Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  Colossians 3:23-24

After reading this verse a few months ago, I couldn’t stop thinking about starting a ministry.  The idea of giving sports equipment to kids in need just kept running through my mind.  I began to pray about it and the more I prayed, the more I kept thinking about it, and the ideas kept coming.  I pitched the idea to some people at my church and they lead me to the right people to get it going.  God has opened EVERY door for this to happen so I knew that it was exactly what I was supposed to do.

The ministry is called Play It Forward and the mission is to give all youth (ages 3-18) the opportunity to play sports, which keeps kids busy, out of trouble, active, and in turn teaches them the spirit of team-work.  We will collect all kinds of sports equipment to give to kids in need, help to purchase equipment, or help pay the fees of sports camps and leagues for the children who cannot afford to play.  The sports equipment collected will be stored at Project Hope in Lynden and will be distributed there upon request all year long starting in August.

We are now collecting gently used and new sports equipment.  We have three drop-off locations in Lynden:  First Reformed Church, Project Hope, and WECU.  Both Lynden Christian School and Lynden Public schools will participate by having a sports equipment drive in May.

Please join us in prayer for this ministry…pray that people will spread the word; that there will be ample donations; that there will be children who benefit from the donations; that we will get some volunteers; and that everything about this ministry is glorifying to God!

It has been ten years since I graduated from Lynden Christian High School and, as I reflect on those days, I remember my Christian Principles class. One of the requirements in this class was to perform “service hours.”  Some of my service hours were spent volunteering at Meadow Greens in Lynden.  My job was to help run and participate in their exercise program once a week.  I always went away from there with such a deep feeling of happiness that I was serving others and working for the Lord.  The past 10 years I have been busy having and raising my four children!  Now that my youngest is two years old, I feel I can give more of my time working for the Lord. My husband, Grant, and our four children will all be involved with this ministry, which I think will be so awesome for my kids to see and realize that not all children have the opportunity to do fun things like sports.  I hope it will also give them that great feeling of the happiness you receive yourself when you give to others.

Written by Tara Dykstra

LC Parent

We enrolled Jack in P4 with the hope that he would learn all kinds of valuable things to prepare him for kindergarten next year (social skills, classroom dynamics, listening to his teachers, reading, sharing, etc.). We wanted to set him up for success. He loves it, and is very busy learning how to be a student.  Every time I pick him up, I always ask him what he learned in school.  I get the classic answer, “um, I forgot mom”. (We’re working on that one.)  What I am happy to report, is that I’m seeing a difference in his behavior at home.  I’m seeing patience, encouragement of others, tenderness, considering the feelings of others, and reciting Bible verses .  It’s so fun to watch him grow and change.

With that dream of sending him to LC, comes the reality of parenting a school age child.  Turns out I have a lot of learning to do myself. WOW!  School has been in session for 6 months now, and I’m just NOW starting to get the hang of things. I’m very thankful for his preschool teachers as they not only teach my son, but teach me how to do this. It’s a whole new world. I’m learning that when they send home the monthly calendar, I need to read it.  I’m learning that on hat day, he needs to have a hat on top of his head when he leaves the house. I’m learning that show and tell means that Jack needs to bring something to school and put it in the basket with the giant sign that reads “Show and Tell”.  I’m learning that I need to participate, and pay attention to the events and happenings in his classroom.  It’s like preschool for parents.

So, we start this academic journey together – child with his rapidly aging tag along parents –  and we learn together.  It’s going to be a great adventure!

Written by Wendi Parriera, LC alum and current pre-school parent

PEEP!

PEEP!

PEEP! PEEP! PEEP!

As the teacher quietly walks over to the Styrofoam incubator resting by the window, the second grade students in her class try to stifle their laughter. But it’s no use. There’s just something undeniably humorous about their teacher being interrupted by ten new classroom inhabitants. Ten new classroom inhabitants who are not afraid to make their presence known. To everyone. Everywhere.

Yes, it’s the season of the chicks in second grade classrooms at Lynden Christian School. It’s the highly anticipated birthing event that comes every spring to the east hallway. For twenty-one days, those lil’ nuggets (no pun intended) are molded and shaped into what their Creator, our God, has destined them to be. When the time is right, they begin their great exit. They peck. A few tiny holes at first. They begin to peep, as if calling out to the others that the race is on. The first one out of its shell will be the most admired, after all. All those big, bright eyes of second graders watching. Staring. Enamored with the new life that lies panting before them. They continue pecking, and the shell begins to break away from their fragile little bodies. They use their legs to kick and shove and push. And then suddenly, as if it was no trouble at all, there is freedom. And absolute exhaustion.

One by one, each tiny chick leaves their egg; ready to take on a whole new world. A world filled with exciting adventures on farms, dangerous encounters with the family dog, and late night chats with their buddy from Cenex who, undoubtedly, was picked up on the way home from school for no other reason than to keep Chick Numero Uno from driving its new second grade owner, and his/her entire household, crazy with its constant peeping. Chicks dig company.

For approximately 10 days, these new bundles of joy entertain each and every second grader at LC. And first grader. And many former students from higher grades who just HAVE to come see the chicks. Classrooms resemble Grand Central Station. Everyone is coming to see new life.
New

New life. How fitting that most of the chicks began to peck their way to freedom on Easter Sunday; the most significant day in human history. The day that death lost and love won. The day that an empty tomb became a symbol of new life and hope for believers of all nations.

At Lynden Christian School, we teach students to seek the heart of God. Our desire as teachers is for our students to know God on a deeper, personal level. We want the same power that conquered the grave to live in them. We want our students to understand that God is always at work. Molding us. Shaping us. We want them to see God’s handiwork in all things. In the lifecycle at the pond or the magnitude of power possessed by a single honey bee. Or how about God’s faithfulness to all people?  From the early Colonists who put their trust in God, to hundreds of Native American tribes who had not yet been told the good news of the One, True God. Or maybe, just maybe, in an empty egg. The tomb of Christ was most powerful when it was empty. In the same way, we must empty ourselves; letting God in. He’s begging us to surrender everything we have over to Him, so He can see to completion the good work He began in all of us.

So, bring on the peeping. Bring on the tank of perpetual annoyance. Bring on the smell of chick poo wafting through the air. I welcome it all with open arms. Sometimes the lesson begins with the simplicity of an empty egg.

Isaiah 45:3  “I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”

I have recently discovered one of Lynden Christian’s “Hidden Treasures”…the Second Chance Thrift Store. At first glance, this would not seem very likely, I know. Like most of you, I would drop off an occasional donation when I was cleaning out my house and that was about it. Until one day I felt led to venture in and this is when I discovered that Second Chance is not only a place to drop off donations, but actually a secret place where many riches are stored. I am not referring to treasures on earth… it is treasures in Heaven that I am talking about.

How can this be?  It’s just a place to drop off my junk and get on with my day.  Friends, you have missed the point entirely. The Second Chance Thrift Store impacts many lives inside and outside of our community.  It seems as though God has a plan for all the donated items as if they have been earmarked for that specific person, at a specific time in need, and at an affordable price.  I have witnessed this time and time again.  I am now a volunteer at Second Chance and have personally seen the positive impact firsthand.  It gives me such pleasure to greet the customers with a friendly smile and to make somebody’s day because I am able to pack their purchases in the Macy’s bag that they requested from behind the counter (donated of course) and the customer sharing with me that this is their first Macy’s bag ever… something that many of us take for granted.

 Another glimpse of Heaven that I have experienced at Second Chance is getting to know the hearts of other volunteers. There are many long- time friends that meet monthly, bi-monthly or even weekly to serve together and enjoy this time of fellowship.  It is such a blessing to meet up with old friends, meet new friends, witness to our community and make a positive contribution to the fundraising efforts of Lynden Christian School.

 I am so thankful that God led me to become a part of Second Chance and would not have wanted to miss the opportunity!  I challenge you to open your eyes and heart and wait to see the many Lynden Christian “Hidden Treasures” that God reveals to you.
 

– Lynden Christian Parent and Volunteer

“May my children be filled `with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.’ “  (1 Thessalonians 1:6)

“Lord, please help my children to develop a heart for missions, a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all the people.”  (Psalms 96:3)

“I’m going to SCHOOL!  Like JUDE!”

Oh, that girl is so excited.  It certainly helps that our five-year-old son, Jude, has been ecstatic about his preschool experience here at Lynden Christian this past year and a half.  In fact, his first day of preschool was very memorable.

I was nervous on Jude’s first day of school this year.   We didn’t start the day off well.  Like all moms, I insisted on documenting Jude’s first day of school with a picture of him on the front porch, but he was having none of it.  I have to take first-day-of-school photos.  There’s something about having photographic evidence to prove that yes, he is getting older.  Amazingly enough, the pictures turned out great!

After our photo session, with two minutes left before we had to leave for school, Jude quickly ran inside the front door and proceeded to lock his own beloved mother out of the house.  Score one for him… but he forgot that I know the garage key code!

Dropping Jude off at preschool went more smoothly than our photo session.  He was thrilled to be at preschool!  He barely had time to give me a goodbye hug in between greeting his friends and bouncing around the room sizing up the new toys.

When I picked him up, Teacher Melinda said he was polite and kind to the other kids, followed the rules and was a pleasure to have in class.  Phew!  I calmly thanked Teacher Melinda and smiled, however, on the inside, I was giving myself a mental fist bump… and yes, that includes the after explosion.  (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, feel free to ask Jude or myself.  We’ll gladly demonstrate.)

On the drive home, we talked about his first day of school and he rattled off the names of his new friends.  Jude’s preschool class is made up of children from a variety of ethnicities, just like our extended family.  I am the proud Auntie to eight little munchkins, three of whom are Ethiopian (Isaiah, Maleah and Makeda) and five of whom are Caucasian (Caleb, Micah, Levi, Skyler and Gabriella).  Are there obvious differences in their appearance?  Yes.  Does that change how we love, play, care, spoil, celebrate, interact and snuggle with them?  Nope!  So I asked Jude if any of his classmates were born in a different country, like his cousins from Ethiopia.

He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “Mom, they’re all just normal.”

“I know,” I replied. “But can you think of any differences between you and your cousins?”

Jude thought for a moment and then replied, “Well, some of them are GIRLS and I’m a BOY.”

Yes, that’s true, but it wasn’t the answer that I expected.  “Jude, do any of your cousins look different than you?  You know, like their skin?”  I waited, expecting the most obvious of answers.

“Oh, yeah!  Caleb and Micah have FRECKLES on their noses and I don’t.”

“So, you see no other difference between all of your cousins?” I asked.

“Nope, they’re all just normal.”

Seriously, FRECKLES are the only difference he sees in his friends, cousins and preschool classmates. Why? Varying skin colors, freckles, girls, boys, ALL of them are his normal.  How awesome is that!

I reached back, extended my arm and gave him a HUGE fist bump.

With explosion, of course.

“Help my children to live lives that are always `overflowing with thankfulness,’ `always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus.’ “  (Colossians 2:7, Ephesians 5:20)

“Grant, Lord, that my children’s lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to `pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers.’ ” (Ephesians 6:18)

“I pray my children will know the adventurous life of obedience to God and learn `the will of God from the heart.’ “  (Ephesians 6:18)