Jesus and Muhammad

I just finished reading chapter 17 ("Interesting Coincidences") of the book Jesus and Muhammad: Profound Differences and Surprising Similarities.

You will have to read the entire book to get the full scope of understanding, but Chapter 17 presents four encounters that both Jesus and Muhammad faced and how they dealt with each. They are:

1. A woman caught in adultery
2. A blind man asking for help
3. Followers abandoning them in a time of trouble
4. Hungry people in the wilderness

Every aspect of every event reinforced one simple truth: Jesus Christ was God incarnate.

I highly recommend purchasing and reading this phenomenal book that compares and contrasts Christianity and Islam. It offers a relatively objective insight on Muhammad's life, his teachings, and his followers - things every Christian should have some knowledge about.




 

Top 10 Tweets for the Week of June 3

Here are your top 10 tweets for the week of June 3!

1. "What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things." #rrrcfisdL33
2. "We like to take pride in the ones we send off to the ivy league. The ones that are homeless and uneducated are ours too." #rrrcfisd
3. Its time we get with the program: pen and paper are outdated. “@DrJerryRBurkett: Tablets keep students engaged zite.to/L7NrsH #edchat”
4. Instead of condemning the woman for her sin, Jesus gave her the opportunity to follow him. #strong amzn.com/k/3NW8KLNBXAAGN #Kindle
5. The weakest link is the single most important person in the squad (you're only as good as your weakest link). #CFISD #rrrconference
6. If you dont take care of the immediate situation in front of you,its not going to get done.No one cares that its "not your job". #rrrcfisdL1
7. Rigorous instruction prepares students to think critically so they can solve problems in unpredictable, real world situations.
8. "Kids 8-18 watch 7.5 hours of media every day." - @HallDavidson #rrrcfisdL11
9. "Pre-school children laugh or smile over 400 times a day. Adults laugh an average of 15 times a day." -Dr. Robertshaw #rrrcfisd
   
10. "Twitter is the best free professional development tool I have ever seen." - @ToddWhitaker #rrrcfisd #twitter

 

Spinning Plates

Today I went to the CFISD Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships workshop for school administrators. The last session of the day was called "Capturing Your Moments" presented by Dr. Eric Cupp. I would consider Dr. Cupp a motivational speaker more than anything else (compared to most presenters at the conference who focus on improving classroom instruction, school culture, etc), but he offered an analogy that brought conviction on my heart. Here is his analogy (paraphrased):

You guys know those guys who spin plates?  They used to come by with the circus, and every once in a while do a performance on the Ed Sullivan show or Johnny Carson.  Here's the act:  This guy will stand a dow rod vertically, put a plate on it and spin it.  Everyone always thinks that there is some sort of indention on the plate that keeps it there, but there's not.  The audience is mildly entertained and politely gives the gentleman a golf clap.  Before you know it, this guy has 24 plates spinning on dow rods high and low and he's sweating profusely, sliding all over the floor to attend to "wobbly" plates.  There's a wobbly plate over there!  Guy runs, slides, and gets the plate spinning again, just to look up and there's another plate wobbling, and the guy does the same thing over and over again until he removes all the plates from the dow rods.  The show closes as an exhausted, sweaty performer presents a stack of 24 unbroken plates.  The crowd now a little more enthusiastically gives the gentleman a nice clap.  The issue I have with this guy is that he's running all over the place, spinning plates, sweating, working hard, and what did he accomplish?  Other than providing some cheap entertainment at the circus or on publicly broadcasted television - he accomplished nothing.  When all 24 of the plates were spinning, not one was spinning well (or to its full capacity).  A plate spun best when it was only one spinning and the performer was able to focus all his time and attention on that one plate.

Here's your take-a-way, and of course my conviction.  At work, and more specifically, in my life, I'm spinning too many plates.  And honestly, I'm ashamed to say that my family are the ones that suffer the most.  My wife and my kids are the plates that I don't attend to until I see them about to wobble off the dow rod - I run over, spend some money, maybe invest a little time, get them spinning again, and sprint away to tend to the "more important" plates in my life.  Every dad and husband says that his family is the most important thing to him.  In my case, however, actions speak louder than words, and I'm communicating non-verbally that the plates that are my family are not that important to me, they're not precious plates, they're not that valuable.  God has blessed me with an amazing family, he has charged me with leading and loving my family like Christ loved the church - and I am failing miserably.  Something's got to give, something's got to change.  Therefore, I am issuing a challenge for myself and each one of you:

1.) Prioritize every plate you are spinning.
2.) Eliminate plates that accomplish nothing.
3.) Evaluate your "act", do you spend too much time on plates of little value and vice versa?
4.) And most importantly, make a plan to reconfigure your performance to match up with your priorities.

Everyone one of us has a plate spinning act - at the end of your life will the audience say, "Well done, good and faithful servant"?  (The Parable of the Talents)

Top 10 Tweets for the Week of May 28

I'm ripping a page out of the playbook of one of my favorite Education Blogs "Lead Your School" (Also @LYSNation) and every Sunday night-ish will be posting my Top 10 favorite tweets from the week.  They may offer some insight and/or may encourage you to follow someone intriguing.  And so, without further adieu, here are my Top 10 Favorite Tweets for the Week of May 28:

1. I'm pretty much convinced: Most of our theological/church/faith problems would be fixed by becoming more solely focused on Jesus. (by @culturalsavage)

2. "If you don't savor Christ, you haven't seen Christ for who he is." - @JohnPiper #strong

3. I want to preach that Christian morality is a response to grace, not a means to grace.  (by @DailyKeller)

4. "Truly wise men are never above asking questions, because they are wise men." - @CHSpurgeon (by @PastorMark)

5. The difference between politicians and audiobook readers is that some audiobook readers are also the authors of what they say. (@JHoelscher)

6. If Jesus isn't Lord of all, He isn't Lord at all.  Surrender and trust.  He knows better and wants to give us deeper joy, not take it. (by @ JeffersonBethke)

7. "Faith's way of working is to cast all care upon God and then to anticipate good results." AW Tozer (by @TozerAW)

8. Due to canceled flight, finished Africa trip w/all-night drive home from Chicago.  God sovereign all the time; United responsible this time. (by @plattdavid)

9. At church a gal came up to tell me she became a Christian recently.  That NEVER gets old. (by @PastorMark)

10. Good writers show rather than tell.  Stories are told in action.  Life stories are no different. (by @donaldmiller)

Education and the Great Commission (Part 2)

Recently a buddy of mine gave me a hard time about my blog containing more thoughts and writing of others vs. my own actual writing. Today is no different, but before you read more of someone else's words, MY response to him is worth mentioning, "Why spend time toiling over something original when I could bring to surface the superior writings of lesser known individuals?"


That being said, on Sunday, May 20th I posted "Education and the Great Commission (Part 1)" Earlier this year when I first read that passage from Radical by David Platt, I emailed it to some family members and close friends, below is one of their responses:

"I believe this is the future of missions. People will go to other countries, not just as a missionary, but with a particular skill set. They won't just go to share the word, but will also illustrate the love of Christ by working alongside the people, by using their skill set to help others in a sacrificial way. The expense of supporting missionaries in foreign countries has gone up dramatically in the last few years and so the tent making approach is going to become more necessary. If you think about it, would people be more apt to listen to you if you were working side by side with them in their daily lives, or if you were just over there doing whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted and just came up to them and wanted to talk? And by working in a job, you are able to help support yourself. The (name of missionary family) are doing just that in (country that is largely unreached). Future missionaries are going to have to ask themselves: Am I willing to do whatever it takes (to become all things to all people) for the sake of the gospel or am I willing only to share the gospel if it is easy and fun?"

**************************************************************


Jesus said, "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."


What do you think Jesus meant when he said that?

Desperate

Written a couple days ago. . . Final touches tonight.

It is 10:21 pm on a school night and my wife is tutoring a student at the dining room table. She has been tutoring kids all evening, as she should be, it is finals time and Jenny is the most coveted Pre-AP Algebra II and Pre-AP Pre-cal tutor in the community. Earlier I answered the door for her 9:30 appointment welcoming a student I had never met before. He introduced himself, awkwardly shook my hand, and took a quick scan of my entryway as if he thought he might catch a glimpse of my wife's magic potion that transforms failing students into geniuses in 60 minutes. There was something I noticed about this particular student though, he was different, or at least "different" in comparison to Jenny's regular tutoring customers. Maybe it was because he had never been to our house before or maybe because he was intrigued by the mystique that surrounds my wife's magical tutoring skills. Either way, there was a quiet, but obvious desperation about this kid - like he knew he had absolutely nothing to offer, an understanding that there was nothing other than this tutoring that would help him pass. Jenny was his only hope, he was at the end of his rope and was willing to do nothing short of kissing my wife's feet to get the help he needed.

*************

I write this because I think God wants us to be this way with Him. Humans (Americans especially) by nature feel like they can pull up their boot straps, dig their heels in and take care of business. This, however, does't give God what is rightfully his - the credit. God wants us to have a clear understanding of our sin. . . And I know what you are thinking, here He goes again, talking about sin. . . Didn't he already blog about that??? But seriously, if I feel it necessary to blog about more than once, then maybe you should pay attention. William P. Farely writes, "the cost defines the love." Jesus died for sinners, he took YOUR (and MY) punishment. The bible says that we are objects of God's wrath, enemies of God because of our sin. If we see ourselves as the sinners that we are, then we humbly come to the foot of the cross, desperate, just like that kid that came to our door for tutoring. If we understand that we truly have nothing to offer, we see Jesus's death on the cross all the more powerful. He didn't die for good people, he died for you. Romans 5:8 says, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

This is the definition of grace, THIS should be the driving force behind EVERYTHING you do. . . And as a result, out of your desperation, God is not robbed of what is rightfully His. . . Glory.

Consider this thought before you go to bed tonight: "The cost defines the love" - the price Jesus paid was immeasurable - what does this communicate about His love for you?

 

Education and the Great Commission (Part 1)

The other day a friend of mine asked me how I thought my profession (education) fit into the gospel/great commission.  While at the moment I didn't have the best answer, on my way home I was reminded of a quote from the book Radical, by David Platt.

"I think of Andrea.  She is a college student who, by her own admission, doesn't like college.  Upon graduation from high school, she immediately wanted to go to another country.  In her words, 'I did not want to go to college because I felt like it would be a waste of time.  After all, people were dying without Christ, and I did not have time to be educated.'  Her parents wisely persuaded her to go to school in Alabama, far away from Asia or Africa, where she really wanted to be.  

Andrea struggled with the relevance of school until one day in our worship gathering we were talking about the needs among the Bedouin people, most of whom had never heard the gospel, and it clicked.  Andrea was in school for the sake of the Bedouin.  As soon as she was able, she signed up for Arabic classes.  Not long after beginning these classes, she e-mailed me that she was going to spend a semester studying Arabic in the Middle East, where she would have the opportunity to be among the Bedouin people.  She wrote, 'I wanted to let you know that Brook Hiss is going to run into the Bedouin people this semester, and I will have the opportunity to tell them about Jesus.'

Consider what happens when all of us begin to look at our professions and areas of expertise not merely as means to an income or to career paths in our own context but as platforms for proclaiming the gospel in contexts around the world.  Consider what happens when the church is not only sending traditional missionaries around the world but also businessmen and businesswomen, teachers and students, doctors and politicians, engineers and technicians who are living out the gospel in contexts where a traditional missionary could never go."

There it is, David Platt says it all for me.  Education opens doors to unlimited opportunities - one of which could be bringing the message of Jesus through whatever service an individual might offer.  A profession, that otherwise wouldn't have been achieved if it weren't for public schools (more than likely).

Will be digging deeper into this topic on Part 2 - stay tuned!
 

Speeding and Sinning

Would you be upset if a policeman pulled you over and wrote you a citation for driving 71 mph in a 70 mph speed zone?  My guess is that you would be outraged, if not on the outside, most definitely on the inside.  Some of us might try to reason with the police officer, some would be visibly angry, and there might even be one or two of us that would hire a lawyer to try to get our ticket dismissed.

Answer me these two questions:  1.) Were you speeding?  If yes, then 2.) When did it become ok to break the law?

I give you this scenario because I think most of us in our lives have become desensitized to sin.  Much like ONLY driving 1 mph over the speed limit, when we sin, we rationalize it as something minimal, and use comparisons (to "big time sinners" who commit "real sin") and justification to make us feel better about it.  At the end of the day, we consider ourselves "good people".

William P. Farley offers some insight and direction in this area, in his book Outrageous Mercy:

"We cannot see ourselves aright when humanity is our only point of reference." 

"todays great problem. . . most Christians do not understand the cross, they think too well of themselves.  But it was at the cross where God publicly displayed his hostility to sin and sinners.  At the cross we come to grips with our sinfulness so that we can later fall in love with God and revel in his infinite love."

"the cross displays the glory and wonder of God's love only to the degree that we see our unworthiness of that love and our inability to give him anything."

"You merely need to see God and self at the foot of the cross, because the cross profoundly humbles everyone who understands its message.  For there we see God, dying for his enemies.  'When we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son' (Rom. 5:10)." 

We see from Outrageous Mercy that:  

1. When we compare ourselves to the norms of society, which we have done with respect to our sinfulness, most of us feel above average.
2. Mr. Farley suggests that many of us do not understand the cross because we are arrogant.  
3. The cost defines the love.  When we see ourselves unworthy at the foot of the cross, humility opens our eyes to the depth of the message and love of Christ.

So today's challenge is to ask yourself these questions:

1. Have you compared yourself to the "worst of sinners" and genuinely feel like you are a "good person"?  
2. How, then, is an understanding of the cross (as mentioned above by Farley) driving you to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind"?

Men in the Arena - Relationships Bring Happiness

My dad works for a company called Arena Energy.  Don't quote me on this one, but I'm pretty sure the "Arena" idea came from a excerpt of a speech Theodore Roosevelt gave in Paris, France on February 23, 1910.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

With the same premise in mind, I created an after-school club at my school (boys only) called "Men in the Arena".  We meet weekly, discuss character, talk about being a man, and encourage actually being in the arena vs. being one of those critics ("cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat").

Today was our last meeting and I wanted to share with all of you what I shared with the boys.  It comes from one of my favorite sermons (The Good Samaritan) from one of my favorite teachers of all time (Jack Arrington, former long-time pastor of Tomball Bible Church).

An article in the Atlantic Monthly that talked about a study done at Harvard University.  The study posed the question, "How do you have a successful life?"  As you can imagine, Harvard threw its money and brainpower behind it.  For over seven decades a team of doctors, sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists at Harvard studied a group of 268 sophomores that were at Harvard in the 1930's and it carried them for the next 72 years in the study.  We're talking about an incredibly intense, scientific, major study of 268 of the brightest and the best, asking the question, "What makes for a successful life?"  The variety of outcomes in these brilliant young men's lives shows that the answer isn't all that easy.  They began in the 1930's, they tracked them through war, their career, through marriages and divorces, through parenthood and grandparenthood and into old age.  They found that a third of those men studied had at least one bout of mental illness.  Of these 268 Harvard men, alcoholism was a rampant problem and it seemed like some of the dullest, most mundane individuals, actually turned out to have the most successful lives.  And they tried to quantify this scientifically and say, what is going on here?  And after all this time and money and effort, they came up with this brilliant conclusion:  Relationships bring happiness.  72 years. . . Harvard scholars. . . Relationships bring happiness.  But of course, its not just any kind of relationship - good relationships bring happiness.

I then told the boys from this point forward they will be faced with situations that will encourage sacrificing key relationships for lesser joys.  Here are some of the temptations I talked about- see if you can relate to any of these:

1. Athletics - how many of you have lost friendships because of your competitiveness and commitment to be "the best"?  Better yet, how many friendships have you sacrificed because you didn't care who you stepped on to climb to the top, in athletics, or even now in your career?
2. Girls - how many of you sacrificed relationships with "your boyz" because you were smitten with some girl?  How many of you spent every waking moment with your new "love interest" that you lost all contact with your true friends?
3. Cool - how many of you sacrificed genuine relationships and traded them in for superficial acquaintances because you wanted to be cool?

At some point in college I realized I had little to show for my exploits in grade school.  I had bad ankles (soccer), I had wasted a ton of money, time and emotions (girl), and I had sacrificed genuine friendships to have a multitude of "friends"(cool).

If you are like me, you may find yourself reflecting and maybe even regretting some of your past - but I challenge you to think about your present.  Answer these questions:

1. Are you currently investing in relationships, I mean really investing in relationships?  
2. With whom and for what reasons have you forged relationships?
3. Have you sacrificed relationships for lesser joys?  If so, do you need to get back in touch with those friends?

I just recently reconnected with a good friend from college that I hadn't seen in ten years.  Hanging out with this dude just reiterates the aforementioned brilliant conclusion:  Good relationships bring happiness. 

Technology Has Changed Everything

Below is the rough draft of my almost 500 word essay for my application to grad school.  Let me know what you think!

Technology has changed everything.  It has changed the way we live, communicate, and most importantly, learn.  First as a teacher (6 years) and currently as an assistant principal (3 years), I have witnessed the effects of this transformation first hand.  And even though the technology revolution is evident, generally, it has not changed classroom instruction.

Children in schools today have never known life without technology, yet, they are asked to leave their devices at home and pick up the two things they use the least (paper and pencil).  They are then forced to listen to a classroom teacher talk about dormant, non-relevant information that a child could easily access via Google or Youtube in a matter of seconds.  As a result, the teacher is frustrated that students are not engaged in learning and are typically off-task.  The teacher concludes:  “kids nowadays cannot stay focused and simply don’t care.”

As an assistant principal and employee of a public school, I am part of this problem.  I am also, however, in a position to initiate change and be part of the solution.  Research by Marzano has indicated that, “more can be done to improve education by improving the effectiveness of teachers than by any other single factor.”  The implications of this statement provide a vision that every educational leader should embrace.  Imagine a classroom in which every individual student’s academic needs are being met?  Think of a day when the “fragile” low performing student is experiencing as much success as the perpetually high achieving student?  Visualize your child waking up in the morning with a contagious enthusiasm in regards to what he/she is learning in school.  A multitude of issues in the public education arena could be solved if we as educators can tackle the simple task of improving the quality of classroom instruction and making our subject matter relevant.  This is why I desire to see the infusion of technology and enhanced instructional strategies used by every teacher in America.  I believe this is the solution to our current educational woes.  These visions have stirred deep convictions in my heart, which is why I intend to pursue a doctor of education degree in educational leadership at Lamar University.

My professional goals are as follows:  1.) To improve teacher effectiveness by improving classroom instruction and 2.) To incorporate the use of technology, social networks, and web 2.0 as tools to improve classroom instruction.

These are things a doctorate degree cannot accomplish in isolation; however, furthering my learning will provide an opportunity to attain the tools to begin to ignite a paradigm shift in education.  We are in desperate need of change and I intend to be a pillar on the forefront of an educational revolution.

Exponents and Blue Like Jazz

I throw up mathematics flashcards while the students are lined up and waiting for their teachers to pick them up from recess.  Yesterday I showed the number 3 to the 4th power - kid almost immediately yelled out, "81."  I was impressed, assumed he was bright, and moved onto the next flash card.  Later, as the students were filing into the building to resume their instructional day, I heard a girl say, "3 squared is 9, and 9 times 9 is 81."

BOOM!  

If you are like me, you would calculate 3 to the 4th power by multiplying 3 and 3 (which is 9) and then multiply 9 and 3 (which is 27) and then multiply 27 and 3 (which is 81).  Most of our brains function by this logical progression of mathematical calculation.  The realization that another individual would discover (so casually) a process to solve this problem more efficiently left me speechless and perplexed.  I had never looked at an exponential math problem in the way that this 12 year old girl not only understood, but was able to explain to her friend - and I was a high school mathematics teacher.

Like most of us, I was fired up about this Christianity thing when I first heard the "good news" (1997) - I diligently read my bible, memorized scripture, prayed, shared the gospel, participated in accountability groups, tithed, fasted - you name it.  I was also very diligent about not doing things that a "good christian" wouldn't do - drink, smoke, cuss, etc.  I would say to myself and others, "my relationship with Christ is not based on emotion, but based on devotion to Him."

Unfortunately, like most fads, exercise regimens, and diets, my spiritual "high" faded and I reverted back to laziness and apathy to sin.

Two summers ago, I read a book by Donald Miller called Blue Like Jazz.  Chapter 7 is titled "Grace - The Beggar's Kingdom."

The conclusion of the chapter reads:  "Our 'behavior' will not be changed long with self-discipline, but fall in love and a human will accomplish what he never thought possible.  The laziest of men will swim the English channel to win his woman. . . by accepting God's love for us, we fall in love with Him, and only then do we have the fuel we need to obey.  In exchange for our humility and willingness to accept the charity of God, we are given a kingdom.  And a beggar's kingdom is better than a proud man's delusion."

BOOM!


This was the answer to a 10 year spiritual drought.  I had never looked at my relationship with God this way.  I always thought following Christ was a daily checklist of spiritual disciplines; the more I checked off, the more God was pleased with me, and consequently, the more "holy" I was.

But as Donald Miller so eloquently illustrates in Blue Like Jazz, a relationship with Christ has more to do with falling in love with Him than following a carefully calculated formula for spiritual success.

So I pose the following questions for you:

1.) If your spiritual life is non-existent or stale, is it because you have not been able to maintain "good behavior" with self-discipline?

2.) If you perceive your relationship with God to be going well, is it because you have a lot of checks on your own personally formulated check-list?  Or is it because you have fallen in love with the One who has saved you?


When was the last time you saw life in a different way?  This is called grace.

Identity Crisis - Part 1

In my three years as an assistant principal and six additional years as a coach and classroom teacher I've arrived at the conclusion that every child acts out for one reason:  To protect or portray a desired image.

This image that we so desperately crave is what we think will be the vehicle for the acceptance and approval of a certain social group.  We want to be noticed, we want to be liked, we want to be worshipped; and we are willing to do whatever it takes to receive such adoration.

One minor problem, however - we are not worthy of receiving worship.  "Underlying idolatry is the lie. . . The lie in its various forms says that you are god, you can become a god, you are part of god, you are worthy of worship as god, you can be the source of your life's identity and meaning, you can transform yourself, and you can transform the world and its sin problem as a sort of hero/savior.  The answer, therefore, is not to look outward to God for identity, meaning, insight, and salvation.  Rather, the answer is to look inward to self for identity, meaning, insight, and personal liberation.  The answer, the lie says, is to be found in self rather than in a creator God who is separate from me and rules over me." (Driscoll & Breshears, 2010, p. 341).

So here are the questions that we all need to ask ourselves:
1.) Is this me?  Is my identity in Christ, or do I place more importance in what others think of me?
2.) What are the motives behind my own behavior?  Why do I behave the way I do?  Is it to please man and receive worship from others, or is it to please the one true God?

If we continue to campaign for worship with attention seeking behavior or any other behavior for that matter, we must ask ourselves, "What god are we serving?"

More specifically, "What god do you serve?"



Driscoll, M. & Breshears, G. (2010).  Doctrine:  What Christians Should Believe.  Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.

Casserole: My life in a dish

I hate casseroles. The joke around my house is that I won't eat anything with more than four ingredients, and if you know me personally, you are laughing right now, because that is 100% truth.  Funny that I would name a blog, not to mention my very first blog post, after something I intensely despise. Nevertheless, after NUMEROUS attempts to compartmentalize my life (much like I do my evening meals), I have come to the conclusion that all of life is a giant casserole.

Each ingredient, in one way or another, adds flavor to the casserole, those of which by themselves are insignificant, and sometimes flat-out nasty.  Take lasagna for instance (one might consider lasagna to be a casserole of sorts); I've never seen anyone eat a spoon-full of ground beef by itself.  What about a little cottage cheese - again, by itself, GROSS!  Noodles, sauce, shredded cheeses. . . alone they are incomplete, they must be complimented.

My point:  following Christ, being a Husband, leading my Family, and Education (my job), in isolation are insufficient.  Each of them, however, combined in one big dish (which is my life) enhances and provides insight into every situation I encounter.

The posts to follow will be a collection of thoughts and reflections that bounce around in my head from time to time.  There will be occasions, more times than not, that the above mentioned "ingredients" in my life will seem to be out-of-sorts, out of order, or even in direct contradiction with one another.  I certainly have more questions than I do answers, which is why I would like to highlight these ideas, and more importantly, would love to open them up for discussion and/or reflection by you.

So welcome friends to my table; sit back, relax, and enjoy a nice plate of delicious casserole.