A Call To Prayer April 22nd, 2013

At the recent membership meeting a school member stood up near the completion of the meeting and called our community to prayer.  He gave a stirring, spirit filled response to a call placed on his heart for us to bring our petitions to the Lord.   I think it important to commit, once again, to prayer for our school.  We should pray for our students, your children, that the Holy Spirit may work powerfully in their lives and that they may respond to the knocking on the door of their hearts.  We should continually pray for the teachers as well and for God to work in their hearts and lives as well.  As we continue on please pray for enrollment, for our future families and pray that our school may be an impact on our community.

I would like to earnestly ask you to pray deep, heart felt prayers for the school and the all-round health of our school and students.  This should continue to be priority at this school.  Each week the staff upholds a few families and their children in prayer as we start the week devoting time to the Lord. Our Lord is Lord of all things and he, out of his love and grace for us, wants to be in constant contact with us.   He wants to hear from us and the desires of our hearts.  He wants our desires to become more and more in line with the Kingdom.

 Please continue to pray for the Spirit’s leading in our school, on the Board, through the staff and students and our broader community.  

Power Outage April 15, 2013

With the recent power outage some families were left scrambling to make arrangements to deal with the lack of power they were experiencing.  It was a bit of a paradox, the power we rely on was temporarily severed due to the power and forces of nature.  Trees came crashing down, houses and vehicles were damaged, and power lines and poles were left mangled and tangled in the aftermath.  In these situations we have opportunities to show our love and care for neighbours in need.  Our children watch how we react to the needs of others nearby and far away.  This was one of those moments that we could put on the clothes of Christ and mix in a bundle of compassion, a heap of kindness, a measure of humility, gentleness and a generous amount of patience. 

Here is one example from this past weekend.  Friday evening, after hydro workers had worked steadily at restoring power, a hydro truck became stuck in the soft ground. This worker had been out for more than 24 hours straight.  A few individuals saw what was going on and went over to see if they could be of any assistance.  The three worked at digging out tires, placing planks and even using a pickup truck and a rope to try to pull the rig loose but it was to no avail.  The call was about to be made to a towing company when in the distance, not too far off, was someone driving a tractor down the road dragging a chain that was dancing and clanging on the pavement.  This guy had seen the troubles when he had passed by the obviously immobile truck.  When he got home he immediately jumped in the tractor to come and help out.  This instance demonstrates how compassion and kindness can be played out in our everyday lives.  I am thankful for Christians who jump in tractors to help out others and expect nothing in return.  I pray that my children will hear and see these events and take opportunities to live them out as well.  We pray that our students will show these characteristics on the bus, on the playground, in the classrooms and in their communities.  May the Spirit continue to work in all of our lives to convict us to act on these moments and opportunities.

 

Longing and Anticipation April 8, 2013

We are all waiting for spring to announce it is here to stay. The cold months of winter stretch on and the chill in the air just does not seem to go away. Winter continues to come back well after most of us would like to have seen it gone. We long for sunshine, showers and the budding of flowers. We want to see that cycle of new life renewed. I have talked to numerous parents and students that express that they are just completely done with winter. I will admit that I am one of them. As I looked out the window to see the sunshine and the promise of rain to renew the dormant campus I could not help but recall what I wrote last week about patience. I want spring on my terms and my time when, clearly, that is not the plan. I long for and anticipate the arrival of “full time spring” and need to exercise patience in God’s timing. Even though I desire to see new life and the renewal that comes at spring time, and those are good things, I still need exercise patience. It is this time of year that also reminds me of how I long for and anticipate the healing of our broken world. As God’s people we long for the coming of God’s Kingdom. And I hear the echo again and again to have patience in God’s timing. We do not and cannot see into the future but we can put our trust in the one who can. He not only can see the future plans but they are also in His control. We continue to pray for spring and the coming of His kingdom as we live in His providence.     

Just a Little Patience Tuesday April 2, 2013

It seems some people are born with a more accommodating disposition while, for others of us, the amount of patience we have been blessed with is developed through our life experiences.   I am sure in our each of our lives we have all desired to have more patience as we encounter trials and shifting expectations.  We can get frustrated with the other’s timing or even God’s and through these times we develop different degrees of patience and accommodation.  The Bible also states that wisdom yields patience and I am not surprised that they are connected.  A deep and long view of situations can aid us in how we react as well as the amount of emotion we tie to particular circumstances.    

There are a number of examples of patience in the Bible, the most obvious one is Job.  In fact, a popular phrase has been coined to demonstrate this, “She must have the patience of Job.”  As wonderful of an example as Job is I think it pales in comparison to that of God’s long-suffering and patience with us and His people.    Numerous passages in the New Testament speak of His patience for us and it is demonstrated by Him through Christ.  The fact that it is one characteristics listed in Colossians 3:12 indicates that Christ is the ultimate example of living out the virtue of patience.  It is an attribute that we want to see lived out in the lives of our children in the hallway, on the bus, on the playground, and in our community.  We pray for the Spirit to move powerfully in the lives of the members of this community so we can clothe ourselves with Christ.  May you be impacted by the Spirit this week and throughout the remainder of this year. ~Mr. Bouwers