OVERFLOWING WITH JESUS AT THANKFUL THURSDAY
Annual Lower School Chapel Service paves the way for acts of gratitude
This week, our Lower School gathered for special Thankful Thursday Chapels. These services challenged out students to consider how God fills our hearts with gratitude with a simple message. When we receive Jesus and stay close to Him, our hearts begin to overflow with His love. A life that overflows with Jesus becomes a life overflowing with thankfulness.
Students looked closely at Colossians 2:6–7 and learned that gratitude shows up in both our words and our actions. It is something we choose every day, and something God grows in us as we follow Him.
Lower School Bible teacher Nate Dawkins shared his excitement about this message. "Today's Thankful Thursday Chapel is special," says Dawkins. "We have been talking all year about letting our light shine. Part of that light is gratitude in a world that tends to be self-serving."
Dawkins reminds us that gratitude is something we appreciate and do. "Today, we celebrate all God has done for us in word, through our worship, and tomorrow we turn our attention to showing gratitude in action through service projects."
Lower School Service Projects
Now, each class has a different project waiting for them. Preschool and fourth grade will create care bags for homeless veterans. JK, kindergarten, and first grade will prepare gifts for seniors in assisted living homes. Students in second and third grade will assemble meal bags for children who may not have enough food at home. These simple acts help students understand that gratitude grows stronger when it is shared.
"Tomorrow we will be able to pack over 100 bags for homeless veterans, over 100 gifts for seniors in local assisted living homes, and over 100 meal bags for children in our local area who otherwise would not have meals," says Lower School Principal Dr. Becky Knight. "We we work, we will talk about service, who we are serving, and why their gifts matter. Together, this makes service a part of our students’ vocabularies."
A Community that Lives Out Gratitude
Our Lower School students are learning that Thankful Thursday and Friday service projects paint a clear picture of who we want to be as a school. We want to be a community that notices needs, serves others with joy, and practices gratitude in simple, everyday ways. These moments teach students that thankfulness becomes real when we live it out.
We are proud of our Lower School students. Their kindness, curiosity, and willingness to serve remind us that gratitude is more than something we feel. It is something we do.
Enjoy more photos from our Thankful Thursday Chapel service in the gallery below.
