Faith, Family, Staff and Students

Faith, Family, Staff and students - it is in this order I place the values and important areas of my life. It's what keeps me grounded, centered, and ready for each day. The challenge comes when my faith and family start to slide down that priority list. I have been given an amazing gift from PISD, the gift to be the principal of the best school in the district. Granted, I am extremely biased.

I have always liked this illustration. Used in lots of places, but this comes from: http://m.christianpost.com/news/how-to-keep-your-priorities-in-order--123044/

You have three jars, each one partially filled, one with sand, one with water, and one with large rocks. The challenge? Fit the contents of all three jars into only one. Some people might start with the sand because it would seem to take up less space.

But when you try to put the rocks in, guess what? There's no room

But if you start with the rocks, and then add the sand, you'll find that it fills the crevices around the rocks. The jar looks full, but even now there's room for the water to leach through the tiny spaces between the rocks and sand.

It all fits – as long as you begin with the big things.

The takeaway is pretty obvious. We have to focus on the important things and let everything else fit into the cracks that remain.

For me, the most important things are God and my wife and kids. From there, I try to let the Lord guide me each day and help me keep the main things the main thing.

There are days when the clamor of competing obligations distracts me from where my focus ought to be. But this illustration reminds me that if I mix up the order of importance, nothing will fit well – and I risk losing relationships with those who matter most.

For me this is a good reminder - no matter what your priorities might be, keeping them in order is extremely important.