Where are you at in this journey? - Dwight Polivka - 3/31/11

Our students had the honor of having Dwight Polivka come out to speak today. He spoke very honestly & candidly about where we all our in our walk with Christ. He put the believer into 7 categories and explored where each student might be.

The students were challenged to live a life of promise, focus, & purity in Christ. Pray for our students to evaluate their faith journey's today.  Pray that they continue to stay strong in their walk. As we approach Spiritual Renewal Week quickly pray that the students continue to hungry & thirst for a deeper encounter with Jesus.

Your Tongue - Midde School (3/30/11)

Today we talked about your tongue & how it has power to bring life or death. So often we hide behind humor, facts, or teasing & we don't realize the damage that it may be causing. The middle school was challenged today to speak life, encouragement, & love! To make the effort to say nice things even we you don't have to. To make the choice to speak into people's lives instead of tear them down.

"Oh, be careful little mouth what you say. Oh, be careful little mouth what you say. Because the Father up above is looking down with love, so be careful little mouth what you say."

Live Dangerously - High School (3/29/11)

We talked today about living out your dreams & passions. So often we have dreams & things that drive us every day, but we wait for something to happen. The students were challenged to live dangerously & to go after their dreams with every day. They were challenged to start living each day with purpose & go after their dreams.

We also talked about how we perceive people around us. The homeless man on the street, the elderly woman trying to cross the street, the guy at a party, the people at school you don't know, etc. What if we lived dangerously & showered those people with love? What if we broke out of our comfortable lives & showed Jesus love all around. I asked the students one question..."Are you willing to live dangerously to chase your dreams & change the world?"

Tuesday (2/8/11)

Today Kelly Christenson & I talked about Unity. Sometimes we don't realize just how united our school really is. How we all look out for each other & then common good for our community. Kelly talked about leaving Western & going to a public school for the first two years of high school. You realize really quickly how different things really are. We talked about being thankful for the blessing that Western Mennonite is as a school.

We also talked about how we become united? It isn't by our works, deeds, or attitude. It is by Christ in us. We are united by a common goal...giving our all for the glory of God. Today we stand united in Him as a school. Below is a video we showed about God being all that you need. He is exactly what you need at every moment. He is truly our everything & the attributes of God through the Bible show that. As this young boy shares his take on God's attributes in every book of the Bible, the students began to find what God means for them. Through his love in us, we are united!

Change

Change...it is a funny term. What does complete change actually mean? Lately I have been confronted with the fact that many of our students have either been exposed to drugs or involved in drug use recently. With this knowledge I was stuck with the question of "What can bring about real change?"

We decided that the best thing to do was to talk. At Western we consider our alumni, parents, friends, & current faculty & students to be apart of Western's community or family. As a family, you get things out in the open. As a family, you trust each other enough to share your heart. So that is exactly what we did. Thursday after chapel we dismissed our middle school students & I began to talk to our high school student body about drug use. We talked about its effects on you as an individual & how it effects everyone around you. We talked about how it can change the course of your life forever. After a long talk we opened the microphone up & allowed the students to share anything that was on their minds. What followed can only be described as an amazing moment in the history of our school.

Student after student got up & shared about their experiences with drugs. Some confessed to being involved in them whether in the past or currently. Some talked about how they have seen it tear apart their families. Others talked about other addictions they currently have not related to drugs, but binding them none the less. It was a time of healing, confession, & restoration. Our theme as a school this year is "One God. One People. One Love." Thursday we were being real before our one God, we stood together united as one people, & we accepted everyone with God's one love. It was a special moment in our school.

Change was aparant in our school that day. Students' lives were changed & never to be the same. Sins were forgiven, trust was gained, & bonds were formed by God's amazing grace.

Pray today that the hearts of students will continue to look to God. Pray that we continue to support all of their students as they walk out true change. Pray that the work that God created in each student would be carried out to completion. Pray that joy would begin to come as freedom is embraced & forgiveness is received.

"Be the change that you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

Cultural Awareness Week

This week is our anual cultural awareness week put on by our international club. It offers an opportunity for our students to learn about other cultures & pray for them.

The focus of the week is all the different islands of the world. Please join us in prayer for all missionaries spread throughout the globe as well as peace to all cultures. Also, join us in prayer as we thank God for all of our different culture represented at Western Mennonite School.

Thursday - (1/6/11)

We had the privilege of having Joe Castaneda from Betheny Baptist speak to our student body today. He talked about authentic worship. How we get caught up in going through the motions a lot of times & just want to do the right things, but we miss the real point. Being a Christian is about following after Jesus, about worshipping Him & who He is, not the thought of Him or a good deed or action. The students were encouraged & challenged to not just do something in church or in school because you're supposed to, but really seek out the reason for it & do it with your heart & not just your thoughts. The students had time to reflect on the love of God & How much He loves them.

Today, pray that our students continue to seek after His true love & worship Him in spirit & in truth.