It takes humility, intentionality, and the power of the Holy Spirit to create a workplace of trust and unity amongst school staff. Hear from members of the team at GDQ International Christian School in Albania about their experiences with navigating conflict.

• "We want to have the school be a safe place so that people can voice disagreements that they have and know that someone will listen to them." -Lori
• "One thing that helps to resolve conflict is, on some level, to expect there to be at least different perspectives." -Nate
• "Continue to build into relationships among the staff so when you have to come with things like that, it's not just negative all the time, but you do have these trust banks to pull off of." -Lori
• "You really do need to have a culture of unity in place to be able to handle things like this." -Nate
• "Unless people see you acting in a way that is healthy in resolving conflict and in communicating, then any policy that you have, any professional development is useless." Lori
• "You have to be able to say, 'This is not against me. Same team!'" -Lori
• James 1:19
• "Something that is really helpful for me when I am offended is to remember how much God has forgiven me." -Peter
• "We have to give glory to God for being our captain." -Nate

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Finishing the entire Chronicles of Narnia series
• Heather: Autumn scenes on YouTube
• Nate: Using ChatGPT to wean off of coffee
• Peter: Hot cocoa with homework, fresh persimmons, and pumpkin pie
• Lori: Cozy blankets

Weekly Spotlight: GDQ International Christian School

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Katie Davis Majors, bestselling author and founder of Amazima Ministries, shares about the experience of following Jesus one step at a time into a story she couldn't have imagined. Hear the remarkable story of childlike faith and community impact through education and discipleship.

• Amazima Ministries
• "Meeting people's needs is good and is right and is what Jesus calls us to do, to make sure that our neighbors do have access [...] but also, we don't want to give people those things without giving them the hope and the truth of the gospel."
• "Jesus says to have faith like a child, and I think as children, we are bolder and we are less afraid, and we are more trusting. I really did just see a need in front of me and think, 'I could do something about that.'"
• "I can step confidently into those things, even without knowing specifics, because Jesus has already given me the instruction to do so."
• "There are people who need the gospel, who need the love of Jesus, right outside all of our front doors, and as we kind of slowly step into meeting other people's needs and sharing the love of Jesus with others, I really believe that God is going to refine that and narrow that. As we just keep taking steps, He writes these stories that we never could have come up with on our own."
• "He was growing my dependence on Him and my relationship with Him as I kept stepping into these impossible things and seeing Him be faithful."
• "We're not going to end poverty, but we obey Jesus by stepping into the things that He puts in front of us, and in the process, we are made more into His image."
• "For anyone who's just feeling so paralyzed [...] It really is just a drop in the bucket… and that can't keep us from kindness and obedience to Jesus."
• "Living authentically and living your life for Jesus in front of other people causes such a ripple effect."
• "[Education] is such a great way to disciple a child and share the gospel."
• "I need to be dependent on God to achieve anything at all."
• "To step into what God puts in front of you, just one day at a time and one moment at a time really can lead to such a beautiful life."
• "I want what You want for me, God."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Cricut machine
• Heather: Late-blooming dahlias
• Katie: Having a puppy

Weekly Spotlight: Elementary Teaching Positions

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Have you ever thought that "calling" was just for certain people or wondered if you had somehow missed God's call for your life? Or, do you worry that God might call you to something you don't want to do? Brian Delamont joins Heather and Keane to tackle the myths about "calling."

• 1 Timothy 2:4
• "God calls people to Himself."
• "Once we know Him and His truth, we become a part of His body, a part of the Church, and as His disciples, we enter into a lifelong process of becoming who He knows we can be and doing what He asks us to do."
• Matthew 28:18-20
• "Calling rests on a lot more than just me and my understanding. God's calling is always part of God's plan, and this includes His plan for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth and in the life of each individual who hears this call and then follows."
• Matthew 4:18-20
• "We always have to give up something because we give up our old life, we give up our old self, to become what God is calling us to be and become."
• "Who knows me better than the God who made me? He will be the One who calls and leads."
• "'God doesn't call the equipped; He equips the called.'"
• Redeeming Work By Brian Dik
• "God does call the equipped, and He's also the great Equipper Himself."
• Luke 10:45
• Ephesians 2:10
• "God has a powerful and a long history of taking human action and redeeming it for His divine purposes."
• Genesis 50:20
• 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
• "It's our God who makes us worthy of His calling, not the other way around."
• Judges 6:14
• Isaiah 6:8
• "A clear call from God does not necessarily mean that things will look successful from a human perspective. We may only see difficulty, and yet that doesn't negate God's call or God's presence."
• John 10:27
• Mark 8:34
• Exodus 3:10-14
• Deuteronomy 31:23

October Reflection: What am I waiting for? What's my role in this, and what is God's role? How can I help break down the myth of calling in my community and call out the gifts I see in others?

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Joining a film group at church
• Heather: Embracing "hygge"
• Brian: Spending time with TeachBeyond National Directors

Weekly Spotlight: Asuncion Christian Academy

Teachers have been missionaries throughout history! Learn today about Lottie Moon, a missionary who used education in bringing the Gospel to China.

• Lottie Moon: The Girl Who Reached the World by Amy Whitfield
• "We've always been open to if the Lord would send us overseas, we would go, but for now He's called us to point people here [...] to the other side of the world."
• "I think it's imperative for us to know the stories of the past, particularly those who have gone on before us in the church, to get the context, the history that we have come from."
• "It matters to know the story of how the Gospel has spread to places around the world."
• "She had one idea, and now missionaries all over the world are supported because of it still."
• "Reading missionary biographies or reading missionary journals helps people to see, to understand the need, but then also to see how the Holy Spirit is working in these places."
• "It's important in our churches that we are educating our kids about the Bible, about the doctrines of the faith, and about the call to go and make disciples."
• "A lot of times, I think people don't understand the role that we all play in the Great Commission, even in sending."
• "God woke her up to know Him, and she didn't rest until she told the world His story. Through the simple acts of baking cookies and writing letters and quite a bit of feisty determination, Lottie's dream of reaching the world for Jesus came true."
• "I really think it begins with opening your eyes and saying, 'What's one thing I can do this week, and what's one thing I can do next week?'"
• "We are called to be the church out there – every day, everywhere we are."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Tzatziki sauce
• Heather: Single Today by Ryan Wekenman
• Amy: Matin music from Jess Ray

Weekly Spotlight: Opportunities in Creative Access locations

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

Zoe and Chris Fletcher share their inspiring story of serving at the International Christian School of Budapest – the impact of their school, Chris's childhood that shaped his perspective on cross-cultural living, a powerful moment that led Zoe to move to Hungary, and how they aim to live open-handedly following the Lord.

• "This is the right place that God was guiding me to [...] and so this was the place that, in the end, it worked out. Doors were opening, and that's where I ended up." -Chris
• "Everything leading up to it was so obvious to everyone else, and to me, I was the last person to realize what was happening." -Zoe
• "I know that this is God, and I know this needs to happen." -Zoe
• "God has given us so many passports between us, and how can we maximize that for His glory?" -Zoe
• "Our citizenship is in heaven [...] When we're not tied down to a specific [home], it actually frees us up to say yes to God and to obey Him wherever that is and to just be more tied to heaven than to earthly things." -Zoe
• "Hungary is where God has us. He'll let us know if it's not." -Zoe
• "Just because we're here now and just because we don't see that there's any chance that we're moving home in the foreseeable future doesn't mean that we're not going to or that God won't send us somewhere." -Zoe
• "I felt that call, and I was obedient. I just wanted to be obedient to God." -Chris
• "God calls us to a radical life. [...] Don't be afraid of living radically for God, whatever that would look like." -Chris
• "The cost is great, but You are worth it [...] What does the cost look like now? How can I be bold?" -Zoe
• "It's an immense privilege to be able to teach the kids of missionaries." -Chris
• "I went into being a teacher because I knew that education happens everywhere in the world, and I was just wanting to go somewhere overseas. I think education reaches places, ministering to so many different nationalities and families." -Chris
• International Christian Educators Conference

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Writing date of replacement on lightbulbs
• Heather: Asking myself the question, "What does 'space' look like now?"
• Chris: Making yogurt at home
• Zoe: Anticipating oldest daughter going to preschool

Weekly Spotlight: International Christian School of Budapest

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

How might everyday classroom moments become places where God's presence is made known? In this conversation, Dr. David I. Smith invites teachers to see their ordinary practices, from prayer to assigning work, as sacred opportunities for faith to shape learning.

• Learn more about Dr. David I. Smith
• "Getting a job at a Christian school doesn't instantaneously transform the way you think about how to teach your discipline or the way you think about how to organize your classroom or how to manage classroom relationships [...] Becoming intentional about that is a lifelong project."
• "If I'm going to have integrity as a Christian teacher, I have to figure out how I'm going to live with the teaching process wherever I teach."
• 1 Corinthians 12
• Acts 2:44-45
• "What story am I providing for my students about what it is that they are doing right now?"
• "Assignments [are] about trying to be intentional about how I actually want my students to grow - intellectually, morally, spiritually, socially - through the task that I'm giving them."
• "What is my vision for how students grow?"
• "The way you use pauses are part of how you communicate what you value and who you value."
• "Talk yourself out of the idea that your faith is primarily your words about faith."
• 1 Peter 3:15
• "What human being are you becoming? Who are you going to be in five years, and how is what we are doing here contributing to who you are going to be in five years?"
• Practical next steps:
• Which of my assignments actively and explicitly teaches students how to care for one another while doing the work?
• Identify the student who might be finding it hardest to learn in your class. Take him/her out for coffee to hear their perspective.
• What pictures do my students see on the screen during the semester, and what vision is that giving them about who human beings are?
• Ask a fellow teacher to try this with you!

Visit TeachBeyond on Instagram or Facebook to enter the giveaway for a copy of Everyday Christian Teaching for you and a friend!

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Sister getting married
• Heather: Participating in the trial for the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport
• David: Spending sabbatical reading and translating the works of Comenius

Weekly Spotlight: Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

There's no mistaking that God is moving in university students today. Hear from Mark Matlock, Executive Director of Urbana Missions Conference, a conference for university students and young adults, as he shares about Gen Z, the impact of conferences, and the future of missions.

• Learn more about Urbana Missions Conference here!
• "What am I doing, and how am I connected to this global Church and what God is doing around the world? And that's what Urbana is all about."
• "I believe that this generation is going to have a new imagination for what it means to fulfill the Great Commission in the world and take the Gospel across cultures so that people can hear the Word of God."
• "We want to increase the sending capacity of the church."
• Listen to the Urbana Podcast
• Carey Nieuwhof's Podcast on Gen Z in Revival and Retreat
• "God doesn't fill us just to fill us; He fills us to be fruitful."
• "There's something about discovery in community with others that I think the Holy Spirit really uses to help guide us and move us."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Breaking down tasks into smaller pieces
• Heather: Adding a trellis to my garden
• Mark: Working collaboratively with Gen Z

Weekly Spotlight: HopeSeed School

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We're back… well, almost! Co-hosts Heather Brown and Keane Fine share what has been changing their lives since the end of Season 5. Then, hear from some past and upcoming guests with tips for beginning the school year. Be sure that you're subscribed or following the show so you don't miss the start of Season 6 in October!

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

Michèle Phoenix returns to the podcast to share about her new book, Pieces of Purple, based on personal experience and years of ministry with children of missionaries. This is a must-listen for parents, caregivers, teachers, and friends of Third Culture Kids (TCKs)!

• Find Michèle's book, Pieces of Purple, here!
• "Even parents who have lived cross-culturally for thirty or forty years will never fully understand in an embodied way what it means to have grown up with all of these cultural and experiential and all of these other inputs shaping who you are."
• "Being a TCK is indescribable. It is hovering darkness; it is glimmering light. May we embrace the wonderful as we wrestle with the hard. And may the God who cherishes His purple people reach through the layers that make us so unique to touch the parts that need His love and free us up to flourish."
• "We need to tell our stories so that they know that there's an after picture and that this is not the end. We can be the embodiment of hope to them. We can point to other people [...] we know who have been through challenges like this and who have found their footing again."
• "I actually believe that our greatest strength is in mostly belonging, not fully belonging. If we can mostly belong in multiple places, we become bridge builders and change makers."
• "I don't think we realize how much just living in proximity to us is teaching the TCKs in our care about life and faith and holding the tension that we all feel."

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Getting up earlier
• Heather: Daily devotional from the Worship Initiative
• Michèle: Learning about attachment theory and baking sourdough bread

Weekly Spotlight: Schools serving Third Culture Kids (TCKs)

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/

In this bonus episode, Keith Carey shares about his work with Joshua Project, defining unreached people groups, and reaching the unreached through prayer.

• Learn more about Joshua Project!
• Learn more about the 10/40 Window here.
• "We're praying according to God's will because He wants every one of those tribes, tongues, and nations to be reached."
• Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

What's changing our lives:

• Keane: Painting bedrooms in his house
• Heather: Vegetables growing from seed
• Keith: The Holy Spirit and cross-country running through desert scenery

Weekly Spotlight: 10/40 Window and the SEND Campaign

We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/