It is a New Year and in each of us, we begin with a fresh start .. .this exciting adventure of life.
The ARKGROUP, its staff, Advisory and Operating Boards, volunteers, contributing foundations and friends have dedicated places for you this year in our actions to support your commitment to being intentional in the life of children ... at school, in your home, neighborhood, church, community center, service group.
Our goals this year with you have great expectations for helping adults to have many on-going dialogues with children enabling them to develop life changing characteristics which include self-discipline, dignity, reasonabliness, descency, responsibility, empathy, effective decision making skills, and self-concepts which are most influenced by unconditional care and love, confidence and resilience. We are excited with the expectations of your calls and requests in 2008.

Please share our website with your friends and collagues - - The ARKGROUP's WEB site can assist you now to get to the information you need. The ARKGROUP's website provides the information that you need , about the ARK (Adults Relating to Kids) Programs and Processes for Teachers and Schools, Parents and Others who would be Intentional in the lives of Kids, both faith based and secular. Visit our site today. ARK (Adults Relating to Kids) programs and processes are here to help.

Happy New Year.
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
The rain fall softly upon your fields.
And 2008 be the year of your dreams and hope.
Bill
William R. Duffy
National Executive Director
281-537-1301

Start the New Year with a commitment to renewal and growth the whole year through with education and networking facilitated by the ARK Program DVDs: ARK for Teachers, ARK for Parents (Faith and Secular based), ARK Facilitator Training, The ARK Group Process and an Introduction to ARK hosted by Pat Summerall. Order yours today at www.thearkgroup.org. The ARK Program has excellent lessons, DVD's, manuals, workbooks, texts and advertising materials -- they will equip you to begin ARK programs today. ARK programs provide breakthrough parenting and teaching "skills courses." With your help, we can make ARKrelationships the norm for the 21st century family, church, school and community.

For our Friends and Followers in the Dallas area, we have had outstanding record breaking participation through Januaryr and an even better forecast February in our ARK for Parents - Churches Programs . Facilitation training can be scheduled to fit your schedule. Thanks to a wonderful gift by a local benefactor, we are able to provide ARK for Parents Programs to Dallas area churches. The program includes facilitator training, lessons on DVDs, books, and a host of supporting materials and services. We invite you to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Contact us today by e-mail, letter or by telephone in Dallas at 817- 268-2100 or Houston at 281-537-1301 to reserve these programs for your church to enable your church family to become the parents and intentional adults in the lives of children that will change the world through your care

"What is Texas?" a teacher was asked by a curious boy one day in January. Texas is Sam Houston capturing Santa Ana at San Jancinto. Texas is Juneteenth and Texas Independence. Day. Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett National Forest. Texas is breathtaking mountains in Big Bend State Park. Texas is shiny skyscrappers in Houston and Dallas. Texas is world record bass from Lake Fork. Texas is Mexican food like nowhere else in the world. Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Bass Hall. Texas is Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Denton Cooley, Michael DeBakey, Sam Rayburn, Lyndon Baines Johson, George Bush, George W. Bush, Dell Computers and Compaq. Texas is huge herds of cattle and miles of crops, oceans, beaches, deserts, lakes, rivers, mountains, praries, cities and towns like Comfort, Marble Falls and Earth.

Real Texans measure distance in minutes and hours. Switch from air conditionng to heat in the same day. Have stores with sacks, not bags, buggies, not carts. Texans use "fix" as a verb. Example I am fixin to go to the store.
Texans newspapers cover National and International news on one page and the local High and Middle School sports on the next six pages.
In Texas all of the festivals are named after a fruit, vegitable, flower, or animal.

A wise man once said, " Never ask a person where he is from; if he's from Texas, he will tell you. If not, there's no need to embarass him! ...

You are probably wondering why he is writing about Texas and Texans this first month of the New Year. Because an Investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. Sometimes, when we look at ourselves with a little humor, we begin to see the world as a place where tough times never last but tough people do. Tough is maybe another work for sincere, caring, involved, committed, and actionable people who see the future in helping others to learn, grow and find their place in life's wonder, excitement and joy.

This January, we say Thanks for the Teachers and for the "teaching spirit" in all of us. Let's take up the challenge to recognize that we consist of the depth of our relationships, and those relationships are the "keys" to others growing, learning, and becoming resilent and contributing members of our community.

Read on...

Living along the Hudson river that borders New York State and New Jersey are the Manhattan people, consumer-traders, whose average annual income is $36,000 per person per year. That dramatic difference of 400 times wealth units, pales in comparison to the types of retail products the two peoples have at their hand. The Yanomamo peolpe have about 300 products they trade and exchange while the Manhattan people have access to about 10 billion products, a difference of 33 million times.

How did this happen? According to economists Eric D. Beinhocker, who published "The Orgin of Wealth", the explanation is to be found in the Complexity Theory. Evolution and Economics are not just analogous, but are actually two forms of a larger phenomenon termed "complex adaption systems", where individual elements, parts or agents interact, process iinformation ,and adapt behavior to changing conditions. The immune systems, ecosystems, language, the law, the Internet and the lives we live with others in our neighborhoods, schools, and churches --and our towns and cities and places of employment--are all examples of "complex adaptive systems".

As I reflect on this article by Michael Shermer, I am amazed at the tremendous diversity between the activities, interactions, and life styles of the Yanomamo-hunter-gathers and the Manhatten- consumer-traders. What is it that we have in common as human beings? Is one life style superior to the other? How do we create environments which enrich the quality of life for one another? Does trade ,when viewed as a powerful social adhesive, create peaceful alliances that expand into meaningful realtionships between peoples beyond river borders?

Last month, I wrote: How we choose to make the interpretations of daily living is the beginning of community". We at the ARKGroup firmly believe that life's growth and opportunities begin when the common spirit in all of us reaches to establish a relationship of care to others. Specifically, our research has shown that adults must be intentional in loving and nurturing children if they are to evolve and grow into resilent, caring and productive adults. The story of the Yanomamo and Manhatten people shows us the wonder of our ability to bring change and hope to our world though education and intentional relationships fostered through shared experiences with our children and students.

How to live in community, respect others' ideas, beliefs and practices, and iron out differences while withholding judgement starts with the our first interactions with our children. Our modeling tolerance and love for those different from us holds the promise of showing our children the life long road of cultural education and it's hope for bringing out the best in all of us.

Wherever your home borders, from the rivers of South America to the creeks of the United States of America, we invite you to begn an ARK program today for those people who can come into your life and be richer by your actions.

Please share your ideas and read on...

If you are easily angered, then your actions will be dictated by those who anger you.

If you are obsessed by what others think, then you will be imprisoned by their thoughts.

If you yearn for easy answers and quick solutions,
you'll fall prey to people who offer you nothing but promises.

If you find truth, beauty and good too difficult to bear, then you'll be enslaved to those who tell you what to believe and what you want to hear, see and do.

But when you have the courage to think for yourself, the strength to accept what is possible, the commitment and discipline to make a difference for others--especially those young people who are near you everyday--then your life will open itself to true meaning and significance.

The ARK Family wishes you and your family the very best this New Year.

Let our lives be defined, not by our reactions to what others do or say, or think, but rather by our shared vision and hope for the future of the world as we are intentional with unconditional care in the lives of our children, students and all the children we encounter each day.

Check out this website for writings of Dr. Robert Brooks - In particular on the Questions about Kids and Gift Giving:

Your support of The ARKGroup, Inc. creates possibilities in our churches, community centers, and public and private schools. If you have an opportunity, idea, challenge, or destiny to fulfill through helping children to grow into their full potential, please contact us. Together we can improve the quality of life in our communities--one child, one family, one classroom, one school at a time. Helping other people lifts one's spirits and gives hope for the future.

GoodSearch - a way to support ARK while using the Internet. You can contribute to the ARKGROUP which we will invest in your favorite community services, church, juvenle justice program or school just by searching the Internet or shopping online with GoodSearch - www.goodsearch.com - powered by Yahoo!

Read on at the ARK website