The Mystery

This extract is taken from some verses in Colossians 1 and 2 in the Message Bible translation.
Chapter 1:
The mystery in a nutshell is just this. Christ is in you, therfore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. Its that simple. That is the substance of the message.
Chapter 2:
I want you woven into a tapestry of love- in touch with everything there is to know of God. then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on CHRIST, God's great mystery.

Thank you Lord for your Mystery on the CROSS.

Some words from Philip Yancy ( Where is God when it hurts page 227-228)

Jesus's death is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.
On the cross, God absorbed the awful pain of the world.
Love was compressed for all.
History in that lonely figure on the cross.

The world of WORK

Every day I get up to work. Sometimes I work for money and sometimes I work for free. At times the work I do for free adds more value to my life than the work I do for money. The worldview is that work = money. Do you agree?
In South Africa we do not have a volunteering mindset. Maybe it is part of our history? The question is how do we change this?
The world of work is changing. We now have more of a portfolio approach where work for money will be one of the components of the whole. Work for many is already not the 8 to 5 world that many of us grew up with. Technology allows work to happen anywhere and anytime 24/7/365. We can work in an office, face to face, at home, locally and globally day or night.
If all of the above are facts that already exist, maybe the question we should be asking is what defines my life and how do I add value.

Just a few thoughts for a Saturday afternoon?????

Education is a priority for society to embrace

I attended the call to action for retired teachers and principals in Gauteng today. The meeting was called by MEC for Education, Barbara Creasey. The attendance overwhelmed me as I entered the room. I am not sure of the number but it was in the thousands. A room full of people with wisdom, time on their side and wanting to play a positive role in our nation.

The vision is to ensure that every learner does well at school and leaves our institutions with the values, knowledge, skills and qualifications that will give them the best chance of success in life.

At the moment this statement is not been seen as an outcome with the poor Matric results of 2009. Many of the problems are systemic and need intervention much earlier in the system.
After 3 years of formal education the statistics show that only
30% are literate and 40% have a numeracy level that is acceptable.
There will be four targeted interventions.

1. Foundation phase
2. Senior primary
3. Transition from primary to secondary schooling
4. Senior secondary intervention.

There are 276 high schools and 790 primary schools in Gauteng that are under performing.

The pillars of intervention proposed:

Improve teaching and in particular subject knowledge.
Improve resources
Improve learner achievement
Improve curriculum and school management
Standadise testing for grades 3, 6 and 9.
Educate parents and caregivers to assist with homework
Build community partnerships to mobilise resources.

Possible places where retired teachers can help

Teacher substitutes
Saturday schools
Coaching foundation literacy and numeracy programs
Assist in homework network

This is being proposed as a volunteer program with a travel and subsistence allowance.

The process to follow if you are interested:

Register with Gauteng Education Department
These will be screened.
Volunteer placement will be made.

The talk ended with a call for the spirit of volunteerism to become a beacon of hope in the education of our children.