Fun with the family under the purple mountain majesty

I stood where Katharine Lee Bates was inspired to write America the beautiful, with two wonderful grandsons and Kathryn as we walked and jogged along the old railroad tracks, now made into a walking and jogging trail that goes behind their home in Colorado Springs. What an awesome experience as I looked at that breath taking mountain, just recently dusted with a light snow. The weather was brisk, but refreshing. My thoughts went beyond how beautiful America is
to the awsome power that created this site, our

Lord and Saviour. The verse "In the begining God created the heavens and the earth" suddenly had more meaning. Then I looked at my third child and her wonderful twins and was filled with more wonder of God's gifts to us. As I frolicked with them in this beautiful site, I was reminded of Gods words, in Psalms where he says " I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well".
I love you Kathryn, Jake, Nathan and James. Thanks for the visit!
Love, Dad
(click pictures twice to enlarge)

congratulations Joe and Kristy

CONGRATULATIONS TO JOE AND KRISTY ON FINISHING THEIR
 EDUCATION MASTERS!!

Joe’s challenge to MAED 2008 graduates, chosen as class
speaker, presented

in June at the Education graduation banquet.

INTRODUCTION:
Thank you for having me here today. I feel so honored and blessed to be
apart of this ceremony. This junction on my life’s road has been a long
time coming with many challenges and many joys. Since finishing my
undergraduate degree here at Biola in 2003 my wife Kristy and I have
slowly been working through the MAED program and we are both very excited
to now go into our world and use what we have learned to impact those
around us for the glory of God.

REFLECTION:
IN reflecting on my five-year endurance with the Masters of Education
program, one word defines the summation of this time passion. Life has
been very full. Full of blessings, full of trials, full of life lessons,
and full of…everything. The major events that mark the book ends of this
part of my life are the marriage to my wife in December of 2003 and the
birth of my coming son due in mid June. The rollercoaster in between has
brought the growing experience of a new job teaching and coaching, the
trials of battling cancer, and the ever-challenging process of growing
spiritually in the Lord and seeking his will. In the end ithas been the
passions in my life, driven by the power of God, that have spurred me to
push on.

It is not whether you have passion, but rather what is driving that
passion. You see everyone has something that they are passionate about,
but if that passion is pushed by selfish desire that passion will never be
satisfied. The thirst of the sinful self will never be satisfied by the
offerings of the world, but the thirst of a soul longing for God will be
satisfied. As it says in Psalms 107:9, “For He has satisfied the thirsty
soul, and the hungry soul He has filled with what is good” If we yield the
passions of our lives over to the almighty God He will supply the power to
drive those passions to display His glory to the world.

PASSION HAS A LASTING IMPACT:
Though I have been around many people in my life that have lived
passionately there is one person that has stood out among many. That
person is my dad, Matt Orr. Many of you know my dad as coach Orr. Even
the local mechanics at the 76 Station know my dad as coach Orr. This man
has shown me what it means to live a passionate life for the Lord. He has
taught me how to have complete trust in the Lord through trials and he has
taught me how to give praise and thanks in times ofjoy. He has been an
inspiration to many through the years and his Godly passion has had a
lasting impact on many people. Here is one story of that lasting impact.

Back before I was born my dad was the wrestling coach here at Biola
University. George Payton was a wrestler of my dads. George was not the
all-star athlete. In fact he rarely won amatch. But he had a heart of
gold and through the inspiration of my dad’s passion he learned to never
give up. He rarely experienced the taste of victory on the mat, but he
also never was pinned, denying his opponent precious team points. This
often gave his team the few points that they needed to earn a team
victory. Many years later George had gone onto the mission field in
Africa. One stormy night his young daughter had become ill and he had to
get her to a doctor as quick as possible. So he gathered his family into
the jeep and headed for help. He came to a small river that had formed in
the storm and attempted to drive through to get to the doctor. The
current was too strong and it took control of the car and tipped it over.
George had to wade through the raging water and carry his family to
safety. Later he wrote to my dad and told him that as he fought the water
to save his family he couldn’t help remember the lessons he learned
through the passion of my dad, had lasting impact on him for years to come.

Passion,empowered by the strength of God, has a lasting impact on those
you come across.

As we now go into our world as teachers I pray that you may take hold of
your passions and empower them with the strength of the Lord. You will
have a lasting impact on those you encounter. The road will not always
be easy and there will most certainly be days when you feel like you do
not have the ability to carry on. Remember that you are the instrument of
God and He has given you a passion that He longs to use to show His glory
to the world.


"Leadership isn't just about what you accomplish
But how you accomplish it

It's really about HIS NAME and not MY FAME.

It's really about HIS GLORY and not MY STORY."