Rushing to the Broken
“We are rushing to the broken.” A friend of mine spoke these words as he led students in chapel at a school I was leading. His message was inspiring, but my thought was, “No, we’re not.” My school was (and is) wonderful, but we didn’t rush towards the broken. I found myself often giving reasons…
Read MoreThis is the ZCS Story.
ZCS Family, Often in these early months of getting to know our school community, I will step back and pause as something strikes me and think, “This is the story of ZCS.” All year, but especially during this season, I’m often stopped in my tracks as I witness God working through and in us. This…
Read MoreLove Rescued Me
Love Rescued Me. On December 2, 2003, Love rescued me when my daughter Lily was carried off the elevator in a hotel conference room in China and into our waiting arms, making me “Daddy.” Looking back on that day, I didn’t know I needed to be rescued. To be honest, I thought I was doing…
Read MoreAn “urge”, 3 “words”, and Miss Ady.
The First Perspective: by Sherrie Stuursma, ZCS Inclusion Teacher One day 7 years ago I was leaving school and I felt an incredible “urge” to take a different way home. I felt the urge to go thru downtown Zeeland. As I drove downtown I saw some beautiful butterflies in the window of a store. I…
Read MoreWhat Are You Waiting For?
Recently on a morning run that turned into more of a walk, I found myself walking around the outside of our school. I said aloud, “Who should I pray for, Lord?” Very clearly He said, “Pray for those who are waiting.” I prayed for families waiting for medical treatments to bring results, wayward family members…
Read MoreDo Your Children and Grandchildren Know…
When my Grandma McAboy came to visit, she would often stay for a few days at a time. One night as I was falling asleep, I heard her in her room talking. After a minute or two I realized she was praying, and after another moment I realized she was praying for me. Grandma McAboy…
Read MoreSeasons of Parenting
Parents, Andy Stanley says that if we parent now the way God would have us to parent, there may be times when our children don’t like us very much. But they will like us later, and “later is longer.” His parenting series “Future Family” helped me to see raising my children in seasons: …
Read MoreUnkind Behavior in Students
This morning, Caryn Navis, our school counselor, met with teachers to discuss ways to address unkind behavior in students. While bullying receives a lot of attention (and rightly so), smaller instances of unkind behavior often go unaddressed. Karyn’s instruction to us, and my advice to you is that we address every single instance of unkind…
Read More“How did I end up here?”
Two years ago, in an attempt to run across the Grand Canyon (and back), I got a bit lost. After a side trip to a waterfall off the main trail, I couldn’t find my way back to the path. I didn’t realize I was lost until I was walking up on a ledge and the…
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