Parent Connection February 26

Piles and Piles and Piles

          As I look out my window this morning, I see some more of the white stuff falling from the sky. Last night, it was drifting slowly to the ground and this morning it is being driven by the strong winds. When I arrived this morning, Mrs. Gillespie and Mrs. Z were just finishing off the task of shoveling what had fallen during the night. By the looks of it at recess time, there will be more shoveling to be done. Even after it stops snowing, there will be more shoveling to be done. Sometimes it is frustrating because, just after you finish shoveling, the sidewalk cleaner or the grader comes past and provides another pile of snow to move out of the way.

          In much the same way, when we look over our lives, we see piles and piles and piles of sin. We daily keep adding to those piles. The sad thing is that there is nothing we can do to move those piles. We may try to hide those piles, or ignore those piles, but they are evident to all.  If we convince ourselves that everything is just fine, Satan will come along with his grader to make those piles ever more evident, putting them right in front of your face. It is hopeless to try to deal with your heap of sin and shame by yourself.

          Thanks be to God for He has removed our guilt by paying the price for our sins! Jesus gave up His throne in heaven, came to earth, and lived His life in full obedience to God’s law. He was completely innocent of any wrongdoing but God the Father put all of our guilt on His Son and punished Him in our place. As He died for us, He declared that our debt had been “paid in full”!  On Easter morning, God raised His Son from the grave as His stamp of approval on all that Jesus had done.

          Now when we are troubled by sin, or when Satan tries to raise those piles in front

 of us, we can turn to our Savior and know that the piles are gone, never to bother us again.  With St. Paul, we can “Forget[ting] what is behind and strain[ing] toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13b-14.

Chicken Dinner

          A big Thank You to all who contributed to support our school!  With your help, we were able to raise over $800.

YMCA Visits

          Grades K-8 will be going to the YMCA again tomorrow, Tuesday, February 27th.  Have you noticed your child sleeping better on Tuesday nights after all of that exercise??

          Our last trip will be next Tuesday, March 6th.  TADS accounts will be billed after this visit.

Indoor Soccer Practice

Soccer practice for grades 5-8 begins next Tuesday, March 6th, at APU, 4:00-5:30pm.  Practices will continue every Tuesday and Thursday.  Games will be announced as soon as they are scheduled.

Midweek Lenten Services

We are continuing our Wednesday Lenten Services this week.  Parents are encouraged to join their Faith Lutheran School students at 3:00pm to hear about “Jesus, Our Great High Priest.”  This service will last a little more than half an hour.  Students will be dismissed for the day at the end of the service.

Hand Chimes Choir

          We will play one song during the 3:00pm Lenten service.

Health Fair

          Faith Lutheran Church and School is sponsoring a Health Fair Saturday, March 3rd from 8:00am-12:00pm to bring free health education, health screenings, and affordable blood tests to our community.  Alaska Health Fair Inc. will provide the majority of materials, supplies, medical volunteers, and other support but we need volunteers to help set up and take down, to help during the fair, and to donate food.  Setup begins on Friday afternoon, March 2nd.  A list of food items needed and a signup sheet is posted in the Fellowship Hall or you can sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054ba5a72ba57-101516.  Contact Gabby gby279@yahoo.com for more information.

SPRING BREAK BEGINS NEXT FRIDAY

          Friday, March 9th, is the end of 3rd quarter.  All classes will dismiss at noon.  There will be no After Care available so please pick up your students at 12:00 pm.

The following week there will be no school Monday, March 12th through Friday, March 16th.  Classes resume March 19th.

March Birthdays

God’s blessings on your birthday and throughout the year.

Elizabeth A. – March 16

Emma R. – March 21