You Can't Take It With You

That is what they say.  And I, for one, am glad for it.  After spending the last couple of weeks moving to a different home, I find myself overwhelmed by the sheer amount of “stuff” we accumulate.  My wife and I would not by any stretch be considered hoarders, but we are frugal people who have known times when we had little and had to scratch hard for everything we did have.  Saving that screw or bolt or plastic fork meant we didn’t have to go buy one the next time we needed one.  This little piece of scrap 2 x 4 may come in handy in my next project.  And on and on it goes until there is a house full of leftover, nearly useless items that require a great deal of effort to remove.

So I am thankful today that there will come a day when we can’t take it all with us.  Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms.  If it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)  Isn’t it a comfort to know these things?  First of all, there is a place for us.  In looking for a home, my wife and I spent the best part of a couple of weeks searching Craigslist and any site we could find for available properties.  Our criteria included location, size, pet-friendly, how big is the pantry, how close is it to the nearest Fry’s Food store, Walgreens and Dairy Queen.  Then we tried to arrange meetings to look at a few possibilities every evening.  We saw from “not likely” to “great!”  Some we liked were not available when we needed.  Others found us in competition to multiple suitors who liked it as much as we.  It was a challenge and exhausting.  When I think about my eternal home, the one I shall never have to move from again, how thankful I am that my Father already has a place readied for me.

Secondly, we are told that Jesus has gone before us to prepare that place.  Because we don’t like the thought of wallowing around in other people’s dirt, we decided to clean our new home from top to bottom while it was still empty.  It seemed to me the best way to do that was to hire a company to come in and do a deep cleaning.  So, once again I scoured the pages of Craigslist, searching for just the right company to entrust with this important task.  Finally found one with all the “right” credentials and arranged for them to send out their best team.  On the appointed day, my wife meets the expected cleaning crew at the new house and texts me, “it’s a he.”  Just one.  And it’s a “he.”  Now, please understand, I am a man, and I know that some men are exceptional cleaners.  But many are not.  The one I hired wasn’t.  So afterwards, we spent the next couple of days doing what he should have done for the deep cleaning price we paid.  Jesus is preparing a place for us.   We won’t have to lift a finger to set up our eternal home.  Jesus has done it for us.

 

Then came the move day.  Or should I say days.  One load, two, four, seven, ten.  At writing we are still making daily trips between the two houses for one more load.  I am certain there is some sort of evil multiplying taking place over there in our absence.  Maybe our neighbors are secretly throwing their excess over the fence knowing we will have to cart it away.  Little by little we are getting it done.  What a merciful Father we have who says, “Leave it.  You don’t need any of that stuff here.  Come on, and enjoy what I have prepared for you.”  Oh how I long for that final move.  It is going to be the best ever!

In the meantime, if I hear one more time, “It’s in a box…..somewhere…..”

Is Jesus Really My BFF?

by Meridith Borta

Elementary Principal

My sisters and I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, and as embarrassing as it may be to admit now, we were stereotypical “valley girls”. If you are not familiar with some of the basic valley girl characteristics, we’ll start first by mentioning that we said “like” every other word. We also went through a period of time where we called everyone “dude”.  (Dare I even mention that we were also all blonde cheerleaders?)

I can still remember the day that my sister Laurie answered my mom by saying, “Okay, Dude.” My Mom’s response is one that my sisters and I have recounted on many occasions as we’ve reminisced about our childhoods. My mom looked at my sister and said, “I am not Dude, I am your Mother!”

I mention this story because I fear we are living in a society that has forgotten that we serve the God of the universe and has started calling God “Dude” 

We see t-shirts that read “Jesus is my BFF”. Some have taken the idea so far as to write songs like, “Beer with Jesus” which paints Jesus as your best buddy—just a regular Joe who is “cool” enough to sit down and have a drink with you at the local bar. Another singer excuses the bad behavior in her song by saying that Jesus would understand and they’d get along just fine.

Yes, those are country songs, but even the church is not exempt from this attitude. I’m sure we’ve all sung the popular chorus “I am a Friend of God” on more than one occasion.

So, aside from the absurd “anything goes” mentality of the country songs I mentioned above, is there any truth to this idea that Jesus in our friend? The answer is YES! John 15-12-17 says:

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”

How truly unbelievable it is that our heavenly Father calls us friends and wants to have a personal relationship with us! Perhaps it is knowledge of this amazing truth that sometimes results in a warped perspective of who God is. Are we calling our Savior “dude” or are we giving him the respect, admiration, and authority in our lives that he deserves?

Jesus calls us to recognize him as so much more than our BFF. The following is an excerpt from a famous sermon by Reverend SM Lockridge. I pray this helps you remember and stand in awe of the indescribable KING that we serve.

Video Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzqTFNfeDnE

Link to the Sermon Text

http://thatsmyking.wordpress.com/words/

Studying for Spelling Tests

by Jennie Smith
Secondary Assistant Principal

The dreaded weekly spelling test - in my household studying for the spelling test can become a knock-down drag-out-free-for-all.  So when one of my sons began struggling with spelling in the first grade, this mama/teacher had to reach deep and get creative.  Our resource teacher was super helpful and gave me some great hints for creative studying practices and now I share her ideas and some of my own with you.

Play hangman - your child chooses a word from his or her spelling list and you try to guess before the man hangs.  This helps them to focus on letter placement and they are looking at the word every time you guess a letter.

White board - I don't know why, but my son loves to write his spelling words on the white board.  If you ask him to write it on a white paper, there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Change the paper to board and life is exquisite.

Alphabet blocks - Use the old fashioned alphabet blocks and have your child build the word.  This can also take the form with the magnetic letters you put on the fridge.  Don't have either of those?  Make your own letters with scrap-booking stickers or markers.

Storytelling - Have your child write a story, but they have to include 10 of their spelling words.

Puzzles - write the words on index cards and cut them into puzzle pieces.  Have your child put their spelling word puzzles together for extra practice.

Paint - My son loves using the computer.  So I open up the "Paint" program and he creates the words with special colors.  Print them out and hang the masterpieces around the house - every time he looks at them, he's studying.


Love Notes - One week, try sending a new note in the lunchbox.  Try to use as many spelling words as possible.  Or leave a message in the bathroom for her to find.  Some students who are very visual will benefit from seeing the word over and over.

The Test - Have your child test YOU.  They are hearing and seeing the word at the same time. Be sure to make some intentional errors  to make sure they are paying attention. 

Do you have any ideas for creative studying?  Leave them in the comments below.  I always need new ones!

Secular or Sacred?

by Dick Buckingham, Administrator

For some time now, our culture has tried to insist that there is and ought to be a definite line between what we refer to as sacred, having to do with God, and the secular, just about everything else.   We like to feel that we are in control of our lives and our destinies, and we want to be able to choose God when and if we desire.  Of course, many choose to leave God out of their lives entirely, which is believed to be our free choice.  This issue is more than just whether we choose to attend a church service.  Whether we realize it or not, there is not a decision made or thought we have that does not present itself at the juncture of sacred and secular.  In reality, the only distinction that exists between the two is an artificial division we choose to impose on our lives.

Since the fall of Man in the garden, our sinful human nature has tried to find any way possible to put God in a place where we can bring Him out when it is convenient for us.  We want to make sure that we maintain our independence from Him even though such a concept is foolishness.  In Paul’s speech before the Athenian Areopagus, he makes it clear that our dependence upon God is certain and significant.

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  Acts 17:24, 25

Though man may declare independence from God, it does not change the very real fact that we are utterly and completely dependent upon Him for everything, including our next heartbeat and breath.

Nowhere is this understanding more important than in the area of our thinking and knowledge.  From our perspective, it seems we can think freely and can choose to include God’s ideas or not choose them.   Yet, in reality, every thought is either in agreement with God’s or it is not.  Our government schools have tried to make it nearly criminal to bring thoughts of the sacred in the discussions of information and knowledge gleaned from any source.  Like it or not, the young minds in such institutions are being trained to think that there is a lot of our lives, if not all, that can be independent of God and even the very thoughts of Him.  Not only is such an approach untrue, it is eternally dangerous to every soul that would follow it.   When we try to divorce God from our thoughts and our practice, we automatically choose that which is contrary to His divine direction for living.

One of the most important arguments in favor of Christian schools is that we are endeavoring to erase the notion of a line between the secular and the sacred.  God is everything and in everything, including and especially our thoughts and understanding of the world He created.   By training students to consider all knowledge in light of what God has revealed to be true, we are helping them to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,” (II Corinthians 10:5).

This should be the desire of every Christian parent who is seeking to bring their child up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  I am fully aware of the sacrifice it takes to enroll a child in a Christian school.  There is a sacrifice of time and money and more.   However, I urge you to consider the sacrifice you are making by placing the children God has given you to steward in a government school.  Is the sacrifice of the soul greater than the sacrifice to put your child at a Christian school?

Joy!

by Meridith Borta, Elementary Principal

“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart to stay. And I’m so happy, so very happy. I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heaaaart….“

Well, you get the idea.

This was one of my favorite songs as a child. As an adult, though it is sometimes difficult, it is one of my greatest desires to be able to wholeheartedly sing this song with the same passion and truth as I did back then. As a believer in Jesus, I have every reason to be joyful--my God has overcome the world!

The Bible tells us time and time again to rejoice. Psalms 96:11-13 says, “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.”

Psalms 47:1 says, “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”

Do you have this joy? Or have you allowed your circumstances to fill you with anxiety, despair, sorrow, or a downright bad attitude.  

One of my favorite quotes on this topic comes from Charles Swindoll. He writes,

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

It seems a little easier said than done at times. Face it. Life is hard. How can we turn our bad attitudes to joy? How can we keep the circumstances from robbing us of our joy?

First, we must answer the question, “Are we really called to rejoice during those hard times when nothing seems to be going right?”

Well, Philippians 4:4 tells us, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Notice that the Bible does not tell us to rejoice only when things are going our way. It says ALWAYS! And then it says it again. . . Rejoice! It must be important. 

James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Regardless of what is going on around us, we can rejoice in our circumstances. We are reminded again in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 to “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Is it time you got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy BACK down in your heart?

The Love of Reading

by Jennie Smith, Secondary Assistant Principal
and Avid Reader

A good book can sweep me away for hours - I ignore housework, grading, and even sleep for a good read.  I'd rather read a great novel than watch TV or a movie.  I often wonder...how can I make my kids love books as much as I do? 

The August 2012 Family Fun magazine had an excellent article called "Encouraging a Love of Reading: 7 Ways to Inspire Your Kids."  Here are a few of my favorites, mixed with a few of my thoughts:

• Start a book by reading the first few chapters or pages out loud to them.  Use lots of vocal inflection and character voices to make it super interesting.  Then let them finish on their own.
• Make a game out of it.  Have the whole family read the first part of a book no one has read and then everyone has to guess how it ends.  Have a prize for the one who comes the closest to the real ending and the one with the most creative ending.
• Take them by surprise.  Cancel bedtime to let kids stay up late reading a good book (on Friday night of course).  Or have a family read-a-thon and everyone pile on mom and dad's bed or make a cozy reading area in the living room with pillows and blankets.  Take turns reading great passages to each other.
• Introduce your kids to the "book leprechaun."  Surprise your kids with a great book hidden somewhere in the house. 
• Vary the format.  There's no law that says a reader must have a physical book.  Let them use an e-reader or tablet or audio book for something different.  With today's techie generation, this type of format may appeal to them in a more significant way.
• Let them choose reading material based on things they like: sports, cats, or orcas.  Print out cool articles you see on-line or pick up an interesting magazine for them.  Reading is reading whether it is a book or a short article.
• One mom in the Family Fun article describes how she set up themed reading areas on occasion for her daughter.  She would set up a tent "with flashlights and books on camping, bugs, and animal tracking."  Add some s'mores and you're all set!  She also did a tea-party hideaway with themed books and stuffed animals and snacks.

Fostering a love of reading is one of my life goals for my children and my students too.  Making it interesting, light-hearted, and fun may be the key to watching them flip the pages of a book with the rest of the world tuned out.

If you would like more information on Family Fun magazine, you can visit their website at familyfun.go.com

Why?

by Jennie Smith
Secondary Assistant Principal
and Mom to Levi

It was a beautiful Sunday morning.  It was Spring, life was great - I was married to the man I had prayed for all my life.  I had the teaching job I always wanted, and now I was one month away from delivering my first child.  Life could not have been more blissful.  Brent and I had not slept well the night before, so we decided to skip Sunday School (shhhh....don't tell anybody).  While we were laying in bed resting, I felt the first pangs of childbirth.  I wrote them off as my first Braxton-Hicks....I was only 36 weeks after all.

But the pangs continued...through church, through my traditional Sunday afternoon nap, and by 2:00 that afternoon, Brent and I were in the hospital preparing for the birth of our son.  We were nervous, but thrilled!  At 7:11 pm, on April 22, the on-call doctor held my child and before she laid him on my tummy she said..

"Did you have an ultrasound?"
"Yes," I said.  I expected her to follow with..."Did you know it was a boy?" 
But instead she said, "Did you know about the cleft?"
"No," I said.
The next 2 minutes were a blur.  I knew she was talking to me, but I couldn't get it... "repairable....surgery...lungs sound good..." 
And then she showed me my beautiful, first born son.
There was a hole in his face...
...a dark, black hole that I didn't understand. 
But I fell in love anyway.

Levi - just a few days old

After meeting with the plastic surgeon a few weeks later, and getting a grim picture of multiple surgeries over the course of his life, I was overwhelmed.  A wise man and his wife stopped by that very day (yes...it was Mr. B) and I asked if it was ok to ask God "Why?"  Why did MY child have to go through this?  Why does everyone else get perfect babies and I'm asked to walk this road?

He pointed me to the story of the man born blind from John 9.  The disciples asked Jesus why...why was this man born blind?  Was it his parents who sinned or was it because of his own sin?  They were looking for the answer to my very question...why was Levi Brandon Smith born with a cleft?  Was it my fault?

"'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the work of God might be revealed in his life'" (verse 3).

Levi (with his wonderful smile), Caleb, Drew

Is it ok to ask God "why?"  Sure...but He's already given us His reply!  For a Christian, this is the answer to every "Why?"   This happened so that the work of God might be revealed in (fill in the blank here)'s life. In Levi's life.  In my life.  In your life.

And God has been revealed in Levi's life - His work is very evident.  If you know Levi, be sure to ask him how he has seen God's hand.  He has a wonderful testimony.  We no longer ask why Levi has a cleft.  We simply thank God for the opportunity to see His glory.