Test Prep - TRUST

 

Our post-Christmas world has been a challenging one.  It seems that our personal focus has been distracted by circumstances that have been thrust upon us, making us take a stand or step up to advise or engage in problem-solving that has few easy answers.  So goes life with aging parents.  Perhaps it is our first encounter that hits so close.  Dealing with frail moms and dads test the mettle of one's love, concern, stress and focus.  Both our parents have undergone extreme struggle since January 1 while in our presence. In both situations, we were forced to make decisions that were not embraced.  In other words... we weren't ready for dealing with messy stuff with our parents.  For the first time, we were put in the role of being a "decision-maker" for parents who played that role for us for several decades.  Then, when we are pushed to pick up some slack, we are overwhelmed with the details and consequences of plain old age.  No easy answers here... but a simple child-like faith that we made decisions that will be in the best interest of each of them. We can't see into the future but must trust that God will handle the big stuff if we make a good attempt to handle the small stuff.  But why does this feel like such big stuff?    The old hymn  " I am trusting Thee Lord Jesus"  serves as a reminder:
"I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus;
Never let me fall.
I am trusting Thee forever
And for all."

I am trusting Thee to guide me;
Thou alone shalt lead,
Ev'ry day and hour supplying
All my need.

5. I am trusting Thee for power;
Thine can never fail.
Words which Thou Thyself shalt give me
Must prevail.

Merry Christmas 2013

                 
Merry Christmas 2013 !  It will be a different Christmas  this year than in the past.  We will have my folks driving in from KS,  Rhonda's dad is flying in from MD, and Nate, Jacqui and Adam will be arriving on the 26th.  The difference will  be that we will be hosting Christmas for the first time in 6 years.  Our Christmases have been busting our way to FL to spend time with Nate - since it is hard for him to get away from his Pastoral duties. 
This year my family making a huge effort to get where we are!  Yes, they want to see our new life in Bakersfield and get somewhere warm and sunny, but what a blessing it is to be on the receiving end from people who love you. I have to admit is is not easy for me to receive.  My selfish nature tends to steer the outcome to my own desired results.  To receive means to accept whatever you get - with appreciation. My nature usually puts some level of expectation on me or on the event. One application might be for me to imagine what expectation anyone had that first Christmas?
Were Mary and Joseph expecting to find no room in the inn?
Were Mary and Joseph prepared for their baby to be born in a stable and laid in a manger?
Did the shepherds expect to see angels in the sky that night?
Did they expect to see the Savior of the world laying in the humble dwellings of a table?
It was not as they expected because they had no big preconceived expectations - they went on with the routine because that's what you do as people of faith. You just trust that God will provide what you need, when you need it.  When a surprise is needed, then a surprise will take place.  When you look back, you recognize God's provision was greater than your feeble expectations.  So it is when God is intimately involved with us.  That's the beauty of the incarnation - God in flesh - joining us where we are.  May He bless your Christmas beyond measure! - meaning beyond your feeble expectations!

Advent Conspiracy 2013

                                               
Last year I learned about the Advent Conspiracy www.adventconspiracy.org.  movement that was taking shape in the Christian church.  This past weekend, SJLC was blessed by Lincoln Brewster and his "Joy to the World Tour." It was just what I needed to refocus my attention on Christmas.  One thing that is missing at SJ is midweek Advent services.  I miss the weekly checkpoint to sing some carols and hear a message from the Old Testament prophets or making  the annual journey to Bethlehem with the characters in Matthew and Luke. 
I love the four tenants of Advent Conspiracy:
"Worship Fully"  /"Spend Less" / "Give More" / "Love All"
I am reminded of how frugal I have been as I consider all the Christmases of the past. We had to make a little go a long way as our kids were growing up.  I am probably best known for my "buying needs" and not "wants" by my kids and wife.  Practicality was the key. Only in the past few years as the kids and parents live far away do I consider more excessive spending on gifts.  It feels better because I'm "making up" for the time and energy spent away from them for most of the year. My commitment is to begin each day clicking a spot on the online AC Advent calendar and reflecting on these simple statements.  I long for Emmanuel!  So Come Lord Jesus! Quickly!  More to come :)

Moses and Me

I was reading today about the call of Moses in Exodus 3 into a very tenuous leadership position.  My thinking rests on the premise that leadership in any shape or form is hard work.  Whether it is in corporate America, coaching, teaching, pastoring or any profession it seems to be getting more challenging by the day.  This is not about the "why" it is, it is more about in "what" the reality of the call rests.
God called Moses to help people in a very difficult situation.  It was not glamorous or positioned him for success in playing to his strengths.  The challenges were totally unknown when God appeared in that burning bush.  Through it all,  echoes a simple truth that "God will be with you!"  The dialogue goes something like this:

Moses says                                                    God says
Who am I to do this?                              I will be with you!
What do I say when asked?                    I AM WHO I AM sent you!
What if they don't believe me?               I will do miraculous signs!
                                                               Snake to staff / changed hand / blood on ground
I am not eloquent - send someone else!  Aaron will speak for you!

 Pharoh's initial response to Moses' request to let God's people go is to remove straw from the bricks and make the Israelites work harder! Now even the Israelites are ticked at Moses - "why have you brought this trouble on us?"  
It takes a 40 year journey of God daily showing up and providing and proving His love for His people time and time again.
WDTM for us?  We can throw all kinds of excuses and justify our frustrations when we are faced with overwhelming circumstances.  When do we decide to stay and fight or decide to flee? God simply proves to us time and time again that He is faithful.  It is as if He says... "will you humble yourself. remove your pride and recognize the calling I have on your heart?"  Can we clear away all the debris of the way our plans "should" unfold and simply use what God has given us to get His work done?  We are an icon of what is happening to the church in the west.  We tend to place our material and capitalistic values and reason above the calling.  What questions  would Paul ask me if he walked into my office today? What would he need to remind me of?  So what would we give up for the sake of knowing Christ?  Once again, God showed up in His word to remind me that "He will be with me!" - that's enough.

T'was the night of Halloween!

Our Halloween was the festivus event in the new neighborhood of Village Green.  Even I have to admit that it was a little on the crazy side for the first of its kind on Checkerbloom.  We got together with two of our neighbors and set up tables of chili, hot dogs, brats, and nachos along with three huge bowls of candy for the kids.  Oh yea, the kids.  Our next door friends even had a video going on their  garage door!  The reaction of our neighbors was one of surprise... not what they expected when the rounded the corner! We spent the entire evening talking and sharing with people as they walked by our house. Our Castle and Cooke sales person even accepted our invitation!  The thing that tickled me most was how my neighbors were engaged in conversations with people that they had never met before.   I'm proud of our first attempt of connecting with our neighborhood and building some endearing relationships. We are already talking about a progressive Christmas event! :) Way to go team Checkerbloom!

Ways to be Misisonal this Halloween

                                     
 Thinking more intentionally about how we connect with our neighborhood this Halloween.  Here's a good post from the folks at Verge.  We are looking forward to sharing in the excitement in our new neighborhood.
This coming Halloween offers a great opportunity for many to engage in new relationships with those around us or to revisit some old relationships with new missional intentionality. Regardless of what you think of the holiday and it’s roots, the culture we have been sent by Jesus to reach is going to celebrate Halloween. We all have in front of us a wide open door for missionary engagement in our neighborhoods. I want to encourage you not to miss out on the opportunity.
If you are looking to be more intentionally engaged this year, I want to present you with a few ideas for how you can more effectively walk through the open door that Halloween presents to us as Jesus’ missionaries.
BE HOSPITABLE: Don’t just give out candy
 1. Give out the best Candy
Please, don’t give out tracks or toothbrushes or pennies…kids are looking for the master loot of candy. Put yourself in their shoes
2. Think of the Parents 
Consider having some Hot Apple Cider and pumpkin bread or muffins out for the parents who are bringing their little kiddos around the block. Make your entry-way inviting so they want to come closer and hang for a bit if possible.
3. Be Present
Don’t hide out all night. Come out to the door or hang out on the porch and if they stop to have some cider, get to know their names and where they live in the neighborhood.

4. Be Encouraging Tell the kids you love their costumes and to have a great night. Practice building others up with words.
 5. Party
If you’re really into it, you may want to throw a pre-Trick or Treating party. Provide dinner and drinks. Then, send the dads out trick or treating with the kids while the moms continue hanging with some hot apple cider, coffee or tea. Then reconvene with the parents and kids together to examine all of the loot (kids love to show their parents and other kids the loot).

6. Learn the Stories If you are out Trick or Treating with the kiddos or staying back with the other parents, ask questions…get to know their stories. Pay attention to their hearts and their felt needs. Look for opportunities to serve them later. This is how I first got to know Clay (while Jayne was hanging with Kristi and the other moms). I learned his story while we were with the kids and Jayne got to know hers. This led to both of them eventually coming to faith in Jesus.
GO TO THEIR PLACE: Join what is happening elsewhere
7. Attend the Party If others are throwing parties, you may want to join them. If so, bring drinks, food or whatever is needed. Then, serve by helping to clean up.
8. Join the Community If your community has key events, join them and invite some neighbors to go with you (then get to know their stories along the way). Our area has a trick or treating event on a main street where all the businesses give out candy, the firemen give tours of the fire engines, etc. We go with a group of friends to this each year and consistently meet more people to reach out to.

9. Head to the “Watering Holes”

If you do not have kids or are not going to engage in the Trick or Treating activities or events, consider going to the local pubs, restaurants or clubs near you for their events and get to know the people there. Make it your goal to learn the story of at least one person who needs Jesus and walk away with some next steps on how to serve them. You will want to do this with others so that you don’t go it alone.
BE PRAYERFUL: Ask for the Spirit to led, guide and work
10. Pay Attention Ask the Spirit to open your eyes and ears to the real needs around you.
11. Stay Dependent Ask the Spirit to help you listen, care and serve those around you.
12. Open Doors Ask the Spirit for open doors for new relationships and gospel conversations.

Learning in the 21st Century "SP"

I struggle to get a starting point to move people from "Here to There" in implementing effective classroom instructional strategies.  I am adopting a theme "Learning in the 21st Century."  It might be a clearer title than what we wrestle with in explaining the shift that needs to happen in classrooms.  Then understandingg it enough to implement and recognize it when you evaluate it. This list from the blog "All Things PC" is very helpful in gaining some clarity.  I will use this at our next staff meeting to help us break down and define how they would shift from "previous" to "current" at their grade level:

1. Previous emphasis on what and how the teacher is teaching, and current emphasis on what students are really learning
2. Previous emphasis on the student as a passive recipient, and current emphasis on the student as an active co-designer in learning
3. Previous emphasis on the teacher as disseminator of prescribed content, and current emphasis on teacher as a facilitator of “big ideas” and transferrable concepts
4. Previous emphasis on a one-size fits all “standardized” approach to learning, and current emphasis on differentiated and personalized learning to meet the needs of all students
5. Previous emphasis on learning as an individual experience, and current emphasis on self-directed and collaborative learning
6. Previous emphasis on a narrow definition of communication as usually limited to writing and sometimes speaking, and current emphasis on a full range of communication, artistic, and media approaches
7. Previous emphasis on textbooks, and current emphasis on multiple resources (including primary sources) of study that make fuller use of technology and digital tools
8. Previous emphasis on prescribed activities and worksheets, and current emphasis on students as critical and creative thinkers in their own learning
9. Previous emphasis on summative testing, and current emphasis on formative types of assessment to better ensure learning progress and also including student self-assessment within the learning process
10. Previous emphasis on right-wrong answers and singular approaches for obtaining answers, and current emphasis on problem-based learning that demonstrates greater complexity of thinking and learning
11. Previous emphasis on grades, and current emphasis on growth, learning, and goal-setting
12. Previous emphasis on decontextualized learning, and current emphasis on authentic learning within real world contexts
13. Previous emphasis on a nationalistic brand of education, and current emphasis on an engaged global and multicultural approach to education
14. Previous emphasis on a defined and set curriculum, and current emphasis on curriculum being collaboratively shaped by student interests, talents, curiosities, and passions
15. Previous emphasis of the school as the exclusive place for learning, and current emphasis of the 24/7 world as an “open space” for learning (with technology as a key facilitative learning tool)
16. Previous emphasis of time as the determiner for teaching, and current emphasis on flexibility of time to appropriately support the learning of the learner
17. Previous emphasis of teachers working in isolation, and current emphasis on teachers in Professional Learning Communities or teams to understand and improve student learning
18. Previous emphasis on students meeting adult expectations, and current emphasis on students discovering and developing their own unique identity and authentic voice.

I am excited to hear my staff come up with with deeper understanding and begin shaping their own thinking about shifting their instruction.