Jeannie's Journal: Jeannie Fulbright's Blog

Quiet Time 101

2011-12-06T10:27:00.000-05:00

Have you tried to have a quiet time but it wasn’t all that fulfilling? This article teaches you how to have a fabulous and fulfilling time with God.

During the years I taught Bible study, I met many women who had never developed the habit of a daily quiet time. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to have a quiet time, it was that they simply didn’t know exactly how. They had tried to read their Bibles, but found it didn’t gel. They tried to develop a habitual prayer life, but found their minds wandered when they were praying so that they couldn’t really get through their list of prayers. Because many adults didn’t grow up in Christian families, they have never been taught how to have a vital, thriving quiet time with God.

So, if you haven’t had a daily quiet time, how do you begin? Well, you only need fifteen minutes; any more than that is a bonus. I’ve met many women who don’t have a quiet time because they can’t find thirty minutes or an hour to do it. This is simply a tactic of the enemy to keep us from spending time with God. Honestly, if you only have five minutes, God can maximize that five minutes and make it feel like five hours, if you spend it in total dedication to Him. Don’t let the enemy rob you of quiet times by telling you that it isn’t worth it if you can’t spend an hour. You don’t need an hour. If you ever get an hour during these homeschooling years, don’t tell anyone — they’ll feel condemned. But, I do recommend you try to carve out fifteen minutes. Put the kids in their own rooms to finish some work along with stern warnings not to interrupt your time with God. Or put on an approved video for them, and don’t feel guilty for using the television during this time; you’ll be a better person when you have a consistent quiet time. If your kids are old enough, ask them to have their own quiet times!

So, once you have that fifteen minutes in your hands, what do you do? Using Jesus’ prayer as an example, the first thing I recommend is to spend time in praise and worship. Begin by proclaiming the awesomeness of God. If you aren’t feeling super-duper adoring or worshipful, just continue to profess aloud the mighty truths about how wonderful and great God is. For help with this, turn to the Psalms and find one that extols God, then read it slowly aloud over and over until you begin to really experience the weight of its truth in your heart. Singing hymns and worship songs that elevate God is also helpful for this time of adoration. I print up the words to my favorite songs and tape them into the front and back covers of my Bible. I try to choose songs that focus on God’s beauty, character and holiness, rather than on me and my needs, although many of my favorite hymns do both. I believe this time of praise is the most important element in your quiet time. If you don’t have time for anything else, this is the key to having a closer walk with God, to defeating the enemy in your life, to dispelling the blanket of fear and anxiety that can cloud your days. Praise is the most valuable part of your quiet time, and whether spoken or sung, it should come first, even if it’s the only thing you have time to do.

After a time of praise, if there is time left, I will spend time in prayer, (following the Lord’s prayer again) asking God to reveal any areas I need to confess before Him, and if there is anyone I need to forgive. This is an important element many people forget when they spend time in confession. You see, the Lord’s prayer asks God to forgive us in the exact way that we have forgiven others. Well, that means it is very important that we forgive others, since we want God to forgive us in that same way. If we have people on our list (no matter how far back in the past) that we have not forgiven, we need to get this right before God, asking forgiveness for not having forgiven them before now.

Then, I spend time in prayer for needs, concerns, questions, my family, our health and others for whom I’ve promised to pray. Keeping my mind focused during prayer is resolved in only one way; that is to write my prayers down as I pray them. Yes, it does require a lot of writing, and a big spiral or blank book (I’ve filled up many), but it is the only way I can keep my mind set upon that for which I’m praying. The benefits of writing my prayers is that my thinking slows down to keep time with my pen, and God’s voice is more audible to me. I might be writing something like “Father God, I’m worried about _____. Please Lord, give me Your peace about this. Help me to trust in You and show me what to do.” And as I’m writing, I will begin to feel a distinct impression upon my spirit about something I need to do. Because I’ve slowed down enough through writing my prayer, I am able to concentrate long enough on the issue to feel God leading me in a certain direction. I will often continue writing about it in prayer until I feel the answer, or I feel it’s time to move on.

If I have a short prayer that I have promised to pray for someone, I don’t always write it out unless I feel a deep burden about that prayer. For example, if someone I don’t know very well asked me to pray that their house would sell, I will pray without writing; however, if my parents asked me to pray that their house would sell, I would probably spend more time on that prayer by writing it out.

After my time of prayer writing, I open my Bible to savor God’s Word. It was a while before I learned how to savor God’s Word for myself. I use the term “savor” because I’ve learned that there is a difference between intense Bible learning and word studies, and savoring God’s Word. One empowers your intellect and understanding of God, the other empowers and nurtures your love for the Lord and your ability to delight in Him, hearing His still, small voice in your heart. I think both are important, but savoring God’s Word is more important, and fills your quiet times with fresh living water that can overflow into your daily life. In intense Bible learning, there can be times of savoring as well. But one does not have to be doing intense Bible study in order to find nourishment and edification for her soul in the Bible.

I’ll never forget the valuable lesson taught by Elizabeth Prentiss in the book “Stepping Heavenward.” She conveyed the idea that it is far more instructive to our hearts to study one verse from the Bible than it is to read several chapters and come away with no meat upon which to chew. Usually this can be done by a slow and methodical reading through one book of the Bible; the New Testament is recommended.

Getting into the habit of daily Bible reading is much more manageable when you are seeking one verse upon which you will spend your day meditating, inquiring of God for understanding, and asking Him to make it true for you and your life. When seeking to understand a specific verse, you open yourself up to a two-way conversation with God, wherein He fulfills His promise to instruct you and be your Counselor. Unbelievably, the Holy Spirit will often lead you right to the verse that He wants you to learn and understand. He has hidden within your daily reading a golden nugget that is just for you. It will stand out very significantly to you, as if it were popping off the page into your face.

Choose a book of the Bible that you will read through over the course of a month or so. Ask the Lord to show you which book of the Bible He would have you begin with. There have definitely been times I’ve opened the Bible and God has led me right to a verse, but that is unreliable and not recommended as a regular quiet time rule. You will usually begin to feel His guidance towards a particular book. If you aren’t sure, that’s okay…God is patient with us even when we are so congested with the world that it has drowned out His still small voice. Just choose a shorter book from the New Testament and begin to slowly read through it. After you get through the salutations, begin to contemplate every sentence you read. Remember that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Every Scripture you read, every sentence, has the potential to change your life. And we have been given the mind of Christ with which to understand Scripture; without the Holy Spirit’s enabling power to comprehend, the Words in the Bible mean nothing to us.

As you contemplate the Word, ask God to give you understanding. If the meaning is not completely clear to you, inquire of God. Ask why it was written. Why is it there? Why did He say this? What is the purpose of this particular verse? To whom is this directed? How is this true? How is this important to me? How can I apply this to my life? How should I respond to this? Is this a truth I haven’t fully believed, or haven’t believed applies to me? Pray and ask the Lord to make every Word penetrate from your mind into your heart. Ask Him to show you what He would have you learn. When a specific Scripture jumps off the page for you, focus your attention upon it. Choose that as your Scripture meditation for the day. Note the book and chapter (you don’t have to remember the specific verse, you can easily find it again if you know the book and chapter). Begin to think on this Scripture as you go about your day.

Even in your harried homeschool day, you can take a few minutes here and there to think about that Scripture, speaking to God about it. As you do this, though the world twirls around you at a fast pace, you are being obedient to God’s call to set your mind on things above. And you can have faith that He will keep him (and her) in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him.

Jeannie Fulbright

The Lord Will Fulfill His Purposes for Your Children

2011-08-02T19:39:00.002-05:00

A new chapter in my homeschooling journey has begun to unfold these past few months. This is a stage you also will encounter in time. I'll call it the season of the college road trip. The funny thing is, I thought I had this all figured out when my daughter was younger, just entering high school. I had decided where and how my child would complete college. It was all mapped out. What I didn't bargain for was the fact that my child would be an adult-like 17 year old, capable of making her own decisions about college - decisions that were quite unlike those I had made for her when she was 14.

The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Because homeschooling produces a more mature teen than does institutional schooling, I believe that my daughter's choice to go to a large university, entering as a freshman, is a viable and preferable option. She has shown a remarkable ability to handle worldly influences with godliness, and I'm confident she would thrive in the competition of a university environment. My heartfelt prayer is that God would lead her heart in choosing a university. I have already seen Him answer this prayer by guiding her as she narrows down her choices. I'm trusting the Lord with her life -entrusting her to Him.

I want to encourage you to believe that God's plans for your children are in effect right now as you homeschool. He is developing them into the people He wants them to be. Do they need to be perfect and holy, without character flaws before they leave your house? Were you all this when you left your parents' home? No. Of course not. We have a tendency to panic over the reality that our children have flaws. That's ridiculous. They will never be perfect, not until they reach their heavenly home. Our job is not to hone perfect children, but to lead them to the Living Water - the Water that gives Life. In their imperfections, if they learn how to seek and follow the Lord, He will be faithful to lead them. They will (although imperfectly) learn to discern His voice as they make choices for their future.

As homeschoolers, let's not get confused about our primary purpose for our children. Perfection in appearance, character and academics is not the goal. The goal is that they walk deeply with the Lord. No matter how perfect their behavior, how high their SAT scores, how impressive their transcript, how amazing their talents - if their hearts are focused on these things rather than God, the journey into adulthood will be rocky. Yet if their hearts are committed to the Lord, their wills submitted to His plan, and their choices led by His Spirit - we can rest in the truth that God will guide them as we simply pray for them and encourage them.

It's so important that, as our children mature, we pull back from the tendency to hover over their every decision and choice. We must allow them to grow and develop as individuals. We must give room for the Lord to work in their hearts, without prodding or over-controlling their environment. By the time they are sixteen years old, we must believe that they will make choices based on their upbringing and their walk with God. They will make mistakes. So did we, and God used those mistakes in our lives. We must let go and entrust our children to Him - the One who loves them and cares for them far better than we do.

The Word promises us that the Lord will fulfill His purposes for our children (Psalm 138:8). Let's believe Him. Let's trust Him. We can rest in peace, knowing they are His, and He will accomplish His will in their lives.

Warmly,
Jeannie Fulbright

Say Good Bye to Fear

2011-05-23T08:31:00.002-05:00

I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Psalm 34:4-5

Sometimes I'll be going along in my day, feeling pretty good, normal, life is good. Then, without warning, a thought will present itself. Maybe it's a memory of something I did wrong in the past; maybe a memory of something someone else did that hurt me or might do to me; maybe it was a thought about some horrible future event I hope never happens; maybe it's concerning an issue I'm dealing with currently. The thought comes, I focus on it for a moment - just long enough to cause my heart to tremble - then my thoughts move on. Though my thoughts have moved on, my heart remains in a tremble. Sometimes I even forget what it was that caused me to feel so anxious, but the anxiety remains and can plague my day.

Do you ever feel like this?

This is the nature of fear. This is how the enemy attacks us and surreptitiously steals our joy, our peace and the abundant life to which God has called us.

When this happens, I found that I must stop what I'm doing and remember what it was that caused me to be anxious. Why does that cause me to fear so dreadfully? Then, I must take that thought to the Lord - and force my mind to remember His promises to me. I must take my thoughts captive and make them obedient to the Truth of God's Word. I must remember that "If God is for me, then what can stand against me?" I must remember that God has great plans for my children, great plans for my life, for my family. Plans that are good. His plans don't include shame. His plans include a radiance for our lives that will shine with the joy and peace and promise of God. He will work out everything for good...everything that seems overwhelming and even hopeless has a purpose in God's Kingdom and will turn out for good - a greater good than any of our plans could ever have created. It's always been so, why would it be any different for this fearful scenario or thought I just had?

The Lord will fulfill His purposes for me. He is able to keep me and my family from falling and to present us before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy ( Psalm 138:8, Jude 1:24).

I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Psalm 34:4-5

The Lord does not want us to live under the fear of the past, the future or the present. His desire is that we live free from fear and anxiety, resting in the precious peace, joy and the faith that He provides for us. This is what He died to give us. Let us not forfeit our inheritance: The peace which was purchased for us on the cross.

Let us seek the Lord for deliverance from all our fears. If we ask anything according to His will, we know that He hears us and answers us according to His will. It is not His will that we live in fear, for he commands us not to fear. As we look to Him, He will make us radiant - shining the Light of Jesus in the darkness. We need not fear for we will not live in shame - but in the confidence that God has given us as children of the Most High God.

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

Isaiah 32:17

May your summer be free from fear, filled with radiance and joy.

The Obstacles in Our Path

2011-05-17T17:48:00.007-05:00

When God calls us to something as immense and life transforming as homeschooling, we can be sure that there will be many obstacles along our path. Whether it's opposition from the non-homeschooling community, learning challenges with our children, character issues that surface and the many fears, anxieties and insecurities we may find within ourself, we can be sure we will come upon many boulders and rocks as we traverse the narrow path to which God has called us.

It's vital to keep in mind that, no matter how perfect someone else's life appears to be, every homeschool family faces struggles and problems. A life well-lived in the sight of God will never be challenge-free. Remember, our enemy is lurking always to steal, kill and destroy God's purposes and plans for our lives. If we are doing God's will, the enemy is sure to be after us. Thus, every one of us that is fulfilling God's call to home educate our children are a target. We can be certain that this journey will not be easy. Once we accept that fact, and let go of the notion that somehow our lives should be easy, homeschooling should be easy, marriage should be easy or that sanctification should be easy, we can release the temptation to complain about how hard things are - as if that's something that should not be so - and get on with the business of persevering in the strength of the Lord.

Just as Paul struggled in the strength of the Lord to fulfill the calling upon his life, we too will run into many roadblocks which the Lord will give us strength and energy to overcome.

To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

Col 1:29

He doesn't want us to struggle in our own strength. He wants us to seek His strength. The same power and strength that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us as we labor through this homeschool journey. He promises to give us all we need to fulfill his call.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Ephesians 1:18 -21

So often, I find myself worried about a problem, searching for answers everywhere except the one place I am sure to find the answer, the guidance and leading for all that concerns me, large and small that God offers.

When my son struggled to learn to spell, after five years of buying every course available to no avail, I sought the Lord in desperation. Within a day, He revealed the answer through a "coincidental" discovery. If only I had sought Him first! I have hundreds of stories just like this one. Always, I'm reminded that He is faithful...and patient! He waits for me to seek Him to bring His solution. Sometimes it's not an instant answer, such as with spelling. But, I know He is faithful.

As we seek Him, we can rest in the fact that He has the answer for every dilemma, every obstacle, we face. We can trust in Him. If we truly trust in Him, we will find joy. It's the restful peace we get when we truly have faith in His faithfulness. He has our lives in His hands.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 28:7

The Lord gives us joy because we know He is for us. He is on our side. He called us to this journey and He will fulfill His purposes for our children and our family. He will answer our prayers and we can find peace in that. As we trust in the Lord, we find not only joy, but our joy becomes the very strength that keeps us moving forward!

Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Neh 8:10

Every single thing we face is part of God's plan and purpose for our sanctification. As we entrust every issue to God, knowing that He will answer in His time, in His way, we can live a life of joy - even in the midst of all our struggles. We can be joyful homeschoolers because we know that our lives are in His hands. All that we face will be used by God and none of it comes as a surprise to God. We can have joy and trust in Him in the midst of the painful situation, knowing that we - though imperfect children of the Most High - are intimately loved and under the constant care of Him who delights over us with singing.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

What are your struggles right now?

What fears are keeping you from the joy the Lord has for you?

What have you not entrusted to the Lord, knowing and believing He has and will bring an answer?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Phil 4:6-7

The Prayer Journal: Slowing Down to Listen

2011-04-12T16:11:00.001-05:00

One of the most valuable benefits I found in writing down my prayers as I prayed them was that it took me much longer to write down my prayers than it did for me to think them.

I can think, “Lord, I’ve really been selfish this week with my time” in 3 seconds. But for me to spend the time to write down that confession takes at least 18 seconds (yes, I timed it). By writing it down you add 600 times more thought and earnestness into your prayer. Believe it or not, that makes an enormous difference in the direction and focus of your prayers. While you are taking that extra time to write out your thoughts, your focus is on that one specific prayer. It's not jumping to the next issue you need to bring before God. You will slow down your thoughts to give an intense moment to the specific prayer at hand. During that time, you will remember specific things to confess, leading to more authentic repentance – which typically leads us to greater understanding of the truth on the matter, resulting in change or deliverance.

“…in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” 2 Tim 2:26

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

Additionally, as we pray in supplication, we find that our earnestness really does increase when we take that extra time to pray for the matters that need transformation in our lives. It’s also amazing how often the Lord has brought solutions to my concerns while I’m spending that extra time penning my requests and worries.

Again, it takes me only 5 seconds to pray, “Lord, I’m really concerned about math. What curriculum should we use next year?” While it takes a full 30 seconds for me to write that. Again, a 600 percent increase in the time and attention I spend on the matter – which typically results in even more time than that as additional thoughts surrounding that issue will come up - I write down each thoughts as it surfaces. So, instead of just penning that one sentence, I may end up adding specifics such as:

“I’ve heard so many negative things about XYZ Math, but I’m really feeling like it would be a good fit for us. Should I get a tutor to come once a week to help out? Lord, we don’t have the money for a tutor. Could you provide a way for this to happen? Lord, if it’s your will for us to have a tutor, I know you will provide someone that we can afford or trade with somehow. Lord, maybe that’s the answer to our math dilemma. Please confirm this to me by opening the doors for this to happen. Thank you, Lord. I’m trusting you with our math situation. I know you will provide for all our needs. You are so good and loving to us. You have been so faithful in all things. I know you will be faithful with this as well.”

This is a far greater increase than the original 600 percent. In fact, it moves us from the realm of microwave prayers into the beauty of a richly interactive prayer life. Writing out your prayers increases your earnestness, your focus and also, you may find you are being gently led by the Spirit as you pray – He begins to show you what to pray about, and gives you the answer He has already provided. This is essentially being Spirit led.

This is only one of the many amazing benefits to keeping a prayer journal.

Grab a prayer journal right now and get started – you can use anything: A composition notebook, a spiral, notebook paper in a binder or a purchased journal. If you begin to do this habitually, you will have volumes and volumes of prayer journals pile up over the years – using every medium imaginable. It doesn’t matter what the journal looks like…just get started and you’ll find an immediate difference in your prayer life. WARNING: Don’t wait until you have the most lovely, perfect journal for spending time in prayer. Begin now and then move into your perfect journal when you get it. Let go of any perfectionist idealism and get with God today!

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

James 5:16

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Colossians 4:2

I'll report more on prayer journals in the next post!

The Prayer Warrior Wannabe: Transforming Your Prayer Life

2011-04-11T09:28:00.002-05:00

How often have you found yourself sitting down to have a quiet moment of prayer and before a few minutes are up, your mind is totally focused on a completely different topic? The wandering mind syndrome is the most common obstacle to a powerful prayer life. It will keep us a Prayer Warrior Wannabe for our entire lives if we don't institute change.

How do we overcome this huge hurdle to our spiritual development? Believe it or not, there is an answer. By using a tool called a prayer journal, we will put a complete stop to our wandering mind, keeping our prayers and our heart focused on the Lord.

How is this done? We simply write down our prayers as we pray them. I promise you, it works. It's the only thing that has ever worked for me. I began a prayer journal almost 20 years ago at the insistence of a friend - who had other reasons for urging me to do this - and I'm still dependent on it today. Besides the many other benefits I have found over the years, it's the only thing that will keep me focused while I pray, enabling me to devote more time to this vital connection with God. The more time I spend in prayer, the longer I spend with My God. The more time I spend with God...the more peace and greater faith I have in His ability to handle all that concerns me, my family, my friends and my country.

God's desire is for us to bring everything to Him. He does not want us to make this journey on our own. He wishes for us to entrust all the issues of life to Him - unleashing His power to transform, change, strengthen and give wisdom in all the circumstances we face. His desire is to exchange our worry for His peace. That's His promise.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Phil 4:6-7

I will write more soon on this amazing tool - the Prayer Journal and how you can move from a Prayer Warrior Wannabe to a Powerful Person of Prayer.

Jeannie Fulbright: My Personal Beliefs

2011-03-24T15:16:00.001-05:00

For those of you who are wondering, I think it's really important that people know what I, Jeannie Fulbright, author of the Apologia Young Explorer series, believes just so there is no confusion or doubt. I'm not speaking for Apologia or anyone else, just for myself, a creationist author. All of my books carry these beliefs throughout.

1. I believe the Bible is the infallible, inerrant word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16)

2. I believe that the Bible and Genesis should be read and understood literally. It is totally trustworthy. (Mark 10:6, Mark 13:19-20, Luke 11:50-51, John 8:44, Romans 5:12-19, 1 Cor 15:21-22, 45 - 47, 2 Cor 11:3, 1 Tim 2:13-14, 1 Cor 11:8-9, Romans 1:20, 1 Pet 3:20, 2 Pet 2:4-9, 2 Pet 3:3-7, Luke 3:23-38 - Genealogy of Christ traces him back to Adam).

3. I believe that the earth and everything in it, including the Universe was created in six literal days. (Gen 1 - 11, Hebrews 11:3-7)

4. I believe that when Adam sinned, the entire Universe experienced destruction, decay and was subject to the bondage of a fallen world. Before the fall of man, the world had not experienced destruction, decay, death or any other factors associated with the fall. (Romans 5:12, Romans 8:18-25)

5. I believe that Jesus came as a result of this literal fall. This literal fall is the reason we need a Savior. (Luke 19:10, John 3:17, 1 Tim 1:15)

6. I believe that Jesus came to redeem us from the fall and restore us to Himself and one day all of creation will be liberated from the bondage, decay and destruction that occurred at the fall. (Romans 8:18-25) (Acts 3:21)

7. If you truly believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins (took the punishment for your sin upon himself), you immediately receive the gift of restoration to God, which Jesus offers. This is salvation. (John 3:16, John 3:36, John 6:40, John 11:25, Romans 5:8, Romans 2:9, 1 John 4:10, Acts 16:31, Hebrews 10:39, Romans 10:9)

8. I believe the Bible supports the Creationist view of Scripture and that you will find every word in Scripture backed by science. (Gen 1 - 11, 2 Timothy 3:16, plus many evidences throughout)

9. I believe that Jesus believed in a Young Earth view of Scripture and that Genesis should be read literally. (Mark 10:6, Mark 13:19-20, Luke 11:50-51, John 8:44)

10. I believe that it is important that we teach these truths to our children, to ground them in the Word of God. (Matthew 28:20, Deut 6:4-9, Romans 14:23)

If you have any questions concerning my theology, my beliefs and anything that is contained in my books, please feel free to contact me at science@jeanniefulbright.com.

Warmly,
Jeannie Fulbright

Prone to Wander

2010-10-04T13:59:00.003-05:00

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
John 15:5

This was one of the first Scripture verses I had my children memorize when they were young. I can still remember them trying to recite John 15 by heart during presentations for my little homeschool group. I hope that this chapter of John remains hidden in their hearts.

Today was one of those rare days when I actually had some alone time to sit down and work on the Physics book I'm writing. I sat down, with all these thoughts jumbled in my head. Thoughts about matter, atoms, molecules and all the foundational things that are needed to delve into the study of physics. I'm sitting there with my computer on my lap. Sitting. Writing a little. Deleting. Writing a little more. Deleting. It was so frustrating. I had four hours in front of me and not a single inspiring thing to write about atoms and molecules. Suddenly, the principle found in the verse above hit me.

Jesus reminded me, "Apart from me, you can do nothing."

Thank you, Lord. Honestly, I don't want to do anything apart from Him. I don't want to homeschool apart from Him. I don't want to plan my children's or my activities and calendar on my own. I don't want to choose curriculum, guide my children's hearts, be a mother or wife or homemaker without His guidance and leadership in every moment. I don't want to make a single decision that isn't led by Him. And I absolutely don't want to write a book without Him.

I needed to let go of the fact that I had four uninterrupted hours to work in front of me and just focus my heart on the Lord for those hours. Why, when I have uninterrupted time, must I busy myself with work? God is able to accomplish all that concerns me - He can easily make 15 minutes more productive than four hours. But He can only do this if I abide in Him.

Always falling back into my Martha ways. I'm so thankful that even though our hearts are so prone to stray, our God continually calls us back into relationship. He beckons to us over and over...standing at the door and knocking.

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

2010-07-07T09:57:00.003-05:00

Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, knew the power of forgiveness.

Once, a friend brought up a cruel deed someone had done to her. Barton claimed she did not remember the deed done.

Insistent, her friend exclaimed, "Don't you remember the wrong that was done to you?"

"No," Barton answered, "I distinctly remember forgetting that."

This story blesses my spirit.

I have seen the power of forgiveness and I have also seen the power of unforgiveness.

Forgiveness enables us to walk in the peace, joy and fullness that God has for us.

Unforgiveness breeds misery, bitterness and a deadness of spirit. A constant stab of a knife whenever the incident is considered. In fact, one's entire life is characterized by a continual stabbing. Daily or weekly, she feels the stab, the pain, the shame, the misery, the offense.

Those who choose to forgive the cruelty of others and all the wrongs they have suffered at the hands of humans, are set free from the bondage and misery those offenses have the potential to breed in one's soul.

With that freedom, the forgiver is enabled to experience the abundant life that God has planned for him or her.

The person who does not forgive is held back from that abundant life by their own choice.

Could Clara Barton have founded the American Red Cross if she held onto the offenses she suffered? Could Joseph have become the leader of Egypt had he lived in constant state of resentment towards his brothers? I don't see how.

I've heard it said, "Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself."

I've also heard, "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."

In the story of the unmerciful servant, Jesus characterizes unforgiveness as a self-imposed prison of constant torment. (Matthew 18).

How about you?

Have you forgiven that person that did that thing to you?

My prayer is that you will make the choice to forgive all those who offend you so that you can experience all God has for you!

Be Not Anxious

2010-04-18T19:17:00.002-05:00

Got Anxiety?

One thing about us homeschoolers is we are easy targets for anxious thoughts. What is making you anxious? What is the most worrisome thing you face as a homeschooler?

From many homeschoolers around the country, I’ve heard various answers to this question. Like them, perhaps you have a child that struggles to get his work done, or the fear that you are not covering everything – not doing enough; perhaps it’s personality and behavior issues with your children, learning struggles or feelings of inadequacy as an educator, a mom, a wife, a person.

Whatever it is, I can promise you that God does not want you to be anxious at all about that. Not only that, He has great instructions for how to overcome that anxiety.

Present EVERYTHING to God

We are told, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

How often are you bringing this issue before God? I know that sometimes I worry and mull over my problems for days, sometimes weeks, dare I say months, before I finally realize that I am not truly bringing this issue before God on a regular basis…or ever!

As many times as I’ve seen God do miracles, small and big, through prayer, you would think I would be in a constant state of prayer over every little thing that pops up. But no, often I think a discouraging, negative thought; then I let it begin to haunt me – telling me what a failure I am or what a mess I’m making; eventually I accept it as truth and find myself muddling through my days in a state of discouragement and despair, with anxiety my most familiar companion. Then, finally, I realize I’ve been walking on my own…not with God on this issue. Wow. I need to remember to take everything to Him…every discouraging thought and belief, everything that stirs up anxiousness. He has a remedy, but He awaits my request.

With Thanksgiving

I never want to speak on this verse without bringing attention to those enormously significant two words: with thanksgiving.

God has a lot to say about thanksgiving, but let’s just sum it up like this: We experience the power of God in our lives when we choose to be thankful in ALL circumstances. Not just thankful for a good, happy thing in that circumstance, but thankful for that struggle.

I never understood how this “thankful in all circumstances” concept worked until I realized years later that those horrid struggles (that, at the time, I thought were God’s punishment upon my life) were actually the things that grew me, humbled me and gave me the greatest testimony and maturity as a Christian. They were far more important to my character development and my walk with God and my ability to be full of peace and joy in all circumstances, than any happy, good thing that happened in my life. Those horrid struggles were gifts. So, yes, we are to be thankful for even the struggles we encounter.

In my experience, I have rarely seen God deliver me from problems until I chose to be thankful in and for those very problems. He’s true to His Word.

In fact, we enter God’s presence with this very tool: thanksgiving. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courts with praise!” Psalm 100:4

Let us choose to give a sacrifice of praise for that thing with which we struggle.

When we do this, we will surely find God’s Word is true as “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Apologia Live

2010-03-13T20:14:00.002-05:00

I'm currently on an airplane on my way home from the Apologia Live conference in Baltimore. I realize now that I could blog more often if I flew more often - especially if the airline has free wi-fi, like the one I'm currently on.

This was my first Apologia Live conference and the second such conference that Apologia has done. Apologia Live is the inspiration of Rachael Carman, wife and mother of seven. Rachael and her husband Davis own Apologia.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew it was designed to be a retreat for homeschool moms, a place for them to come for refreshment, renewal, refocusing and a reminder of why they do what they do. I have been to many homeschool conferences that were designed to do the same thing. However, nothing prepared me for how beautifully this event fulfilled its mission. In fact, in all my years as a speaker, I have never been to a conference for which I was to speak that ministered to me as much as those attending the conference. All I can say is, "WOW! God truly made His presence and purpose known, and touched everyone's life in a powerful way."

This year's theme was Stand Strong. I was blessed to sit among the women and hear from some amazing women, such as, Elizabeth Smith (HSLDA), Zan Tyler, Debra Bell, Rachael Carman and Sherri Seligson (author of Marine Biology). What was truly astonishing is how all the messages we spoke wove into every other speaker's message, resulting in common threads that were repeated throughout the conference - namely that God will Stand Strong on your behalf, no matter how you have struggled, failed, messed up and failed again. He is just waiting to bless you and your children.

As a homeschooling mother, I sat in wonder, thinking, "Oh! If only someone had told me that when my children were young! How this message would have transformed my homeschool." I also sat in awe, pondering some of the powerful words spoken into my life with messages I needed to hear today. Elizabeth taught on prayer and renewed my commitment to pray over my children and their struggles. She also taught me that I should always ask God what to pray, instead of just assuming that I know what the specific issue at hand really is and how it needs to be tackled in prayer. Sometimes God may lead us to pray in a different way that will get better results. Debra Bell was so powerful in her message of grace, her message of hope for God's purpose and plan for our children. She spoke of how homeschooling is not just best for our children, it is best for us, personally, and for our marriage and family. It is God's best for our entire lives. Zan gave powerful words of hope on the redemption of God, reminding us that He longs to bless us, to open doors for our children and usher them into the amazing blessings He has in store for them. Sherri reminded us that God uses our weakness, and is actually able to work far more effectively when we aren't the confident, got-it-all-together homeschool mom that we all wish we were. Rachael did a beautiful job of wrapping it all up, highlighting stories of the mother's in the Bible that dedicated themselves to raising their children just as we are. My favorite was her portrayal of Hannah who gave her child up to fulfill God's call upon His life. One day, we will do the same with all of our children as they begin to find and pursue the purposes to which God has called each of them. I could have listened to each one for days.

It was so wonderful getting to chat with each of the women, counseling some one-on-one, praying with them and hearing their stories. It wasn't about curriculum, as most homeschool conferences are, it was about them and building them up to stand strong in the journey ahead. It was a true ministry to these women.

Apologia Live will be expanding to other states each year. Next year, they will be back in Baltimore and also Atlanta. I know there are other cities planned as well. They are hoping to get to California soon.

If you are needing refreshment and renewal...Apologia Live is where you will get it!

2010-01-14T11:57:00.002-05:00

Math Facts Resources Reviews

As promised, below are reviews of three different programs to aid in teaching your child math facts. I, personally, have found the most effective tool is good old fashioned flash cards: begin with the answers included and then remove the answers after they have visually memorized the fact with the answers. Then, review the flash cards every day until they know them cold. After that, review now and again - weekly, then monthly and then with practice tests once in a while (Calculadders is a good practice test program for math facts). However, if they still struggle or you prefer to add some help in the learning process - below are some ideas.

FlashMaster
www.flashmaster.com

FlashMaster is definitely my favorite gadget for helping my kids practice their math facts. This small hand-held electronic device can be programmed in many different ways to customize the facts presented. It has several levels and can be timed if desired. It also keeps your children's results so you can check up on their progress. This is a great gadget for on-the-go homeschoolers - just keep it in the car for a little "carschooling" fun!

I paid around $50 for ours, but you can purchase it from Amazon or Sonlight Curriculum for around $45.00.

Again, this is a program that helps your children practice
their math facts, not necessarily learn them. Read on for resources that will aid in the actual learning of math facts.

Math n More's Flash Facts
by Jan Bedell
www.littlegiantsteps.com

Although somewhat expensive, I found this program to be helpful in actually teaching the math facts for a child that struggled with the flash card method. This program was developed by a certified neurodevelopmentalist, and it uses all the different learning styles of children to teach math facts. It teaches to auditory, visual and kinesthetic learners all at once. Every child can succeed with this program. In fact, this was the program that convinced me that my children needed to see the facts (including the answers) before they could memorize and provide the answers when using flashcards.

This program involves showing your children flashcards with the answers and having them listen to the facts read with the answers - while they look for the facts on a pre-printed sheet. Then, they go through the cards again without the answers and listen to the facts without the answers - while they write the answers on another sheet. A little parent involvement is necessary, but the child is required to listen to the facts read with earphones on. I remember my son using the earphones and being shocked as they read facts that he knew the answers to. "How do I know all these answers?" he asked. It was that easy for him to learn his math facts. Ever since we started using this program, our facts practice has been all review.

The cost is $24.99 for each program (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division). So, for all the your facts, you'll dish out more than $100. But, if you are really diligent to use it, your child will learn their facts well.

Times Tales: A Trigger Memory System
www.timestales.com

For those tough to remember math facts, a little extra help is sometimes needed. This is especially true for your nonmathy, creative child or visual learner. Times Tales is a great program that will help solidify those harder to memorize facts in the six, seven, eight and nine categories. Using stories and images, as well as characterizations for each number, this program does the trick. In fact, I'll never forget that 7 and 8 were driving down the road and going one mile over the speed limit. Yes, 7 and 8 were going 56 miles per hour. I have that image indelibly etched in my brain and will likely never forget that 7 x 8 is 56.

I hope that helps some of you get started on the journey to getting those math facts down!

Facts on Math Facts

2010-01-08T10:03:00.002-05:00

There are several things I've learned over the years about teaching math in the homeschool. Undeniably, the first and most important element for imparting a solid math education is...(drum roll please)...the memorization of math facts! Skip the skip counting, and focus on helping your children memorize their facts. Truly, it is the most important part of elementary math. It's more important than that drill sheet they have in front of them each day, and yes, it's even more important than that well-researched, expensive curriculum you bought at the book fair. If I could implore you to do ANYTHING in the elementary years that would benefit your children the MOST - it would be to focus on the facts. Please, please, please make sure your children learn them!

You see, middle school math is next to impossible for the student that must first stop and think about the answer to six times eight. If the child is not certain of the answer to seven plus six, what we call "careless" mistakes will abound. Further, it will take him an hour to do what could be completed in 15 minutes - if he only knew his facts!

I KNOW THIS FROM EXPERIENCE...

AVOID THE MISTAKE I MADE!

As students grow older, math problems get trickier, lengthier and often involve several steps to solve. If a student has to ponder the answer to every addition, subtraction and multiplication fact they encounter, math will become the bane of your existence. Fractions are frightening for a kid that can't find a common denominator because he doesn't know his math facts.

Skip counting is fine, and it may work for a while, but in the end, the student simply must know his facts. If your child is still skip counting while taking the SAT, he will probably get left behind. In essence, by sixth grade, your children should have all their multiplication math facts, through at least the tens, down pat. They should also know their addition and subtraction facts through twenty. If they do, they are then free to focus on the algorithms (the procedures for doing the equations) without the burden of lacking the basics.

I learned a little late that math facts should be the most important part of a child's early math education. With my first child, I spent more time teaching the algorithms and only sporadically worked on memorizing the facts. By sixth grade, I knew we were in big trouble. Thankfully, teaching math facts is not rocket science. Thus, we were able to remediate this issue by focusing each day on the monotonous and painfully boring task of flash cards (I'll explain the flashcard methods that were most effective for my students in my next post).

I also want to point out that, I've purchased and watched homeschool moms purchase expensive games, gadgets and software in the hopes of making math fact memorization a breeze. This is unnecessary and by trying to make it fun we complicate the process, and risk not even doing it. In the end, it really boils down to the nitty-gritty work of sitting with your child - one on one, each and every day - to ensure that he solidly memorizes those facts.

In the next few posts, I will review and recommend curriculum that will actually help teach math facts.

Homeschooling Works!

2009-12-30T11:10:00.000-05:00

Study: Home-Schooled Children Excel as Adults

Despite what many might believe, a vast majority of home-schooled children say they have plenty of opportunities for socialization with other children and, as adults, come to excel in all measured areas of adult life, according to a new study.

Mon, Dec. 28, 2009 Posted: 11:51 PM EDT

The study, released this month by the Canadian Centre for Home Education (CCHE), surveyed young adults in Canada whose parents responded to a 1994 study on home education. Ranging in age from 15 to 34, the study’s participants answered questions on a variety of topics with comparable data from Statistics Canada.

The results, according to CCHE, were “astounding.”

“In terms of income, education, entrepreneurial endeavors, involvement in their community, and all the other characteristics measured, home-educated adults not only excel, but also make meaningful contributions to their communities,” commented CCHE president Paul Faris. “They are the type of neighbors we all want.”

When measured against the Canadian average, home-educated adults were more socially engaged and almost twice as likely to have voted in a federal election.

Average income, meanwhile, was higher with more sources of investment income and self employment, and no cases of government support as the primary source of income.

Home-educated adults were also happier in their work and their lives in general, with 97.2 percent saying they were fairly or very happy with their lives, compared to 95.4 percent of all Canadians surveyed in the General Social Survey of Canada of 2003.

“Overall, homeschooling graduates appear to be very content with the education they received, as well as being happier and more satisfied with their work and life than similarly aged Canadians, and, indeed, young citizens of other countries,” researchers noted in their report, titled “Fifteen Years Later: Home-Educated Canadian Adults.”

When reflecting on the value of being home educated, most study participants felt that it was an advantage in their adult life.

Home-educated adults reported that they felt the "best part about being home educated" included the rich relational aspects, the opportunity for extensive curricular enrichment, the flexibility especially in terms of the schedule, the individualized pace and programs, the development of their own independence and confidence, and the superior education received.

As for what they felt “was the worst part about being home educated,” more than one-third of the respondents who provided an answer mentioned an aspect of the social challenges of being home educated.

These comments ranged from simple reflections such as “I feel I could have had more social interaction” to more angst filled ones such as “[I was] so different from others my age and [felt] somewhat awkward.”

Most, however, (70 percent) disagreed with the common criticism of home education that children have too few opportunities for socialization with other children and went as far as to claim that they had plenty of opportunities for socializing with other children.

Only 10.7 percent claimed that the criticism was most certainly the case in their situation.

“It was true and when given chances to interact I was generally too shy because I didn’t know how to act,” one respondent had replied.

"Most of my friends lived in other areas of town and I wasn’t very close with anyone in my neighborhood," added another.

In their concluding remarks, researchers behind the study said their findings are consistent with those found in a 2004 study of 5,254 Americans (home educated for seven or more years of their K-12 education) in terms of the demographic characteristics of the adults such as education achieved and civic engagement.

Citing the study, researchers noted: "The home-educated adults in this study were very positive about having been homeschooled and toward homeschooling in general, actively engaged in their local communities, keeping abreast of current affairs, highly civically involved, tolerant of others expressing their viewpoints, attaining relatively high levels of formal education, religiously active and wide-ranging in their worldview beliefs, holding worldview beliefs similar to those of their parents, and largely home educating their own children.

"The eradication of social prejudice against those currently being home educated and against those formerly home educated could be achieved through concerted efforts to inform of the achievements of home education, through creating an awareness that stigmatizing those educated differently is a form of intolerance, and through creating awareness of the multiple alternative community-specific educational opportunities that are offered in our times, specifically that non classroom-based education is merely one of those forms," they added.

The study's authors noted that future research should probe more deeply into addressing the various questions.

More in-depth conversations with individuals and focus groups should take place to further probe for the strengths and weaknesses of home education, they noted.

And the adults in their study should continue to be tracked and, once they are settled into their middle years, again compared with their peers.

"If home education seems to achieve the positive results that are reported here in general, more comparative study of the outcomes of the various versions of home education such as non classroom-based charter schools, cyber schools, partial day school attendance, and funded approaches should be undertaken with a view to preparing proposals for further improving other forms of education," they concluded.

Data for “Fifteen Years Later: Home-Educated Canadian Adults” was gathered from the 226 home-educated children who responded out of the 285 that the researchers were able to reach from the 620 families who in 1994 had expressed interest in being approached for future participation in further longitudinal study.

For the original 1994 study, 2,594 children from 808 families had participated.

Aaron J. Leichman
Christian Post Reporter

Without a Vision

2009-11-10T09:08:00.005-05:00

If we can impart a vision to our children for their future, they will be inspired to pursue excellence, do the hard things that are required, and restrain themselves from that which slows their progress.

Last week, I posted this as my status update on Facebook.

The Word tells us, "Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint." Proverbs 29:18

When we are working towards a very clear goal, it requires a great deal of restraint to persevere. If one has the goal to make it to the peak of the mountain, no matter how difficult, they will continue the ascent until they reach the summit. If they simply decided to climb the mountain and maybe they'll get to the top, their lack of vision will cause them to turn back when the going gets rough.

If our children know where they are going, if they have a strong desire to fulfill their calling, their destiny and the purposes they feel God has given them, they will restrain themselves to do the hard things. They will push through when its difficult if their mind is set on the summit.

My two boys (11 and 13) have very clear goals for their future, both requiring quite a bit of higher education. Because of this, they persevere through the harder courses, knowing this is part of the journey. They have a natural tendency to want to take the easy path, but because of their vision, they buckle down to get the work done. They know that the work given them will enable them to score well on the SAT, or do well in high school or college. Often, while doing something exceedingly monotonous, one might ask, "Will this be on the SAT?"

Over the years, our communications with them have strategically and purposefully imparted vision to them, and conveyed to them ownership of their future. We explained that THEY and THEY ALONE are responsible for their future. We can offer the opportunities, but it is up to them to take advantage of those opportunities and make use of the blessings God has given them. The doors are opened for them, but often they are only open for a short time. Will they walk through those doors? We have told them stories of people that spent their youth focused on friends and entertainment; they chose not to focus on or pursue their passions and interests, making personal sacrifices, and ended up unsatisfied with their lives because they missed the opportunity.

My children understand that, ultimately, their future is in their hands. They comprehend that the middle school and high school years can be the most instrumental years in developing their knowledge-base, expertise and skill. They can become experts in their special interests, gifts and talents or waste their days barely finishing their basic studies, leaving no time to pursue special studies. As homeschoolers, they have nothing but time during these years. They have a choice to squander it, or use it wisely. We cannot make them drink from the fountain; we can only lead them to it and encourage them to drink.

Let us impart a vision to our children. This enables them to look beyond the hedonistic mindset that traps them in the now, knowing that their future depends upon their choices today. This empowers them to restrain their tendency to pamper the flesh and feed the mind junk food.

Most of us grew up without a clear vision for our future. Most of us know the disappointment of seeking a career that pays well, over that which makes use of our gifts, talents and passions. Interestingly, most of us had a vision for what we wanted to do by middle school or high school. Because we were not given the opportunity, we did not hone and develop the skills needed to pursue that passion planted in our hearts. We were stuck in the cookie-cutter mentality of government schooling. Thankfully, we can cast off that hindrance and allow our children to run with endurance the race marked out for them.

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Amazing Story: The Director of Planned Parenthood

2009-11-06T09:26:00.002-05:00

This is an incredible story. The director of Planned Parenthood publicly stepped down as director of Planned Parenthood after watching an ultrasound of an abortion, and being told to increase the number of abortions coming in because of the economy. Now millions are being affected by her decision!

Hear the whole story: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=514

Zoology 1 Notebooking Journal Available and TOS subscription

2009-09-21T17:04:00.002-05:00

Just really quickly, I wanted to tell everyone two things:

1. The Zoology 1 Notebooking Journals are available from www.apologia.com - you can order them today! I'm not sure when the regular vendors (Christian books and Rainbow Resource or anyone else will have them - but you can get yours right away through Apologia.

2. The Old Schoolhouse (my favorite homeschool magazine) is available for a one year subscription for only $7.95 until midnight tomorrow (use this code: FB795). After that, it will go back to its regular price of $25.00.

Have a great week!

Traveling...and more

2009-07-07T16:03:00.002-05:00

We just got back from a wonderful, exciting adventure in California. We visited relatives and made our way north from San Francisco to Sacramento to Monterrey and up to St. Helena. It was so fun!

On that topic of travel, I want to relay a great review of my dear friend's HOMESCHOOL TRAVEL BUSINESS!

Heidi with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, has interviewed Amy Davidson on Homeschoolblogger Here.

Amy is one of my oldest and dearest friends (she's not old, though). Amy is the one person in my life who actually encouraged me to homeschool...it might have looked more like a rebuke at the time, though. LOL! She's wonderful. Check out her website www.hsneighbor.com and maybe you'll be heading to California!

P.S. I posted the winners to the Notebooking Journal contest on my blog, but only a few have responded. Be sure to check if you won!

Botany and Astronomy Notebooking Journal Giveaway!

2009-05-19T16:48:00.005-05:00

I really liked Frugal Mom's blogging idea for the Botany and Astronomy Notebooking Journal give-away contest.

So, here is the plan: I will give away four each of the Botany and Astronomy Notebooking Journals to bloggers who post information about the Notebooking Journals and the contest (You can pick which one you want if you are a winner).

This is a great way to get the word out that this new product exists while giving you an opportunity to win one! I will use random.org to choose the winners. So, here are the rules:

1. Post a blurb about the Notebooking Journals (I'll create one you can use, or you can write your own).

2. Include a link to the samples on the Apologia website.

3. Mention this contest and what it entails (with a link to my blog).

4. Send me an email with your blog address.

I will compile the emails in the order they are received and allow Random.org to choose which #'s win the Notebooking Journals. If you have more than one blog, you could win more than one!

Here is a blurb about the journals you can use or edit for your own use:

Apologia is now producing notebooking journals that accompany each of the elementary science books. Both Botany and Astronomy are now available. You can see samples on the Apologia website here:

These journals are beautiful spiral bound notebooks that will save you time and money. You won't have to print and keep up with your child's notebook pages, buy and maintain page protectors, or purchase and compile binders...everything that makes notebooking time-consuming and labor intensive for mom. Also, your child will adore having their own notebooking journal.

Each of the notebooking journals include:

A daily schedule for those who like to have a plan or would like their children to complete the book on their own
Templates for written narrations, the notebooking activities and experiments
Review Questions
Scripture Copywork, with both print and cursive practice
Reading lists and additional activities, projects, experiments for each lesson
An appendix with beautiful, full-color, lapbook-style Miniature Books
Field Trip Sheets to keep a record field trips
A Final Review with fifty questions the students can answer either orally or in writing to show off all they remember and know at the end of the course.

See the sample pages here:

Botany: https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=128

and

Astronomy: https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=127

Jeannie is giving away four Astronomy Notebooking Journals and four Botany Notebooking Journals to bloggers who post about this on their site. Visit her blog to learn more about this contest: www.jeanniesjournal.com

The contest ends on in one week on May 29th! That way I'll have the weekend to send them before I go to the Illinois conference.

So blog away!

Botany Notebooking Journals are HERE!

2009-05-18T19:45:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited to announce the arrival of the Exploring Creation with Botany Notebooking Journals. You can see samples of them on the Apologia website here: BOTANY NJ

These will make Exploring Creation with Botany even easier to complete with templates for every notebook activity, diagrams to label, Scripture copywork, vocabulary crossword puzzles, Scientific Speculation Sheets, reading lists and Dig in Deeper extended activities for every lesson, as well as...drum roll...beautiful full color lapbooks that are simply gorgeous!

I want to give away a four of these. But I can't think of a contest (My brain is so focused on getting the Anatomy book finished). I also want to give away four Astronomy Notebooking Journals. Can anyone think of a great contest I could hold on my blog?

To Glorify God

2009-04-22T17:49:00.006-05:00

Today was a very special day for my eight year old. She competed today in the AAU Georgia State Championship in gymnastics. She came away winning the First Place State Champion on beam, Second Place State Champion on floor and Third Place All Around State Champion. It was precious.

But, as we moved through this last season, experiencing all the various successes and joys, and sometimes failures and sorrows, I really began to dig deep to understand why we are doing all of these activities. What is the purpose for these things in the lives of these children to whom God has entrusted me.

The Lord has given me some wisdom in this. It is not to "be great" or to win or to be first. Though that seems to be the focus of the parents with whom we interact at these events (whether it is ballet, baseball or gymnastics), this focus is not even close to where our hearts are centered. Our hearts, throughout all of these things should always be towards our Lord, focused on bringing Him pleasure and glory in all that we do. If it is hitting a baseball, writing a book, doing a cartwheel or turning a pirouette, it is for God's glory and pleasure. It is a form of worship: To use the gifts, talents and abilities - the mind and body that God gave us - for His joy, His glory - and to give Him the credit and glory if success follows.

I seek to help my children understand that it is not for them, for their benefit, that they are doing these activities. It's for Him because He gave them this special work - through the gifts, talents or passions he has developed in them - and it brings Him joy when they walk in that. It is His glory, His joy, that we seek. We are worshiping God when we do that work which God has given for them to do. It becomes an eternal work - when our hearts are truly focused on Him throughout it. It is not wood, hay and stubble that will burn as the deeds we do for our own glory are.

I've quit praying for my kids to win. I can't tell you how many times I sat there, biting my nails praying like crazy that my son would get a hit, or pitch a perfect game, or my ballerina would get the part she wanted in the Nutcracker or my gymnast would win first place. Yet, I realize now that it's not about them. It's about Him. My prayers are now mostly praise that God is their God, that He has blessed them, that they are fearfully and wonderfully made and are His children, and that they would simply bring Him glory; whatever would bring God the most glory is what I pray would be. Amazingly, as I've changed my heart in prayer, my attitude has undergone a dramatic change. I am totally at peace. Whether they win or lose, I feel the same - focused on God and His glory. When they lose, I'm not nearly as troubled or sorrowful, when they win, I'm joyed, but not as relieved and overwhelmed (as if our happiness depended upon this win). It's astonishing what this shift in focus has done for my own heart as a parent.

Yet, more than anything, it blesses my heart the most when I hear my children actually getting this. That's when I begin to really swell with excitement. When they confide their own personal prayers during the event, I know the reason we do all of this. It is to reach their hearts and build their dependence upon and their understanding of God, as well as grow them in their walk with God as they learn to truly worship Him with their lives.

Praise be to Him!

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Romans 12:1

I'm BAACCKKKK!

2009-03-09T14:06:00.002-05:00

Okay. Well, I wasn't really gone (per se), but have been inordinately busy this fall/winter and have not had a second to post, nor to send out my promised newsletter. Sorry about that.

What I HAVE been doing is rather exciting however. I've been creating some wonderful products to go with my books and have been working on the Exploring Creation with Anatomy book, which will be published this summer.

First, let me explain the new products to go with my books. Essentially, they are Notebook Journals to accompany each book. These journals have unique and fun templates for all the activities and assignments in the book, plus they include Scripture copywork (both cursive and print), vocabulary crossword puzzles, review questions for each chapter, project pages to record experiments and additional ideas, experiments, books and videos for each lesson. But the most exciting thing, by far, is the gorgeous, full-color lapbook-style miniature books that your children can create for each lesson.

They will be called Notebooking Journals. They will be spiral bound with a nice color cover and they will serve as the student's own notebook. They retail for $25.00 through www.Apologia.com

Click the link below to see a sample from Astronomy. I'll have a sample of Botany up soon. Included in this sample are: the teacher notes, descriptions and explanations for how to use the book, a weekly schedule, and the first lesson of Astronomy, as well as samples from different lessons for the miniature books.

Here is a link to a sample of the Astronomy Notebooking Journal.

Astronomy and Botany will be available this spring, while the rest will be available this summer.

Here is a product description for Exploring Creation with Anatomy:

God created humans in His image, and endowed us with a desire to learn about Him, about our world, and about ourselves. Studying God’s most marvelous and chief creation with Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology will give you and your students insight into God’s nature, imparting a greater appreciation of His amazing and miraculous handiwork.

Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology is the sixth book in the Young Explorer Series. Using the Charlotte Mason methodology, this elementary-level science curriculum gives students an introduction to the fascinating design of the human body.

After briefly reviewing the history of the man’s attempts to understand the human body, students are taught about the highly complex, all-important cell. The book then discusses the main systems of the human body, discussing in detail the Skeletal, Muscular, Digestive, Respiratory, and Circulatory Systems as well as several others. The book culminates by tying it all together with the study of Growth and Development. Procreation is addressed in terms of DNA and genes.

Throughout the book, students will have a wonderful time as they explore and learn with activities, projects and demonstrations that illustrate the concepts learned. They will dissect a chicken wing to learn about bones and ligaments, create a camera box to learn about vision, find their own arteries, veins and capillaries, build a stethoscope, investigate the genetics of inheritance, test their muscle strength, explore the five senses and much, much more.

Throughout the course, students will enjoy adding illustrations of organs to their human body poster. They will also complete engaging and fun notebooking assignments to reinforce what they’ve learned.

Throughout this fascinating course, Creation Confirmations will continually reveal God’s fingerprints in the unique and extraordinary design of the human body, building your student’s faith in the truth that they are indeed “Fearfully and wonderfully made.”

As soon as the rest of these products are completed, I will be back on a regular blog schedule. In the mean time, I'll post when I have a moment here and there.

Creative Learning Conference THIS WEEK!

2009-01-31T09:00:00.001-05:00

Join me THIS WEEK at the Creative Learning ONLINE Conference.

I will be speaking along with Sally Clarkson, Diana Waring, Amy Pak and many others! My talks will cover Notebooking as well as Homeschooling Methods that Win and Methods that Wipe Out.

Visit http://www.creativelivingandlearning.com/ to learn more about the conference and register!

Getting Organized the Easy Way

2008-12-31T11:39:00.003-05:00

Today, I'm posting an email I sent to my email loop. I thought it might be helpful to others, so here it is:

One person wrote in to ask for help with homeschooling. She had a ton of great resources and lots of great ideas for teaching her children, but had not implemented them. She realized she was disorganized and unproductive and feared for her children's education. She didn't feel like she could make lesson plans, but thought maybe that would help her get school accomplished each day. She was feeling like a failure because she had done so little of what she intended to do. She had all these great books and great ideas, but nothing was getting done.

First let me state that this is absolutely normal. I would say most homeschoolers experience this in the first few years of homeschooling. But with a little direction, I believe you can get past this and into a positive, forward moving routine with homeschooling. Even a disorganized person, and even a person that does not like too much structure, can easily implement structure into your homeschool.

Let me suggest that one of our many goals with homeschooling our children is to move them from dependence to independence. As they move in this direction, you will, slowly through the years, move from teacher to coach to advisor to mentor. We want our children to be self learners. Individuals that have learned how to self educate will outperform their teacher-dependent peers. However, we do not want to move our children into independence too early, nor too late. Each child is different. I had one child that was totally independent by nine, and another that is still not totally independent at twelve. You know when your children are trustworthy, mature and self motivated enough to be trusted to complete their work without constant supervision, checking and grading. You know when you can trust your child to grade their own work. Self motivation is something we can instill in our children (but that’s another topic).

With that said, let me encourage you that homeschooling will not always be laborious for you. Once your children have taken matters into their own hands, your load is significantly lightened. It’s good for them, and it’s good for you when they begin to follow the schedule, doing their work, reading and completing assignments on their own. The trick is to choose curriculum that allows them to be independent. There are a lot of great courses out there that actually work against our efforts to create independent learners. They can be replaced with just as great courses that work towards independent learning.

Not only is the curriculum you choose of vital importance, but it is also important to create a basic schedule that your family can easily follow. For some, a curriculum with a detailed daily schedule, with exactly which pages to read in which book, is comforting. For me, it works to simply have all the subjects listed and the children simply check them off as they do them, using the curricula that I have chosen – usually just doing the next lesson. My children were entrusted with their own simple schedules even at six years old. They have checklists that they must complete each day. My six year old would read the next thing on her schedule, find the book and bring it to me to read or teach her. When it was time for writing, my boys would get it all set up and then call me over to teach them the next lesson. Most things they could complete without my help, but some subjects required my oversight and instruction. They, wanting to complete their list and get outside, made it easy for me to do by getting it ready for me to teach.
Sometimes the schedule was printed on paper they hand in to me; other times, it is written on the white board. Either way, they don’t have to wait on me to begin school; they don’t have to ask me “What’s next?” they need not inquire, “Are we done with school?” It’s obvious to them and they know that the more quickly they work, the more quickly they can play.

Here is a simple schedule on a magnetic whiteboard. My kids have different colored magnetic pegs that mark where they are. Sometimes, they do not go in order - especially if the subject is dependent on me helping out in some way.

I think that might help with the organization aspect. Again, some people really need it all spelled out. That’s one reason I’m creating the Notebooking Journals to go with my books. They will include a detailed schedule with reading pages, notebooking and projects assigned on specific days.

As far as having a ton of great material that you cannot implement, that’s another matter entirely. How I can relate! I think we all can. We see a great book on the Human Body; we buy it. We see a fabulous video to go with it. We buy it. We find wonderful project books that will accompany it perfectly…we shell out more cash. By the time school starts, we have a large stack of resources for teaching Anatomy, but no plan. Sigh. In fact, that is exactly WHY I wrote the first book in this science series. I had many books to teach my children Astronomy, lots of projects books, picture books, scientific books etc. But it was hard to implement. I needed one book that combined all the features that would make teaching Astronomy doable (and didn’t plant seeds of evolution into their little hearts). We do this same thing with history, geography and other courses as well. There are so many great resources out there and we can’t resist filling our shelves with them – and there they sit.

Here’s some bad news and some good news: Without a schedule – that either you or someone else creates – it’s nearly impossible to teach from a stack of random books.

However, here are three pieces of good news:

1. There are courses out there that teach well using only one book, rather than having to piece together many books to give a full picture.

2. There are courses out there that have very detailed schedules to allow you to teach from lots of different resources if that’s your preference.

3. A strong reader can work their way through the stack of reading material on their own without a schedule and really learn a lot - if they have assigned reading in that subject.

By using assigned reading times, my kids are able to enjoy the wonderful resources that compliment our learning. For example: In history, we work through one main book. Then, the kids work, on their own, through the great supplementary books I bought. I would love to read aloud to them, but if we waited for that….it may or may not ever happen. My husband does read aloud to them from some of the history books sometimes at bedtime, however. Those are usually above their reading level. I make sure to get a lot of books that they can read on their own. They read and narrate to me, or make a notebook page or book report on the book.

I have history, science and geography books on their reading list. On the chart, it says “reading,” but they have a separate list that they work through of possible reading books. This way, they can actually learn from the great resources you bought. That’s the beauty of homeschooling and independent learning. My kids know tons of stuff that I don’t know. It’s hilarious, really. My son will tell me something that sounds outlandish. I’ll question his source and he’ll retrieve one of the books I assigned to him as proof. It’s amazing how much they can learn on their own. Really. Of course, this works best when your kids are older - or strong readers.

The problem is that when your children are young and not reading well, you are anxious to teach them everything NOW! There's so much to learn and you are ready to teach it all. Right NOW! I was that way. I needed to learn that homeschooling and learning is a journey, not a race. There is time to teach them everything you want them to learn. There is time to learn to be disciplined. Most homeschool moms learn self discipline as they homeschool. Homeschooling does reveal all the weaknesses in us. But God has a way of using this to teach both our children and us, to make us all better.

I hope this is helpful for now!

Warmly,
Jeannie

Devotionals

2008-12-16T20:56:00.004-05:00

I often receive emails asking about devotionals to use with your children. After my last post, many of you wrote to ask what are some good devotionals for upper elementary to middle school aged students.

I began writing a devotional for this age, but it has been put on the back burner for now while I complete some other projects for Apologia. However, in the mean time, my children are reading the New Testament using a reading guide I created. They read the section listed at the top, answer the questions and then we get together to discuss what they learned during devotions.

I am including this reading guide in this blog post (I hope it works!) so that you can use it if you wish.

It will take my children about 46 days or so to read through the entire New Testament. It's been really great for them because although they know so many Bible stories and have read and memorized sections of the Bible, there is a lot that surprises them.

During our discussion time, I also ask them if there was anything they did not understand. That will usually launch us into a good in-depth chat.

This is really been a great tool for the kids. They are in the Word and I can tell it's really been good for them spiritually.

Here is the link to this document. It was created with WORD. If you have trouble downloading it, let me know.

New Testament Reading

First Things First!

2008-12-08T08:54:00.002-05:00

Hi all, this is an article I wrote for my newsletter last year. I have been asked to reprint it, so here it is:

I began my homeschooling journey with a deep conviction that this was God's call upon my family. Many of you felt that same calling. You knew that God had a great plan for your children's life and He wanted to lead you as you guide their spiritual and academic development. God hand picked you to be their parents, and no teacher could love them, nurture them or would care about their success more than you. No teacher, except you, could early-on pinpoint their unique talents and gifts and be able to nurture them while still lovingly helping them with their weaknesses. You were uniquely positioned to be a devoted teacher, spiritual mentor and coach for these children which God has given you.

As I stepped out in faith into this wonderful journey of homeschooling, I discovered an exciting new universe: a world of curriculum, educational philosophies, supplementary activities and courses, academic endeavors, field trips, and opportunities abounding for the betterment of my little protégés. With a thrill, I realized that I really could give my children a better education! Only one major problem existed: fitting it all in. So, if we were going to do it all, we had better get on the stick!

Can you guess what fell by the wayside in our zealous efforts? Personal discipleship: Bible reading, morning devotions, deep spiritual discussions, heart training, and even our dear Lord Jesus. Sadly, I caught a terrible case of "Academics Attack", a malady that strikes many a homeschool mom. Indeed, my quest to provide my children the "best" education and the "best" enrichment resulted in an attack on our true purpose for homeschooling - to nurture their hearts for the Lord and help them grow into children that have their own personal walk with God - one that is Spirit led and powerful.

Though I believe God desires our children to do all things with excellence and to infiltrate every arena with light, including fields of study and trade, we must intentionally bear in mind our true purpose as home educators. If we are not proactive, we'll pave our homeschool highway with good intentions unfulfilled. There is a way that seems right to man, and focusing on academics and achievement would seem to provide a bright future for our offspring. Yet, in God's economy, we must continually seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added to us as well. Seek ye first.

Our first priority should be training the hearts of our children to love the Lord, to love others and to really, really know God. We should be diligent to make heart training the important first in our day - a quest we purposefully and actively pursue, rather than just waiting and hoping for teachable moments to arise. Frankly, academic or extracurricular interests can quite easily become an idol to our hearts and to the hearts of our children. We find ourselves devoted to these pursuits, dedicating most of our thoughts and attention to these things. It's quite a task to make heart training a priority, but God promises that our diligence to do so will yield tremendous results: He will take care of everything else on our behalf - He will do it. He will fulfill His promises (Psalm 138:8).

When a love for God is truly cultivated, everything else, including academics and other endeavors, will fall into place. In fact, if we neglect the spiritual training, the other pursuits won't yield the fruit that God intended.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

John 15:5

Apart from God, all our efforts come to naught. Nothing. Zip. Zero. A law degree? Maybe. But in God's eyes, it's worth nothing apart from Him. If we genuinely focus our homeschooling on spiritual training, it will produce fruit, fruit far superior to that which we could ever manufacture through our own efforts. Spiritual maturity produces academic success with less effort. Spiritual Maturity allows our students to be led by their Maker into that which they were created to be, and it's always better than what we could plan or hope for.

After a year or two of relentlessly working to provide the best education and enrichment for my children - putting spiritual maturity on the back burner, I was at the end of my rope. I found myself driving slowly by the public school. Needless to say, things were not going well. My kids were fighting constantly, no one enjoyed school - including me. I realized that all the field trips we took were just an excuse for a day off and no one learned anything, no one wanted to do their work. Each day we were frantically rushing through the school work because we usually had somewhere to be in the afternoon, and anger was the flavor of ice cream I served up on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. Yum.

Finally, in silent desperation, I did what we do when we find ourselves in a deep, dark pit: I gave up and fell on my face before God. With fresh revelation, I got up with a new plan - morning devotions instead of school. Yes, for a while we just gave it all up and only did devotions. We did them for more than an hour every day.

Within a short time, our entire family life changed. Peace reigned where chaos was once our dictator. Kindness marked our attitudes, and diligence began to sprout in my children's little hearts as they completed their assignments and did what they were asked. When I said it was time for school, I no longer heard the familiar groans. No amount of begging, pleading, rewarding, or threatening to call dad could have produced this behavior. It was the fruit of my children's renewed walk with God. Their faith grew as their prayer lives matured; they began to regularly pray on their own - in every situation, especially before subjects that were the most difficult.

There have been times over the years where we have fallen out of the routine of devotions - either we couldn't find a good devotional book to read, or we went on vacation and couldn't get back in the groove, or I just allowed busyness to distract us. Invariably, within a short time of neglect, things would begin to crumble again. Unfortunately, we simply can't coast on the manna we received last month - we'll ramble along for a bit before we begin to slide downward into another "Academics Attack."

If I could tell moms only one thing that would help their homeschooling, having regular morning devotions would be it. Truly, nothing else has blessed our homeschool experience more.

Notebooking Journals

2008-12-03T18:59:00.001-05:00

I know it’s been a long time since I have posted. I do want to apologize.

As I seek to homeschool my sweeties, I am also in the midst of several very big projects. As you know, the Anatomy book will be out next year. In addition to that, I’ve been working nonstop on the new Notebooking Journals that will accompany each of my books. They are essentially a journal in which your child will write, illustrate, and place all the work they do that corresponds with their science studies. The notebook pages within the journals are elaborate and fun and include a “Fascinating Facts” page to write additional facts and information they learned in the text. Too, there is an experiment page to write about any experiments or projects they did. It also includes vocabulary crossword puzzles so the student can have some fun with the words they learned in the lesson. Additionally, Scripture-based copywork pages for every lesson add another dimension to their journal. Interesting and unique miniature books that can be cut out and assembled are included to add a hands-on aspect to their learning, and accommodate those who love making lapbooks. There is a page built-in onto which they will paste their miniature book so that they are kept in their journal with everything else. Each lesson ends with a page full of additional experiments, ideas, activities and books or movies that would serve to enhance the lesson.

I believe these will be a real blessing to the homeschool community. It will take the place of binders, page protectors and everything else one must get to notebook, lapbook, record experiments and try to remember the vocabulary they learned. I will provide a sample very soon. Keep your eyes peeled. Astronomy will be released soon and Botany will shortly follow.

In the mean time, pray that I can accomplish all that I have to do!

May the Lord uphold and bless your family this Christmas season!

Let us Pray!!

2008-10-31T19:26:00.001-05:00

John Wesley once said, "God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it."

Whenever I have fallen out of regularly praying and then return, either with a friend or personally in my quiet time with my prayer journal in hand, I’m always astonished to see the answers so quickly come. It's as if I so easily and quickly forget that God is so faithful to answer prayer. Every issue I worried and labored over for weeks, wondering how we would manage, what we would do with this child or that circumstance, is completely and beautifully resolved when I bring it before God.

I can’t even begin to recount the answers to prayer regarding homeschooling issues alone. At one point, I thought I would have to get an Algebra tutor for my child – then, as a second thought, I prayed with this child – that day, it was like a different part of her brain turned on. She totally understood every single thing and continues to prosper. She said, “It was like I suddenly decided not to NOT understand anymore.” When my son struggled with spelling, after prayer, God showed me the answer/ the trick to teaching spelling. Over and over, He has been so faithful when I finally entrust my burden to Him, knowing I don’t have the ability to solve the problem, but He does.

God often answers prayers far beyond what we could have hoped for. I will quote a wonderful, recent answer to prayer that I shared with the Apologia loop:

Because my life has drastically changed since I penned my first science book (my children are older and are in pursuit of exciting opportunities that keep me in the car, transporting them to their pursuits) I was concerned that it would be a long, long time before I could get another science book in print.

However, a few weeks ago, I felt compelled to pray that I could have a doctor co-author the anatomy book with me. I did not wish to reinvent the wheel by doing all the research for Anatomy when I could have someone else, who already knew the intricacies of Anatomy, write the technical aspect of the book. I, then, could simply take the data and weave it into a living book, adding in analogies and the commentary and formatting that typify my science series.
However, I wanted not only a doctor, but a Christian doctor.

Not only that, I wanted a Christian physician that understood and followed a young earth model of origins. That's not asking too much, is it?

Oh! I also had another VERY IMPORTANT requirement: This Christian physician that held to and understood the teachings of a young earth model also needed to be NOT WORKING so that he could write this book with me. One thing I've learned in my walk with God is that we should regularly being praying for things that ONLY God can do. This was something that only God could do. Well, I began praying. I called one of my best friends in Oregon who is a major prayer warrior to enlist her in the prayer battle. Within moments, God began to work His miracle. My friend mentioned that she had a good friend that is a Christian, Young Earth, pediatrician, HOMESCHOOL MOM! "Now to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us" Ephesians 3:20 Glory to God!This person, Brooke, has high school aged children and has taught Anatomy in great depth to them over the years. She has done many projects, experiments and activities associated with Anatomy. She is an EXPERT not only in Anatomy, but in teaching Anatomy to children. She also has an undying passion for how the intricacies of the Human Body give glory to God. Even more amazing is that this person had been praying the week before and she felt God nudging her that she would be glorifying Him by teaching science to homeschoolers. Further, Brooke has time to write because her children are older, and she's not working as a doctor right now. She’s a Christian, young earth, doctor that is NOT WORKING – has taught Anatomy in the homeschool and knows how to do it! Is anything impossible with God?So, I received the first lesson from Brooke this weekend and am almost finished with the rewrite and formatting. Thus, the progress will be rapid. We are projecting a summer publication date.

Isn't God good?

Let us earnestly pray for these elections. God loves to do miracles. He loves to do more than we imagined. He loves to show His glory by causing a victory when victory did not seem possible.

A theologian once said, “The reason why we obtain no more in prayer is because we expect no more. God usually answers us according to our own hearts."

Let us pray with full assurance that God will have mercy on us.

Worldview - What is it?

2008-10-21T21:57:00.000-05:00

A Christian Worldview

People kick around the word worldview a lot. I remember when I first began hearing about it, I wondered, "What does that mean?" After a bit, I could give you a definition based on context. Yet, I really couldn't give you a strong meaning. Since then, the Lord has revealed a lot more about this thing called worldview. I'm so thankful because the more I ponder what I've learned, the more excited I get about it. I would like to share with you a little bit about worldview.

The foundation for one's worldview has to do with the meaning of life.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?

Why am I here? It all really comes down to that. What is my purpose? If you believe you are a big accident that happened as a result of some odd explosion billions of years ago, and your grandmother is that fish with flippers they recently found (which by the way is not that unusual since seals and turtles have similar fin structures), the meaning of your life is quite...well, meaningless. You have no meaning in life. You're an accident. You have no purpose. You can make up a purpose, but it's ultimately meaningless. When you die. That's it. You're dead. Whatever you did was meaningless, really - especially when all the humans evolve into flying space people.

However, if you believe, like I do, that you were created by God, and not only that, but that He designed you in a very special and unique way to fulfill a very special and unique roll on this earth - then your life has meaning.

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Not only are you unique and have a special purpose, but God even thought of you and planned for that purpose before He even made the earth.

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Ephesians 1:4

Not only were you created by God, but every single day of your life matters to God.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139

God also has a very great plan for you. What you do with your time, your days, your life matters to Him. You are extremely rare, and special. Very special. You don't make up your own destiny. You don't determine your purpose. Actually, a lot of us try to do that...and when we do, we fall short of the amazing plan that God has.

Yet, if you seek God with all your heart, He will reveal and lead you into His purpose for your life. It will be a purpose that will prosper you. You will be prosperous in the ways that really count -those things that are truly prosperous in the sight of God - peace, joy, faith, etc.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord" Jeremiah 29:11-13

A Christian worldview offers us meaning in life. It gives us hope. Our lives have meaning. OUR CHILDREN ARE HERE FOR A REASON!

Our highest calling is to make that truth known to their sweet and dear hearts - they are special, they have a special purpose for their lives. We must tell them that every single day.

When they leave our home, it is so important that they know that they know that they are valuable, significant and important because God has designed them in His image and prepared a special plan for their lives.

It's my hope that my children will always seek God's plan - His perfect will for them. I pray Colossians 1:9 over them with consistency.

A Christian Worldview is essential. Without it, our lives are mearningless.

How sad for the athiest who believes they are nothing of signficance unless they achieve something that some arbitrary system deems valuable. How sad that they think they are as important as the trillions of earthworms in the park. How heartbreaking that they think this life is all there is to their existence.

There is no peace for a person that believes these things.

We know, as Christians, the only peace available to mankind comes through the Lord. We know from experience. We know because we all sought after the things of the world, always looking for that next accomplishment or conquest that would finally bring satisfaction - and we all found the satisfaction shortlived. When we finally sought God, we - for the first time - found true, lasting peace. That bottomless pit that resided in our hearts - that emptiness, that desperate lonliness - can only be filled with God.

Ultimately, the foundation for your worldview is what you believe about origins. What you believe about where you came from, where you are going and Who decides that. We have a reason for our existence. A reason to be. A reason to keep on going. A reason to pray. A reason to seek God. Yes, a reason for living because of who made us, where we came from and where we are going.

Our New Hobby

2008-09-28T16:30:00.002-05:00

For a few weeks now I've been looking for a way to add regular cardio training to my life. I am a big believer that a cardio workout will make you feel better than anything else you can do. It does not necessarily help with weight loss, but definitely gets your heart pumping and clears away all the emotional and physical yuck in your life (irritability, weariness, depression, feeling overwhelmed, etc).

The problem is, I can't stick with anything for too long that's boring. When I lived in Austin, I went on walks in the city, which were picturesque. That was interesting and diverse enough to keep me going for years. Now that we live in the suburbs outside Atlanta, well..house, car, bush, house, car, bush, just gets old after a while.

After reading a book which was very inspiring but I don't recommend because of its evolutionary-bent, Younger Next Year, I was even more convinced that I need to get more cardio. The book's premise is that we get sick and have ailments because our bodies are made to be physically active for the purpose of eating each day. This constant physical activity is a message to our system that all is well and all the chemicals pumping through our system from the exercise keep our system running in tip-top shape. We stay healthy. During famine, people didn't get the daily exercise to gather or prepare food, and their bodies slowed down, got sick and died. Evolution isn't needed to know this is true; thousands of years of human history tell us that people have always labored to get food as well as water, and prepare it for consumption - both men and women have always worked hard to eat. Can you imagine having to thresh your own wheat or pluck a chicken?

So, though I don't agree with the evolutionary conjecture of the book, I totally agree with the premise and became even more inspired to get exercise each day.

But what would I do? I prayed that God would guide me.

I went on power walks. That was pretty good when I had a good sermon on my iPod. I signed up for squash at the health club. That's kind of fun. But I can see that getting old as well - white walls and all.

I started riding my husband's bike in the neighborhood. That was a little more fun than a power walk - you push hard to get up a hill and are rewarded with fun down hill moments. I took my boys with me, which made it even more fun.

Then, I decided to take the boys to a bike trail. I loaded up the bikes and...

SERENDIPITY!!!!

I discovered mountain bike trails.

It just so happened that all our bikes are "accidentally" mountain bikes, because we didn't know what to buy. We went on this beautiful trail off the main path, into the forest and mountain biked for about a mile. It was lovely and fun. We were amazed at all the wildlife and beauty - right in the suburbs near our home. We went over small wooden bridges maintained by the mountain bike association, and went up hill and down hill. I got a good cardio workout and it was not in the least bit boring!

I am so happy! The boys are thrilled. I can't wait to get the girls on board, too - they'll love it. They don't have bikes, though. And I'm not sure that my youngest (she'll be eight on Saturday) could handle it. When she's nine, maybe.

I have since learned more about mountain biking from the SORBA website - which is for the southern states. There are maps and groups and clubs. The trails are marked green, for easy and blue, for more difficult. The green trails have some challenging places, but are mostly flat and smooth, winding through the beautiful forest - with spectacular views. I've never been on a blue trail. I think we'll wait until we get bored with green. There are also expert trails that are pink. I downloaded several maps to trails near my home. We'll try to go somewhere every week.

I was also thinking how fun it would be to have a family mountain biking vacation. We could go to beautiful places in America and mountain bike. In the mean time, we are getting great exercise and are really excited when we're heading to the trails, and have a wonderful feeling of accomplishment when we're heading home.

I plan to be younger next year!

Independence

2008-09-15T21:52:00.001-05:00

Did you know that homeschooled students perform better in college than their institutionally schooled counterparts? One thing that makes homeschooled students perform so well in college is the fact that they are used to being autonomous and independent in their learning. They are used to self educating. Our job is to give them progressively more autonomy and independence as they age.

How do we foster this independence? Well, once they have learned to read, they should be reading to learn. As they progress through elementary school, we should be using materials that teach the student in the book– requiring less of a human teacher. We should also read aloud less and require them to read to themselves for understanding, comprehension and insight. Most students learn more when they read for themselves and explain in their own words what they learned than if they listen to another read.

Dr. Jay Wile tells us,

"My motivation for becoming involved with the homeschooling movement was the fact that my best university students were the ones who had been homeschooled...If I could point to one thing that made my homeschooled students such good university students, it would be the fact that they were able to learn independently."

I have often seen that parents are burdened by homeschooling because they have taken too much responsibility upon themselves. They don't teach their children to become self motivated and independent. Teaching our children to become independent learners requires parents to pass the baton, giving their children a vision for the future and a sense of responsibility over their lives.

My children have been told over and over that the choices they make about school and learning when they are young will influence their entire future. They are completely and fully responsible and in charge of who they turn out to be, what they will do for a living, how they will live, where they will live and what kind of life they will have. They know that even at ten years old, they are making choices that have far reaching consequences or blessings. My children feel responsible for their education. I don't carry the entire burden; once they learned to read, I passed on most of the burden to them. If they were in school, the burden would not be on the teacher; it would still be on them.

In real life, a self motivated person will always do better than the unmotivated, distracted fellow. In truth, our children are ultimately responsible for receiving their education. As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Our job is to help our children see this very important truth - that we are not going to always be taking care of them; one day, they must take care of themselves and others. It is especially important for our boys to know this truth - for they will one day have a family depending on them. Sadly, it is usually our boys that are the least likely to jump at the chance to do school work. Our job is not so much to educate them, as to provide them the tools to educate themselves and instill in them the wisdom to see that their future is in their own hands and they must take it seriously. The tools we provide them are also very important, and that is the last thing I want to encourage you to consider.

Many times, in the fear of "not doing enough" we adopt curricula that actually makes teaching harder and more burdensome for us and our children - unnecessarily burdensome. When choosing curriculum, consider how much time is going to be required of you - the teacher, and how appealing the material looks to the children. Remember, our children should be learning to self educate. Our children will benefit greatly in their future, whether college is a part of it or not, if they are empowered to take ownership over their learning, their knowledge, and their education.

The Truth about Spelling

2008-09-01T12:32:00.003-05:00

Over the last year, I've shared the story at conferences and workshops about how God led me in how to teach my son to spell.

Since then, I've received many queries about the program that I used. In essence, I did not use a program, but a procedure. In the hopes that it will help your struggling speller, I will lay out the procedure here:

Reading and spelling are two different skills. If you try to use the procedure you learned for reading with spelling (phonics) you will be a horrendous speller. Children should be told early and often that words are not spelled phonetically as they are read, spelling is a memory skill.

Let me explain:

When you see the word "beleive" - you probably don't think "I before E, except after C." Rather, you immediately note that the word doesn't look right. It doesn't match the image you have of the word in your head. It doesn't take long before you realize that the e and i are trasposed, but the fact is, you knew it was misspelled because of a picture you had in your mind.

Charlotte Mason taught that a child learned to spell by “taking a picture” of the word and imprinting this picture into the mind. Some children do this naturally, while others need to be taught how. The truth is, you can actually teach your child to become a natural speller. Once they learn how to photograph words in their mind, they'll begin to naturally do it.

You see, your child should study the word in question until they can actually “see” the word in their mind’s eye - with their eyes closed. The word must be memorized in the same way that the face of their mother is memorized. Then, the child will always know when the word is misspelled and what the correct spelling should look like.

Charlotte Mason was adamant that a child should never have a chance to gaze upon a misspelling when learning a word. The chance that they may memorize the wrong spelling is too great. We want to take great care what "pictures" are being imprinted on the young learner's mind.

This is where spelling programs fail; they allow the child to guess at the spelling and look at their misspellings over and over again. This runs the risk of cementing a wrong spelling into the child’s mind for years and years to come.

If your child is still a poor speller at the end of 4th grade, I suggest you have your child memorize the most frequently used words in the English language. Once these words are memorized, the child will be well on their way to good spelling.

Here is the suggested procedure:

a. Print each word in large font.
b. Have the child study the word, spelling it out loud and staring at it.
c. Ask them to imagine taking a picture of the word to imprint in the mind.
d. Have them close their eyes and imagine the word.
e. Study it again. (Active learners should draw it in the air with their finger).
f. Next, spell it out loud once by looking, and once without looking.
g. Look at the word again before writing it.
h. Cover the word and have the student write it from memory.
i. If it is written wrong, mark it out quickly and study it again before you try again.

Do not do spelling for longer than 15 minutes. Once your child has worked through the list of common words, have them use this same procedure with whichever spelling program you prefer. Some spelling programs do not allow the students to see words before writing them. I believe the children should be encouraged to study and memorize words, and then test them on the words later.

About spelling rules: they are helpful when you are in a jam. So, don't totally skip them. But, using the procedure above will increase your child's spelling more quickly than rule memorization since the rules have so many exceptions.

I hope that helps!

Warmly,
Jeannie

For the list of the most common words in English, visit this website:
http://www.world-english.org/english500.htm

Homeschooling with Purpose

2008-08-13T22:25:00.004-05:00

Each of our children is unique, each created with different gifts, talents, abilities, interests, passions, dislikes and preferences. All of these make them the wonderful child of God that the Lord intended them to be.

Isn't it amazing that each of our children were chosen by God before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4)?It fills me with wonder and awe that each was created for a particular purpose, which God ordained in advance that they should pursue (Ephesians 2:10).

If God is for them, who or what could possibly stand against them? They are His! They are marked out, God's chosen, beloved children.

We can rest in God's plan and purpose for our children.

We need not strive, stress and worry.

And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
Isaiah 58:11

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
Psalm 32:8

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go."
Isaiah 46:17

God promises to guide and direct us. He promises that He will lead us. If He has a purpose for these children (which He does) why should we ever wring our hands in anxiousness over the decisions and choices that affect them....God isn't going to leave us to figure it out on our own!

Believe God. Trust His gentle counsel. Don't doubt the direction He gives. God is your leader. Let Him lead.

______________

We began school this week and I was tempted to think I should add a great deal more to our schedule (the kids were completing their assignments rather effortlessly). I was tempted to make it more rigorous, and increase the reading, writing and subjects. The peace I felt when planning was replaced by an anxiousness that I should do more, add more, challenge more, shoot higher and put more pressure on them. I knew they could handle it, I believed it wouldn't hurt to add a few more things to the schedule.

I felt pressure to work on that schedule and refine it. I began to get frustrated with my time constraints. I wanted to fix the schedules.

Then, I had an unexpected quiet time (you know, those special quiet times that come in the middle of the day or evening when you find yourself unexpectedly alone for an hour or so). During that time, I prayed, worshipped and felt a renewal of peace and a restored calm to my heart. Then, I knew. I knew that I should not doubt what I felt led to do with our schedule. I should not change it because my natural mind could not understand what God designed for our school day. I realized that our current schedule was perfect for achieving our specific goals for my children. The revised schedule would have hindered those goals by distracting us into a lot of extra learning that would not have truly profited us in the end.

God is so good. Don't neglect time with Him. He has so much to teach us and show us. He is our wonderful counselor!

Four Years

2008-08-08T16:18:00.003-05:00

The thought has been constantly with me lately that I only have four more years of homeschooling my oldest - actually, less than that because she plans to start college early (however, I'll still be overseeing her education for four more years).

Four more years! Can you imagine? After it's all said and done, what will have been the most important thing I did as a homeschool mother? What will benefit her the most? Will it be completing every course with an A+? That's not a bad thing,but will the effort be the best use of her time? Will it be scoring top honors on the PSAT or the SAT? That's a nice thought, but will the preparation for perfect scores be the best use of our precious hours over the next four years? What is our goal with this child with whom God has so mercifully blessed us? What is His goal for this child?

I know that nurturing her walk with God must be number one. We must be the kind of parents that she can trust, parents that respect her and treat her the way all teenagers hope to be treated; this will increase her receptive heart towards the things of God.

Without neglecting academics, but not allowing them to interfere with our relationship or dominate every moment of her time, these years should be focused on leading her into a closer walk with God, a genuine dependence on the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. This should be more important than academics. For only the Lord knows what her path will be - Her whole life is written in His book - every day. If she learns to genuinely walk with Him, she will stay on His perfect, narrow path. She will not make drastic mistakes. Without a true walk with God - if straight A's were her focus, instead of the Lord - life can be very difficult. For, an Ivy League university, nor a PhD cannot promise you all that God promises you.

When a young man proposes to her, how will she know if this is the right person? Only if she has developed a lifestyle of walking closely in the counsel of God, will she know how to discern His will for her life. I want her to learn to recognize the Holy Spirit; I dont want to be her Holy Spirit. If I spend these next four taking the place of the Holy Spirit, she's in danger of mistaking His voice for mine, thinking it's my voice in her head nagging at her! She is a Christian, after all, and the same Spirit dwells in her that dwells in me. He is capable of leading her just a certainly as He is capable of leading me. Before she leaves this house, nothing will benefit her more (not perfect grades or SAT scores), nothing can compare to knowing how to be led by the Spirit.

I might have a temptation to worry about my own lack of sanctification, or fear that I've not done all that I should have done, been all that I should have been, said and taught all that I should have taught. I could easily fall into the well of despair, considering all my regrets and what I've done wrong over the years. Honestly, I don't want to spend these next four years wallowing in that pit.

If I give in to worry, dwelling on the hypotheticals, listening to the terrifying catastrophic voice of fear, it will drive me to spend these next four years in angst, striving with her over uncompleted assignments, messy rooms and undone chores. Instead of dealing with the inevitable attitudes with grace, mercy and loving talks (and sometimes gently instituted consequences) I might explode with angry words and harsh penalties; love always produces better fruit than a fear-based reaction. With fear as my guide, I would find myself rapidly fast-forwarding into the future, visualizing the ultimate destruction that every imperfection and unsanctified character trait could possibly bring. Fear has a tendency to show us worst possible case scenarios and insist they will happen. Faith tells us differently. No. I do not want to waste these last four years walking with a spirit of fear, I so desire to walk with the Spirit of Truth.

If I, as her mother, walk in the Spirit, staying close to God - not forsaking a genuine relationship with Him in favor of principles, philosphies, teachings and guidelines, listening to His still, small voice in my heart, quieting my soul, allowing Him to impart a gentleness, mercy and hope unknown to my fleshly nature, He will guide me as I guide her; He will give me fruitful wisdom with my words and decisions; He will show me how to deal with the issues that will occur with merciful discernment.

If I stay close to Jesus, abiding in the vine, gathering manna daily, tuning my heart to the Shepherd who gently leads those who have young, I know for certain that I will spend these next four years without regret. Oh! may it be so!

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Jude 1:24-25

"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD of hosts.

Zech 4:6

How to Evaluate Your Student’s Writing

2008-07-24T21:01:00.002-05:00

Though we want to encourage our younger children to enjoy writing by keeping our critique to a minimum, there comes a time when we must evaluate the writing of our upper level students. Though evaluating creative writing and narratives is highly subjective, by following the guidelines of what is commonly known as the "six traits of writing", you can effectively evaluate the content of your child’s writing assignments. Even if you find the writing uninteresting, you can still grade it objectively by using these guidelines. Also, if you find the topic and writing highly fascinating, you may be less objective, thus these guidelines will come in handy.

The following are the six evaluation guidelines. Your children can use these guidelines to evaluate their own writing, and you can use it to assign a grade to his or her writing. In order to turn this into a grade, you would want to assign a number from 1 – 5 to all the questions. Then, add up the points for a grade.

1. Ideas and Content

The reason for writing should be clear. Every paragraph should support the overall theme or thesis. Keep a tight reign upon stray ideas and rabbit trails.

Evaluation:

The reason for writing is clear. 1 2 3 4 5
The writer made an effort to learn important details that support the topic. 1 2 3 4 5
The message is focused and maintained throughout the paper. 1 2 3 4 5
The reader understands what the writer is trying to communicate. 1 2 3 4 5

2. Organization

The structure of the paper should be well thought out, each paragraph having a clear focus with a proper opening and closing. The paper should begin well and conclude well.

Evaluation:

The thesis or theme is presented in an interesting or clear manner. 1 2 3 4 5
Each paragraph supports the thesis. 1 2 3 4 5
The focus of each paragraph is clear. 1 2 3 4 5
Every sentence is useful to communicate the thesis or theme. 1 2 3 4 5
The paper is easy to follow. 1 2 3 4 5
The paper concludes decisively. 1 2 3 4 5

3. Voice

Voice is what gives writing its flavor. Max Lucado and C.S. Lewis are great examples of people who have a specific voice in their writing. You can actually hear them talking when you read. Your child will develop her voice if she writes a great deal. Some writers have an authoritative voice, some a friendly familiar voice, some a friendly distant voice, some humor or dry wit to their voice. Academic writing will have a professional third person voice.

Many beginning writers inadvertently switch persons throughout their stories, essays and narratives. It’s important that they learn to maintain the same voice throughout the written work.

Evaluation:

The voice used is appropriate to the genre of writing. 1 2 3 4 5
The voice and person used is consistent. 1 2 3 4 5

4. Sentence Fluency

Using the same sentence structure over and over again leads to a monotonous paper. Varying the sentences and sentence patterns will make the paper easier to read. A sentence pattern is defined as the placement of the subject and verb. The quick brown fox jumps over the fence. Over the fence, jumped the quick brown fox. Quick and brown was the fox that jumped over the fence.

Evaluation:

Sentences are clear and easy to read. 1 2 3 4 5
A variety of sentences (different beginnings, patterns and lengths) are used. 1 2 3 4 5

5. Word Choice

Very young writers are encouraged to use a lot of adjectives and adverbs and other descriptive words in order to communicate the idea more accurately. As a writer matures, the use of adjectives and adverbs should be replaced with stronger verbs and more precise adjectives used less often. A strong vocabulary will enhance their writing.

It’s common for writers to repeat words over and over (enjoy, enjoyed, enjoying, enjoyable) a thesaurus should be used to correct this problem.

Evaluation:

Strong verbs are used 1 2 3 4 5
Unique and interesting vocabulary words used 1 2 3 4 5
Words are not repetitious 1 2 3 4 5

6. Conventions

Conventions are spelling, punctuation, grammar, and paragraphing. Often, students struggle with paragraphing. They need to separate new ideas and thoughts with the paragraph. Each paragraph should conclude an idea and transition to the new idea. Proper use of conventions makes writing easy to read and follow.

Evaluation:

Grammar is used properly. 1 2 3 4 5
Spelling is on par with child’s abilities. 1 2 3 4 5
Paragraphs are used correctly. 1 2 3 4 5

Extra Credit

The beginning sentence or paragraph is a fascinating, attention grabbing hook for the reader. 1 2 3 4 5

The conclusion leaves the reader with a thought provoking question, a desire to act, or a valuable insight. 1 2 3 4 5

What if My Child Hates Writing

2008-07-23T16:34:00.003-05:00

It can be rather discouraging when a child simply dislikes writing. There could be one of many factors at work here. Let's explore some of the reasons a child may dislike writing and some solutions to address each of these factors.

The first factor is that perhaps your child doesn't like the physical mechanics of writing. Does he hold his pencil with an uncomfortable grip? Does he grip his pencil too hard and push too hard on the paper? Does he have improper letter formation that requires a lot more writing to form each letter? These things usually correct themselves, but not always. The best way to develop a love for writing is to require typing as a subject. My favorite typing programs are Mavis Beacon JUNIOR and Typing Instructor. My children were required to do their typing program every single day for a few months, and then only once in a while after that. They got even more practice after this as they wrote stories on the computer.

Some children don't dislike writing as much as they dislike having to pull creative thoughts out of their brains. I like what classical educators have to say about this: children need ideas put in their brains before they should be required to create new ideas. They should have knowledge imparted to them and asked to write only about what they know, not come up with new ideas. When they are older and have been exposed to great literature and a wealth of ideas about which they have formed a personal opinion, then they are ready to express themselves on paper.

Another reason your child might dislike writing is because you, being the very thorough and wonderful teacher that you are, took their writing assignments and noted all the errors in spelling and grammar. Every writing assignment became a poster of their weaknesses and failings. I have heard many homeschool moms say that they use their child's writing assignments to pick out spelling words, and teach proper grammar. This may be an economical use of their writing, but it is also a good way to discourage their love for writing. I often take my children's notebooks to conventions to show others. I had one mom tell me how pleased she was to see all the misspelled words in my daughter's notebook pages. My daughter was nine when she wrote those pages, spelling Mercury as "Murcury" and more. She is now fourteen and has developed a love and passion for writing - and scored post graduate level on her spelling! I never used her writing for spelling practice. She learned to spell using a spelling program. One note of concern here is that a child that has intensely poor spelling should not be asked to write until he has learned to spell the most common words in the English language. You do not want to reinforce poor spelling by having them copy it over and over. If the misspelled words are relegated to new or words not often used, that's another story.

Perhaps the most common reason a child doesn't like writing is because God did not design him to be a creative writer. This child prefers to solve problems (especially math problems). This child doesn't see the benefit of writing. It seems purposeless. Frankly, creative writing - writing to entertain - isn't necessary for every child. The only writing that is absolutely necessary for every child is academic writing. If the problems are not one of the above-mentioned issues, I would not force a child that has not been given a bent towards writing to do a lot of creative writing assignments. For younger students that dislike writing, I would require them to narrate constantly. Have them retell back in their own words whatever they read or have had read to them. This will go a long way towards good narrative writing. A child who can relate information clearly will find it easy to put those spoken words on paper. As he grows older, have him do just that. Put his short (or long) narratives on paper. In late middle school or high school require him to learn academic writing.

Creative writing is simply not for everyone. A child who dislikes writing can still make A's on writing assignments if he is taught how to organize his thoughts, and write a well thought out and organized sentence, paragraph and essay. This begins and ends with oral narrations, for even if your child becomes a mathematician, he will be required to explain his knowledge orally. Thus, in the early years, don't worry so much about writing - focus on his oration of thoughts.

As you may remember from an earlier post, my husband didn't care for writing growing up, but learned to write essays and now makes a living by writing perfectly constructed legal briefs and contracts as an attorney. A child that doesn't like writing could still make a great living that requires a lot of writing. It's the kind of writing that matters. Please understand that your nonwriter isn't failing at writing - he's simply expressing his unique God-given talents, preferences, gifts and abilities, which will all work together to usher him or her into God's special plan and purpose prepared in advance.

One more thing, I do not believe in forcing writing in early elementary school. Late elementary or middle school is when a child should begin writing. If the child has a natural inclination, by all means...cook the pie when it's ready! But don't force it before your child is ready, or he will be convinced that he is bad at writing. It would be like sticking a third grader in an algebra class. The child would be convinced he's not good at math, when he might be very gifted in math.

Until next time!

Lesson Plans

2008-07-21T09:30:00.006-05:00

In my experience, I have found that my homeschooling days are much more difficult if I do not produce lesson plans before the year begins. Ideally, I like to create lesson plans for one semester and then create more over Christmas for the next semester. This year, I'm going to create them for the entire year just in case I don't get around to doing it again over Christmas.

The reason lesson plans help me so greatly is because it reduces the stress of homeschooling. Each child is given their lesson book and each day they know exactly what to do. Certainly I could tell them each hour what to do - but that requires a lot of extra energy from me (asking what they have finished, thinking about what else we have on the list, listening to the sighs and groans when I tell them to work on this or that - it's exhuasting, really). If I put in the effort now, it makes the school year much less draining for me.

I used to put up a generalized check list and have them check the subject when it was done. This worked just fine for a few years. However, because of added responsibility in my life this year (I'm now a seminary student working on my Masters in Biblical Studies at Liberty Baptist University - YEE HAW!), I need the list to be more detailed. I will write down exactly what page they should do in math, which pages to read in science and every last detail of every assignment, attempting to coordinate this with extra curricular stuff as well. This will require a great deal of upfront work, but it will truly be helpful to me. Because I'll be waking up extra early to work on my own schoolwork, I will need all the energy I can to get through their school day. So, having a detailed schedule for each child empowers them to take responsibility over their schedule. My job will change from governer to facilitator. I can answer specific questions related to the subject and sit alongside while they go through their list.

I do highly recommend scheduling for the busy homeschooler. Even if you like to take days off here and there for fun and field activities, a schedule will really keep you more productive on the days when you are at home trying to churn out some schoolwork.

I like to take the schedules and have them bound into a book for the children to use. Often, however, I do change the schedule from time to time, so I have to reprint and rebind the book. It's worth the effort because it helps my children to become more independent.

I uploaded a sample page from each of the kinds of scheduling I do for the school year. If you would like to see them, click on the links below:

This is the generalized schedule. I must still be very involved with getting them going, telling them what book to read and which pages, etc. This schedule has the actual date on the schedule.

Generalized Schedule

To see my more specific schedule (this is actually not totally complete as I haven't filled in every page and assignment, but you'll get a good idea). It does not have the date, but the day - we have to complete 180 days of school work, so I made a 180 day schedule. Days that we take off for field study will factored into the end of the schedule.

Specific Schedule

Creative and Academic Writing

2008-07-20T13:00:00.004-05:00

Most homeschool courses that address writing deal with writing stories, descriptions and other creative genres. The lessons attempt to pull the creative spark from the students, encouraging them to experiment with language, similes, metaphors and stylistic techniques for writing.

Having the ability to craft a more stylistic story is not necessary for success in college. However, having these tools can help a child when they are composing an essay for college. If the student is practiced in finding the perfect word, he will naturally use a more powerful or descriptive verb that eliminates the need for excessive description (a big no-no in essay writing).

So, using a creative or stylistic course isn't a bad thing. It can be a very good thing and, if the techniques stick, can be utilized in compositions. However, for the college bound child, the most important thing to teach them is to compose an organized essay in order to convey their knowledge. This does not negate the need for creative writing, but definitely puts it lower on the totem pole. Sadly, many teachers teach only creative writing to their students and send them off to college without the foggiest idea of what an essay really should be. That was me in college: I would pen heartfelt prose concerning noble ideas about the book when the teacher just wanted a concise essay that told them I actually read book.

If your child is more math/science oriented and hates writing, fear not! the organized essay using the Composition Code will make sense to him and he will succeed on all his writing exams, including the SAT, if he masters the formula. Mathy people love formulas. If they know writing is just a formula, they'll be happy.

For the creative writer: tame the beast! I can say that because that was me and I needed taming. I needed to learn to hang up the metaphors, put away the eloquence, and quit spewing my lofty theories and "beautiful prose" all over my academic essay. I needed to learn to organize my ideas into an outline form and just write down what I knew. It need not be dramatic, deep and full of creative style. A college professor just wants the facts. That's why those who are not creative writers get better grades on their college essays.

In an essay exam, I didn't need to say, "The longing in the soul of the most dreaded criminal is to be examined and explored with a compassion that might well up within us a desire to rescue him from his own self destructions."

Instead, I should write more plainly: "Most criminals experienced very difficult circumstances that instigated their life of crime. Examining these circumstances in the individual can help in the healing of their past wounds."

Do you see the difference?

In conclusion, my best advice is to teach the essay first. Then, try out some creative writing or stylistic curricula that will help the child use language more eloquently or help them write stories, or rewrite stories. But don't be discouraged if your child is not a creative writer (be careful if your child is a creative writer because creative writers have more difficulty with the organization of an essay). If your child does not like creative writing, that's totally fine. He only need to know the essay - the Composition Code - the formula for putting their knowledge into a collegiate composition. That's what must be taught, creative writing is like art history (helpful and wonderful and good for the soul, but not necessary.)

One last note: A child is not ready to even begin the quest of writing until they understand the construction of a sentence. Thus, grammar must be taught and understood before writing can be developed.

Another last note: Don't try to teach spelling and writing as the same subject. Forget spelling when you are teaching writing. Tell them how to spell things correctly. Spelling is a separate subject and the child should be allowed to focus on only one subject at a time, especially when the subject is as labor intensive as writing. During writing class, spelling should not get any notice or comment.

Until next time!

The Composition Code

2008-07-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Cracking the Composition Code
The Formula for Academic Writing

Academic Writing is simple, really. Almost too simple. You’ll be saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?” The composition code is simply a formula for academic writing. It’s not used in many other kinds of writing, though, as an attorney, my husband still uses the format loosely when writing legal briefs. After you read this, you may be saying...boring, boring, boring. Just remember the point of academic writing is not to entertain, but to prove your knowledge in an organized and concise manner. Yes, boring, but a producer of A's. In fact, essays using this code will be required on the SAT.

I will explain the formula using a simple five-paragraph essay. The same formula can be used for shorter or longer essays. That means that the five paragraph essay could become the five page essay, adding more details, paragraphs and content for each "point" you make in your essay. You'll understand more as you read on.

Generally, the idea is that in the first paragraph, you state your thesis, then briefly give three reasons (points) separated by commas, and end with a transition sentence that leads into the next paragraph. Each following paragraph will highlight one point, then conclude with a concluding paragraph.

To help you remember the formula, it will follow this acronym: OPT 1REST 2REST 3REST C.

First Paragraph

Opening Sentence: Your opening sentence will state your thesis and why. You will usually have the word "because" in this sentence.

Points: Tell what your reasons are; all your supporting reasons are stated simply in one sentence. Each reason will then be its own paragraph. Be certain to state the reasons in the order of the paragraphs.

Transition: Transition into the next portion of your essay, , which examines each of these reasons in detail.

Then you move into REST paragraphs. Each of the next three paragraphs begins with one of the reasons or points , followed by supporting evidence, and a transition.

1REST (1st Paragraph)

1st reason paragraph
Reason restated in different words:
Evidence supporting reason
Summary supporting opening thesis
Transition

2REST

2nd reason paragraph
Reason restated in different words:
Evidence supporting reason
Summary supporting opening thesis
Transition

3REST

3rd reason paragraph
Reason restated in different words
Evidence supporting reason
Summary supporting opening thesis
Transition

C - Conclusion

Conclusions are tricky. Some professionals say, “Don’t summarize.” Others say, “You must summarize.” Some say, “End with a thought provoking idea concerning your conclusions.” Others say, “Don’t submit any new ideas.” I believe briefly summarizing in different words and restating your thesis is a safe way to conclude. It’s also fine to end with a thought provoking idea, or question, as long as it is relevant and truly works with the essay.

Here are some ideas for your conclusion:
· Give a brief summary of the paper's main points using different words.
· Ask a challenging question.
· Use a relevant quotation.
· Compel them to act upon the information.
· Give a warning.
· Compare to other situations.

Here are some things you should avoid:

· Ending with a summary that sounds like your first paragraph
· Introducing a new idea or subtopic—unless it’s interesting, very relevant or thought provoking.
· Bringing up a minor point in the essay.
· Apologizing or making a disclaimer, such as, “I may not be an expert”

On essay test questions, there is usually a correct answer that was taught during the course. You will need to know the correct answer based on what was taught in class. Your numbered reasons will be limited to these answers, not your opinion. It's of utmost importance that you do not add to the reasons your teacher taught you in class. The professor is only interested in seeing that you know the correct answer. You conclusion can interject opinion, but should not stray from the main focus of the course.

Is this all there is to academic composition? No, this is simply the basic formula, the very beginning. Writing an excellent composition requires good organization of thought, minimizing words, using powerful verbs instead of adjectives (creative writing likes adjectives), removing qualifiers, using active voice, rewriting nominalized verbs, removing perfect tense verbs and knowing the particulars of style.

Many Universities have writing labs and instruction on the Internet. This website has many listed. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/internet/owls/writing-labs.html

I am toying with the idea of creating a simple eBook that you can give to your kids to learn the essay formula. It wouldn't be too hard for me to do; it would just take a little extra time - AND I NEED TO FINISH MY LESSON PLANS FOR THE FALL!!!!

Academic Writing vs. Creative Writing

2008-07-17T19:00:00.000-05:00

One kind of writing – academic writing – is rigid, procedural, purposed purely to convey knowledge, data and information. It’s orderly, organized and follows a formula. It is necessary. It can be dull. Anyone can master it. Everyone should master it.

The other kind of writing – creative writing – is inspired, artistic and entertains with word pictures, concepts and deep meaning. It is enjoyable to read. It touches us while teaching us. It’s an art form. It’s not necessary to learn, but a joy to those who do.

Academic writing will earn you A’s, creative writing may get you published. Academic writing must be taught, but rarely is; creative writing is optional, but is almost always the focus of writing curricula.

Creative writing focuses on story telling, recounting personal experiences, authoring fiction, poetry, using style, voice and techniques for making writing entertaining, smart, and packed with panache. Most curricula on the market seek to encourage this kind of creativity and style in our students, drawing out the reluctant writer, cultivating a future author, columnist, reporter, and novelist, someone who is confident and comfortable with the pen. The truth? We really do want to produce fabulous writers of our children. Thus, the kind of writing we encourage and value is creative, expressive writing. We even endorse the use of creative writing with the all-important essay. Herein lies the professor problem. College professors just want the facts, not the flair.

Thinking back on my own college experience, I’m embarrassed at my impudence. How pompous I must have been to think my college professor would enjoy reading my extraneous ideas and insights. I used my college essays as a platform to express my opinions and deeper philosophies in lengthy poetic prose. I was a creative writer: an artistic, loquacious, verbose wordsmith. How dull it must have been for my professors, laboring through more than 300 papers, seeking to find out which students learned the material and which didn’t. My stylistic passages were not joy, but drudgery. Because of the volume of papers that must be read, professors prefer clear, concise compositions that convey that the material has been understood – academic writing.

Creative writing may indeed get you published. But it’s truly not the kind of writing we must learn. In academia, it is superfluous. To do well in school, we must learn academic writing. This is the kind of writing upon which we should focus our children’s writing instruction.

Although all writing should be concise and clearly communicate an idea or point, academic writing must eliminate all literary lavishness. Style is eliminated, voice is barely noticeable, and structure prevails. Sadly, words like “sadly” must go. Academic writing adheres to a rigorous code that leaves no room for extraneous or entertaining ideas. Academic writing is what your college professor wants when he asks you to write an essay. Academic writing is what the SAT requires. If you teach no other form of writing, academic writing – which is far easier than creative writing – should be taught.

So, if academic writing is more important than creative writing for scholastic success, why is everyone teaching creative writing? I believe it’s because we want our children to acquire skill, confidence and enjoy writing. That’s not a bad thing. It’s a great thing. We want to grow writers! There is not one thing wrong with that. However, we must remember that in addition to teaching the fundamentals of style, eloquence and technique that gives boldness to writing, we should also teach the separate subject of academic writing. This kind of writing will enable them to get through college with ease and success. Sure, they can write for the college magazine or start their own newsletter filling up pages with their thoughts, opinions and feelings. However, if you only have time to teach one kind of writing—academic writing will ultimately give the child more confidence. There’s no better feeling than checking the board for your grade and seeing an A.

There is actually a formula for academic writing. It’s uncomplicated, and once learned, it will be used in every essay whether it’s for art history or economics. When I struggled through the college essay, I didn’t even know there was a formula! My husband, on the other hand, was taught the formula in high school and sailed through college and law school, graduating with honors, with virtually no creative writing skills of which to speak. He recently revealed this secret formula to me. I call it The Composition Code. It’s my plan to circulate this secret in the homeschool community so we can take the world by storm – or at least help our children improve their college essays. In the near future, I will unveil the formula for successful essays in academic writing. Stay tuned!

The Teaching of Writing - Truth Exposed!

2008-07-16T10:53:00.002-05:00

Practically every college professor complains about the dramatic decline in writing skills of college students. “If you teach them nothing else, please,” they implore, “teach them to write!”

Writing, the pedagogy of writing (Pedagogy is such a fun, high-brow word, isn’t it?) has been somewhat of a fixation of mine. You see, ever since I learned that my husband - who doesn’t have a writer’s heart – made straight A’s on all his college essays, while I – a passionate writer – didn’t enjoy such an experience, I’ve wondered about this thing called writing.

Though I’ve always considered myself a writer, most of my teachers and professors didn’t view the methodical eloquence, the originality and style of my literary expositions as worthy of the high marks my husband received. However, one teacher in particular did give me excellent scores in writing. She loved, even published, my writing. That was my creative writing teacher. Yes, the student anthology was filled with my poems, my prose, my stories, my thoughts. My college experience was highlighted by exciting writing opportunities, including the student newspaper and the monthly magazine.

Why was it that I excelled when I wrote in one sector, but that same excellence didn’t translate to my college essay exams and papers? I later learned that I didn’t understand something very foundational about writing. In fact, I believe many people have missed this key concept, which could be the secret to success in scholastic writing.

So what is this big secret; what is this mystery that in my case spelled doom for my college essay, yet got me published hither and thither? It is this: There are two separate subjects in school, both called writing! How confusing is that? In essence, there are two kinds of writing. They should be taught as separate subjects. They produce two totally different kinds of written works. Yes, two kinds of writing, and rarely will the twain meet.

Over the course of this week, I hope to explore this on my blog. I will explain the two kinds of writing and how we, as educators, might approach writing instruction with our students.

2008-07-14T15:48:00.007-05:00

I recently ran into a sweet, godly homeschooling mother. She hesitantly shared with me that she may not be homeschooling her oldest through high school, but was considering a private school. I could tell she was nervous to tell me that, but I reassured her that I didn't judge her decision; after all, if God guides you to put your child in school - He has a reason for it. This caused her to stop and ponder. She admitted that she wasn't sure if God was guiding her to do it. Her reasons for doing it had more to do with fear, confusion, feelings of inadequacy and relationship concerns.

I encouraged her to wait for the Lord's peace, to seek Him and be led by Him - He may very well guide her to put her child in school. Yet, if it were not God's perfect will - she didn't want to walk that path. Anytime we make decisions based on fear of failure, fear of inadequacy or based on our emotions, rather than a strong peace from God - we may be falling onto a trail that is dark and much more difficult to traverse - and it often leads us where we didn't want to go.

It's hard to find true peace and joy when we are not following the narrow path marked out for our family. That narrow path may include putting your children in school - but it may not. The key is to find out - not by human reason, but through the leadership of the Holy Spirit (Who leads with confidence and peace).

When we experience trials and tribulations in our marriage, we don't consider it a sign that we need to get a divorce. When we experience trials and tribulations in our homeschooling, it's not a sign that we need to put our children in school. It is an opportunity to watch our very big God overcome and give us a victory in all of our seemingly impossible situations. When we enter rocky terrain, it's not time to turn back - it's time to call upon He who will remove the rocks from our path or give us supernatural strength to climb over them.

God is able to overcome all the struggles, trials, temptations and relationship problems we face. Prayer works, especially when it's coupled with faith that God will most certainly come to our rescue and an expectation that He cares and will certainly show up in a powerful way. In the same way we are certain the sun will rise, we should expect God to rescue us from the deep waters that threaten to drown us. That's faith: knowing that God is coming to our aid.

To quit homeschooling because of turbulence is to give up. This gives the enemy a victory - for we have not been given a spirit of fear (that's from the evil one). If he can gain ground in your life by achieving the victory of making you disregard the thing which God has called you to do, he has achieved a victory. It is the enemies plan to continue to gain ground in your family life. We must learn to fight the battle with the weapons God has provided for our warfare - the Word of God, which is all Truth.

I think there is only one valid reason to quit homeschooling. That is: you feel a strong peaceful leading from the Lord that you should not homeschool anymore. You know that you know - not because it seems the only solution to problems. God has a perfect course for your family, and He longs to direct your steps. Maybe you aren't sure why you feel such a peace about it, but you just feel strongly led in that direction. In that case, you would be wrong to homeschool.

In my next post, I will list the many reasons people use to quit homeschooling, and solutions to those reasons.

My Baby is Coming Home!

2008-07-10T12:40:00.011-05:00

She's Coming Home

I'm leaving tomorrow to fetch my baby ballerina (who will be fifteen in October, but is still my baby). She's been at her ballet intensive (ballet camp) and I'll be thrilled to have my sweet daughter, loving friend and interesting companion home again. How I miss her when she's gone!

Below is a Video of her dancing this past March. It's not very clear. She's doing a Kitri variation from Don Quixote.

College at Home

When she gets home, we'll begin working on her CLEP tests again. She passed the Intepreting Literature CLEP before she left and I will have her do her English Composition CLEP with Essay before school starts in September. She is gifted in English, so she should do well. This year, we'll study for the Economics CLEP and possibly College Algebra. I may also dual enroll her at an online Christian University in an English Literature class. I'm still praying about that.

All of her college CLEPs and courses will count towards her high school transcript (as well as college). This is the most expedient way to get college completed for kids that know what they want and where they are going. Four years to earn a Bachelors degree on campus (and 40,000 +) can really be a waste of time and money for this type of motivated individual.

I do hope all my children will take this track, but I'm listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit, not a formula for how we approach each child's education and future.

My Newsletter

2008-07-10T07:57:00.004-05:00

My last newsletter focusing on Bible, Character Building and Devotions went out last month. I asked my readers to let me know if they would rather have my next newsletter theme cover Entrepreneurs or Math. I received an equal number of requests for both, so I've decided to cover both topics - after all, math and making money kind of go together.

So, over the next few months, look for my newsletter in your inbox. I will have articles, reviews of math curricula, tips for teaching math and lots of spiritual encouragement as well as information on how to teach our kids to be entreprenuers. I may also branch out into ways mom can make money from home. We'll see...

If you haven't signed up, you can do so by adding your email address to the sign up box on the right column of this blog, or going to my website.

Connecting with God Part 3

2008-07-08T07:45:00.002-05:00

I want to touch on worship and praise again because I used to struggle so much with this and felt there might be some of you that struggle with this as well.

Worship and praise of the Lord is not just a blessing for God, it's a powerful gift that God has given to us. I believe it is supernatural somehow. We see this in Scripture, the army of the Lord was able to defeat an enormous foe simply by sending out the worship team ahead of the soldiers.

It may be that praise and worship defeats the enemy over our lives. It may also be that praise and worship unleashes the angels of God to minister to our souls. Maybe it unleashes the Spirit of God to work in our hearts, removing our "baggage" and all the things that hinder us from really communing with the Lord. Maybe it just puts our spirits in the right frame of mind, so to speak. I don't know what it is - but, truly, it is amazing how spending time in worship - maybe the whole time - transforms your quiet times into what your soul really needs.

I know that in my own experience that if I come to my quiet time with worry, anxiousness or an unsettled feeling in my heart, longing for the peace that only God can give - I'm at a loss until I have truly spent time in praise and worship. When I'm especially down, I spend most of my quiet time reading the Psalms aloud.

Psalm 145 is greatly encouraging. If need be, I will read on until the end of the book of Psalms - outloud. If I still have not entered into that worshipful spirit in my heart, then I'll flip through the Psalms and begin to pour out my soul with the lamenting Psalms - you know, the "Save me!" Psalms. Inevitably, through calling out to God, using the very words of King David, I find rest for my soul. Then, and only then, can I be still before Him in my quiet time.

Sometimes, the worship and praise took so long that it is all the time I had. HOwever, if I finally received the peace in my heart that was missing, it was productive: I connected with God.

Othertimes, there is more that I need to pray, sort out and work through. Sometimes, God really has a lot He wants to reveal to me in His Word and in my spirit. Eitherway, until my soul has been quieted and stilled through worship, I can't really pray in faith and "in the Spirit" where I'm receiving direction from the Holy Spirit about how to pray, and inspiration and answers from Him.

Now, there are many times that I come to my quiet time with an attitude of worship and I don't need the help of the Psalms - I can almost write my own Psalms as I praise Him with all my heart. Those times are especially wonderful as I am instantly connecting with the Lord in my spirit.

I hope this has helped you see how praise and worship of the Lord is so vital. God is so good to offer us this blessing, the blessing of praising His glorious Name. Praising Him accomplishes His purposes in our hearts.

Connecting with God Part 2

2008-07-06T15:51:00.002-05:00

Once you've found that special place to "escape" for a half hour or more, it's time to enter into the presence of the Lord and fellowship with Him. It often seems difficult to move from the hustle and bustle of a day with kids to the peaceful heart that is still before God.

The first thing I do is put in my earphones and listen to sweet, soft, soul soothing instrumental worship. My most recent purchase was the album called Quiet Moments of Instrumental Worship by David Bauer. It's very nice. I have some others, but so far, this is my favorite. The music is soothing, not intrusive. You don't think about the music, you can just be alone with your own thoughts with the music sort of calming you down as you begin to pray.

The next thing I do is open my prayer journal and begin to write out praise and worship to the Lord, sometimes praying it out loud as I write.

These two things are vital if I am to have a truly renewing quiet time. The journal and the worship are, without a doubt, indispensable.

When I write out my prayers, I can stay focused on them longer than if I pray without writing. It takes me longer to write out, "You are Holy; You are worthy of praise. Thank you, LORD, for all you have done in my life," than to just say it. Writing my prayers slows me down, slows my mind down and keeps my focus on what I am praying. It also gives me time to really ponder and consider what I am praying, to allow it to penetrate my heart and for me to still my own hurried mind. Otherwise, I'll prattle on for a little while and then start thinking about what I am going to make for dinner or when I'm going to get to Costco. Then, I'll never enter into that place of worship, fellowship and revival with God.

Beginning my prayer time with worship is the Biblical model that Jesus gave us in the Lord's prayer. I have found that if I miss this step, my quiet time isn't as rich. I will praise Him on and on and I won't stop until I really feel more peaceful and ready to begin confession and supplication.

If, when I'm trying to settle my heart down, undone responsibilities or tasks pop into my mind, I write them down on a separate piece of paper - with full assurance that I will get to it later. I don't have to focus on what I've failed to do. I just write it down, promise to take care of it, and put it aside and out of my mind. The act of writing it down seems to help ease my mind that it will be taken care of and I don't have to keep reminding myself of it. Putting it out of my mind is important because all those to do lists can interfere with my being able to connect with the Lord.

I hope this is helpful to those of you who are looking for a more rewarding quiet time. It really has been a blessing for me.

Until next time!

Connecting with God

2008-07-01T10:03:00.002-05:00

How do we, as busy moms, connect with the Lord? How do we nurture our walk with God in the midst of such activity?

When Jesus needed to connect with God, he escaped to a lonely place. This is hard to do unless we are willing to awaken an hour or more before our family does. I'm not going to pretend this is an easy thing. It's not. But it is so rewarding. If you, however, can't get up before your family - you aren't a morning person - don't beat yourself up. There are other ways and times throughout the day to enter into the presence of the Lord. I've discovered that I can experience a wonderful renewal and time with God during the day, when the entire family is awake and active.

First, I need to have a quiet place that I can go. My back patio is just such a place for me. It used to be my bedroom; but now that the weather is so wonderful, outdoors is my new prayer closet.

Second, the children need to understand the importance of what I'm doing. They need to know I'm spending time with the Lord and no interruptions are allowed, unless there is blood or fire, or a head injury. Third, I give the children a list of things they must do during this time. Usually, they must read several chapters in a book and sort the clothes. Sorting the clothes can sometimes result in head injuries; so use discernment here.

With these things in place - a quiet place and quiet, busy children - I can enter into that special time with the Lord that my soul craves.

In my next post, I will explain how I still my anxious heart, my worries, my busy mind and my endless mental list of things to do so that I can genuinely pray and listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord is My Shepherd

2008-06-20T14:54:00.004-05:00

The other day, a friend called and urged me to go to a particular prayer meeting at a friend's house. Normally, I'm up for prayer of any kind. Yet, my time is so limited that I've become very dependent upon the Lord in every decision I make - even hopping over to a prayer meeting. I wanted to go, but as I prayed I felt I should stay home and spend time with the family. I felt a twinge of "spiritual guilt" (you know, that kind of illegitimate guilt that says you "should" do this and you're not really walking the walk, meeting expectations or living up to the standard, if you don't). Yet, because I did not feel a sense of peace and eagerness about going, I felt I was to stay home.

I found out later that some really negative things happened at the meeting. It was basically a disaster and not of the Lord. Fleshly motives (or worse) seemed to take over the meeting. I'm so glad I was not there.

I've learned to trust the Lord's guidance in my life. I've learned to wait upon Him before I launch into some thing big or small. I'm certainly not perfect at it and I do make mistakes now and again. Yet, praying before I make any commitment is vital to a healthy life. Otherwise we find ourselves in relationships, commitments and obligations and situations that are not God's perfect plan or path for us.

The Lord is our shepherd. That's not just a cliche. He truly wants to lead us. He truly wants to be our guide, to protect us and keep us on the safe and secure path. He is a good shepherd of His sheep and we can trust Him.

Isaiah 30:21 tells us, "Your ears will hear a word behind you, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right or to the left." We need to listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit in every decision we make:

What curriculum to use
What method of homeschooling to employ
What classes or activities we should do
Commitments with church or our homeschool group
Bible studies and prayer groups
Which friends we should spend time with (both us and our children)

Every decision should be taken to prayer in a quiet moment, when our soul is still and free from anxiety and worry. Then, we can hear from God and trust that He is leading us. He leads us with a peaceful confidence that strengthens our spirit - making us sure of our decision.

If we follow God's leading and trust His guidance in our lives, even when things are difficult and the way is rough, we remain certain that we are in the center of His will and we can persevere through the rapids - knowing still waters are ahead.

The Lord is your Shepherd. I'm so grateful I have a Shepherd over my life. It makes me feel safe. How about you?

Encourage One Another Daily

2008-06-17T09:00:00.002-05:00

Paul writes, "Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." Hebrews 3:13

I know that as homeschool moms we can fall into the sin of a joyless, stressed-out demeanor. We can fall into the sin of habitual anger, habitual irritation, or habitual frustration over all we need to do, and all that is not right in our lives, home and school. We forfeit faith and are consumed in fear. We can fall into the sin of neglecting our husband, focusing on our children or our emotional needs and how he's not meeting them. Because we are weak, we are often guilty of being self-focused in all we do. I know that I find myself so focused on my own failings and weaknesses that it hinders my ability to minister to others. That's obviously the goal of the enemy in all the temptations he brings - to keep us from being a light. To keep us under such self condemnation and misery and self-centered thinking that we are ineffective and unproductive in our ministry to our children, husbands, family, friends and others. Truly, sin is progressive and deceitful. Paul warns that we can be hardened by it. I know that I don't want to become so entrenched in my sin that I become hardened. I don't want any of this to be the norm for me.

The answer? To give and get encouragement...daily! Every day.

Some people are natural encouragers - seek them out. Build a friendship with them. When I'm feeling discouraged, I call my encourager friends and I'm soon lifted out of the muck and mire. Sometimes, though, I find they are in need of encouragement and it encourages me to encourage them. This is one of the reasons we must remain in fellowship with other believers. We need to be in community with people who will edify us and keep us on the narrow path which leads to life.

I believe it's God's will for us to have encouraging friends in our lives. He wants us to be encouraged and to encourage. It's hard to encourage when we are totally discouraged. It's hard to encourage when we are surrounded by others who focus on negative things.

When you leave your friends, do you feel lifted up or more burdened? Do they build fear or faith by their conversations? Fear breeds more fear, and faith breeds more faith.

When I talk to my friends, they report answers to prayers and exciting things God has shown them in their quiet time. They talk about their dreams, plans and ideas. They are full of excitement and it rubs off onto me. Occasionally, of course, they are under trials, through which I encourage them. But generally speaking, and even in the midst of trials, they are up-lifting people that bless me in almost every conversation. This enables me to stay inspired, and to pass it on to others. It's a wonderful cycle of edification.

Ask the Lord to surround you with encouraging friends, edifying people, those that have a lot of faith and joy in their lives. I believe God will answer that prayer rather quickly since it's His will for you.

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25

Prayer Avails Much

2008-05-31T09:16:00.004-05:00

I just love prayer. I'm so thankful that God has ordained it as the means by which He moves. I wish everyone could experience answers, miraculous answers, to prayers like I do. I believe it's God's will that everyone does!

John Wesley once said, "God will do nothing, but in answer to prayer."

I don't know if that's true, but it sure seems like it sometimes.

I have recently begun to pray regularly again with a prayer partner. Now, I believe that individual prayers are powerful. When I get up early and pray for specific needs, I see God work, always. However, corporate prayer, praying with someone in agreement regularly, is tremendously effective. It seems the more difficult answers come quickly that way: Hearts are changed, conflicts are resolved and seemingly impossible obstacles are removed.

When you begin to pray regularly with someone, it fuels your faith. As answers come over and over again, your faith grows and it really restores your hope in all that God has for your life. You can actually say, "All things are possible with God" and believe it!

I have seen a bumper sticker around town that says "Nothing fails like prayer." How sad to believe that. How defeated that person's life must be. My heart breaks for individuals that are convinced of that unhappy lie.

One of the many Scriptures that God has highlighted in my life regarding prayer is:

"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

1 John 5:14-15

I LOVE this verse because we KNOW that if it's God's will - He will do it. I used to worry and fret over this verse wondering, "But how do we know if it's God's will?" No longer does that worry me because it's fairly easy to tell if something is His will.

Here are the guidelines I use:

Does it line up with what the Scriptures say that God desires? For example, the Scriptures tell us to be anxious for nothing. Therefore, if I pray that I will not be anxious about something, I KNOW that I'm praying in God's will because the Scriptures command/request this. If I am praying for peace, I know that's God's will. If I am praying for someone's salvation, I know that's God's will. If I am praying for deliverance from fear, I know that's God's will.

Knowing something is God's will changes the way you pray. You pray with the faith required to see answers. You pray with total confidence, without doubt and worry. You pray with assurance that God will answer that prayer - hopefully immediately - but without a doubt that it will be done.

Now, for all other things that may or may not be God's will, we submit to His will. For example, I wanted my husband to work on a project that he promised to do but had not found time to do. So, after worrying and fussing about it for weeks, I finally took it to God (why don't I begin there?) and I prayed very confidently, "LORD, if it's your will, I pray that he will work on that project this week." Truly, I had to get my heart right and pray this with perfect submission, with a willingness to let go of the matter if it's not God's perfect will. I think a lot of times, God is waiting for us to be so submitted to Him that we are willing to accept whatever answer He has for us (I have so many examples of this in my life, it's a shame that I still struggle to submit my will to God's!)

But guess what! It apparently WAS God's will because, without a single word from me, he not only began work on the project, but completed it within two days. I'm positive that if I had "nagged" him about it, it would still remain undone today.

My husband often plays this song during our family worship time. Though I'm not fond of the twangy tempo, I love the words in this hymn:

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge,
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!I

n His arms He’ll take and shield you;
you will find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to
Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

Prayer is powerful. Nothing works like prayer. It's the most amazing gift that we have at our disposal as Children of the Most High God. Paul claims in Philippians that it is because of their prayers (and the help of the Holy Spirit) that he was delivered to safety. It was prayer that moved angels to break Peter out of prison. Even Elijah was told what God's will was - to bring rain - but he got down on his knees in travailing prayer to usher in the will of God. They are examples to us - God has a plan and a purpose, but He wants us to pray.

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16

End of Year Thoughts

2008-05-19T08:57:00.006-05:00

Travels

I have completed my spring speaking schedule. That's a nice feeling. I try not to accept very many invitations to speak because it's really hard on the family when I leave. Not only do the children feel sad and lost without me, basic mommy stuff is neglected. For example, my precious 11 year-old son packed himself for his boy scout camping trip and didn't pack anything warm to wear in the evenings. He came home sick. Not very sick; but just enough to keep me up praying all night. I guess it worked because he's begging me to take him to IHOP this morning.

I love to speak and encourage moms, however. So, I do try to speak locally and go a couple of places each year. If the kids were not so busy with All Stars, Boy Scouts and ballet, I would take them with me.

The Mississippi conference was the last stop on my calendar. What a delightful group of people! I think I want to move to Mississippi.

Before I went, we vacationed in Florida. It was an exciting trip. My husband usually spends the entire time fishing. The first thing he caught was quite a surprise. Check it out!

He caught it in the waters in which my children were swimming. After he caught this nifty little guy, my son reported that a 6 - 8 foot shark was patrolling the beach, swimming back and forth about five feet from shore. I went in and called the authorities who promptly sent out a boat. We watched as these tough guys caught the shark and pulled it out to sea.

For some reason, my nine-year old didn't want to get in the water the rest of the trip. Wonder why?

Devotional Commentary Series!

I'm busily at work on my devotional series for families. It's more of a Bible commentary with life application. I'm working through the book of John, writing three commentary devotions for each chapter in the book. The Lord has been so gracious to awaken me early in the mornings to write so that I don't neglect the children at all in order to work on this project. For me, there is nothing more wonderful than the Word of God. Don't get me wrong, I loved writing the science series. Yet, my heart is really to encourage people and edify them in the Word of God. That's where our strength, joy and peace is found - in Him alone. It's always been my passion to fortify people in their faith. That's what I hoped for with the science books, and that is what I hope for with this devotional series.

Over and over I have had people ask "What do you suggest that I use for devotions?" Going through the Bible is the best suggestion. However, most people have not spent hundreds of hours in exegetical analysis or inductive studies and have a difficult time explaining the historical or doctrinal principles in passages, as well as how to make life application. That's what this devotional commentary will do. The family, or student using the book, will read the Word, then use the commentary to go deeper and make it personal. It's my hope that all those who read this will grow, not only in their understanding of the Word, but in their walk with the Lord. It's my greatest desire that young people will fall more deeply in love with Jesus as they work through the series.

Winding Down the School Year

I don't know about you, but I'm really excited to be winding down our studies. I looked over the goals I had for the kids this year and it literally brings tears to my eyes to see how faithful the Lord was to enable us to accomplish every single one. Every one. The boys are now reading lengthy chapter books, writing full page essays by hand with ease and can spell. There were a few other academic things we accomplished, but those were my big three for this year for the boys. My oldest (14) is going to be ready to take three CLEP tests next month: US History I, English Comp and Humanities. My youngest (7) is reading and writing very well. We could end now, but we have to complete 180 days here in Georgia, so we'll do some interesting science related activities with the microscope I just purchased from Sonlight, complete our notebooks and finish our math program for the rest of the school days.

I'm praying and asking the Lord to give me wisdom about our goals for next year. What would He have us accomplish? What does He hope for them academically and spiritually? I'll be praying through these things for next year.

I have found that my homeschooling goes so much better is much less stressful when I have goals that we are seeking to accomplish. This gives us direction and purpose. Otherwise, it's about finishing a course or program that may or may not be the best thing for us. Otherwise, we become slaves to curriculum, rather than masters over it. We are not Spirit-led or God-directed, but rather are without vision and simply following someone else's scope and sequence, course or beliefs about what my children should learn, how they should learn and what they should do to finish their prescribed program. God has a better plan, a future-minded purpose and He knows on what we should focus and where we should make an effort. There is a way that seems right to man, but it's usually not God's best.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

The Lord called us to homeschool and He will guide us each step of the way. Instead of making plans after careful research, prayerfully ask Him to lead you as you research; ask Him to lead your plans. He didn't call us and then expect us to figure it all out. He didn't purpose for us that we should educate these children of His and then leave it in our hands to decide what plans and courses we should choose for them. The Lord called us because He has a pupose for our children. He has specific plans for them that are for their good, for a hope and a future. As we seek Him, He will lead us in what He wants for them to accomplish, and how we should go about doing that. We only need to co-labor with God, to cooperate with Him in moving our children into His wonderful will for them.

Bible Experience

My next newsletter will be going out very soon. It will be the last one on Bible Study and Devotions. I have several articles from wonderful godly women and a few more reviews. One review that I want to mention here is The Bible Experience. All I can say is WOW!

The Bible experience is like no other audio Bible I've ever heard. This is the actual Bible - word for word - dramatized in such a way that it really brings it to life. The musical scores, the voices (done by some professional Christian actors and actresses and other wonderful voices), the background sounds, all create an authentic atmosphere that is absolutely astonishing. It's like hearing the Word of God happening in real time. When Jesus speaks to the crowd from the boat, you can hear the water lapping around the boat. As Jesus passes through the crowds, you can hear their astonishment when people are healed. It's so realistic. You can hear a sample on Zondervan's website.

We listened to the book of Acts on the way to Florida and on the way home. It was truly riveting. It had been on for hours, but we turned it off when we were passing a wreck; immediately the kids begged us to turn it back on. They were all listening raptly.

I can't recommend this enough. It's gotten rave reviews on Amazon and everywhere else. You can also download it instead of buying the CD's. We plan to have the kids listen at night when they are going to bed. What a wonderful way to end the day.

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Psalm 119:105

Drawing Near to God

2008-05-10T15:31:00.002-05:00

There are times in our walk with the Lord when we feel distant from God. Yet, we aren’t sure how to get back to that place of intimacy that we once knew so well. Our lives are so busy, our days jam packed with things to do and places to go, our thoughts race with worries, concerns and endless plans. We wonder how we’ll ever find our way back to closeness with God.

In this situation, one thing is for certain – we will not reconnect if we do not make an effort to do it. God is knocking at the door of our heart. He’s waiting for us to respond. He’s not waiting for us to clean up our act, quit sinning, quit being selfish, quit thinking negative thoughts. He’s just waiting for us to respond to His knock by opening the door and letting Him in. But how do we even do that?

In my experience, I have found that the most important thing I must do is find some alone time. I have to carve it out wherever it can be found. Even if it means I have to get up extra early, or escape sometime during the day with strict warnings not to interrupt me unless there is blood or fire. I must get to a place where I can quiet my mind and be still before God – for a while.

When I finally do make that effort, what I do with that time is very important. If I come into that time with no plan, I’ll probably leave just as unfulfilled as I came – maybe more so, since I tried to connect with God and didn’t. I enter into that time with a commitment to spend time in praise and prayers of praise. I often write these praises or prayers in my journal, sometimes I just open my Bible to the Psalms and begin proclaiming His praises straight from the Word. I praise the Lord even, and especially, when I don’t feel like it. This is so important because it is an effort in my being led by the Spirit, not by the flesh. If I only praise God when I feel like it, then I’m a flesh-led believer. I must praise God with my spirit, even when my flesh says, “I’m tired; I’m stressed; I don’t feel good; I’m discouraged; I’m angry and frustrated; I can’t praise God now.” I just begin praising and within a short amount of time, my flesh begins to follow after my spirit. Sometimes, I have to spend the entire time praising God just to beat my flesh into submission. But that is not time wasted. You see, the very act of praising God is probably the most significant thing we can do as followers of Christ. God is empowered to work in our spirit and lives through the avenue of our worship and praise. It’s not for Him that we praise Him – He doesn’t need our praise – it’s for us. It’s a tool that God gave us for victory and to usher us into His presence. He is so holy, so beautiful, so awesome – our small minds cannot even know how much He deserves our praise – but when we participate in praise, we benefit because we are walking out a truth we don’t even understand. We are agreeing with all of heaven and unleashing the power of God into our situation. When we praise Him with His Word, we are agreeing with God that all He says in His Word is true.

The power of praise is seen clearly in the story of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. When the good king learned that a mighty army composed of three kingdoms was heading his way, he sought the Lord in prayer. What the Lord inspired him to do in response defies reason. He was told he would be victorious. But, instead of warriors, he sent out a large band of worshipers into battle. When these worshipers went out, their praises to the Lord brought about an unexpected result – they confounded the enemy. In their confusion, these armies began fighting one another and were conquered without Jehoshaphat’s army lifting a finger. There is another story in 2 Kings 6, that sheds some light on this. When the prophet, Elisha, was suddenly encompassed round about by a huge band of warriors, he was unafraid. He knew that the ones that were with God’s people were more than they that are against them. He asked God to open his servant’s eyes to the real battle so that he could see the truth. The servant’s eyes were opened to what Elisha already knew – millions of mighty angels were standing guard, protecting them from their foes. Though, in the natural, it looked like it, the enemy was not just flesh and blood, it was a spiritual battle that was going to be won in the spirit realm through the mighty angels of God. Instructive for us, what was happening in the natural, was also happening in the spirit realm.

This brings more enlightenment to Jehoshaphat’s story. When the praises rang out, the demonic forces that were guiding the coming army scattered and their purposes scattered with them. Praise empowers God’s people because it empowers the spiritual forces that work on our behalf by scattering the enemy that is trying to keep the people of God from being productive and safe. The battles we, God’s children, face in the natural have a spiritual component as well. In fact, we are told in Ephesians that are battle is not against flesh and blood. That’s often hard to believe, but we’re told that our battle is against spiritual forces that would bring us down. This is why praising God is so effective. When I enter into that quiet place, I praise God whether I feel like it or not and I praise Him for as long as it takes to defeat the enemies that would cause me to stumble. Discontentment, strife, fear, loneliness, anger, stress, discouragement and despair can be defeated by the simple act of praising God.

One of my favorite Psalms to read aloud in praise to God is Psalm 103. I’ve printed it below:

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all of His benefits;

Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;

Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;

Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

The LORD performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed.

He made known His ways to Moses, his acts to the sons of Israel.

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.

As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,

And its place acknowledges it no longer.

But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,

And His righteousness to children's children,

To those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them.

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,

And His sovereignty rules over all.

Bless the LORD, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word!

Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will.

Bless the LORD, all you works of His,

In all places of His dominion; Bless the LORD, O my soul!

2008-04-18T10:33:00.004-05:00

Pauls writes to the believers, "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Ephesians 4:1

Did you know that you have a calling? Every believer has been given a calling. We are told in Ephesians 2:10 that we were "created for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Usually our calling is not hard to find, for it is embedded in our character, our passions and our dreams. A compassionate person, full of mercy is called to minister God's healing to the hurting and confused. An insightful, discerning person is often called to keep other believers accountable and walking the narrow walk. An encouraging person, who wants to see others living victoriously is obviously called to encourage believers. There are many purposes and needs in the Kingdom of God, many areas of ministry.

In the different seasons of our lives, we will be called in different ways. In the season of homeschooling, our ministry will be to our children as well as, perhaps, to homeschoolers in our sphere of influence. In the season of an empty-nest, we may be called to minister in the community. When we have a job outside the home, we'll be used by God in that arena. The truth is, we are all annointed for a special calling and purpose. Often, God has already placed a dream in your heart that He intends to fulfill in His perfect timing. What is that dream for you?

I have a homeschool friend with the gift of compassion and mercy that is called to minister to people she meets in the grocery store and other places. She knows God has called her this way; it brings her joy and excitement to be used by God in this ministry. She pulls into the parking lot, and prays that the Lord would show her who she is to pray for and touch with His love. As she shops, she is attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Every time, she is drawn to people for whom she is to pray. She strikes up a casual conversation, which eventually leads to talking about God. Within moments, God has this person sharing their struggles with her, and, right there in the store, she lays her hands upon this person and prays for them. They usually exchange numbers and she gets to hear how God used their special appointment to change that person's life. One time, a young lady in tears, called her mom right after the prayer. The mom wanted to speak to my friend, and shared that she had been praying for her daughter and my friend was the answer to that prayer. I could not even recount all the things that God has done through my sweet, obedient friend's grocery-store ministry. She thrives on this calling. It's not more work for her, it comes naturally because it's God's call on her life. It makes her life less stressful, not more. It blesses and invogorates her, not overwhelms her.

God has given you and your children a calling. You will find joy and peace and refreshment in fulfilling your purposes, which God has planned for you. They will come naturally, and though there may be some work involved, it will be done with His energy and effort, not your own.

"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began."
2 Timothy 1:8-9

So many times, we walk in the "should do" and "have to do" world that causes us stress and striving, when He would love for us to experience the excitement of walking in the purpose He has planned for us. If you don't know in what capacity God has called you during this season, seek Him. It's His delight to reveal it to you. It's His glory to see you, His child (whom He has thought of since before He created the world), walking in the works that He prepared for you way back before He even created time.

Jesus - the Same Yesterday, Today and Always

2008-03-31T13:06:00.004-05:00

I am preparing to send out the second part of my Devotionals and Bible Studies newsletter. It will include reviews of devotionals that people have suggested and that I have used. I was reading through one of the suggested devotionals today, Little Pillows. It's a sweet, small book of devotions that are especially touching and deep - though written in somewhat antiquated language. One devotion that I read today was quite nurturing to my own soul. It talked of the fact that Jesus is the same.

The author encouraged you to recount the times when you have felt so close to Jesus, bathed in His love and accepted by Him. Then she reminded us that if you are not feeling that way today, it's not because Jesus loves you any less. His love for you, His acceptance - total and complete joy and delight in you - has not changed one bit. It's because you have drawn away from Him and perhaps believed that He does not feel that way about you right now. The truth is: His feelings for you have not changed. He still feels the same about you as He did when you felt His love so fully.

Jesus stands with His arms just as open, just as ready to forgive and forget and help you with your struggles, sins and attitudes; He's just as willing to embrace you and nurture you with His tender mercy. Turn to Him and receive His love.

Jesus is the same; He never changes.

That's so comforting to me. I hope it blesses you today as well.

If you have not signed up for my newsletter, you can enter your email in the GREEN box to the right. It should be going out within the next week or so.

Clark Howard Speaks to the Heart of Homeschoolers

2008-03-19T09:43:00.002-05:00

Although, I'm confident that the California Ban on Homeschooling ruling will be scrapped from the books, Clark Howard makes some wonderful points about homeschooling, and why Finland is a succeeding in education: it's because the teachers are doing what homeschool teachers do - teaching what they are led to teach, choosing their own curriculum and giving kids an education that inspires them, not burns them out and drags them down.

Read the text from Clark Howard's website:

California outlaws home schooling

Clark is glad that he doesn't have high blood pressure, because he'd be steaming right now! The California Court of Appeals has outlawed home schooling. They want parents who wish to take on the burden and challenge of teaching their kids at home to be criminalized. This is an outrageous infringement on personal liberty. The home schooling movement started in the fundamentalist Christian community, but it's since crossed over to about 2 million people of all types. Clark's concern is that as goes California, so goes the nation. Our Soviet-style monopoly school system is not succeeding, so home-schooling must not be outlawed. How does the U.S. rank academically? A recent international test of 10th graders shows that we're sandwiched between Latvia and Lithuania in the middle of the list. Finland has the highest achieving students in the world. The Scandinavian nation doesn't have a government-mandated curriculum; every teacher must decide for him or herself what to teach. Finnish teachers are not well compensated, but people clamor for the job because they can be true entrepreneurs in the classroom. Finnish classrooms don't use modern technology and kids don't start school until age 7. We here in the U.S. have got to get out of our "one size fits all" mindset where we spend fortunes on education for no meaningful results. Think this doesn't affect you because you don't have kids? Huge amount of your taxes are still spent to support schools that are failures.

Zoology 3 is here!

2008-03-14T09:14:00.003-05:00

At long last, Exploring Creation with Zoology 3 - Land Animals fo the Sixth Day has arrived! Here is a description of the course:

What separates people from apes? How can a Great Dane be related to a Chihuahua? Is there evidence that people and dinosaurs lived at the same time? What should you do if you encounter a bear? How can you tell if a snake is poisonous? Come find out answers to these questions and many, many more with Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Zoology 3! This third book in the zoology series takes students on a safari through jungles, deserts, forests, farms, and even their own backyard to explore, examine and enjoy the enchanting creatures God designed to inhabit the terrain. Families will snuggle together and discover the amazing animals from primates to parasites, kangaroos to caimans, and turtles to terrifying T-Rexs— this safari doesn’t end there! Students will also keep a record of where each animal is found on a map and learn to identify animal tracks. As with all the Apologia elementary books, students will continue the practice of narration, keeping a notebook of what they have learned, and enjoy many hands on projects and experiments throughout the course.

We will be creating notebook pages for this book this spring, available by the summer.

2008-03-10T20:27:00.001-05:00

"He who dwells in the Shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'...If you make the Most High your dwelling, even the LORD, who is my refuge—then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-12

How do we dwell in the Shelter of the Most High, because this sure sounds like a place I want to be. How ‘bout you? There seems to be a condition on this promise. The condition is that we "make" the Most High our dwelling place. It's a volitional choice to make God the place where we hang out. It stands to reason that in order to make God our dwelling place, we need to dwell on Him - not on our problems, the circumstances that surround us and the issues that seem to be prevailing against us. We must not dwell on those things, but focus our thoughts and minds on Him. There’s another Scripture that says “He will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.”

When I first pondered this verse, I wondered how do I keep my mind stayed on Him, as well as how do I dwell in His shelter. The Lord seemed to speak to my heart saying “I am The Word.” The Word! "Yes, of course!" I thought. I instantly realized that to keep our minds on the Lord is to focus on Scripture. Perhaps there are other ways, but this was what God showed me.

You see, God usually speaks to us through His Word. So, before you open your Bible, ask the Lord to reveal His Word to your heart as you read, to speak to you through His Word. It is indeed God's will to do this. 1 John 5:14 says that if you ask anything according to His will, it will be done for you.

As you read, God will highlight a Scripture passage or verse for you. You know it's from God if it fills you with hope, insight or answers your questions/problems in a way that brings peace as it reveals truth. Even God's rebukes are not done harshly, but with a spirit of peace that brings confidence and tranquility and yes, even joy as you repent. The enemy is easily recognized by the condemnation and hopelessness you feel - but that's a whole 'nother subject.

As the Lord gives you a Scripture, mediate on it all day long. Write it down and carry it with you. Make a note of the book and chapter so you can find it again when the Lord has you share it with someone else - as He often does. Think on it throughout the day.

This is what it means to keep your mind stayed on Him—for He is the Word, and the Word is Him. This is also how you dwell in His shelter: we abide in Him by keeping our mind, heart and thoughts on Him—His Word– throughout the day. Then, you can rest in the peace of knowing that His promises found in Psalm 91 are for you, as you make Him your shelter.

"The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run in and are safe."

Proverbs 18:10

Guarding Our Thoughts

2008-03-02T13:12:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I talked about the temptation to feel overwhelmed. I have been wanting to address this lately because I know what it is to get overwhelmed. I also have discovered a way to protect myself from this emotion.

When I walk through my house, I can easily become overwhelmed. I realized this one day as I passed by a tremendously messy closet filled with books. On the floor, I spied a stack of standardized practice tests that I had never given to my children. In an instant, that emotion of being overwhelmed began to wash over me, like a dark presence entering my entire body. Normally, I would have received that emotion and walked on with whisperings of despair clouding my day. But right at that moment, I turned away from it. I basically resisted the temptation and literally turned my face away from the reminder of my inability to "do it all" and I turned my thoughts away from the lies that I'm not succeeding at homeschooling.

Over the weeks, this temptation has arisen several times. When I saw the the Latin book lying upside down on a broken shelf in the hallway, both the broken shelf and the unused book scream their insult at me. But I turned away from the negative thoughts that were spewing through my mind. No, I didn't give my kids standardized practice tests, we failed to use that Latin book and I may have to throw that shelf away if it keeps accusing me like that. But, all of that does not make me a failure. I cannot let undone projects, plans or curriculum rob me of my peace. Neither should you.

So, we are big planners and big dreamers; that's a good thing - as long as we don't get down on ourselves for not doing all we planned or reaching all our dreams. Planning and dreaming are important. It causes us to move forward, closer to our goals. But it's so important to guard our thoughts from the accusations that we are not measuring up because we have not accomplished domestic success in some area or perfection in our homeschooling dreams and plans.

We need to believe that God is truly God over our lives, our homeschool and our children. Perhaps it was not His perfect will that I make my children work through those practice tests. Perhaps He doesn't want us to study Latin yet, or ever. As one of his precious children, He has promised to lead me and guide me. I'm believing that I'm in the center of His will and being led by Him, even when I don't fulfill my big ideas and grandious plans. I can rest in Him, trusting that we are on the right track - even when I don't "feel" like it. I'm not supposed to be leaning on my own understanding anyway...

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5

If I were to lean on my own understanding, I would certainly think I should be doing much more, accomplishing much more, reaching all my dreams and fulfilling all my big plans. I think God's more interested in giving us rest - while we are more interested in being supermom and creating superkids and being a family of superheroes. Yet, He came so that we could enter into His rest. Rest for our souls.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

So, next time I walk by that enormously cluttered and disorganized closet with hundreds of great homeschool products I'll never have time to use even if I homeschooled a hundred years, I plan to quote that Scripture, breathe a sigh of relief and allow Him to bring rest to my soul.

Homeschooling from Overflow

2008-02-17T10:01:00.003-05:00

Are you homeschooling on empty? Do you wake up feeling tired? Or do you run out of steam half way through the day?

God desires for us to minister to our family out of the increase, from the overflow of what He has poured into us. The Lord so longs to pour into you, to feed you from the Bread of Life so that you may be full. Taste and see that the Lord is good!

More important than choosing the right curriculum, keeping to your schedule, more important than doing, doing, doing is being – being in His presence and filling up on Him.

Set an hour aside each day for Him. Tell the children to read and be silent during that hour (explain how you need to get with God so you can be a better mommy).

Close yourself in your room, or in a closet – wherever you can get away. Then focus your heart on Him, let Him fill you.

If you are out of the habit of having time alone with God or are not sure how to really receive from Him. Below is how I would encourage you to begin this journey anew:

Bring your prayer journal, your Bible and maybe some worship songs – I occasionally will begin with worship music, sometimes I just sing my own worship songs. As you begin to spend time with God, if your to-do list pops into your mind, quickly jot down those things and set them aside to keep them from distracting you. If anything else comes to mind that you need to deal with, just write it down and set it aside. Don’t let anything hang around in the corners of your mind to keep you from fully focusing on the Lord.

Begin by praising God and worshiping Him. Do this even if you don’t feel like it - remember, we are to be led by our spirit, not by our “feelings.” So, don’t wait until you feel like spending time with God – let your spirit rule, not your flesh.

Sing or tell God of His greatness. Confess any sin that comes to your mind and thank God that you are forgiven. Don’t dwell on it, thus allowing the enemy to keep you distracted with condemnation and defeat. Know He forgives and set your mind on Him and His Word, His Truth. Ask the Lord for total protection from the enemy during your time with Him.

Then, begin to pray. I write all my prayers in my prayer journal. Writing my prayers keeps me from getting distracted while I pray. Also, because it takes me longer to write out my prayers than to actually pray them, it allows me time to focus and sense God’s leading or answer. Instead of yammering away with ceaseless chatter to God, I can slow down by writing my prayers and hear Him more clearly.

Then, I read the Word, asking the Lord to speak to me in His Word; the Word of God is living and active because His Holy Spirit can give us hope and instruction and special truth just for us while we read. Ask the Lord to guide you, to make His Word come alive to you and to speak to you while you read. If a particular Scripture jumps off the page into your heart, that’s the Holy Spirit. Write it down and meditate on it throughout the day.

Spend the rest of your day in constant praise and thanksgiving to Him. If you mess up, confess and remember that you are human (just like Peter who messed up a lot, but became the pillar of the church). Don’t get down on yourself and let yourself feel defeated – simply begin to praise Him again.

If, at some point, you need another hour in the closet, do it. It’s more important than anything. Remember, God wants to fill you with Him so that you can shine His light in your home, in your community and everywhere you go. If you are full of the Lord, you will have the peace and joy you need to get through the homeschool day...the homeschooling months and years.

If you feel like the homeschool journey is too hard - let me assure you that EVERYTHING is too hard without a close walk with God. He earnestly desires to fill you up with His presence, purpose, forgiveness, freedom and joy. He wants to take you, just as you are, and make you whole. He wants to take your burden and exchange it with His strength to complete every task He has given to you.

He doesn't want you to homeschool alone - yet, like the Israelites who were given manna every day, you have to go out and gather it up. Every day, we need fresh bread, fresh manna from God. Even if you have to stop school in the middle of the afternoon to get refilled. Do it. It's more important than anything that needs to get done.

Certainly Martha needed to get the dinner ready – all those guests really did have to eat. But Jesus didn’t think it was more important than spending time absorbing from Him. So, maybe dinner would have to wait, maybe dinner would not be perfect, maybe the guests would not have everything just right. For us, maybe math won’t get done, we may be late for an event and the kids will have to get their own breakfast, lunch or snack, but if we are choosing the spend time with Jesus - we have chosen the better part.

The Promises of God

2008-02-09T19:08:00.000-05:00

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.

2 Cor 1:20

God's desire is to shower us with His promises, to say, "Yes" to us concerning all that He promised in His Word.

When I first read this verse I wondered to myself, "What does that mean? What did God promise?" I quickly relegated all of God's promises into a box: a Savior, Salvation, Heaven. My God-in-a-box was limited.

As I learned more about God's Word, I discovered that there is a whole world of promises to us from God. Most are found in the Old Testament (these are the specific promises to which Paul was referring since they didn't have a New Testament when he wrote this to the Christians of the day - but all the promises in the New Testament are also "Yes"!)

When I first read of these promises and discovered them in the Bible, I have to admit, I really didn't think they applied to me or my life. I mean, I really didn't believe that God really and truly meant them for me. I mean, really. Who am I?

For example: When God said in Jeremiah, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." That sounded so beautiful, so comforting. But didn't God mean that just for his people in the Old Testament? That deflating thought kept me from allowing that promise to enter my heart.

As the years progressed, God began to show me that His Word is forever. The promises He gave to His people did not pass away and die; they are not obsolete for those of us who are now His people. They come into all fullness for us. They are especially for us, those who were far away but came to Him through faith in His precious Son, those of us who miraculously (through His sovereign impartation of faith) believe in the atoning blood of His Son; the beloved Son who took upon Himself all of our nasty sin. Indeed, the promises culminate in a resounding "Yes" for us! For, blessed are we who have not seen, but believe and receive His cleansing.

Even more amazing is that all the promises to God's children, all the promises to the righteous are for us because of that blood. Jesus made an unfair trade: He took off our unrighteousness and put it on himself; then He put His righteousness upon us. When God gazes upon us, His children through faith in Christ, He sees us as righteous. He separates us from our sin (sin is on the left, and we are the right). He sees us on the right, without the sin, RIGHTEOUS!

Yes, yes, I know...we have issues we are all walking out, working out and fleshing out. But working out our salvation is for our benefit; it helps us to experience a more abundant life on earth. The fact is, we are righteous in God's eyes. We stand before Him as precious and clean. As I've said before, He sees the end product (us, seated in the heavenlies with Christ). He's not anxious and worried about our issues. So, neither should we be...we should just yield to Him and allow Him to transform us from within (and that will show up as change on the outside).

Honestly, when God looks at you, dear believer, He sees a righteous individual. And guess what? All his promises to the righteous are pretty amazing; all are good. Ain't no bad Old Testament trauma for the righteous! When God gives promises to the righteous, they are forever. They are still relevant for you. They are, "Yes! in Christ," as Paul earnestly pleaded with the once-pagan Corinthians to believe.

The fact is, all the promises that God made: safety, shelter, protection, blessings, prospering in or spirit, soul and body, favor and many others, are for us today!

Allow those promises to sink into your heart. Hold them dear to you, because God wants you to. He wants you to take Him at His Word. Even if you aren't seeing it right now in your life, grasp onto His promises, His Word and ask God to show you that they are indeed relevant promises, that they are "Yes!" in Christ Jesus.

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill it?" Numbers 23:19

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10-11

Amen to the glory of God!

Dwelling in the Lord

2008-02-07T20:29:00.004-05:00

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-12

How do we dwell in the Shelter of the Most High, because this sure sounds like a place I want to be. How ‘bout you? There seems to be a condition on this promise. The condition is that we "make" the Most High our dwelling place. It's a volitional choice to make God the place where we hang out. It stands to reason that in order to make God our dwelling place, we need to dwell on Him - not on our problems, the circumstances that surround us and the issues that seem to be prevailing against us. We must not dwell on those things, but focus our thoughts and minds on Him. There’s another Scripture that says “He will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.”

When I first pondered this verse, I wondered how do I keep my mind stayed on Him, as well as how do I dwell in His shelter. The Lord seemed to speak to my heart saying “I am The Word.” The Word! "Yes, of course!" I thought. I instantly realized that to keep our minds on the Lord is to focus on Scripture. Perhaps there are other ways, but this was what God showed me.

You see, God usually speaks to us through His Word. So, before you open your Bible, ask the Lord to reveal His Word to your heart as you read, to speak to you through His Word. It is indeed God's will to do this. 1 John 5:14 says that if you ask anything according to His will, it will be done for you.

As you read, God will highlight a Scripture passage or verse for you. You know it's from God if it fills you with hope, insight or answers your questions/problems in a way that brings peace as it reveals truth. Even God's rebukes are not done harshly, but with a spirit of peace that brings confidence and tranquility and yes, even joy as you repent. The enemy is easily recognized by the condemnation and hopelessness you feel - but that's a whole 'nother subject.

As the Lord gives you a Scripture, mediate on it all day long. Write it down and carry it with you. Make a note of the book and chapter so you can find it again when the Lord has you share it with someone else - as He often does. Think on it throughout the day. This is what it means to keep your mind stayed on Him—for He is the Word, and the Word is Him.

This is also how you dwell in His shelter: we abide in Him by keeping our mind, heart and thoughts on Him—His Word– throughout the day. Then, you can rest in the peace of knowing that His promises found in Psalm 91 are for you, as you make Him your shelter.

"The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run in and are safe." Proverbs 18:10

Encourage One Another Daily

2008-02-03T13:10:00.000-05:00

It's so important that we surround our lives with encouragement. God's Word tells us that we need encouragement daily. Are you getting daily encouragement? Are your friends encouraging to you? Do you listen to encouraging messages on the radio or the computer? Do you read encouraging blogs? Are you being encouraged in your walk with God?

If not, I think you will find a big change in your life if you are proactive to seek some encouragement each day. It's so easy to fall into a place of discouragement, despair. It's so tempting to feel overwhelmed at the task ahead.

Over and over we see in the New Testament how important encouragement is. Paul is always sending someone to encourage a group of believers. He talks a great deal about being encouraged. Certainly being a Christian in those times necessitated encouragement. I believe being a homeschooler also necessitates encouragement.

When we allow ourselves to be encouraged, we gain "courage" to face the future and all that we must do to successfully educate our kids and bless others. We begin to lift up our eyes to the hills from whence comes our help, fixing our eyes on Jesus - who gives us strength. We are able to see greater purpose in our lives. Encouragement gives us hope for what lies ahead. We can then get excited about the future, rather than full of fear and worry about our children's weaknesses and our failings.

Through encouragement, we overcome despair, discouragement and fear. The Lord tells us more than 365 times in the Word not to fear. He wants you to be of good courage, to be confident - for He promises to fulfill His purposes, his great plans, for you and your children.

Seek out friends, websites, radio programs, podcasts, blogs and people that will build you up. Receive encouragement each day and then give it away to others.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thes 5:11

Jeannie's Journal Homeschool Newsletter

2008-01-31T20:13:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to report that the Jeannie's Journal newsletter is back up and running and the newest newsletter issue will be going out on Monday!

I have revamped the newsletter. Instead of having one long email with several pages of articles all with one theme, I will send out a few emails over the course of a few months that will relate to the same theme. This quarter's long awaited theme is Bible and Character Training.

I have received many emails and inquiries about the newsletter. It was long delayed, and for that, I do apologize. It was a long winter, but spring has come!

Have you ever gone through a period of trials that lasted quite some time that felt like a long winter? Then, when you passed out of those trials into a new day, you felt the sun shining down, warming your life, like spring had arrived. That would describe me right now. It was a year-long winter. But spring has arrived; I can feel it (although you would never know it by looking outside). Yet, it's not a literal spring; it's a spring of the soul. It reminds me of that David Crowder song Here is Our King that says "wherever spring has come to heal the ground..."

The funny thing is that I didn't even realize how dark and wintery my life had been until now. I look back and see that I felt fine, not great, but fine. I was strong for my mom as my dad's illness took his body, then his mind and then him. It was a year of suffering for all of us, but for mom especially. My siblings and I reconnected, talking daily, sometimes hourly through the entire year; and many things were revealed, many things needed hashing out; but relationships were restored. I researched and wrote Zoology 3 with an ache in my heart. I homeschooled my children with the strength that I borrowed from God (I'm so thankful that when we go to Him, he exchanges our weakness for his strength - that's a pretty awesome exchange!) I really didn't know how deep my grieving was until now...as I come out of it. The sun is now rising in my heart and a renewal is taking place. I feel its warmth like a long lost friend that I didn't even know was gone until it came back.

With this renewal comes excitement about what the future holds! The new issue of Jeannie's Journal is, for me, a symbol of God's promise of spring. A warm breeze is sweeping through my heart and I'm ready, ready for all that God has.

"See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me."

Song of Solomon 2:11-13

If you would like to get Jeannie's Journal, use the sign up block on the right to enter your email address. Jeannie's Journal is designed to encourage and edify the homschool community with curriculum reviews, articles, homeschooling tips and a drawing for free prizes - you are automatically entered into the drawing when you sign up.

Strengthen Yourself in the Lord

2008-01-22T14:17:00.001-05:00

When a circumstance or situation comes your way that seems to deflate your joy - do what David did: Strengthen yourself in the Lord.
How do you do this? Following David's example, begin with praise.

Praising God even (or especially) when you don't feel like it is SO important. It's a true sacrifice - a sacrifice of praise! We should not be led by our feelings (our soul), we are led by the spirit. Our soul - our mind, will and emotions - should not rule us. Let your spirit rule and praise God inspite of the yucky thoughts and feelings going on in your soul.

Open to the book of Psalms and find a God glorifying Psalm of praise to God and begin reading it, or singing it aloud. Keep praising Him with His Word.
Put on some hymns or praise songs that usually ignite your soul - even if they don't today - sing them as if you were in the mood to sing them. Set your mind on God as you praise Him. Don't dwell on the things of this world, focus on God - the truth of His Word and His love for you, His desire to deliver you and help you and bless you.

God ordained praise as a blessing for us. The army of the Lord defeated the enemy with praise (2 Chron 20:22). Through praise, God also defeats the enemy. Remember, our battle is not against flesh and blood - and the enemy cannot stand against us as our voices are raised in praise to our Lord - declaring how great and mighty is our God.

When situations or circumstances try to defeat you, strengthen yourself in the Lord with praise.

Portraying God Accurately

2008-01-04T21:58:00.000-05:00

If you have never seen the video, The Father's Love Letter, it is worth watching. http://www.fathersloveletter.com/

One comment in the Father's Love Letter touches on the truth that some people misrepresent God. We don't fully understand the love and affection of God. We see it as conditional - the way we love and have affection for others and ourselves. We have a tendency to think God is angry or disappointed in us because of our sin, though we are His children.

This misrepresentation is the very thing that causes us to pull away from God. We are led to believe that we must clean up our act before we can really enjoy close fellowship with the Lord and be accepted and cherished by Him. The truth is...God is not disappointed with you. He sees you as you will be. He sees the end of the story. You ARE seated in the heavenlies with Christ(Ephesians 2:6). In God's eyes, that's past tense. He isn't surprised and disappointed that you aren't perfect today. He knows the exact day you will give up that bad habit, that poor attitude or that particular issue with which you struggle.

I explain it like this. Imagine seeing a video of your child doing something horrid when they were three years old. Now, your child is a lot older and has turned out to be a great kid. When you watch that video of your child at three - perhaps biting another child. Are you mad at the child? No! You see the end product. You see the video and you are not disappointed. You know when he will quit biting. You are confident in the child's future.

Well, guess what! God is also confident in your future. He isn't mad at you. This misconception is what keeps us from really drawing near to God. We think we are too messed up. That's exactly what the enemy hopes we'll think. Because it's actually through spending time with God that we are transformed, that we are changed from glory to glory.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians3 :18

It's so important that we not portray our Father God as displeased, angry and disappointed to our children. Let's accurately portray Him as a God that is full of mercy and love. Full of compassion and pity. Full of grace and blessings to all who draw near to Him through Christ. He doesn't want us to clean up our act before He will fill us with the joy of His presence. No, He will clean up our act as we are filled with the joy of His presence.

Merry Christmas Eve!

2007-12-24T09:16:00.001-05:00

Every family has different ways of celebrating and opening gifts. My family has always opened all our Christmas presents on Christmas eve. Santa was reserved for Christmas morning. My husband's family opened everything on Christmas day.

We've tried both ways and I find I'm more comfortable with opening presents on Christmas eve. We don't really do Santa, except stockings; so, we open all our presents tonight and the kids get their stockings in the morning.

The most important thing, though, is the reading of the Christmas story tonight. When the kids were young, we had them act it out. It was cute. We have video of it. Last year, we had a Christmas pageant, where the kids all performed something they had prepared. We didn't do anything for this year, but we'll probably have worship and sing to and for Jesus.

I bought my husband a new guitar for Christmas. It's an acoustic with an amplifier. I gave it to him early. He's so excited and is thrilled with the sound of it. He played worship at a Christmas party we attended on Friday night using it. It was really special as my seven-year old did a solo to Be Thou My Vision while he played. So sweet.

I pray every one of you has a wonderful, blessed Christmas full of peace and joy. Remember to seek Him who came to redeem you, give you life more abundant and peace that passes understanding - peace that does not require happy circumstances and joy that resides deep within.

He is faithful and a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him.

Our New Tradition

2007-12-23T19:36:00.000-05:00

This Thankgiving, I started a new tradition that will be done on Thankgiving and New Years eve every year.

I decided that it would be so special to keep a record of what we were thankful for each year and what our goals were for the year ahead. So, because I used to be a scrapbooker in my former, pre-homeschooling/bookwriting days, I went to Michaels (forgive me all you CM consultants) and purchased a large Scrapbook. I spent some time to make a creative page for the Thankgiving thankfulness cards. Then, on Thankgiving (actually, the day after because I forgot about it in the midst of all the cooking, etc.) I gave each member of my family a small card to write out the things for which they were thankful that year (or in general, but mostly for that year). Then, we took turns reading our cards. I then pasted each card onto the Thankgiving 2007 page in the scrapbook.

For the Goals page, I put our Christmas card as the decor. On New Years, we'll all sit together and record our goals for the New Year. I have asked them to begin thinking and praying about them. I may put an envelope on the page and just insert them inside, I'm not sure.

I think it will be a huge blessing to look back over the years at what was in our hearts at the end of each year. I know it would be neat to see what they thought (or I thought) three years ago. So, I'm sure it will turn out to be a really blessed tradition for the kids.

Traditions really help build family cohesion and unity. If you have any great traditions, please post them on the comment section! (My comments take a little time to post, so don't panic if you don't see it right away.)

Christmas Chit Chat

2007-12-18T09:43:00.000-05:00

Our Christmas break started some time last week. One morning, I woke up and decided, "We're on Christmas Vacation! Get all these books in the cabinets; I don't want to see them again until next year." So we did. I considered making them continue with their math studies, fearing they would forget the new material I labored to teach them. Then I realized that we all really needed a genuine break; I could just reteach it if they forget. It's not going to kill me.

However, I am requiring my boys to be creative over the holidays. They love making movies and I think they are quite good at it. So, I assigned them to three hours of movie making per day. This is great for them and it keeps them from wandering around the house starting fights with the others out of their boredom (Idle hands and all). I've discovered that bored boys often choose to be bad boys. LOL.

Another thing we are doing is watching Christian movies on Netflix. They have this thing where you can watch movies online if you have an account with them. It's on the front page of Netflix. You click on Watch Instantly and then in the box on the right you click on Faith and Spirituality. You can find a lot of great documentaries and movies that highlight faith in God. We watched a short short film called In the Arms of Angels. It's a true story and is really touching. We also watched Seven Alone. It's an old movie about the Sager children that crossed the Oregon Trail alone. The book (On to Oregon) was better, but the movie was good and stayed fairly true to the real story.

The girls are out of ballet, which makes my life so much easier. Ballet is such a blessing in our life; but it has really caused me to put many projects on hold because it's so time consuming. I have to remember, though, that this is my oldest daughter's dream and I want to give her every chance she can get to reach her big dream of becoming a ballerina.

While we break, I'm preparing talks for a women's retreat that I have been asked to do here in Georgia. It's such a blessing and priviledge and I want the Lord's guidance on everything I say to these sweet women.

I'm also working on my extremely belated newsletter. My newsletter fell by the wayside during my father's illness and death; and in my hurry scurry to finish Zoology 3, I could not get to it until now. The focus is on Character Training and giving our children a heart for God as homeschoolers. It's almost ready, but I plan to wait until January to send it because that's when we really need a new vision. If you haven't yet signed up to receive it, there is a box on the right that you can fill in your email address to sign up.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to spend time with the Lord, seeking what my goals for the new year will be. What do I hope to accomplish this year? What are my spiritual goals? What goals do I have as a mother? Goals for each of my children? What are personal goals that I have for our family, our marriage, Fulbright Publications, for writing, for blogging, for speaking?

I have found that if I don't write out my goals, making them somewhat formal - I am less likely to accomplish them. I also have found that if I make goals in the flesh, I'm less likely to accomplish them. Goals should be made when I'm prayerful during a quiet time with God.

I'm not a super "set goals" kind of person. Yet, when I have done it, I have seen them come to fruition, more so than when I just "hope" we will do certain things this year. Frankly, it doesn't make much sense to me. Perhaps there is some spiritual law at work; I don't know. All I know is that whenever I have set goals in the past, I've been able to complete the necessary steps to achieve that goal. It's odd. Maybe it causes me to be more focused, less likely to get sidetracked or comitt to things that will steal my time and ability to reach my goal. I'm not sure why it works.

Thus, because of my own personal case history, I will be setting goals for the new year. I hope I have encouraged you to do so. It would be awesome to hear that you fulfilled your goals as well.

Keep the Testimony

2007-12-05T10:26:00.000-05:00

"If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore." Psalm 132:12

The children of Israel didn't keep the testimony, the witness, of all God had done for very long - and found themselves in bondage. But here we read that if only they would have kept the testimony - repeating the miraculous works of God on their behalf to their children and their children's children - they wouldn't have lost leadership. All throughout the Bible, God tells the children of Israel not to forget, to build memorials to His work on their behalf so that future generations will know what God has done for them.

When the stories of God's mighty works are told, it builds the faith of future generations; they begin to think that perhaps God will also do that for them. But when they are not told, when the divine works and ways of God are not recounted, doubt and unbelief are given fertile soil.

It's funny how we so easily forget the miracles of God in our lives, the answered prayers, the near misses (Why do they call it near miss when it was a near hit but actually missed? Strange.), the obvious angelic intervention in our circumstances. We all have them in our history. They are part of our testimony.

Are we keeping the testimony? Do we repeat these stories or have we let them fade into the background of our life story?

I believe that part of Israel's problem was that they did not often tell of these stories, these miracles, these amazing interventions of God on their behalf. They didn't tell their children and their children didn't know what God was really like - a God who delivers us in times of trouble. Sadly, even they who had been delivered forgot these things and did not remember the loving, caring nature of God. They didn't want to serve a God that isn't loving and caring and doesn't help them when they are struggling. God tells us in Hebrews that He was angry with that generation because they didn't know His ways. His ways are so wonderful, yet they thought He was not.

Our own children are in danger of having misconceptions about God if we don't oft repeat the testimonies of His work in our lives. Those stories are the testimony which gives our children something to stand on, something to ground their beliefs and faith on, something tangible - their family history, their own personal knowledge of God's ways and stories they can hand down to their own children.

I encourage you to spend some time in prayer, asking God to remind you of all that amazing miracles - from the red light that saved you from arriving early and missing a special meeting with someone to the scripture you read or sermon you heard just when you needed it most. Have you experienced healing - emotional, spiritual or physical? Were prayers answered that seemed impossible?

Write these things down and share them with your children. Keep the testimony of what God has done in your life. It is part of your children's heritage. Don't let it fade into the past.

Not only does keeping the testimony give our children a heritage, it also gives them weapons against the enemy and keeps them free from spiritual bondage just as the Israelites were kept from physical bondage if they kept the testimony.

"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony" Rev 12:11

Signs and Seasons is having a Christmas Sale

2007-11-15T14:40:00.000-05:00

Classical Astronomy is have a Christmas sale on Signs and Seasons. This is a fantastic astronomy course for middle school/high school students. If your kids are ready for a deeper look at the night skies, this book is perfect.

I got a chance to read through the galley copy when I was on vacation and enjoyed every minutes of it. Jay Ryan has done a great job. I plan to review it in the spring, but in the mean time, here is a miniature review I wrote that you will find on the back cover of the book:

Signs & Seasons presents clear explanations in a captivating writing style that is peppered with interesting and little-known facts, as well as activities that make it all very concrete and applicable. I’ve never seen a better explanation of the spatial and geometric relationships of the earth and the heavenlies. This course is perfect for any middle school or above student ready for the next step in understanding astronomy. They are sure to become wiser as they discover the lost skills that served as the foundational learning of the early scientists from Ancient Greece to the Colonial era. I highly recommend this book as a follow-up to my Astronomy course, and one that will take the student further with their studies, giving them a near perfect understanding of the expanse of the heavens and God’s purpose for astronomy.

Also, while you are over there checking out the book, be sure to sign up for Jay's astronomy newsletter. You'll be the first to hear of approaching comets, eclipses and other night sky phenomena.

Steps to Self Learning

2007-11-13T17:48:00.000-05:00

Students that have developed a foundation of good character (no, not perfect children, but those that have a conscience about doing the right thing) and have gained personal responsibility for their education, with an eye set on the future, are prime candidates for self learning.

The first step to moving toward self learning is to carefully select curricula that is well suited for self education. This means that the course can be used by the student alone, once they have grasped how it should be done. You see, after your child has learned to read (a teacher is often needed full time for this accomplishment) they are ready to read to learn. Adept readers are ready to begin the process of learning on their own: reading the text, the instructions and doing the work on their own. This process happens gradually as you begin to hand over the reigns of the course work to your child. Of course, your child must understand the importance of self education and that self education is a skill that will enable them to succeed at whatever they endeavor in the future.

Some curricula are dependent on a Teacher's Manual. Generally, those courses were not designed by or for homeschoolers or those who understand how homeschooling works. Homeschool curricula that is specifically designed for homeschoolers will teach to the student with the assumption that the student can read the entire thing on their own to learn the material. However, an older student can incorporate the teacher's manual into the course if it's not too interwoven into the days lesson. When my son completes a math lesson, he shows me the work. I give it a once over to make sure he's on track and then tell him to go check his answers in the TM. That's very easy. Yet,, some courses require the TM to present new material and perform little scenarios and teaching sessions.These are not suited for self education and are difficult for a student to incorporate into the course.

When I am at the homeschool conventions, I look carefully at the curricula to make sure it can be done by the child on their own. Even if I intend to read it to them or do it with them, it is best if the child can still take the reigns during those periods when life gets hairy (I'm sure you know what I mean.) After all, just because Mom gets too busy to focus on science, history or math does not mean the child needs to be. In essence, the curriculum should be easy to use, easy to implement and it should be fairly painless to complete a lesson and move on to the next. Don't you just hate it when you can't finish a lesson because you still have to do something that is too hard for a busy mom to do before you have learned all that needs to be learned in the lesson? Ugh. If it's a project or experiment, that's easy to skip and keep going with the lesson, but if you have to present a little ditty that will be used in the next lesson.... that's tough on a homeschool mom.

When you are first starting the process of self learning, you will gradually ease your children into the material. With my elementary kids, I begin their courses each year fairly involved (I'm so excited about school starting that I have the energy to be fully involved). We discuss how they would transition without me on each lesson. We discuss how the lessons are organized, how the material should be handled and what is expected of them. Then, as the days and weeks progress, I slowly begin to allow more autonomy. I'm still around, checking their progress most of the time, but they begin to do it on their own.

Much is accomplished by reading. I use narration to ensure their retention of the material they have read. If they complain that they don't know what to do or don't understand, I ask for a narration of the text they read. If they don't know...they were not reading attentively and I have them reread it. Usually, this fixes the problem. Sometimes, a lay person's explanation is in order. If I have to re-explain the text too often, it's time to shelf it and find something that works for self learning.

For other work, I check daily until I feel they are ready for less intensive oversight. Within a month, the older elementary students (3rd or 4th grade and up depending on the kid) are almost completely on their own for most of their work.

There are some subjects that need more oversight than others during different phases of a child's academic development. When you are working on a new algorithm, like long division, you may have to sit next to the child every day until the procedure is mastered. When you are teaching new skills and new concepts, you want to oversee the process and make sure there is a level of mastery before you leave the child on their own. Leaving a child on their own too early will result in frustration for the child and a lack of progress, as well overseeing subjects that don't need a lot of oversight.

Further, there are some courses that mom simply delights to do with her children, like history and science. This is understandable as we are usually learning as much as they are (if not more). That's great. What I normally do for history is assign separate reading books (historical fiction or read alouds) that correspond with the time period. They will read these as outside reading and narrate to me each time they have read. For science, have the oldest child take charge of and do the experiment with the other children.

There are a few courses out there, like Shurley English, which have a great deal of value for a student. Frustratingly, they were designed to be extremely teacher dependent. It just so happens that this is the way Shurley English wrote the program for homeschoolers. They obviously didn't know how homeschooling worked or they would have written it to the student, not to a teacher. Nevertheless, there is curricula like this that we may want to use. So, if you choose to do something that is teacher intensive, think of a way that it can be maximized. For example, I waited an extra year to do Shurley so that I could do two kids at once. I'm teaching to the older student, but the younger is keeping up.Also, I do it later and only once in the elementary years.

Other ways to maximize teacher intensive curricula is to combine lessons for the lecture portion, and allow the course work to be completed over a few days. Also, you can get a class or co-op together and get the added benefit of social time and sharing of the teaching role. There are many ways to make it work with less stress.

There are three exceptions to this progression from learning to read to reading to learn. First, some students are simply not ready for this level of responsibility even after they have learned to read. Some personalities are slower at maturing to the a steady self learner. This student is often extremely bright and inquisitive. They don't trust the normal flow and structure until they are personally convinced of its merits. They tend to need more guidance, direction and oversight because their personality is not as easily molded into the diligent student mode. They tend to question decisions and the benefits of uninteresting academic pursuits. They also have the ability to focus for long periods of time on that which is extremely interesting to them. They may frustrate easily. Further, their mind can wander quite rapidly. This child is the sanctifying child that will grow your patience and character. I know because I have one. This child will be trusted with independence quite a bit later than typical kids. Most of these unique kids are ready to be independent by sixth grade if you don't neglect devotions and training them to be led by the Spirit and not the flesh and you help them understand that their future is dependent upon today.

The second exception to an easy transition into self learning is the learning disabled student. Be assured that students with learning disabilities will become independent learners. They need more time for everything. Focus on the basics, read aloud, get educational videos for them to watch, get a subscription to learningstreams, allow him/her to explore the world and learn outside of the box. Don't force academics before they are ready.

Some students are not LD, but are simply late bloomers. Just because your child is a late bloomer, doesn't mean they are learning disabled, or that you are a bad teacher or they are hard kids to teach. Just wait a year or two or three; they'll catch up. No sense in making them think they are dumb by continuing to introduce information and concepts that their little mind is not ready to digest. Rest assured that they will eventually catch up with their peers. In high school, no one will know who learned to read at four and who learned to read at eleven. Doing algebra in high school, it won't matter that they didn't grasp subtraction until fourth grade. It just won't be important.

I'll post more on scheduling next blog. I hope this was helpful!

Character

2007-11-09T14:32:00.000-05:00

After the last blog post, I was asked how we train character in our household. Before I go on with moving your children into Self Learning, I will quickly address this.

The most important thing I have done is beginning our mornings by reading a devotional, the Bible, prayer and discussion. These morning moments are so valuable and can last from ten minutes to and hour and a half, depending on the topic and how deep we go with the subject matter. They are typically about thirty minutes.

We have used a variety of devotionals. When they were very young, we used Leading Little Ones to God (skipping the activities at the end of the lesson and sometimes doing more than one reading). As they grew, it was more difficult to find a devotional that worked for my homeschooled children. Many of the issues encountered in kids devotionals and books were not relevant. So, I opted for adult devotionals that were designed for adults that are young in their faith or perhaps even seekers, such as The Purpose Driven Life. I also chose devotional books designed for teens that were not dumbed down or full of the situational commentary my children may never face, such as A Life God Rewards for Teens.

In addition to these morning moments with mom, where their hearts are being molded by Truth, my husband reads books to the boys at night that are designed to train their character (Usually, that is; most recently he read the Iliad and the Odyssey, but they did discuss character and the lack thereof found in these Greek's lives). Further, we spend a lot of time talking, talking, talking about what is expected of them. On going discussions about character, choosing well, how choices today affect tomorrow are part and parcel of our day. We talk about their future, what they hope to do and what it really takes to get there. We talk a lot.

Of course, when they are super young, we do less talking and more behavior modification through rewards and punishments. As they age, discussions are more and more appropriate. We find it most beneficial to discuss their behavior when they are not misbehaving. This way it is done when they are not feeling emotional and they can rationally think about the way they treat one another or become convicted about doing the right thing before temptation strikes.

We feel strongly that the family should be a safe haven for the children, a place where they feel loved and accepted. It's easy to fall into patterns where a particular child is "always in trouble." Those patterns need to be broken through positive words and a few days (or even weeks) of overlooking issues and sins. This gives the child a chance to climb out of the pit and begin walking on a new path. Children should feel like they can succeed - they can behave well, they can live up to the standards we and they have, they are able and it's not too hard. This is most easily accomplished when the people around us truly believe in us, they think good thoughts about us and are looking at our successes, not focusing on our failures. Just as God delights over us with singing, we should do the same with our children. A stern and unaccepting attitude will not inspire a child. I have a lot more to say about this, but that may have to be another blog post.

Let's see...there are other things we have done to work through character issues. I have a list of resources. I do plan to get my next newsletter out that will cover this very topic - Bible and Character. It's been delayed, but it will be out before Christmas. If you aren't signed up, you can put your email address on the link to the right.

Tomorrow, I'll blog more about moving a child from Dependence to Independent Learning.

Laying the Foundation: Moving Students from Dependence to Independence

2007-11-08T12:37:00.000-05:00

The process of moving a child from dependence upon you as a teacher to independence, autonomy and the self sufficiency of self learning is different for every child.

Obviously, children that are not yet reading need a lot of supervision. The same is true when teaching elementary students new concepts. Also, when a student is struggling with a concept, such as long division, the teacher (though she may have moved into the role of coach) will need to stand over the child as they work through the formula until they completely understand the algorithm and can do it on their own.

Yet, the question remains, how do you move into the role of coach and from coach to facilitator, and finally mentor. This is done in a deliberate fashion over several years. There are several keys to promoting independence in your children. I will discuss one of the keys, perhaps the most important one today.

In order to move our children into this next phase of independent learning, we need to spend the better part of their younger years teaching character and instilling a sense of personal responsibility over their lives and future.

Character is key. Many homeschool parents neglect Bible time and character discussions over academics in the early years; this is usually because of fear. They are afraid the child will fall behind their peers and such if they spend an hour on Bible and character each day, or neglect school to train the hearts of their children. They tend to overlook small indicators of poor character in order to move forward academically. They hope they'll grow out of it one day. Sadly, a child that has poor character in elementary school is in great danger of having even worse character (when mom isn't around) in high school.

On the other hand, a child whose heart has been trained is able and often willing to fly ahead of his peers academically when it really counts: in high school. Thus, the early years are extremely important for building the foundation of character. Poor character (lying, cheating, little white lies, small dishonest acts, sneaking, unkindness, rudeness, curtness, anger, laziness, sloppy work habits, rolling of the eyes, incomplete obedience "I forgot" or disobedience) should be considered very serious in the early years.

If these character flaws are considered more important than math and English, your child will be enabled to excel in math and English when they reach a more mature age. Otherwise, school work will always be a struggle for them their whole lives. Poor character training will result in a student that cannot be independent because he or she does not have good habits.

A child should be taught that they must be trusted. They must always, always, always be truthful, especially when mom is not around. If they would sneak an M&M from the bowl when you left the room, you need to work on character. This is usually best trained through reading good books, discussions and pleadings with your child to consider their actions in light of God, Satan, truth, character and the person they hope to be one day.

We explain to our children that the man (or woman) they will be as an adult is decided by them today, day by day, moment by moment, decision by decision. Each time that they choose right over wrong or wrong over right, they are laying down the structure of the man they will be as an adult. We have very serious discussions about this. I tell my little children that if they lie to me today, it could affect their entire lives. If I can't trust them today, I will not trust them to have their own car, to have a job outside the home, to live away at college. They see a big picture of their lives. If they say that they didn't leave the milk out, but they did, and I learn that they did: I can't trust them anymore and many privileges are immediately revoked. This I do for their own good because when they are teenagers, they will think twice about saying their going somewhere when they know they should not. Let your kids know early on how important it is to be trustworthy. You need to trust them completely. We explain that once you lose trust, it is so hard to earn it back. Discussions like these are ongoing in our household. The children understand these things well.

Another important value we pass on to our children is helping them understand that they are ultimately responsible for their education and what they do with the life God has given them. They are responsible to learn; and that it will affect their entire lives if they don't grasp that truth early. No teacher is responsible for a student's education. She can lead them to water....but the student, whether at home or at school, has always been the one that is truly responsible to attend to the material they are given to learn. If they choose to neglect their education today, at nine, ten or eleven years old, they are choosing a hard life for themselves, a hard future. Yes, sometimes people can change their course. Yes, God is merciful. However, it's a much harder road to have to change the course and habits you set for yourself than to lay down good habits and work harder today for an better tomorrow.

Thus, our older children all feel a certain level of responsibility to work diligently whether they are still being taught by me each day or have moved to being coached or are now independent self learners.

I believe that moving to independence is first begun by laying down these foundational mindsets in the home. A child that is honest and obedient and believes he is accountable to himself for his choices and that his choices can very easily affect his future moves much more readily into the role of an independent self learner than a child that has not been empowered with this knowledge.

Self Learners in the Homeschool

2007-11-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

As the ideas of self-learning begin to take hold in the homeschool community, I've been asked to share some practical tips on how to move your children into a self learning lifestyle.

Let me begin by saying that I feel the biggest problems we find in government and private schools is that the student is taught to be dependent upon someone else for their education - they are not given autonomy over their work. They never feel responsible for their education because someone else spoon feeds them and checks to make sure that the entire bite was swallowed. If it's not, they are given a grade and labeled. If they do, they are given a grade and labeled. It no longer becomes about knowledge and learning, but rather about who is the best at opening wide and swallowing.

The reason homeschoolers are being courted by ivy league schools and are excelling in college over their peers is because most, through the sovereign hand necessity, have become autodidacts: self learners. Mom hands them the book and the Teacher's Manual and tells them to go learn. They study, do the work, then check to see if it was correct. They have no reason to cheat, for no one is looking at their answers on a daily basis. Chapter tests are all mom oversees and the child is ever mindful that the proof will be in the SAT pudding served up in 11th grade. With this autonomy, the student is empowered and given charge of their lives, their future and their education. They feel good when they do well, not because anyone else thinks they did a good job - no one really knows but themselves. They become self motivated learners, motivated by their personal and private sense of achievement.

Homeschoolers do not need a teacher to stand over them and teach material, telling them what will and will not be on the test (so that they can pick and choose what to store in their shortterm memory). They do not have an authority figure over them, making sure they have done their homework, bringing swift punishment when it's not done.

Homeschoolers in high school do their work because they want to learn - they are self motivated because they know there is no other way. They see the future and know what it takes to get where they want to go - they are not as focused on peers, relationships and popularity. Their world does not revolve around today's interpersonal issues, but rather on reaching the goals they have set for themselves.

Now, all of this does not happen over night. A student doesn't go from being spoon fed their work, with mom checking over every problem and standing over them all day, to an independent self motivated scholar. It happens gradually over a period of years, as mom moves from teacher to coach to facilitator to mentor.

Over the next few days, I will be blogging on how to achieve the desired outcome of producing independent learners.

Tune back in!

Live and Learn Press Review

2007-11-02T10:58:00.000-05:00

When people first began making lapbooks to correlate with my books, I harkened back to our lapbooking days. In my mind, they added more work without benefit. However, I am now changing my tune as my daughter has been using the Live and Learn Press Lapbook/Notebooking approach for upper level Apologia and I am seeing immense benefits.

First, what I like about the Live and Learn Lapbook/Notebooks is that the folded books are placed on card stock that is put inside a notebook. So, you actually have a notebook, not a folder. Notebooks are easy to store and they maintain the aesthetics of your bookshelves. I like aesthetically appealing bookshelves - it's one of my idiosyncrasies. Also, the Live and Learn book folds are very clearly explained, making the folding process rather simple and not so time consuming. Further, they are visually appealing.

As I mentioned, I never understood the purpose of lapbooking, except to cut and paste and have fun, fun, fun. However, I can now say that there are actual advantages to this approach. My fourteen year old daughter simply does not like science. She doesn't hate it; she's just a very artsy person that is glad other people are scientists - not her. She's happy for plastic, cell phones and all the wonderful inventions of science - she's just not really that interested in how it's all done. She's a ballerina, you know.

So, when I saw the Live and Learn Press product that went along with the Apologia book my daughter is doing, I realized this was a way to integrate the artistic, visual appeal into the drudgery of upper level science for a non-science kid. We began using it this year. With the making of the books, and recording the information inside the books, my daughter was reinforcing her learning and adding a visual cue to help her remember the information. The real test, however, would be her score on the module tests. Lo and behold, she earned perfect scores (or near perfect) on all three of the tests she has taken to date! I am certain the Live and Learn Press minibooks and notebooking method has really helped.

So, I began to think about how these folding books would help students using my books - the Elementary Apologia series. Instead of making more work without adding benefits, I now believe these folding books are very beneficial. The student will quite enjoy writing their answers to the questions inside the little books they have made; and as their notebook becomes full, reviewing the material is as fun as reading a pop-up book - reinforcing retention!

Thus, I can highly recommend the Live and Learn folders for helping your child succeed in science - both the elementary and upper Apologia courses. I think they are a marvelous invention. I'm thankful that Debbie allowed me to test the product with my own child because it's going to make her high school transcript look much better!

Curriculum Review: Sonlight 100

2007-10-29T14:32:00.000-05:00

My fourteen year-old daughter is doing Sonlight 100 this year. I have never been a Sonlight user because of the rigid structure of their lesson plans. I'm generally not a rigidly structured kind of person. However, I love that structure for my daughter, who is learning to be completely independent with all her studies. It is extremely helpful for her, giving her clear guidance and direction with each day. She is told what to read, how much to read and then has a list of questions for each book she has read. She writes down her answers and then checks in the TM to see if she answered correctly.

The reason I chose Sonlight 100 is because it is a very in-depth study of American history. As many of you know, my daughter plans to be a ballerina (which generally does not include the typical college track of most kids), so we plan to begin acquiring college credit through high school by taking the CLEP tests. Our plan centers around taking a course that would teach to a certain CLEP test and then studying for the associated CLEP. Thus, Sonlight 100 would correspond with the American History I and American History II CLEP tests.

Sonlight 100 has them work through Hakim's book series. She then reads the questions, commentary on the book (which often discusses Hakim's slant and her errors, as well as helps them understand the politics about why Hakim wrote what she did.) She is also reading several historical novels that correlate with the time period, which also includes questions and commentary. As well, she has a Bible class, with several books that teach her spiritually along with missionary stories, etc.

When she first began this course, she had trouble with answering questions after she had finished the reading. She is and has always been a phenomenal reader. So, it was not that the reading was difficult, she was simply not used to having such in-depth, specific questions asked of her after she read. She was used to narration and notebooking, which are great techniques that developed different skills. So, this amazing reader, who was devouring books from the time she was six years old, needed to learn how to read a book critically.

At first, she found herself reading the chapter twice in order to answer the question. She then spent a few weeks reading and then answering as she went along. Now, through this practice of answering critical questions about the book, she has learned how to be an alert and attentive reader - and can answer the questions after she has read the selection without referring back to the book. She simply needed to be trained how to read with an alert mind - attentive to every detail, nuance, possible foreshadowing, etc.

So, I am very pleased with the progress she has made so far with Sonlight. The best part is that I gave her the CLEP American History I practice exam, allowing her to answer only the questions that relate to the time period she has covered. She answered 100% of those questions correct. I'm very excited that this course may be all she needs to pass the CLEP exam. (She did study American history for the last two years, however; which, I'm sure, increased her understanding of what she is learning this year.)

Thus, as this point, I can highly recommend Sonlight 100.

Our Birthday Tradition

2007-10-26T20:06:00.000-05:00

Every family has traditions. One of ours is happening right now. Let me begin by giving you the history:

When I was a young mom, my best friend, Heather, told me of a tradition her mom used to do. Every birthday morning she would go downstairs and find the kitchen decorated with streamers. She knew how special she was and felt so special all day. So, I, having but three little children at the time, found this to be a great idea. But I wanted it to be even more fun. So, I began the tradition of decorating when the child went to bed. They would wake up in the morning to decorations IN THEIR ROOM along with all their birthday presents and donuts (we are healthy eaters, so this was like candy). Their birthday essentially became like Christmas morning.

However, as they got older, they no longer went to bed at 7:00. And frankly, I simply did not have the stamina to wait until they fell asleep to decorate their room; these little homeschoolers (like many I know) were late nighters. Okay, so I decided to decorate the kitchen after they went to their bed, setting up a wonderful surprise when they came down in the morning.

Then, as time wore on, this task became increasingly more difficult as their bedtime got later and later (can anyone relate?). When I was dog tired, I found myself decorating the kitchen until later than my bedtime, until (drum roll, please) the kids suddenly decided that THEY wanted to decorate the house for the birthday child. I helped the first few years - showing them the special techniques for making streamers twist and how to place them just so. Now, they do it all. Every year, as these kids get older, the decor gets more elaborate, creative and exciting.

Last birthday, they set up a trap where the birthday child could not get into the kitchen (where all the donuts and presents gleamed in the distance) unless they broke through a barrier of paper - whereupon thirty ballons were positioned to fall on their head.

It's a fun tradition we have. My only worry is that they will one day find it disappointing to wake up and find that their college roommate or their husband/wife has not decorated the house in honor of their birthday while they slept. Am I setting them up for hardship later on? Well, at least they'll have great memories of their family on their birthday.

You are Royalty

2007-10-18T14:03:00.000-05:00

Did you know that once you received Christ as your Lord, you became a child of the King of all creation? Not only that, you are a princess (or prince) - true royalty.

When we become royalty, we must have a total shift in how we think of ourselves. No longer are we insignificant, nor do we need to strive for feelings of importance or value - we are important, valuable and significant. We don't ever have to feel less than special - for we are supremely special as children of the King.

How does a prince or princess feel about him or herself? They generally believe they were born for a purpose and with special significance in this world. Well, guess what? That's you!

God, the King, has given you, His child, a purpose in His Kingdom.

It's as if you were once a slave out in the field. In the distance, you could see the Big House, the house where the King and His children lived. Then, one day, the King and the first born son came out and brought you into the house. He chose you out of all the field hands to be invited in, not just as a guest, but to be adopted into the family and to share in his inheritance. He accepted you in the beloved and finds you acceptable, and special. He wanted you so much - not just for a visit - but to be with Him forever.

I think a lot of us, though we are now sons and daughters of the King, true royalty - having a glorious inheritance and all the promises that only the children get - still feel like we did when we were out in the field. We still feel fearful, rejected and unimportant. We still feel insignificant and like a failure. We still feel unacceptable.

However, when the King brought us in from the fields, he gave us a new name, a new identity, a new life. The King finds you so acceptable, so precious that He actually delights over you with singing. You are like a precious jewel to Him! You bring Him joy, just because you are you - not because of anything you do or don't do. He brought you in and rejoiced over you when you were still wearing field clothing, still filthy from all that you used to do. He loved you and thought you were so precious even then - when you were a real mess. How could He not feel the same way about you today? Indeed, He does! His face lights up when He looks at you.

You are a special, royal member of God's family. Believe it. Receive this truth and bask in the love, significance and value that are yours forever and ever.

Journaling

2007-10-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

One thing we have implemented this year is journaling.

I did not allow the boys to journal last year because their spelling was atrocious - they couldn't even spell "they" or "where" or any of the common words found in a typical journal entry. Charlotte Mason taught, and I believe, that children should not be allowed to write misspellings as it ingrains improper spelling into their minds. I think this is true for some kids - maybe the visual learner, whereas others are less affected. So, I did not allow my children to write in journals for fear of further ingraining misspellings.

After we knocked out the common words with my Spelling Solutions program, and made even more headway with spelling through Phonics Intervention, I felt it was time to begin daily journal entries (this is in addition to copywork).

They now write a paragraph or two each morning about something of interest to them. I usually look over it and pleasantly talk with them about punctuation and spelling ( I don't say anything if they misspell large words). I'll ask them, "Where does the period go?" I might also explain why a comma would be necessary here or there. I'm not critical of their writing style or the content (even though I don't just love to read a whole page about how hard it is to win at Zoo Tycoon).

With these journal entries, I can actually watch their writing progress over the weeks and months. Our short and sweet discussions on grammar have served to compelled them to apply the correct usage more regularly. I'm noticing capital letters at the beginning of sentences as well as periods where they belong.

I've also noticed that the physical ability to write has improved for both of them. They began by writing three sentences in each entry (with some moaning) and can now write a whole page without whining a bit. The muscles for writing need to be exercised and once they are built, writing isn't such a chore.

I am one of those people who regularly kept a journal through junior high and high school. I believe that journaling nurtures the writer within. However, I don't believe that journaling produces good academic writing; it does, however, make it easier to produce academic writing. As they journal, they are truly learning to regulary apply the rules of grammar they have learned and becoming proficient at writing lengthy pieces. These are two necessary ingredients to producing quality academic writing.

My goals for my boys this year (ages 9 and 11) were that they would learn to spell and learn to write papers, essays and reports. I am pleased that we are well on our way to achieving those goals.

Because of the success I'm experiencing with the boy's writing, I have also implemented journaling with my seven-year old daughter. She's a natural speller (a typical girl) and, though she does quite a bit of copywork, really needs to be challenged to write more. I've already noticed that her ability to write has also improved.

When she did her copywork, her writing was beautiful and perfect. However, when she wrote notes to me or others, her words were all smacked up next to one another with no separation and they were all different sizes. She would throw capital letters into the middle of a word and begin with lower case letters and the like. She was accustomed to producing excellent work when she did her copywork, but was unaccustomed to putting forth effort in personal writing.

I strictly required her journal entries to be done with excellence (Can you hear the whining?). It was hard at first because she had to do a lot of erasing (with an insulted expression on her little face); but after only a few days of this, she began to work harder on her writing. I believe this new practice of working with diligence and meticulous effort on her journal will positively affect her writing in other areas as well.

I would love to hear from some of you who with older students who required your children to journal. Would you consider them reluctant writers, or do they enjoy writing today? I'm really curious to hear personal testimonies on the effects of journaling in the homeschool.

You can post a comment or email me at jeannie@jeanniefulbright.com

Lively Latin

2007-10-12T10:29:00.000-05:00

Another course that we are enjoying this year is Lively Latin's Big Book of Latin. Although this course is new and not yet in hard copy print, I think it is a great parts to whole Latin course.

I am using it with my eleven year old son, but have decided that my fourteen year old daughter would benefit from it as well. She is doing Cambridge Latin (a whole to parts course), but I feel the simple and concise explanations found in Lively Latin are very helpful to an overall understanding of the Latin language. So, I added it to her schedule.

We decided to teach Latin in our homeschool because it is difficult to teach a living language without a native speaker exposing the children to conversational language on a daily basis. If my children want to learn a living language, I think Latin will give them a foundation that will make it easier to aquire other languages. Also, there are so many great Latin courses for homeschoolers and so few courses for living languages that are effective and appropriately priced. Also, Charlotte Mason believed every child should know Latin. Last but not least, my son wants to learn Latin because he wants to be a scientist and believes Latin would be the most helpful. Thus, we are pursuing Latin as our foreign language. However, I'm not beginning my children until sixth grade as there are so many other things to learn before sixth grade that are more important, and a sixth grader is more independent with every other subject, so that makes it easier on mom.

I like Lively Latin's approach because it really explains some of the most basic things, such as gender, declensions, inflection and endings in a way that is easy to understand. The program is not teacher intensive, although I stay involved because I'm learning along with him.

Each lesson has a set of vocabulary words that are to be put on index cards and memorized, along with its gender, a set of chants that include declension endings which can be heard on the website so you know that are pronouncing them accurately, as well as a whole series of exercises, history lessons and picture studies. The website also has online games for each lesson to help the kids learn their vocabulary or whatever new material is being presented.

There are 15 lessons, each one quite lengthy, colorful and well organized. Lesson 1 begins with an explanation of nouns, an explanation of gender, a set of vocabulary words, the first declension chants and lots of exercises to get the kids familiar with the vocabulary and the first declension, as well as a history lesson on the origin of Rome. Lesson 2 goes into the cases (Genitive, etc.), by lesson 4, they are learning verbs and reading short Latin phrases, by lesson 8, they are writing their own Latin sentences and by Lesson 13, they are translating very short stories. I think it's a great progression for a beginner Latin course using the parts to whole method. As an aside, I also think the whole to parts method is great because the kids begin reading Latin right away, so I have added in some Cambridge Latin into our week to give my son some fun with reading Latin.

Lively Latin's Big Book of Latin costs $55.00 and comes in a PDF file as an eBook. It's several hundred pages to print, so you might wait until it comes out in hardcopy if you want to purchase it.

Saxon Phonics Intervention

2007-10-11T10:29:00.001-05:00

Well, we’re a few months into the school year. Most of us are now finding out what is working and what is not working for school. So, it’s time for a little curriculum review. I’ll begin with the program I’m using to help my struggling reader/struggling spellers. It’s called Phonics Intervention, strangely published by Saxon Publishers. Why do I say strangely? Well, because it just does not seem like a Saxon product. The author was a special education teacher that wrote the curriculum based on her need to find an effective way to teach her own struggling reader how to read. I can honestly say that it is very well done.

As many of you know, one child of mine is dyslexic – well, I shouldn’t say IS dyslexic. Dys means “hard or difficult” and lexia means “to read.” So, perhaps I should say is overcoming dyslexia, for he is well on his way to reading like a pro. It’s just been a long, uphill hike; yet, I feel we are reaching the pinnacle of the high alps we needed to climb to get him reading and spelling. I can honestly say that Saxon’s Phonics Intervention will play a major role in moving him into the right direction.

After using my Spelling Solutions program, which enabled my son to spell the most common words found in the English language, I knew it was time for him to relearn phonics, as he had missed so much in his early years. I didn't want to do a basic phonics program; he needed something that honored his intellectual maturity, while still teaching the basics that he missed in K - 3rd, when he was struggling to see the words on a page clearly (Dyslexics generally see words swimming around on a page, not sitting still as we see them).

Saxon Phonics Intervention moves much more quickly than Saxon Phonics for K-3^rd , teaching to an older audience. The assumption with the program is that you are using this with an older student (5^th grade or older) that still cannot read or spell well. It’s an intensive phonics program using coding of words, spelling tests and reading comprehension assignments. It also adds in vocabulary (which you could skip, but my kids LOVE) as well as alphabetizing. It’s not a complete grammar program, as it doesn’t not teach grammar rules, such as capitalization and such.

Since we started the program, I have seen a marked difference in my child’s ability to spell. I can’t speak to the reading aspect yet, as we were already making immense progress with reading.

It really surprised me that coding words helps the struggling speller. I don’t think a normal reader/speller needs to spend the time and energy on coding words as it does expend a lot of time and energy. I know there are a lot of programs that require the child to code words. My good speller never did anything like this and actually never even learned the “rules” for spelling; she simply spells everything perfectly well (I’m always asking her how to spell things). However, for an older child that doesn’t spell well, the act of coding words helps them immensely. I’m doing this with both of my boys (ages 9 and 11).

I can see a difference in their spelling across the board. Coding helps, I believe, because they spend time with each word, becoming familiar with the words, understanding the rules of spelling by actually doing something tangible to represent different spelling rules. This activity seems to ingrain correct spelling as well as the spelling rules into their brain, which apparently translates to other similar words.

If you are not familiar with coding words. Here is an example: They are given the word BRAIN to code. They underline the digraph AI, put a macron over the A and cross out the I – showing that the digraph AI only sounds out the long A, and the I is silent. If they are given the word HUNTER, they will put an arc under the ER showing that it’s a combination, and they’ll put a breve over the U showing that it’s short. They will also separate the word into syllables and write the VCCV pattern under the letters. It’s a lot of work, but seems to really make something click in their brain.

So far, this has been one of the most successful programs to teach spelling for my dyslexic and my struggling speller that is not dyslexic (and I think I’ve tried every single program out there).

Saxon Phonics Intervention is pretty expensive, over $100, and the program requires a lot of you, the teacher. I don’t normally recommend teacher intensive programs, but if you find that your child in sixth grade or above is really and truly unable to spell the most basic words, this program is a must. Most children naturally “get” spelling some time during fifth grade or before. So I don’t recommend you make the investment in both money and time unless there really is a problem.

Resurrecting Your Dream

2007-10-09T13:28:00.001-05:00

Do you have a dream in your heart? Is there something you have always wanted to do, but just haven’t found your way to do it? Is there some special desire that keeps creeping into your thoughts, something you shelved years ago. Or maybe it’s still in the “someday” category. I believe God has given you that dream and wants you to seek Him for its fulfillment.

I blogged about our children having been created for a purpose; this week, I felt I should also address the fact that YOU, also, have been given a calling, a special intention for your days on earth. As homeschool moms, we are co-laboring with God on behalf of our children. Yet, for us, that’s not the only objective God has for our lives – most of us will live for another forty or fifty years beyond our homeschooling days. If you don’t have some special interest that you would love to pursue, I believe God will give one to you one day.

When I first became a Christian, I thought it was selfish or wrong to want to accomplish the dream that was in my heart. I didn’t realize that God was shining His light upon my little unsaved heart and guiding me into His purposes for my life. A few years after I found the Lord, I gave my dream to God and told Him I would let it go for Him. As I did, I felt an assurance from God that the dream was His, not mine alone, and He would bring it to fulfillment. It was if I could finally relax, and let God bring it about. My dream was to write a book. Now, God had to refine that dream. I wanted to write a novel in my younger years, and a Bible study in my older years. God continues to work on and refine my dreams. My job is to maintain a close walk with Him so that I stay within the center of His will for my days, weeks, months and years. I can be like that little lamb that gets drawn away by the interesting things on other paths. Thankfully, my Shepherd always comes and finds me and steers me back onto His perfect path. Then, I stray again…but that’s another blog. I want to talk about you.

What if that dream doesn’t seem like something that is ministry oriented? God created us in his image and He has passed on His own creativity and ingenuity to us. When Adam named the animals, he did so to the glory of God. When Abel reared his cattle, he did so to the glory of God. When the Proverbs 31 woman made and sold belts and sold real estate and looked after her servants, she did so to the glory of God, using her special gifts and talents with excellence. God is glorified when we express His character, His creativity, His beauty and excellence in the things we do. I’ll never forget the phrase in Chariots of Fire when the mother said something to the effect of, “You can glorify God by peeling a potato for Him.” Indeed, Eric Liddle glorified God when He ran in the Olympics.

What is that special calling He has put in your heart? What is that dream? As we enter into relationship with the Lord, spending time in His Word, in prayer and fellowship, He will begin to reveal His purpose. He will refine the dreams that you have rustling in your heart. Then, as we seek Him for strength, peace and power, He will move us (sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly) into that place where we joyfully fulfill the purpose He has for us, and find satisfaction in Him as we walk along the path He has carved out just for us.

But what about defeat? What about failure? Do the failures you experienced yesterday still haunt you, making you afraid to dream again? Remember that a righteous man may fall seven times, but rises again. Don’t let your past failures keep you from pursuing the purpose God has for you.

It’s time to allow God to resurrect the dream that has been buried all these years. Allow it to come to the surface again so that you can place it into the hands of your loving Father. He will reshape, refine it and make it even more beautiful. He will then hand it back to you as His special gift to you, His beloved child.

My Shepherd

2007-10-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

In Bible study last week, we learned about all the names of God mentioned in Psalm 23. I was so touched by each one, but my favorite one to really ponder was God as my Shepherd.

The Lord is my Shepherd. El Rohi.

A good shepherd knows his sheep by name and cares for each and every one of them. Like David, who fought lions to save one single sheep, God fights the enemy to save us from his evil clutches. Like the good shepherd, David, God will not give up until his lost lamb is safely back in the flock, following the paths to the green pastures and the quiet waters.

I'm sure you've heard how innocently stupid sheep are. Sheep, though they have a brain, apparently don't use it the way other animals do.

They don't know the right way to go, the right things to do; when abundance is only a few feet away, they'll wrestle each other for the scraps found at the bottom of the trough. When their leader is missing, they'll forget how to walk the path they have taken for years to the pasture . They go astray often. They are easy prey for the wild beasts.

The difference between their understanding and human understanding can be likened to the difference between our understanding and God's. This is why God tells us to lean NOT on our own understanding...we need His.

We are like sheep to God. Like sheep, we need a shepherd to guide us and lead us.

Speaking of Jesus, Matthew says,"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

Matthew 9:36

Though we sometimes think we are intelligent and capable of running our own lives, our tendency is to go astray, be led astray and fall into a pit or the mouth of a lion.

"For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

1Peter2:25

Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

John 10:11

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Isaiah 40:11

"For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Revelations 7:17

I admit it...I'm just like sheep. I am so thankful that the Lord is my Shepherd. I so very much need a Shepherd.

Our Shepherd promises to lead us and guide us.

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

Isaiah 42:16

"For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end."

Psalm 48:14