HARMLESS THOUGHTS

It has begun again. I have been back inside of those school walls again over the last two days. We won't have any students in our classrooms until Monday, but we are participating in our annual, obligatory institute days within the district. This is that time of year when all teachers find themselves sitting in meetings and sessions... attempting to learn how to accomplish all of the priorities that the government has sent down the proper pathways so that they can ensure that they have done everything they are supposed to do to turn teachers into good teachers... while simultaneously, these same teachers are attempting to create to-do lists of all the actual priorities that are immediately necessary for them to really be a good teacher. This can be exhausting. Every once in awhile, during these institute days, there will be a presenter at one of these sessions who has been a teacher and remembers what it is like. Well, actually many of them have been teachers, but most only thi...

I can remember watching Mork and Mindy as a kid. I recall laughing at the wonderful voice performance of the genie in the lamp. I've watched Jumanji with my sister countless times. I've enjoyed Mrs. Doubtfire and Night at the Museum, but this only scratches the surface of the many unique acting and voice performances of Robin Williams. I always felt like I could know this guy. Watching his crazy interviews and live performances reminded me of what was going on in my head most of the time. He could also be a serious actor: from Patch Adams and The Fisher King to The Awakening and Good Morning Viet Nam, he had the ability to draw you into his performance... especially with his eyes... he had kind eyes. To be honest, his portrayal of a teacher in The Dead Poet's Society played a significant role in my decision to be a teacher myself. From the Carpe Diem whispering scene to the brilliant "Oh Captain, My Captain!" near the end of the movie, Mr. Keating (Williams) e...

I listened to Praying for Your Prodigal while painting a room in my house yesterday. It was a short book, (just a little over an hour of listening time) but it really packed some emotional punches to the gut. Please don't misunderstand me... I loved this little book, and would recommend it to others, without hesitation. On the one hand, this book breaks down the story of the prodigal son, considering each portion of this prodigal's journey. The exposition was good, and very practical, not only for considering a prodigal's path, but also when we look back at our own personal history, and consider our own prodigal ways. I could also tell that there were some thoughts that bled over from Kyle Idleman's other book, titled Aha! On the other hand, the portions of the book that really gripped me were the letters from parents to their prodigals that began each chapter. Some of them were heart-wrenching. Others hit really close to home. A couple of them reminded me so muc...

I just started a surprisingly good book. I just started it this morning, and I am already on chapter 4... or maybe it is chapter 5. Either way, I am working through this book quickly, but I say, "a surprisingly good book" because it has been on my kindle for a while. Usually when I get a new good book, I try to consume it right away, but this one has been hiding in the shadows. The book is called How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home , by Derek Thomas. I will save a synopsis for when I am ready to give the book a full review, but I do want to share a quote from the book that prompted this blogging moment. "Of course, salvation by grace rather than our performance can be seen as a license to sin (antinomianism). Paul's response in Romans is something like this: if we are not tempted to think like that, we have not understood the gospel." I haven't thought of it like this before. Now, Derek Thomas has just been explaining our salvation by grace and th...