International School

When I was asked to write this letter, I asked the Lord for discernment.

After thinking for a while, the first thing I could think of was Psalm 150:

"Praise the LORD.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

Praise him with timbrel and dancing,

praise him with the strings and pipe,

Praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD."

……And I have been singing it since!

Never a better season for praising the lord! Everyone's favorite season!

This is the season when we take out our sweaters and scarves, when we cook tamales and torrejas and drink hot chocolate, the season when we go out at night to do our Christmas shopping and see the traditional Christmas lights and nativities, but mainly it's the time to share. And I'm not talking about the time only to share the material things, but also to share love with the people with whom we work, with the people who surround us and especially with our loved ones.

I grew up in a very traditional Christian home, and my parents always taught us to be thankful for what we had, and even though we aren't Americans, I like to celebrate Thanksgiving at home, having a traditional family dinner, with turkey, stuffing, and sweet potatoes. This begins a special time in our family; every weekend we get together for games and other fun activities, all leading up to Christmas Eve, when we exchange presents and celebrate Jesus' birth, not stopping our thanksgiving through this special season.

According to Ephesians 5:20, we should always be "giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." This season is a good reminder, and I like to take this time to thank God for everything I have - health, a cozy home, a family waiting for me after work, EVERYTHING has been given to us by our Lord. I thank Him especially for the place where I come to work, the people I work with, and the students that surround me. They give me happiness all the time. We are here at International School because God has brought us here, and has brought these students to us. We have a mission, and for that we also have to be thankful because not everybody is privileged to work in a Christian environment, and for their kids, to receive a Christian education.

In this season we should also be reflecting on our lives to consider what changes we might need to make, because we should be happily and joyfully thanking God for sending us Jesus Christ our Savior. I have received peace and joy and love from God, and that is what I want to share with everyone……….

This is the season for praising, for sharing and especially for being THANKFUL!

Mrs. Varinia Agurcia