Help Me Help Them

For the past month I have found myself incredibly frustrated about the situation in Zimbabwe. This crisis involves a zealous president who refuses to lose... and I mean refuses. Anyway, I'm frustrated that this is playing out the way it is and I feel powerless. …

Keepin' You Up-to-Date

From my newsletter...
Dear Friends and Family,

Grace and peace to you this cold February evening.

We had our first snow day (sort of) on Friday! It snowed all night and continued to snow through the morning. I awoke anxiously at 3:30 in the morning to check …

Making a Statement

The city of Philadelphia has a new mayor, Michael Nutter. The School Dist. of Phila has a new CEO, Dr. Arlene Ackerman (appointed earlier this week). They decided to make a statement today. The private schools in the city were closed today. All of the school …

She's Gone Home

To everyone who has been praying for Pastor Amy Stockstill - thank you. Please read the following message from Pastor Joel:

"With both sadness and joy I regret to inform all of you that tonight February 11 at 9:40 pm my lovely wife Amy went to be with Jesus. This is …

PRAY

People of prayer -

Please call out on the name of Jesus to heal Amy Stockstill. She is from Bethany World Prayer Center, wife of Pastor Joel Stockstill.

While the doctors have predicted only a few hours or days to live, I know that God is HUGE. Please pray …

Warm Note on a Cold Day

From my email newsletter...

Grace and peace to you. If you're a follower of the happenings in Christian pop culture (yes, while Christians were called to be in the world we have in many ways created our own... not to leave my point...), you have probably heard of …

Tired

My head is pounding. I'm ready for a break. So much so, in fact, that I took tomorrow off. Working for a charter school, a lot of things are fuzzy - such as sick days and personal days. We don't technically have any, it's at the administration's discretion. …

Relatively Short & Random

I'm back in Philadelphia now, trying to settle back in. The initial return was pretty hard emotionally but I'm pretty much over that now. I really want to love and enjoy Philly while I'm here - this is a once in a lifetime opportunity - but I'm just not loving it yet …

A Very Merry Christmas

Hey everyone! Just wanted to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas! I truly, truly hope and pray that as you reflect on God's great gift that you will be filled with joy regardless of any circumstances that may have otherwise clouded your mind.

Thanks for …

ONE Dollar!

So, I loathe taking drugs of any kind - OTC, precribed, and especially illegal (the latter of which I have never, by the way, taken in any form). Anyway, I found myself in the weirdest place today - at the pharmacist (oh the joys of post-auto accident pain). But what …

Totaled

Well, my car is officially totaled. Admitedly that makes me sad because I love my car and it doesn't seem possible in my mind for me to replace it with a close to equally reliable mode of transport... but God... God knows and He is BIG and knows exactly what I am going …

Busting Boredom?

I read about a book today called Recess Success! 251 Boredom-Busting Games & Activities for the Elementary Playground. I recognize that I have been out of the elementary school arena for a few months now but the last time I was, I hadn't met any elementary school …

Walking Wounded

A blog post by Jim Palmer, author of Divine Nobodies and Wide Open Spaces:
Here's to all the walking wounded ... to those still carrying a little heartbroken boy or girl inside; to those who feel rejected and lonely; to those who woke up with a dull ache inside; to …

First Friday

The good news is that I'm starting to really like Philly. I don't love it yet and I don't really like it ye, but I do like it and I think I'm on my way to really liking it. That might take some extra time. I have about twenty months so I'm hoping to love it in the …

Today's Newsletter

For those of you who don't get my emailed 'newsletter,' here it is:

Dear Friends and Family,

The good news is I haven't dropped off the face of the planet. The bad news is life has been such a whirl wind that I haven't had a chance to write in the last few …

Green Line

There's a great coffee house in University City, a three minute drive from my house, that reminds me of Seattle. So, when I need a home away from home and I don't feel like hittin' up Starbucks, I drop by the Green Line Cafe. It's a great place to get work done... or …

Uniform

uniform. - noun. an identifying outfit or style of dress worn by the members of a given profession, organization, or rank.

My students wear uniforms. Actually, most of the kids I've seen here in Philly wear uniforms. I've always gone back and forth on the issue …

Just for the Record

Starbucks is officially one of my top ten favorite places in the world. I know that's kind of crazy considering all of the wonderful places in this phenomenal world, but that's okay, I never will claim to be sane.

Currently I'm sitting in the Starbucks on Broad & …

Block Party

Today was our block party. It seems to be a pretty big thing here in Philly - there were a bunch in the area yesterday and today. So anyway, our block was cooking out... I met a few neighbors I hadn't, hung out with some I had.

When I first walked out the front …

'Good'

I'm at the bookstore. I decided that I would unpack standards while we're here but, of course, I'm journaling instead. Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I'm here with my great neighbor, Frank, and Maggie. We finally got to see a bit more of Drew, the other fun neighbor, …