A new school year carries with it excitement and potential, and provides everyone--students, teachers, and parents--with a fresh start. It is also a time of change and transition that can draw out a degree of uncertainty and anxiety.

In my years as an educator, I have observed a few things that help students, teachers, and parents make these changes and transitions a little smoother…

No dad fails on purpose. No one ever starts fatherhood with the intention of being a mediocre parent. Many of our bad habits as parents begin because we are not being intentional with our children. An intentional father is one who is purposefully engaged in discipling our children, makes it a priority to set goals for the family, and actively seeks out ways to meet those goals.

Language is such a huge gift that God has given us. I begin every school year the same as I did in all my years of teaching reading and writing...with a question.

Do you think God is interested at all in language? Do you ever wonder if He thinks good reading habits are important to attain?

Of course the answer is YES! He spoke with words and talked to Adam in the garden in the very beginning of it all! It is so exciting to see the emphasis our Heavenly Father placed on these skills. He has inspired the most popular book to be written for our encouragement and understanding. It is so much about who God is! As we practice reading and writing, we are enhancing a part of us that pleases the Father so that our communication with Him and the people He created becomes more effective.