800 Juliana Drive, Woodstock, Ontario

Phone: 519-539-1492

     

October 2021

Autumn

The autumn season in Ontario is a great one, isn’t it?  I had the opportunity this weekend to visit a bustling place outside of London called “Apple Land Station”.  The trees have turned colours, the pumpkins are ready, the apples have been picked, and the corn is being harvested.  In Daniel we are reminded that God is the one who designed the seasons:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

    to whom belong wisdom and might.

21 

He changes times and seasons;

    he removes kings and sets up kings;

he gives wisdom to the wise

    and knowledge to those who have understanding;

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he reveals deep and hidden things;

    he knows what is in the darkness,

    and the light dwells with him.

 

What an imaginative Creator, God is.  Like our Creator God, He has created us with the ability to create as well (after all we are created in God’s image).   We cannot create things out of nothing as God has done, but we do have the ability to be creative with our own ideas, or create things with the materials around us, or shape our ideas into poems or stories.  Enjoy this lovely poem (see bottom) about the season of autumn by Joyce Rupp, an American author.  It is also found here.  And enjoy the long weekend enjoying His creation!

G. Hiemstra

 

Prayer for Autumn Days

God of the seasons, there is a time for everything;

there is a time for dying and a time for rising.

We need courage to enter into the transformation process.

 

God of autumn, the trees are saying goodbye

to their green, letting go of what has been.

We, too, have our moments of surrender, with all their insecurity and risk.

Help us to let go when we need to do so.

 

God of fallen leaves lying in colored patterns on

the ground, our lives have their own patterns.

As we see the patterns of our own growth, may we learn from them.

 

God of misty days and harvest moon nights, there is always

the dimension of mystery and wonder in our lives.

We always need to recognize your power-filled presence.

May we gain strength from this.

 

God of harvest wagons and fields of ripened grain, many gifts

of growth lie within the season of our surrender.

We must wait for harvest in faith and hope.

Grant us patience when we do not see the blessings.

 

God of geese going south for another season, your wisdom enables

us to know what needs to be left behind and what needs to be carried into the future.

We yearn for insight and vision.

 

God of flowers touched with frost and windows wearing white designs,

may your love keep our hearts from growing cold in the empty seasons.

 

God of life, you believe in us, you enrich us,

you entrust us with the freedom to choose life.

For all this, we are grateful. Amen

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Thanksgiving

We have just come out of a Thanksgiving weekend. What did you thank God for? 

For many it has been a difficult 18 months and many find it easier to grumble and complain about the world and circumstances around them . But Philipians 4:14-16 reminds us to “ do everything without grumbling or complaining...so you will shine like stars among them” 

Do you complain about all the laundry you have to do? Do you grumble when it is time to do dishes?  Do you gripe about being stuck in traffic? What if we took these as opportunities to see how God has blessed us and to  change our perspective and attitude.  

Instead of complaining about the laundry,  be grateful  you have clean clothes to wear each day.  When the dishes have piled up thank God you have plenty to eat each day. While sitting in traffic thank God for giving you the opportunity to slow down and spend some time in conversation with Him.

     What other ways can you “shine like stars” in the days, weeks and months to come?  

 

Marcia Horinga, Grade 1 Teacher

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Gulls, Geese, and Gratitude  

My family will tell you that I am somewhat of a bird nerd. Not quite a bird watcher (yet!) but a bird noticer. From my perch on the front step with my morning coffee, at daybreak each fall, winter, and spring morning I notice hundreds of gulls flying overhead to spend their day westward and returning to the east at dusk to rest at the lake. Gulls glide mostly quietly, high above with an occasional call. In the winter, the crows follow the gulls each morning and each evening, going west and returning east, loudly proclaiming their presence. Geese and ducks come and go in their seasons. This Thanksgiving week, as I consider with gratitude all that God provides, in every season, I am thankful for the rhythms and patterns that I see in creation. Birds do not go unnoticed in the Bible - have a read through the following verses and be encouraged about the care and detail God has created in our world. That care extends to each of us. God’s fingerprints are everywhere. He is Creator, Sustainer, God with us. Give him your praise and gratitude! 

Genesis 1:20  And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”

Isaiah 40:31   but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Luke 12:24  Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Job 12:7-9  “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?

                                                                                               Carol Verbeek, Principal

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