Mrs. Melanie Lumkes
Personal Profile
I grew up in Chino, CA and I can proudly claim to be one of the few people here at Timothy Christian Schools to grow up on a dairy farm. I currently live in Naperville with my husband Jay and our two children. While I enjoy our close proximity to Chicago which enables us to enjoy the sights and opportunities a big city can offer, there are still days when I miss the open roads and open spaces of a rural setting. I enjoy reading, jogging, and watching the History Channel.
Professional Profile
After graduating from Ontario Christian High School I moved to Iowa where I attended Dordt College. I started college as a history major, and I took a few PE classes to work on my coaching certification. I enjoyed the health and PE classes so much I decided to double major in history and PE. I graduated in 1996. After graduating I continued moving east and came here to Timothy Christian where I teach in the Social Studies department.
Philosophical Profile
I have always loved history; even as a child I enjoyed reading the social studies textbook in school. As I grew older and began to look at history more critically, and as my spiritual life grew, I realized that God can and does use all people and all events. As the author David McCullough wrote, “I’m convinced that history encourages, as nothing else does, a sense of proportion about life, gives us a sense of how brief is our time on earth and thus how valuable that time is.” As I have studied history, I have realized that people and events in the past have been used by God to further His kingdom. A favorite example of mine is the Roman emperor Nero. He was a man who passionately hated Christianity, and he tried his best to destroy the early church. But his persecution of the Christians only scattered the early believers, and as they scattered, they spread the message of Christianity all around the Mediterranean world. Nero could not have realized that his evil persecution would only strengthen the thing he set out to destroy. If God could use a man like Nero, how much more can He use us – people who love and fear the Lord? Our time on earth is brief, but the study of history, and the stories of history can encourage us and show us how powerful people and ideas can be.
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