Category Archives: Blog Posts

Teach and Teachable by applying Bloom’s Taxonomy to the Christian life.

Photo by Max Fischer on

As a teacher, my first thought when I saw the word teach was Bloom’s Taxonomy which is very applicable to the Christian life.

Knowledge is remembering, discovering, naming, and labels. Hearing the Word is the first step. Matthew 28: 19 & 20, Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age. (This is the church’s directive now and will again be Israel’s directive after the rapture with the 144,000 Jewish men.)

Comprehension is understanding and discussing. I Peter 2:1-2 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy, and all slander (judgmental attitude) like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

Application or applying is your testimony, young and immature but yours. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life to change the desires of the flesh. 2 Peter 1: The whole chapter. As you grow in God’s Word, expect a more profound understanding, but you must move away from things found in I Corinthians 3:2-3.

Analysis or analyzing is to break apart the whole to grasp a deeper meaning. Inspect God’s Word compare scripture to scripture, don’t rely on others to tell you what to think. Romans Chapter 5 illustrates this progress or growth beautifully- Peace, introduction by faith, tribulations produces endurance or perseverance, to proven character to hope. And hope does not disappoint. Also, read Romans 5:8-9

Evaluation- measure what you know by God’s Word with understanding, with application to your heart and soul by standing on the solid rock of God’s Word, not being an ignorant doormat—calling sin a sin. It’s adultery, fornication, murder, and it’s a lie, it’s is a depraved mind, it is witchcraft, etc. It is a deception, subtle and insidious. John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the LIfe, no one come to the Father but through Me.” Time to measure scripture by scripture, if you believe there are many ways to God; know that it is not so. Scriptures call for you not to be subtly deceived by the empty philosophy of this world. God calls for the renewing of your mind by faith and understanding will come. Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who have their senses trained to discern good and evil because of practice. (Ouch!) Colossians 2:8.

Synthesis. Go and tell the world with full meaning and understanding, no longer babes on the milk of God’s Word but dine on the meat of God’s Word with full awareness, able to stand against the winds of empty philosophy.

I moved this paragraph to the end instead it being the first paragraph because blaming teachers for what a student isn’t learning is just wrong. Kids must come to school with basic skills. I will say teaching children to be quiet on Sunday morning is a skill that kindergarteners need. I agree that a teacher is full of knowledge but may not have excellent classroom management skills. Management skills comes with experience. Today, teachers are not allowed to discipline students, fail students, and are mandated what to teach. But that story is for another time. But even an inexperienced teacher can teach what they know, they may not manage a class well at first, but they can still teach. What a student learns is always up to them, not the teacher. The rate one learns is always depends on the individual: willingness, ability and determination. Teachers know this. So does God.

How to Disagree

Don’t hide behind others,

Don’t hide behind social media posts,

Don’t hide in a gossip mills or behind rumors,

Don’t vent uncontrollable and hide behind false anger.

Don’t spew angry words.

Don’t internalize their hurtful words.


Do wait before spewing angry words

Do Inhale deeply then exhale swiftly

Try again…

Do inhale deeply on the count to four-

Hold for two and

exhale slowly- 4..3..2..1.

Go again,

Do give yourself a butterfly hug with cross taps.

Cross your hands, tapping the opposite arm or shoulder. The right-hand taps the left side and says, “Hello, mate. Let’s settle down.” The left-hand taps the right side and says, “Yep, we’re better together.”  Tapping back and forth, calms your brain. Sounds silly, I know, but it works. It’s like a hug from a butterfly that sets your mind free to think. (excerpt from WITT the anteater, WIP)

Do Think of strategies that follow the golden rule.

Do for others as you would have them do for you.

Growlers, howlers and whiners throw fits, Thinkers of all kind use their wits.

WITT: Wait, Inhale, Tap, Think (copyright RLBrown)

Ps. 133.1 “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” 

John14: 27…”…My peace I give you….Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

The Eyes of a Dyslexic Child By RL Brown (WC 190)

My brain hurts.
My eyes won’t work.
I can’t read anymore.
Why do letters move?
Be still, so I can read you.			
Yet, I hear the letters whisper-
Don’t give up.

Jumbled Words.
Letters flip and flop. 
Then they jump and hop.
Why do letters move?
Be still, so I can see you.
Still, I hear the letters whisper. 
Say my name.

Grumbled Sounds,
And mumbled tones, 
Never sounding the same.
WHY do letters move?
Be still, so I can hear you.
Then I hear the letters whisper-
Blend the sounds.

Teacher, Teacher!
The letters are moving!
No, no, that’s in your head.
Why do letters move?
Be still, YOU!
Now, I hear the letters whisper-

Taking Test
Orally, I’m best.
I can’t print on the test.
Why do letters move?
Be still, so I can write you.
Scared, I hear the letters whisper-
Yes, you can. 

Read aloud!
Nervous mistakes,			
Makes my insides quake. 
Why do letters move?
Be still, so no one laughs at me. 
Wow, I hear the letters shout. 
Keep on going. 

Every day,
my teacher says,
“You’re reading better today!”
“Why did letters move?”
Not anymore! 
I hear the letters shout, hooray!
I’m reading today. 

Rex hated to read aloud. Words skipped, tripped and stumbled over his tongue like jabbering gibberish. Flustered, Rex stopped.

Susie loved to read aloud. Her words glided in seamless syllables of streaming sounds. Her correctness rattled Rex. 
Susie closed the book. Torrents of confusion ceased; his heart sank in horrible comparison.  Susie can read and he cannot. 

Rex wished he could slash words off all the pages. Then there would be no more letters picking at his brain. The pages would be silent like listening to quiet rain.

Photo by mentatdgt on

Picture Books for Today

Today’s picture book market is very different from when I was a child. The book market is more selective. There exits an underlying pc culture. Very few publishers like in the past take direct submissions from new authors. So now you have written a children’s book, but does it cut the mustard (meet current standards)? 

The first step is to compare your book to what’s currently written. Go to your library and read. Read in your genre, then read books out of your genre. But read current books. Water is Water by Miranda Paul is a perfect example of a nonfiction narrative that varies vastly from the expository/factual nature of picture books in the past. Books like I Talk Like a River explore the world of a stutter and address personal issues that kids face beyond friendship or bullying. So, read and find your mentor texts. 

The second step is to know your craft before sending the query letter. Editors and agents get so many manuscripts that if they are not near perfect, they toss them. It’s like a resume filled with grammatical errors or false information. Research your agent, editor, or publishers. Make sure they are open to submissions in your genre. 

The third step is to use the tools at hand. Microsoft Word has a review function that reads your work out loud. Use Grammarly or one such program to edited your work. Don’t pay someone like I did to take the extra space from behind the period when you can do it yourself. Crtl A copies, and Crtl H brings up a dialog box to make edits all at once. 

Lastly, participate in a good critique group. Not an online, never see your face type but a Zoom group. It makes people accountable for what they say and why. A picture book must allow the reader to see for themselves what you are trying to say, not telling them what you think. For young readers, you are helping to develop their imagination. A mind free to think will imagine, reason, and then decide to act. (My synopsis line from a CS Lewis study with Hillsdale college.)

I will end by saying I had made every newbie mistake in the book by sending my manuscript out before it was ready. Take your time, learn the process, research, get your work ready, then submit.