Hello, ACHS families!
I cannot believe that we are already in April and that Easter is just around the corner. I remember as a child loving Easter because it meant waking up to an Easter egg hunt and eating copious amounts of delicious chocolate. Although now it is no longer me who hunts the house for delicious chocolate eggs, I still find great pleasure in hiding them for my sons to find when they wake up. Seeing the excitement and joy on their faces as they add to their collection is wonderful, but Easter holds so much more significance for me now. Significance and adoration because of what He did on the cross.
While reflecting on the REAL meaning of Easter and the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us, two words were deposited in my mind: life and hope. Those two things — life and hope — are gifts that we received through Jesus’ death and resurrection. I believe, too, that as parents, we have been mandated to speak, pray, declare, and decree those two things — life and hope — over our children!
Words have power! In fact, Proverbs 18:21 tells us that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…”. That’s some pretty powerful stuff, and it makes you wonder. It makes you wonder what labels have been given to our children and what words have been spoken over them by their peers, friends, previous teachers, their own self-talk, and even us as parents.These include statements such as:
“Johnny, you’re so stupid!” “You’re a naughty girl, Sally!” “Bob just can’t sit still, and he can’t concentrate for more than 2 minutes!” “Jenny isn’t the brightest, but she has a sweet heart” “I’m so dumb! Why can’t I do this!? Everyone else knows the answer except me. I’m just worthless!” —
These are definitely not words of life. Thankfully, though, those words aren’t the Truth.
The Truth is that believers have the mind of Christ. The Truth is that the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. The Truth is that we were fearfully and wonderfully made. The Truth is that His plans for us are for good and not for evil. The Truth is that before He formed us in the womb, He knew us, and before we were born, He set us apart.
We need to stand against any lie that has been spoken over or against our children, and we need to speak Truth and life over them. We need to prophesy their future over them. We need to pray them into the destiny that God has laid out before them. We need to fight for them in the secret place! It is everyone’s prayer here at ACHS that your children are blessed by the curriculum and excel academically, but even more than that, it is our prayer that your children — and yourselves — experience the fullness of life that is in Him and that their hope will always be in Jesus.
Jesus is the greatest gift we can ever receive, and the sacrifice that He made for us proves His unfailing, unconditional love for us. Take a minute to reflect on and think about that…He loves you!
Praying safety and blessings over you all this Easter period, and let’s make sure that we are following our mandate and that we are speaking life and hope over our amazing, giant-slaying children!
Yours in Christ,
Joshua McKenzie
Academic Consultant
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