And I Feel Fine

Hello Friends, 

There is a show on the History Channel called The Doomsday Prophets. Have you watched it?  In this show, cameras follow various people through their strategies for preparing for the end of the world, or a calamity close to it.  These individuals believe the end of the world is at hand and they are prepared for it, with weapons caches and food stockpiles, escape routes and multi-step strategies for survival. It’s a bizarre show that has little to do with history, and many Americans are tuned in. 

The show Doomsday Prophets reminds me of a favorite song I listened to in college…by 90’s rock group REM.  They sing a song, It’s the End of the World as We Know It and the chorus ends with the line “and I feel fine.”  Most of the stars of this show are far from fine.  They are paranoid.

Christmas is coming.  Jesus in a barn, an unsuspecting, kingdom changer.  Son of God and Son of Man.  He is the one the Prophets spoke of.  He was there in the beginning and he will be there when it all comes down.  No need for escape routes and weapons caches for those who put their trust in him.

We celebrate Christmas because this world belongs to Jesus, all of it.  From REM to the Doomsday Prophets.  In the beginning and in the end, it all belongs to Jesus.  He came into our world to give us peace, to give us hope to give us joy and love.  And because of it I do feel fine.

Standing With Jesus

Dear Unity Friends,

I recently heard these words in the classic hymn by Edward Mote, and I have not been able to shake them from my mind.  Has that ever happened to you?

On Christ the solid Rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

All other ground is sinking sand

In recent weeks we have seen images of sinking sand all around us.  Super-storm Sandy damage along the east coast. Missiles rocketed in the Gaza Strip. Wall street embezzlements.  Storms, missiles, and corporate greed aside, what does it mean to stand on the solid rock of Jesus Christ?  

It means we are cared for. John Calvin wrote that “we will never be able to arrive at a calm state of mind until we are taught to repose ( rest) with implicit confidence in the providence of God.”  To rest in the implicit confidence in the providence of God means resting in the unquestioning, protective, providing care of God. All other ground is sinking sand

In our high school we work with teenagers who are trying to figure out where they stand. Facebook “likes” and Twitter “re-tweets” appear to be the number one validation many strive for. Students are hungry for a digital affirmation from their peers. That might sound superficial to adults, but it is a new neighborhood where they walk.  And as we walk alongside these kids in person and on the internet, we get to remind them and ourselves, that we stand with Jesus Christ and he will not let go of us.  We stand in his protection and in his safety.  All other ground is sinking sand.

And we join you the Christian church and Christian home in the work of Kingdom building on Jesus Christ.  What a joy we have in standing with Jesus Christ.  What an opportunity we have to take a stand for Jesus! 

God bless you with His powerful this Christmas season,  

Thankful for Home

Hello Unity Friends,

Can you believe that Thanksgiving Day is landing in our lives next week?  My internal calendar clock tells me that Thanksgiving should be at least another 2 weeks away. Growing up Canadian, this is by far my favorite US Holiday.  America knows how to celebrate being thankful!  And that added day of Friday was a brilliant move by the founding father or president who made that decision. 

A few weeks ago, I watched a documentary called The 4^th World, written and produced by Unity parent Mark Volkers.  In this documentary Mark introduces viewers to a growing population of people in our world who live in what is known as the 4^th World. These people live in tin shacks, under bridges, work in garbage dumps, peddle on street corners and earn pennies a day.  The documentary has affected my thinking greatly. 

When I contrast that documentary to my living conditions, I am speechless.   I don’t get why some people live under bridges while others like myself, get to live in a country and culture that might just be the most prosperous of any other place in the world ever.  I have vowed never again to complain about leftovers, my old car or my not-so-new house.     

For me being thankful is one of the best ways to grow closer in my relationship to God.  Maybe God wants us to recognize that the chasing after the things of this world will never bring us true joy and peace.  Our desire to acquire the latest tech gadgets, cars, homes and toys will never bring us true joy and satisfaction.  These things will rust, spoil and fade away.  

 Perhaps God wants us to be most thankful for our salvation in Christ alone.

This piece of art captures what I am most thankful about.  It is a depiction of the story of the Prodigal Son.  This story belongs to us all in many ways.  

 For when we realize that chasing after the things of this world, leaves us defeated and destitute, we are still welcome home, into the embrace of our Father God.  Notice in the painting how the Father is running down the driveway to greet the returning son, who blew his inheritance.   We serve a God who runs to us!  What love !

May the grace of God and his amazing love, fill our hearts with thanksgiving and praise!  

Happy Thanksgiving,

                                 

Mr. Dykstra

Give God the Glory

Dear Parents,

Yesterday we held our annual Senior / Freshmen breakfast.  The goal of this meeting is for the seniors to fellowship with freshmen, and to share some advice with them about how to maneuver their way to the senior year without catastrophic consequences.  Here is some of the advice sahred:

1.     Be yourself.

2.     Do what you want to do.  Being on a sports team is not a requirement to be known.

3.     Don’t panic if you feel lost.  It will get better.

4.     “Avoid the urge to get a boyfriend or girlfriend.  Seriously, I know you have raging hormones and everything, but it is not necessary. Relax.”

5.    Remember you are here to glorify God. 

Remember you are here to glorify God.  Wow!  Out of the mouths of babes.

Parents, don’t we as adults need that reminder as well?  It is so easy to get lost in out pride and performance.  Our days are evaluated on our own selfish agendas and not a give-God-the-glory-agenda.

When I heard #5 yesterday, I was once again reminded that the student often teaches the teacher. 

Thanks seniors! 

Yoke Up!

Dear Parents,

I am summarizing the thoughts of H. Norman Wright in his devotional book, Quiet Times for Couples.

Matthew 11: 28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Wright explains in his book how a wild horse is broken and trained. The rider must prove himself superior to the horse and break the will of the horse, after what could days of wrestling for control.

In comparison, Wright then compares a wild horse training to how oxen are trained. A farmer would take a mature a seasoned oxen and pair him/ her with a young inexperienced oxen. The young oxen would learn to pull and work alongside the veteran oxen.

Jesus comes to us with a powerful promise and analogy in Matthew 11. He promises not to break us down into submission like a wild horse. Instead he promises to walk alongside us. To pull with us. To teach us by modeling for us how to live life.

Whether you are a teenager facing explosive change or a tired parent about run off your feet, know that Jesus is walking alongside of you. Daily, he is inviting you and I to watch him work. He is reminding us he is pulling the heavy load for us; his burden is light. He is encouraging us to grow in strength and learn from him.

What a Savior!

W. Dykstra

Be Busy and Be Still!

Dear Unity Family,

The month of January was a blast, a blitz and a blip. It was a blast as I pause and reflect from the perch of February 1, back to Homecoming, Spiritual Emphasis Week and a lot of basketball games. It was a blitz for many, where we went from event to event with little sleep in between. And January was a blip, because it seems that we just had the Christmas concert last week!

The impact of the being busy is mostly good for us. Studies show that students, who are multi-involved in church, school and home, learn to sharpen their time management skills. It is a time of training in their lives to manage time and make commitments.

Yet we need rest as well. Last week my 11 year-old daughter scheduled in a shut down night. She had the choice to go with us to another event, but instead she informed my wife and I that she was just going to stay home. I think she drew pictures of horses, played with the dog and went to bed early. What wisdom! I learned a lot from her that night.

God calls us into times of rest too. I have a reminder above my desk in my office from Psalm 46:10: “ Be still and know that I am God.” No matter how busy we are we need to be still before God each day.

As February begins, schedule in time to rest and be thankful that you have a lot on your plate. And remember it is okay to stay home once-in-awhile to draw pictures and go to bed early!

W. Dykstra

A Culture of Success

Dear Parents,

No one failed! At the 1^st quarter mark of the first semester, not one student of the 289 students failed a single class. Considering that most students take 7 classes, in approximately 2023 graded periods of instruction, no one failed! We are a week away from seeing if this trend continued through the rest of the semester.

In the book, Becoming a Great High School, by Tim Westerberg, an entire chapter is devoted to building a school culture around a “ We-Expect- Success-Attitude”. Some of the criteria of that culture / attitude include the following themes:

1. What we are doing is important here.
2. 2. You can do it!
3. 3. I’m not going to give up on you – even if you give up on yourself.

This is a school culture we are building towards. We introduced CRAM, the program where kids stay after school on Mondays to finish late work, because we students to stay caught up – we want a culture of success. We hired additional support staff to go after more students who were slipping through the academic cracks because we did not want to give up on them.

At the foundation of our effort is the promise Christ gives us. I will not give up on you, even when you give up on yourself. That promise is at the heart of motivating us all to move forward into 2012.

Have a great week!

In Christ,

W. Dykstra