Riverside Christian School

Carol VanKuiken Murr

Once again, a time of sorrow centers on a caring friendship that many of us will always treasure. Beloved, former Riverside teacher Carol VanKuiken Murr passed away on May 7.

Carol came to Riverside Christian School in the fall of 1972, where she taught 7^th and 8^th grades.  Not only that, but she displayed her many talents by designing the annual floats for the Breathitt County School Fair and the graduation decorations that transformed our gym into a venue fit for royalty.  Under her direction the student council turned that same gym into a weekend roller skating rink!

Lower Lights

One of the first groups of Lower Lights

One of Carol’s greatest contributions to Riverside was the founding and direction of the Lower Lights, the Christian chorus of Riverside students who performed at school and local churches, as well as touring to neighboring states.  The theme song of the Lower Lights was “The Lighthouse.”  Carol taught many Riverside young people the importance of being lower lights for the lost, as the lower lights in a harbor help guide a ship safely through the harbor to shore.

Victorious Women Retreats

After attending numerous Winsome Women retreats in northern Indiana, Carol and several Riverside women held a Prayer Breakfast at Riverside for women of southeastern Kentucky.  This soon grew into a new retreat called Victorious Women held in Paintsville.  That retreat continues as a weekend for southeastern Kentucky women to gather together for Christian fellowship and spiritual refreshment.

Camp Nathanael

While teaching at Riverside, Carol met Bob Murr, a recently widowed missionary  from Camp Nathanael. When Bob and Carol married in 1987, Carol left Riverside to join Bob at Camp Nathanael.   Together they began two new ministries. They became licensed wildlife rehabilitators and founded a popular outdoor education program.  Subsequently, Carol and Bob received the Kentucky Admiral Award for their contributions to the people and animals of Kentucky.

Carol teaches Riverside students how candles were made in pioneer days.

From the start, Riverside students have enjoyed attending the excellent outdoor education program.  It is available not only for Christian schools and home-schooled children, but for the public schools.

Throughout her life Carol has shown us the steadfast love and faithfulness of God.  She has given us a treasure of precious moments.  Carol was a precious friend and teacher we will always remember.

Meg Asher

Everyone is aware that the end of the 2019-2020 school year was full of crazy changes! After closing school in March, our teachers faced the challenge of shifting their classes into online formats (with very little warning).  Because of all of the hard work from our IT team over the last few years, the process was much easier than it could have been!  Even with the huge learning curve, our teachers, students, and parents did an incredible job adapting to the new normal.

Going forward, we only have tentative plans about what RCS will look like in the fall.  We plan to comply with state guidelines and recommendations, but since we have a smaller student population than most schools, there may be more opportunities to keep a traditional schedule.

We also have a tentative Graduation Ceremony planned for the end of July.  There will be strict guidelines on who can attend the ceremony, but all of the Riverside community will be able to watch as we live-stream the event.

As we all adjust to the daily changes happening around us, continue praying for our students, their families, our community, and our world! We know that in Jesus Christ, all hope is found.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” [Galatians 6:9]

Waking up in the morning, slinging your feet over the side of the bed in a hazy attempt to get up and start your day. You may eat breakfast, preparing whatever happens to be easiest or close by. Then off to get yourself ready, by changing into something appropriate for work or school, fixing our hair to look just right, and some women take the time to make themselves look a little more presentable to world by applying make-up. Once you’re ready, and everyone else is ready, you pile into the family vehicle to take everyone to their destination, whether its work, school, to the babysitters, to a friend’s house, etc. Hold up just a second. During the madness of the morning rush to get ready, did you take any time to talk to God? Did you forget about Him? He didn’t forget about you. How do I know this? You were able to get up this morning and carry on your morning routine. God saw fit to wake you up because He has something for you to do today.

In the madness of the morning, it’s easy to forget about making time for God. It’s easy to not talk to Him or even think about Him during our day. There are even sometimes when we go, not just one day, but days without saying as much as a “Hi” to God. How does that make God feel? God doesn’t forget about us. He allows us to wake up, He allows us to take another breath, He allows us to carry on simple activities such as eat breakfast, or change clothes. This may seem like little things, which many of us take for granted every day. We do these things without thinking about them. However, there are people who woke up this morning, but someone else fed them, someone else dresses them, and someone else has to give them baths. These people are not just in other countries, but they are right here America; they are people who we may even know.

A blessing isn’t always something that is huge, or jaw-dropping, but a blessing can be something as simple as being able to breath without using an oxygen tank. Little things like these can add up to big things, but our vision becomes blinded by the distractions of this world. As Christians and as the creation of the almighty Creator, we need to learn to appreciate the little things that are the little blessings God grants us every day. We need to learn to make time for God, even if it’s while you’re brushing your teeth or driving the car. Just make time to thank God for the little things he has allowed you to do so far, talk to Him about whatever is on your mind. God wants us to come to him with whatever we have, because He loves enough to listen, He loves us enough to wake us up, He loved us enough to give His only Son to die for us. God is willing and waiting for us to talk to Him, we just have to learn that the little blessings that happen in our lives, didn’t happen by accident and we have God to thank for them.