Get a life

Summer is over and school for teachers is under way. Life is returning to a somewhat normal state. I am desperately trying to finish my planning so I am ready for the return of our students next week.

Here's a thought to ponder over the next couple of days.

Everyone dies - you don't have a choice about that. However, not everyone truly lives. Is what you are doing really living or is it just existing until you die. Are you really making a life for yourself and enjoying the ride? There are no "do overs". You only get one chance at this. If you have priorities in order, you will experience the joy that Jesus promised. Priority #1 - Jesus first. Spend time with the Savior every day. Priority #2 - Other people - Look for what you can do for someone else. Priority #3 - yourself. Joy doesn't come by seeking to obtain it for yourself. Joy comes from what you do for others and what you give away.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." -- Winston Churchill

My goal - to "get a life."

True Leadership is ...

Mike Huckabee’s comment about the late Dr. Jerry Falwell summarizes what a true leader should be like. “Dr. Jerry Falwell was the same in public and in private. His extraordinary love of people, deep biblical convictions, and visionary drive combined to make him one of our nation’s most influential figures. He never lost sight that it was about Jesus – not about him.”


Falwell, M. (2008) Jerry Falwell: His life and legacy. New York: Howard Books.

Challenge facing education today

Educators have a huge challenge facing them. Today’s youth are not like those in the past. “Recent studies now claim that only 7% of born-again teenagers base moral choices on biblical principles. Eighty-three percent of teens said that moral truth depends on circumstances. These studies found that the most common basis for moral decision-making was doing whatever feels right or comfortable in a situation. The alarming fast decline of moral foundations among our young people has culminated in a one-word world-view: ‘whatever.’” (Schultz, p.10)

Educators find themselves reeling from more than forty years of moral decline in society. Crime rates are soaring, the family unit is falling apart and/or being redefined, and the church has lost its ability to be salt and light to the world. There are a lot of people who believe that education is the only hope for tomorrow. However, the current educational system now has God and his Word removed from all aspects of learning. Therefore, all efforts to improve educational programs have just lead to more problems and greater frustrations for parents. (Schultz, 2003)

If educational leaders are going to be successful, they are going to have to understand the situation they are now placed in. Leaders cannot merely react to their culture. They need to base their leadership on universal principles. They have to remain relevant to the culture but they are only able to do this if they base their principles on God’s word. This is because God’s word is timeless with respect to context. Every leader ought to be in God’s word daily.



Schultz, G. (2003). Kingdom education. Nashville: Lifeway Press.

Integrity in Leadership

Dwight Eisenhower said: “In order to be a leader a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence, the supreme quality for a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office. If a man’s associates find him guilty of being a phony, if they find he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other. The first great need, therefore, is integrity and high purpose.”


Quoteland.com (2001) Retrieved June 23, 2008 from http://www.quoteland.com/author.asp?AUTHOR_ID=1036

Good Leaders

I just finished a graduate class on Leadership Principles and Ethics.

Here's an excerpt from one of the books I read:

Good leaders will consider the following questions:
1. “Consistency: Are you the same person no matter who’s with you?
2. Choices: Do you make decisions based on how they benefit you or others?
3. Credit: Are you quick to recognize others for their efforts when you succeed?
4. Character: Do you work harder at your image or your integrity?
5. Credibility: Have you recognized that credibility is a victory, not a gift?”


Maxwell, J. (2007). The Maxwell leadership bible: Lessons in leadership from the word of God. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

Living by Faith

In my last post I wrote about my husband losing his job. We believe that God is in control of everything. We believe that there is reason for everything that happens to us. We choose to trust God to work it out.

He lost his job on June 2nd. We left town for a few days to think, talk, and pray for direction. We updated his resume, worked on references, and he made some calls. When we returned on June 8th, he had some appointments set up. I began filling out applications online for him and he started interviewing. He went on 2 -3 interviews each day. On June 13th he was offered a job. We talked about it. The hours were bad. There would be a lot of travel and the pay wasn't near what we needed. We decided to trust God and turn down this opportunity. On June 16th, he was offered another job. This one was basically the same money, better benefits, better working environment, and better job stability than his old job. The only downside is the commute will be farther. We decided we could live with that and he took the job. We are so thankful to God for his provision. We believe this was all part of God's plan for him. There are lots of people who look for work for months. He interviewed six days.

One song went through my mind continually during the days he was interviewing. That's the chorus to Living By Faith.

Living by faith in Jesus above,
Trusting, confiding in His great love;
From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,
I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.

We live by faith in Jesus. We trust him to care for us and provide for us. He knows what is ultimately the best for us.

When life gets tough .....

When life gets tough, how do you react?

My husband lost his job last week. After 10 years of faithful service and being on call for anything 24/7, his position was eliminated. His boss told him he done a great job and had no problems with the quality of his work, his work ethic, or his character. They were reorganizing the department and he simply didn't have a job for him anymore.

Wow - talk about a shock. How we handle this situation will tell a lot about our faith. We choose to believe that God is in control. We choose to believe that God will lead him to a good job and one that may even be better for him (in the long run) than where he had been. We are walking by faith because nothing in this situation makes sense. We choose to walk with integrity and not 'bad mouth" the former employer but look ahead to what is to come. We want our daughter to see our faith in God. We choose not to be fearful but to trust in what we can't see.

Is this easy? Not always. It is a deliberate choice we are making. It is not what our "flesh" wants to do. We want to pitch a temper tantrum - but what would that solve? Nothing. So as Paul said in Philippians, we are "forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." In the second chapter of Philippians, Paul says that it is “God that works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” Romans chapter 8 says that "God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

If we truly believe this stuff then we need to act like it. We need to "chin up" and go on to the next part of our journey. My husband is doing his part. He is sending out resumes, doing applications, and going on interviews. We trust God to lead us to the next job and we believe it will all work out for the good.