Author: Joshua Gorenflo

It’s lunchtime, Thursday, in the middle of the business district. A small market has taken root in an abandoned parking lot and over the last year has blossomed into a merry gathering. The nearby office workers now have more to eat than reheated leftovers. The market vendors now have a recurring weekly trade. Win/win. But…
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I have no doubt you are the best teacher this school has ever seen. You care about your students. You are creative in the classroom. You know the material as if you had changed its diapers.

But are your students on the same page?

I have been captivated recently by Donald Miller’s insistence that our lives are stories waiting to be told. As we all know, some stories are better than others. Don gives four key elements of what makes a good story. A Character Who Wants Something And Overcomes Conflict To Get It Think about it. Run any…
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I had heard about your need for Past Perfect resources. Alas, be in need no more. I’ve compiled some of the inter-web’s best and put them at your fingertips. Go forth and teach, like a boss.

I love hearing people’s stories of why and where they travel, and how traveling transforms who they are. I sat down with my friend Drew, a seasoned traveler and student of wisdom, to talk about his life journey thus far.

Our lives follow the circular seasons of creation, sometimes in the spring of new beginnings, sometimes in the barren brokenness of a deep winter. As travelers, these seasons are enunciated by the constant decision-making of our daily survival. Where to sleep, what to eat, how to spend this day, when to go to the next country. These decisions are guided by priorities and held in check by tensions felt and unseen.

Several years back, I joined the gym with the purpose of putting on muscle mass. I was eating a lot of calories and going through a disciplined routine. And it was working. Until the summertime came. My job took me out of town for weeks at a time where I was at the mercy of other people’s cooking and other people’s schedules. I lost what I gained and learned an important truth: Staying fit isn’t something you do once and done. It’s a lifestyle and a daily choice.

Teaching has been an expert mentor in helping me see that what I say matters. My words are important because people are actually listening. But my actions may be even more so. How I use my face and eyes and body when I’m talking reveals truth, sincerity, acknowledgment, reciprocation, and about a thousand other things. In communication, the non-verbal tells more than that flabber-jabber of yours could ever hope to.