Dear Parents,

“The beans are turning yellow.”

I heard that the other day, and I panicked. That sounds bad; but it is not. In fact, it is great news! It turns out in agriculture vernacular, yellow beans in September is a sign that crops are ripening. It is a confident statement that God is at work in the field temperature because he is a God of change and growth.

The psalmist writes in Psalm 113:3:

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.

We are now 11 days into the school year. While the beans are turning yellow, in the fields, we see God at work in the lives of His children our students. Just last night, a young man came up to me to shake my hand and say, “ Hey sorry about the other day.” It was a beans-are-turning-yellow-education spiritual growth moment. I thanked the young man and thanked God moments later, for being at work in our lives.

From soybeans to sophomores, we need to stop and reflect, notice and rejoice in our God for the ability to move, to breath, to create and to change. He is always in season and at work.

Wayne Dykstra

Dear Unity Friend,

Have you been watching the Decorah eagles? If not join the thousands of us who are watching them, hourly, daily and or weekly. Click here, or cut and paste this address into your web browser to join the party: http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles . You wont regret it!

A camera has been positioned right beside the nest in Decorah, Iowa, where each year a male and female eagle has returned to the nest to raise their young. People I know have spent hours watching the eagle parents take turns sitting above their three eaglets. Habitual viewers can tell you whether it is the male or the female eagle, they can tell you what the eaglets ate today. Viewers tell eagle stories to each other in the workplace, like the eaglets are their own kids. “ Did you see the mother feeding the dead rat to the young? Isn’t it amazing that the mother did not eat any of that small-mouth bass for herself?”

The way an eagle raises its’ young is amazing. The Decorah video cements that. Did you know that when an eaglet is old enough to fly the parent pushes the eaglet out of the nest? To go from feeding the eaglet food, without eating any of it, to pushing the eaglet out of a tall tree. The eagle parent must be wired to be an amazing animal of faith in our God. And that got me thinking of high school.

We are about to push our graduates out of the nest. In a sense, Unity has been an important part of a nest. We have nurtured these 18 year olds, fed them kept them safe from dangerous ideas. We have pointed to all of life surrounding their nest and told them it all belongs to God. "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

We make the push out of the nest in faith; there is no fear in crashing. We make the push in faith because Jesus Christ has made it possible to leave the nest. We are free to fly. In this season of lent, we can rest in faith that Jesus meant it when He said, “It is finished”. We are free to fly because of Jesus. Enjoy your kids while you still have them in your nest, and trust the future they have in Jesus Christ. He has made it possible to fly.

Dear Parents,

Since March 3 we have been blessed with $469,000 of donations towards our Chapel Performing Arts project. We have sold seats for the campaign at $1000 a seat, and 469 of the 750 seats have been sold. We praise God for this outpouring of generosity.

We want to provide every opportunity for you as current parents to be invited to buy a seat (s) as well. I know tuition and other costs of life add up for families with school age children. I see the free and reduced lunch numbers as principal and I marvel at the sacrifices families make to come here.

I also know that God has blessed some of you with talents and careers that have provide you the opportunity to be generous to the Kingdom of God.

I had to sell pancake tickets this week for a club I belong to. I was not passionate about the sale of these tickets. In the end, I will write a check myself. It is hard to sell pancakes.

Compare that to seats to a new chapel. I believe without a doubt, that the Kingdom of God will boldly advance with this project. I believe now is the time to build. I believe that we can enhance our worship and education at Unity Christian High School because of this campaign. I believe we have needs related to our current space for chapel and our current handicapped inaccessible entryways to the school building and the chapel area. I believe this is not a want but a true need.

Please prayerfully consider how you could support this project. If you want to take a tour, visit, discuss different ways to give, please set up an appointment with Mr. Bill Foreman, our Development Director.

If finances are tight, please pray for this project. We hope to build in May of 2012.

In Christ,


Wayne Dykstra

Though I Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Dear Friends,

This past week a lot of people have been wrestling with the tragic loss of Trisha Wood, a Western student. It has been a tough week for some of our Unity students who knew Trisha well. We can only imagine the sorrow of her family.

The accident of Trisha Wood has been a life pausing event. It has caused us to wrestle with our priorities, and forced us all to look at the reality that our time is not really our time, it is God’s time. He has placed us here because this is when and where he decided to do so.

The day of the visitation, I coincidentally read Psalm 23 and the accompanying study notes and I was struck with the line that only Jesus can walk with us through death. What a comfort to a parent who is grieving, what comfort to a teenager. What a comfort to us all.

“ Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me….”
Psalm 23:4a

“Death casts a frightening shadow over us because we are entirely helpless in its’ presence. We can struggle with other enemies-pain, suffering, disease, injury-but strength and courage cannot overcome death. It has the final word. Only one person can walk with us through death’s dark valley and bring us safely to the other side- the God of life, our shepherd. Because life is uncertain, we should follow the shepherd who offers us eternal comfort.” ( NIV Life Application Bible Study Notes, 1991)


A friend of mine once reminded me that shadows cannot hurt you. They are scary, but they cannot hurt you.

The accident of Trisha Wood has reminded me of the ultimate joy and comfort we have in Jesus Christ, from the mundane moments of life to the scariest moment when he calls us home. He is with us. He walks beside us. He is with us. Always.

1:1 Presentation and Your Reaction

Dear Parents,

We have the opportunity to go in a bold new direction. What might our education look like if we provided a laptop for every student? This was the topic of our parent focus group on January 24, 2011. I have invited parents to leave comments and questions on this blog. This is the beginning of the conversation.

Please leave comments on the financing plan, the timeframe for implementing the plan and / or the parent training opportunities.

Dear Friend of Unity Christian High School,

Merry Christmas! I have really gotten into the Christmas season this year. Have you? Maybe it is the new surroundings. People in Northwest Iowa really seem to know how to celebrate the season. I look back over the last three weeks, and I have been to 3 Christmas parties and 2 concerts, with number 3, Unity’s concert, tomorrow night. It is all good my friends, all good.

All this singing and partying has helped me focus and reflect on the amazing gift of Jesus Christ. I love the following verses from Luke 2: 10-11:

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.


A baby lying in a
feeding trough.
Good news
and great joy.
Born to you
for all the people.

A fulfilled prophecy.
The way
the truth
and the life.
No one comes
to the father
except through me.

The temple curtain
Torn in two
It is finished.

Merry Christmas
and welcome to a party
that will never end!

Dear Parents,

What would it look like if every student at Unity brought a laptop to school? We don’t have to look far to find schools where this is a reality. This Fall Sibley Ocheydan High School and Spirit Lake High School went to this model of learning. At a recent principal meeting I attended, every conference school is considering going to this model, often called 1:1. In the state of Iowa there are currently 11% of high schools, currently 1:1. Projections are that as many as 30% will be going to a 1:1 model in the next 1-2 years. I believe it is not a matter of if, but when we at Unity go 1:1.

Next Monday night, we are hosting a parent forum to discuss this possibility. Who pays for this massive change? Why are we looking at this now? What are the steps prior to implementation? Is this a for-sure-going-to-happen for Unity? How will we as a Christian school handle this technology differently? Will this mean that the way we teach will change? Is technology driving education? Should it? How can parents help?

Mr. Karl Kaemingk and I will be leading the discussion. I encourage you to attend. We are meeting at 7PM in the chapel / gym balcony area.

Any change we make at the Board level goes through both our mission and our vision. Our mission identifies who are are, and our vision answers the question – where are we going? These are exciting times to bring captive every area of life under the domain of Jesus Christ. May this conversation and future decisions regarding laptops be done for the glory of God.

Sincerely,

Wayne Dykstra