Opinion

The drive from southwest Minnesota to the Wisconsin shores of Lake Superior was uneventful. Although the temperatures were frigid at the time, little snow had fallen, so the roads were in good shape for the journey north. We were bringing my wife’s nonagenarian mother home after an extended holiday visit with us. A late Sunday evening stop at the grocery store was necessary so she wouldn’t have to go out the next day and could recuperate after the long ride. She would get home late, but at least she would be home. I would stay overnight and return home myself the next day.

While it’s very hard to convince the blind of the fact, the importance of visual art in this life cannot be overstated. Visual art is as limitless as the human imagination, seen with the eyes but felt in the bones, speaks to the mind but beats with a heart. Some say the visual art of Mark Rothko were made for the soul.

I imagine this is a question, as believers of Jesus Christ, that we ask ourselves from time to time. I often do a self-examination to see where I am on the relationship scale of intimacy with God. Sometimes I find myself lacking and other times - while not where I need or should be - I find myself basking in sanctifying progress. This self examination often leads to change. What can I do better? What or who is present in my life that should not be? What am I doing that I should not or what am I not doing that I should be doing? Here’s another, what am I holding onto that I should let go? Simple questions with honestly simple answers, we just make it complicated.

Plans for the 2025-2026 school year are already underway, and one major focus is the construction of the new Redwood Valley Elementary School. This update will explain the bond process, bid day results, and the current budget for the project.

It has been an awesome year so far, and crazy that we are halfway through the 3rd quarter already. Middle school can be an interesting time for a lot of kids, but seeing how the students at RVMS are working hard, collaborating and learning with their teachers and peers has been a rewarding experience. We have a lot of really cool things going on here, and I want to highlight a few of them this week.

Las Vegas, Nevada. The Little White Wedding Chapel. Rob waits in his car in the drive-thru. The driver of the convertible ahead of him honks several times, excited, joyous. The couple shares a kiss, takes a handful of selfies, pops open a bottle of champagne, and drives off.

As we continue to highlight cornerstone programs at Reede Gray, this month I’d like to spend some time highlighting The Cardinal Way! Reede Gray is a Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) school At its core, PBIS is an integrated framework of evidenced based interventions that create a coordinated, systematic effort to teach behavioral expectations across the school setting. In the same way we know students learn academics, we work to educate our students on behavior expectations in the same manner.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Of late, I have been thinking and processing much on the question “What does peace look like?” Certainly, this is a question worth pondering on! The best I can come up with in this sinful world, throughout the history of the world is found in St. Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” As the God/man Christ Jesus entered into this world, in a humble estate; this may just be the one time when there was peace in that moment! But peace, by definition, has been sought after since the beginning of time, yet equally has been most elusive! It might be helpful to begin by understanding what peace doesn’t look like. Peace does not look like people demanding their own way and that others must agree or else! Peace does not look like the usage of manipulation, intimidation, and other fear tactics for the sake of submissiveness and or oppression. Peace does not look like lies, deception, and trickery that others might be fooled into a belief. “Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” (Ronald Reagan) I sometimes wonder if this sinful world even desires peace or if it is only talked about as something which would be nice to have. Peace, true peace, requires much work and a “my way or the highway” mentality just will not fit the bill! Peace requires diplomacy; the ability to compromise, agree to disagree, and understanding. When we use the Word of God as “the” guide we will find such things as understanding, compassion, and acceptance. In this sinful world, full of debauchery, “the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives. He came to save them from the punishment of sin.” (Luke 9:56) We must ask ourselves, do we really want peace, or do we thrive in chaos? For if we truly want peace, we would all strive much harder for achievement using God’s Word as the criteria needed for such an achievement. Christ Jesus showed us the way, Christ Jesus told us the way, Christ Jesus took victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil. With this in mind, we can have peace if we are willing!