By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:35
This past Wednesday marked the first day of school for our first and second grade class. Many of you and your children may have been a bit excited and a bit nervous. I admit both feelings stirred in my heart. How would the children get along? Would they respond to the activities planned for the day? How would everything work out logistically in our new "home"?
I prayed for weeks for a theme verse for our class, and the Lord brought me to John 13:35. He showed me through this verse that no matter what we do this year academically (and it will be a lot) we would have to learn to love each other, even when we don't want too. As I spoke with the children in the morning about what that might look like on days they were at school, I saw eyes focused in, some smiled, others nodded. Needless to say, God was active all day in giving us opportunities to love one another, and each child in our class rose to the challenge. Your children shared when others did not have supplies, were inclusive in their play, and spoke words of life and encouragement to their classmates. They even demonstrated great love to me by being obedient and respectful. Let us continue to pray together that God would show each of us how to love one another, thus glorifying the author of love-Jesus Christ!
One of our afternoon activities was to draw and color a picture of North Macon Presbyterian Church as a thank you to the elders and pastor for allowing Veritas to make their building our new home. It is a big deal to offer their facility to our students. Allowing our students to come means coordination of classrooms, copy machines, and parking. Not to mention more noise and activity in the building. However, they have graciously and with great enthusiasm welcomed our school. The children enjoyed the playground and open space in the front of the building during recess, and I was thankful for the dry erase board they installed just for our class. Will you join me and pray for this church? Pray that God would bless North Macon Presbyterian and minister to their congregation just as they have ministered to our school.
Lastly, I would like to post a few reminders. Please look for my emails on Tuesday, so that you will know what to pack in your child's backpack. As the year progresses, my prayer is that your child will grow in independence and personal responsibility. You can aid in this by showing them where you have placed everything in their bag. Tell your child where you have placed and what you have packed for their snack and lunch. Some of the children were unsure what food was for snack and what was for lunch. Go through their pencil box with them and show them where you have put their pencils, crayons, markers, etc. This will help us use our time more effectively each day.
I am sure as we grow in independence and responsibility at our new home we are truly going to "love" it here!
