Principal's Pennings
Principal's Pennings
I was recently working through some old documents in my drive and I ran across a brief survey I completed shortly after my family and I arrived in KC. Some of the questions were basic (about my past, first involvement in Lutheran administration, the first time being a Lutheran Administrator) and a few more that I found holds true no matter the time.
One of those questions was, “What has surprised you most about working with schools and/or students?” Two and a half years ago I wrote, “The resilience of kids. Our students are coming from so many different backgrounds; from “non-traditional” families, learning disabilities, and challenging situations. Our students want and need consistency, routine, love, and Christ in their lives.” Thinking over this question again not much has changed. Kids are resilient. I am amazed at the challenges they can overcome, the growth that occurs, and the love they show to others. Many of us can share how kids today face more social issues than we did when we were kids.
Another question that led me to ponder was, “What do you wish other people knew about your school?” I wrote, “The love and compassion of the entire community at MLA. I am constantly amazed by the number of volunteers, donations, supporters, and the love that everyone shows for one another.” This is something I recognized immediately when joining the MLA community. We just wrapped up the Cookie Walk and Vendor Fair which took all of the MLA community to make happen between delivering cookies, organizing, setting up and everything else. We will host the Lutheran Athletic League 7th/8th Basketball Tournament in February. Then in March, we will have our 17th Annual Fundraising Auction. All of these events require great effort from many people, and I am confident God will bless us.
I have to say there are two aspects that make MLA’s community special. One is the support we receive from the area churches. The support that the pastors and church boards provide MLA is something I did not expect. The amount of member support we receive and the support our families provide for the church is amazing.
The other aspect is the Christ-centered focus. In our vision, we state we have a Christ-centered education. This is something that can be seen throughout our community whether it is at MLA, one of the churches, or elsewhere. Christ is shining through us. What a joyous time of year to be a light in the world while we wait and prepare for the coming of the true light, Jesus Christ our Savior.
I pray we not only look at the birth of Christ but rejoice in the return of our Savior. Merry Christmas to everyone!
I had the joy of leading chapel this morning. I asked the students to share what they are thankful for. It was fun seeing the many hands go up. Students were thankful for their pets, family members, their teachers, school, heat, and most importantly God. The students were excited about sharing their thankfulness.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says “rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Sometimes the devil would tell us that life is too hard to give thanks or that we are too busy to pray. The devil does not want us to be mindful of the gifts God has given to us and would much rather us feel distant from Him. The verses following tell us differently. We are told in verses 19-22, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” Paul is warning us here that the devil wants us to think and live differently; that we don’t need Jesus; that the Spirit is not important.
This is the time of year we are especially reminded to be thankful. We are reminded of the many blessings that we have received. God is good to us all the time. He has great plans for all of us, whether we know what they are or not. We are called by God to share His love with all those around us. “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it,” 1 Thessalonians 5:22-24. May God bless your Thanksgiving and fill it with an overwhelming love!
October 29, 2019
I am currently teaching a Confirmation class for the 7th and 8th-grade students at St. Stephen. This past Sunday was my first class and I will teach two more weeks. I have the pleasure of teaching on Vocation. It was an interesting time discussing, diving into the Bible, and sharing what the vocation of a Christian is. It really isn’t too complicated but can lead to into some solid discussion from 12, 13 and 14-year-olds. God has called all of us into faith in Him. Ephesians 4:1-3, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Paul tells us what our calling is.
I asked the students if they had any other vocations, and many understood that school was their vocation. When I asked how many looked to God during school, I was surprised by how few said they did. I asked if they had a Bible app on their phones and only a few responded. One student said he had a Bible app on his phone, was honest and said he never even opens it. It was shocking. At MLA we are blessed to dive into His word on a daily basis in every class, but this is not enough. Our children are faced with challenges that many of us as adults cannot fully comprehend. They are bombarded with information and pressures for them to do what everyone else is doing and not live the Christian Calling God has in place for them. I challenge you, as a family, to dive into God’s word with your children daily, pray with them, and for them, set an example of what it looks like to live out your vocation of being a Christian. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Thank you for being a partner with us in the faith life of your children.
Pray always, rejoice continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.
This time of year is always busy. It’s kicked off with the Extravaganza and wraps up with the Christmas Program. On November 3, MLA hosted our yearly Extravaganza. If you missed out, there is always next year. We were visited by action heroes, princesses, KC Wolf, and a couple of turtles. There was a new bounce house, some face painting, and games throughout the building. Around this time, we also kicked off Butterbraid sales. Butterbraids are delicious pastries that you bake. The profits from Butterbraid sales are used to cover the cost of field trips, purchase yearbooks for all students, and used to support other events and items at MLA. Butterbraids are on sale until Friday, November 15, and will be delivered on Thursday, November 21. Butterbraids must be picked up on Thursday because they have to stay frozen.
Monday, we also hosted about 15 veterans on a snowy Veterans Day morning. What a joy it was to be able to honor those in attendance and hear from Mrs. Kelli Campbell. Mrs. Campbell works for Folds of Honor. This organization helps provide scholarships to families who have lost loved ones in the service. This organization was the recipient of our 1st quarter chapel offering. We were able to donate over $700 to Folds of Honor.
During the month of November, MLA is hosting a ScripNow contest. Remember, when shopping if you purchase a ScripNow card on your phone, you will be entered into a drawing for a gift card. When using your phone, money earned will also be applied to your tuition. You can use Scrip to purchase gifts, groceries, airline tickets, auction items, and much more. There are only a few businesses that are not on Scrip.
Thanksgiving is late this month, and so the first Saturday in December is December 7. This Saturday has historically served as MLA’s Cookie Walk date. The cookie walk is another TEAM event that is used to support the school. MLA has asked all families to make 4 dozen cookies per child to bring to the cookie walk. The event is open to the public. People are able to select from the wonderful variety of cookies that we provide and do some shopping with vendors who participate.
Mark your calendars for December 13th, date of the MLA Christmas Program, led by the students. We will start rehearsing for the program in a couple of weeks. The Christmas Program is a blessing. The program allows the students to sing and speak God’s praises. What a blessed time of year this is.
Last week, the teachers and I attended the Triannual Lutheran Educators Convocation (LEA). This is a great opportunity to connect with old friends, make new friends, spend time with each other outside of school, learn about being a teacher, spend time in God’s word, and so much more. There was very little downtime. There were participants from 34 states, and 9 countries which accounted for over 2,700 people, many of whom were Lutheran educators.
This year’s convocation theme was “Opening Eyes, Minds, & Hearts” and was based on Ezekiel 36:26, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” LEA shared the message in part, from the eyes, mind, and heart of an educator. During each whole group session, these characters acted out the joy, struggles, excitement, and heartaches that teachers typically go through. We are blessed to be in a field where we spend a large amount of time with students and are able to build relationships with them. Every day we come to school asking God to open our eyes to “see” our students and families. Every day we put our minds to work to determine the best way to help our students and families learn spiritually, academically and emotionally. Every day our hearts are filled with joy and aches. Every day we give praise to God for gifting us with the ability, desire, and vocation of being a teacher.
I once was told that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. I can’t say that has always been true for me in my ministry, but looking back, I can see how God has worked through me and those around me to serve Him. We are told to “rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances” and are even more blessed to know that we are able to do this because God is greater than us.