Pray for the enrolment here at Foundation, that God will bring the students that He sees fit to bring to us, to join our family and to be blessed by the opportunity for Christian education.

Pray for our new Board including its Executive leadership of Donna, Jeremiah and MaryAnn, that they be ever open to the direction of the Holy Spirit and that they wisely and graciously lead the school through the years to come.

That kind of criticism I like to hear!

Worship is one of the highlights for me personally, from the loud and raucous “Good morning Pastor Kranz!!!!!!!!!!” shouted so loud that it probably echoes through the very halls of heaven, to the closing benediction “God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good!” I will forever hold the memories of worship at Foundation close to my heart.

Recently two of our younger students have been punctuating their worship by raising their hands wide open in praise as the songs are sung. It is a humbling and moving experience to watch Abby in grade one and Keegan in grade two as they sing, with hands held high in an expectant pose. Eyes closed, lost in wonder and praise.

This practise has yet to be embraced by any of our other students so it is somewhat groundbreaking for them to worship in this way.

I had them visit my office this week. I blessed them for being willing to stand out from the crowd, and worship in such a personal and open manner. I wanted them to know that I appreciate and encourage them in their praising.

I asked them what worshipping with hands raised does for them? How does it make them feel?

Keegan said: “I like the feeling. Sometimes I feel like I am floating up to heaven.”

Little Abby said: “I feel like God is saying to me 'I love you. I love you forever!'”

In many things children have more courage, certainly more spontaneity, definitely much less inhibition than we adults who allow ourselves to be paralysed by protocol and convention and by the critical eye of others. We often lose our authenticity as we age, concerning ourselves more and more with the jaded influence of society and culture.

What the world and traditional religion tends to wring out of us as we grow older is a healthy embrace of our emotions. We keep God at arm’s length. We choose to approach matters of faith from a cerebral vantage point, suppressing our emotions lest we be judged too soft or too weak. As a result we guard ourselves from any emotional response, and in the process we lose much in our relationship with our God.

The simple facts tell us that in any other relationship, be it husband to wife, parent to child, friend to friend, the main building block of relationship is the emotional, not the cerebral connection. Scripture tells us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Notice that the mind is only one third of the equation, and is mentioned only after the heart and the soul, both of which speak to the emotional and spiritual side of us.

In my conversation with Keegan and Abby, I asked if they worship this way with hands lifted high in praise in their home church.

Abby said: “Sometimes, but not too much.”

Keegan said: “NO! I don’t do it in church! Because if I did, my older sister Annie would pretend she didn’t know me!” Then with a wise old man kind of look, he leaned forward and whispered, “Some people are like that, you know!”

Yes, indeed Keegan, some people are!

Pray for the finances of our school as we finish off this sixth year and plan for our seventh. God is good!

Pray for health and wellness for Mme Wu and baby on the way. Pray for peace and calm for the Wu family as they await the birth of their child.

Pray for restoration of health for Talia's grandfather, Clare, as he undergoes various treatments.

Needless to say, any initial feelings of righteous indignation were quickly dispelled. Scrawling messages into furniture, school or otherwise, is not an acceptable act. But, in this case one can hardly fault the message, nor the intent.

Yesterday the grade 1-2 students were not on their best behaviour during French class. As a result, the homeroom teacher decided to use the Christian Education class immediately following the French period to have the children sit quietly for some time, reflecting on their behaviour. The children were silent throughout, and appeared genuinely remorseful. In fact, one little girl was even in tears. The teacher took her aside, wanting to help her process her remorseful feelings. When asked why she was crying, she said, “Because we missed Christian education!”

At Foundation Christian School, wanting to learn about Jesus and loving Jesus is as natural and evident as the big nose on my face (so the children so readily point out). Christian education has a value attached to it that cannot be measured in dollars or cents. It lays a foundation of faith that inspires desire and relationship as well as knowledge.

In a day where the name of Jesus is politically incorrect and where God’s truth is more and more unknown or not acknowledged, Christian education is a mission worthy of support. When presented in a manner that is not denominational or doctrinal, such as is the case here at Foundation, Christian education offers a freedom that allows personal relationship with Jesus to blossom and flourish.

Foundation is not just a school but a ministry and a mission. All that we do is for the benefit of the children, to the furthering of God’s kingdom and for the love of Jesus. There can be no greater goal than this.