My last post was a looking back on 2014.  As many will do this week, I am thinking ahead to 2015.  However, as an educator, I usually think more in terms of school years than I do calendar years.  So, my thinking ahead consists of the remainder of the 2014-2015 school year and the first half of the 2015-2016 school year.  While I have never been a big fan of long lists of resolutions for a new year, I do enjoy the opportunity for the “fresh start” that a new calendar year can bring.  As I began thinking about what I hoped 2015 would look like, I came across an interesting challenge posed in a tweet by motivational speaker/writer Jon Gordon.  This intrigued me, so I downloaded the book (One Word That Will Change Your Life; by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page) and read it in about an hour.  I then spent the next few days trying to narrow my 2015 focus to one word.

To give a quick summary of the premise, the authors recommend forgoing the normal resolution route and replacing it with a laser focus on just ONE WORD.  From the website (http://getoneword.com/),

One Word…creates clarity, power, passion and life-change. The simple power of One Word is that it impacts all six dimensions of your life – mental, physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, and financial. Simply put, One Word sticks. There is a word meant for you and when you find it, live it, and share it, your life will become more rewarding and exciting than ever.

 

To be honest, I did not have just “one word” in mind as I was reading the book.  But, as I read and the more I thought, I was surprised and intrigued by “one word” that kept coming back to me and that covered every area of my life.  It is one that I have been thinking and reading a lot about and one that I desire to further.  This word drives me mentally as I plan for the new year.  It affects me physically as it challenges me to be more intentional with my use of time and energy.  It influences me emotionally as it reconfirms our family move to Rock Hill and sustains me when the emotions are raw.  It greatly influences my relationships – including past, present and future.  It stirs me spiritually as I ponder God’s work in my life and in the lives of those around me.  And, it inspires my use of financial resources.

My ONE WORD is CALLING!

God has called me!  He has called me to Himself as His child.  He has called me to be a husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, son-in-law, and even soon-to-be father-in-law.  He has called me to serve Him at Westminster Catawba Christian School as a shepherd with the title of Head of School, where we have the opportunity to help our students find and pursue their callings from God.  He has called me to serve as part of Westminster Presbyterian Church.  He has called me to make disciples in Rock Hill and beyond.  He has called me to be a part of the restoration of His creation and the building of His kingdom.  I believe He has even called me to have the greatest joy as I see our children walking in the truth.

I am not sure how God will see fit to invigorate my calling or how the pursuit of calling may influence those around me in 2015, but I sure can’t wait to find out!

I have been greatly challenged by the call to choose ONE WORD for 2015 and would encourage you to do the same.  If you do, I would love to ask you to leave a comment on this blog sharing your ONE WORD with the rest of us.  May God richly bless you as you honor and serve God in 2015!

 

As the calendar year draws to a close, many stop and look BACK at the previous year before looking ahead.  True to form, I have done quite a bit of looking back recently.  As a matter of fact, my wife and I were remembering our Christmas “vacation” last year when, having just agreed to pack up and move from Indian Trail to Rock Hill to begin at WCCS, our family frantically sought to ready our house for the market by doing some major cleaning, downsizing of “stuff,” and painting.  (Note – I am thrilled to not have that kind of to-do list over the next two weeks!)  It was also a year ago that I announced to the folks at Covenant Day School that I would be leaving – much to the chagrin of a number of rising seniors, including my own niece!  I vividly remember looking at the list of seniors that I would miss seeing in the hallways and wondering what the Senior Class of 2015 at WCCS would be like.  Well, I do miss my niece’s class, but have been so very blessed to spend the last few months watching a new set of seniors as they neared their own  high school finish line.

I think that the first WCCS senior I met was Madison Morgan.  I still have the “Welcome to WCCS” email that she sent me in mid-July (a month before school began).  I was so impressed with her note that I asked if she would stop by the school just to allow me to meet her in person – and for any who know her you know that she was even more impressive in person.  Little did I know that her family would be the focal point of many tears and prayers just months later as the community celebrated her dad’s home-going after battling cancer for many years.  As July came to a close, I had the opportunity to meet quite a few more seniors – many of whom were on campus for athletics.  I met John Edward Krueger, the greatest high school sports fan I have known in my twenty-five years of working in schools.  I met the consummate gentleman, Seth Roddey, as he was in and out of his mom’s office before and after soccer practice.  I also met Reaves Dawson and Sam Marshall on the soccer field.  I so enjoyed meeting Robert Basha, Drew Clark, and John Haley who were all graciously welcoming to my family as they welcomed my son, Andrew, to WCCS.  I also ran into Emma Reister and Grace Wentworth before volleyball practice.  (Truth be told, I wasn’t sure who was who for several more weeks as they were always together, which prevented me from proper identification.)  There were quite a few more brief introductions – well before school began.  I knew early on that this was a special class.

I was able to see the class as a whole a number of times in the next few weeks.  The first time was the week before school began when they came out together to support Amelia Sampson and her family in the loss of Amelia’s brother.  I have written about that in my blog before, but, even now as I think back to those days, I am so thankful for OUR senior class.  Then, I was invited and warmly welcomed to attend the Senior Class Back to School Breakfast on the morning of the first day of school.  It was so much fun to watch catch-up after the summer months – knowing that most of them were together all summer anyway.  It was obvious that this was a tight group.  Then, the class invited me to share a devotion with them on their class retreat at Camp Canaan.  On that evening, my admiration and appreciation for the class grew even more.  I was greatly blessed by our worship time together, led by Kara Shannon – who is an extremely talented “worship leader” already!  I shared with them a devotional on Hebrews 13:7 (“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.  Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith!”).  The students closed with a kind of “open mike” time where they shared from the heart and encouraged each other.  I went home that night and emailed a few of my fellow teachers at Covenant Day and told them that I missed them, but that I was so glad to be at WCCS – and then I shared a few of the thoughts from above with them about OUR senior class!

It has been quite a year.  The WCCS Class of 2015 is quite a class.  It is hard to believe that we are just a few weeks away from initiating the year 2015 – the year that will see this class graduate and move beyond the halls of WCCS.  It is also the year that will see the next senior class rise to the occasion as the WCCS Class of 2016.  I already know quite a few in that class, including one that lives at my house, and like what I see already.  I don’t want to rush too far ahead too quickly.  For now, I can look back, count the many blessings, and, as we are instructed to do in Psalm 134, “Bless the Lord!”