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

Merry Christmas!

Dear Unity Family,

“ Yet he has made an everlasting covenant with me.”

2 Samuel 23:5

I wonder if author fathomed what he meant when he wrote this verse. It is certainly prophetic. When Jesus arrived in a stable and went to the cross, he manifested that everlasting covenantal promise.

Everlasting is an amazing word. It goes beyond our finite sense of time. It makes the uncomfortable parts of life fade like a mist.

I remember learning about covenants in 7^th grade Bible class. When God made his covenants he did so, knowing we had no way of upholding our end of the deal.

That makes the stable and the cross even more amazing.

Rejoice with me. We serve a God who is faithful in His covenant promises, and eternally everlasting. And we are invited to live and fellowship with Him!

Merry Christmas,

Wayne Dykstra

He Came Anyway

Dear Parents,

As Christmas approaches, I feel the tension in myself to steer away from the worship of our King to the pursuit of what I am going to spend my Christmas bonus on. Do you suffer from the same tension?

I stumbled across this Max Lucado quote this morning.

“There is no way our little minds can comprehend the love of God. But that didn’t keep him from coming.”

― Max Lucado, America Looks Up

What I love more and more about God, is His ability to look past our misguided priorities. He came into our lives “while were yet sinners” and removed our sins – past, present and future. He came in spite of our mess. He lived in our mess and redeemed us from it.

I will Sing of My Redeemer is not a typical Christmas hit that you will hear on the radio, but you can sing it. Sing it because “he came anyway.”

May His love unwrap in your life like an ongoing Christmas present.

Merry Christmas Unity Family,

W. Dykstra

Living Thankfully

Dear Parents,

Thanks-giving has come to a end for another calendar year. I love Thanksgiving. As a former Canadian-now-US-Citizen, I can say that this is one holiday we Americans have nailed down to perfection. It is the worship time together, the food, the family and the football that make it all worthwhile.

This past Thanksgiving, I heard one of the best sermons ever. Probably, what made it a top 10, was my need to hear it. The theme was living thankfully. The church was /is Faith Reformed Church in Dyer, Indiana. The pastor of this sermon - Mike Pitsenberger. I strongly encourage you to listen to it. You can cut and paste this link in your browser or download it to your i-Pod.

http://faithchurchonline.org/grow/media/podcast-audio/item/204-live-thanks

If we chose to live thankfully before God we are able to walk through the valley of suffering and reach the mountaintop of joy, being thankful.

Ephesians 5: 15-20 was the sermon passage.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How do we give God thanks in the midst of illness, marital struggles, depression and all the other issues we face? Listen to this sermon.

Wayne Dykstra