alex prochaska day is april 1

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Alex Prochaska Day

 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”  
1 Timothy 4:12

Alex Prochaska was a fun-loving Christian boy who attended Isaac Newton Christian Academy from Preschool through 8th grade. Around the 3rd grade, Alex got his first funny t-shirt.  It said: “Hey man, I’ve got your back” and had two stick men, one holding the other’s back.  ​

Alex enjoyed the attention that he got wearing it, but he especially enjoyed that the shirt made other people smile.  Alex really liked to make people smile.  Eventually, his entire wardrobe was funny t-shirts.  (He also had funny socks and a great tie!)  By the time he was in 4th grade, he wore his funny shirts every single day, everywhere that he went.  

As he got older, the selection became more difficult to supply.  Many shirts at the stores are inappropriate, and that’s not funny.  Also, he wouldn’t wear shirts that contradicted his work ethic or his values.  Alex continued to seek out the good ones and wore them every day.  He had made a standard for himself and he held to it. 

When Alex finished 8th grade at Isaac Newton and started at a public high school, of course, he was nervous about his new school.  His funny t-shirts were exactly the ice breaker that he needed.  Other kids noticed the shirts and would talk to him. “I like your shirt” was a quick conversation starter and Alex made a lot of friends that way.  Making new friends also gave him the opportunity to share his faith, and he did.  

Alex died in a mowing accident when he was 17.  The funny t-shirts are one of the things that people remember about him.  Old and young, he had made a connection, and many people remember how Alex made them smile.   

April 1st is a special day in the Prochaska house.  It’s a good day to laugh.  Seeing people wear funny shirts and smiling on this day reminds us of an example that we all want to follow. 

So with this day I want to encourage you to make someone smile today.  Make a new friend.  Laugh together.  Encourage each other. 

The Message says this in 1 Thessalonians 5

"God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it."

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