Devotion – At home with Martha and Mary

It is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil (Ecclesiastes 3:13).

Cleaning the toilet – beautiful work? You must be kidding!

As we read today’s verses from Ecclesiastes, we realise that the parable of the rich man in our gospel reading for this week (Luke 12:13ff) is Jesus’ commentary on Ecclesiastes. The rich man in Jesus’ parable worked hard to gather and store wealth, only to hand it over to God and others when he died suddenly. His acquisition and consumption were meaningless, a fruitless chasing after the wind (to quote Ecclesiastes).

In contrast, doing the work God has given us to do in our lives, knowing that because it’s work from God, it is good – beautiful, even – and leads to deep satisfaction and joy. Even if the work is cleaning toilets, tending a teething baby, marking the next student assignment, seeing a difficult client, or turning the tractor for the next furrow … Because God ‘has made everything beautiful in its time’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Due to the fall, back in Genesis 3, work became a burden for us. But God redeems that burden through Jesus’ work for us on the cross. Our God-given vocations are beautiful works – even eternal works – because God dignifies them. Because Christ is in us, doing it with us.

And when our work is done each day, we can rest, eat and drink and be glad because this rest, like the good work before it, is all a gift from God.

Working simply to chase wealth – acquiring and accumulating and consuming – this work is exhausting, uncertain and finally empty. It never brings peace. But the good work Jesus calls each of us to, in our different places and vocations, is a source of joy and fulfilment. It’s our offering to God, our bodies being living sacrifices as our act of worship.

And God takes our small, imperfect acts of service – our work – and sanctifies and completes it for us – his power perfected in our weakness. And that work stands forever.

Whatever you do today, let your work be an offering back to the God who gave it to you, who gave you the abilities and time to do it. The God who delights in your offering and in you.

Lord Jesus, take my work today, whatever it is, and receive it as a sign of my love and gratitude towards you. Fill my work with your perfect power so that it blesses others and honours you. And give me sweet rest at the end of my work today. Thank you, beloved Master.

Prayer Points

We give thanks for the many blessings Liz Pietsch brought to our school through her roles on the School Board.

We pray for God’s comfort and strength to her family and friends

We pray for the Luu & Tran families

Micah Award

To Akec for showing service to others.

To Francisco for showing service and humility.

Welcome

It is with great pleasure that I introduce a new member to our staff. We welcome Mr. Viet Le to the school in the role of Accountant. Viet will be looking after the financial side of our operations as well as assisting with front office duties. Viet comes to us with experience in the school setting and an understanding of the pressures and hardship families may be facing. We wish Viet every blessing as he starts his journey at Sunshine Christian School.

A reminder for our Burmese families that Cante Vanuk is at school on Mondays and Thursday from 9am until 12pm to assist with families who require translation services. Please feel free to come into the front office during these times.

All parents and caregivers are welcome and encouraged to come and discuss any matters or issues that may be worrying you. Our friendly staff will work with you and assist you in the best possible manner.

Prep

In the Prep classroom we are working on the correct formation of our ascending letters. These are the lowercase letters that are tall – such as l, k, h, d, b and f.

You can help us by reminding us that these letters are tall like capital letters.

Year 1/ 2

In the 1/2 classroom in Maths, we are learning about measurement. We measure length and investigate the area of shapes. You can ask us to measure the length of furniture using a handspan, foot, or any small object. Ask us to use a ruler and measure objects in centimetres.

Year 3/ 4

In the Year 3/4 classroom we have been learning about Persuasive writing. We are learning how to persuade someone to agree with our opinion. Ask us about some of the reasons we gave when we had a mini debate.

Year 5/ 6

In the Year 5/6 classroom we took a trip to Bunnings Warehouse to help us plan for our Cubby Project this term. Ask us about what we plan to do.