 Half of the class of 2013, I would like to welcome everyone to this year's graduation ceremony. The activities of tonight celebrate accomplishments of these students seated before us. The past four years have been wonderful, but it is now time to move on to the next stage of life and follow where God leads each of us. Our class verse is Proverbs chapter 16 verses 3 and 9. It says, Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. These verses mean a lot to us seniors as we are getting ready to move on to the next step of our lives. Verse 3 talks about committing to the Lord. This means that the level of commitment has to be the full 100%, not just a small amount. By fully relying on God and putting Him in control of our lives, we can praise Him in all that we do, whether it is school, work, sports, or relationships. Another part of the verse talks about God establishing plans. For some of us, we have no clue what is going to happen in the next three months. This thought is terrifying, but by fully relying on God, our lives will be used to glorify Him and complete His purpose for us. Verse 9 says, In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Some of us may think we have our lives all planned out, from college to marriage and work. These plans can change instantaneously, and it may not be to our liking. One of us could land a dream job, but God can change that if it is not a part of His bigger plan. We can plan out our lives and our minds, but they will not always turn out as we hope. And that is life. Life is full of happiness and joy, but also full of disappointments. That is why we are blessed to have a God who loves and cares for us at all times. Now, I would like to thank all who have helped us come this far. I would first like to thank the parents for dealing with us for 18 years, for loving us and for spending the extra money to send us to this great school. Next I would like to thank all of our different churches. While our Christians schooling during the week and church on the weekend, we have learned to view the world with a Christian perspective and have learned how to treat others and respond to different situations in life. I would now like to thank all of the staff at this school. Over the four years we have been here, you have spent all extra hours teaching and explaining to us things we didn't understand. Above all, you incorporated Christianity into every subject, from science to math and even to gym. Thank you for the Biblical worldview that we can now use as we go off on our own. It is tough trying to fit in the world, and that is why God does not want us to become a part of it. He gave each and every one of us our own special gifts. Some are good at art, some at math, and others at caring for others. By following God's plan for our lives and using our gifts to glorify Him, we can have a positive Christian impact in the world around us. Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for this day that you have given us, that we can gather here in celebration of the seniors and the work they did to accomplish high school graduation. We pray that as we go our separate ways, you will give us the guidance we need so that in everything we do, we give you all of the glory. Thank you for our parents, our churches, our school, and the gifts you gave each of us. We give you all of the glory tonight. In Jesus' name, amen. Seniors, on behalf of the junior class, I would like to congratulate you on your achievement this far. Tonight, we can celebrate your life's success to this point. Your class has shown excellence in many areas, and I'm sure you'll continue to do that in the future. Although we celebrate the past tonight, I want you to consider your future. Most of you have been influenced by Christian schools almost your entire life. You have had parents, teachers, coaches that you have depended on all the way, whether you wanted them to or not. From this point forward, many of you will be on your own with your own decisions to make. Christian schools have instilled a foundation that you will always build yourself upon. As you leave our small Christian community, you will have the opportunity to be a light to those around you. No matter where you go to school or what you choose to do after high school, you will be confronted with many challenges. Ephesians 3, 16 through 18 says, I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his spirit and your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide, how long, how deep is the love of Christ. We've been taught how to learn and lead with Christ as our focus. I hope that you continue what you have done and accomplished here at SECHS and whatever you do in the future. Find Christian friends and continue leading for the glory of God. Be a light to those who do not know the Lord. And again, congratulations, and the juniors and I wish you the best in your future. Dear class of 2013, friends, family, faculty, staff, and board members, well, here it is, graduation day, a day that we've all been looking forward to for a long time. Some of us have even been counting down the days left of school since we were sophomores. Jared, I think you were the one who did that. However, a day such as this also allows us the opportunity to look back. I remember that first day of school with Mrs. Tenhoer. I reflect on the friends who started that very first day with me and are here still tonight. Vanessa, Grant, Andy, BJ, Alex, also known as Lexie, Lexie Lee, Alexandria, and even Queen, according to your mom. I never quite understood it, but Alex, you always enjoyed changing your name on us. I also remember friends who moved or chose other schools. I think of how Usper Christian was always known as our biggest rival. One of our main goals was to beat OCS at any sporting event. I don't know exactly when this all changed, but those same rivals eventually became our very close friends when we all joined forces as one class. Instead of wanting to beat OCS, we all agreed and changed our focus to beat the Flying Dutchman and women of Usper. I think back to all the wonderful teachers and administrators that I have had the privilege of knowing. I attribute my love of math to Mrs. Leo, who explained how math surrounds us everywhere and every day. I know that my love of science came from Mr. Van Drunen. Who can ever forget when Mr. Van Drunen jumped on the table to grab our attention? Mr. Van Drunen also taught his students how to live for the Lord in everything we do. Mr. Van Drunen, you are still my role model today. Thinking way back to grade school, I remember Mrs. Endringa and her love for reading. I also remember Mrs. Endringa's funny sense of humor and her go with the flow attitude. Any one of us would be mortified to show up for school to work with two different shoes on, but not Mrs. Endringa. I also had the privilege of having Mr. Novus as my fourth grade teacher and later our principal. Mr. Novus, thank you for all you've done to help us along the way. You never hesitated, you never gave up hope on any of us, and you realize that every journey begins with a single step. We all want to wish you and your family God's blessings in your next journey. High school was no different. The teachers and staff here at SCCHS have all been exceptional. Mr. Geshe, I'll miss all of your family tree stories. I've come to realize that quite possibly every member of this class is related to each other somehow. Mr. Bulkama, you further enhance my love of math and I'll never forget cramming into your car for the Lakeland College math meet. Mr. Decker, we will all miss your deep voice that we all tried so hard to imitate. Mr. Endringer, well, what can I say? You always wore matching shoes. I'd also like to thank Mrs. Vendamelin for her work with the AFS program and all of those families who accepted foreign exchange students into their homes and lives. Throughout high school, we've all been blessed with many wonderful students from foreign lands who share their culture with us. These are lasting friendships and experiences that we will never forget. And through Facebook, it never seems like we're that far away. This is the last time that we as a class will be together. This next step in our lives can be a scary one as we leave the support structure of SCCHS. While reading my Bible recently, Joshua 1.9 caught my attention. Joshua writes, be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. One thing that I know about the SCCHS class of 2013 is that we never backed down from a challenge. We may not always win our games against Usberg, but we never give up. I don't know if it's our strong Dutch German heritage or what it is, but we are a determined bunch. Certainly life will throw us curveballs. We have our strong biblical teaching, our strong foundation based upon his teaching that will help us weather any storm. I'm not sure how we will get to where we need to be, how we will achieve our dreams, but I do know that we will know how to do it and we won't give up, and that's the important thing. We all have unique paths that the Lord is leading us to. Some will go into the workforce, the military, technical school, or college, but we will forever share one common theme, the one thing that binds us together forever, wherever we go, and that's our Christian faith. I'd like to take this moment to thank my parents. I know that it wasn't easy sending me to Christian schools. I know that you've sacrificed a lot for me and for that, I'm extremely grateful. My parents, like all of your parents, realize the importance of Christian education. Fancy cars will rust, homes are subject to fire or flood. Money can be lost, stolen, or taxed, but no one can ever take away our Christian education. We've all grown through these formidable years. Some have dealt with job or family loss or family member illness. Whatever challenges we faced or are going to face, we have the knowledge that God will never leave us or forsake us. He's right beside us, gently guiding our path. May you have every success on your unique path. May you work hard, may you hold your head high. May our paths still cross from time to time, and may you go with all your heart. It's an excellent testimony to this school and to the dedication of the parents and supporters of this school after students just introduced our ceremony that way with those beautiful speeches. Every year at Christian High, our school culture is infused with other cultures through the program of AFS, and this year was no different. We had the pleasure, in fact, the privilege to have two AFS students this year, Nathaniel Cooper from Liberia and Lucas Neves from Brazil. These are two class act individuals, and they have been fun to be around. I invite them up now to share some of their stories with us. I bring you greetings from my family back home. They are very happy for me and the beautiful guys, and they say thanks very much. School board, principals, members of the teaching staff, schools administration, parents, AFS representative, graduating class, students, friends, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. Firstly, I'm very grateful to God for giving me life today because we have thousands of people out there, or thousands of people who couldn't have life today. And to the organizers of this program, for giving me the time and opportunity to be part of it. Thank you very much. Just to share my experience with you, when I was in Liberia, I have dreamed about coming to the U.S. and it was one morning, doing an exam at the end of 2011. We got an announcement about coming to the U.S. to study for a one-year program. So that day I went home and I told my mother about it. She being a very great woman, she encouraged me to say apply. And I just had a feeling that my long-awaited dream to visit the U.S. has arrived. It was a challenge. So I decided to apply because I want to experience all the part of the world. I want to experience America people talk about. I want to experience the life of American. I want to experience the government, the history. What is the history behind America? So when I decided to apply, I was selected from my school along with hundreds of students from our city. And we were selected to do the test called Secondary Level English Proficiency Test. This test consisted of all what you have to list in the tip and you answer questions and comprehension and essay writing. So after the test, I was the only student so separate from my school. I joined students from other high schools. We take our challenge to another level. At this time, we had a series of interviews. We had representation from our government, representation from the American Embassy, and representation from the AFS Yes Program. So we went through all these interviews, writing essay, talking to people to prove we are direct representation of our country. At the end again, being guided by the Holy Spirit of the Lord, I was selected. Not because I'm good, I'm the coolest kid, I know everything, but because of God, I was selected. Along with five other students from different high schools and we decided to take on this journey for 10 months. Coming to America, I feel like I should go beyond my comfort zone. I should go out of the area, I come from school, I hang out with friends. This is not bad for me. I can ask my parents for data and sin and I'm having a good time, but I feel I should go somewhere where it is new to me and I'll experience more. But after my decision, after my decision, I also had a belief that even though America is a developed country, but it is not safe that I was a stepping stone for me. It didn't stop me. Since America is not safe, stay right here. It makes me to say, go and experience how it's like. And I thought it was not safe because watching an American movie back in Liberia, you'll see the guys in club shooting guns. Yeah, so I just felt the environment was not safe. But coming to America and spending 10 months changed everything. It changed a lot of things about me and I learned a lot about America. I learned about the day-to-day activities of Americans. I learned about the history. I learned about the government and the most important thing, the respect and appreciation for diversity that I thought was very important. You don't see that everywhere in the world today. Even for my country, people don't see you along the road, facing problems and want to stop for you. So I thought it was important. And I also learned a lot more that I can take to Liberia today when I get in Liberia, I can impact the lives of others. We have an AFS saying, I say this, a mind that I've been stressed. Never return to it's original shape. You might say, what that means? Yeah, but in a true sense, that is from my experience. I was like this and getting to know more people, doing a lot of stuff, my minds became like this. And to come back like this, it is not just possible in a day. So going back home is like starting another new experience. But at this time, you have advantage. You have advantage to impact the lives of others. And one thing about this experience, it changed my understanding of things. It changed my understanding of religion. It changed the way I perceive people and the knowledge I acquire in a short period of time. It's remarkable. And coming to Christian High, I had a chance to play on a soccer and basketball team and also being part of the drama team. We had a great time together. We had some rock and roll. Yeah. But it was a new environment for me because back home, I come from school and I have more time. I go to the YMCA, I hang out with friends. We have our own little radio station. I can talk on it and people hear me around, friends know me. I don't have to play sport before people know me. Yeah. So coming to the school and getting involved in the sports, it makes me to know people more every day. And it makes me to have good times of then. I also had great times with families and friends. It was amazing. Back home, I heard people talking about snow. Yeah, I read about snow in book. Yeah. But coming to America to experience snow, to play in a snow. Oh my gosh. It's like the most valuable thing. Just to experience snow. Because it's like different things from your planet. Yeah. So I thought that was cool. I also had a lot of great memories with friends. And I'd just like to take this time to share some of them with you. When I want to explain everything, we must sleep here tonight. So we might just leave me then. The first one was our senior retreat. It's like playing in a senior retreat at the beginning of the school. Nothing good than that. Because it got me to know everyone. And it makes me to have some of the good experience for the first time. Like water skiing, ziplining, rock climbing, horseback riding, back home. I didn't do these things. But coming to experience then, it was great for me. And I just want to share this one with you. Maybe some of you have heard about it. It was once I had a time with AFF friends. With AFF friends. We went skiing. Yeah. Maybe some of you have heard about it. So some of you guys from Norway, from Germany, and pretty much they have snow. Yeah. They have snow, they have experienced these things. And I didn't know we are friends, but for that side, we are not the same. Yeah. So one of these guys, we learned how to ski for a little bit. I have confidence in myself that I can do it. So I thought, you guys, get in on the bucket to go to another level. Why skiing? I joined them, we went. The first introduction to get out of the bucket, I feel. Yeah. So I got off. I thought it was just a mistake so I can make it. Yeah. So when I look at the hill, I got to come down a hill before going home. Yeah. But how can I get down if I don't know how to ski? I stood up like this, trying to balance myself. Yeah. I balance myself and I stood for long. These guys went down the first time. They couldn't see me in the group so they knew something went wrong. They came back and decided to ask me what's wrong. I paused a little bit and I said, I'm trying, yeah. I'm trying. So they encouraged me to do it. And if I couldn't do it, I couldn't come down. Yeah, I could stay up. There's no other means you can come down. You have to ski to come down. I took a rest because I got to get home. And when I came down, like it if I mean, I fell at the end. Yeah. So I said, that was cool. It's not too bad. Yeah. No pain. I got up again. And this time I went on the bucket again. Yeah. I came down. I tried to get a break because it was my first time. I couldn't get a break. But this time I didn't fall. I kept going like I supposed to stop here. I went to the NPR. Yeah. And I stopped there. So from then on, I tried to help myself and I did it twice or more than three times. I got used to it. And I thought it was a memory that I can't forget about. It was cool. I want to use this time to say thank you to everyone. You guys are great. I can't just, I can't believe it. I can't believe it. How you guys have the time because of God to talk to me, to accept me in your school. I want to use this opportunity to just recognize few people, to get this family. I want to say things for opening your home to me. You treated me as one of your own. It was great with you. And to you, Caleb, and Toby, I just want to say thanks. You guys are great. We had a lot of good times together. Thank you. I also want to look at the Hendricks. Thank you very much. Again, for opening your home to me. And you are always there for me. Thank you. To all of our good teachers. Seriously, it was good that I came to America because the teachers' and students' relationship is 100% different from a country. And you guys do a great job with students. Thank you. Just to recognize few teachers. To you, Mr. Gash, your short stories like Richard Corey. All these stories when I read them, I was in this direction, and it turned me like this. I don't know why it happened, but those stories, if you read them, it sent a different signal to your mind. It makes you to think different. Thank you very much. To you, Mr. Vidivie, I saw you. Thank you very much. Getting part of your class' second semester, it was a giant step for me. I think you remember my first presentation, and you told me about it. When I entered his class' first day, I learned a lot from his talking. And I knew I could use him to move to another level. And with all his fun, his teaching is Christ Center. Thank you, Mr. Venable. And I could call all the teachers and list all the great things about you guys. But you guys are great. Yeah. Our AFS volunteers, in the school and out of the school, I can't believe you guys do all the things free. If you have them, how much do you make a month? They tell you nothing. Yeah. And I'm kind of bored to ask some of them, how much do you make with AFS? They tell you nothing. Yeah. And to do all the great things, you are there every time to make sure everything went right with me. To you, Cindy, I don't know if she's here. I just want you to recognize her. She's a great lady, and she's there for students. To you, Mr. Andrew Gad. To you, Mr. Kendricks. All of you work with students in the school, talk to them, and make sure everything is well. To our parents, well, I go play soccer, I go play basketball, and all the people just clap it for me. Yeah, all the parents just keep clapping for me. Thank you very much. Some of them, I don't know if I can recognize them, but it takes pictures for me and it's send them to me. You guys did a very good job. And to you, the photographer of the year, Mrs. Eva. She did a great job for me. And when I'm doing a book, a photo book, she got to get a recognition in the book because she did a lot of great pictures for me. Thank you. To our coaches, I can see Coach Mac there. Yeah, he's smiling. I can see Coach Dagger and all the other people. You guys brought a Christian discipline in sports. Even though we had some rough time, as I said earlier, but you guys turned over a Christian's perspective. Telling us, things will be fine. Thank you, Coach Philipsy. And to our drama director, Mrs. Rasketa. Where is she? Oh. OK. Hi. She is a fabulous lady. I don't know if that's a good word to use, but she's fabulous. She was a director and a friend to me. Every time we meet after practice, she tells me one of two great words. I just rest in my heart and I feel it was OK. Things was fine. Thank you, Mrs. Rasketa. And lastly, to our awesome student body. Thank you, guys, that I mentioned. To those of you who are concerned, speaking to me down the hall, calling my name, or just looking at me, you made an impact in my life. Give me a rise here and there. Thank you. Before I take my seat, I know I'm a little bit boring, but I would like to remind you that a Chinese program is a life in a year, and not a year in a life. It's like a big life experience within a year time, instead of just one year in your life. And to our parents again, we want you to consider opening your homes to that poor exchange student. You make their life complete. You make them experience different things. You don't believe it because you are in America, but coming from out there and experiencing this is different. So please open your homes to our exchange students. And you also have the opportunity to learn about the culture, to learn about the country, and to our students. I can say I've been to a lot of countries in West Africa and America and Germany. America is too small to limit you. This world is too small to limit you to America. You got to grab the opportunity. Someone said, go on an exchange program. He said, I don't want to go on an exchange program. I'm satisfied with my home. But take the challenge. Get out there. Grab the opportunities. Get that great moments and experience all of part of our global village. It is awesome. Have a nice day. I love you all, but Christ loves you the best. Hey, guys. I don't think you can speak in English right now. I'm going to try. This might seem a little silly, but it is true. My exchange program was, in a sense, like I was being born again. I got to learn how to talk. Yep, I still learning. I got to know my new family. Those were always here for me. I got to make new friends that would laugh at my accent and ask nonsense questions about what we have in Brazil and not. I got to find new hobbies and find out that the bears are not cool at all. Packers. And I even got to learn how to walk again. Do you know how hard it is to walk in Sheboygan when the streets are covered with ice? It's really hard. But I found out that there is no problem if you fall and break your thumb and pop your ankle and fracture your eye because there will always be someone there to lift you up and put you back on track. So I just want to thank you, all those who gave me a little hand, a word of encouragement, even without knowing it. I want to thank the Christian High School for helping me to find a way. And all teachers and school clerk that helped me along the year, especially Mr. Decker and Mr. Gash, that put up with me in more than one class and showed me another side of the US. I want to thank you, the AFS group that guided me and helped me to make the most out of this exchange program, especially Sandy and Sharon. And their families that provided me great moments here. Thank you very much. And I also want to thank my soccer coach, Dr. Philips, and my Jiu-Jitsu master, Jeff, who gave a pinche of Brazil to my year. And finally, my family. I don't even know how to start. They are responsible for the greatest changes that happened during this year. Without them, I would not be able to get through all those depressive winter mornings. I would not realize how big an American heart could be. I would not break so many stereotypes and think that the world is much bigger than just Brazil. I would never have thought that we could get along so well as we did to really feel at home so far away from my tiny little town. I want to thank them for this wonderful year. My mom, Karen, for her love, help, and great life together. My dad, Carl, for a huge patience, life changing lessons, and more patience. My brothers, Grant, and Garrett, for accepting me so well as part of the family, and for some memories that we never forget. For all the relatives that treated me as part of the family for years. And I also thank to all those I should say here, but I can't mention because of lack of time. So thank you all, guys. Hello, seniors. It is my amazing privilege to stand before you. And many of you I have stood before one way or another for years and years. Some of you from the time you were in twos and threes at our church drew before that. And to see you have grown to this point, to be adults, to be ready to face this world, to be ready to be launched, whether we're ready to launch you or not, is an incredible privilege. So I truly thank God for the opportunity. You will hear many of your classmates and others who have people address them over the course of the next days and weeks at this graduation season who say things like, it's time to be independent. It's time to grow up. It's time to set your heart on dreams. As you have dreams in your heart, you can accomplish anything that you put your heart and mind to. YOLO, be young and have fun. All of those messages to high school graduates have a place and a time. All of them struggle because they mingle in error with truth. And graduates, as you face this moment, I want you to know you cannot do anything you set your mind to. It's just not true. I don't think any one of you is going to be a professional baseball player. I don't think any one of you is, and we can make a list of things that maybe none of you will be able to do. Francis, I love you. If you set your heart to play the NBA, it's just not going to happen, my friend. You can't do anything you want to do. And I do not want you to leave this place and tell yourself, whatever I want to do with my life can happen if I just believe in it enough and if I just try hard enough. It's not true. But as we have heard the Bible open to us and we've heard your life first, we can hear what is true and we can hear what is possible as you seniors, you graduates, give your life over to Christ. The verse that was read for us, by the way, we could just probably listen to what Andy said. And I could just cut these short and we could just move on. But I'm going to go ahead and take a few more minutes, if you don't mind. The senior class verse, commit to the Lord whatever you do. Your plans will succeed. In the heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. The first part of that in Proverbs chapter 16 says that commit to the Lord whatever you do. Graduates, commit to the Lord. It carries with it a lot of weight. This concept is to relinquish control of your life, to render to the Lord, to relinquish everything, to entrust yourself to him. If you're not careful, you could read these words and you could make yourself believe that if you just pray a prayer, that is, say out loud in your bedroom tonight, Lord, you have full control of my life, right? And then you walk away and live how you want to live. You could make yourself believe that God owes you something, that because you prayed some prayer and said, OK, I'm going to honor the Lord with my life, that now the Lord owes you happiness, comfort, peace, money, the Lord owes you some kind of amazing life. That's not what this passage says. Lord doesn't owe me anything, and he doesn't owe you anything either. But here is what it does say, to relinquish control of your life is success. To give up your way, your desire, your dream. And when your dream becomes God's dream for your life, that's success. That's what we want for you. Listen, across this nation, people will graduate and people will pursue academics, pursue your academics as far as the Lord leads you. Go do it, all right? We want to see amazing, amazing results through your academic achievements. But guys, there are some things that you cannot commit to the Lord. Did you know that? Some things you cannot commit to the Lord. If you have rebellion in your heart and you hear the voice of the Lord telling you to follow after him and you refuse, you can't commit that to the Lord. That's not interesting, your life to the Lord. That's saying, I relinquish control of my life, but I'm going to do what I want to do. And families, as we sit here surrounding these amazing graduates, we are here to announce to them that relinquishing control of our life was the best thing that we've ever done. Here's another thing, though. You can't commit to the Lord. Disobedience. Samson found that out. He talked about following the Lord. He said the words about following the Lord. But you know what he did? He did what he wanted to do with his life. He didn't commit his way to the Lord. And students, we are here today to tell you that committing your life, relinquishing control of your life, not quite knowing what the next step of your life, it's really OK. Nathaniel stood up here and said, well, I don't know how I'm going to get to this big plan of God for my life. This verse says how you're going to get there. Commit to the Lord whatever you do. That is relinquish control of your life and give your heart to him. Let him order your steps day by day. Now I have heard said that it's boring to be a Christian. It's boring to follow the Lord all the way like that. These places of advice is be young and have fun. These are your college years to do with what you want. Graduates, I have heard it say, look, this is my time. This is my time to experience all of those things. To experience YOLO. YOLO just means for all of us who don't know, you only live once. I think you probably all over tracking with that. But this concept of go grab the gusto because life only comes once, do what pleases you. Say you want to follow the Lord because you came from a Christian school. But do what you want to do. It is not boring to follow the Lord. It is not boring to relinquish control of your life fully to him. He does not have boring plans for your life. God's dreams for you are bigger than any dreams or any desires that you have for yourself. God's dreams for you are more fulfilling than chasing any of the dreams that you have for yourself. God's dreams for you are more exciting than any of the hopes, the adrenaline that this world has to offer. God's dreams, if you will, for your life are more soul satisfying than any dreams that you can have about the way you think your life should turn out. His dreams include amazing steps of faith. His dreams are better than medical careers, although maybe a medical career is in your future. His dreams are better than cars and paid off mortgages, though maybe that's in your future, we hope so. His dreams are better than that. God's plan for your life has to do with changing this world as you relinquish control. Guys, in the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve the perfect environment to live in, and we messed it up, and we have inherited that rebellion. We walk away from God every chance we get. God's dream for your life is to restore the relationship so that you can walk for a vapor, just a vapor with him. So I asked a bunch of you, all of you actually, I think, what is your dream? What is your success? What is your definition of success in your life? I'm not gonna read them all. Alex Ables, he's first alphabetically, and I got her a response. So success is salvation. Everything else is just God's graciousness manifested. Nathaniel Cooper, success is when I accomplish what the Lord has called me to do. I'll just pick out one more. Emma Markham. My personal great life goal is to use my God-given talents to glorify him and touch other people with my gifts. I love connecting with others, and I hope to use my future career as a pathway into others' lives in a positive and memorable way. I could go on and on. You have definitions of success, and that's great. Proverbs definition of success is restoring a relationship with God and then walking in that relationship for life. Listen, guys, if statistics bear it out, you're gonna change careers four or five times. You're gonna change majors two or three times. That's what statistics say. I celebrate where you're at. I celebrate what you're gonna do going on to the next step, and I hope that many of you are on the path that is the path that you wind up realizing. That is that you're studying right now what you're gonna study for life. That'd be great if that's the case. But if those dreams change and if those things change, God has a better and a bigger and a more beautiful plan as you entrust your future to him. Here's the greatest plan. Think about it, Garden of Eden. What is God's plan for Adam and Eve? He says, listen, I bring the man, I bring the woman to the man. I want you to oversee this created world I made, and I want you to be fruitful and multiply. That's a great dream. It is a great dream. I stand here before high school graduates, boys and girls, and telling you if your great dream should be that when you get to the end of your life, you're surrounded by a group of people that you have pledged your life to, that you have raised children and you've been faithful to one person for life because that is God's intention. I don't know all of God's will for you, class of 2013, but this I do know, God's will is for your sanctification. That is that if we could write in one sentence, what is success in your life, it is you becoming more like Jesus every day of your life from this day until the day you go to be with him. That would be success. And some of you will be painters, and some of you will be singers, and some of you will be biomedical engineers. I've got to look that up. Some of you will have those careers you set out there, and that's great, but God cares a lot less about your career than he does about your character. Christian High, we want to send academics out. We want to send smart people out. We want to send passionate people out. We want to send Christ followers out who give up any hold on their life and say, look, I'm just going to commit my way to you, Lord. As you commit your life to the Lord, we're going to close in just a moment. The Lord determines your steps and he's touched on this. We've got a dream and we're setting out with the Lord and we want to obey him and please him, and the Lord sends amazing hiccups in our way that we never planned for. Life struggles that are hard and that we didn't see coming, and we told ourselves, if I commit myself to the Lord, he will make me successful, and my definition of success, and we've got it written out about money and health and happiness and comfort. Daniel set out to follow the Lord and he set out to follow the Lord within the context of his family and his friends, and the Lord brought trouble. And a foreign king came in and took him away from his family. You're about to go away from your families, many of you, whether to the workforce or to the military or to college. And by force, Daniel was removed from his home guys in Daniel chapter one, and he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself as he went away. Here's some things that are true about Daniel. His big group of friends became very small, very fast. If you go to college and try to adopt a little Jesus with your dreams saying, be young and have fun, and you go for the purpose of excitement and fun, I am telling you, worlds will collide when you get there, because you cannot have the life that the world is promising you and Jesus at the same time, you can't. Daniel had, he could have won and had the life that the world had for him as Nebuchadnezzar said, hey listen, do what I want you to do, I'll give you everything, I'll give you anything. It's all for you, you are the best and the brightest, and guys, you are the best and the brightest. Daniel purposed in his heart, he was not gonna defile himself, and his friend group got small, and his Friday nights got very, very lonely. In fact, he was all by himself, and he purposed in his heart, and he was gonna follow God. God brought a friend, three friends, who would stand with him. And God's dreams for Daniel was not that he would have fun and connect with the Nebuchadnezzar guys and the Chaldeans and the folks around. No, it was not about that. God's dream for Daniel's life was that he would go into this foreign land and stand up for his name, and the name of God was announced around the globe because Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. That's success. His career plans changed. His family relationships that he thought would always be intact, and he thought he would always have these happy little dreams, and he thought it would always be cool, changed. His thoughts about what success is changed, but the big picture never changed. He purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself, and God used his life from that day to this day to inspire you and to inspire me. Guys, as we are about to watch you walk across the stage and enjoy this graduation, and watching you and celebrating with you, I know it's been a long time. I apologize for that. We are with you. We are proud of you. We do not want you to be torn from our arms and brought to a foreign place and forced to serve foreign gods, and if that happened somehow, some way, we would want you to devote yourself to the Lord. Follow him one step at a time, even if your Friday nights get lonely, and even if your friend group gets tiny, and even if there's only one or two other people that will serve the Lord with you, we bless you. You have blessed us in amazing ways if we watch you grow up. This world will be changed, not because you're medical doctors, not because you are a therapist, not because you're social workers. All those things are great, but because you commit yourself to the Lord's plan for your life, you raise godly kids, and you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus with everything you got, even if a career changes, and even if your major changes. We love you. Go with God. Board President Black, would you join me up here to handle some diplomas? Alexandria Lee Abel. Jennifer Mary Anderson. Patrick Royal Bolden. Benjamin Jacob Broxma. Nathaniel Zena Cooper. Samantha Ann. Ethan Brock Demaster. Jared John Vanderwill Denning. Steven Domus. Caitlin Rachelle Flipsy. Andrew Jackson McDonald. Emma Kate Markham. Olivia Yannette Mark. Joshua Levi Moebrick. Lobo Alcantara-Navet. Cassandra Joy Ringel. Deanna Lynn Rokouskis. Cherith Brooke Tau. Richard J. Wolvert. Frances Marie Windsor. Father, some are going to counterforce the service to our country. Others will be headed back to the respective countries to do the same. Whatever they're calling, Father, help them to realize that it is ever through prayer and your guidance along the way. Father, bless them and keep them in your care. Parents that choose to send their children to Christian High. Father, sinners and as parents, we realize that our children need to have a view of the world that is biblical in all things. That our children need to see your glory. And not just what we learn in church, but in science, math, literature, all studies, and yes, Father, even art. Father, we thank you for the staff. They truly are unbelievable. Thank you for their faith, their leadership, and their patience. Continue to bless them, Father, and work in their, and in their lives. And last, Father, we ask you to be with, again, with Schwoed and County Christian High School, continue to bless the school and bless everything about it. Father, we ask you to be with those that are moving away from us, be with the novice family, and the Walshers as they serve a new chapter in their life. Father, continue to bless them as well. And it's in your son's precious name, right? Amen.