Belief is the cornerstone of my life. Everything revolves around my belief in God, the atoning death and resurrection on His Son, and my repentance and acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior of my life. I feel extremely blessed to be able to be a part of leading Kindergarten students to a belief in God, and acceptance of His Son as their Savior. This past week, 4 students have prayed with me and asked Jesus to be their Savior! There is absolutely NOTHING that compares with being able to be a part of this experience in the lives of young children! ~ Judy Noteboom, Kindergarten Teacher, Puyallup Elementary
I use my BELIEF strength each and every day. I am passionate about living each day for Christ and loving all of humanity with the love that God has for me. My family is the place that this comes through the most. I believe in God’s plan for my family, and I understand that supporting my husband and my children in their endeavors is a testament to my faith in His plan. I can always improve my actions in this strength area, but I can strive to make a positive difference in my life and theirs by truly listening to the voice of God present in their lives. Everyday God is showing us exactly what he wants for our lives and we just need to listen. If I can help my spouse and my children listen to Him daily I know it will make a positive difference for all of us as leaders of our community and followers of Christ. ~ Christie Jensen, Development
Having a strong BELIEF strength has helped me to be committed to the Lord and causes through good and bad times. When I believe in something one of my other strengths responsibility drives me to see things through to the end.~ Terry Broberg, Principal, Puyallup Elementary
I think one of the ways this strength is demonstrated in my life is in the fact I feel the need to pray every day before I start teaching. I really see the Lord as being present in the classroom and desirous that each student understand who He is and how He works out the details of our lives and others. Also, I believe it is my calling to share the truths of the gospel with my students that each my come to Christ. For me prayer is as vital as eating and drinking so when people’s (whether student or teacher) burdens are revealed I feel the need to share that concern with the Lord as I know He answers prayer in ways that are amazing. ~ Anne Kelly, Secondary EXCEL/English Lab Teacher JSH
One example that I can give about being very family oriented and responsible: My daughter had surgery on December 12th, and I had her two children (ages 4 and 18 months) for four days and nights while continuing to teach. I got up each morning at 4:45 and came to school between 5:30 and 6:30 (because that was the earliest that I could get into the building), and did my preparation for the day. Then I went back home, got the children up, dressed, fed, and off to daycare. I returned back to school by about 7:30 and completed my teaching job for the day, picked up the children, fed them dinner, bathed them, put them to bed, cleaned up the kitchen, did my grading for the day, went to bed, and started all over again. (I now know why the Lord, in His wisdom had us have our families at an early age).
My family always comes first in my life (after the Lord, of course). I try my very best to attend all of my grandsons’ sporting events, which is several times each week. We also vacation together and get together for meals and fellowship as often as possible. I am so very thankful that all of my children and grandchildren live within the area. I thank God for the wonderful family that He has blessed me with and I thank Him also that all three of my children’s spouses are strong believers; that makes such a difference within a family. ~ Sue Beard, 2nd Grade Teacher, Frederickson CampusHave you ever mistaken a powerful talent for a weakness?¹
Has anyone ever used unflattering terms to describe the ways in which you most naturally think, feel, and behave – your greatest talents? Think about it: We all have known a person with great Learning talents who was brushed off by some as “just a bookworm.” It is also likely that we have all known a person with tremendous Positivity talents who was discounted as “naïve.” Those are barrier labels – terms used when talent is mistakenly devalued and dismissed as weakness. When we don’t see each other for who we really are, and our talents for the value they offer, barrier labels are created – and we lose opportunities to contribute and develop our most valuable talents.
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Balconies and Basements help us think about how we can create opportunities to maximize our greatest talents by presenting them in a positive way. It is a proactive approach we can take to help determine whether others place our greatest talents on the balcony – or in the basement.
BELIEF BALCONIES and BASEMENTS¹:
Balcony: passionate, steadfast, know where they stand, altruistic, family-oriented, ethical, responsible
Basement: stubborn, set in their ways, elitist, unaccepting of other ideas, opinionated, goody-two-shoes
Balcony: I have been blessed to be able to use my belief strength by making a choice many years ago to let children in my life know that they will know love from me…that is “ALL” children. Therefore, knowing how to read is worthy in order to have knowledge and so I continue to love and help children who “can’t be taught” to read as well as working to improve struggling readers. My basement floods when someone isn’t very interested in a struggling child who has been put on their path. You could be the gift in the vessel that God wants to use to pour into ‘that child’s life. They are wonderfully made. I plan to want to continue to love to help them grow. ~ Collette Fisher, Reading Specialist, Puyallup Elementary
Arthur Holmes, philosophy instructor at Wheaton College, wrote “All Truth is God’s Truth”. Many of the perspectives he sheds light on are apropos for Christians today. As I recall, (..and it’s been a long time since reading his material) he related the importance of boldly identifying Christian truths in all academic areas, barring no discipline no matter how trivial. To put this in practice, Chris Overman, in his Biblical Worldview Integration materials, strives to enable Christian Educators to pinpoint specific biblical truths in their lesson planning. This approach to teaching has helped me tremendously. These precise truths are connected, in class, meaningfully to the learners’ lives and worldviews. ~ Roy Hinderer, Social Studies Teacher, Junior HighBelief Action Items¹ you can apply in your immediate area of responsibility:
Is your enthusiasm flagging? Is your energy waning? It could be that you are paying attention to the “what” and “how” of your work and not enough to the “why”. People with dominant BELIEF talents need the “why”. You are likely to be a values-driven person. In fact, some of your values are so solid and permanent that you might even be willing to die for them. Continue to develop greater clarity in regard to these stable values so that you
are able to communicate their essence. When people know what you stand for, they will more easily understand, relate to, and support your educational efforts.
We live in a world that is characterized by rapid and extensive change. Some of our students may experience anxiety and fear as they face an uncertain and unpredictable future. We can make them aware of the unchangeable values they can always count on within our classrooms, offices, and buildings. The stability of the environment we provide will lead to a sense of safety and greater productivity.
How to specifically encourage BELIEF strength development in co-workers¹:
We all recognize people on this list who we work with. There are some things that we can do to help them develop their strength:
- Align beliefs with the organization. Talk with this person about how CCS makes peoples’ lives better and provide opportunities to go above and beyond to help our parents, students, staff, and community.
- Realize that this person may place greater value on opportunities to provide higher level of service than on opportunities to make more money. Find ways to enhance this natural service orientation and you will see this person at his/her best.
Scriptures¹ that relate to the BELIEF Theme“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:24-24
Cascade Christian Employees with the BELIEF talent:
Ann Crawford; Anne Kelly; Barbara Fisher; Becky Hanks; Carol Weathers; Carrie Buddle; Cheryl Dahl; Christie Jensen; Darlene Kasper; Dave Peterson; Deanna Johnson; Debbie Short; Debbie Zimmerman; Diane Wittlesay; Don Johnson; Gayle Gee; Glenna Frederick; Gloria Oppenhuizen; Gloria Shackett; Ian Scott; Janice Daskam; Joan Havrilla; Judy Noteboom; Julie Thompson; June Corley; Kathi Renn; Katie Miller; Keith Patefield; Kelli Findlay; Kim Davis, Lisa Remington; Lori Lidyard; Marilyn Moberg; Mary Severeid; Michael Farnsworth; Michael Lee; Michele Leach; Michele McCoy; Molly Rutter; Naomi Warren; Nicole Vilhauer; Peter Rutter; Rob Mitton; Roy Hinderer; Samantha Bratz; Sandy Fox; Sandy Hilt; Sara Farnsworth; Shannan Harveson; Sharon Abra; Sharon VanEss; Stacy Leeper; Stephanie Kelso; Sue Beard; Suzanne Keil; Terry Broberg; Tim Kleefeld; Tracy Woodard; Wes Swarthout; Whitney Sprague
Developing your BELIEF strength:
As you consider your own strengths and those of others, ponder the following questions:
If you have this strength theme, ask yourself:- How can I use this theme today?
- Where can I use this theme to make a positive difference in my life today?
Focus on one or two people on your team that has the belief theme:
- How have you seen them demonstrate this theme?
- How could you specifically encourage them in this theme area?
- If you see them operating in their basement, how can you help them move up to their balcony?
