Battle Lines!

Well, I've completed a three day week of school and it was great! I can't tell you how good it was to get back into the classroom. I love my classes and am looking forward to the rest of the year. I know it's early, but i got great feedback from my students. We spent most of the week building relationships and developing CLASS RULES. I do this WITH the students. One of their rules was to allow "Random dancing while in class" . So, I included that rule, with a minor exception. They can't do it when it interferes with instructional time. Not sure any other teachers have a rule allowing dancing in the classroom. In college teachers used to be taught not to smile until Thanksgiving or they would lose control of their classroom. Many teachers develop rules that are more like BATTLE LINES than rules. Don't do this, don't do that, or else!

Learning is a cooperative effort, not a battle. I'm sure I will have students who won't cooperate at some time this year. How a teacher deals with that is more important than any rule they can come up with. We need to choose our BATTLES. FIGHT THE RIGHT FIGHT! It's not us against them. Life is the same way. We need to choose our battles, love more than hate, share our joy! Concentrate on the positive !

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. (1 Thessalonians 5:15 NIV84)

Being Reasonable

Being reasonable seems to be a dying art. Our politicians don't know how to be reasonable. Being reasonable goes along with common sense and logic. It might have something to do with my mathematical background, but I think you can REASON through anything. Science and Math are built on this idea. Yet, many scientists and mathematicians aren't followers of Christ. That just doesn't make sense to me. As a mathematician the idea of probability alone should lead you to the fact their is a God. What are the chances that I could be created by random chance. Lee Strobel wrote a book I holy recommend, "THE CASE FOR CHRIST". What a great book for the skeptic.  I am confident you can reason and even prove the existence of God, but I also know how he has worked in my life. The things that have happened in my life can not be by chance. They aren't luck and they certainly aren't because of who I am. The blessings and answers to my prayers have come from a God with power and grace.

I don't think you should test God. But, I have a challenge for you. Tonight when you're by yourself, ask God to reveal himself to you. He will. Don't tell anyone. Just privately ask him. You will be amazed at his presence in your life. The only thing you have to do is look for it. God is always there. He is just waiting on the invitation. Be reasonable, HE IS WITH YOU!

Prayer for GKB

Today notes the official start of the school year for the faculty and staff at GKB. The next two days will be spent finalizing the preparation for students on Wednesday. I have been praying for this staff and want to share that prayer today.

"Dear Lord you have graciously blessed our school and community. We are blessed with great school facilities including a great new high school. We thank you, deeply, for those blessings. We have also been blessed with great leadership through our school board, superintendent, and principals. The staff at GKB including teachers, office staff, and support staff were selected by you. We thank you for bringing such a great group of people together to teach the young people of our community. Bless the teachers with your grace and patience. Give them the rest they need and give them time to enjoy each other.  Please guide the decisions of our superintendent as he leads our district. Give him a special wisdom for the difficult decisions he must make. Be with our Principals as they work with the teachers and staff to do what's best for our students. Help us all to enjoy the time we have together.

We ask your blessings on the students and staff during the upcoming school year. Help us to overcome obstacles together and to model positive attitudes and actions even through adversity. Please guide the teachers as they prepare lessons and build relationships with the students. Protect us with your mighty hand and guide us with your love.

We love you Lord and thank you for the blessings. I personally thank you for allowing me to be a part of this great community and school. May we all grow closer to you this school year. Amen!"

My Team!

I am pretty passionate about the New York Yankees, Miami Dolphins, IU, and the Garrett Railroaders! This past Friday night I was cheering for my Grandson playing for his high school team. This is the second year for cheering for his team. It's different when you are cheering for an individual that you know and love. It's way beyond cheering for some professional or college team. I want my grand kids to have great experiences. I know they won't win every game or race. I know they're going to have bad days and experience heartfelt losses. I want to be there for them and congratulate them when they are up and support them when they're down.

What kind of life would this be if we treated our friends and coworkers like they were on our favorite sports team? What if we just wanted to share their successes and losses as a HUGE  supporter? As a Christian we need to be the best FAN of our coworkers, friends, and families. We don't have to coach them, we don't have to give grand advice, or judge them. We just need to be there and cheer for them. We need to be there and available for them whenever they need us. We need to love them regardless what comes!

God does that. He is there cheering for us and he IS our biggest fan.


What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31 NIV84)

Priorities!

Mom's across America "Ready or not, here it comes!" Friday night football games started last night. Volleyball, soccer, cross country are all well under way. School begins this wednesday for GKB and Mom's taxi service will run a frantic schedule. For the lives of Americas families, fall is the beginning of the crazy season. That season runs non stop throughout the school year with just a few smll rest stops.

Our schedules are so busy. We train our kids to be busy and it starts with the crazy, nonstop schedules during the school year. Our kids have full time jobs at school, prat time jobs with extracurricular activities, another part time job with homework, and then we add church activities. Kids have very little down time. When do they have time to pray, study the bible, or even think about God. When kids grow up, they keep the same schedules.

It all comes down to priorities. What are yours? DO you REALLY take the time you need for yourself? How much quiet time do you take? Where does God fit in? We make room for things that are important? What's important to you?



Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8 NIV84)

Happiness!

God wants us to be happy! Not have all the TOYS happy, but joyous, positive, happy! I ran across a video that I have to share. I shared it with our new teachers yesterday and I believe it is key to being successful.  We like to use the term ATTITUDE. Really we mean HAPPINESS. Shawn Achor has a great formula for success by leveraging happiness. At the end of the video he give a formula. Follow it. As a Christian, I insert Prayer in place of meditation. How I pray is also important. I can't just pray "Woe is me!" I need to PRAISE GOD, for who he is, how he has blessed me, and his wonderful

 Grace. If our prayers stay negative, we are not going to know our truly amazing God. We will only look at him as SANTA. 

I have had a great 8 months and I have felt so much joy and freedom. I believe it is due to a big change in MY attitude. I am choosing to be happy. I am not letting anyone steal my joy.  Just take a look at my blogs during August last year. You can definitely see a difference. I have turned 180 degrees from last year. 

Things are not going to be perfect when school begins next week. I don't care. I am not going to let events or people steal my joy. I am excited about life, I'm not going to hide it. Im going to share that enthusiasm regardless. PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

Whiners!

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (Psalm 84:10 NIV84)

Everyone knows a whiner! You might even know more than one. I have been a whiner myself. As I mature I am much more satisfied and even excited about my life. It's not because of the great things I've done, but what God has done in my life. I love this verse. Since I've become a Christian my life has been great. If you've read this blog for any length of time, my life is not perfect. I am not perfect. But, even when things have gotten really bad in my life, God has made his presence known. I would rather be in his presence during the bad times than without him in good times. He doesn't promise know problems. He promises he will be with you and guide you through the valleys. I am here to tell you he WILL do that. 

I am excited about what God has done and is going to do in my life. He is in charge and even when I try to mess things up, he is there. How can I whine about anything knowing the creator of the universe is in control of my life?!

Being Bold!

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self‑discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV84)

The older I get the bolder I get. The vision most people have of Christians is either the Bible thumping, fire and brimstone christian or the meek, quiet passive version. Being a bold Christian is neither. Being bold means getting involved. It means taking the great commission  seriously. It doesn't mean forcing or intolerance. It means you are not afraid of setting an example with your life. It means drawing a line and never crossing it, no matter the consequences. The last thing in this scripture is just as important as the first. We must be bold with self-discipline. Having the power of Christ comes withit a great responsibility. If we want to be bold and treat others with disrespect or contempt, we are not following Christ. 

People are watching, our boldness could be a positive influence or it could turn someone off from the love of Christ. Be careful with your boldness. Be careful with your power. Be self disciplined as a follower. Do everything in love for the kingdom.

I'm a kid!

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:18 NIV84)

I like it when God refers to me as a child. I love kids. I guess that's why I'm in education. They have such a great energy and show so much excitement for life. As adults, we become way to BORING. When new things come along, we fight it. When new things come along for kids, they love it. They live for new things and new experiences. They love to DO things. Adults would rather sit around and talk about it.

As Christians we need to act like kids. We need to love with our actions, not just our words. The world of nonbelievers look at our actions more than our words. It's not just about attending church. It's not JUST about prayer and bible study. It's about putting our faith in action and spreading the truth about Jesus Christ. Be a kid for Christ!

Stength

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:1, 2 NIV84)

I was watching a high school preseason football game where the starting quarterback was a senior, who looked really strong. He played well. When they put in the young backup quarterback, he played pretty well also. The difference was his strength. This young kid is talented and athletic, but he wasn't as strong as the more experienced starter. He needs to hit the weights in order to develop his skills at quarterback.

In my early life as a follower of Christ, I was weak. I loved the Lord, but I just didn't have the strength of more experienced Christians. I'm much stronger now. That strength has come from the Lord. He has INTENTIONALLY, brought me through some pretty tough times in my life. He has put me through an intense training program. I've had to come back from injury and loss. But, I am stronger beccause of it. Now, I'm not afraid to face a tough opponent. I'm not afraid of failure. I'm focused, like never before, on Christ and his service. I'm not where I want to be and I have to keep working hard, just like that senior qb. I can't become complacent, I need to work just as hard or harder than the young Christian to keep that strength.

Praise God he has coached me through 52 years of life. Lord, keep pushing me to grow in wisdom and strength.

My complicated life!

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30 NIV84)

Have you been watching the news about the recent landing of the Mars rover Curiosity? I am so fascinated by the complexity of this engineering marvel. If you get a chance go on to YouTube and search the 7 minutes of Terror. It describes the complication of the mars landing and how engineers choreographed this landing. The landing takes 7 minutes and it takes 14 minutes to send signals back to Earth. So the engineers at NASA can't help and won't know about the success or failure until 7 minutes after it happens. Well, the good news, it worked!

Life can be so complicated. If you watch the political debates that are raging in our country you can see how complicated the issues are. Our cars, houses and businesses are controlled by complicated electronic devices. Our family relationships are just as complicated. We have step sons, grandparents as parents, and kids divorcing parents. It makes your head spin. It's so nice to see something simplified. That's what you get with Jesus.

Life can be somed up in this verse. We need to Love God in everything we do. We need to love him with our heart, to the core of who we are, with our thinking and ideas, and with the work we do. In other words, Love God! My complicated life doesn't have to be so complicated. I make it that way. God wants to simplify my life. I need to let him do that!

Brace yourself: School is near!

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. 
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31 NIV84)

Brace yourself, school is near. Moms are getting ready for round the clock taxi service. Dads wallet will be depleted for books, clothes, and supplies. Nobody is going to get the rest they need.

School will be starting for many young people within the next couple weeks. After being able to sleep in for the past 2 months, they will have to get up every morning and scoot off to school, extracurricular activities, late night studying, and sleep depravation. They will be weary.

When I get tired, I have a tendency to do dumb things. So, I need my rest. I need to get away and renew my strength. Besides heading to bed early, I take time away from SCHOOL WORK by studying my Bible, Praying, and spending time with God. Parents, students, teachers, administrators, and coaches, ALL need to get away from the  busyness of the school year. Everybody needs to take that advice. When you spend time with Jesus you get a new perspective, you get a renewed strength. When I am open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, I have a tendency to make better decisions and live a better life. When I get so busy I don't have time to spend with Jesus, I get tired, grumpy, and am not a good person to be around. So, here are two pieces of advice:

Get Rest and Get with Jesus!

Pray for a teacher!

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;


I will counsel you and watch over you. (Psalm 32:8 NIV84)


School is near and the youth of America will be instructed, taught, counseled, and  watched over by some of the most amazing people on the planet. My school corporation is no exception. In this country teachers and schools have been getting heavily bashed because students aren't performing on one test or another. Frankly, I'm glad our students don't perform as well on these tests. Our country has some of the most creative and talented people in the world. Sure, we have the occasional Steven Jobs, but he's not the only one who is creative, talented and innovative. Did you know our country files more patents than in any other country in the world. This includes the Asian countries that kill us on the TEST.  Do you realize how many foreign students come to our country to get the BEST education in the world? Why is that? I can tell you it comes from the teachers and great schools across this country.

It's the teacher that stimulates the creative juices of our students. It is the hard work and long hours of preparation to teach your kids that helps us reams in the most productive nation in the world. Your local teachers, administrators and staff deserve your unwavering support. More importantly they could use your prayers.

As we are days away from students arriving, please pray for your schools and the faculty. Pray for their wisdom, rest, and strength to guide and direct the youth of your community. Pray they will be the example of faith and leadership for our kids. Pray they will be able to take time out of the busy schedule to spend with their families. Pray they remain healthy and safe throughout the year. Pray they will build positive relationships with students, parents, and community.

The start of the new school year is always exciting and crazy. I look forward to being with the students at GHS. I can't wait!

A Full Life!

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. (Colossians 2:9, 10 NIV84)

I live a full life. Sometimes living a full life really makes me tired. Most of the time I sit back and am amazed at this life I've been given. Today is my 34th wedding anniversary and it is proof at how truly blessed I am. God has granted me a wonderful woman to share my FULL life with. I really can't imagine doing these past 34 years without her. We have discussed how much an adventure our lives have been.  The FULLNESS of our life is the blessing.  We have shared wonderful family times, we have lived all over this country, we have had multiple careers, and we have been in ministry together for the entire 34 years. We have traveled the country on Motorcycle from coast to coast. We have enjoyed the excitement of grandkids. We have cherished life with 3 wonderful girls, beautiful grandkids, great coworkers, amazing friends, and supportive family.

I repeat, My FULL LIFE is from God. I'm not saying I'm special and that's the reason God has blessed me with a full life. It's only by his grace that I am who I am. I certainly don't deserve what I've been given, but I accept it as a great and perfect gift from the creator of the universe. It's a gift from an amazing God to a sinner such as I am. I can't answer why I am blessed like I am and others have not received that same blessing. I just praise the name of the one who has blessed me. Thank You Jesus for your Love and AMAZING GRACE!

Happy Anniversary Stephanie!

I feel like I'm the one losin!

Once in a while I run across a song that really touches me. I've shared a few of those on this blog.

I found another one.
Tenth Avenue North "Losin"

Tenth Avenue North has a great song "Losin". Besides the great sound, it has some great lyrics. Do you ever feel like you're losing the battle! I sure do! Sometimes  it's hard to remain positive and full of grace and forgiveness. There is so much hate going on in this world and sometimes I get caught up in it like everyone else. The media attention given to Dan Cathy of Chik Filet is a perfect example. I know what he said is not popular with some people. I don't believe he did it in a hateful way. Yet, he has been targeted as being hateful. Father please forgive them, they don't know what they are doin! Father please give me the grace to forgive them, I feel like I'm the one Losin! The people who were offended by his comments feel like they are losing also. As Christians we have not done a good job loving the sinner. I'm not saying Dan Cathy was wrong, I agree with him and I gree with stating it publicly just like he did. But, we need to go beyond and love these people just the same as God loves us with all our weaknesses and imperfections.

I need to pray for grace to forgive and then I can experience the freedom that God wants me to have.

You can't steal my joy!

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10 NIV84)

I can't tell you how excited I am to get back into the classroom. School starts in less than three weeks and Preparation are growing every day. Our grand new beautiful school is nearly ready and I couldn't be more proud to be on staff serving the kids of Garrett, Indiana. But, sadly, when the rest of the staff starts reporting they won't all share my joy. I have one thing to say! If you are so dissatisfied that you can't be joyful about what you're doing, DO SOMETHING ELSE!

AND

Don't try to steal my joy, it's not going to work. I read a great post yesterday on twitter encouraging everyone to sign a positive pledge! What a great idea. Visit

www.thepositivepledge.com

and live the pledge. Sometimes I think the negative people of this world only get joy stealing the joy of others.

God has blessed me and directed me to where I am right now. He alone is responsible for my joy. What else can I do but praise him!

Don't believe everything you hear!

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1 NIV84)

Don't believe everything you hear, I'm sure you've heard that saying many times before. It's very similar  to don't believe everythimg you read, in the newspaper. There is a whole lot of dishonesty in the world. Now that the political season is in full swing, we are going to have a tough time deciphering fact from fiction. Lies come from both sides. 

The Internet doesn't help. When you are searching the WWW you have to be careful not to believe everything you find is true. You have to filter all the content through your knowledge and experience. You need to ask the simple question, "Does this make sense?" If you can't clearly answer that question, Yes, BEWARE!  As the Republicans and Democrats take aim at each other, we need to ask the same question. I am pretty confident your judgement will prevail and sadly, most of the Rhetoric IS FALSE Rhetoric.

As a Christian, we need to use a similar filter. Do you remember the FAD "WWJD". For those who profess to be christians it can't be just a fad. Any time you are prompted by a friend of coworker, asked to take a stand, make an important decision, make a major purchase, or act on advice, you need to ask, "Does this match with what I know about God?" Does this match with his word? If not, BEWARE.

God has given us a brilliant mind to filter out the False Prophets and the misleading spirits. He has given us his word as a measuring stick for what's right and wrong.  The more we communicate with God through prayer and reading our Bibles, the more confident we can be in filtering out the evil of this world. If we choose not to build a relationship with God, we may find ourselves following something other than his will.

Why am I blessed?

O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. (2 Samuel 7:28 NIV84)

I don't say it enough, I'm a blessed man. We had a member of our local chapter of the Christian Motorcyclist Association, pass away a week ago. "Popcorn Kelly" was a great servant. One of his many ministries was traveling to motorcycle events, setting up his popcorn popper and giving away free popcorn. The popcorn bag had the message of salvation, but more importantly, "Popcorn" shared the message with his servant heart. He always claimed to be a blessed man. He was.

God loves to lavish gifts upon his servants. I have been blessed beyond anything I deserve. The older I get the more I realize God has blessed me in ways I could never have asked for. Sure, I've gone through things I wouldn't have asked, but the ultimate result was being blessed beyond measure. Why would God do this for someone like me? I have asked this question more than once. I am nothing special and yet I am blessed. We're not asked to be the "Superman" of Faith to be blessed we are just called to serve him.

Thank you Lord for your amazing grace and love. Thank you for blessings I don't deserve. Amen!