Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. Amidst its’ great beauty, there is great drama. As the days grow shorter, the leaves of the trees become vivid with color, and when the sun casts its’ amazing golden hue over everything it is truly breathtaking. Yet, it does not take long before the true nature of this season becomes a reality. It is a season of decrease. After the harvest comes winter, but before the ground becomes hard, something wonderful happens. Seeds are scattered, the seeds that will turn into the new growth of spring. During lunch recess the other day, some of the students and I watched as this happened right before our eyes. The wind was blowing the leaves off the trees. We watched and laughed as the leaves danced before us on the ground. The leaves were carried too and fro swirling around us in wild abandon. Moving this way and that, no one could predict which way they would be tossed next, or where their final resting place would be.
Parker Palmer in his book “Let Your Life Speak” shares his experience with realizing the autumn of life. How he rarely saw autumn as a time of seeding, rather he focused upon the fact that summer had ended and now death was inevitable. There is a paradox within this season of dying and seeding of decline and hope for the future. In many ways, our lives are like the seasons. Often change means allowing some experiences to fade while focusing and placing emphasis on new ventures.
I have entered an “autumn” period in my life at Fairview. As I write this, I realize that some of you have already heard the news of the changes happening within my life and how those changes effect Fairview Christian School. In case you have not, I have resigned my position as school administrator effective January 3, 2009. I have been blessed to have been chosen (out of 700 applicants) to fill one of 30 slots in a medical radiography program here in Seattle. I am very excited about the opportunity. Beginning in January, I will work as a part-time pastor at Fairview, and will continue to be available to our new principal as he transitions into the leadership role of the school ministry. I am excited about Mr. Cultum, and believe that God has crafted him for this time and place. My goal in life has always been to do my best to follow what I believe that God has called me to be and to do. I have enjoyed my work with students and families here at Fairview Christian School these past 12 years, and have many wonderful memories, but is time for this chapter to close and I believe God is calling me to a new adventure. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving you and your family.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
“Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy, and mutual valuing.” Rollo May—Teacher, Author and Psychologist
This week I thought I would review some information about “Hints to having a successful Parent/Teacher Conference.” I hope you find the information helpful. In order to help your kids have a successful school year, you need to know what is expected of them, academically, from now until June. You can find out by asking some questions. Take this list with you to your next parent-teacher conference, and be sure to take notes.1. What skills and knowledge will my child be expected to master this year?2. How will my child be evaluated?3. What can I do to stay more involved in my child's academic progress?4. How do you accommodate differences in learning?5. How are students prepared for learning? Other good ideas prior to a conference with your child's teacher:
-Prepare ahead of time for the conference.
-Look over recent assignments and test grades so that you know how your child has been performing in class.
-Look through books and see what your child is learning.
-Ask your child questions, such as what is their favorite subject? What are they having a difficult time with? What subject do they find easiest (hardest)? And ask them to tell you who their friends are at school.
-Write down questions you have for the teacher so you will remember what you wanted to ask.
-List your child's strengths.
-Be on time for the conference, most are tightly scheduled. Being even 5 minutes late will substantially cut down on the time you have with the teacher.
-Be open to suggestions from the teacher.
-Ask what you can do at home to help your child be more prepared for school.
-Offer suggestions and insights into your child. You know your child best and you may be able to offer information that will help the teacher help them to succeed.
-Ask about social interactions as well as academic. Children struggling with friendships can suffer from low self-esteem, which can cause additional problems in school.
-If you find your child is struggling in school, ask to re-conference in a couple of weeks. This way the teacher will be able to spend more than 20 minutes with you and you can both work together to develop a plan to help your child succeed.
No matter how many suggestions, conferences can be stressful for you, the teacher, and your child. Before attending the conference, be sure to let your children know how much you love them and that you will love them no matter what is shared. Let them know that conferences are not for the teachers to "tattle" on children, but for parents and teachers to work together to best help them succeed.
Thanks for reading.
-Prepare ahead of time for the conference.
-Look over recent assignments and test grades so that you know how your child has been performing in class.
-Look through books and see what your child is learning.
-Ask your child questions, such as what is their favorite subject? What are they having a difficult time with? What subject do they find easiest (hardest)? And ask them to tell you who their friends are at school.
-Write down questions you have for the teacher so you will remember what you wanted to ask.
-List your child's strengths.
-Be on time for the conference, most are tightly scheduled. Being even 5 minutes late will substantially cut down on the time you have with the teacher.
-Be open to suggestions from the teacher.
-Ask what you can do at home to help your child be more prepared for school.
-Offer suggestions and insights into your child. You know your child best and you may be able to offer information that will help the teacher help them to succeed.
-Ask about social interactions as well as academic. Children struggling with friendships can suffer from low self-esteem, which can cause additional problems in school.
-If you find your child is struggling in school, ask to re-conference in a couple of weeks. This way the teacher will be able to spend more than 20 minutes with you and you can both work together to develop a plan to help your child succeed.
No matter how many suggestions, conferences can be stressful for you, the teacher, and your child. Before attending the conference, be sure to let your children know how much you love them and that you will love them no matter what is shared. Let them know that conferences are not for the teachers to "tattle" on children, but for parents and teachers to work together to best help them succeed.
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates vision for tomorrow.” Anonymous
Yesterday we took time to honor veterans, and were privileged to have five with us. It was a wonderful to have them with us, to take time to honor them for their courage and bravery, and to thank them for their service to our country. Some of our students had made special “Thank You” cards for them. It was priceless to watch as the students shared their cards with our guests.
I have been thinking about the word gratitude. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines gratitude as “the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful.”
I like what John Ortberg in his book, “When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box,” states about gratitude. He says, “Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It opens us up to wonder, delight, and humility. It makes our hearts generous. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation … Gratitude is the gift God gives us that enables us to be blessed by all his other gifts, the way our taste buds enable us to enjoy the gift of food. Without gratitude, our lives degenerate into envy, dissatisfaction, and complaints, taking what we have for granted and always wanting more.”
There is an account found in Luke 17:11-19, about ten lepers crying out to Jesus for help. Lepers were commanded to make their presence know by shouting “Unclean, unclean,” so that anyone near them would not accidently touch them. Somehow these lepers must have heard about Jesus and his power to heal, and so from a distance they yelled, “Jesus, Lord, have mercy on us.” Jesus’ heart was moved. He told them to go show themselves to the priests, which is interesting in that earlier he had healed a leper by touching him, now he is asking these lepers to go and show themselves before they had been healed. I can only imagine that they might have been a little confused by this command, but they had nothing to lose. The ten left Jesus and something happened. As they traveled they were healed. I am sure that the thrill of being healed and restored was overwhelming and so they ran home to tell their families, friends, and neighbors what had happened. All except one. One of the former lepers turned and ran back the way he had just come in order to fall on the ground before Jesus in gratitude.
Gratitude is always an act of humility. Unfortunately, many believe that they will experience gratitude more if they received new stuff, the stuff they really want. Yet the truth is that having too much can make a person feel entitled rather than grateful. According to researchers Robert Emmons and Mike McCullough gratitude can be learned. They did a study where by they randomly assigned people to keep a daily diary for two weeks of events in their lives. One group was to record happenings that they were grateful for, and the other hassles or simply life events. Joy, happiness, and life satisfaction all rocketed up for those in the gratitude group.
My advice is do not wait until you “feel” grateful or thankful before giving thanks. Usually thinking and doing lead to the emotions. Begin today to express gratitude and you will begin to change the world around you.
Thanks for reading.
I have been thinking about the word gratitude. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines gratitude as “the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful.”
I like what John Ortberg in his book, “When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box,” states about gratitude. He says, “Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It opens us up to wonder, delight, and humility. It makes our hearts generous. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation … Gratitude is the gift God gives us that enables us to be blessed by all his other gifts, the way our taste buds enable us to enjoy the gift of food. Without gratitude, our lives degenerate into envy, dissatisfaction, and complaints, taking what we have for granted and always wanting more.”
There is an account found in Luke 17:11-19, about ten lepers crying out to Jesus for help. Lepers were commanded to make their presence know by shouting “Unclean, unclean,” so that anyone near them would not accidently touch them. Somehow these lepers must have heard about Jesus and his power to heal, and so from a distance they yelled, “Jesus, Lord, have mercy on us.” Jesus’ heart was moved. He told them to go show themselves to the priests, which is interesting in that earlier he had healed a leper by touching him, now he is asking these lepers to go and show themselves before they had been healed. I can only imagine that they might have been a little confused by this command, but they had nothing to lose. The ten left Jesus and something happened. As they traveled they were healed. I am sure that the thrill of being healed and restored was overwhelming and so they ran home to tell their families, friends, and neighbors what had happened. All except one. One of the former lepers turned and ran back the way he had just come in order to fall on the ground before Jesus in gratitude.
Gratitude is always an act of humility. Unfortunately, many believe that they will experience gratitude more if they received new stuff, the stuff they really want. Yet the truth is that having too much can make a person feel entitled rather than grateful. According to researchers Robert Emmons and Mike McCullough gratitude can be learned. They did a study where by they randomly assigned people to keep a daily diary for two weeks of events in their lives. One group was to record happenings that they were grateful for, and the other hassles or simply life events. Joy, happiness, and life satisfaction all rocketed up for those in the gratitude group.
My advice is do not wait until you “feel” grateful or thankful before giving thanks. Usually thinking and doing lead to the emotions. Begin today to express gratitude and you will begin to change the world around you.
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
“A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight.” Oswald Chambers
The end is coming (of first quarter). Friday marks the first “ending” of this school year. The students have mixed feelings about this. Some are excited because it will be a half-day rather than a full-day of school. Some are relieved glad to have finished all of their work. Some are frantic trying to finish their work, yet others are neither agitated nor excited.
Have you ever felt irritated about completing something? Faced with duties below your position or that make you feel like you are wasting your time? Sometimes doing small things makes us feel small in the impact we might have. It is almost as if we lose sight of the main objective when stuck doing small things. There are times when I feel that some things do not make a difference. It is my failure to understand or comprehend the magnitude of when these things have an incredible influence upon the future.
Missed opportunity is one of those merciless and gnawing events. It eats away at a person causing sleeplessness, loss of appetite (or the opposite), depression, anger—and/or a lot of other discomforts. There is a story about a man in the Bible who did a simple thing really well. He did it so well that it had a major impact upon his life. His name was Enoch, and in Genesis 5:21-23, you can read about him. He loved God and spent time with Him. In the end he did not die, but was taken by God to heaven.
Oswald Chambers once said, “A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight.” Enoch did a simple thing well; he walked with God. Because he was focused on the right thing at the right time, it meant that he did not have to die. I wonder what would happen if each of us took the small things more seriously. How would the lives of those around us be influenced or even changed? 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it” (TMSG).
Since second quarter begins Monday, our students will have the opportunity to try doing the small things differently. I hope that some will understand better the importance of small things. I hope you will consider the small things that you are being asked to do, and consider doing them well. You never know what will happen.
Thanks for reading.
Have you ever felt irritated about completing something? Faced with duties below your position or that make you feel like you are wasting your time? Sometimes doing small things makes us feel small in the impact we might have. It is almost as if we lose sight of the main objective when stuck doing small things. There are times when I feel that some things do not make a difference. It is my failure to understand or comprehend the magnitude of when these things have an incredible influence upon the future.
Missed opportunity is one of those merciless and gnawing events. It eats away at a person causing sleeplessness, loss of appetite (or the opposite), depression, anger—and/or a lot of other discomforts. There is a story about a man in the Bible who did a simple thing really well. He did it so well that it had a major impact upon his life. His name was Enoch, and in Genesis 5:21-23, you can read about him. He loved God and spent time with Him. In the end he did not die, but was taken by God to heaven.
Oswald Chambers once said, “A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight.” Enoch did a simple thing well; he walked with God. Because he was focused on the right thing at the right time, it meant that he did not have to die. I wonder what would happen if each of us took the small things more seriously. How would the lives of those around us be influenced or even changed? 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it” (TMSG).
Since second quarter begins Monday, our students will have the opportunity to try doing the small things differently. I hope that some will understand better the importance of small things. I hope you will consider the small things that you are being asked to do, and consider doing them well. You never know what will happen.
Thanks for reading.
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