Our theme this year is “Praise the LORD” based on Psalm 147:1. God commands us in the Bible to praise Him, and we see many examples of praise. David plays the harp and wrote many psalms of praise. We’re also told that creation praises God, just by being creation. Moreover, Jesus gives us examples of praising God with His words, actions, and through prayer. Clearly, there are many ways to praise God.

In education, we know well that all students are different. They all have unique academic needs and strengths, as well as unique interests. Students also love different things: some love math, while others love music, while still others love reading and writing. These are good things because God made us this way. Can these gifts be used to praise God? Yes!

One of our hopes for students this year is to help them recognize that they can use their unique gifts in acts of praise. We sometimes think that worship is only for church, or only for chapel, but the Bible tells us that all of life can be an act of worship, so long as the desire of our heart is to do our work to the glory of God. Colossians 3:23-24 says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” This means that we can praise God all day with the learning we do at Woodstock Christian School. What a joy this is!

                                                                     Mike Vander Kooi, Principal