Let All Things Now Living

Words: Katherine K. Davis, 1892-1980
Music: "The Ash Grove", a traditional Welsh melody.

Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
To God the creator triumphantly raise.
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
Who still guides us on to the end of our days.
God's banners are o'er us, His light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night.
Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished
As forward we travel from light into light.

His law he enforces, the stars in their courses
And sun in its orbit obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.
We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing;
With glad adoration a Song let us raise
Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving:
"To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!"

Click here to watch/listen

Keeping “Thanks” in Thanksgiving

It’s almost Thanksgiving!

In just a few short days – your classroom will be empty, the hallways quiet and the construction paper Thanksgiving decorations (doesn’t every classroom have a “cartoon” turkey abounding with colorful “I am thankful for . . .” feathers?) will be hanging on for just a few more days!

Once you return to school after the Thanksgiving break – it becomes “All Christmas . . all the time!” You will be busy helping your students make gifts for their parents (and trying to keep them a “secret”), planning the classroom party and replacing the brown and orange fall decorations with the red and green of Christmas. During the month of December, you will be intentional about keeping “Christ in Christmas” and teaching your students that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.”

In the few remaining days before Thanksgiving, I would like to challenge you to be intentional about keeping “Thanks in Thanksgiving.”

• As you teach the story of the First Thanksgiving, help your students understand the need for DAILY thanksgiving and “thanks-living.”
• As you teach about God’s provision and protection for the early settlers, help your students understand God’s DAILY provision and protection in their lives.
• As you teach about Thanksgiving (the event), let your students see you living a life of thanksgiving (the attitude)!

Each day between now and Thanksgiving, we will be posting a Thanksgiving hymn/song for you to use in your classroom! Sing it, read it, display it!

Why hymns? Because . . .

Hymns are “ . . . statements of faith, testimonies of struggle, failure and success, and confident declarations of hope. Carefully and lovingly crafted by their creators, they’ve been used by God’s Holy Spirit to challenge and encourage the souls of generations of believers. Some consider them antiquated and irrelevant to contemporary culture, but I’m confident these cherished expressions of our Christian faith – these hymns of grateful praise – will speak fervently for years to come.” (Michael Faircloth as written on the jacket of the album Grateful Praise: Hymns for Piano).

Enjoy the hymns and let’s keep the THANKS in THANKSGIVING!

Log In and Listen!

No Greater Joy
2009 MACSA Convention
Keynote Sessions by Dr. Richard Swenson

Click here to download/listen to the three keynote addresses:

• Thursday, November 5 - AM
• Thursday, November 5 - PM
• Friday, November 6 - AM

Please let me know if you have trouble with the downloads. All files are in MP3 format!

What You'd Like to Say to Parents but Can't & Extreme Makeover--New CSJ Blog Articles

From the Christian School Journal

Three important CSJ blog announcements:

1. The blog has been completely redesigned—take a look!

2. There is a new Christian School Journal Facebook Fan Page for with discussion board—see the CSJ Blog for details.

3. We have new articles:

• Extreme Makeover! Take a Look
• What You’d Like to Say to Parents but Can’t
• Remarkable Times, Remarkable Blessings
• They Are Coming After Your Students and Said So!
• Take a Break: Time for a Laugh!
• Charter Schools Pass a Major Test!
• Fl. Virtual School Enrollment Up at Least 50 Percent
• Jesus, Save Us From Your Followers
• For Good or Bad: Email No Longer Rules
• What is Google Wave and Why Should You Care?
• Not So Fast: Is Technology Diminishing Our Quality of Life?
• Do Our Schools Need to Become Less Uptight?
• A Gardener’s Tale
• Is Perception Reality?
• Where is Your School in the Organizational Life Cycle? Why Does it Matter?
• Your High School Students and Staff Need to See This
• Have You Seen This Outstanding Resource?-OER Commons

Let me know what you think of the new look and features of the CSJ blog. And, submit an article! I am always looking for good articles that will inform and bless others.

Barrett Mosbacker
Publisher, Christian School Journal Blog

Remarkable Times, Remarkable Blessings

Zach Clark, Westminster Christian Academy (St. Louis) as origially posted on The Christian School Journal.

Remarkable Times, Remarkable Blessings

Read about the struggles encountered and the actions taken by the leadership staff at Westminster Christian Academy - and be encouraged!

Zach writes, "Ultimately, it is God’s mercies and provision, by His grace, that sustains us. But, I also know that God works through people, their decisions, and their strengths and weaknesses. Many schools are facing far more difficult times than we have. We do not pretend to fully understand all of what has happened or what is happening now. But, I do challenge you to join us in the day-to-day discipline of asking questions and digging deeper down and climbing higher up in the understanding of this calling of serving in a Christian school in today’s times. 2009 is indeed a remarkable year, and remarkable times remain ahead. Let us go forward together."

MACSA Convention - UPDATE

MACSA Convention Registration: EARLY registration is now CLOSED! It's not too late to attend, just bring your registration forms and payment TO THE CONVENTION!

SPECIAL NOTE: There is a CHANGE to the previous post regarding the Technology Track. Due to a family emergency, Dr. Mossbacker is unable to stay through Friday, therefore, the FIRST workshop on Friday will be moved to the last session on Thursday and the Q&A session has been cancelled. Please check with the MACSA registration desk at the convention for the location of the last seminar on Thursday. Thank you for your understanding.

Thursday, November 5

• 112 - Economic, Global, and Academic Context for Technology Integration
• 150 - Implications for the Curriculum: 21st Century Skills and Technology Integration Defined
• 175 - Technology Planning and Budgeting
• 211 - Staff Development, Overcoming Resistance, and Technology Implementation

Friday, November 6

• 211 - Moved to THURSDAY afternoon
• 246 - Cancelled

MACSA Convention

The MACSA convention is less than 2 weeks away! If you haven't registered, please send your registration information to Marie Young at the MACSA office ASAP.

SPECIAL NOTE: There will be a 5 workshop track for Technology Teachers/Coordinators. The Tech Track will be led by Dr. Barrett Mosbacker (Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, AL). These workshops were not listed in the preview booklet, but were listed on the insert that accompanied that mailing. The workshops are:

Thursday, November 5

• 112 - Economic, Global, and Academic Context for Technology Integration
• 150 - Implications for the Curriculum: 21st Century Skills and Technology Integration Defined
• 175 - Technology Planning and Budgeting

Friday, November 6

• 211 - Staff Development, Overcoming Resistance, and Technology Implementation
• 246 - Questions and Answers

Click HERE for Convention registration information!