Uncovering God's Vision

In our family devotions, we are following a series that has us work through a yearly cycle of the church calendar.  During each season, there are different ways in which we prepare ourselves for a time of devotion.  During the Advent season, we pull an extra chair or set an extra place at the table in anticipation of the coming King.  He hasn't arrived at our devotion time.... yet. 

I wonder what it was like for the people of Israel to continue to wait for the long-promised and longed for Messiah.  I ordered something on Amazon the other day and was forced to wait 48 hours for its arrival.  Clearly, many of us have lost what it means to wait.  We can have what we want or need generally right now.

Not so with the coming of Christmas.  I enjoy talking with our students about the coming of Christmas, and no matter what age (JK through grade 8), there is a shared sense of longing and waiting (sometimes patiently, often not) for the coming of the holiday.  

In the same way, we continue to wait and long for Christ's return.  We are broken, we experience pain, suffering, sin in a multitude of ways.  While Christ has not yet returned, we still prepare.  In our home, we have put up the Christmas tree, we work through advent devotions, we shift to Christmas music.  Although Christmas is not here yet, we live in such a way as to both anticipate it and also to celebrate its arrival.

What are we doing in the advent of Christ's return?  It will take perseverance, compassion, and integrity to wait and work as His servants, but we know that we do and will experience JOY in the knowledge that our world is in God's hands, and that He entrusts us to continue His work.

Make Room

It's busy.  Really busy.  Some of it is good busy, some of it not-so-good-busy, some of it just necessary busy.  I'm sure most of you can relate.  So many things that we need to do for upcoming events (and Christmas programs!!!), family visits, planning for the new year, etc etc etc.

It's almost as if we were in the hustle and bustle of Bethlehem so many years ago.  I've had the privilege of visiting various re-enactments of the Christmas setting at churches over the years (an excellent one at Calvary Gospel Church in Beamsville, if you get a chance to go).  What I appreciate at these events is the reminder that Bethlehem at that time was CRAZY BUSY.  They were not normally equipped to have all of the line of David come into town at the orders of the government at the time.  They were doing all they could just to meet the demand, the necessary, the good busy, and the not-so-good-busy.  Sound familiar.

Along comes a couple in rather desperate need of a place to stay with nothing but apologetic looks at best, or annoyance at worst.

Now, in 2017, almost 2018, how am I receiving the coming Messiah?  Who is at my door asking to please have a place to stay?  Is it Christ himself asking for space in my life?  Is it someone in physical or emotional or spiritual need just asking 'Do you have room for me/us?'.

Who am I saying 'no, sorry' to?

Ignatius Loyola scripted a prayer for just such a time as this - a reminder to me, a reminder to you.... to make room this season:

Lord, help me to make room for you this Advent. Help me to clear out every nook and cranny of my heart and soul and to let go of all things that are not of you. Come into my heart. Give me the grace to respond to you freely and trust you completely. Fill me with your love and your grace. I know that you are all I really need, so please help me to choose you—every time. Let every movement of my heart and soul bring greater glory to you, Lord. Amen.

I pray this for me, and for you as you work with your own 'busy' and ensure that you make room for the Saviour of the world... God in the flesh who became one of us to bear our burdens and our sins.

Waiting

In our family devotions, we are following a series that has us work through a yearly cycle of the church calendar.  During each season, there are different ways in which we prepare ourselves for a time of devotion.  During the advent season, we pull an extra chair or set an extra place at the table in anticipation of the coming King.  He hasn't arrived at our devotion time.... yet. 

I wonder what it was like for the people of Israel to continue to wait for the long-promised and longed for Messiah.  I ordered something on Amazon the other day, and was forced to wait 48 hours for its arrival.  Clearly, many of us have lost what it means to wait.  We can have what we want or need generally right now.

Not so with the coming of Christmas.  I enjoy talking with our students about the coming of Christmas, and no matter what age (JK through grade 8), there is a shared sense of longing and waiting (sometimes patiently, often not) for the coming of the holiday.  

In the same way, we continue to wait and long for Christ's return.  We are broken, we experience pain, suffering, sin in a multitude of ways.  While Christ has not yet returned, we still prepare.  In our home, we have put up the Christmas tree, we work through advent devotions, we shift to Christmas music.  Although Christmas is not here yet, we live in such a way as to both anticipate it and also to celebrate its arrival.

What are we doing in the advent of Christ's return?  It will take perseverance, compassion, and integrity to wait and work as His servants, but we know that we do and will experience JOY in the knowledge that our world is in God's hands, and that He entrusts us to continue His work.

Community calls for Compassion and Hospitality

The beginning of winter can be hard.  It's darker, colder, and the shiny start to a new year has worn off.  Trees look bare, the skies grey.  Christmas is not here yet, and the stress of the season is building.  It's well known among mental health professionals that November is a difficult month for many.

This isn't the case for everyone, of course.  Some of us long for the change in season, the rhythm of the year to continue, the excitement of celebrations around our Saviour's birth.  That can and sometimes does make the contrast even more difficult.

Over the past month, I've asked specific groups of people (leadership, staff, students) the following question:  "If you could describe NACE to someone who doesn't know about us, what three words or phrases would you use?"  It's obvious we are a school, but beyond that, what sets us as unique or different?  The responses, of course, were great to read through and among what anyone would expect, there were some surprising elements as well.

The most frequently mentioned word?  Community.  Many of the students, staff, parents at NACE feel like they belong.  What an incredible identification of a body of Christ!  Yet, whenever we talk about community and belongingness, there are always those who don't or those who struggle to connect or have too much going on that they feel they can't.  Still others have difficulty with the season and their own mental health

As a community, especially a community with Christ at the centre, compassion needs to play a central role in our identity.  How do we exercise hospitality to everyone in our midst?  Sometimes it's just being aware that others may feel on the outskirts.  At other times, it means that we go out of our way to connect with people who we haven't met yet.  Including everyone means that we will make space for others.  A feeling of belonging happens when we miss someone if they aren't there.  Who is missing?  Who is struggling?  It's November.  Go out of your way in the next few weeks to make sure we live up to our descriptors!

We are a community, Connected in Christ.

Integrity

"Integrity means that you will do good when no one is watching." This is what one of our grade one students shared in their journal this past week.

There is a host of ways we can think of integrity and many ways to define it, but at the heart of the word, is the kernel of honesty. I wonder if some of us think of integrity as doing the right things, or even to a more basic level 'to behave'. While this may be the case, we need also to acknowledge that we are a broken and fallen people. We mess up. Often. So what happens when we do? What does integrity look like when we fall short of acting in the right way or doing the right thing?

Many of you reading this will be familiar with the cartoon characters that pace about, trying to make a decision. On one shoulder sits a devil, and the other an angel, each whispering their encouragement to decide. Without making our day-to-day decisions too trivial, one step toward integrity is acknowledging that God is there to encourage and support our decisions.

Thankfully, God meets us at whatever point we are in our Christian walk. Paul outlines his own journey in his letter to the Galatians, and that struggle: Galatians 1:10 "Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant." So even in a Christian community, we will find ourselves struggling with what is right.

The wisdom shared by the grade one student is apt here. Who are we trying to please? Ourselves? Others? What would God have us do?

If we are honest, we will need to acknowledge wrongdoing. We will also need to acknowledge that at times we twist and use others to our own benefit.

How, then, do we teach integrity to our students, and in the school community? We remind one another that we need to be forgiven, and we also extend forgiveness with encouragement to live for Christ, not for others. Integrity is continuing to grow in our choices so that they remain honest, no matter who is watching.

Proverbs 21:3 "To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice."

The Heart of a Community

"Voluntarism is dying". This quote departs from the lips of many in leadership positions within non-profit sector organizations. Perhaps it is more difficult to find people to do specific tasks, or perhaps leaders just grumpily pine for a day gone by where people just freely gave of their time and knew how to commit, or maybe we find ourselves increasingly busy with life and there are more avenues to give of our time and less time in which to do it...... I'm not sure.

As I write this, large quantities of apples, pie crust and crumble, boxes piled high all await dozens of people who will cheerfully give of their time to make apple pies for our annual fundraiser. Others gave of their time these past two weeks to serve on a committee to get our Family Fun Fest going, or on the board of directors to chart our path forward. Volunteers spend time with kids who need some extra assistance in their learning, or to assess reading skills for a teacher who can then tailor instruction to the class needs. Volunteers build things, like decks. They fill holes, cut grass and landscape, run wires and install fixtures, they paint and organize golf tournaments, coach sports teams and build parade floats, they sort items in a store for reclaimed construction materials.

It's clear that NACE is a community of dedicated people passionate about the work we do. A volunteer who can see that peeling an apple, or attending a meeting translates into lights on in classrooms, financial assistance for those who need it, or the lesson that cuts to the heart of a child and convicts them that God loves them and they have a specific purpose for His glory in the world.... that is a cheerful giver. The blessing of doing that shoulder to shoulder spreads our vision as a community and deepens our commitment to Christ in Education. It connects us in Christ.

As you read this, please do two things: 1) thank God for the many people in our midst who cheerfully give of their time to keep our schools running effectively and affordably, and 2) consider the upcoming tasks that never seem to end or present themselves, and decide what you might be able to do to connect yourself to others in Christ. Some are inspiring and some are mundane, but all of them connect us to the heart of what we do: teach kids to Live for Jesus, Learn for Life, and Serve with Gladness.

2 Corinthians 9: 6-7 " The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

Collaboration

A buzz word in education right now is '21st-century skills'.  Any learning plan that is launched by an educational institution seems to include this as a necessary element.  I'm not sure how long we'll talk about these as '21st-century' items, but the list often shifts away from the need to learn 'stuff' and de-emphasizes cramming in content.  

It's no secret that the workplace is changing, and our students need to know how to access and work with technology.  The other large area of identifiable skills surround social and emotional skill sets and being able to work well with others; to collaborate.  Increasingly, we and our students need to be able to work together on a project towards a shared goal.  Being able to work on one's own is important, but fewer and fewer scenarios demand this type of work anymore.  Teamwork is essential to life.  It's why it was an important inclusion in our Community Character traits that push us toward being 'Connected in Christ'.  Chris Breitenberg writes a beautiful article on how collaboration is central to the gospel of Christ and how the future of the church depends on it.  I commend the article to you!  https://goo.gl/dG3Zqa

As we prepare for upcoming strategic planning, I'm asking people in our community 'What does it look like when we do our best work?'  As the NACE board answered these questions, it struck me at how many times they referenced community events and tasks where groups of people came together and accomplished something in service to our schools.  There's something that is innately joyful about serving alongside one another to 'get something done'.  Indeed, I believe there is something Holy about this time together - dedicated to the furtherance of the good news through education.  As we gather together to work, we build relationship, we build the church, and we build something bigger than all of us - a present and a future of God's kingdom!!

Our event organizers know this inherently and are inviting you to collaborate with them.  A Family Fun Fest runs because people pitch in for a great cause.  Pies get made, peaches get peeled, committees function and get work done..... Beautiful things happen when we collaborate and work together.

I look forward to seeing all of you at our Family Fun Fest on Saturday, November 11, all pitching in joyfully to build up our schools in service to the God we serve!!