1/21/24
The Problem With Ease
“The Lord knows what men need; they know only what they want. They want ease; He knows they need purity.”
George MacDonald
I will make a confession right now: I instinctively prefer ease over work, if given a choice. I want to rest. I want to move slowly in the morning. I’d rather order in than cook. I’d rather drive than walk. I can be a lazy sloth.
However, God knows what I need. I need to move. I need to work. I need to serve. And I need to do it all for His glory. Being a lazy sloth does not bring God glory; in fact, it is sin. God wants me to be pure, to be a reflection of His character since I am made in His image.
Working hard, to God’s glory, makes us pure because hard work refines us. Toil and sweat teach us to appreciate what we have earned; mental challenges increase our knowledge and sharpen our acumen; failures give us opportunities to learn and grow; experience promotes an increase in wisdom. Because of these reasons, and many others, we should not only desire work, but we should seek it, welcome it, and embrace it.
As parents (and teachers), we often want to make things easy for our children. It’s hard to watch them struggle when something is difficult or become discouraged when they don’t understand something quickly. However, difficult things are good for our soul. They teach us to persevere, to demonstrate humility, and to trust in God’s sovereignty. Our responsibility to our children is not to make their lives easy, but to teach them how to respond to difficulties and how to persist until they’ve accomplished whatever God has asked of them.
So, pray with your children, encourage your children, support your children, work with your children...and see how they grow in their faith and purity!
11/9/23
The Three R’s
“Be sure, whatever you leave out, that you teach the children the three R’s: Ruin, Redemption, and Regeneration.”
C.H. Spurgeon
“School days, school days, dear old Golden Rule days,
Reading and ‘riting and ‘rithmetic, taught to the tune of a hickory stick.”
Boy! Have things changed since the days when that song was written! Fortunately, no one is being caned for making a mistake in their lesson. Unfortunately, many schools have adopted different definitions for “reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic” (the traditional Three R’s). Reading for indoctrination without critical thinking; free-form writing with no regard for structure, correct spelling, or coherent grammar; and Common Core math have become acceptable, alternative methods to those used in the “Golden Rule days.”
As you parents are well aware, the curriculum at Caritas Academy uses time-tested methods to teach your children the skills of learning. Academically, we instruct students to read for comprehension and understanding. We show them how to write clearly and beautifully. And we teach them math facts and how to use them.
When we educate our students in these subjects through a biblical perspective however, they not only learn how to do these things, but they also learn for what purpose they need to know these skills. Students learn to look beyond the print on the paper of the books they are reading, to what God says about the ideas conveyed and how we, as Image-bearers, should respond to them. They learn that the purpose of writing clearly and speaking well is to communicate to others the Person of Christ and His message of the Gospel. When working with numbers, students perceive the perfection of God in the absolutes of math, along with how numbers relate to one another, as the Church relates with others, with the world, and with our Creator.
So, Caritas teaches the traditional Three R’s; and, in my opinion, we do it pretty well. However, I was intrigued by the quote above from Charles Spurgeon. Do we teach Ruin, Redemption, and Regeneration? And what is their place in our curriculum?
I daresay that those Three R’s should be of utmost importance in our school day. If we are truly teaching through a biblical worldview, the concepts of Ruin (we are sinners, worthy only of death), Redemption (Christ sacrificed His life as an offering for ours), and Regeneration (through the Grace of God alone we are made holy) should not only be a part of every lesson, but they should also be exhibited in the lives of our staff and shown towards our students. If we do this well, our students will grow in humility, thankfulness, and faith.
Please pray that God will equip us in this most important work!
10/12/23
What’s In A Name?
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. William Shakespeare
Names are important. Ask any expectant mother and she will tell you that the question most often asked of her, after “What are you having?” and “When are you due?”, is “What are you going to name your child?” We pore over lists of names as we await the birth. We consider names from our family lines. Harold? Orion? Betsey? Paisley? The name can’t be too contemporary or too old-fashioned; not too strange nor too ordinary. It has to fit the child - perfectly.
Names typically have meaning. Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, which means “Father of Multitudes” because God would bless him with a multitude of descendants. Jesus called Simon Peter, which means “rock”, as He said, “...upon this rock I will build my church…” The Son of God is named Jesus, which means, “The Lord saves.” And most importantly, God calls Himself Yahweh, which means, “I AM.”
Many names reflect a connection with history. Family names come from a long genealogy and can be traced back to ancestors from centuries past. We are connected to these people from history and we usually beam with pride as we say, “I’m a Troyer!” (insert your own name). My maiden name is Chamberlin and harkens back to English aristocratic estates where the “Chamberlain'' was the officer in charge of the household. We are proud of that name. It has been used for a number of centuries.
A person’s name gives them an identity. When you introduce yourself, you say, “I am ________.” When your name is mentioned to others, they have a picture in their mind of what you look like, what your voice sounds like, your mannerisms, and your uniqueness. Sometimes, someone’s name may create anxiety or annoyance. Other names imbue a person with warmth, fond memories, and hopeful anticipation of meeting again. Too often for me, a name can create a sense of confusion as I wonder, “Who IS that?”, my mind a blank. Your name reflects who you are.
Names are obviously not just conferred to people. Places and animals are named. God gave Adam the responsibility to name all of the animals that God created. Even our own school, Caritas Academy, has a name. We didn’t choose this name lightly. As you probably all know by now, the word caritas means “unconditional love.” Other words associated with caritas are charity and agape. This is the love that God shows us in John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Caritas has a connection with history. It comes from Latin, a language that has been used for centuries. It’s the language of Cicero, Virgil, Aquinas, Bacon, Newton, and Milton. It’s a language that has been used broadly in science and medicine. It’s a language we teach our own students in order to improve their vocabulary, their mind, and their love of beautiful things.
Our school is identified by our name - we are CARITAS ACADEMY. Even more so, we are Caritas Christian Classical Academy. Our name identifies us as Christians who value love. People who are loved by God and therefore, can love one another with the love that God has given us. When people hear our name, we want them to think of love for community, love for learning, and most importantly, love for God.
But we need to remember that just using the name Caritas isn’t enough to give us an identity of love. We need to show it - to the world and to each other.
And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us. 1 John 3:23
We can show our love for others in the Caritas Community in a myriad of ways - by coming to someone’s aid, spending time together, giving encouragement, forgiving one another, showing grace, and seeking unity. Even small acts of kindness like holding a door open, giving a compliment, saying hello, looking someone in the eye and smiling go a long way in showing someone that you love them with God’s love. What are ways that you have shown love to someone here? How else can you show love?
I pray that we will show the world that Caritas is aptly named as we love one another…because He first loved us.
Caritas numquam excidet - “Love never fails”
Irrigating Deserts
It all begins with an idea.
When I first moved to Arizona from Boise, Idaho, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. All I viewed around me was dry dirt, scrub brush, saguaros (the only cactus with which I was familiar), and other thorny threats. Where were the trees? The grass? The GREEN?! I was, in fact, not just disappointed, but heartsick. In my opinion, the desert was barren and desolate, devoid of any beauty.
However, a few months after the move, the rains came and brought a miracle. The cacti sprouted flowers! Proud pink or yellow blooms along the edges of the prickly pear, bright orange fringes shooting from the ocotillo, white blossoms on a stately saguaro. The little bit of water in the desert brought forth an assemblage of artistic beauty.
In C.S. Lewis’ book, The Abolition of Man, he asserts that, “The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.” It seems that the purpose of education today is to tear down the lush foliage of our children’s minds and hearts, and to replace it with infertile, utilitarian machines. Perhaps educators want to graft a piece from a poisonous plant into a thriving vine to create fruit that is bitter and diseased. Or worse yet, they reshape a boxwood shrub, attach fruit to it, and call it a raspberry bush.
Rather, educators should “irrigate deserts.” We should flood the waiting ground with the water of stories and knowledge, of truth and song, of art and numbers, of words and ideas. Then, just as the flowers bloom on the arid ground in Arizona, we will watch our children’s minds and hearts grow in a love for learning, a desire for what is true, good, and beautiful. We will need to tend our newly grown garden, adding mulch and fertilizer to keep the fauna healthy, pulling weeds and pruning here and there. But if we’re patient and attentive, we will witness the formation of an abundant paradise.
Caritas is dedicated to following the Gardener and tending to His delicate, tender shoots. Please pray for our staff and families as we work in His garden to His glory.