Preface: The Mockingbird’s Midnight Song -But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them (Acts 16:25). It’s the middle of another restless and sleepless night. Being exhausted both physically and mentally, yet unable to get the thing you need most – sleep, is so frustrating. So I finally wearily rolled out of bed. That’s...

Dedication: To Ricky, My Friend for LifeWriting a book about the dark times of one’s life is difficult. It is in our human nature to shy away from revealing the depths of our soul, especially when the subject matter is painful. This book of essays concerning my struggle with depression has been hard to write. Rather, let me rephrase that: the writing has not been the difficult part, but the...

The Challenge… The lady stood over me with her hands strategically placed on her hips as I sat at a table in the camp dining hall with her hands on her hips and a wrinkled scowl on her face. My earlier years from being a high school principal had given me a sixth sense of when a good eating out was coming from a parent. The sudden sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I put my hot dog down...

Professor Charles J. Cavanaugh spoke to a group of new teachers: “Good teaching is leadership. If you seriously teach your best, and if you show your students you really care about them, one day those students may rise and call you blessed.”