ANGER! We tend to think that anger is bad or that when we feel anger we are not Godly. However, there are many examples in the Bible when God states that He is angry. Exodus 32:11, and Deuteronomy 6:15 both mention that the anger of God burns. Many examples in the Old Testament tell of times when people’s behavior caused God to be angry. We can also assume that our behavior can provoke God to anger. The Spirit of the Lord can be angry too. In 1 Samuel 11:6,the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul and he burned in anger. Therefore, the Holy Spirit within us can be angry and cause us to be angry. In Matthew 21:12, we see Jesus reacting to his anger of how people misused the temple. God is incapable of sin, and yet the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all possess anger. Therefore feeling angry is not a sin. God created us in his image and the emotion of anger is something we all possess.

This is why our Inside Out theme is important this year. The emotions within us come out as Fruit of the Spirit or as sin. The anger we have inside us, causes us to take action. We should be angry that people are dying and going to Hell. In James 1:20 it tells us that human anger does not lead to righteousness. If God describes this anger as human anger, it is safe to assume that Godly anger does lead to righteousness.

We can use the text in James chapter 1 to learn four important things about anger.

1. Be slow to anger (vs. 19)
2. Check to see that the anger is Godly and leads to righteousness (vs. 20)
3. Get rid of any bad stuff in your life, be humble, and make sure you have God’s Word planted in your heart. (Little Pot’s vision lessons apply here once again).
4. Take action! (vs. 22) Don’t just let the anger fester inside. We need to DO the Word of God and not deceive ourselves by just hearing God’s voice.

This year at CCA we are examining ourselves (and our school) from the INSIDE OUT! Our theme verse is Romans 12:2. The Message commentary reads this way … “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the INSIDE OUT!”

Pixar’s movie with the same title came out this summer and introduced us to the five main emotions that each of us have on the inside. Emotions are sometimes confused with Fruit. However, emotions are feelings and the Fruit of the Spirit is what grows from us when we allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our emotions. Children sometimes get confused by this, especially because JOY is listed as both an emotion and a part of God’s fruit.

Emotions (Anger, Disgust, Fear, Sadness, and Joy) can lead us to growing fruit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, and Self-Control), or emotions can lead us to sin. It is important to realize that God created us to feel through each emotion and He will use them to transform into what is the good, acceptable, perfect, will of God. –Romans 12:2.

Our saints will be examining each of the five emotions this year and discovering how we can use these feelings to grow the Fruit of the Spirit and not allow them to lead us to sin. 

We will be learning how to propagate too. For Little Pot, propagate means to reproduce fruit in other vessels. For CCA, it means we will be taking the amazing things God does INSIDE of Central Christian Academy … OUT to our community!

A little over a year ago we began praying about taking Central Christian Academy through the AdvancED accreditation process. Our current accreditation expires in June of 2015 and if we wanted to change accreditation agencies, now was the time. We had been accredited through ACSI and attended a conference where ACSI was encouraging their schools to gain AdvancED accreditation along with their ACSI accreditation. For a small school like Central Christian Academy, having both did not seem cost effective, since each carry their own yearly fee. As I prayed over the decision, God sent different administrators and spiritual leaders into my path that guided the decision to go directly through AdvancED. I presented the decisions to the school advisory board, who voted to move ahead with the process. It all began in July of 2014. We submitted the application and were scheduled a readiness visit for August of 2014. Typically the process that a school goes through between their readiness visit and receiving accreditation takes two years. We knew that we needed to complete the process in just nine months, so we set out to do the impossible. After all, we believed this is what God had asked us to do and in Him all things are possible. The task was not been an easy one, it completely took the Lord’s strength and guidance all year.  There were times when we questioned if we had made the right decision. We saw easier paths that tempted us. We were tempted to quit along the way. However, we encouraged one another, saw God provide strength to some who built up others. When time arrived for the team to evaluate CCA, we were prepared and ready to see Him work. Below is a ten minute show of the presentation we gave to the team. They spent a couple days reading through our reports and examining our evidences. The most exciting thing for us however, was seeing God work through our students as they confidently shared their faith in Jesus with the visiting team members. AdvancED is a network of 32,000 institutions serving 20 million students worldwide. AdvancED evaluates three areas of a school.   The scores we received were a testament to the work God does through CCA too.

1. Impact of teaching and learning The External Review Team examined student performance results; instructional quality; learner and family engagement; support services for student learning; curriculum quality and efficacy; and college and career readiness data.

Our scores for the domains in this area were:

  2. Capacity of leadership The External Review Team examined institutional purpose and direction, governance and leadership effectiveness; stakeholder engagement, improvement capacity and results.

3. Use of resources The External Review Team examined allocation and use of resources; equity of resource distribution to need; level and sustainability of resources; long range capital and resource planning effectiveness.

Our overall scores are something we praise God for!

Planting God’s Word to Grow Relationships

(Continuing our fruit growing process)

In the last post, we mentioned the humus soil that needs to be in Little Pot … which for each of us represents HUMILITY.

Since then, our saints have learned about the seed that needs to take root. The seed is God’s Word. Jesus tells us a parable about good soil and explains that the seed that can grow in the good soil is the word of God. (Luke 8:11)

Before we can move on to the integrity and relationship side of fruit bearing, it is important to always remember that God’s Word is the thing that produces life! So often we try to have integrity and good relationships without reading, hearing, and studying God’s Word. We spent this week talking with our saints about how they can have more of God’s Word in their lives. They agreed that attending AWANA is a great way. Going to Bible Studies, like the Soul Train and Sunday School, will also help them to hear and know God’s Word. The most important thing we can do as a family is read God’s Word together too. Our saints were encouraged to read their Bibles at home with you.

Once the seed or word of God is planted in them, integrity will stem. The next week we learned specifically what integrity is. The stem is straight, and the book of Proverbs tells us all about how being crooked means that they are acting sneaky and trying to get away with doing something that will not show integrity.  (Proverbs 10:9, 11:3, 19:1, 28:6) Crooked people might be successful and can even get rich, but God’s word tells us that honest people are people with integrity. It is better to have integrity and be poor than to be rich. We even compared that to how cheating might help us get better grades, but that having poor grades and being honest is better!

If we act with integrity, we can foster relationships. During this week, we had lessons about what leafs do for a plant. The students knew all about photosynthesis, which means changing something (synthesis) through light (photo). The leaf in our model represents the relationships that we can have with others. We learned that our relationships should change us through God. We listed people that we should have relationships with and gave some very practical ways to keep those relationships Godly or full of light.

Humility

This week our saints are focusing on humility. At CCA we illustrate it with placing dirt into Little Pot.

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Pot-Dawn-Stephens/dp/193398211X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410796644&sr=1-1&keywords=Little+Pot

Our word humility comes from the Latin word humus. Humus means good soil. We tell our saints that Little Pot wasn’t excited about being filled with dirt. However, dirt is what is needed to grow fruit. Just like humility is necessary for us to grow the fruit of the Spirit.

In chapel last week we read several verses about how God feels about humility.

I will bless those who have HUMBLE and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word -Isaiah 66:2

Do nothing out or rivalry or conceit

In HUMILITY consider others as more important than yourselves

Everyone should look not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others -Philippians 2:3-4

We learned that humility IS NOT…

Downplaying or thinking less of yourself

Feeling sorry for yourself

And, that humility IS…

Knowing the truth about yourself and where you stand with God.

Knowing you can’t do things without God and that you need Him.

Know that God knows you better than you know yourself.

It is saying, “God, I need your help!”

It is hard for children to pray for themselves. Often their prayer requests are for others. We ended our chapel by asking each child to put a scoop of soil into Little Pot and pray “Lord, I need your help ___________.” It was precious to hear the requests each of them made for a need of their own.

And as God always does for me, I can never teach a lesson that isn’t hitting home with me too. While giving this lesson, the teachers and I have been reading a book by Nicole Unice called “She’s Got Issues”.

http://www.amazon.com/Shes-Got-Issues-Seriously-Stressed-Out-ebook/dp/B007TWKY8K/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410796037&sr=1-1&keywords=she%27s+got+issues

This week it dealt with control. It is no secret to anyone what a control freak I can be. This book, however, put my need for control in the context of my own humility or lack of.  Pray with us as we all work on gaining a deeper understanding of how to be humble.

Friday, we held our first chapel of the year. I love Chapel. It is the time each week that our whole school comes together to worship. This year is extra special because we have a new stage and are able to use the cafeteria. (We have outgrown all other rooms in our school).

The chapel this week focused on Little Pot.

We each shared what we would like to be when we grow up. Then, we discussed that no matter what God allows us to be or hold, He expects us to grow fruit. The coming weeks, we are going to revisit our vision and go over the steps God uses in our lives to grow the fruit of the Spirit through us.

Here are some pictures of our first Chapel Time together.

The 2014-2015 School Year has officially begun!

On Tuesday, August 26^th, our saints will bust through the doors with smiles and anticipations of all that is to come. One of the main reasons I love education is because each year creates a fresh new start.

This year begins my 5^th year at CCA and the 25^th year since my first year of teaching. Time really does fly when you are having fun!  

At CCA, we will still continue to strive to be like Little Pot  and bear the fruit of the Spirit every day. http://www.amazon.com/The-Little-Pot-Dawn-Stephens/dp/193398211X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389929790&sr=8-1&keywords=the+little+pot

We will also remember the lessons Tea Pot taught in 2012, as we serve others. http://www.lulu.com/shop/dawn-stephens/tea-pot/paperback/product-20960223.html

In 2013, we kindled our light with a little clay oil lamp. This year, we are ready for the potter to place up high on a lamp stand, so we can SHINE!

I am looking forward to SHINING with the teachers and staff at CCA. They are amazing and I love working alongside of them.

We will SHINE with technology! This past summer we added new interactive white boards in every classroom. We will continue to equip each of our saints in kindergarten through sixth grade with their own Kindle Fire too. We also remodeled the front office and added new touch screen computers for check in.

We will SHINE with the children’s ministry at Central Baptist Church, Central Station. They will share our classrooms and cafeteria, which now doubles as an assembly area. http://www.discovercentral.org/#/central-station-for-kids

We will SHINE as we achieve AdvancED accreditation this year. AdvancED is the largest community of education professionals in the world. It was created through a 2006 merger of the PreK-12 divisions of the North Central Association (NCA) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)—and expanded through the 2011 acquisition of the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC). http://www.advanc-ed.org/

 2014-15 is going to be an amazing year!

I love New Years.

It is a great time to reflect and think about choices we’ve made

and what we want to accomplish in the next 365 days.

I’ve been preparing for a new ladies Bible study in January

that begins with the idea of, “What do I want to get out of this”.

That idea can drive you crazy if you try to search for a good reason

to every decision you make each day.

It has me evaluating everything before I do it.

I’ve discovered my life is so busy that I often find myself on auto pilot,

forgetting why I do what I do.

Those of us that are parents or work with children

know just how fast time can go by.

If we don’t strategically set a course for our lives and the children in them,

we miss some great fruit bearing opportunities!

The teachers at CCA set the course every day.

They write and carry out plans that will allow

our saints to reach their fullest potential!

Personally, as I reflect on 2013 and CCA,

I’m still in awe of what God does in my life and in our little school.

This past year didn’t go by without some very big challenges.

We had some staffing changes that discouraged me in many ways.

I probably had more doubts then I have ever had as I went through 2013.

My Moto has often been, “Fake it till you make it!”

(I work hard at faking success).

But, those close to me know when I’m faking, and at CCA,

we’ve become a very close family.

I knew there were some things that I couldn’t fake with the CCA family.

I once again found myself on my knees,

begging God to make something of me and this little Christian school.

I remember telling Him how alone I felt at this job.

I told him I would need some amazing teachers and staff people

by my side to pull off what I felt He wanted me to accomplish.

Then, He basically told me to get out of the way and let Him work.

I wasn’t supposed to accomplish anything. He was.

So once again I thought of Little Pot and emptied myself.

I humbled myself and began to allow God’s Word to take root in me…

I focused on living straight…

I made new relationships…

I gained more knowledge…

And then, God grow fruit through me.

Sounds like our CCA vision – huh?

The vision of CCA is a journey that God takes us on over and over.

Fruit never stops reproducing itself.

Cultivating our lives,

so we can be the vessels that bear His fruit is a challenge every year.

So, what are my expectations of 2014?

Well, simply to live each day with purpose and

continue carrying out the vision of CCA in my own life.

I will humbly plant God’s word into my life,

live with integrity,

foster relationships,

and bloom knowledge.

I’m leaving the fruit bearing up to God.

As I do that,

I am very excited about some specific milestones

that I and the CCA family have ahead of us.

We will prepare to update our accreditation.

Our enrollment is already showing signs of growth for next year.

Two of our teachers will have new additions to their families this summer.

(I’m so excited to share in their lives as they bring new babies into the world.)

In my own household,

My oldest daughter will graduate from college and then marry a great guy.

(I’m very excited to plan the wedding with her!)

My youngest daughter graduates from high school.

Then she’ll follow my second daughter to Liberty University.

(My house will feel empty in 2014)

I am looking forward to spending more time with my husband.

We will celebrate 25 years of marriage this year too.

While I see the plans our family and friends have ahead,

I know God’s plans are what must be done.

The one thing I count on is that He is in control of 2014.

That makes my expectations miraculous and fruitful!

I have been getting the same message from God in several different venues this past week. I suppose it’s something He wants me to take notice of. It’s a pretty simple concept and one that we shouldn’t need reminding of. But, obviously I’ve needed to hear it, so maybe others do too.

His message is “The little things matter to me! – It’s my job to make them BIG!”

I first heard it while I was doing a devotional on Ruth. My youngest daughter and I are doing the Kelly Minter, “Living Room Bible Study” on Ruth together. Doing it with my daughter has given me such a great perspective on this woman and the book in the Bible that contains her story. This week’s lesson focused on the kindness of Boaz and it struck me how simple little acts of kindness made such an eternal impact on so many people.

The second time was when I watched a video by Pete Briscoe called The Bema. It is a dramatization of a man who goes to heaven and stands before the throne of Christ where his life is celebrated. I can’t do justice by explaining how powerful the video is, so I recommend you watch it for yourself. The message that amazed me was how the little things that had no effect on him had an eternal impact on others. Heaven celebrated the littlest action when it was done in the name of Christ, and it struck me how simple little acts of kindness made such an eternal impact on so many lives.

The third time was watching our friend day video for this week. It was by a family at our school that I invited to church on Friend Day. That took such little effort for me to do and I was basically just doing my job without thinking how it could impact lives. Listening to them tell how being invited by me impacted their lives and knowing now how many lives they are impacting by being at Central absolutely amazes me.

The fourth venue was on facebook when I came across pictures of 600 children in Leogane, Haiti with coloring books that I had illustrated a few years ago. The opportunity to illustrate that coloring book seemed a simple little task. Now, seeing how many lives are touched by it puts me in awe of a God who can take a simple thing and multiply it into something so wonderful.

A little boy had five loafs and two fishes (something very small within his own hands). But, given to Jesus it became a means to reach thousands. I’ve been thinking about the little things that take up my time throughout the day. The principal’s desk at CCA has been covered in papers and a list of things that need to get done. Throughout the day those little tasks get interrupted by children coming in to take plastic fruit for the little ways they show kindness and occasionally by a child who is causing a problem that needs an administrative/parental solution.

Some days I leave feeling I haven’t accomplished anything of value. Then, I realize every little thing I did wasn’t about bringing value to me. It was to bring value to Christ; and He asks for very little effort. He loves to take the little and make it BIG!

Kindling the Fire of Learning at CCA

This week we put in another PO for more kindles. This order will supply the last group of kindergarten saints with their own device. I am often asked how we use them.

We use them for reading.

During The Daily Five while the saints “Listen to Reading”, “Read to self”, and “Read with a Buddy”, they do it on their kindles.  We also use them in guided reading groups. Every student has their own account on “A-Z Reading: RAZ Kids”. This account has their own library of books they can read at their level. The teachers can use these books for small guided reading instruction.

We use them for writing.

The saints love to type on their kindles and create their own sentences and stories.

We use them for math.

The saints also use their kindles to complete their math skills. The IXL math program allows them to work at their level and advance at their own pace.

We use them for specific skills and learning centers.

The teachers have each kindle programed to the various apps and activities that each child can use. They are able to look up words and find passages quickly.

We use them for Bible and for chapel.

The saints carry them to Chapel and whenever I ask them to read a verse or talk about something from the Bible, they can easily look up the verse and locate references to share with the group.

As a principal, I LOVE the way our teachers are able to differentiate the activities for each saint at CCA and monitor what each child does. By each saint having their own device, they can work independently and in groups. Here is a look into what I see when I leave the principal’s office and walk into the classrooms:

Book apps, Banners, Business, and Burn-Out

That was just a few items on the Principal’s desk this week.

Book apps

My week began with getting a Little Pot book app to test out from Blackfish Children’s Books. They design book apps for tablets and ipods. They have been working with my publisher to create a Little Pot Book app that I can’t wait to purchase for our kindles at CCA. A book app is different than an ebook because it has moveable objects and sounds that interact with the reader. The story can be recorded by a parent or read by a narrator. Blackfish is preparing to launch the book in just a few weeks.

I cherish the moments when God gives me a glimpse back into the author life. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE being at CCA. But some days I miss writing and focusing totally on creating children’s books. This was a great way to start the week.

Banners

I had a second dose of creating and designing this week. I helped design new banners for the church sanctuary.  Our church family has been busy evaluating ourselves the past few months. We’ve been preparing for some changes at Central and to help us get there, we decided to update the banners in the sanctuary. They will be coming in a few weeks and I don’t want to give it away. For now, I’ll just say they are EPIC.  Friend Day is Oct. 27 and they’ll be up and ready for all our friends to see.

Business

In the world of school business, I worked on updating our reading groups which I enjoy doing every week because I get to watch our little saints advance to higher levels. Every week we have several who advance and I get such JOY assigning them to new groups so they will be continually challenged. To see the business our saints at CCA did this week, click on the pots at the right and read about what happened in each of their fruit stands. From Applesauce, pancakes, Oreos, and Oobleck, it was a fun week of learning at CCA.

Burn-out

The week ended as we finally got to light Oil Lamp. Today in chapel, we filled the little lamp with oil and lit up his cotton wick. We learned how the Bible talks about oil being the anointing of the Holy Spirit and that without having the Holy Spirit inside us, we cannot burn brightly either. The children read Matthew 25 with me today and acted out the story of the 10 virgins. Only five had enough oil in their lamps to meet the bridegroom. We asked ourselves if we were ready to meet Christ.  As I studied this lesson, God also showed me that I sometimes “Burn-out” because I don’t allow His Spirit to continually fill me.

I haven’t written a post in so long. It’s actually a bit embarrassing.

– Sorry, Little Pot and I are going to try very hard to give you something from “The Principal’s Desk” every week.

So far we have had an amazingly smooth start to school.  Little Pot has had lots of visitors from fruit bearing saints! Here’s some pictures of our saints learning so far this year.

This week I have been updating our website with the virtual Fruit Stands each teacher has been busy creating.  As part of our initiative to have our saints learn more about on line communication and communicate with them and their parents on their Kindle Fires, I have asked each teacher to create their own classroom blog.

Blogs are a great way to communicate with our world. The possibilities are endless and the group of educators we have at CCA this year are much too talented to keep their amazing ideas, activities, and lessons to themselves.  The world needs to see the fruitful happenings at our school.

The Little Pots on the right side of my page are linked to each Fruit Stand where you can read about what’s been happening inside their classrooms every week.

Our plans at CCA for 2013.

Are you ready to “sail” with us in 2013?
Take a look at how we’ve charted the course, set the sails, and put our trust the One who controls the winds.

Our plans at CCA for 2013.

Are you ready to “sail” with us in 2013?
Take a look at how we’ve charted the course, set the sails, and put our trust the One who controls the winds.

School Security
.

In light of the Tragedy that happened last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, we are evaluating our own security procedures. Parents put their trust in us each day to keep their children safe. We have never taken that responsibility lightly. We do have lock-down and emergency procedures in place and will practice them even more.
.

This tragedy took place at a time when our students were preparing their Christmas program about the Gifts of Hope, Wisdom, Love, and Joy. This was a program that we wrote as a school based on what we have learned about a security beyond our life on this earth.
.
Our students began the program with Adam and Eve and the realization that our world is in need of The Gift of HOPE. It explains how tragedy and suffering happen today.
.

Romans 8:18-20, 22-24
8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time … 8:19 For the creation is eagerly awaiting the revelation of God’s children, 8:20 because the creation has become subject to futility, though not by anything it did. The one who subjected it did so in the certainty. 8:22 For we know that all the rest of creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth up to the present time. 8:23 However, not only the creation, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 8:24 For we were saved with this hope in mind.
.

The second scene of our program had the magi tell us about how important it is that we open The Gift of WISDOM. This wisdom is what we want each of our students to find. We live among some very wise people. In fact, in light of this tragedy, many will offer their wisdom of the situation. This gift, however, is not to understand the evil, but to become wise enough that we recognize Jesus Christ is the savior that redeems us from it (vs.23).
.

The third gift of our program was The Gift of LOVE. Knowing Jesus is our savior is not enough. We must realize that He became that gift because He loved us so much that he allowed himself to be put to death on a cross and then rose again from the grave.
.

John 3:16
3:16 For God so loved the World that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
.

This gift must be opened by each of us. God has given each of the choice to receive His love. All it takes is to believe it and confess it. When we confess and ask God to save us, we receive this gift and it is ours forever.
.

Romans 10:9-10
10:9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10:10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.
.

The final gift in our program was The Gift of JOY. It is interesting that when the Bible speaks of having joy, it does so in the midst of tragedies. Does something like what happened in CT rob us of our joy? What began at Christmas to save our sinful world, and was then conquered at the cross and the empty tomb, lives inside us today.
.

Phillipians 1:4-6
1:4 I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you 1:5 because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 1:6 For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
.

What security can we offer at CCA? Beyond the safety measures that we will keep in place and evaluate regularly, we promise to offer your children the security of an eternal life. And that eternity does not begin after their life on earth. It is a life that begins as soon as we put our hope in Christ, gain the wisdom of how He died to save us, and realize how much He loves us. It is a secure life that we can live with JOY.

School Security
.

In light of the Tragedy that happened last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, we are evaluating our own security procedures. Parents put their trust in us each day to keep their children safe. We have never taken that responsibility lightly. We do have lock-down and emergency procedures in place and will practice them even more.
.

This tragedy took place at a time when our students were preparing their Christmas program about the Gifts of Hope, Wisdom, Love, and Joy. This was a program that we wrote as a school based on what we have learned about a security beyond our life on this earth.
.
Our students began the program with Adam and Eve and the realization that our world is in need of The Gift of HOPE. It explains how tragedy and suffering happen today.
.

Romans 8:18-20, 22-24
8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time … 8:19 For the creation is eagerly awaiting the revelation of God’s children, 8:20 because the creation has become subject to futility, though not by anything it did. The one who subjected it did so in the certainty. 8:22 For we know that all the rest of creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth up to the present time. 8:23 However, not only the creation, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 8:24 For we were saved with this hope in mind.
.

The second scene of our program had the magi tell us about how important it is that we open The Gift of WISDOM. This wisdom is what we want each of our students to find. We live among some very wise people. In fact, in light of this tragedy, many will offer their wisdom of the situation. This gift, however, is not to understand the evil, but to become wise enough that we recognize Jesus Christ is the savior that redeems us from it (vs.23).
.

The third gift of our program was The Gift of LOVE. Knowing Jesus is our savior is not enough. We must realize that He became that gift because He loved us so much that he allowed himself to be put to death on a cross and then rose again from the grave.
.

John 3:16
3:16 For God so loved the World that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
.

This gift must be opened by each of us. God has given each of the choice to receive His love. All it takes is to believe it and confess it. When we confess and ask God to save us, we receive this gift and it is ours forever.
.

Romans 10:9-10
10:9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10:10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.
.

The final gift in our program was The Gift of JOY. It is interesting that when the Bible speaks of having joy, it does so in the midst of tragedies. Does something like what happened in CT rob us of our joy? What began at Christmas to save our sinful world, and was then conquered at the cross and the empty tomb, lives inside us today.
.

Phillipians 1:4-6
1:4 I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you 1:5 because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 1:6 For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
.

What security can we offer at CCA? Beyond the safety measures that we will keep in place and evaluate regularly, we promise to offer your children the security of an eternal life. And that eternity does not begin after their life on earth. It is a life that begins as soon as we put our hope in Christ, gain the wisdom of how He died to save us, and realize how much He loves us. It is a secure life that we can live with JOY.

Here’s Lily

By Nancy Rue

Review by

Danielle Wenz

(4th grader at Central Christian Academy)

I just read a children’s book called Here’s Lily. This book is about a girl named Lily Robbins. Lily is in the middle school and gets teased by a boy named Shad Shifferdecker a lot because of her hair! Her hair is bright red. Lily often worries about how she looks. She gets an unexpected invitation to be in a model search fashion show and Lily becomes obsessed with modeling, fashion, and make-up. Before the big show, the unexpected happens though, and Lily must face her biggest fears. This is a great book for girls ages three through five.

I liked the book because it teaches that what really matters in God’s sight is inner beauty. There is a great Christian message which is hard to find in most books for girls. A lot of people think that outer beauty is what matters, but this book teaches a good lesson on what true beauty really is. I would recommend this book because a lot of girls do not understand inner beauty. I give this book five stars and two thumbs up.

Here’s Lily

By Nancy Rue

Review by

Danielle Wenz

(4th grader at Central Christian Academy)

I just read a children’s book called Here’s Lily. This book is about a girl named Lily Robbins. Lily is in the middle school and gets teased by a boy named Shad Shifferdecker a lot because of her hair! Her hair is bright red. Lily often worries about how she looks. She gets an unexpected invitation to be in a model search fashion show and Lily becomes obsessed with modeling, fashion, and make-up. Before the big show, the unexpected happens though, and Lily must face her biggest fears. This is a great book for girls ages three through five.

I liked the book because it teaches that what really matters in God’s sight is inner beauty. There is a great Christian message which is hard to find in most books for girls. A lot of people think that outer beauty is what matters, but this book teaches a good lesson on what true beauty really is. I would recommend this book because a lot of girls do not understand inner beauty. I give this book five stars and two thumbs up.

Our preschoolers learned to never litter. Then made these adorable “Litter Bugs” with the trash they found in their classroom. Now the hallways at CCA are lined with these cute litte bugs to remind us all not to litter.

Our preschoolers learned to never litter. Then made these adorable “Litter Bugs” with the trash they found in their classroom. Now the hallways at CCA are lined with these cute litte bugs to remind us all not to litter.

Today I have the blessing of sharing you with a children’s book titled Creation. This book is the Biblical story of Creation retold by Janice Green
Janice is a retired teacher / librarian. Her ability to connect with kids shows in her writing. In a time when people (even Christians) embrace evolution as truth, it is refreshing to find a book that stays true to the scripture and the literal description of How God created the earth. Janice understands that our student’s beliefs will be challenged by the secular world and she knows the importance of giving a child a strong reliable authority of God’s word.
A difficult task in writing children’s stories about the Bible is that children will see the stories as fictional. Janice explains that the Biblical account is not to be looked at as a myth. She takes a student through each day of His miraculous works. Each page includes verses from scripture and thought provoking questions for children to discuss.
The pictures in her book are the best part. Janice is also a quilter and the pictures in her book are quilt squares (hexagons) that she used to create one of her many Bible quilts. Parents are given instructions in how to create a quilt with their own children. I love the way Janice has taken the story of creation and made into a tangible quilt and story book that students can interact with.

Today I have the blessing of sharing you with a children’s book titled Creation. This book is the Biblical story of Creation retold by Janice Green
Janice is a retired teacher / librarian. Her ability to connect with kids shows in her writing. In a time when people (even Christians) embrace evolution as truth, it is refreshing to find a book that stays true to the scripture and the literal description of How God created the earth. Janice understands that our student’s beliefs will be challenged by the secular world and she knows the importance of giving a child a strong reliable authority of God’s word.
A difficult task in writing children’s stories about the Bible is that children will see the stories as fictional. Janice explains that the Biblical account is not to be looked at as a myth. She takes a student through each day of His miraculous works. Each page includes verses from scripture and thought provoking questions for children to discuss.
The pictures in her book are the best part. Janice is also a quilter and the pictures in her book are quilt squares (hexagons) that she used to create one of her many Bible quilts. Parents are given instructions in how to create a quilt with their own children. I love the way Janice has taken the story of creation and made into a tangible quilt and story book that students can interact with.

The Trip to the Creation Museum and Answers for Teachers

     Aside from spending three days with the CCA staff and enjoying my time learning more about our amazing staff, the best part was what I learned about our awesome God.  The museum and courses attended were an experience that I am not sure I can put into words. I know the teachers wondered if studying creation and Genesis would be something relevant and new for each of them. 

     Genesis is the foundation to everything we believe. It is relevant to everything we teach our students.  It is interesting the number of times Jesus referred to scriptures in Genesis when He was explaining to people the ideas of faith, marriage, and who He is.  If we are to teach our students a Biblical view of their world, it begins in Genesis.

     It was enlightening to see how the teachings of Darwin and evolution can be refuted with scientific data. As we specifically studied the literal six days of creation, I gained a new respect and awe of our God. I began to reflect that when God created something. He created it before He created a means to produce it. He leaves no doubt of His awesome greatness and power. For example, God created light before He creates sources of light like the sun. God created the air before He created plants that would produce it.  The fall of man led to our imperfect world and we were taught the specifics to how sin changed God’s creation into the sinful world we live in.  The specifics to the flood and Noah’s ark were also presented in amazing scientific details.  The exact same data that evolutionists use to prove their theories prove the Biblical account of the flood and that our world could not possibly be as old as evolutionists believe it to be.  We were able to look at Biblical timelines of the lives of the Old Testament patriarchs and discovered who lived during the times of Adam and Noah.  

     This trip gave our staff a new found knowledge to teach our students specifics to their belief in an All-powerful, Biblical God.  It was a trip well worth the time and effort.  I’d recommend it to all our students and their families.  We are adding to our school library some great resources. If you have questions and want Biblical answers, I recommend you watch or read these books and DVDs.

We’ve spent several months investigating the educational aspects of students using personal electronic mediums. (ipads and/or tablets). We’ve been studying the compatibilities of these devices with various on line curriculum companies and the benefits and risks they would bring to our school.

It was presented to our school board on Tuesday evening and the church deacon board tonight that the next year, Central Christian Academy will launch a pilot program that provides every sixth grade student with their own Kindle Fire. 

The following is a list of benefits these devices will provide for our students and school:

• The ability to complete inductive studies of Scripture across different translations and concordances from one device
• Access to online textbooks. Eliminating the expense of obsolete hardcover books. Plus, increasing the ability to use hard-to-find or out-of-print books.
• Use of e-books allows instantaneous, highlighting, note taking, and locating of select passages.
• Information can easily be translated to audio format differentiating information to different learning styles and disabilities.
• Ability to create in class blogs to help further guide instruction and create better critical thinkers by promoting analysis though book discussion.
• Access to Discovery Education and other supplemental materials online to complete test, quizzes, assignments, and projects diminishing the use of excess paper and textbooks. Also, allowing uploading of assignments eliminating loss.
• Ease of communication via email, calendar, and agenda applications.
• Meets and surpasses technology integration standards.
• Access to educational access to reinforce, remediate, and enrich skills taught in class. Many applications have the ability to be monitored by the teacher to ensure extra study is being completed when needed.
• Sets Central Christian Academy apart from all other area schools.

We are excited to see the potential this pilot program has and the impact it will make on our unique and distinctive curriculum. One thing is for sure, It is a great time to be a student at CCA!

We’ve spent several months investigating the educational aspects of students using personal electronic mediums. (ipads and/or tablets). We’ve been studying the compatibilities of these devices with various on line curriculum companies and the benefits and risks they would bring to our school.

It was presented to our school board on Tuesday evening and the church deacon board tonight that the next year, Central Christian Academy will launch a pilot program that provides every sixth grade student with their own Kindle Fire. 

The following is a list of benefits these devices will provide for our students and school:

• The ability to complete inductive studies of Scripture across different translations and concordances from one device
• Access to online textbooks. Eliminating the expense of obsolete hardcover books. Plus, increasing the ability to use hard-to-find or out-of-print books.
• Use of e-books allows instantaneous, highlighting, note taking, and locating of select passages.
• Information can easily be translated to audio format differentiating information to different learning styles and disabilities.
• Ability to create in class blogs to help further guide instruction and create better critical thinkers by promoting analysis though book discussion.
• Access to Discovery Education and other supplemental materials online to complete test, quizzes, assignments, and projects diminishing the use of excess paper and textbooks. Also, allowing uploading of assignments eliminating loss.
• Ease of communication via email, calendar, and agenda applications.
• Meets and surpasses technology integration standards.
• Access to educational access to reinforce, remediate, and enrich skills taught in class. Many applications have the ability to be monitored by the teacher to ensure extra study is being completed when needed.
• Sets Central Christian Academy apart from all other area schools.

We are excited to see the potential this pilot program has and the impact it will make on our unique and distinctive curriculum. One thing is for sure, It is a great time to be a student at CCA!