Last week, Spanish class was awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, not so hot. My students made me want to weep with their success on more than one occasion. They really made some great advancements. Then came Friday and what I thought was going to be a super easy matching vocab test, but they didn’t impress me so much. “Oh man, we… Read More
Can You See How God Is Building You?
There is a box of Funfetti cake mix on my counter, because today is my 47th birthday, and I am going to take “homemade” cupcakes to school with me. Throw your own party –that’s what my inner seven-year-old tells me. It’s my birthday! Now let me back up to last night. A lot of times people ask me, “How can… Read More
Three Ways You Can Prepare for Relationship Success
You know that lady at Costco who has the clicker in her hand as you come in? Counting people. Wednesday was like that for me. One click for a voicemail to our daughter. One click for a question to the school secretary. Two clicks for greeting the lunch ladies. One click for a message to the principal. One click for… Read More
Because You Want People to See Your Good Heart
Observe the battle: My brother and I on one end of the field. My sister-in-law and her daughter on the other. Dispute: When best to eat a pear. My sister-in-law and her daughter want an apple-like experience when they bite into a pear, and they will only eat the fruit if it offers a solid crunch. My brother and I,… Read More
A Pretty Easy Way to Help Your People Succeed
You know me, right? So if I tell you that my high school students had a two-day retreat last week and that they needed me to be a team captain, you’ll respond appropriately. I can see that grimace on your face. A look of sympathy maybe? (For my team. For me. For both.) Come with me, back to my 4th… Read More
Afraid You’re Going to Mess up around People?
First day of school today, guys, and how could I not write about it? My new room is perfection, if I say so myself. Verb folders are prepared and waiting for unsuspecting freshmen. There’s a fake apple that looks for real sitting on my desk. Not sure what to wear, but I imagine the bed will be covered with a… Read More
If You Always Feel Like You’re The Weird One
We all sat down with our food at McDonald’s, appropriately in the Playland, where there was enough seating for all of us and where our cumulative maturity level demanded we sit. It was our final time together, after a weekend family reunion that pulled in aunts, uncles, and cousins from as far east as St. Paul, Minnesooouta and as far… Read More
How Much Courage Do Most People Run On?
Hey friends, I’m on vacation in Wyoming for a week, so I pulled this blog post out of the archives from 2012 (have I really been blogging that long?) My dad worked for Amoco Oil, so I hope you appreciate the picture of oil rigs I found in his honor. If only I could make it scratch-n-sniff, so you could… Read More
Ten Ways to Light up The World Today
I was inspired this weekend, by a man from India who came and spoke to our church on behalf of the Pardhi people. They are the lowest people in Indian society, not even considered in the caste system and treated as subhuman. Their literacy rate is 2% (and you can imagine how that pained me.) As the man began to… Read More
The Importance of Being Liked
Will you pause for a minute and enjoy this beautiful picture of my mom’s front room? My daughter snapped this picture when we went for a visit a few weeks ago. She says her grandma’s house is magazine worthy. Doesn’t it make you want to find a book and a cup of coffee, so you can read in that big… Read More