Tips for Moms

This past week I had the opportunity to speak at a baby shower.  My thoughts turned into a bit of a top-ten list. It is by no means a complete list, but with the time I had to speak, I tried to cram as much as I could onto one page and into 5 minutes.  A few people have asked for it, so I thought I'd just post it here...

For Stephanie: Top Ten Tidbits of Mothering Advice ~ 02.23.12

Subject to change as I grow and learn more about being the mom God wants me to be… 

(*Crazy Glue: fixes almost anything they break…almost everything…)
10. Many wise women have told me this: Enjoy every stage of your child’s development.  Time is fleeting.  You won’t believe how fast the time flies…Before you know it they are behind the wheel & looking at universities… (Jms 4.14 Life is a vapour) Enjoy them while they are with you…some day you have to let them go…
9. Model a life of Balance…whether it’s in the work you do, the food you eat, the leisure activities you enjoy…the list could go on and on. What does this mean? One example: Balance work and play. It’s important to take time to play, dance and sing with your children.  When they grow up they will remember the time you spent playing with them, not whether your floor was sparkling clean. Give them undivided attention. Look them in the eyes when they are talking to you. Sometimes you need to demonstrate to them that they are more important than the dishes. (Eph 5.16-redeem the time)  
8. Be there and Party. As they grow older, be there for them.  Be there.  Watch them play their sports…cheer them on at the spelling bee or the battle of the books, and be interested in their hobbies and pursuits, whatever they are.  And Party with your children. Tell them you are proud of them. Celebrate their successes, remembering to thank God for giving them those gifts. Encourage them when they fail or fall. Let them fall…valuable lessons are learned when we make mistakes. Instil in them the desire to always do their best for God…and celebrate with them when they do! (Col 3.23; Eccl 9.10; 2Tim 2.15)
7. Let your yes be yes and your no, no. (Jms 5.12) If you make a promise…keep it…or…don’t make a promise you can’t keep. (Heb 10.23 God is the ultimate example of a promise keeper.) Along with this thought comes the idea of consistency.  Be consistent with what you expect in your children. Be consistent in your discipline. If you say something is going to happen, follow through with it…which also means, be very careful what you do say. 
6. Model gratitude and godliness with contentment (1Tim 6.6; 1Thess 5.18) – Being thankful – First to God for all His blessings, and also thankful to each other. Be content with what God has blessed you with. Teach the difference between needs and wants.
5. Model a love for learning and reading.  A love for godly wisdom and knowledge. Show your children what “lifelong-learning” means…especially gaining more and more knowledge about God…we never know it all! (Prov 1.7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom)(Jms 1.5 Need wisdom…ask for it.)
4. Model Love – speak it and show it daily. Say it and do it. Tell them you love them and shower them with affection. Tell them that you are so glad God made them. God has created us all unique. We are all created in His image…but we are also different from one another. No one is exactly like them…they have different gifts and talents…take the time to recognize them and help them to develop them and use them for serving God and others. (Ps 139; Mt25) Love them for who God created them to be.  Take that love outside the four walls of your home and touch your neighbourhood with love. (Jms 1.27)
3. Model confession and forgiveness (Col 3.13; Mt 6.12; 18.35) – we are all sinners. When you sin against your children, ask for forgiveness.  Pray with them and for them.  Keep your eyes and ears peeled for those unique “teachable moments.” Bedtimes are often special tender heart times…great times to talk about God and life…those times are often not forgotten.
2. Model the love of Christ and the church in your marriage (Eph 5.24-26; Col 3.18-20). This is one of the best gifts you can give your children…a model of a strong Christian marriage. Your children should see the love of Christ for His church being lived out before them.  They should see love and respect demonstrated in your marriage. They should see parents who serve one another and put each other first.  Protect your marriage. Put a hedge around your marriage and you will be protecting your children. Make your home a haven of rest, refuge and comfort for everyone.
1. Put God first. Love Him above all. (Deut 6.4-6; Lk 10.26-28) Put Him first before your husband and your children.  Maintain a strong relationship with Christ by spending quiet time with Him daily.  Take time to grow in grace and grow in your faith (2Peter 3.17-18).  Model the reality that you live under God’s authority.  Teach your children that they need to obey you, their parent…and demonstrate and tell them that you obey God. He is the head, the #1 in your life, your marriage and your family.

Hamilton Indoor Games

Yesterday, Levi had the privilege of competing at the Hamilton Indoor Games held at Copps Coliseum.  Trinity had a fantastic day and all the students competed with wonderful sportsmanship and heart.  TCS tied for 10th place out of 30 schools and a few of the students won medals, so it was an impressive display of God-given athletic abilities. We are very thankful for their coaches, Charles and Audrey McGregor, who always lead and coach with such enthusiasm and positive encouragement. Yesterday was a great experience for Levi.  He competed in three track events as well as triple jump. The opportunity to compete at this event was a great warm up for the upcoming track season...

Thumbs Up For Friday!

Thank you Disney*Pixar for such great little characters!

TCS Titans Hockey 2012

The two biggest boys in this house spent some time together at the hockey rink this winter.  The TCS Titans' hockey team participated in two tournaments (as well as an exhibition game against Dundas, which they won!) 

Levi enjoyed developing his skills and having fun with his friends on the ice, and Rick always loves any opportunity to put on his own skates and help out. 

After watching his brother at one of the practices, David said, "that just makes me want to play!"  (I'm glad he has a few more years to grow before he tries out for the hockey team.)  

Work and things of that nature kept me from going to the tournaments this year, but Taylor went with her friend to the tournament in Stouffville...(the girls were on a break between semesters.)  

I was very thankful that she went as the "Schenk photographer"...so thankful, in fact, that I let her take MY camera!

  The following pictures were taken and edited by her.  ♥Thank you so much Taylor!!!♥

Here are the "sports reports" that were put together by the team manager and published by TCS:

HOCKEY DAY IN GUELPH CANADA

On Thursday, January 19, fifteen determined hockey players rose early in the morning to travel for the annual Guelph District Hockey Tournament in Fergus.  Always a highlight of the sporting season, the hockey team practiced hard in preparation for a competitive day of hockey that included Christian schools from Guelph, Burlington Christian Academy (BCA), Kitchener and Brantford. 

The competition at this year’s tournament proved to be very strong for the Trinity Titans.  Although we began the day as the reigning Guelph District Christian School Hockey Tournament “AA” Champs, the day ended without a victory.    The team improved with each game and the players were a pleasure to coach and supervise.    Congratulations to all the players!  Well done! 

The team would especially like to thank our coaches, John Regeling, Jack Olewniczak and Tim Valters for all their help and all the parents who were able to drive.  We are looking forward to our next tournament in Stouffville on Friday, January 27.  We will keep you informed!

Rick Schenk

Hockey Night in Burlington

The hockey season at TCS has come to an end.   Fifteen young men strapped up their laces and took to the ice on Friday, January 27 in Stouffvulle to represent our school at the final tournament of the season.  Under the tutelage of head coach, Tim Valters and assistants John Regeling and Jack Olewniczak, the team improved significantly from the previous tournament. 

The tournament included teams from Stouffville, Barrie, St. Catharines and two from Burlington, including BCA and ourselves.  The team was faced with some tough competition and finished the tournament with a record of one win, one tie and two loses.  The scores included the following:  Stouffville 3, Trinity 2; Barrie 3, Trinity 3; Trinity 8, St. Catharines 3; and BCA 3, Trinty 1. 

The entire coaching staff was very excited about the level of commitment and effort from the hockey team.  After a rousing exhibition game against Dundas Calvin Christian School on Thursday, the team transformed from a group of hockey players into a team.  

A special thanks to all our volunteer parent drivers and the coaching team.  We are very thankful for the opportunity to lead this wonderful group of students and we look forward to another exciting season next year.

Rick Schenk

Team Manager

Air Canada Centre ~by David Schenk

To preface this post, I just want to say that we were blessed to be gifted with some tickets to a Raptors game...it was a lovely gift and enjoyed by the entire family.  On another note, I did not ask David to write a report about our trip to Toronto...he had so much fun he just had to write about it.  I did, however, ask him if I could type up what he wrote and share it, and he agreed, so here is his take on our exciting outing to Toronto!  Enjoy! 

On February 3, 2012, our whole family went to the Air Canada Centre to watch the Raptors vs the Wizards.  On our way, there we saw a dead animal on the road. Did you know the Air Canada Centre can transform from Basketball to Hockey? When we got there we got Skittles, M&M's, big M&M's. When they were introducing the teams, for the Raptors they set off fireworks and there was fire that burst from behind the net. During the game, the dudes would just shoot and it would go right in. They would only have to jump a tiny bit and they would be able to slam dunk it. Most of the guys were 6 foot something, only two people on the Raptors are 7 foot something. At the end of one of the periods, the Raptor mascot jumped on a trampoline and flipped and dunked it. For the half time show kids came and played basketball and any time they did a good shot the commentator would say, "good shot there kid." The people said that if the Raptors got 100 points or more everyone who came gets a free piece of pizza from Pizza Pizza. The Raptors did score 100 points so we get free pizza. In the end the Raptors won. The final score was 106 over 89 for Raptors. On the way home we took a detour. It felt like it took a long time. We were in Toronto for a long time. By the Air Canada Centre were lights that lit up with different colours. There also was a tree that had stars on it, it looked really cool. When we got home I started writing what I am writing right now. In the end I stayed up till 11:03.  The End.

OFSAA 2011

The King's Christian senior ladies basketball team went to the OFSAA Championships held at Ridley College this past November, and we were more than a little excited for this opportunity to cheer them on for the second year in a row.  They played four very tough games, and finished in 9th place out of fourteen teams. Needless to say, we were very proud of them all and thankful for their wonderful coaches, Eric Bulthuis and Elspeth Jones, who were there to lead them. They might not hold the OFSAA title, but they do hold the OCSSAA title...see here. Congratulations on a wonderful season!!  We are looking forward to the next one...DV.

After the last play...a final cheer...

Holding Each Other Up

It's a very Spring-like, rainy January morning and as I sit here with my feet up, enjoying my warm coffee, I have a very heavy heart for family members who are in a dark place right now.

I have members struggling with both physical and emotional difficulties, and these realities weigh on my mind and make it difficult to think of other things.  But that's okay, because on days like these, I feel especially close to God because I feel like I'm constantly praying while I go about doing my daily tasks.  We are encouraged to rejoice always, to pray constantly, and to give thanks in all circumstances...a high calling!

I must confess to my own shame, that the praying constantly is something that waxes and wanes in my life.

This morning I am also thankful for texts like the one above, and I thank God for the people in my life who help hold me up when I really need help.  The wonderful fact is that even when we can't be physically next to the ones we love, we have the blessing of being able to bring our loved ones to the throne of the Saviour and He is able to hold our loved ones in the palm of His hand. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He has promised to never give us more than we can handle. He gives us grace to make it through difficult times and He has promised to help us through them...we just need to take hold of His hand.

It's one of those days, when I can really feel His hand...

And so I am praying that my loved ones will feel His arms wrapped around them. He promises peace, so I am praying He will shower that peace on them right now.

We have an awesome, loving, heavenly Father.  He loves us more than we can even begin to understand and He has promised us so many blessings...blessings and promises that He WILL always keep. He will NEVER let us down.  Ever.

1 Peter 1:24-25

From Our House to Yours

Praying that all of our family and friends  

enjoy a very Blessed Christmas

and a Happy New Year!

"But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."  Mt. 1:20-21

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

This is what my hubby does when I say, "Carpe Diem!"

We are having a lovely Saturday in the Schenk house.  I am getting through the piles of laundry that accumulated as the week wore on, we are enjoying the left-over food from the party last night (lunch was super easy), the girls had a successful trip to the mall, the house is relatively tidy, Amber is spending an afternoon and evening with some friends, and Rick has enjoyed several games of hockey with his boys. 

Amber and Taylor's trip to the mall was one of "urgency" because Amber is heading to OFSAA with the King's senior women's basketball team this coming week and she needed something new for the banquet.  OFSAA is being held at Ridley College in St. Catharines, so if anyone wants to come out and cheer, just ask Amber for the schedule or check out the OFSAA website...we would be happy to have extra voices to yell and encourage them!  Last year we had such a "hoot" cheering them on.  It is exciting basketball to watch!

This past week was leaf pick-up time in our neighbourhood.  I love how things are done in this city...a big dump truck pulling around a wonderful giant vacuum...a crew of 3-4 drive and walk around town and suck the leaves up from the curb.  Perhaps it's a relative of Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street...

There was a big moon in the sky this week and I had fun trying to capture a nice shot...

Yesterday we had a funeral in our church for a wonderful Christian woman who recently lost her battle with cancer. Muriel Scott loved the Lord and was a wonderful witness for her Saviour till the end.  It is my understanding that she planned the entire funeral herself.  I was thankful for the opportunity and honour of ministering in music. During the service we sang "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow."  The latter was not in our hymn book at Trinity, but we sang it because it was a song that had special meaning for the family.

I don't know about tomorrow:

I just live from day to day. 

I don't borrow from its sunshine 

For its skies may turn to grey. 

I don't worry o'er the future, 

For I know what Jesus said. 

And today I'll walk beside Him, 

For He knows what is ahead. 

Every step is getting brighter 

As the golden stairs I climb; 

Every burden's getting lighter, 

Every cloud is silver-lined. 

There the sun is always shining, 

There no tear will dim the eye; 

At the ending of the rainbow 

Where the mountains touch the sky. 

I don't know about tomorrow; 

It may bring me poverty. 

But the one who feeds the sparrow, 

Is the one who stands by me. 

And the path that is my portion 

May be through the flame or flood; 

But His presence goes before me 

And I'm covered with His blood. 

Chorus:

Many things about tomorrow 

I don't seem to understand 

But I know who holds tomorrow

And I know who holds my hand...

(Ira Stanphill)

Pastor Carl Muller preached a simple and clear gospel message.  He shared with us that Muriel had told him that the service was not to be about her...It was to be about Christ...and so it was.  God's offer of salvation was presented to her family and friends.  Now we pray that God might use this time in their lives and this message to change hearts and save souls.  One of her daughters shared how her mother had two dreams.  One was to see her Saviour (that is now her reality!) and the other was to see all eight of her children in heaven some day. Perhaps some day she will...what a blessing that would be! 

Retirement Party

A big "Thank You" to everyone for coming out to celebrate Dad's Retirement!  50 Years of farming is quite an accomplishment and something worth celebrating.  God has richly blessed Dad with health and safety and we are thankful for all his many years of hard work as a wonderful provider for our family and a godly example to us all.

We had a lovely time of fellowship and enjoyed lots of delicious food.  The chocolate fountain malfunction may have let me down, but the melted chocolate was still delicious to eat!

I thank the Lord for my parents and pray He will continue to bless them with many years of health as they enjoy their retirement and continue to serve God during these exciting years.

WE LOVE YOU!

Silver Medalists

This was a Silver Medal week in the Schenk home.

Levi's volleyball team came in 2nd place at the elementary school tournament held in Hamilton yesterday, and today Taylor's basketball team came in 2nd place in the HSSAA Tier 2 championship game.  Many thanks to her coaches Eric Bulthuis, Elspeth Jones and Richard Stewart for all their leadership, encouragement and dedication.

Congratulations Taylor on a wonderful season!!!