Chains & Anchors

Yesterday I was reminded, once again, about the need to ensure faith formation in our young children.  The recent events brought to mind an illustration I heard a long time ago about the heritage of faith we hope to see developed in our families.  It likened this heritage to a large boat anchor chain.  This is not just any chain, it is a heavy duty chain used to anchor battleships or large tankers.  The chain is only as strong as the weakest link.  The heritage of faith we desire to establish in our families is also like a heavy duty chain.  We want to do all that we can to strengthen our own faith and that of our children to minimize the possibility of encountering weak links.  I was challenged at that time to not be the weak link in the heritage of faith in our family and I want to encourage my children in the same way.  We know also that it is not all of our efforts that keep things strong and healthy.  We must also rely on the Lord, His strength and faithfulness to buoy us in times of inevitable struggle and weakness.  The events that brought this to mind came as I was reading a wonderful article the other day about Christian education.  It was an excellent reminder to me about why I choose to send my children to Christian school.  On the heels of that article came a comment during the opening devotions of a recent meeting.  It was stressed that we want to ensure that the truth is heard by our children and that it will give them anchor points to build upon in the future.  I am excited that my children will continue to have their faith strengthened and will be given strong anchor points when they are eventually called to discern the spirits of the age.  I pray they are anchored in the truth so they are not tossed to and fro by the wind of doctrine, human deceit and cunning.  Pray for our school and our children to grow up strong in faith. ~ Mr. Bouwers

Searching for Titles at the Oscars February 25, 2013

Last night millions of people watched as individuals were celebrated and honoured at the Oscars. The top award was sought after by so many but ended up being handed out to just a few. They will hold that title long after it is forgotten by so many. Although it truly is an honour for these actors, they are broken down or identified by these titles. It makes the individuals objects. If we and our student just seek the titles or labels of power, prestige or popularity there is a danger that we lose our testimony in the process. If we just seek the title of the joker or the vice president but we fall short in living our lives in way that is pleasing to God then we will gain nothing. Our story should be informed by love and lived in a grateful response to what God has already accomplished. Living for titles is a hollow pursuit but living to share the testimony of what God has done and continues to do in our lives will have a longer lasting impact then an Oscar would give.

Spreading the Joy, Sharing the Brokenness March 4th, 2013

Today, March 4th 2013, we had a group of missionaries come and speak to the children this morning.  This group, Youth With A Mission (YWAM), is an organization we are linked to through former graduate Brittany Vos who organized the “Sponsor a Stuffie” program at the school in late December.  Brittany Vos travelled to Uganda to show the love of Christ to the orphans there. Some of our students, teachers and parents partnered with her to help bless the children in that part of the world.

This morning the YWAM Madison team shared the video of the children receiving the gifts and the joy it brought to the children.  They also shared with the students their passion to do something special for the children they come in contact with.  Through these special interactions they hope to share the Good News, the Gospel story. 

They did this through sharing stories of their experiences.  These experiences included: songs, food they have eaten, items made in the area, the sanitation hurdles, the languages they learned, the sadness they encountered, scripture passages, as well as how they were able to share the Good News.  They pointed out the brokenness in these situations and how God was using them to spread joy. 

At the end of the assembly the team asked for the younger ones to be dismissed and shared with the older students, the students in grade seven and eight, about the brokenness that exists in Human Trafficking.  This was a heavy message for the students but it was also coupled with how they try to bring hope and spread joy in those situations as well. 

 The heart breaking stories of brokenness in our world did impact our students.   They were encouraged to pray for these situations and the work of missionaries throughout the world.  It fits in so well to the Bible curriculum where we learn the story of God, His people, and redemption through Christ Jesus.  We hope to prepare our students for lives of Christian service and we were reminded of God’s call on our lives to reflect His light into all the dark corners of this world.  As the students develop their gifts in response to what God has done in their lives, they are called not only to know and grow in that love but to share that love with others.

Frantic February

There are a lot of things happening in the short month of February. There have been some days of inclement weather, days of professional growth for the staff and a day to celebrate family. During the recent professional development day on February 15^th, the staff spent the day learning about assessment and evaluation. The guest speaker, Damian Cooper, led three sessions on this area and discussed with us 5 different topics. At the beginning of the day Diane Stronks, from Edifide, led us in devotions and challenged us to see assessment as a gift we give our students. The staff has not yet had the opportunity to debrief about the day and what we can collectively incorporate into our practice at Dundas Calvin Christian School. I look forward to the discussions that will lead us down the path of learning once more. Professional development is important for a staff to continue on their life long journey of learning. We need to be challenged and stretched to ensure we are continuing to provide a quality, Christ centered education. I not only look forward to the discussions that will arise from the recent workshops but also the continued learning and refining of the staff through ongoing professional development. Blessings ~ Mr. Bouwers

Can't buy me love.... February 11, 2013

As we approach Valentine’s Day we are often forced to think of love.  There is a commoditized or commercialized feel to this day where love seems to be repackaged and sold to us.  Even though this may be the way it is, we are still able to remove ourselves from this hustle and bustle and digger a little deeper into love.  The theme verses this year, Colossians 3:12-14, urges us to clothe ourselves with the characteristics of Christ.  As we are being transformed by the Spirit we show visible signs of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Love is to bind all of these virtues to create a unity.  This is much more than a commodity to be purchased in February.  Love, in this instance, is the adhesive of the Christian community.  This bond or adhesive creates a perfect one piece garment that fits all of these segments together into a cohesive whole.  Radical love is manifested in these virtues and, conversely, each of these virtues is nothing if it is not bound in love.  1 Corinthians 13 paints a vivid word picture of the importance and power of this supernatural love.  We pray that our students will exhibit this love in the development of their gifts.  We long for our graduates to live out this love in Christian service so that others may be transformed by the love of Christ through them.  What’s love got to do with it?  Absolutely everything!  May you grow in and share God’s love with others this week and throughout the year.    ~Mr. Bouwers

Molds and Cocoons February 4th, 2013

Winter Enrichments are a wonderful opportunity for students to try different things or hone various emergent skills. As I have walked around observing the different sessions I noted how wonderful it is to see the students working alongside teachers, parents, and community volunteers. It helps us fulfill our mission to develop the gifts that God has placed in each and every one of our students. In the development of these gifts we do hope our students will be equipped for a life of leadership, contribution and service in God’s kingdom.

I believe this fit so well with a recent sermon illustration. The pastor was outlining what is meant for our lives to be living sacrifices to the Lord. This continual attitude of sacrifice and gratitude is a worshipful response to God. It urges us in Romans 12 not to conform any longer to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In the baking session the prepared mixes are poured into the forms or molds for the delicious baking. This is a prime example of conforming. It is appropriate and necessary for the cake or muffin mix to conform to the pan or mold. 

On the other hand as our students develop into imitators of Christ we are not called to conform but to be transformed. This transformation comes from the heart; it comes from the inside out. This type of transformation can more aptly be illustrated by a metamorphosis. The cocoon of the butterfly conceals the transformation within. The transformation occurs from the inside. We pray for the Spirit to continually knock on the doors of our students’ hearts as we also instruct them in ways and attitudes that reflect this type of transformation. As their gifts are unwrapped we long for them to be transformed by the Spirit to display the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-25) and the clothes of Christ (Col. 3:12-14).

Praying for you...

Praying for you...

The end of the month is in sight and we can recount God’s blessings this past month. We are thankful at the school for the families that have committed to our school. Each Monday the staff meets for devotions to start the week together devoting the day and week to God. During our prayer time we pray for three specific families and their children. We have found this to be a blessing to our staff and we wanted you to feel blessed as well knowing that you are upheld in our prayers. I recently heard a sermon on prayer as one of the spiritual disciplines that helps prepare us for living lives as imitators of Jesus Christ. We will continue to pray for this school, the families that support it and the work of the Spirit to stir us to be imitators and image bearers. We also ask that you keep the staff, the Board and the various committees in your prayers as we seek to fulfil our mission in this corner of God’s kingdom. ~ Mr. Bouwers

Open House

I was reading through a colleagues’ writings on Christian education and came across some intriguing items.  As you see in the Connects there is an Open House scheduled for January 30^th. Please share with family and friends the blessing that Christian education is to you and our community and invite them for a personalized walk-through. If they’re not available to come that day, encourage them to call the school and set up an appointment for another time.  

If you’re trying to convince your church friends that Christian education is a blessing, check out

 www.whychristianschools.ca

for some helpful words to say.  You could even share this website with your friends. Under the tabs: purpose of education, role of parents, influence of teachers, salt and light, and counting the cost, the site offers parents things to consider when choosing a school for their children.

At DCCS we also have small booklets in the front office called, For the Love of the Child which outlines a case for Christian education. A strong support to that is an online book called Families Living in the Fabric of Faithfulness.  In the very first chapter it discusses world and life view and how that is worked out in our lives.  As part of our mission we want to prepare our students for a life of Christian service and that has a lot to do with showing what we believe in the way that live.  You can read more at 

www.whitworth.edu/fabricoffaithfulness. 

Let us share the joy of Christian education with others. ~Mr. Bouwers

Meek and Gentle January 14, 2013

Throughout the school year we have been looking at the different characteristics we are called to put on in Colossians 3:12-14 and we have called them the Clothes of Christ.  So far we have taken a look at compassion, kindness, and humility, and it is time to turn our attention towards putting on gentleness or meekness.  Sometime ago I went to a Promise Keeper’s rally where I was challenged by the speaker to reflect on the image of being meek and gentle.  The speaker urged us to not see meekness as weakness.  Using gentleness towards others should not be seen as wimpy.  He went on to say that the word in the original Greek was used to describe a trained war horse.  If you’ve seen the movie War Horse you might agree that it is not a picture of weakness that is portrayed.  The trained war horse has to bend its will to that of the rider during the most frantic and dangerous times.  I believe that in this passage we are called to rein in our natural desire to rebel, fight to get our own way and push ourselves forward, and submit ourselves to obedience to God’s will for our lives.   This may take great courage and strength to bend in this way.  In the words of that speaker, meekness should be viewed as strength under control.  So as we go about living our lives in community it is a great reminder that we are called to suppress our knee-jerk reactions and our tendency to lash out and allow God to use our gifts for His glory.  Jesus Christ is our best example of this as we put on the clothes of Christ and seek to be imitators of God’s one and only Son.  May the Holy Spirit work powerfully in the hearts of our staff, students, and parents as we respond to this call.  ~Mr. Bouwers   

I resolve to...

I resolve to….

As we look at the calendar year ahead it is some individual`s common practice to make resolutions. I thought it might be interesting if we made a communal resolution to inform ourselves and others about the long-term benefits of Christian education. Cardus has recently put out a study that compares the religious graduates from government funded and non-government funded religious schools in Canada. Some of the key highlights that we should be aware of are:

Stronger families

· More engaged in community groups

· More generous

· More focused on neighbourhood

· Express their identity through their work

· Produce civically engaged graduates

I think these results, seen through the filter of the mission and vision of the school, provide an excellent basis to have conversations with our friends and neighbours about the benefits of Christian education. If you would like to view the whole report and study you can visit their website for more information, https://www.cardus.ca/store/3564 .

~Mr. Bouwers