August 2 FIRST DAY | Grateful for the opportunity to gather with our entire @NCCSEagles Faculty and Staff this morning for a week of worship, prayer, preparation, and planning for our students to join us next week. God has HUGE plans for these people and this place. Always a joy to prayer walk the hallways over the course of the summer. Can’t wait to have our families back on campus over the course of the next several days. Will you join us in praying that we will seek Christ first above all things this year?
“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15
#GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily #WelcomeHome
August 2 GABE COSTA | Gabe is a valued member of the @NCCSEagles Class of 2020. COVID prevented him from being at graduation and he has been home helping his family in Brazil this past year. When I talked to him last year, I asked if he wanted me to send his diploma. He said, “no ma’am, I want the hugs that go with my diploma…I will come back to NCCS before I go to my college.” Today was the day!
@gabriel_pinto_da_costa is headed to the University of South Carolina and we know God has amazing plans for him. Such a joy to officially celebrate Gabe’s NCCS graduation today! He was selected by his peers to receive the Barnabas Christian Character Award because he is such a great encourager. He also finally received his turtle from “Ms. Cooking”. Mama Clark made sure we made a plan to honor Gabe and she and Ms. Cook even scored some cupcakes for the occasion. Thank you Austin and Cody for helping make it extra special. Congratulations Gabe! #GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily 📷 @summer_pendley
August 2 PARENT ORIENTATION | Tonight was a gift to me in so many ways. We had a huge crowd at the @NCCSEagles Upper School Parent Orientation. What a blessing to start our time led in worship by @amykwallace, joining our hearts together in prayer, and spending time together talking about the year to come. At NCCS, we are not as concerned with “where you are going” as much as we are consumed with “who you are becoming.”
God is faithful.
He is working.
The best is yet to come!
#GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily
August 8 BRAVES WIN | It was a beautiful day at the ballpark. Lunch at Sports and Social and then a Braves win over the Nationals. Great friends. Great day! Thanks @baseball_keane for the tickets! #GoBraves @Braves
August 9 WELL DONE | One week ago today, we celebrated the high school graduation of Gabe Costa after a slight one year delay due to COVID that prevented him from attending the @NCCSEagles Class of 2020 graduation in person. Today, we celebrate the fact that Gabe is standing face to face with Jesus. Our hearts are sad and we grieve the things that we loved so much about Gabe. We take great comfort in the fact that Gabe knew Jesus and he truly lived out the abundant life we read about in John 10:10. A car accident took his life, but it’s no accident that Gabe never wasted a moment of his life. He was full of joy, intentional, kind, and loving…and an absolute blast to be around. Today we mourn and our hearts are heavy. Thank you for praying for Gabe’s family, Club Costa, our faculty and staff, and so many friends and acquaintances who dearly loved Gabe. We grieve with hope and we believe Gabe is wearing his boots and his rodeo championship belt buckle in heaven. #EaglesForever #GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily Colossians 1:17
August 10 FIRST DAY | Today’s the day! We officially kick things off in the Upper School @NCCSEagles today. Our K3-2nd graders had an awesome first day yesterday and we look forward to adding all the big kids today. As our school steps into Year 39, we do so with the same posture of the 4 families who mortgaged their homes to start NCCS….open hands saying “it’s all yours God.”
Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Whatever God’s plan is for this year, we look forward to watching that unfold. We have no thoughts that it will be easy, but we know it will be good. Will you pray with us and for us?
God is faithful. He is working.
Let’s Go Eagles!
#GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily
August 10 FIRST DAY | What a blessing to all go back to school together @NCCSEagles!
Eli -3rd grade
Emma -7th grade
Clint -Year 12 teaching Law
Megan – Year 17
It was a great first day! God is good! #GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily
August 12 OCOEE RIDGE | Morning has broken here at @ocoeeridgecamp on day 2 of our @NCCSEagles Upper School Retreat. I am so grateful for this time away with our students, faculty, and staff designed to build relationships and grow in Christ. @coleragsdale is our speaker this week and he kicked off our time last night by speaking very clearly about what it means to be made in the image of God and how we image God to those around us. He pointed to Genesis 1:26-31 and Colossians 1:15-20 to help us understand “My identity is that I am an image bearer of the living God.”
+ My name is ___________
+ I am created in the image of God.
+ I am pursuing the likeness of Jesus Christ.
We had a bunch of fun as well with all of our free time activities and the camp talent show. Will you join us in praying that today would be a significant day for all of us as we learn what it means to find our identity in Christ?
#GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily #NCCSRetreat21
August 14 FALL RETREAT | So many words and thoughts about the past few days. The @NCCSEagles Upper School Fall Retreat is intentionally designed to help our Upper School family build relationships and grow in Christ. I’m so thankful for the way that @parkersmith314, @coleragsdale, @richsethhardy, @kaitlynmullins, @matthew.t.brown, and our entire faculty and staff led the way for these holy moments. May we never take for granted what a blessing and gift it is to be a part of these days!
God is faithful. He is working!
August 14 TRI THE PARKS | The 3:30am wake up call means it’s time to put on a triathlon with our @tritheparks race family! Today we were out at Don Carter State Park on Lake Lanier for a triathlon, duathlon, and aqua bike. We had a bunch of first time racers and folks who were “just coming back from _________”. Always an honor to cheer on and celebrate our athletes. My role is to play the music and announce the names as they cross the finish. Eli’s role is to help with registration and to give water bottles out at the finish line. So much fun to spend the day with my little guy and our Tri the Parks family! #SwimBikeRun #7000days
August 23 18 YEARS | 8-23-03 Today we mark 18 years of having fancy china, kitchen gadgets and gizmos, and other wedding gifts that we still don’t use as much as we should! I look back at that first picture…taken by our beloved Lake Acworth that we still walk to often…and realize those kids had a lot to learn! In the pictures that follow, I see a lot more laugh lines and a few gray hairs (not mine thanks to @Revlon), but a much more mature happiness. @clintstrange32 is the most thoughtful and patient man I have ever encountered in my life. He gets fired up about the right things…things that matter, but he is godly and wise about all things. He is grace to me in so many ways and I love the way he desires to lead our marriage and our family well. God has been so good to us in giving us our precious children and a home that we all enjoy in addition to incredible ministry partners @cedarcrestchurch and @nccseagles. We are so thankful to our friends and family that the Lord has blessed us with. We have learned so much from those that God has placed in our path.
Song of Solomon 6:3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
Happy Anniversary Clint Strange! By God’s grace, I look forward to the future with you by my side! #18
August 24 EVENING AT THE PARK | Bumped into this handsome fella and @clintstrange32 at Logan Farm Park tonight. I dropped Emma off at Acworth volleyball practice and then walked the park. Our guys decided to bike to the park and play soccer. And we all got to do it together on a beautiful Acworth evening. We love our city! Acworth, you look beautiful tonight! #WeLoveAcworth #7000days
August 28 SATURDAYS IN ACWORTH | Volleyball practice for Emma at the Acworth Community center started the day. I took advantage of the time by walking around Downtown Acworth and the lake. Super pumped to see @scoopsacworth coming soon…our family will support your business for sure! We met up with our guys after they ate @wafflehouseofficial and the girls grabbed @dunkin. The Strange crew strolled @cabelas and visited the Acworth Aquarium. Back home for lunch, the guys played at the park, I did a bunch of work in our flower beds, the girls got some groceries, and we are spending the afternoon eating ice cream cones made by Emma, spraying each other with the hose, and watching Eli break in his new basketball. Just call him “Buckets”. #7000days #WeLoveAcworth #TheseAreTheDays
