August 1 ABOUNDING IN HOPE | Today is the first day of the 2022-2023 school year with all of our @NCCSEagles faculty and staff on campus. Our students will join us next week. Our new teammates joined us last week.
This week is special as we will have the whole team together reminding ourselves of the truth of the gospel and how that informs our calling to pursue Christ TOGETHER…Cultivating Hearts. Challenging Minds. Impacting Culture.
Our theme verse this year comes from Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
As we believe in Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit fills us to the point that we abound in hope. What a great thing to abound in! Will you join us in praying that this would be a year full of hope as we pursue Christ together? My singular prayer is that we would know and love Him more dearly at the end of this school year than we do today. We will pursue that in a variety of ways at NCCS through academics, arts, athletics, and student life. May we keep Christ preeminent in all things.
God is faithful. He is working.
#GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily
August 5 MEET THE TEACHER | We had lots of fun at @nccseagles yesterday for Meet the Teacher. Our big guy is going to be in fourth grade and we are THRILLED about the opportunities he will have to grow in his faith, build deep friendships, and continue to become the young man God created him to be. We are so thankful for our Lower School!
We also have a very excited eighth grader, but she is not pictured because she was with her sweet friends and helping new students get settled. Our Middle School is a special place to grow up!
I had a wonderful afternoon welcoming new and returning Upper School students. I’m so thankful for our US Faculty and Staff and their prayer and preparation for the students God has brought us this year. Lots of great conversations and excitement in the Upper School yesterday and I’m so thankful for the help of our student leaders!
God is faithful. He is working. Our family is thrilled to step into Year 18 at NCCS knowing that the best is yet to come!
#GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily
August 5 MY PEOPLE | The men and women on our Upper School team at @NCCSEagles mean THE WORLD to me. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ and I am so grateful for each of them individually and collectively as a team.
We’ve had a great time in pre-planning this week…we’ve worked hard and we’ve shared a lot of laughs. This morning we gathered for a time of worship and prayer together over this year and it was just sweet. So grateful for the power of the Holy Spirit! @amykwallace led us in “I Speak Jesus”…May we be known for that.
Will you join me in praying for each of our faculty and staff as we head into this school year? God is faithful. And he is so good!
#GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily
August 6 SWEET SUMMERTIME | This truly was a great day! Everyone slept in a bit. We headed out on the Lake for a few hours. Squeezed in some naps. Pickleball after dinner with friends. Capped off the evening with a golf cart sunset cruise where we saw over 20 deer…and chatted and laughed until well after dark with friends. Summertime is truly a gift! #Grateful #7000days
August 9 FIRST DAY | Today is a big day @NCCSEagles! It’s the first day of school for our 3rd-12th graders. Our K3-2nd graders had a great first day yesterday! Will you join us in praying for our incredible students, faculty, staff, and families that God has put together to be our NCCS Family this year? We believe God has amazing things in store for each of us. Some of those things will come to fruition on the mountaintops and some will be learned as we walk together through the valleys. Either way, we remain steadfast in our confidence that God is faithful and He is working.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
August 9 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL | We all had a GREAT first day @NCCSEagles today! Emma is in 8th grade and Eli is in 4th grade. This is the start of my 18th year and I think it was the best first day of Upper School we’ve ever had! It is such a joy to know that God has incredible things in store for all of us this year! And our awesome @clintstrange32 prayed for us and left us sweet first day notes…as we finally all left the house for the whole day so he could work 😂 It’s a great day to be an Eagle! #GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily #7000days
August 12 NO LONGER I | It is becoming harder to take an Upper School family pic as this crew continues to grow (475+ including students, faculty, and staff this year), but this pic serves as a great reminder of God’s faithfulness. Over the past few days on our @NCCSEagles Fall Retreat, we have studied Galatians 2:20 in order to examine what a “No Longer I” life looks like. We’ve shared a lot of meals together, worshipped, enjoyed free time, engaged in meaningful conversations, met in our small groups, and much, much, more. I’m so grateful to @parkersmith314, @coleragsdale, @richsethhardy, @kaitlynmullins, @paul_hassler_, our faculty and staff, and many others for leading the way so well!
We believe that God has incredible things in store for each of us as we embrace the freedom we have in Christ alone.
+ Fountains, not drains
+ Validation is for cars, not for your heart.
+ Guilt is the wound, shame is the scar
+ nothing to prove, nothing to hide, free to serve
August 13 SATURDAYS ARE FOR THE LAKE | Summer, we won’t quit on you…don’t quit on us 😎 80 degrees and sunny means we’ve got lots more lake weekends in our future! Precious time with friends! #7000days
August 16 CIRCLE OF PRAYER | What a treasure to gather with my people at one of our favorite places to pray! Today was our Annual @NCCSEagles Circle of Prayer where the entire school (K3-12th grade) gathers on the football field for a time of worship and prayer to dedicate our school and this year to the Lord. I pray we will never take for granted what a sweet and holy time this is. We are so grateful to be a part of a school committed to Christ and training students to impact the world for Christ. #GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily
August 17 VOLLEYBALL | Emma had her first @NCCSEagles Middle School volleyball game on the road today at Cartersville MS. After three years of middle school softball, she made the switch to volleyball and has been working hard. This is a solid group of young ladies. They work hard and play for each other. They have an awesome coach in @hkonchak and we love the way she encourages and pushes the girls. This one came down to the wire and our Eagles were victorious! #GoEagles #WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily #Go11
August 20 DON CARTER STATE PARK | After a late night cheering on @NCCSEagles Football, it was an EARLY 😳 Morning to get ready to cheer on our @tritheparks family in the triathlon at Don Carter State Park in Gainesville. The Strange crew had a blast hanging out with our Tri the Parks staff friends, the most amazing athletes, and a beautiful day! We had lots of athletes finish their first ever tri and one who finished after having an organ transplant just a few months ago! So many inspirational moments. We love working these races and can’t wait until the next one September 10 at John Tanner Park. Come join us! Give it a tri! #7000days
August 20 RHYTHMS AND TENDING | The great philosopher Ferris Bueller reminds us “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I don’t want to miss it.
Today was one for the books. It started early for the whole Strange crew hanging with dear friends @tritheparks. We worked hard putting on an event, we caught up on life, we laughed a lot, and we lingered around the lunch table. Those types of things really fill my cup. We drove home, all napped a bit this afternoon, and I chatted with my mom for awhile…more of my favorite things!
@ClintStrange32 and I went on a date and caught up over Mexican food…a huge win all around! Then we came home and turned our attention towards Sabbath tomorrow. In order to truly Sabbath, we have to tend to some details.
I grabbed the gardening clippers and a trash can and did a lot of pruning and watering while @sowandtether, @kingsporchmusic, and @macpowell played in my ears and helped me refocus my heart. @clintstrange32 got things ready for us to head to the lake after church tomorrow.
As I was putting the last few things away, I realized I was tired…but in a content kind of way. In the fellowship with other believers and in the tending of the garden, I believe the Lord did some tending in my soul as well.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Proverbs 4:23 NIV
Ferris Bueller and King Solomon…thanks for the reminder. Here’s to healthy rhythms and tending!
August 23 19 YEARS | 8•23•03 The Lord is gracious and kind. Apart from saying yes to following Jesus, my best yes went to @clintstrange32 who continues to be the most incredible man, husband, father, and friend who pursues Jesus first, protects and provides for his family, and makes sure we are embracing adventure all along the way. We have had the blessing of partnering to raise two of the most incredible kids, to travel the world and find all kinds of fun adventures, and most of all to plant ourselves in gospel community that has been a source of life, strength, and laughter for many, many years.
Those kids who took wedding pics on the bridge at Lake Acworth (on the hottest day ever recorded) never could have even dared to dream and imagine what God had in store. It’s so fun to walk across that bridge in a regular basis, take our kids fishing down there, or paddle board in the lake remembering God’s promises.
The first 19 years have been an amazing testimony to God’s faithfulness. Praying all the years to come help us to know and pursue Him together more fully. Clint, you are such a gift to me in a million different ways. Happy Anniversary!
August 27 ATLANTA FALCONS | A friend reached out to @clintstrange32 last night to see if we’d like to have their four tickets to the @atlantafalcons preseason game today against the @jaguars…YES please! The Strange crew had a blast cheering on the Falcons and enjoying an afternoon of football. Hoping for a good season of Falcon football! #7000days
August 28 SABBATH | Our family had a great morning in worship @northstar, a great meal for lunch, spent the afternoon on the lake, and Clint and I just got home from our Small Group Bible study on the book of Romans. A great day from top to bottom! Grateful for Sabbath to remind us that God is in control and His ways are always higher. #7000days
God is faithful. He is working.
