From the desk of Tammy Hayes, Middle School Principal:

Trimmings, Turkey, and Thanksgiving are one of my fave times of the year! I love this time of year for children because it is clearly not about them. That’s right, it is not in any way about serving them, buying for them, or catering to them. In fact, it is one of our best opportunities to focus our children in the right direction before CHRISTmas hits and everything becomes confusingly about them. You might read that first few sentences and think me an ogre or a meanie. I definitely don’t mean to come off that way; however, thankfulness is a learned behavior, and it is by this one holiday that we get to be intentional to help our children understand the importance of thinking of others and expressing gratitude by our actions.

This week at The Brook Hill School, our Campus Life Director, Jordy Barksdale, coordinated the efforts of our student body in our annual Operation Christmas Child service project. Our students brought shoe boxes and filled them up with all kinds of necessities and toys alike to create special gifts for needy children in third world countries. As I watched our students buying gifts in the store and heard them speak of wishing the boxes were bigger, I was reminded that the Lord has put it in us to provide for one another. God has put it into the heart of man to care for the weak, the needy, the homeless, and the hungry.  And when we do what He has created us to do, we are the most happy and joy filled.

I’m often engaged by parents in conversations in which together we are trying to figure out how to get their child to do more for himself, take on ownership of his/her studies, believe in him/herself, or behave more graciously toward their parents. Sometimes, I’ve heard them wonder aloud with a question in their voice, “Should I do more for them, or say things like, I have given this child everything; he wants for nothing? Sometimes, we parents and educators find the answers in our questions.

Children at The Brook Hill School do not need more of anything; they do not need more “proof” that you love them any more than they need more “proof” that God does. Instead, they need to give more, serve more, help someone else more, and care about others more. Our faculty recognize that it is just as much an opportunity to affect the kingdom when we intentionally train the privileged child as it is when we serve the impoverished one a meal or give them a little box of love. It’s the work we have been called to do. We believe that giving to others is a learned behavior; and at The Brook Hill School, we are constantly seeking to host opportunities for our students to be involved in something that is beyond them and is rooted in being “others-centered.”

Many of you who read our blog have connections all over East Texas and probably know some very needy situations that could use a few helping hands from our students. Please contact either of the principals, Michelle Rozell or Tammy Hayes, or Campus Life Director, Jordy Barksdale with those opportunities and contact numbers.  We are currently putting together service projects for our spring service day which we host every year on the Thursday before Good Friday.

In the meantime, if you are staying local for Thanksgiving break and are looking for opportunities to serve somewhere together during the holidays as a family, Tyler has a plethora of service projects going on during this time of year. I promise, it will bless your socks off to see your child’s enthusiasm and selflessness as he/she does something important for someone else.  It’s the best “more” you can give them this year by far!

Service Opportunity links that might be helpful to you:

https://www.facebook.com/hunger4love/

http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/867507274029

http://tylersa.volunteerfirst.org/

http://www.salvationarmytexas.org/tyler/