Colossians 4:5-6
Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversaion, not put them down, not cut them out.

By outsiders he means people who are outside of Christ's salvation. Our goal should be to include them in the family of God, but sometime we, by our words or actions, put them down or cut them out. I think of this when I am dealing with my students. I make no secret of the fact that I am a Christian, so I have a great responsibility to represent Christ in my conversations with students. When some students know that their teachers are Christians, they set us up to see how we will react. They push us to the limit to see if we will lose our cool and react in a human way. Unfortunately, no matter how long we have been Christians, how firm we are in our faith, we are also quite human, and we don't always respond appropriately to their challenges. There is a way to treat them with kind firmness and to let them know that we truly care about their future success.

Today is Carson's 21st Birthday. He has really always been mature for his age, so I know I can count on him to celebrate responsibly. Since he was in high school, I have always told him "Don't be Stupid" when he was leaving the house. We have laughed that other moms say "I Love You" to their kids. I think my comment says the same thing. So many kids make stupid choices when they are in high school or college--choices that affect the rest of their lives. I love him too much to want him to go through the consequences of a stupid action. It seems strange to think that my youngest child is a bona fide adult. I wish Jason was here to wish him a happy birthday. When Kirby turned 21, Jason seemed bothered by it. It was really the first time he had ever voiced to me that he was feeling old. Kirby and Carson were the "little boys" in our family-only 15 months apart. I guess I have to face the reality that we don't have "little boys" any longer. One more time, Carson, Don't Be Stupid.