While most folks think that the school year has ended and next year is a summer away, schools have been planning for next year since probably Christmas. There is lots of stuff to do and we can’t wait until July to get started on it. One of the things I was working on a few weeks back was some paperwork about Professional Development for our teachers. As part of the paperwork to justify our requests, I had to determine which of our school board’s major system priorities would be impacted and improved through each training. While part of me gets frustrated with the tedious nature of this task, I also totally get why we do it. Because if what we are doing at the school is not meeting the priori
2 Peter 1:5-8 New International Version (NIV) “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I have been thinking a lot about numbers in recent days. In my full-time job I look at a lot of numbers. It seems schools are now measuring everything. We are to be data driven in all we do. It is not just schools; everyone in
The Psalms are more than just random Biblical poetry. They are reflections on a story. The story of the exile of the Hebrew nation from the promised land to Babylonian captivity. Unfortunately, according to Old Testament Biblical Scholar Dr. Walter Brueggemann, they are not in the correct order. He groups them according to Psalms of laments when they are in captivity, Psalms of hope when they are anticipating freedom, and Psalms of praise once freedom has been achieved. However, he also notes that this type of division isn’t as easy as I just made it seem. It’s more about orientation, disorientation, and new orientation. What do I mean? Well the Hebrew people were oriented to a way of life i
Proverbs 31:8-9 (NIV) “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Luke 4:17-19 (NIV) “[Jesus] stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’” 1 Timothy 6:18 (NIV) “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willin
GO OUT AND LOVE (Matthew 28: 16-20) Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The last instructions Jesus gave his disciples in the Gospels is found in Matthew 28:19 just before he returned to heaven: “go out—go out and make disciples of all n