We are entering into our 5th year of homeschooling and I can't believe it! What once was never, ever on our radar has become a fixture in our life. My husband, ever-so supportive, has been a huge cheerleader and champion of our homeschooling journey, despite being the biggest skeptic of them all in the beginning!
Hearts have been changed (praise God), knuckles have re-gained their pinkish color and no longer white, and relationships have been strengthened. With each passing year, God reminds us that our job isn't academic so much as spiritual. This is not to say we don't have high goals in the area of academics but they are not the end result that we are focused on when we wrap up our homeschooling journey!
Curriculum choosing and lesson planning always bring a mixture of excitement and information overload for me! This year was no different but we've settled on our plan for this upcoming school year.
We are very excited to be using this curriculum this year! Having flipped through the lesson plans, we can't wait to get started! Check back for more posts, updating as we go along and move into the curriculum!
(please note: the supplemental items below are of MY choosing; not because I felt POE was lacking but because they meet the needs of my own child and our schedule best).
Learn Christ curriculum. http://www.learnchrist.com/ After attending our state homeschool conference and listening to the creators of this curriculum, I knew I had to implement this!
We are also still working through this curriculum from last year - a chronological study of the books and people of the Bible. If it is too much, we will put this on the backburner to work on Learn Christ curriculum first. Science supplements:
Truth in Science - http://www.truth-in-science.com/
We'll be finishing up this curriculum from last year as we work through the nature studies POE provides. I highly recommend this little known, excellent curriculum!
Just Write workbooks to introduce the formal writing process in bite sized chunks. We will be working through Books 1 and 2 this school year.
English from the Roots Up is something we started a few years ago and let fall due to illness, crazy schedule.. well, just life! The boys enjoyed it and retained the roots well and because I'll have an 8th grader this year, I knew I needed to insert this gem back into our school days.
We are BIG readers around here! My 5th grader... not as much, so I want to add some fun tales to peak his interest more. In addition to the wonderful historical fiction my 5th grader will be reading through POE, I'll be adding these classics to the line-up:
We'll be doing some delight-directed unit studies here and there throughout the year as well but this is it in a nutshell! As always, things can change as we get into the meat of this plan!
Stay tuned for my post on our curriculum plan for our 8th grader!
Join me in seeing what others are doing for their curriculum this year over at www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com
I'm sorry. I can't do it. I've zipped my lips, bit my tongue and buttoned up for far too long but all of this bruhaha... well, I find I can no longer keep silent.
Here are the facts as I've read them:
* Chic fil a donates money to various organizations that promote the Biblical definition of marriage (one man, one woman for life)
* Dan Cathy, upon being asked by a Christian reporter his views of marriage, states plainly that he believes in the "biblical definition of marriage". He further states that he feels that society should be careful in trying to redefine marriage in a differing way then God, implying that we know better than He does.
* Various LGBT groups call for a boycott of Chic fil a upon the discovery of donations being made to support the definition of Biblical marriage
* Several actors and politicians proclaim their disdain for Chic fil a and vow to not eat nor allow them into their cities (which the latter is illegal, discriminatory and INTOLERANT)
* Mike Huckabee calls for an appreciation day on August 1st to support Chic fil a for all those who support Dan Cathy and his bravery in speaking openly about his opinion. For those who believe that marriage, as Christ proclaimed it, a religious ceremony between one man and one woman, a call to show our thanks and support and counteract any negative boycott affects
* LGBT groups called for "infiltration" of Chic fil a to "make them (LGBT) hangouts"; protest outside their buildings; become a nuisance to Chic fil a until they stop giving money to opposing organizations. Further, they've called for the LGBT community to stage a "Kiss in" on Friday (tomorrow), calling for kissing and making out in and outside Chic fil a establishments, as a way to counteract Wednesday's "Appreciation Day"
Here are my thoughts:
1) Believing that marriage should be only between a man and a woman DOES NOT CONSTITUTE HATRED OR BIGOTRY!!! Just because I hold a differing opinion, does NOT mean that I am a "hater". Nor does it mean I'm ignorant, bigoted, or any other name you want to call me. It simply means that I hold a DIFFERING OPINION from you.
I found Dan Cathy's statement to be respectful and positive. Not once did he say anything that was "anti-gay". Only the LGBT community labeled it so - http://equalitymatters.org/blog/201207180002
"Anti-gay philosophy"? Try - an opinion that doesn't agree with yours. Or, Pro-traditional family? It's all on how you spin it. He believes marriage is not for anyone other than one man and one woman.
2) I, as the consumer, do not get to dictate how a company chooses to donate or use their money, once I've handed it over to them. Period. The only thing I can control is if I give it to them in the first place. So, if you don't like where they use their money on the back-end, don't give your money to them on the front end. Simple as that. You don't get to bully, boycott or otherwise, tantrum for how they designate their money AFTER you've handed it over. Period.
Yet, the LGBT community can "give thanks" to those who support their cause without expecting any sort of incident. Notice the last line of the first paragraph - "...by an effort to give thanks to Starbucks for supporting marriage equality". So, it's fine for the LGBT community to stage Appreciation days, just not others. Got it. http://equalitymatters.org/blog/201207110001
3) The maturity that has been displayed in this sandbox tantrum is truly eye-opening. Much like dealing with a tantruming toddler who isn't getting their way, so acts those who would try to protest an "Appreciation day". Come on. Really?! This Chic fil a employee below had more tact and respect and TOLERANCE than this guy had in his little pinky. Grow up. The biggest sign of immaturity is not being able to cope with a differing opinion.
Where are the "haters" and "intolerant", right-winged bigots? Where are the protest signs? Where is the boycott of Amazon? Where is the Twitter and Facebook comments calling for the pressure to be put on Amazon (or Starbucks or Microsoft... to name a few) until they change their stance?
I guess there wasn't a huge bruhaha made because people with DIFFERING OPINIONS than Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates believe in the 1st amendent still and, disagree as we may, still have the right to hold an opinion that differs from mine. And I don't have to launch a protest or boycott to make that known.
I'm getting pretty sick and tired of hearing those in support of same-sex marriage call me and fellow traditional marriage opinion holders "bigots", "ignorant", "haters" and... wait for it... "intolerant". Really? Shall we review the definition of "intolerant" because I'm seeing a whole lot of it against those who happen to believe the Biblical definition of marriage. I'm seeing a whole lot of intolerance launched at Chic fil a, NOT because he made a negative comment against the LGBT community, (in fact, he never speaks of any group, organization or lifestyle),but that he stated his opinion, like mine, is that marriage, defined by God, is between a man and a woman. THAT'S NOT HATE. That's a DIFFERING OPINION.
I don't jump down your throat when you express your thoughts on same-sex marriage. Nor do I look at you as though you've grown a third eye. I don't shun you and I certainly don't call you names. I happen to hold a differing opinion than yours. Civilly. Respectfully. Humbly. Many who've known me for years know that I rarely speak about political and cultural issues (unless you count pop culture, then I speak about that).
I simply believe that marriage is sacred. Sure, I agree with those who scoff at this. Has marriage been made a mockery over the past decades? Yep. By Christians and non-Christians alike? Yep. Yet, that doesn't change the position of marriage just because broken humans messed it up. To God, it is still sacred.
Jesus described marriage between a man and woman as His relationship to the church. It is a sacred unification. For those who take God's word and try to apply it to their life, it is very, very serious.
Just as a Ramadan is a sacred ceremony and tradition for the Muslim community, so too is (or should be for those entering it) marriage for a Christian couple.
Let's face reality... the rite of marriage is exclusionary. It always has been. Laws prevent more than one person from being married to others at the same time. Exclusion. Laws further exclude marriage of certain ages, between certain ages. Exclusion, right there. What about family members? There are laws forbidding siblings, 1st cousins, etc. from entering into marriage as well. It is because marriage was designed to be between ONE man and ONE woman. And if we add on a zinger that might make some squirm - marriage between that one woman and man is supposed to be FOR LIFE. Those are Jesus' words. That is not my rule. It's God's. He set it up that way.
So, where are the Polygamists trampling down the door for equality in marriage?? Where are the old men wanting to marry that 13 year old?? Where are the two 12 year olds who are convinced they have found their soul mate?? They have been excluded from the ceremony of marriage also. It is because marriage was created and set up with clear boundaries (found all throughout the Bible). (I'm NOT talking a civil union, recognized by the state here either. I'm talking about the sacred act of marriage). Because some don't agree with those boundaries, we then must do away with them. I suppose because one community doesn't have a sacred tradition, none of us can. I suppose to hold a differing opinion nowadays is considered hatred. To hold to a belief that one believes to be true is cause for name calling, and a whole bunch of label slapping. So, I hold a differing opinion than you. Does that actually make me a "hater"? Or intolerant? Or a bigot? Because I disagree with you? That's sad. And intolerant.
Yes, sirree! I survived a week without the boys. Sure, I missed them. I wondered what they were doing, how they were behaving, what they were learning. I even hoped they were having fun! Knowing they were in capable hands, I enjoyed my time to refresh and clear my brain! Sadly, I had two (yes, two!) dental appointments that week but all in all, a great week!
The boys came home a little sun-burned (ok, one, a lot burned) and bubbling over with stories and funny happenings to tell. They deepened friendships, developed new ones and added a new layer of spiritual maturity to their demeanor. The Biblical truths each walked away from camp with were awesome.
I missed my boys but enjoyed time with my beloved, time to myself and time to catch up!
Both of my boys left for church camp today. BOTH of them.
(why, yes, my son does have blue hair. Team spirit!)
Josh, my oldest, is a pro at this week-long camp thing. Between his stint in scouts and other church camps, this is not his first time away. Jake, however, has never been away to camp. He is a ball of nervousness and excitement!
(my oldest is a MUCH happier person than it looks; just not when a camera is around)
While I have my fleeting mom moments of worry, I couldn't be happier for both of my boys to experience this time with God, time with great friends and great leaders/friends in our church. I hand them over to people I trust and who love my children and care about them... as a family should. In reality, though, I hand them over into God's hands. He will protect, lead and stretch all of us this week. I am excited for them for I wait expectantly to see how God will use this week.
Josh and one of the leaders, an amazing woman of God, teasing him! Love it!
Our awesome youth pastor! He rocks!
Jake, his friends, and the great camp counselors from our church! Great group of people!
My prayer for both boys is for friendships as deep as David and Jonathan forming on this trip.
I pray for faith as solid and un-moving as Peter and Paul's. I pray for the godly examples that are the adults that have sacrificed their time to help my children know Him better. I know my life was forever changed by a persistent youth pastor and his wife. I pray that they return home with a renewed heart that responds "I am here" as Samuel did. Mostly, though, that they would unashamedly bow before the One who formed them and saved them and that, whether all or none go with them, they'd desire to go it alone, anyway.
I am confident that they will both have a memorable time and I hope, life-changing.
Yet, this mama, through these little experiences like this, is learning to let go. I'll be honest.. it's sad and a little painful.. similar to lifting a band-aid off skin very slowly. It is easy to forget in their little years that our purpose as parents is to train them to leave us, to "Go into the world...". The world says our goal is to raise them to be successful but God says our goal is to teach them to be followers and fishers of men. The success part, I'll leave that to God to handle.
So while it stings a little, I must remember that the boys are not truly mine. They don't truly belong to me. They belong to Him. I could snatch them out of His hands and bubble wrap them and never let them out of my sight or experience life but I know I would only accomplish stunting and debilitating them. Trust me, I've tried this a few times. Major parenting fail here. Don't try this approach! Besides, a mother's heart isn't to hurt or hinder her children but we must be careful our parenting tactics don't do that very thing. I know my heart is not to handicap my boys from the life they were called to live... I want to help them achieve it. And that begins... by letting go.
In all truth, though, my mom heart aches.. not to keep them home with me (ok, maybe a little) but to slow down my time with them! It is speeding by so fast. It seems like just yesterday I was teaching Jake to talk and helping him walk and now, he walks out the door, away from me and Chris, on his own.
And this is a great thing. It really it is. Josh has these deep thoughts and opinions that he came up with ALL ON HIS OWN! When did that happen?! :)
So, while I stay behind and fill my days with overdo tasks and some overdue rest and relaxation, I know confidently that when I let go and let God take over, amazing things are going to happen! My prayer is that my boys will be forever changed this week as they meet Him in a new environment and in new ways!
First time at camp; last one to leave! Love, love my boys!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
A little Saturday morning encouragement... (ignore the the last 13 seconds where it turns into an ad)...
If you don't see the Bible in this way, I challenge you to examine why...
Don't presume it is just words on a page. Absolutes. Authority. Purity. Self-denial. Heaven and Hell. A Savior. The redemption of fallen humanity. Forgiveness. Holy. Righteous. Sweeter than honey and finer than gold. It's a map. It's a light. It's a mirror. It's a sword. It's a hammer. It is perfect and trustworthy. It is living and active and.. if you're spiritually dead... it will bring. you. to. life!
Even though we just wrapped up the school year only a couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd get a leg-up on prepping for this upcoming school year. I began with printing out the work of Path of Exploration for my soon-to-be 5th grader. You will definitely need a good printer for this curriculum OR plan to purchase the student notebook. I opted to print out the worksheets, maps and games since we have a reliable laser printer.
As the printing began, I felt more and more excited for the next school year to begin! I don't know whether it's the history courses that each of my boys will be taking (Josh will be working through Mystery of History Volume II - the Early Church and the Middle Ages) or if I just genuinely enjoy organizing (or both), but I found myself reading many of their assignments! Not so much with the math curriculum. :)
Well, I did it. Almost a month ago, I deleted my Facebook account. Now, some of you may be thinking, "Big deal". Others may be thinking, "Are you nuts?". And a few of you have verbally said to me, "Come back!". :)
Yet, I can't. I am unencumbered. I am free.. and I can't go back.
I left Facebook for so many reasons. Reasons, perhaps, too lengthy to list here but I'll attempt to, anyway. Things like drama that rivaled high school (and I did NOT "do" nor tolerated drama in high school why would I want to allow that in my life as an adult??), unhealthy comparing and competition, and a mode that not only fosters shallow friendships but turns real friendships into.. well, a convenience. No longer would I have to pick up the phone or shoot my friend an email and see how she was doing. I could just read about it on Facebook and be all caught up... and never reach out.
Which leads me to ask the question is Facebook now how we maintain "real" friendships? I think not. I would often leave Facebook feeling successful and accomplished for "maintaining" a friendship when in actuality, I made a fleeting comment. Hardly 'salt and light' in the world, you know? Because, the thing is, I'm not actually IN the world. Facebook is a pseudo-world. I'd much rather give a positive comment to a friend in person. I'm much rather catch up with someone over tea. I'd much rather invest myself in a few good friends than 200+ friends that I never or rarely see, let alone, have difficulty maintaining relationships with all. For me, I need the face to face, one on one time. A passing comment spoken every once in awhile or silently following someone doesn't make them part of my current life or spark a deeper friendship.
Investment. That is what creates meaningful relationships. Fellowship. Truth. Laughter. Hugs. All of these things that make up a friendship, I haven't really found on Facebook. Please don't misunderstand my words. I'm not saying I didn't have great friends on Facebook. I'm saying my great friendships haven't been made or maintained via Facebook. A cyber-world can't do what the real world can only do.
Besides, while glued to the computer voyeuristically (is this a word??) reading about other people's days, vacations, drama or what they ate (??)... what opportunities am I missing that God is putting right in front of me? A new neighbor that needs a welcoming smile and conversation? A child who is nursing hurt feelings for feeling secondary to mom's "friends" in the computer? An opportunity to spend time with a real, live person??
This cyber-world has proven to be too heavy for my heart. I have seen more hurt feelings, misunderstandings, misinterpretations and complaining in this pseudo-world than I care to entertain. I became weary of the load that negativity was placing on me. Yet, like a train wreck, I couldn't not watch. Person A would post inflammatory comments or even brazen comments not normally said in a face to face conversation but then Person A would be hurt and offended when Persons B, C, and D would give their opposing opinion or equally brazen words on Person A's thoughts. And I would ask myself, "Really? You didn't see that coming?" And the complaining. Oh my! Friends that would never miss a moment to criticize and complain about... anything. You name it... it was fodder for complaining. This is not something I want to read. Any of it. This is the very stuff I want to guard my heart and mind from. I don't want to entertain a negative spirit. This, and so much more, weighed me down. It made my heart hurt.
Not one that typically compares myself to other or is competitive, I would find myself slipping into this mode often.. much to my surprise. Let's get brutally honest here for a second.. I can't write this without mentioning the competitive spirit that exists on Facebook. It drives the motive of many a status and page. The spirit of "My __________ (insert vacation, husband, children, spiritual walk, talents, finances, etc.) is better than yours "is oozing out of Facebook. To be fair, I know that is not the intention of all, however, recognizing this as a common theme caused me to look deeply into my own motives for what I would post. Was it to boast? Was it to make myself superior in knowledge, faith or economic status? Was it to present a perfect life where nothing bad ever happens? I really had to examine my motives of WHY I felt the need (impulse, really) to post what I felt I should/could/would.
Then, there is the competition of the number of friends or likes one has. Even if this competition is just in our head, it is still dangerous and stirs up insecurity and assumptions. Sadly, though, it is not just in our heads. I've heard many a friend and blogger hang their hat on the number of friends or followers they have.. and their self-worth is tied into that number. This makes me so sad for our worth doesn't come from a cyber-world or how many "likes" we get or how many people follow our blog. Our worth comes from the One who gave His life, seeing us as worthy enough to do so. To save us from ugly death.
However, the most groaning that came from my heart is the reality of how Facebook was changing me. Sure, I can look at the behavior of others and point a finger but the reality is, I didn't like who *I* was while on Facebook. The time lost, the opportunities lost, the jumble of feelings that would knot up in my stomach when walking away from Facebook, my motives... all of it just wasn't right. I didn't like me when I entered this cyber-world. Frustration. Hurt feelings. Assuming one thing when the truth of the situation was something else. Insecurity. Jealousy. Slighted. Ignored. Facebook had become an idol.. without my even knowing it. It became a constant fixture in my life that eclipsed many real-life friendships and the relationships with the people God put right in front of me. Too much time was given to this world that doesn't really exist.. and, for me, not a healthy world. It became a distraction to the life I was called to live.
Yes, we all joke about the time-wasting but my heart hurt over my personal mis-use of the time given to me. The truth is I will stand before my Lord one day and answer for how I have used my time (among other things). I'm pretty sure Facebook won't rank up there as a task that constitutes "redeeming the time".
Oh sure, for a long time I justified that this world was real. It gave me a chance to reconnect with long lost relatives or friends... and let's face it, Jesus is all about relationships! Right? Right? I justified that I was "sharing" my life and interesting information with my "friends". The truth is posting what I'm doing this weekend or a funny thought from my kiddos doesn't get me any closer to my Facebook friends or relatives. I didn't walk away with stronger and/or restored relationships. I walked away feeling more disconnected and feeling that I had a whole lot of friendships without deep roots.
I had to ask myself if Facebook enhanced and grew true friendships? OR my relationship with God? Or detract from them? For me, the answer was detract. and distract. No bueno.
So, I threw off that which hindered me and entangled my emotions and time. I have walked away.. and it feels good. This has been another step of healing for me. The friends and family who are my friends know how to contact me. They know where to find me. I did lose touch with some dear people to me... my youth pastor and his wife; old friends that have moved away and I don't have contact info. Yet, for my sanity and spiritual health, I had to quit cold turkey. So that I could be rid of the internal conflict and negativity that embraced me.
And I am free.
No turning back. No turning back.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
