Reinventing Classrooms

I'm from a long line of pioneers and construction gurus. I am also a Bible believer. It is uncanny how I can read those stories in the Bible and enter them (or they enter me) as a real life story of my own. I read an article recently about 'reinventing classrooms' [you can read it here if you like] that reminded me how church was invented (Acts 2) and then just a few chapters (presumably months) later (Acts 10) it needed to be reinvented again... perhaps this was intended to be the normal way of doing things. It definitely is an exciting way to live. What caused the necessity? Something new was introduced.

I am also an upgrader. I cannot be involved with anything before wanting to improve things. I analyze and troubleshoot. It is helpful in the technology field and counseling/mentor/coaching fields as well. I remember growing up in a home that rarely got painted. My bedroom was plaster then paneling went up when i was very young and it is still there (about 40 years later). No change.

I can remember finishing college and returned home to the same colored living room and kitchen and decided a change needed to be made. It was light blue. I made it yellow. Deep sunflower yellow. It is still there to this day (20 years later). But when I go home to visit my mother I don't think of the light blue previously; I do think of the painting I had done to bring about the change and it makes me smile. It was a good change and it probably needs changed again but that's the point. Change is life. How we handle it makes a difference.

If good things are introduced into an environment, whether it is a church or home or classroom.  the rest of the environment changes with it whether we want it to or not. Things will simply look different. How we handle the change makes a difference too...sometimes for eternity.

But what if the environment itself is changed or needs changed?

There were subtle changes when I painted the living room to the methods of painting. Bushes and rollers have evolved, paint itself has changed, as well as clean up and prep. But items were still needed: paint, application tools, masking tools, and clean up tools. My older brother though, he added on to every house he lived in. I admired that about him. I also loved the finished product because it always meant more room, more family time, more closeness, better relaxing. He died tragically, but his wife remarried...a construction guy! (go figure)

So here is the question I want to end this first part of the blog with: "When does changing the environment become necessary?" Upgrading brushes, paint, etc. just doesn't bring about the change that is necessary. The entire environment must be dealt with...or even scrapped and a new one rebuilt (how exciting is that!).