You Can be Everything God Wants you to Be

Max Lucado is an inspirational author. He takes truth from the Bible and uses personal stories to help that truth hit home. His writing style appeals to all readers, whether you are familiar with the Bible or not. He has a way of writing in which the reader feels he is having a conversation with Lucado.

In this small gift book, Lucado emphasizes thoughts from his book, Cure for the Common Life. This gift book would be appropriate not only for recent graduates, but for anyone who needs reminded of his or her potential. In this book, Lucado talks about how each of us was created by God for a particular reason. Each of us is a unique individual with particular likes, abilities, and qualities. These things work together to create who we are and help us find our purpose in life. He insists that our abilities show us our destiny. Lucado encourages readers to appreciate who they are and to think about what interests them in order to discover their purpose or destiny.

Lucado also uses these ideas to demonstrate that our work is meaningful. Because our work matters to God and we were created with uniqueness, it is important to do the work we were created to do. Lucado talks about the number of unsatisfied workers and argues that when each of us finds the spot where God intends us to be, then our work will be fulfilling. It will fulfill not only us, but our purpose from God.

This book uses stories and images to remind individuals that they are valuable. It is easy to read and can be read in one sitting. However, the ideas Lucado promotes in this small book require deep thoughts to be internalized. It is the type of book we can return to when we need reminded that we matter. This book reminds us that who we are is enough and we need to embrace that, rather than chasing after empty consumerism. I found this book to be refreshing. It repeats a familiar idea, that each of us matters to God and we were created with purpose, but in a stimulating way. This book should be shared with everyone who needs a dose of self-esteem and a reminder to value themselves. It also pushes us to look at our interests and strengths to find the best way to serve God.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Embracing Your Second Calling

Embracing Your Second Calling: Find Passion and Purpose for the Rest of Your Life by Dale Hanson Bourke is designed for women who are preparing to enter the second half of their lives. Bourke reminds women that the second half of life is made for reflection and action, and that the best parts of life are not in the past, but are yet to come.

With encouragement and personal stories, Bourke provides humor, wit, and insight into the worries women carry into their lives. Along with stories and Bible verses, Bourke provides moments of reflection, allowing women to think about their lives with intention, rather than simply following the status quo. She reminds us that as we grow older, women also grow wiser, and we have a new outlook on life. It is important to treasure the small, everyday things in our lives, and become role models for younger women.

We have a responsibility in life and if we are still on this earth, then that means that God has more for us. Our purposes are not yet complete. This book is an encouragement and full of practical advice. Women will want to read it repeatedly to remind them that God has more for them. This would make a great group study to allow women to share their own stories, concerns, and joys. This edition also includes questions to allow women to go more in depth in their reflections, and it includes prayers at the end of each chapter. There is also a copy of the book of Ruth, off of which this book is based. I would recommend it to all women.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

How Should a Christian Live?

How Should a Christian Live? is a devotional by the Word of Promise next generation aimed at teenagers. This particular devotional covers 1 Corinthians through Philemon in the New Testament and also covers a wide variety of topics that can apply to a teenager's daily life. First of all, the devotional also comes with an audio CD of the scripture used in the study. This audio CD features a cast of young talent who is familiar to most teens, including AnnaSophia Robb, Sean Astin, Corbin Bleu, Emily Osment and more. It is refreshing to hear young actors reading scripture and I think this will draw in many teens. The devotional is also geared toward teens in its format. Each devotion includes an introduction that uses an inspiring or realistic story. Along with each story and devotion, there are word games and puzzles to keep teens interacting with the material. There are, of course, principles for living included in each devotional and helpful hints and ideas for teens to apply these principles to their own lives. There are also definitions of commonly used words in scripture and in Christian living, and they are defined in ways that are easy to understand. Each devotional wraps up with a journaling section, where teens can record their thoughts and questions. Overall, I feel this devotional is well-suited for the age group it is trying to address. The use of games, images, colors, and the audio will keep teens interested. Each devotion covers a topic well, and discusses the scripture in easy to understand terms. Teens will find advice on everything from the definition of an abundant life, to how to have a humble heart. There are articles on trusting in God and how to live in His love. This is a great series to help teenagers understand the principles of the Word without overwhelming them with concepts and ideas. The Bible can be difficult for this age group, but by using the audio and this devotional, even young teenagers will be able to apply many biblical concepts. I would recommend this devotional for ages 13 and up, particularly for youth groups or Bible studies, as teens would probably get even more out of it by sharing the ideas with others.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Week 8 Reflection EDUC 6715

In weeks 6 and 7 of this course, we were asked to develop a lesson plan using some of the technology we had been exploring in this course. I chose to use gaming to enhance my lesson plan for several reasons. First of all, I found the research on games in the classroom interesting. I have never been a proponent of games in class, because most of the educational games I had discovered seemed too childish for my junior high and high school students. Also, I had difficulty finding educational value in the majority of the games. Therefore, when presented with this assignment, I challenged myself to find a game that would enhance my instruction and be of value to my students. I felt the research in this course supported games and other digital learning in the classroom, as it gave students a sense of ownership over the work. It also allowed them to take acceptable risks and to learn on demand. Gaming will help support higher-level thinking when used in conjunction with content in the classroom. For this lesson, I chose to pair an online role-playing game with the reading of literature used in my room. After students completed the readings, which discussed oppression and the Holocaust, they were then using darfurisdying.com to role-play what oppression is like in other cultures. Students in my classroom have difficulty empathizing with the situation in Darfur, as they have relatively normal lives here. Using this website and online role-playing game supports the benefits of the technology in the classroom. It allows students to virtually experience a situation they cannot imagine on their own. It provides acceptable risk-taking and on-demand learning. It also gives them the opportunity to compare the role-playing to the literature they read and discuss their reactions. In short, using the game gives them an additional way to incorporate what they are learning. This assignment demonstrates that I understand the purpose of gaming in the classroom and am able to successfully incorporate it to my students' advantage.

Application Four: EDUC 6715

Application Four: (copy and paste link into your browser)
http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AWMu8_FMsqYrZGZ2bjJiOGdfMTc4d3pranozZGc&hl=en

The Vertical Self by Mark Sayers

"The Vertical Self" is about identity. It is about finding oneself as we were truly meant to be, children of God. Sayers argues that each of us is meant to be a particular person, and we need to find that identity once again. We are led astray by our society, which tells us that we can be anything we want to be. He claims our society focuses on what we have and our ability to gain more. Society tells us we can choose who we are based on what we wear, the movies we watch, the car we drive, and the job we have. Instead, Sayers argues that our identity is found in being God's children. And we need to get back to that truth. Everything we are meant to be is contained in the Bible. Unfortunately, he says, Christians today do not look much different than the rest of the world. He says we need to return to our vertical self, where identity is a solid foundation based on God's word, rather than on the society and culture around us. We need to influence society in positive ways by knowing who we are, rather than allowing society to influence our identities.
I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First of all, it used biblical support for each of these arguments. It also helped me to see where my identity truly comes from and how important it is to be grounded in that truth as I face the world today. Sayers writes in an easy to understand manner and uses real-world and biblical examples to drive home his points. He reminds Christians that we are not to be obsessed with self, but with our Savior. And that is something we need to be reminded of frequently in today's world.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

EDUC 6714 Reflection

This course has helped me to better understand the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction (DI). The group I worked with in this course provided valuable resources and information to help me better incorporate the ideals and the practical methods of both UDL and DI in my classroom. From the resources we have shared, I have found valuable tools to help me better assess the interests, learning styles, and readiness of my students. I would like to use student reflection and surveys more frequently to provide formative assessments and feedback on work we are doing in class. I want to be able to provide information to students in multiple ways and give them choices of ways to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities. I have realized the importance of allowing students freedom within the context of the classroom so they have an investment in their own learning. They need to take ownership of their own learning.

There are several things I would like to do right away to help incorporate DI and technology into my classroom. First of all, I want to become more familiar with podcasting so that I am able to save important information for students and they can review it as needed. Podcasting also allows students multiple ways to digest information, providing both visual and audio of the information. I also want to have students begin an online portfolio using Google so they can retain the writings and projects they create. This will allow them to see the progression in their work. Finally, for me professionally, I would like to continue to explore these ideas by following blogs and other resources to continually learn ways to help my students.

I am excited by the ideas presented in this class and hope to continue growing in order to benefit my students and help shape them into lifelong learners.