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Sunday, October 28, 2007

Pumpkin Patch Photos!--October 28, 2007

We had a great turnout for Pumpkin Patch 2007! Take a look at these photos. I realize that they aren't Robbie Rogers quality, but, hey, I do the best that I can with my inferior equipment.

Enjoy.

Wes




































































































Weekly Update and Related Matters

Friends:

Good afternoon, all! Beautiful weather, eh?! Well, my plan is to see if I can get this message posted before Pumpkin Patch. Here goes!

First off, I hope everyone enjoyed watching the last half of the Don Piper video this morning. I know I did. Rather powerful stuff, I must say. Next week, we will plan to finish discussing Piper’s book 90 Minutes in Heaven. In preparation for next Sunday, I hope that all of you will find something interesting in the book and plan to share it with us next week!

Us Nulls took care of snacks this morning. Way to go, us! Next week, Vince and Mary are in charge. We appreciate it, Ericksons!

Let’s go ahead and jump to our prayers and praises.

PRAYERS AND PRAISES

Here are two prayers from Mary Erickson:

My friend Kelly & her husband are relocating to San Antonio in order to get dialysis for Zachary. Killeen & Austin don't have the facilities he needs. The last test he had, showed no kidney function at all; he will need dialysis until he is old enough for a transplant.

My friend Amie's mom is having tests run; the Dr's think she may have Lupus. Pray for strength for Amie and her mom. Also Amie's husband Jeremy will be transferring from 3 corps to 1st Cav the beginning of November to go into the field around Baghdad. Both of these things are very stressful & Amie's MS tends to flair up during stressful events Just pray for God's protection for this family.

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Carey P. has asked that we pray for her friend Courtney and her 18 month old boy named Weston. Weston was recently admitted to Scott and White with a low platelet count. Please pray for health for Weston.

Vince and Mary are out of town this weekend. Please pray for thief safe travel.

Let’s continue to pray for the McCrarys. Thanks again to all of you who volunteered to take them a meal.

We need to keep up the prayers for Brian VanZee’s aunts. The one who had colon cancer surgery is now having trouble with her legs. Pray for strength for her. Brian’s other aunt, the one who had an aneurysm, is now off medication and apparently doing a bit better. Please pray for strength for her as well.

Two of our families are continuing to work to sell their homes. The Mays and the Jantzes need some good luck on the home front. Pray that two families will come along who need a good place to live.

Teresa Sullivan would like for us to pray for her mentor at school. Her son David has been diagnosed with cancer. Please pray for strength for everyone and for David as he fights the cancer.

Also with the Sullivans, Ben leaves tomorrow for three weeks near Houston. He is starting his new job. Pray for safe travel and work for Ben and for Teresa while she is here at home with the kids.

We need to pray for Pam Bartram’s mother. She recently discovered a lump in her breast. They are currently waiting the results from the lab as far as what the lump entails. Please pray for strength for Pam, her mom, and their family. Pray, also, for nothing but positive news. We’re praying for you, Pam!

Kris Tooley’s sister had her baby! Praise God for this great news. Please pray for continued health for mom and baby.

We need to continue to pray for Fred Curtis. Pray that his strength will return and that he will be able to go home soon.

I will be leaving on Thursday for a conference in Louisville (my last trip until April--hallelujah!). I will be back late Saturday night. Please pray for safe travel.

Also on the travel front, my parents are driving home to New Mexico this afternoon. Pray for their safe travel as well.

We ran a bit short on time this morning, so if any of you have extra prayers, please send them along! Or, with the blog, there is always the option of clicking on “comments” at the bottom of this message and posting your prayers right there on the blog for all to see.

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I think that’s all for today everyone. Let’s have a big time at the Pumpkin Patch! I promise to post some pictures later on this evening or tomorrow.

Oh, one more thing, we will begin our next book, The Perfect Leader, in two weeks. I plan to hand out the books next week. If you want a copy, please let me know by tomorrow (Monday) afternoon! The price will be $13.

I think that’s all for now.

Have a great week, everyone!

Wes and Dana

Friday, October 26, 2007

The Weekend, Christmas Party, and Other Stuff

Friends:

Hello, everyone! I hope you’ve had a good week. Hallelujah for the weekend! First of all, I want to say thanks to Mary for arranging things for Ashlee and David. I know they will appreciate the meals very much. Doing this also provides us with an opportunity to meet the newest McCrary and talk with them outside of Sunday morning. Thanks to all of you who volunteered to take a meal. I know this will bless the entire McCrary family during this important first few weeks of Rylie’s life!

Next, I have an update on our class Christmas party. The first decision we need to make pertains to the “bounce house” for the kids. Take a look at this link and let me know what you think would be good for the kids. Any preferences? Beware, however, that the site includes music. Click on start, then “Inflatables,” and then “Bounce Houses.”

http://www.celebrationcentralwaco.com/

I also have gathered some more information about catering that I can share with you on Sunday.

Next, this Sunday morning we will plan to finish up with the video of Don Piper. To make sure we get to finish it, I think we’ll plan to start with that and do our prayers at the end of class. We’ll try switching things and see how that goes. We will discuss Piper's book as well. Read as much as you have time for!

Last, our next class book will be The Perfect Leader by Kenneth Boa. We will plan to start it on Nov 12th. If you want a copy, let me know and I will order you one. The cost will be $13.

Dana and I look forward to seeing all of you on Sunday morning!

Wes

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Column

Friends:
I thought a recent column of mine might interest you.
Wes
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Counterproductive Talk of School-reform Utopia

Wesley Null
guest column

Sunday, October 21, 2007, p. 10A
Waco Tribune-Herald

For more than a century, Americans have been in search of the great “quick fix” to “cure the problems” of public education.

Modern science claims to fix things. Curriculum and teaching, like many other fields, have been under the influence of modern science for at least 100 years.

Curriculum and teaching, however, are moral and social in nature, not theoretic. Curriculum and teaching cannot be “fixed” like we might fix a flat on the car or cure polio.

Making this point would not be so important if the opposite view were not so politically prevalent.

Listen to the unfortunate terminology of Deborah Stipek, dean of the School of Education at Stanford University. She recently wrote in the Dallas Morning News that universities need to follow Stanford’s lead and “fix the problems” of schools by “connecting schools with universities to ensure unbiased and rigorous research” in order to “transform our K-12 schools.”

I agree entirely that universities should join with K-12 schools, and we do that at Baylor University.

Beyond that, however, I have some concerns with her argument. As an education professor, I want to make sure that the profession of teaching does not promise an impossible future. Connecting universities with classroom practice benefits all of us only if we connect this task to a realistic view of human nature.

I do not follow Stipek’s vision that joining empirical research with practice will produce utopia.

Empirical studies can help us to improve practice in many ways, but human nature dictates the extent to which we can “fix” the social and moral problems that surround curriculum, teaching and schooling.

Teachers deal with human beings. Human beings are inherently flawed. We can improve ourselves, but we cannot engineer perfection.

I’m 34 and plan to contribute to the fields of curriculum, teaching and teacher education for at least 40 more years.

What do we do 10 years from now when we’ve thought we “fixed” schools and we still face difficult problems as teachers and teacher educators?

What do we do when the mirage of a perfect future does not materialize? What do we do when human nature proves yet again that we are fallen creatures?

Curriculum and teaching are unique kinds of problems. Teachers deal with human beings who have souls and a will. That reality makes teaching more difficult than any other art.

Physicians work to heal bodies, not souls. Engineers deal with bricks and steel, not souls. Teachers always shape students’ minds in the direction of right and wrong.

Without cooperation from willing students, teachers will make no impact. This reality makes teaching a cooperative art, not a productive one.

Educational history is littered with utopian reformers who promised a panacea, became popular and then vanished into thin air when the next salesman came along.

As a professor of curriculum, the long-term point to make is that teaching children and youth will always be difficult.

We will not produce a golden age in which all children are happily gobbling up every sliver of knowledge that we drop before them. There will never be a shortcut to good curriculum and teaching.

Stipek argues that we need “systematically developed knowledge.” Such a plan may be a good idea, but “systematic knowledge” in and of itself is not what we need.

We need people who know what to do with “systematic knowledge.” We need educational leaders who know the difference between a social problem and a theoretic one.

The time has come to emphasize virtue, character and statesmanship on the part of all people who lead educational institutions.

Only people who possess these traits can put systematic knowledge into practice in a responsible way.

Yes, we need to get more people out of universities and into classrooms. But let’s make sure that we pursue this goal based on a firm foundation and with a long-term vision in mind.

As we find in the book of Proverbs, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Let’s make sure that our vision is rooted in both reality and truth. That’s an argument for connecting universities with schools for the long-term.

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Wesley Null is associate professor of curriculum in the School of Education and the Honors College at Baylor University. He is the editor, with Diane Ravitch, of Forgotten Heroes of American Education: The Great Tradition of Teaching Teachers. E-mail: Wesley_Null@baylor.edu.




Sunday, October 21, 2007

Here Comes the Cold Weather and Our Class News!

Friends:

Good evening, all! Rumor has it that the cold weather will be blowing in late tonight. Hope you’ve enjoyed our last warm day for a while!

Thanks to Brian Nicholson! He was superdad this morning. Brian brought both the Nicholson girls to church and class, along with donuts! Thanks, Brian. Next week, us Nulls got it covered.

Let’s get right to our news, prayers, and praises.

Praise God for the new McCrary baby! Rylie Paige McCrary was born on Thursday. She was 8 lbs 5 oz. I don’t know her length and will post photos as soon as I get some. As far as I know, Ashlee and Rylie are doing great. I believe they were supposed to go home today at Noon. Mary Erickson has kindly agreed to arrange meals for the McCrarys. Look for an email from Mary soon. In the mean time, please continue to pray for the McCrary family!

Also on the praise front, thank God for the great decision by the Burneys this morning! They have decided to join our church officially. We are delighted to have you guys, Brad and Jenessa! Welcome aboard!

Vince E. has asked that we pray for his friends Cole and Iva. They will be headed back to court this Tuesday for another important decision. Please ask that God will be with them during this difficult day. Pray, also, for good decisions by the judge.

Barry Sullivan would like for us to pray for his Aunt, Debbie Armstrong. Debbie was diagnosed with breast cancer this past week. She will be having surgery this upcoming week. Debbie also has diabetes. Please ask God to be with Debbie and her family during this difficult time.

Teresa Sullivan brought news this morning that her father’s surgery went well last week. He still, however, has a long road to recovery. Please pray that he will get stronger each day.

Also with the B & T Sullivans, Ben brought good news this morning that it looks as though he will get the new job near Houston that he has been wanting. This change will, however, mean that he will have to be away from Teresa and the kids for 14 days straight when he works. He also will be working on rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Please pray for Ben’s safety and for Teresa and the kids while Ben starts this new job. Teresa also would like for us to pray for her school district, Rosebud-Lott, as they search for a new superintendent.

Benjamin May has come down with strep throat. Please pray that Ben will get well and back to school soon. Strep throat is going around, so beware!

Mary Erickson would like for us to pray for her grandmother. She had colon cancer surgery last week. The good news is that the surgery went well. Please pray that her recovery will go smoothly and quickly.

Praise God for a great turnout at the Brian McDonough event! We heard this morning that the event raised approximately $55,000 for the McDonough family. Great news! I believe their goal was $25,000, so they are pleased with the result. Thanks to all of you who participated.

Please continue to pray for Landry Reed and his family. My understanding is that they are still having a hard time finding someone to help Landry.

Mary Erickson has asked that we continue to pray for little Zachary, the baby who was born with renal failure. It looks as though he will live, but he will need dialysis. Please ask God to continue to be with Zachary’s family and everyone else who is helping him.

Last but not least, please pray for our Youth Pastor Search. Pray that we will find exactly the person we need.

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I believe that covers everything for this week, folks. Next week in class, we will finish up with the Don Piper video. I believe that everyone is enjoying hearing him talk about his book.

After 90 Minutes in Heaven, we will move forward with a book called The Perfect Leader: Practicing the Leadership Traits of God by Kenneth Boa. I think all of you will enjoy the book.

Have a great week, everyone!

God bless,

Wes and Dana

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

I Surrender All

Well, for those of you who may be wondering, the "Move Over Law" violation story came to an end this afternoon. After much deliberation, I have thrown in the towel. I envisioned singing "Victory in Jesus" at this point, but instead it looks as though I need to sing "I Surrender All". After receiving my driving record, which is squeaky clean with not a line on it, I decide to just send a check. I put it in the mail today. I have now donated $293 to the Westlake Municipal Court. I hope they use it wisely. Fighting the ticket would have required at least two trips to Dallas, which would have cost $80 by themselves. But doesn't $293 seem a bit outrageous?!

Oh well, I'm over it, I think. In the mean time, us Nulls have more important things to think about. Corbin has come down with strep throat! Thanks for your prayers that the boy will feel better soon. Today was better than yesterday . . .

Wes

Monday, October 15, 2007

Message from Brian VanZee

Friends:

Please pray for both of Brian's aunts. See his message below.

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Wes,

I too need to add another prayer concern; last night I got a phone call from my parents and an aunt on my Dad’s side collapsed and remained unconscious yesterday afternoon due to a brain aneurysm. They were going to do surgery last night to try and repair it. Please pray for her, the doctors and the rest of the family. Thanks.