Targets & TRUTH

November 22, 2024

Target goals. Target date. Target markets. Target sentences. Target hitting. Targets!

There is a huge target on our school…every part of it! The stress that daily life throws, the busyness, the schedules, the to-do lists, the conflicts, the attacks, the workload, the deadlines, etc…the enemy knows all the details too well; he knows us, studies us, and wants unrighteousness in all of this to prevail.

And….

When God’s goodness is spoken, exemplified, believed, and taught, the target becomes even bigger. 

What are we going to do?

We all have choices each and every day in this journey called life! It is important to cling to the target TRUTH that the Lord gives us in His Word. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward…” We recite this truth as a class upon entering the classroom. What an amazing truth of God’s goodness and hope.

Teaching our children to be bold in and with the truth, to worship in singing and in prayer—in the stillness of Him, to choose righteousness over wrong, to remember that gratitude brings contentment, and to seek Jesus as our strength in life are some of the main target goals I want to teach and model at HCA! 

I am confident that my precious first grade students will leave my class knowing math and reading, but what I most desire is for their beautiful little hearts to grow in their love for Jesus…For each kiddo to yearn to learn more about the B-I-B-L-E. From hearing the word “pray” announced in our first grade classroom with, “P to the R to the A-Y, PRAY!” and immediately getting into a posture of prayer, to raising hands and doing motions while worshiping in song, first graders are learning to be bold for Jesus …in words and in actions! 

They are learning to have a servant’s heart when going to Park Village Pines which we have done twice and will do several more times this year. Worshiping, reading, playing games, and conversing with our elderly resident friends brings so much joy to everyone! We are very thankful to God for the opportunity to have the young and old generations come together!

While we live out these beautiful holiday seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas, let us squash out the enemy’s targets as we claim OUR target goals of TRUTH–pursuing school God’s way and shining our lights for Jesus! 

What an opportunity and joy it is!

Julie Switzer

Julie Switzer has 23 years of experience teaching at the elementary level. She has been teaching at HCA for 9 years.  Julie started teaching 2nd grade at HCA in 2016, and this is her second year teaching 1st grade. She is married to Daniel Switzer, an engineer at Post Consumer Foods. Together they have a beautiful blended family of five grown children, including three in college (Joseph-KVCC, Molly-Liberty University, and Eli-MSU) and Abe is actively deployed with the Michigan National Guard/Army. Julie enjoys playing the piano, watching “Wheel of Fortune”, and spending quality time with her husband and family. One of her favorite things to do is to pray with her students! She feels very blessed that the Lord, in His perfect timing, opened the door for her to teach here at Heritage.