As I sit down to write this blog, I feel exhausted. I’m willing to bet that most of you are, too. Although you’ve been on Christmas break, I feel quite certain you’ve been busy with family, doing all the things  we do to celebrate the holiday season. I pray your holiday has truly been merry and bright, filled with laughter and joy. Mine has, and I am so grateful. Yes, I’m tired, but it’s a good kind of tired. It's hard to believe that the holiday break is almost over and that

Victory Series: It’s Time to Share!   God is at work every day, all day in our schools, through the lives of Christian educators. One of the AIMS of Victorious Educator Ministries  is to encourage others by sharing how God is working in our schools. Recently, we have been focusing on serving and stewarding the gifts God has given us.  When Angela, one of our members, posted a video about her involvement with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization, I wanted to know more!  A

Over the past month, we have been focusing on embracing our uniqueness and stewarding our gifts. Last week, Vern Minor tackled the commonly avoided topic of stewarding our finances through an open and honest interview. Here we are now, approaching Giving Tuesday .  As most of you know Victorious Educator Ministries (VEM) is a non-profit organization. As a non-profit entity, we are required by law to fundraise a certain percentage of our operating budget.  I must confess that

Victory Series: It’s Time to Share! Over the past month, we have focused on the theme of stewardship and how we are called to use our talents and gifts to serve others. However, one topic we often avoid when discussing stewardship is finances. Culturally, it is not acceptable to talk about money. I imagine most people feel finances are a private matter. I don’t necessarily disagree, but when it comes to stewardship, the Bible provides some clear guidance on how we are to give

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. Bulletin boards will be full of turkeys portraying expressions of thankfulness as we are encouraged to have an attitude of gratitude this holiday season.  When asked, “ What are you thankful for?” most of us list the obvious (e.g., family, friends, health, finances, and Jesus, of course). No doubt we should be thankful for all of those things (and more), but what if we put a little twist on Thanksgiving this year? What if we shifted our f

Victory Series: It’s Time to Share!   God is at work every day all day in our schools through the lives of Christian educators. It’s so critical for us to share what is happening with each other.  It shouldn’t be kept a secret! One of the AIMS of Victorious Educator Ministries  is to encourage others by sharing how God is working in our schools. When I heard what Elaine Barnes was up to, I knew how uplifting and encouraging this would be for everyone! Elaine is actively using

As a lifelong educator, I learned to be very protective of my time.  Juggling work and family often required more hours in the week than were available. I shied away from anything extra regardless of how important it may have been. I simply didn’t feel I had the mental, physical, or emotional capacity to add anything to my plate. I feel pretty confident that some of my decisions were the right ones. However, as I grow in my faith, God is redefining my understanding of what it

I was recently asked to recall individuals (apart from immediate family) who had influenced the direction of my life for the glory of God . In other words, who discipled me either directly or indirectly? Honestly, I strained to think of anyone off the top of my head, but I thought surely several would come to mind if I took the time to ponder the question more deeply.  So, I began the mental journey of thinking back to my childhood by asking myself, “ Who were the teachers, a

When we last visited our granddaughters, I observed a digital variation on the classic game of "connect-the-dots." Simple worksheets to pass the time have been transformed into captivating games in which children color numbers to reveal a hidden image. There are random numbers clustered all over the page, each number representing a color. As they worked, I watched how they occasionally paused to guess what the image would be. However, most of the time they simply kept colorin

So shall I plant sequoias And revel in the soil Of a crop I know I'll never live to reap?   Then sow my body to my Maker And my heart unto my savior And spread me on the road, the rocks, and the weeds.   John Mark McMillan, “The Road, The Rocks, and the Weeds” I’ve written two blogs for Victorious Educators since I became a teacher.  The first one was written in May of 2023, four months after I started my new career.  It was bright-eyed, hopeful, and passionate, and it looked

Have you ever been reading a familiar passage in the Bible when suddenly you discover something you had never noticed before? It happened to me this past week, and I can’t quit thinking about the profound implication of this overlooked detail. I hope I have piqued your interest because this one small fact has the potential to significantly influence our entire school year! Before sharing my aha moment, I want to set the stage. It was after the resurrection.  The disciples had

Like many educators across the United States, we have just completed the school year and are deep into our summer break. In my district, which is in a suburb of Wichita, Kansas, we finished our school year at the end of May. Our school is now looking forward to the beginning of the new school year. Last year we had high points and low points, but through it all, we had the opportunity to make an impact in our building. For me last year marked the end of a profound thirty-seco

The recent rulings by governors in Oklahoma and Louisiana are causing a stir among believers and unbelievers alike.  As usual, everyone seems to have an opinion, so I thought, why not share mine? My heart and mind have been processing an appropriate response since the mandates came out. As Christian educators, we should be ready to respond to questions whether these mandates impact us or not. I want to make clear the thoughts I am sharing are my opinions based on what I feel

Victory Series: It’s Time to Share! God is at work every day, all day, in our schools through the lives of Christian educators. It’s time we share with each other what is happening.  It shouldn’t be kept a secret! One of the aims of Victorious Educator Ministries  is to encourage others by sharing how God is working in our schools. When Nicole mentioned her Good News Club in our Facebook group, I knew we had another victory to share! After talking with Nicole, one thing that

Victory Series: It’s Time to Share! One of the aims of Victorious Educator Ministries is to encourage others by sharing how God is working in our schools. As we all know, it takes a village these days to serve the many needs of our changing population of students.  It is exciting to know God has placed social workers in many schools today to be His hands and feet. Let me introduce you to Rhonda Cole.  Rhonda is a bold Victorious Educator who believes in lifestyle evangelism.

Last summer I was fortunate to spend a couple of days in our nation’s capital for a work trip. It was my first time experiencing DC, and I didn’t have much time. I wanted to make sure I saw as much as I could in the short amount of time I had. By the way, you better be prepared to do some walking if you are going to see all there is to see. I was fascinated by many of the monuments and the history they represent.   Monuments are built to help us remember something or someone

Victory Series: It’s Time to Share! God is at work every day, all day in our schools, through the lives of Christian educators. It’s time we share with each other what is happening.  It shouldn’t be kept a secret! One of the AIMS of Victorious Educator Ministries  is to encourage others by sharing how God is working in our schools. When I heard about what Lindsey Nelson was up to in her school, it prompted me to interview her because I knew how uplifting this would be for eve

Once again, it is that time of year when we stop and take a moment to show our appreciation for our teachers. I, like many others, want to thank each of you for all you do to support students. The thank you notes, e-mails, and goodies in the lounge are all appreciated as we make the push to finish the year strong. However, we know that what really keeps us going, year after year, is the belief that we are making a difference. Often this is referred to as our purpose.   When a

Moses said , “Please, Lord, send someone else.”  Exodus 4:13   I have always had a soft spot for the underdog.  My heart is drawn to people who have been wounded, abused, or held down in some way.  It is my greatest joy to see them overcome the obstacles in front of them and reach their fullest potential.  When I first began to feel called to go into education, I never really had a doubt that I would end up in a “tough” school working with kids from “rough” backgrounds.  Even

Over the weekend, I had a deeply moving experience listening to an Easter sermon given by Rob Warren, Lead Pastor of Doxa Church in Madison, Wisconsin (see the link at the end of this blog). It wasn’t just what he said that left me undone; it was what I witnessed toward the end of the service.  Following the message, the church had scheduled baptisms. A video was shown of individuals who were scheduled to be baptized giving their personal testimonies. Just before the beginnin