New School Year

This has been a tough few weeks for me. One of my close friends got a great job opprotunity. He left the school we both worked at. This also meant that the athletic director job was open as well. I began helping out. I dont like the AD job. I spent many long hours finalizing the volleyball season. This all culminated with our first game on Tuesday. Our girls lost, but played an amazing game, taking their opponents to the 5th set. Stress one out of the way.

The second stress came from another one of my close friends getting a job as associate pastor at a church in the Florida pan-handle. He is perfect for this job, as he is an amazing speaker. His leaving left the youth group at our church with out a leader. I stepped in to ease the transition. This was the first week of school and tonight we had about 50 kids, including a big eyed group of sixth graders. My message, thanks to my wifes wisdom, had to be changed at the last minute. This would normally be a stressful situation, except for the fact that I knew that it meant that my words truly would be Gods words. Pray for these students as they enter their schools and become warriors for Christ.

Our new baby is less that 5 weeks away from arrival. My wife is doing great, and my son is anxious to meet his new brother...the stress here is that we still dont have a name picked out for him yet. Any help would be appreciated.

Pray for Tom and James as they begin new jobs this year. Also pray for all the teachers and students who are starting off their new school year. As for me and my family, please pray that God continues to bless us both spiritually and financially.

That is all.

Things I have learned from music

1) Jesus loves me this I know (traditional kids song)

2) I can't drive 55 (Sammy Hagar)(and if i do go 55, its in a 40)

3) Love is all around you (Love Song, by Tesla)

4) Jesus is "The Reason for the Season" (Stryper)

5) Every rose has its thorn (Poison)

6) The sun is a mass of incandesent gas (They Might Be Giants)

8) Math Sucks (Jimmy Buffett)

9) Superman never made any money saving the world from Solomon Grundy(Superman's Song, The Crash Test Dummies)

10) Friends are friends forever if the Lords the Lord of them (Friends, Michael W. Smith)

Not sure why this all came to mind...its 230am and i am waking up to go to a museum and farmers market at 7 am. I guess music has always been a big part of me, and even though my dream of performing sold out shows may never happen, at least I can enjoy singing and playing songs for the rest of my life.

10 years

Ten years ago today my best friend became my wife. I had heard all sorts of stories growing up about how God blesses His children. Through the ten years, my wife has stood by me through injuries, addictions, depression, and a variety of other things that she should never have to endure. I take this day to honor the Proverbs 31 woman that God has given me. I love you honey, and thank you for giving me the best ten years of my life...and I can't wait to see what the next ten years have in store.

Wake up call

I found out this morning that one of my former students, a 16 year old girl named Kalyenn, has lukemia. Her Chemo started today. From what I am hearing, it is in an early stage and should be fully treatable.

This was a rude awakening. Life is short. Our pastor this past Sunday talked about the end times and what we are doing to grow the kingdom. I truly believe that she will make a full recovery, but what about all the other people in my life? What excuses have I made for not sharing the Gospel with them?

Please join me in praying for Kalyenn. Also, please pray for me as I become more active in sharing my faith. God Bless.

10 things that make me mad

Ok, here is the follow up to my last post.

10)Waking up, getting a bowl of cereal, then realizing there is no milk.
9) Seeing the "leash kids" at the mall. Set them free already.
8) Missing an easy lay up.
7) Getting to the post office 5 seconds late.
6) Fair weather sports fans.
5) Having a presidential address interrupt my favorite show.
4) Seeing my son cry.
3) Church politics.
2) Knowing my wife is sad and I can't fix it.
1) Knowing that people still pay Keanu Reeves money to act.

That last one is more jealousy. He has made some of my favorite movies (Bill and Ted, Point Break, The Replacements, Parenthood) but the guy just flat out can not act. The coolest part about this list is that it was harder to make than the ten things that make me happy. Maybe I am a happy person. I will leave you with words of wisdom from TMBG (they might be giants)

"I'm your only friend, I'm not your only friend, but I'm a little glowing friend, but really I'm not actually your friend, but I am."

Have a great day!

10 things that make me happy

Ok, so I got this topic the same way REO Speedwagon got a hit song...Heard it from a friend who, heard it from a friend who...ect. (thanks for the idea Rachel)

10) Watching the sun come up between Carolina mountains.

9) The smell of a charcoal grill making meat.

8) Seeing the look on a students face when they finally "get it."

7) The sound of bacon frying up on a stove first thing in the morning.

6) Falling asleep to the sound of a strong rainstorm.

5) The coldness of the other side of the pillow (thank you Stuart Scott).

4) Watching the University of Miami football team run through the smoke.

3) Knowing that my wife loves me for who I am.

2) My son and his infectious laughter when the "five" attack him.

1) Knowing that God's plan for me is a bajillion times better than my own plan.

I think that I may do 10 things that make me angry later...

Ranting about education

The county I live in is amazing, in the worst possible way. They have spent millions of dollars to teach teachers how to write lesson plans. They said that lesson plans are the reason why this county has recieved a D or F grade in education. As a teacher, I know lesson plans are important. I also understand that lesson plans are not the reason why kids do poorly on tests. The leader of the school board was the highest paid in the state. If her schools were not performing, then why was she getting so much money? Teachers suffer if their kids do not do well. Shouldn't the same rules apply?

The FCAT is the test used to measure if a student is doing well in school The problem is not the test, it is the weight that the test carries. A child can be held back if they fail this one test, even if they pass all their classes. The greatest irony comes from the title of the rule that helped develope the FCAT: The no child left behind act.

My hat goes off to all the teachers out there. Its an uphill battle that seems to have no good ending. Trust me, you teachers who are actually teaching, not reading the paper, playing on facebook, or tweeting about how bad your classes are, will be rewarded one day.

Thats all the time I have for today. Thank you for reading.