A random thought popped into my head to peek at my calendar from this exact week last year — the second week in October 2019. It looks like it was a busy week, which is certainly not uncommon. But it was a different kind of busy. In addition to regular meetings on and off campus during the day, it looks like I also attended a middle school soccer game, a middle school/high school choir concert, a high school soccer game, a high school volleyball game, a bonfire, a meeting with our architect in Grand Rapids, and perhaps most importantly — it looks like Timothy Apple Pie Day was happening that week as well. 

I miss it all…

Although many of our events have been temporarily paused, the mission of Timothy Christian Schools is marching on. I have a front row seat to the remarkable work of our students and staff, and I’m in a constant state of amazement around here. I try to find time each day to walk past all of our classrooms...and there’s a lot of them. This year, more than ever, I experience powerfully positive emotions as I witness truly extraordinary things on these classroom tours! 

Here’s a quick example. Recently I had just completed making my rounds when Mr. Hamelinck asked to see me. His IDL class (Innovation and Design Lab) had just finished a project, and one of his premier students, senior Lauren Ellens, is taking an Independent Study. She is working through prototypes for a bigger project that will decorate the walls of the IDL for years to come. For now, she has made the greatest pencil holder/desk decor of all time for my desk. (It even has our motto and lights up!) Lauren happened to be attending Timothy remotely at the moment, so she presented this to me virtually. She made my day! I already informed Mr. Hamelinck that this project better be an A+.

Let’s keep our focus off of what is not happening right now...and fix our gaze on what is happening at Timothy. And, of course, our ultimate aim is to keep our eyes on Jesus. 

Press on, Timothy.