December Board Meeting

December's meeting was another valuable meeting. However it was different in that as Brandyn West brought the devotional. She had contacted alumni from last year's class and had them write how the Maranatha experience was serving them in their current endeavors. The ringing validation that the work being done through Maranatha is impacting lives and preparing our students for life after school was consistent and strong. We invested a half hour of our meeting celebrating the Lord's work through our students and contemplating how do we package these testimonials and these results and reach other families to consider Maranatha. What a blessing! I have asked Brandyn to get permission for me to post some of these quotes here and to use them on our web site.

After that enjoyable, encouraging time, we went through the Committee reports with the main action taken of accepting the 5 year plans for each Committee. The Facilities Committee will be focusing on significant projects that enhance the fundamentals of the North Campus: finishing the monument sign,adding a security system, reworking the bathrooms in the gymnasium, new air lock entrance to gym and enhancing the stage area with curtains and sound.

The Development Committee will be seeking to raise funds to make some other leaps in our facilities like additional gym bleachers, and making some athletic team rooms. They will also be looking for ways to keep bringing the international students to enrich our school and finding other ways to stabilize our enrollment trends.

The Finance Committee is seeking to keep moving the school to increased financial stability. We are adding more reserve funds for deferred maintenance, capital, and endowment. In addition we are committed to finding a way to unfreeze staff salaries which have been held firm for several years due to budget constraints.

Please continue in prayer as we prepare for the new calendar year. Specifically:
* That families will keep there kids at Maranatha and that new families will join us
* That we will be wise in handling the tuition rate for 2011-2012
* That our finances would continue to build some cushion and provide for some additional contributions to our staff
* That the Board will continue to crystallize our unity around plans, policies and guiding principles
* Most important of all...that God would be glorified in all that relates to Maranatha.

Merry Christmas!

That is what I call a WIN!

No we did not win on the scoreboard nor did we even score more points than we did the previous night. However we did accomplish something much more important.

After Thursday night's performance of low energy, minimal commitment to what we had practiced, poor fundamentals, etc, I challenged the girls pretty strongly after the game. When I went down to give the pregame talk the next night, I was pleasantly surprised - although not shocked - to find that the captains - Emma Vavricek and Cassie Fulk - had called a team meeting during the previous quarter of the boy's game. The whole team had agreed on some goals for the team and went around the room and each girl took accountability for their part. I was so blessed by this! They covered every aspect of what I was going to cover about the mental and heart part of dealing with adversity and competing in games. All I had to then discuss was a few strategies and plays and they were ready to go. Parents of these girls, I am just confirming what you probably already know...you have some wonderful girls quickly learning how to deal with life in godly way.

So maybe we all could learn from these families: Vavricek, Hunt, Fulk, Espinoza, Meyer, Bennett, Chapin-Patch, McConnell, Buckner, Kyle and Kroening. I have! And this is why I believe in the Mission of Maranatha.

Coaching Basketball

Another role I serve at Maranatha is head coach for the high school girls' basketball team. I thoroughly enjoy this ministry! Wonderful young ladies who have linked arms to journey through a season of successes, adversity, joys and tears.

So much can be taught and then applied in the arena of sports. Several examples have already occurred for our team in 2010: we elect our captains at the end of previous season and that gives them almost a whole year of practicing leadership - communication, being an example, making decisions, and mentoring. Another example is adversity which comes when things don't go the way you want - like losing a game. One common theme I have been reminding the girls is that it is in adversity when we learn the most. Isn't that true in life? Well we lost our first game of the season in a fashion that no one enjoyed. How the girls and the coaches respond in our game tonight will be very illuminating as to the character of our team. The scoreboard outcome is unknown, but do we play with heart, do we learn from our mistakes, are we still joyful Christians even in adversity and will we be focused on ourselves or on our team mates?

In the crucible of the basketball court, our girls are getting to put into practical application the Christian character that is being taught and modeled in your homes, at school, in your churches and by the coaches. Let's make sure we are out there rooting them on to succeed at that...regardless of what the scoreboard says.

At the Core of a Christian Worldview

If you have a true Christian worldview, then you must anchor those beliefs in Genesis. Everything that is in the Bible finds it roots in Genesis. For example, no need for salvation if not for the Fall. The definition of marriage? Yep, it is right there in the first chapters.

However, there are a lot of people who are not well-armed to defend the truth stated in the first chapter of Genesis. And if you can't rest on the foundation laid there, the rest of the Bible becomes suspect. I am ardent believer in taking the literal-day creation account as recorded in Genesis as fact. If you are a Christian and are either undecided on your belief about creation and evolution, or if you lean toward evolutionary beliefs, I encourage you to take advantage of an upcoming opportunity to hear the literal-day creation view explained and defended. As I have said, it is fundamental to the Christian life.

Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis is coming to Lenexa Baptist Church on January 16 and 17th. You can find the location, and agenda at http://www.answersingenesis.org/outreach/event/6858/. Sunday will be focused on adults and Monday on children. Maranatha will be partnering with LBC to get the word out. Please go and take your kids. I am sure you will benefit from the insight that the Lord has given Ken.

Many Thanks!

As I talk to parents, especially those that interact with the school frequently, it is quickly apparent that it is to our teachers that we should direct our appreciation. They are the main messengers and personifications of our Mission. And from the accounts that I am receiving, they are doing a splendid job. Please express your appreciation to our teachers during this Thanksgiving time for the impact on your children and thereby on our world. And remember to pray for them for wisdom, patience, and understanding.

There are so many other things to be thankful for that I hope you will truly take the time and spend it alone with our Father expressing your praise, worship and gratefulness.

Finally, I want to thank each of you for your encouragement directed to me and the Board. Your kind words help us keep seeking God's face for the future of Maranatha in spite of our other many commitments of jobs, family and church.

P.S. Basketball is upon us. I hope to see you at our basketball games this season. I would love to meet you and hear from you(both about the school and cheering for our teams). Of course, during the High School girls' games, please wait until the games are over. I may not be able to give you my undivided attention if you come over and sit on the bench with me while I am coaching. :)

Progressive Dinner

At the school auction, I bought a slot for my wife and I to participate in a Progressive Dinner with other Maranatha families. And, wow, am I glad I did! It was a wonderful evening of fellowship with parents I had not met before, had visited little with and catching up with those I did know. We had elementary parents hearing perspective from high school parents, parents with kids only at the North Campus hearing from parents with kids just in the South Campus. It was a fun evening just enjoying each other's company when everyone had something in common - Maranatha. Plus I made some connections that may help my daughter as she looks at getting a job in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. You never know who you will meet and the new friendships you may start.

Of course the hospitality and food was incredible - we went to the Schneider, Raydo and Welch's homes for appetizers, entree and desserts respectively(there were other host families for entrees, which helped divide up the work). I highly recommend that those with the gift of hospitality consider helping draw the Maranatha family closer together, by offering more of these kind of events.

What can you do to encourage that closeness of family?

New Landscaping at High School Entrance

A big shout out to our alumni: Jonah and Bo Nelson and David Hamm for a beautiful new landscaped entrance into the high school. Mr. Beck asked if I could help do something to make the entrance to the high school look more inviting and more like, well, a high school. So I tapped into the small group that meets for Bible study that I am a part of and Lisa McCracken started drawing some designs. She then contacted the Nelson's for ideas and help. They jumped at the chance. Jonah became our lead designer, purchaser and job foreman.

So Saturday, a few of us and the 3 men from Nelson's Nursery came out and worked all day to provide a beautiful new entrance to the school. It was hard work, but very rewarding to see these alumni come back and give to the school with such a great attitude. Plus they surprised us with a huge eagle statue that we placed at the entrance. I will be placing pictures here on the blog tomorrow, but it is even more beautiful in person. So if you see one of the Nelsons: Eric, Lorrie, Jonah or Bo, please thank them for their contributions to our school.