Walking the Ancient Paths

The story of The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom is taking us into dark territory as Corrie and her sister, Betsie, are arrested for their roles in the Dutch underground and sent to a concentration camp. It's a good time to remember that no matter how difficult the circumstance, God's power and love still reign over all things. In response to the experiences related in the novel, the Eighth Graders are contemplating some of the Names of God: Yahweh Shammah: The LORD is There God is always there, showing joy in the littlest of things. (from Eli) In the midst of suffering and hurt, God is there. When Corrie is in solitary confinement in prison she realizes that God is there, and she needs no one else, because God is there to strengthen and comfort her. (from Juli) All the names of God could be used here but the one I think is most powerful here is Jehovah-Shammah. God is there. When the ten Booms are in trouble and need help, God is right there to help them; when Corri

We are reading The Hiding Place, a novel of the rich spiritual heritage of Corrie ten Boom, a leader in the Dutch underground in World War II. The first part of the story begins with a series of flashbacks, with Corrie telling the stories of faith that would later take her through the difficulties of the war. One of those lessons comes from her mother, who as an invalid, nevertheless continues to support and love not just her family, but the people of her community. She tells Corrie, "Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings. It's something we make inside ourselves." Here are our thoughts about experiencing a contentment like that: The world we live in today has a very wrong idea of contentment. We are constantly told by the world that we need all this stuff to live a good life, and to be content. You NEED this new phone, you NEED these new clothes, you NEED this new car. But really, that is not contentment. That is greed. In my own experience

The Last of the Scavenger Hunt Responses! High Quarantine Fashion (Orange Team): "Yes! Sweatpants and sweatshirts, now that I think about it....the same things I wear to school......So.....never mind...." Best Quarantine Food (Red Team); "I had mac and cheese and it was amazing. The rest of my family had king crab." [umm-Taylor? King Crab is a delicacy?!] The meat photos from the blue team are also worthy of mention here: Best Use of Downtime: While the story of the little brother eating An Entire Jar of Mayonnaise (?!!) was intriguing, the winner here is Maddie's puzzle: And Finally : There were lots of entries in the "Something Showing Victory" category. Fortnight is apparently conquering a lot of your time! Many of you have conquered Enforced Family Fun, quarantine birthdays, and hills on your bikes. But Sam is the overall winner for the Blue Team because he conquered FRANCE! Congratu

Thank you, Orange Team Longboarder! You are an inspiration! This was sent from Ava: Longboarding in the house was an orange team idea (I'm guessing Jannes), but Micah and I thought that was a great idea, so we gave it a try! 

And The Winner Is: Act of Kindness Taylor, for "picking up a huge thing of trash and bottles dumped over a fence into the pond area behind my house."  Something Beautiful The Orange Team submitted a woodpecker in the backyard, and the Red Team's entry is listed as "Jaaron-me". Valid responses! The winner, however, is Maddie's Moonlight Photo. Something Showing Spring Lovely things listed here, including sunshine and warm weather! The winner in this category is Team Blue, with Frisbee Golf. Not worth points because it wasn't an official category but still entertainin g: Snarky Responses from the Orange Team! #6. Reading a Good Book. No thanks.    (?! Seriously?!) #10. Something Encouraging. Not everyone on the planet is going to die from coronavirus. #11. Going Stir Crazy. Indeed . Points So Far: Red: 42 Blue: 21 Green: 38 Orange: 30 Stay tuned tomorrow for the final Scavenger Hunt point totals!

Scavenger Hunt Challenge Teams competed to collect and share unique moments they are experiencing during the Shelter in Place order. Surprisingly enough, home and family provide rich opportunities for creativity, mayhem, and family bonding! Today's highlights:  SHOWING FAMILY FUN RUNNER UP: Green Team                      WINNER: Red Team "Going on LOTS of walks.                      "My brothers were all begging for piggy back rides,  FORCED Family Fun, we call it!"          so I was able to get them ALL on my back at the same time! GENERAL MAYHEM RUNNER UP: Orange Team Longboarding in the house. (OK Orange Team--Everyone wants a photo of this one!) WINNER: Red Team " When you’re in a house full of dudes, your ideas flirt with the lines of crazy and amazing and this is an example. We decided Jerry, Jadon, and I to go to Hylands with snowboards knowing full well that it was closed. After a heated discussion of whether this

As a community, we wanted to recognize all the people out there that are protecting us from the global pandemic. To all of our brave and committed health care workers, from the Eighth Graders at Avail Academy: We would like to thank you so much for all of your hard work during this difficult time. We really appreciate the sacrifice you are making to help and take care of others. You are enduring a lot to help out our community. We are so grateful that you are willing to put yourself in the way of danger so we can heal and be safe. Thank you for putting others before yourself, and for your willingness to take risks to save others. In this time when we all think we have it so bad, you are the ones that encourage us. You are the ones who make us know that we will get through this. T he courage you show helps all of us, especially when many fear. People like you have helped us stay calm and know that we will be fine. It must be scary going to work every day, but we are praying for

Very Serious Quiz Results The color of the comment indicates the team. Points were awarded to each of these responses based on creativity and entertainment value. QUESTION 1: DL  stands for Distance Learning.  In the context of cyber school,  what else could DL stand for? Dogs Learning                                                        Daily Lunch (I eat lunch every day)                                                 Dysfunctional Lackadaisical                                                  Data Lost QUESTION 2: Comments/Suggestions/Things you need help with for Distance Learning: My very serious problem with not taking very serious serious quizzes not very seriously. Serious. Create an assignment where we all send each other chocolate chip cookies. QUESTION 3: Ideas for staying connected during Distance Learning : Google Hangouts, Zoom, other virtual hangouts, email, un-virtual hangouts, regular hanging out (six feet apart of cour

Even though we are not in the same room, we are still on the same path, and we will continue to seek ways to leave footprints that honor God. Hence, the Quarantine Cup! Yes! An opportunity to have fun together, do a few things that might help others, and perhaps cause a little mayhem, because--well, why not?! Challenge #1: Finding Your Team And the winner is:  TEAM ORANGE! Team emails were sent by 10:50 yesterday morning, and by 11:02, the ORANGE team had their group completed and claimed 5 bonus points for coming in first place. I'm not sure whether I am impressed or frightened! Teams for this competition are: RED: Jaaron, Gavin, Taylor, Ava, Yari BLUE: Sam, Jack, Peter, Clare, Angela GREEN: Eli, Braden, Juli, Maddie, Hannah ORANGE: Gerrit, Andrew, Jannes, Jaclyn, Lydia V., Lydia H. Team Points: Red:5 Blue:5 Green:5 Orange:10