded from worship, unable to pray and connect with God at the Temple. The merchants and religious leaders had filled the Temple with obstacles, keeping the poor and vulnerable from God’s very presence.

Clearing the Path

Jesus would have NONE of that! In His anger, He single-handedly cleared the Temple of all man-made obstacles blocking people’s access to God. That was a temporary act, leading to His ultimate act, one that has eternity stamped on it. Jesus tore down every obstacle standing in our path to God when He went to the cross on our behalf to pay the penalty for our sin. The obstacle is gone, the road is open, never to be closed again. Thank you, Jesus!

If you haven’t yet chosen this road, please know that it is an open invitation and one you’ll never regret accepting. I know how thrilled we were to get back on I-95 and get moving yesterday, yet it pales in comparison to the joy of being in relationship with God, only made possible through Jesus. May you know that same joy!