The stones may rest

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world."
Psalm 19: 1-4

This autumn season has given many of us the occasion to walk around in this part of the world where we are blessed to experience the deciduous 'burst of colour'.  I found myself recalling the verses above as my family walked through the forest canopy along the Niagara Escarpment this weekend. Reds, greens, yellows, oranges.  The skies were 'speaking' loud and clear, although without a sound or a word.  We certainly see these words in our end of the world.

As creatures, created by God to give Him glory, we have been blessed with an actual voice - words and sounds to speak and make Him known.  On Fridays, we experience that together singing together as a school community.  Each of you find your voice on Sundays in your worship communities.  On some level, we can't help but express this voice.  

Jesus goes so far to say that this voice will never be silenced.  As He entered Jerusalem, the crowds were shouting "Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the LORD!  Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!" (Luke 19: 38)  When told by the religious leaders to make them stop, Jesus replies that if they did, even the stones on the road would burst forth....

This Thursday and Friday mark our annual provincial Christian School educators' convention.  Each year, we gather as a crowd of 800+ educators and begin together in corporate worship.  That short time of praise has become a highlight for me - so many voices together (LOUDLY) proclaiming the Glory of God.

At Covenant, in our region, in our province...  the stones may rest for now.  We will continue to take our cue from the skies and nature all around, giving voice throughout the earth!

Election Day

Today is election day in Canada. We, as a nation, will head to the polls (hopefully more of us than the last time!), and make our wishes known as to who should lead us for the next few years.

It's an interesting time as various groups and individuals speak passionately about the issues they find important for a country, and as emotions can run high. Sometimes I find it a very discouraging time as these 'discussions' don't always catch us at our best.  

It got me wondering.... what if we were saddled with the responsibility of picking our real, true leader? Would we have chosen Christ? The Jewish people at the time of Christ had exactly this dilemma:  choose to honour the Roman empire, choose a messiah who would violently rescue them from oppression, or choose Christ, a self-claimed Messiah, son of God with wild and radical ideas on how to live.

I'm not sure I would have had the courage to 'take up my cross and follow' given the political climate of the day. I'm quite glad that I sit on this side of the resurrection actually, standing on the shoulders of so many before me able to unpack and realize the richness of that sacrifice.

As I head to the polls this afternoon, I will cast a ballot for my leader of choice as will many of you. Thankfully, we don't have to choose who our Messiah is. It's not a vote or a popularity contest, or even a fiscal comparison.  It's a life- and world-view. He is the LORD of all, and our LORD.  "For God so loved the WORLD, that he gave his son."  We have our leader. How now shall we live?  

Micah's message to Israel sums things up nicely:

"But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,

  what God is looking for in men and women.

It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,

   be compassionate and loyal in your love,

And don't take yourself too seriously—

  take God seriously."  Micah 6:8 (MSG)

Whatever your vote, pray that our best example lives on for our children as they watch this democratic process. Pray that the leadership of our country (whichever claims victory this evening) takes to heart this instruction.  

Teaching Gratitude

After a refreshing long weekend, I am now returning to school wondering how we can prolong the ideals we just celebrated.  It's interesting (and even more poignant south of the border) that we finish up celebrating Thanksgiving - the state of being content - and are coaxed quickly to want and desire more (yes, the Christmas shopping season will arrive any day, and the stores will make sure we know!!!)

How do we teach our kids to be thankful; to live in gratitude? As with anything else, we can choose to speak about it, preach about it, discuss it, and cheer it on. BUT, unless we practice it, our (their) lives will never change.

Ann, a favourite blogger of mine, shares her family's experience developing gratitude...  a daily practice that they do to be thankful. They made gratitude lists. These lists began with the obvious:  food, family, friends, God, church, school, a home, etc etc etc.  As the lists continued, however, they were forced to delve more deeply to discover all of the things they take for granted, and actually are thankful for.  Her little experiment had some surprising results, and her follow up research proved that the benefits would reach even further than a state of mind... (you can read more at http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/03/how-to-help-raise-grateful-kids/ )

As parents (and teachers), we can model it:

A number of years ago, I recall trying to get my kids out to the park. It was a typical day where leaving the house became a burden and I wasn't particularly gracious or gentle or forgiving, and certainly not grateful. After a few harsh commands and  finally getting out the door, we were off to the park. As I rounded the corner with our stroller (not looking), I almost knocked someone off of the sidewalk.  My immediate reaction was of apology. I backed up, and the 'almost crashed into person' and I stopped for a friendly conversation. My last words to the man were "I'm so glad you weren't hurt!"

Ten steps down the sidewalk, my toddler son turned in the stroller and asked me to stop. After getting my undivided attention, he said to me "Dad, you are a kind man."  My heart stopped for a moment.  Thankfully, by the grace of God, my kids are influenced by my positive behaviours and not just my not-so-nice ones.  That moment of kindness, thankfulness, and gratitude was noticed by an impressionable toddler, and God saw to it through his little voice that I would never forget that.

So, from now until Christmas.... how are we going to model gratitude for our kids? 

Being plugged into God is a necessary start to living as children of light in a world so desperate to escape darkness. How can we shine light as an alternative to wanting more 'stuff'? Maybe I'll start a gratitude list.  How about you and your family?

For God so loved the WORLD

It is interesting to write here about International Emphasis week having just seen "The Diary of Anne Frank" this weekend in Stratford.  The setting, of course, is an international conflict involving the violent project by the Nazi regime to invade Europe and to 'cleanse' those nations of races 'not fit'.  It's a terrible chapter of our recent history, and I'm thankful that the telling lives on in stories like Anne's. In it, we witness the courage of a family who, like so many others at their own peril, chose to welcome in the stranger, despite difference of race, of religion, and native language.  This act of 'WITH'-ness is inspiring for us even today.

  
During our International Emphasis week, we will investigate in a number of ways, how we walk 'WITH' others from various countries other than our own.  We often get caught up in our own very familiar world where most of our neighbours are like us.  The story of Pentecost is an interesting place to start.  When the Holy Spirit came into the room and lived in each of the disciples, they did not speak one language to all of the international visitors to the city.  "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages.." Acts 2:4

We began on Friday in chapel by watching a photo montage of people from all over the world.  Students were challenged to look at the images and remind themselves that God so loved the world.....  Christ died for all!

Students this week will be asked to listen to someone speak in a different language, and perhaps even learn a favourite song or Bible verse in a different language.    In a real way, we will experience some of the wonder of that Pentecost here at Covenant:  Acts 2:1b: "we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"

Plugging in to the Spirit's power, we can shine as children of light, here in Smithville, and exploring the world.

Power - Reflection or Distortion?

The selection of this year's theme as Plugging in to God's power was not coincidental.  It was chosen carefully to align with some of what our Christian support organizations are focussing on.  This past week, Mr. Kamphuis, Mrs. Desjardins and myself had the privilege of joining 60 other Christian School Administrators at a conference entitled "Power to Empower".  It was a rich time of sharing, building up, encouraging, and digging deep into God's word and the words of Christian writers on the topic of power.

We all have and use power - parents, teachers, even students exercise power in their day-to-day interactions.  Andy Crouch (author of "Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power") identifies that each of us in our use of power will either reflect or distort the image we bear of our Creator.  From Christianity Today Magazine: "[A new conversation about power] would acknowledge, indeed insist, that power is a gift—the gift of a Giver who is the supreme model of power used to bless and serve. Power is not given to benefit those who hold it. It is given for the flourishing of individuals, peoples, and the cosmos itself. Power's right use is especially important for the flourishing of the vulnerable, the members of the human family who most need others to use power well to survive and thrive: the young, the aged, the sick, and the dispossessed."

As we exercise the power each of us has been granted in our particular position in society, are we using our power and influence to help others (especially the weak and vulnerable) flourish?  In other words, is our power being used to empower? Power is not for personal gain.  Pray that our students may learn to rightly use their power to empower through our teaching, and through the models they see around them each day.

Building Community

In our planning of the year along with HOW and WHAT we teach at Covenant, each division has adopted a number of what we call 'Throughlines'.  Throughlines, simply put, are themes in our Christian walk that will shine through all of what we do and learn.  Essentially, once we know and accept the story of God's redemptive lordship over all of life, throughlines attempt to answer the question "How now shall we live?"

In our initial staff meetings, we chose which of 10-12 throughlines we would emphasize in each of our grade levels.  Once our discussions were through, it was evident that every single grade level wanted to emphasize 'Building Community' as a class.  At that point, it was obvious that this was to become a whole school focus.

As I write this, the grade 3/4 class is abuzz in the lobby helping the JK class with a project "God helps us to Grow" involving life sized cutouts of themselves.  Their skills and abilities at their age are being put to use helping others who cannot yet tackle such a big undertaking.  Along the way, great relationships are being formed and a shared pride over their beautiful work is a result!  

As a way to build community across the school, each of our classes has a buddy class to do similar things through the year.  It's just one small way of many that we are intentionally living out what God would have us do.

Routines, Habits, and Love???????

The beginning of week two in a school year marks that we have actually arrived, and that the school year is now definitely in motion.  This week in my home, there have been many different indications of this as the summer season winds down, and many other seasons wind up.  Sports, arts and music lessons, church programs, community programs all are gearing up and our calendars begin to fill with meetings, practices, and engagements.  It can leave one feeling overwhelmed at family commitments.  Good things can become a drain on us and on our families if we are not careful.

These next few weeks are critical to set good family habits, and to ensure that your kids adopt good routines for school work, home chores, church functions, and even sleep.  Providing a set time each day that works for your family, and for your child (everyone learns differently - including time of day) will develop a routine that they can count on and grow to appreciate as they will be able to accomplish the work that they need to do.  Even if they don't have homework, requiring that they spend some time reading or reviewing for 10-15 minutes will protect that time for when they do.

The following video outlines a few ways (geared for grade 3-5 parents) to navigate the homework 'battle' at home... http://goo.gl/IGTx9s

Interestingly, James K.A. Smith (a professor at Calvin College) writes about the

'Power of Habit and the Gift of Practices' in relation to our Christian walk in the book: "Imagining the Kingdom".  Practicing love in a deliberate way each day is an important part of our own discipleship.  God made us creatures of habit.  Through the year we will be looking for ways to exercise this habit of Christian Love... to plug in to God's power, and to live as children of light.