Blessings from god

5/28/08
As I sat on State Street and watched the Memorial Day Parade pass by, I couldn’t help but think what a blessing it is to live in a community like Zeeland. Looking at the faces of all the people that went by from preschoolers on wagons to  grandpas driving tractors, I praise God for the opportunities that He gives us in this community. Please join me in challenging Zeeland Christian and this entire community to use the amazing blessings that God has given us to bless others. When we were in the Philippines, we were thanked for our sacrificial giving, There are times when all of us could do more to bless others. Let’s continue to be a blessing to the honor and glory of God.

5/21/08
It was an amazing blessing to spend time with the 7th graders out at Leadership Camp. Mr. Heeres and the 8th grade team were responsible for organizing this camp. Its purpose was to challenge the 7th grade students to become 8th grade leaders next year as the oldest students in our building. The students were very cooperative, came up with some great ideas for themes and I praise God for the blessing that they were and pray that they will be a blessing next year to the entire school.

5/14/08
I had an opportunity to talk to a couple of people today and share with them some opportunities Zeeland Christian has had to be part of this community. We talked about Inclusive Education, Spanish Immersion, the Philippines project, the Rainforest project over the years and several other opportunities that ZCS has had to be part of in this community and to reach out to other people here and around the world. I praise God for these opportunities and praise Him for blessing our efforts. I would also like to thank you as the ZCS community for your support in these efforts to reach out and make a difference in God’s kingdom. Your support has been a blessing to ZCS and to those in our community.

5/7/08
This may sound strange but it was a true blessing to spend fifty hours with our 7th/8th grade band; sixteen of those hours on a bus! One night of sleeping on the bus, one night of sleeping on a gym floor and four parades later, I felt totally blessed to witness the way that the students at ZCS represented their school and their God in their activities in Pella, Iowa. There were several people that stopped us and shared their gratitude for our presence and their respect for the way our students behaved. The students also treated each other well and were a witness to many people in the community. I praise God for the students talents and their ability to be living standing stones. I pray that God will use this blessing in many other ways in the future as these students go out to work in this community and serve God.  

4/30/08
I have had the opportunity to take several staff members through the new building addition in the last week. It’s been fun to show people around and to hear their comments about how wonderful the additional space is going to be. Please join me in praising God for this incredible blessing and please pray that we will use this new space to His honor and His glory. 

4/23/08
At the beginning of the year I had a chance to talk to the students about burning bushes. How many burning bushes have you seen in the last week that you haven’t even noticed as God’s presence? When I look around and see God through creation, and through His children here at school, I can’t help but think that I am standing on Holy ground. Please join me in praising God for being the great creator He is and please pray that all of us will be able to take the many, many blessings that God has showered down on us and share them with those around us and in the world in which we live.

4/16/08
What an incredible blessing it was for four adults and ten students from ZCS to travel safely to the Philippines and experience the incredible blessing that the ZCS family has been to the Grace Community Christian School and Grace from Heaven Christian Reformed Church. Our 12 day trip was full of deep appreciation from the Filipino families for the generosity of the Zeeland families. We also saw how the generosity of the Zeeland  families has been shared with the entire community. We have blessed Grace Christian and they have in turn blessed their community. Praise God for His family around the world.

3/26/08
The staff here at Zeeland Christian and the Education Committee have had an opportunity to interview many teachers this year because of our Spanish Immersion program and because of the number of teachers that are retiring or not returning next year. It is truly been a blessing to interview these teachers. What stands out in all of these interviews is the personal faith story that people who come and apply for positions share with us. Praise God for these wonderful Christian young people who have dedicated their life to service and to education. They will certainly be a blessing in this community or other communities around this country.

3/19/08
You have been noticing in the Blue Note that we need help at Ditto. Last night was the second time helpers were needed. There were approximately 18 people who came to be a blessing at Ditto. The interesting thing is that the people who came to help were moms, dads, grandparents and children. It’s truly a blessing to share blessings from generation to generation and that’s exactly what Ditto gives us an opportunity to do. Praise God for the blessing that Ditto has been to Zeeland Christian and for the opportunities that we have in turn to be a blessing to that incredibly successful program.

3/12/08
What a blessing it is as a staff to have an opportunity to talk to parents during Parent/Teacher Conferences about their children. Zeeland Christian is a cooperative effort between parents and teachers to raise children to the honor and glory of God. There is no time where that is more evident then during Parent/Teacher Conferences. Thank you so much for your support, for blessing us as a school system so that we in turn can bless your children so that they can go out into the world to truly make a difference to the honor and glory of God.

3/5/08
It is truly a blessing for me to have the opportunity to watch the teachers at Zeeland Christian work with students. Our teaching staff loves God first, but also makes it a top priority to love students and build relationships with them from a Christian perspective. This means that the teachers and students share the same faith and work together toward a common goal of preparing the students for a life of service, and for a life of reclaiming this world to the honor and glory of God. What an amazing gift we as teachers have to bless students with a Christian education. We pray that these students will in turn bless this entire community and our world as they reclaim it to the honor and glory of God. 

2/27/08
This is the time of year when a lot of preparation goes into the auction, magazine sales and other events like this. One thing I have noticed about Zeeland Christian is that we get an incredible number of volunteers working for our school. I praise God for the talents that these volunteers have and their willingness to use these talents to the honor and glory of God and to be a blessing to Zeeland Christian. 

2/20/08
 I had an opportunity last night to sit in Zeeland Christian’s Media Center and talk with Pastor Leo, the fifth and sixth graders at Grace Christian School and several of their teachers. What started out as  simply introducing our students to their students became a true blessing when I watched the interaction between the ten students going to the Philippines and the students in the fifth and sixth grade classes at Grace Christian School. By using a free program called Skype, we were able to talk for almost an hour with our sister school in the Philippines. I praise God for this technology, but even more for the opportunities we have to share faith, friendship and a future of blessing each other.

2/13/08
What an incredible blessing it was to interview prospective middle school teachers last night. The Education Committee had a chance to talk to seven different candidates and the highlight of the evening was listening to each of the candidates share their faith stories with us. We praise God for their faith stories and the blessing that they were to us as an Education Committee.

2/6/08
By now I’m sure that most of you are aware that Zeeland Christian staff seems to be setting a new record for pregnancies in one year. We praise God for children and the hope for the future that children bring. Please pray for the health of our pregnant teachers and join me in praising God for the promise of new birth.

1/30/08
Zeeland Christian is blessed with many wonderful teachers but when these wonderful teachers are about to retire, or need to move into a different phase in their life, we are also blessed with many wonderful candidates for openings here at ZCS. At the present time our search for teachers in middle school and possibly teachers in elementary have resulted in many qualified applicants. Please join me in praying that God will help the Board select the right people and thank God for the blessing of wonderful teachers and wonderful teacher applicants.

1/23/08
When we look around our school and our community, we see hundreds if not thousands of blessings that God has showered down on us. We have an opportunity in the next couple of weeks to be a blessing to Grace Christian School in the Philippines. There will be ten students going to Grace Christian School over spring vacation. We would like to send medical supplies and gifts ahead of these students. There will be a list below of items that we can bless the people in the Philippines with. Please praise God for your blessings and prayerfully consider how you can bless those in the Philippines and in this community and other places.

1/16/08
What an incredible blessing it is for us as a school system to believe in a Sovereign God who is in control of everything. With some of the confusing events that have happened in our community recently, we praise God that we can lead children in prayer and ask God for guidance. Please join me in praising God for this blessing and continue to use it for His honor and glory. 

1/9/08
What a blessing it is to be able to return to Zeeland Christian in the  first school week of the year 2008 and be able to report that everyone returned safely from our Christmas break. God truly protected us while we were away and we praise Him for giving us the blessing of life and health for a new year of service to His honor and glory. God has blessed us. Let’s challenge ourselves to be a blessing to those around us and across the world.

12/19/07
This is the easiest Blessed to Be a Blessing note to write of the entire year. During the next week we will celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jesus’ birth is truly a blessing to all of us because it guarantees us eternal life if we believe in Him. This belief not only gives us eternal life but also the opportunity to share the blessing with everybody we come into contact with. Please join me in this Christmas season in praising God for blessing us with the birth of His Son and also for the opportunity to share the good news with other people around us.

12/12/07
There are so many blessings we have here at ZCS that happen to our students and our families that the rest of us are not aware of. In this Blessed to Be a Blessing section, I would like to ask those of you who have received a blessing from ZCS to share that story with the rest of us. If you have experienced something that has been a blessing, please either stop by or jot it down and get it to the school office and we will be happy to include it in the Blue Note. In the meantime, let’s continue to thank God for our incredible blessings here at ZCS and to share those blessings with those around us especially during this time of year.

12/5/07
Parental involvement at ZCS is truly a blessing. On any given day there are many parents in the building helping teachers, reading with students, and doing a variety of other things.  In addition to this, there are literally hundreds of parents supporting ZCS through their volunteer efforts. One example of this is the recent Christmas Home Tour. Several women began creating items for this tour already a year ago. The planning that goes into an event like this is truly overwhelming but to see the results of so much effort and so much love is truly a blessing. As a school system we praise God for blessing our   parents with time and talents that they are willing to share with us.

11/28/07
Music is an incredible blessing here at ZCS. Not only do we have band and choir concerts dedicated to the honor and glory of God, but as I walk through the building I hear students singing in their classrooms. I also have the opportunity to hear Mr. Ippel and the choirs singing every day from the choir room in the front hallway. We also have the opportunity to play Christmas music in the halls this time of year. What a blessing it is to be able to do everything to the honor and glory of God including  worshiping Him through music. Please enjoy this blessing in a special way during this holiday season and use it to share the love of Jesus with your friends and neighbors.

11/21/07
Take just a few moments before you read the rest of this Blue Note to think of five things that you are thankful for. If you use your fingers to keep track of them, one of the things you could thank God for is a healthy body that can function to His honor and glory. There are hundreds of other things we as individuals in a school system can be thankful for. Please join me in praising God for these blessings and challenging each other to continue to be a blessing. 

11/14/07
What a blessing it was last week to be able to do groundbreaking and to dedicate the new addition to the honor and glory of God even before the first shovel of dirt was turned over. It was great to see 600 students standing on the future walls of the new addition. Please join me in praying that God will continue to bless our school and our students as we do His will here at Zeeland Christian. 

11/7/07
I praise God for the opportunity to do ground breaking for our new addition. I also praise God that the purpose of the groundbreaking is not just to begin a project but to dedicate this project and the rooms that it creates to His honor and His glory. God has blessed the fundraising efforts. Please pray that He will now bless the work on the project and help us find new ways to be a blessing to the students in this school and in our entire community.

10/31/07
God did it through you! Our addition will become a reality  because God used all of you in some way to make it happen. Whether you gave a gift, said a prayer, or shared God?s vision for Zeeland Christian with people around you, God used you to bless Zeeland Christian with the necessary funds and support. We can now add classroom space to our school so that we can continue to provide quality education for all the students but especially the students in our Inclusive Ed program who have been crowded for many years. I praise God for His blessings and pray that He will continue to use all of us to be a blessing here at Zeeland Christian and to all other people that we come in contact with.

10/24/07
The teaching staff  had the blessing of attending the CEA Conference last week Thursday and Friday. The keynote speaker at the conference was Tony Campolo who challenged us to reach out to all people in the world. His challenge was to ?feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and offer a cup of water to the thirsty?. This is a challenge that all of us need to take seriously. As a school system, we?ve been unbelievably blessed but those blessing are also a challenge to make a difference in our own community and around the world. One of the ways we continue to make a difference is in the Philippines. We also make differences in many other ways as close to home as ?City on a Hill?. Please pray that we will continue to listen to God, calling to take care of our brothers and sisters with the blessings we have received.

10/17/07
What an incredible blessing it has been to watch our seventh graders in action. They sponsored the ?Second Annual Totally Free Car Wash? by getting pledges for cars that they washed this past Saturday. Not only were the students actively involved, but also the teachers and many  parents. All of the money raised goes to sponsor students in the Philippines and helps the students reach their goal of providing funding for a high school in the Philippines. Our goal is to raise $90,000 over five years to build a high school for students in grades 7-11 at Grace Christian School. This is in response to God blessing Zeeland Christian with the $2 million necessary to add on to our school. Praise God for blessing us and pray that we will continue to be a blessing to Grace Christian School and everyone else in our community.

10/10/07
What an incredible blessing it is to be part of such a supportive community. I realize that I?ve included this before but it came to light once again this week when the architect opened the bids for our building project. Many of our school supporters in this community came through in amazing ways and the bids came in $300,000 below what the architect was projecting. This is due in large part to the incredible support that Zeeland Christian receives from this community. As a school system we have truly been blessed. It is now our responsibility to determine how we in turn can be a blessing to others. Please join me in praying about this and asking for God?s guidance.  was due in large part of the year, the teachers and students were challenged to look for burning bushes. In other words, they were challenged to look for amazing ways that God reveals Himself at school and in the world in which we live. As parents and grandparents, I would like to challenge you to also look for burning bushes. God reveals Himself in so many amazing ways: through people, creation and His word. God has blessed us with these burning bush revelations. Let?s share them with each other so that we can be a blessing to everyone we come in contact with.

10/3/07
At the beginning of the year, the teachers and students were challenged to look for burning bushes. In other words, they were challenged to look for amazing ways that God reveals Himself at school and in the world in which we live. As parents and grandparents, I would like to challenge you to also look for burning bushes. God reveals Himself in so many amazing ways: through people, creation and His word. God has blessed us with these burning bush revelations. Let?s share them with each other so that we can be a blessing to everyone we come in contact with.

9/26/07
What an incredible blessing it is to be part of the staff at Zeeland Christian School. The staff begins and ends the week with devotions. At these devotions we have an opportunity to share prayer requests that include life?s joys and sorrows. In the last couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to watch teachers become a supportive family both in the joyful times and the difficult times. I praise God for the dedicated staff here at Zeeland Christian. I praise God for blessing the staff here and it is truly a joy for me to watch them be a blessing to the students and parents here at Zeeland Christian.

9/19/07
I had an opportunity to go with the seventh grade teachers and students to Camp Roger for their beginning of the year camp on Sunday evening, and Monday and Tuesday. It is truly a blessing to spend time with the children of loving Christian families. God has blessed this school with students who are on fire for Jesus. I praise Him for that blessing. I also pray that there will be many opportunities for these students to share their faith with the students around them and in this community.  

9/12/07
When I think about the beginning of this school year I praise God for the smooth start to this year. The successful start to a school year takes a lot of planning but also takes God?s blessing. We have certainly been blessed with a wonderful start. Please join me in praising God for blessing Zeeland Christian and please challenge yourself and others in our school to continue to be a blessing to those around us.   

9/5/07
I had an opportunity to challenge the students to look for burning bushes at our opening chapel last week. Burning bushes are ways that God reveals himself to us on a daily basis. Just like he revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, God reveals himself to us through all of nature, our friends, the Bible, and so many other things that we take for granted. Please join me in helping your children see the burning bushes all around them everyday of their lives. If we see these burning bushes and praise God for them, He will continue to bless us so that we can bless others. 

8/29/07
I praise God for bringing all of our students and teachers back to Zeeland Christian School.  God has blessed us with safety over the summer months and I pray that He will continue to bless us with safety as we move into the school year. God is good and God is alive and well at Zeeland Christian. Please pray that as a staff and students we will bless those around us in many ways this school year.