A Beautiful Mosaic

(written for and shared today at our annual board of director's visit to campus during our speech "life of a family teacher"): Being a Family Teacher doesn't mean you have all the answers but that you are willing to help searching youth find them. Being a Family Teacher doesn't always mean you are the problem solver but you are there as they encounter the obstacles no one should face alone. Being a Family Teacher doesn't mean you will always be able to change a heart but if you are open, yours will be always touched, molded, and changed. Being a Family Teacher doesn't mean all souls will be saved but Jesus' love will be shared and felt and His power is beyond ours. Being a Family Teacher doesn't mean all kids will love and appreciate you but some will realize how much you care, even if it is a year later, and it will make up for the ones that don't. Being a Family Teacher doesn't mean you have 8 kids of your own, but it certainl...

Jesus pioneered a new way of life with His every step, every word, and every deed.  Even after thousands of years, though, His daily cross, His footsteps, His life of love are still foreign, still difficult, and still misunderstood.  I suppose they will never find themselves "common place" because by their very character they will never fit in.  His steps will always direct toward a higher road.  His words will always be full of wisdom and lacking in the pettiness of this world.  His deeds will always be selfless, untainted with self-ambition or ulterior motive.  And it seems the longer I walk with Him, and the farther off-course with the world I step to follow His footsteps, the more I realize He is still pioneering today.  The few times that I get it right and I match my steps with His...or I am empty enough to let His words echo through me...or my actions are in harmony with His direction - those times are when I realize how the "new life"...

HouseParenting : We can't believe we are already in full swing into our second school year as houseparents in Arkansas!  Now that we have a house full of long-term girls, we have almost all of our girls enrolled in the public school system here rather than our on-campus school.  We have a few girls participating in gymnastics, one girl in the high school choir, and everyone bringing home plenty of math homework for Michael to have his fill on a daily basis.  With the long-term youth on campus, we have also started a 4-H club to offer each of the youth an extracurricular activity that will encourage them to grow in leadership and personal strengths.  The first meeting was a great success!  Though we now have our "training year" under our belts, every day still provides an ample learning curve and plenty of opportunities to grow, improve, and learn.  Though each girl we have right now presents their own unique issues to work with, we are finding more and mo...