From the Principal

Finishing Well

This week our purchasing officer sent out a reminder out to staff to order our new planners for 2023.  This triggered some thoughts I’d like to share with you.

At our various School Assemblies there is a recurring theme of ‘Finishing Well’.  Whether that be for our Year 12 graduates who are frantically preparing for exams and end of year activities with an eye to the future, or our weekly reminders to staff and students to keep a firm eye on the finish line and make every opportunity count, or our Year 6 students moving into Middle School, or to our Kinder students who are coming to the end of their first year at LCS.

There is a temptation to look too far ahead and forget to look at what God wants to do right NOW and how God wants this year to end.

God is still moving. God is still healing. God is still blessing. God is still reconciling. God is still a way maker.  God never stops working!

There is still work that God wants to do in and through you THIS year.  And I’m trying hard to focus and prioritise the things He is involved in as we head towards the end of another year in service to Jesus at LCS.  A passage often quoted and has been up on our school sign from time to time comes from Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” 

But just how to do we go about the finishing well? What does that look like?

There are couple of things I’d like to remind myself of and hopefully these will be of benefit to you as you read this.

Limit your distractions

There are usually lots of things that to pull on your time and energy that can seem to overtake and take control of our agenda. If we are going to end well in this year, then limiting our distractions is going to play a vital role.  With a few adjustments, we can make it easier to keep our hearts and minds focused.

Be intentional about what you will commit to. It’s tempting to try to do it all, but everything comes at a cost.  Be willing to say NO to the things that don’t really help the finishing well plans.

Prioritize intimate time with God. An important aspect to finishing the year strong is prioritizing God in our everyday schedules. Make time to kneel with Him in prayer, worship and praise.  It’s hard to hear what God wants us to do when our minds are cluttered with mindless activities and endless things to do.  Learn again to be still and in the moment with those who are in front of us. It could be the sales assistant at Bunnings, the usher at church, your family across the table, the cashier at the petrol station, your classmates, etc, etc.  Take time to breathe in and ask how they are going and show an interest in what’s going on in their world.  By focussing on the needs of others, we contribute to the greater good of reducing the needs for all around us.  Philippians 2:3-4 reminds us to: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” With everyone looking out for everyone else's interests more than their own, no one would be in need.

Be a faithful steward your assignments

At times we can have our eyes so fixed on what we are going to do next year that we lose sight of the things that are right in front of us as an assignment placed there by God for us to work at.  Please hear me right.  Setting goals for the new year is a good thing, especially when they involve walking close to God’s commands for strong relationships. 

However, finishing the year strong has a lot to do with how we are stewarding the assignments God has already placed in our hands.  EVERYTHING we have in our lives is a gift from God.

The same God who spoke light into existence is the same God who gave our form a shape and breathed life into our lungs. Before time ever existed, He already created a purpose and plan for every single one of us. He’s anointed, called and equipped us for the assignments He has placed in our hands.  Just think, every person and every place we go is an opportunity to take God with us. We are not here to merely be led by dates on a calendar. We are meant for more than saving for retirement, building a home or traveling the world. Every moment is an opportunity to spread the love of Jesus, to make His name known and to build His kingdom. We can only do this if we are stewarding the people and assignments He’s placed in our lives well.

He’s given us what we need so we can faithfully and purposefully be good stewards.  Stewarding who and what God has assigned to us has less to do with a date on a calendar and more to do with His timing. Whatever God has entrusted you to do, do it and do it well.

Walk through the doors

God’s remarkable love has given everything in our lives purpose. Just think, before our mothers ever held us, God already accepted us. Before anyone spoke our names, we were already known by God.

Let’s not wait for the new year where we are a bolder, braver, stronger version of ourselves. Choose today to step right into who God uniquely created us to be. Once we are willing to demolish fear, we will continue to walk out the plan God has for us this year.

There are people THIS year waiting for us to walk out our kingdom purpose by intersecting with their lives. People who are waiting on us to bring the light of Christ into our homes, our workplaces, even the grocery store.

Make this the year where you make intentional steps to finish what God started in you. How you end the year can have a significant impact on how you walk into the next year. Choose to end well. Limiting your distractions, stewarding your assignments, and walking through the doors God has opened for you will help you finish this year strong. God is still moving, are you making room?

I’ll be cheering you on!  Let’s cheer each other on!

Memory Verses to encourage us.

Many years ago, when our young family were growing up, we had a habit of learning Bible verses through a series of songs.  In our day it was “The Donut Man”.  We would have a series of cassettes (remember them?) and we would play them on every trip in the family car.  Today’s equivalent is probably Colin Buchanan or Dan Warlow.  I’d encourage you to consider adding some of these artists to your playlists as you travel with your kids in the car.  What that did was burn these songs in our minds and we could recall them at will. And they still reside there in the recesses of this 64 year-old brain. 

The point of sharing this relates to a particular verse that has impacted me at many key times in life.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As we move on in our lives, there is an uncertainty that can be unsettling.  I’m particularly thinking of our Senior students as I write these words.  Can I encourage you to take the truth of this simple verse and apply it to your circumstance?  The version that lives in my mind is not identical in a word for word sense and has been reworked a little to make it fit with the tune that it was put to.

Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything, tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far wonderful than the human mind can understand, his peace will keep your minds and hearts, quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.