A Better Facebook

Facebook is an interesting space. Most of us have a love-hate relationship with it. Some hate it more than others so much so that they have abandoned it. For many there is a sense that there is not enough good on Facebook to outweigh the bad, so they discard the whole thing. Others know themselves well enough to realize they don’t have the self control to avoid being sucked into the mind-numbingness that can happen with a Facebook addiction, so they  have deleted their accounts and avoid it completely.

Leaving Church

A few months ago Sandy and I made the painful decision to leave the church that we had been part of for over 20 years. It was a decision we agonized over for a couple of years. In some ways we were absent long before we physically left, but walking away on that last Sunday, knowing we wouldn’t be back, was still difficult. It was, after all, the church where we raised and baptized our two children. It was the church where we served in many leadership roles. It was the church where I saw my middle school students. It was the church that we had poured ourselves into for many, many years. No matter what happens, those roots run deep, and pulling them up does not happen without some pain and mourning.

One Life to Live, One Story to Tell

I remember taking Colby to the beach in Morro Bay, California when he was two. I carried him through the thick sand towards the water. His mom, Sandy, spread out a blanket and we all sat down to take off our shoes. Lifting Colby up we held his hands and started walking toward the ocean. But when Colby left the blanket and his feet hit the sand he began to cry. He hated the feel of the sand on his feet, not because it was hot, but because it was gritty and dirty. As a child Colby didn’t like to be dirty, he liked everything clean, neat and organized. Even at his first birthday we tried to have him do the traditional dive into birthday cake, but he wouldn’t have it. He was hesitant even to touch it. When a little frosting covered two of his fingers he grew concerned, heading towards tears, and wanted someone to remove the stickiness. As much as we tried to encourage him to enjoy the moment of glorious cake, he simply couldn’t bring himself to get messy.

A November Prayer

God, my Lord and my King

My Creator and my Savior

Guide my thoughts and direct my heart

Help me to know your Spirit in me

Help me to see your hand at work in the world around me

Give me eyes to see and ears to hear

Break my heart in ways that lead to healing

Heal my heart in ways that lead to breaking

Living Faith

When I left my house I was wondering how many would show up early that morning. I hoped I wouldn’t be the only one. I was fairly certain that there would be at least a couple others, but I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Sometimes invitations to a time of prayer feel a little awkward and life has a way of presenting obstacles that give us a convenient excuse not to go.  I wondered how many would have life sidetrack their good intentions. 

Jericho Walk

My first year of teaching I was fortunate to have a room at Selma Jr. High, next door to Wayne Dixon. Ask any teacher and they will tell you that no matter how good your education is, there is nothing that can prepare you for that first day (or year) of teaching, and nothing is more reassuring than a kind veteran teacher that can help you through the experience. Wayne was that teacher for me and I am eternally grateful.

25 Lessons

I’ve been home for a couple weeks now, from my latest trip to Niños de Mexico and I have been processing not just my last visit, but the last ten years worth of trips. I have learned much from the trips themselves, but I have also learned valuable lessons in the months leading up to each trip as I have tried to prepare each team. Maybe, more importantly, I have learned a great deal from observing, talking to and working alongside the amazing people who make Niños de Mexico work. Their examples of servant leadership are sometimes a stark contrast to my own leadership and other forms of leadership that I have experienced in other areas of my life. 

No Return

In just a few days I will be making my fourth trip to Mexico to visit an orphanage, Niños de Mexico, that we have supported for many years (you can follow us on the Niños STM 2018 Blog). It has become a special place that has captured my (and the rest of my family’s) heart, in ways I never expected when I started this process with my wife, Sandy, over ten years ago. When we started, we planned and prepared to do the trip once, to prepare one team for one week. In our minds that would be the end of the story, but I guess God had other things in mind.

Sides - Part 3

Virtually everyone has seen the picture by now - a small Honduran child, crying while her mother is patted down by a border patrol agent. It has become a symbol in the debate over the separation of children from their parents who have crossed the U.S. borders illegally…

Only its not...

Change, Doubt and Restoration

Thirty years, five different schools, too many rooms and class changes to count, and a few thousand students. Yeah… that is really weird for me to think about. More than 100 students coming through my classes every year for thirty years. I’m a math teacher, but the math still seems wrong. Of course, the thirty years seems a bit mind boggling as well. So many things have changed over the years…

It is hard to believe that it has been thirty years since I walked into my first science classroom in Selma, CA hoping just to survive and not do too much damage to the students unfortunate enough to land in my room. Now I find myself on the other end of the teaching experience spectrum. Middle school students are no longer intimidating, but I still often worry about the quality of my teaching. 

Surrender

I have long been a believer that the words we use to describe aspects of our faith have strong implications for how we live out our faith. Words that become popular in contemporary Christian circles are not just a reflection of what we have come to believe, but shape the way new and young believers come to understand their faith. Even for those who have been Christians for some time can have their view of faith influenced by the perpetual use of certain words. The repetitive use of certain words can cause us to think and act in accordance to the words that are used.