Archives - November 2021
’Twas the Night
November 17, 2021
Greetings, Cougar Community!
Are you one to get into the Christmas spirit before Thanksgiving, or do you adamantly declare that Thanksgiving deserves its day before Christmas takes over? What is your tradition? Is there anyone out there who pulls out the Christmas tree and decorations the day after Thanksgiving to decorate while watching a Christmas movie? When our children were small, our day-after-Thanksgiving movie was The Muppets Christmas Carol (imagine nostalgic music here …).
Regardless of your dogma about these two competing holidays, Christmas is definitely coming! We are SO looking forward to the opportunity to gather together for our ELC Christmas programs to watch our little ones with awe and wonder as they sing and proclaim the glory of heaven, sent to us in the form of a baby to redeem the world. Mark your calendars for December 9 in the gymnasium, and plan to bring your cameras! The schedule is as follows:
10:00 a.m. – Leopards
3:00 p.m. – Lions, Elephants, Tigers
5:00 p.m. – Crocodiles, Zebras, Giraffes
We are excited to host our Scholastic Book Fair the week of our programs—December 7 through 10—so bring your Christmas list and plan to support our center by purchasing books for your child’s classroom, friends, and family! All proceeds will go to enhance classroom libraries.
JOY to the world, the Lord has come!
We Salute You!
November 10, 2021
Greetings, Cougar Community!
In this season more than ever, I am honored and privileged to say thank you to the men and women, along with their families, who have dedicated their lives to defend the freedoms of the American people. This has come at great cost to them as they have forsaken their comforts, their preferences, and often their safety so that we can enjoy freedom
of choice, both individually and collectively. I have never been more aware of how valuable and precious this is, and I say with all sincerity, THANK YOU!
Please enjoy this video honoring veterans from our CCS Puyallup Early Learning Center, and join me in making every effort to personally thank them when we see them.
We Salute You!
Discover Unity through Fellowship
November 03, 2021
November’s Spiritual Theme
Have you ever noticed there are some things we do better by ourselves? Riding a bike, taking a test, and driving a car are examples that come to mind. Doing these things with the help of others could lead to disastrous consequences, such as suffering personal injury, getting an automatic F on a test for cheating, or even totaling a car. Completing these tasks are best done on our own.
On the other hand, there are things we do in life that are done best in the presence, and with the help and support, of other people—things like winning on a sports team, performing in a choir, or playing a band concert. After all, who can win a championship without the help and support of teammates or a coach? Who can sing multiple parts at once? Who wants to play a concert in an empty stadium? It could even be argued that completing some or all of these things is impossible without the help and support of others.
The older I get, the more convinced I am that the journey of faith is one of those things best done alongside others. There are times, even, when we face challenges that are impossible to overcome without the connection of love, support, and encouragement we have with the people of God around us. The Bible labels this connection fellowship—encouragement we feel as a result of being connected to others through our connection to Christ.
Throughout the month of November, we will be exploring the Bible’s perspective on what it means for us to have unshakeable fellowship. This unshakeable fellowship begins with Jesus. We will look at how Jesus—as a result of His life, death, and resurrection—defeated sin and death, the very things that prevented us from having fellowship with each other and with Him. We will look at people like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who stood strong in the middle of the fiery flames as a result of the connection they had with God and each other. We will learn about people like John Wesley, who facilitated small groups of fellowship for men and women that would spur on revival in churches throughout England during the 18th century. Our students will see and experience firsthand that unbreakable bond of connection we experience with God and His people in our lives, as well as the amazing resource that connection can be for us as we make our way through the journey of faith.
My prayer is that this month all of us as a community, including our students, would discover unity as a result of the fellowship we have with God and with each other. Blessings!