"Out of respect to my Great Grandfather I do no attend public schools of literature but use good teachers at home and am not thrifty in such matters."
Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
as translated in Latin Readings Class
by Dakota Anderson grade 12
"Out of respect to my Great Grandfather I do no attend public schools of literature but use good teachers at home and am not thrifty in such matters." Meditations of Marcus Aurelius as translated in Latin Readings Class by Dakota Anderson grade 12
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November 28, 2012 “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” Proverbs 13:4 We all have a fantasy that we can read a proverb such as this one to our children and the Holy Spirit would immediately go to work in them to help them see the importance of a strong work ethic. Perhaps God refrains from an instant miracle because he wants to work on our work ethic as well! Certainly, he has given us all a long road of hard labor and dependence on Him as we attempt to raise our children to persist when things get difficult. If we think of our own experiences, we realize that we learned to work hard when we cared about something. Self-discipline results when we want something badly as well as believe it is possible to achieve. Why is self-discipline important? Recent research into academic achievement has shown that self-discipline is a better predictor of success than intelligence (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005). However, great achievement, in school or in life, does not come easily. So how do we teach our children to persist on tasks until they reach success? First, we must make sure our children know who they are. God created them with a goal in mind. Nothing about them is an accident and this life is too precious to waste. God has given them certain gifts that He intends them to use. What are their gifts? What do they think is their purpose? What does God want them to do in this life? God has high expectations, and so should we as parents. God also knows our weaknesses, and so he does not give us more than we can handle. As parents, our expectations should be reasonable and include lots of smaller successes along the way. We all need encouragement. Help your child come up with goals that will take hard work, but can be accomplished. Confidence is important. Our children take their cues from us. We can’t just tell them we believe in them. We must prove our confidence in their abilities by sincerely backing off and letting them handle it. We can stand alongside to offer encouragement and help if necessary, but stumbles and mistakes made along the way often make the achievement of a goal much sweeter. Even more importantly, success after struggle builds “grit”—an indispensable combination of persistence and strength. We must also show them what working hard looks like. Talk to them as you try to solve a hard problem such as fixing a leaky faucet at home. What do you do when your first solution doesn’t work? Take them to the hardware store. Ask them for their input on what should be tried next. Show them that difficult problems require overcoming frustration and steadily applying thought and effort to solve. Interestingly, isn’t this the character trait that we point to most when explaining the American spirit? As always, seeing from God’s point of view gives clear understanding. This world is our proving ground, not our reward. If we have Christ, we are already saved, so now we are free to apply ourselves heartily to the work He has given. Rest will come in His good time. Now is the time to get to work! Jennifer Cable Elementary Principal For Trinity Christian School the big event for January 2013 is the Dan Zink Marriage Conference, Friday and Saturday, January 18th and 19th. Last year the sanctuary of Trinity Church was packed! Over 250 people heard author and counselor Paul Tripp address the subject of marriage. The feedback on the event was fantastic. People were greatly encouraged. A great investment in marriage was had by all.
Let's feast again on the hope God has for us and for our marriages! Dan Zink who is a counselor and professor of practical theology at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, MO. Dan will be speaking on the needs we have in marriage and how these can be addressed while moving closer in intimacy as a couple. Why should I attend this Dan Zink Marriage Conference? The key reason is to discover the missing element in most marriages. This key element will change your marriage. To discover the mystery behind this missing element you'll need to attend! Event Coordinator: Brittany Burkhalter, [email protected] To register and get the TCS early bird special, go to http://trinitychurch.eventbrite.com/ Childcare is offered, but is limited. For more information about the conference or Dan Zink, visit Trinity’s website at www.trinitychurchkailua.org. Here to support Trinity Christian School, Pastor Todd The title above comes from a Christian song made popular by Derek Webb. In the song Derek sings about our calling as Christians to communicate the truth and love of Christ to the world around us. One of his conclusions in the song is that we must live our lives in a way that reflects what we’re saying. In other words, we must “become” our message. As the apologetics and outreach teacher at TCS it is my hope that our students not simply learn about the truth and love found in Christ, but they learn to become that truth and love, and that they do so by observing a faculty that is living it out before them. Christ himself taught something very similar when he said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). And, “(I pray) that they may all be one… so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). In other words, Jesus is teaching us that the world around us will make conclusions about whether or not He was truly from God based on how we treat one another. Many of us who are parents have learned the hard way that our children are at least as tuned in to what we do as to what we say. Whether it’s the way that we drive, or spend our money or disagree with one another, they learn from what we do. I believe that living in a way that’s congruent with what we believe has never been more important than it is now, in the midst of our postmodern culture. In a culture that has largely given up on the idea of any kind of truth or the possibility of true heroes or role models, our only hope of being able to communicate the hope of the gospel is by communicating it with our lives. The sad thing is that often times we don’t do a great job of representing Christ to the world. Remember though, that this is not a surprise to Christ! He chose us knowing our weakness. He is at work in us everyday forgiving and, “transforming us into his image, from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18). Nathaniel Thompson Assistant Pastor Trinity Church 12th Grade Apologetics Teacher |
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