I spent this summer vacation actively teaching my kids, more so than any other year.
One of the resources I just started using is a workbook from Heart of Wisdom Publishing titled, WISDOM: An Internet-Linked Unit Study
by Robin Sampson.
We have only been using the book for two weeks now and are still on the first chapter titled, Choosing the Wise Path.
Each chapter uses a four step approach, Excite, Examine, Expand, Excel.
The Excite portion gets you interested in the topic.
The Examine portion uses scripture to teach us about the topic (God's Wisdom) and suggests additional resources to read; books and interactive Internet resources. Many of the recommended resources are older books and not easy to find in our local libraries. They do show how to purchase them on-line. It seems modern literature is not suitable to teaching on this subject. Many of these books look like great additions to a home library, especially for homeschooling parents.
The Expand portion is research or project work that allows the student to write essays, make charts, and do critical thinking.
The Excel portion summarizes what we have learned and shows us how to apply it in our own lives.
So far, we have learned the difference between Lady Wisdom and Mistress Folly, read Proverbs 2,3,4,14, made a consequence chart, painted a picture of the two paths we can take and what is waiting at the end of each one, read Numbers 11:1-12 and made a Chart of their unwise decisions and consequences, read the book of Esther and understood her wise decisions,and wrote our own prayers asking for God's wisdom.
The program is geared for 7th thru 12th grade but my 6th grader is doing just fine. I just change things up a little to accommodate her. There is just so much listed in the book to do and you can pick and choose what works for you.
I am learning right along with the girls. We've been blessed to have other resources unknowingly support our learning, too. When we are traveling in the car, I always have Christian Radio on and last week Nancy Leigh De Moss had a few segments on the wise vs. foolish woman. Also, right after the girls wrote their prayers asking God for wisdom, my 6th grader was reading in her Red Rock Mysteries book, and Ashley in the book prayed to God for wisdom. There have been other connections, too. It's been amazing to see how God is building this information in layers in the hearts of my daughters.
I'm sad to see the summer go and the school year to start. I will miss our learning together, our projects, and our conversations. I will miss seeing my daughters hearts changing and growing right before my eyes. Learning is not just about gaining head knowledge but also about heart transformation. We will continue with the book but now we have to do it in between homework, school activities, youth group activities, etc.
I hear many moms say, "I can't wait for school to start, the kids are on my nerves and we just need time apart." I use to think the same thing this time of year, but not so this year. I really will miss the girls and our precious time together. I wish they didn't have to go back and we could continue to learn together.
Our next chapter, Worldly Wisdom. I can't wait.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
ObamaCare will put Planned Parenthood inside your child’s school
ObamaCare will put Planned Parenthood inside your child’s school
What will Christians do with this one?
What will Christians do with this one?
U.N. Recommends Mandatory Sex Education for Kindergarteners
U.N. Recommends Mandatory Sex Education for Kindergarteners
Things like this make me want to skip kindergarden (and 1-12) and homeschool instead.
Things like this make me want to skip kindergarden (and 1-12) and homeschool instead.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Vacation Weekend
We had the great fortune of being invited to a cabin on a lake in Northwestern Wisconsin this past weekend with my husband's family.
My husband got to jet ski which he thoroughly enjoyed!
My 11 yr. old learned how to Kayak and for the first time in her life was able to go tubing behind the ski boat and ride on a jet ski. Even our 1 year old went tubing!
It was a beautiful weekend with great hosts and great company!
We really feel blessed to have had the opportunity.
My husband got to jet ski which he thoroughly enjoyed!
My 11 yr. old learned how to Kayak and for the first time in her life was able to go tubing behind the ski boat and ride on a jet ski. Even our 1 year old went tubing!
It was a beautiful weekend with great hosts and great company!
We really feel blessed to have had the opportunity.
Red Rock Mysteries
My 11 yr. old daughter found a wonderful book series by accident at the library this past spring. She has spent the summer reading the series. As soon as she finishes a book, we have to get to the library right away to get the next book in the series because she can't wait to read what happens next.
Red Rock Mysteries is written by Jerry B. Jenkins (writer of the Left Behind Series) and Chris Fabry and is published by Tyndale Kids.
The series is about a boy named Bryce and his twin sister Ashley who live in Colorado. They are very investigative and are always trying to solve a mystery which keeps the young reader gripped and always wanting to read on. They are also Christians who share their faith with others and talk about their walk in Christ.
I have found this series to be such a blessing in reinforcing my daughters own faith. It's been amazing sometimes that in real life we'll be learning about an issue, such as wisdom, and then she reads in the book that the character of Ashley is praying for wisdom. She'll scream out in delight as if it's a connecting point for her. She'll have to stop reading and come over and show me what it says. She's so excited that Ashley is dealing with the same things she might be dealing with and she's gaining a deeper understanding of these issues and how to handle them in real life through a vehicle of entertainment - reading a book.
I like the books as much as she does and often read them out loud to her. We snuggle up on the couch and take turns reading. A great way to spend a raining day!
Red Rock Mysteries is written by Jerry B. Jenkins (writer of the Left Behind Series) and Chris Fabry and is published by Tyndale Kids.
The series is about a boy named Bryce and his twin sister Ashley who live in Colorado. They are very investigative and are always trying to solve a mystery which keeps the young reader gripped and always wanting to read on. They are also Christians who share their faith with others and talk about their walk in Christ.
I have found this series to be such a blessing in reinforcing my daughters own faith. It's been amazing sometimes that in real life we'll be learning about an issue, such as wisdom, and then she reads in the book that the character of Ashley is praying for wisdom. She'll scream out in delight as if it's a connecting point for her. She'll have to stop reading and come over and show me what it says. She's so excited that Ashley is dealing with the same things she might be dealing with and she's gaining a deeper understanding of these issues and how to handle them in real life through a vehicle of entertainment - reading a book.
I like the books as much as she does and often read them out loud to her. We snuggle up on the couch and take turns reading. A great way to spend a raining day!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Romans 10:9-10
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10:9-10
I looked up three key words in this passage in Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary (my favorite) so I could better understand this passage.
Confess: to own, publicly acknowledge, or avow
Believe: to be persuaded of the truth of another; to expect or hope with confidence
Justified: Pardoned or cleared from guilt; acquitted from punishment
Do you believe that Jesus is the son of God and that he died for you?
Have you made a personal decision to make him Lord and King of your life?
Do you understand that baptism does not save you and that it is a symbol of what has already happened in your heart?
Is it your intention now to publicly acknowledge him as your Lord?
Is it your intention now to publicly acknowledge him as your Lord?
These were the questions posed to us right before our water baptism this past weekend.
Our response: Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes!!
Down with the old - up with the new!
On this rock I will build my church!
An act of obedience that we will never forget!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
If You Fully Obey the Lord . . . or, If You Do Not Obey the Lord. . . A Nation Can Expect X
A personal study I am currently doing on God and Government led me today to read Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26. Both these chapters deal with the blessings associated with a nation that obeys God and the curses of a nation that disobeys God. It was an eye opening, enlightening read, to say the least.
It was chilling to see what is and has been happening in America in comparison to what I read in these chapters. Please take the time to read them for yourself.
We, as a nation, need to heed God's wake up call because I would say we are definitely falling under the category of disobedience/curse. I'm not the only one who has felt that God's wrath was our course in these last few years especially but these two chapters really put teeth to that thought process.
Here's a few verses I found particularly chilling due to current events happening in America today.
Deut. 28:43-44 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.
(American use to be a lending country but we are now the country with the most debt, far outpacing any other country in the world. China holds the majority of our debt.)
Deut. 28:49-50 The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young.
(Sounds like the health care plan debate - I'm not sure that is what God meant here but it struck a cord with me.)
Lev. 26:40 But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers - their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies - then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Issac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
We can find hope and comfort in the fact that God does not abandon us to our sins completely. He remembers his covenant with us, even though we have rejected it time and time again. He punishes with the intent to turn us back to him. His anger is instructive and meant to save us by getting us to stop, repent, and turn back to him. He loves us and is faithful no matter what. If we repent he is there to forgive and embrace us again.
Christians, we need to rise up, ask for forgiveness, and begin to turn this country back to a nation that worships God and puts him as our King. We need to uphold our end of the covenant and serve only the One, True God and live in obedience to him.
It was chilling to see what is and has been happening in America in comparison to what I read in these chapters. Please take the time to read them for yourself.
We, as a nation, need to heed God's wake up call because I would say we are definitely falling under the category of disobedience/curse. I'm not the only one who has felt that God's wrath was our course in these last few years especially but these two chapters really put teeth to that thought process.
Here's a few verses I found particularly chilling due to current events happening in America today.
Deut. 28:43-44 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.
(American use to be a lending country but we are now the country with the most debt, far outpacing any other country in the world. China holds the majority of our debt.)
Deut. 28:49-50 The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young.
(Sounds like the health care plan debate - I'm not sure that is what God meant here but it struck a cord with me.)
Lev. 26:40 But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers - their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies - then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Issac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
We can find hope and comfort in the fact that God does not abandon us to our sins completely. He remembers his covenant with us, even though we have rejected it time and time again. He punishes with the intent to turn us back to him. His anger is instructive and meant to save us by getting us to stop, repent, and turn back to him. He loves us and is faithful no matter what. If we repent he is there to forgive and embrace us again.
Christians, we need to rise up, ask for forgiveness, and begin to turn this country back to a nation that worships God and puts him as our King. We need to uphold our end of the covenant and serve only the One, True God and live in obedience to him.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Are You Prepared To Give An Account?
And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
"Whoever sheds the blood of man,by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has God made man.
GENESIS 9:5-6
God is the creator and sustainer of all life.
As the creator, all (Man, animal, nature, systems)are under obligation to obey God.
Our civil governments are under the authority of God.
Our civil governments have been given the authority by God to protect the citizens and to punish crimes.
One of the ten commandments given to us by God is "Thou shalt not murder".
No one has the right to take another life (except in self-defense).
Our civil governments should punish people who take another's life.
When our civil governments encourage this behavior rather than deter it, they are acting outside the will of God.
When our civil governments fail to uphold their delegated authority positions as protectors of life, they will be held accountable by the God who gave them the standard to uphold.
When our civil governments govern based on their own set of standards and not the standards set by the Creator, it does not mean that the Creator is no longer in control.
The Creator sees.
Just as a citizen is punished for breaking the standard of the legal law, so can a lawgiver acting outside the standard set by God by enacting laws that harm human life also expect to be held accountable and punished.
Our civil government officials must answer to God, the Creator, for the laws they have passed legalizing abortion and/or physician assisted suicide.
We, the people, who voted for and chose these men and women as our leaders and have allowed them, and sometimes even encouraged them, to make such laws will be held accountable as well.
We must pray that we, on an individual level, will see the error of our ways and have a change of heart. We must seek God's will, not our own, in all areas of our life. We must raise our children to be God-fearing and teach them to submit to the authority of God.
We must pray that our elected officials see the light and become active once again in upholding the standards of God and begin by removing laws from the books that are in direct contradiction to those standards.
We must pray for new leaders to emerge who are God-fearing and understand the relationship of God as the ultimate authority and that all of life must fall on bended knee before Him.
We must pray that the people will vote for God-fearing men and women and pray for our officials to make wise decisions and properly execute the position of their office.
Our nation must change our rebellious, prideful, and selfish ways. We must strive for personal self-control and let the civil government get back to protecting the people instead of bending to our every whim and desire and allowing us to rebel against our Creator.
Yes, we can blame the politicians, and rightfully so, but we must also blame the culture we have created. The culture of wanting the government to tell us what to do instead of God. The culture of wanting the government to allow us to do the things we instinctively know are wrong. The culture of wanting the government to accept anything as okay and allowing the morality line to shift with the wind.
We must take a stand and say no more to this culture and the rebellion we have created!
We must remember who created us, who gave us life, who sustains us today.
We must rightfully step back and acknowledge we are not in charge and humbly look to our Father for guidance.
"Whoever sheds the blood of man,by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has God made man.
GENESIS 9:5-6
God is the creator and sustainer of all life.
As the creator, all (Man, animal, nature, systems)are under obligation to obey God.
Our civil governments are under the authority of God.
Our civil governments have been given the authority by God to protect the citizens and to punish crimes.
One of the ten commandments given to us by God is "Thou shalt not murder".
No one has the right to take another life (except in self-defense).
Our civil governments should punish people who take another's life.
When our civil governments encourage this behavior rather than deter it, they are acting outside the will of God.
When our civil governments fail to uphold their delegated authority positions as protectors of life, they will be held accountable by the God who gave them the standard to uphold.
When our civil governments govern based on their own set of standards and not the standards set by the Creator, it does not mean that the Creator is no longer in control.
The Creator sees.
Just as a citizen is punished for breaking the standard of the legal law, so can a lawgiver acting outside the standard set by God by enacting laws that harm human life also expect to be held accountable and punished.
Our civil government officials must answer to God, the Creator, for the laws they have passed legalizing abortion and/or physician assisted suicide.
We, the people, who voted for and chose these men and women as our leaders and have allowed them, and sometimes even encouraged them, to make such laws will be held accountable as well.
We must pray that we, on an individual level, will see the error of our ways and have a change of heart. We must seek God's will, not our own, in all areas of our life. We must raise our children to be God-fearing and teach them to submit to the authority of God.
We must pray that our elected officials see the light and become active once again in upholding the standards of God and begin by removing laws from the books that are in direct contradiction to those standards.
We must pray for new leaders to emerge who are God-fearing and understand the relationship of God as the ultimate authority and that all of life must fall on bended knee before Him.
We must pray that the people will vote for God-fearing men and women and pray for our officials to make wise decisions and properly execute the position of their office.
Our nation must change our rebellious, prideful, and selfish ways. We must strive for personal self-control and let the civil government get back to protecting the people instead of bending to our every whim and desire and allowing us to rebel against our Creator.
Yes, we can blame the politicians, and rightfully so, but we must also blame the culture we have created. The culture of wanting the government to tell us what to do instead of God. The culture of wanting the government to allow us to do the things we instinctively know are wrong. The culture of wanting the government to accept anything as okay and allowing the morality line to shift with the wind.
We must take a stand and say no more to this culture and the rebellion we have created!
We must remember who created us, who gave us life, who sustains us today.
We must rightfully step back and acknowledge we are not in charge and humbly look to our Father for guidance.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
What's Your Motivation?
My step mom broke her ankle a few weeks ago. She had surgery to reset it with a plate and six screws and is out of commission for a few months.
A week after her accident, my dad had back surgery. He's laid up for a few weeks.
They cannot do much around the house right now, so my brother, sister, and I have been helping out with meal preparations, house cleaning, laundry, lawn care, and gardening. The grand kids have also been a great help!
My grandparents live right next door to my dad and their garden is right along side my dad's. One day when I was in the garden pulling weeds, my grandma came over to talk with me.
She said that she had decided that either I really liked my parents or that they must have a lot of money and I must want it. This was her conclusion to why I would spend so much time helping out my parents.
I told her neither were the case.
Not that I didn't love them, I did! However, they are not always deserving of that love and I'm not always the most loving person. I'm afraid to say, my love for them would not be enough motivation for me, unfortunately. I also know they do not have any money to covet after.
My answer to my grandma was this.
I love God and God commands us to care for our parents and for our family members.
I am motivated by wanting to please my Lord. When I am at home trying to convince my tired body that I must now go over to my parents to do their work, after I just have done all of mine at home, it is my desire to please God that provides the motivation for me to get up and do it.
My grandma was shocked at my response but she was also shocked at my actual actions over the past few weeks. I know she knows me as the selfish, do as I please, rebel of the family, person of old. To see me in action through this experience, I know she saw something different in me-the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit-a new creation- a new attitude. My actions backed up my response and confirmed for her a difference in me.
She also shared with me that she didn't think her own children would do the same for her and I could see that hurt her.
My dad said it's all in how you are raised. I agree that if we are raised in a giving environment we might tend to be giving people in our adulthood. However, I really believe the defining difference is a life and heart changed by Jesus Christ.
Through this experience I have had an opportunity to witness to my parents, my children, my grandparents, my friends, and my extended family without having to preach. This may open the door to conversations down the road.
A week after her accident, my dad had back surgery. He's laid up for a few weeks.
They cannot do much around the house right now, so my brother, sister, and I have been helping out with meal preparations, house cleaning, laundry, lawn care, and gardening. The grand kids have also been a great help!
My grandparents live right next door to my dad and their garden is right along side my dad's. One day when I was in the garden pulling weeds, my grandma came over to talk with me.
She said that she had decided that either I really liked my parents or that they must have a lot of money and I must want it. This was her conclusion to why I would spend so much time helping out my parents.
I told her neither were the case.
Not that I didn't love them, I did! However, they are not always deserving of that love and I'm not always the most loving person. I'm afraid to say, my love for them would not be enough motivation for me, unfortunately. I also know they do not have any money to covet after.
My answer to my grandma was this.
I love God and God commands us to care for our parents and for our family members.
I am motivated by wanting to please my Lord. When I am at home trying to convince my tired body that I must now go over to my parents to do their work, after I just have done all of mine at home, it is my desire to please God that provides the motivation for me to get up and do it.
My grandma was shocked at my response but she was also shocked at my actual actions over the past few weeks. I know she knows me as the selfish, do as I please, rebel of the family, person of old. To see me in action through this experience, I know she saw something different in me-the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit-a new creation- a new attitude. My actions backed up my response and confirmed for her a difference in me.
She also shared with me that she didn't think her own children would do the same for her and I could see that hurt her.
My dad said it's all in how you are raised. I agree that if we are raised in a giving environment we might tend to be giving people in our adulthood. However, I really believe the defining difference is a life and heart changed by Jesus Christ.
Through this experience I have had an opportunity to witness to my parents, my children, my grandparents, my friends, and my extended family without having to preach. This may open the door to conversations down the road.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)