Apr 9
2002

Greetings from Me and My House,

This kind of goes along with the Biblical Worldview article that I sent recently. I went to a Homeschool Convention this weekend and to a workshop by one of the speakers. It was on Real/Right Thinking (Reasoning). His primary point was that Real Thinking comes through the 3 Rs – and primarily spoke on Reading and ‘Riting. Reading EXCELLENT literature and learning to write properly. He talked a lot about writing essay type journaling. He focused on the forgotten art of Meditation (as described in Joshua 1:8 – as I closed with in the Worldview article). And also brought out that Pro. 9:10 literally says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy is *discernment* (understanding). That’s what we are really talking about in “reasoning”, having good understanding or discernment, as I mentioned in quoting Heb. 5:14. We exercise our senses by *meditating* on His Word and His ways, to gain knowledge of what is Holy.

He talked much about NOT learning about the world through the world’s ways and that we are to be innocent concerning evil, yet not naive. (We are to know that evil is out there and how to discern it, but not details about it.) How to choose EXCELLENT literature – it always portrays evil as evil, never downplays or disregards it, and never gives gory details – just as God portrays it in the Bible. He pointed out (as I have in another article) that satan is the one who wanted Adam and Eve to have knowledge of good AND evil; that was never God’s intent. He only wanted them to partake of the Tree of Life. I.e. God doesn’t believe that “real life” consists of having “knowledge of good and evil.”

As I’m sure you can tell, I really enjoyed this workshop. It so fit in with L.E.D. It seems, that according to this speaker anyhow, we are on the right track for teaching our children “thinking skills” through developing a Biblical Worldview, and reading Excellent, Living Literature and learning to write well.

His recommendation for those wanting a “formal” logic course is “Logic” by Issac Watts (the hymn writer from centuries ago). He said it is the only one that he’s found truly based on the Biblical Worldview, and he (the speaker, Vic Storkle) has written a study guide to go with it. Watt’s also has a second book, and Storkle a second study guide to go with it, for even deeper study. Another person’s review that I have read on Watt’s “Logic” feels it is more philosophy than logic and is best used as an adult’s study of the history of logic. Having never studied the book, I can’t say – but for those wanting to pursue a formal logic course for their highschool students (or themselves), I’d recommend checking it out.

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa

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Mar 24
2002

Greetings from Me and My House,

Developing a Biblical Worldview

The teaching of “thinking skills” has become big in education in the past few years. Although we believe God wants our children (and US!) to learn to think correctly, in fact Romans 12:1-2 tells us that our way of thinking HAS to be CHANGED, as usual I think “school” (the mentality, whether in a government or Christian institution, or at home) has gone about this all wrong. There is a place for Formal Logic and Reasoning to be learned by some – mature teens and adults, but generally, I don’t believe children need to be taught “thinking skills” as a separate class subject.

It’s not that we don’t think it’s important, but rather we believe learning to reason properly is a part of LEARNING in ALL subjects, actually all aspects of Life. It is through the application of gaining Wisdom, in ALL of Life. It isn’t a separate, fragmented class to take, just as “Christian Education” isn’t tacking a Bible class onto your academic curriculum list. It is impermeating, and basing ALL that you learn, with and ON God’s Word. “Wisdom is the principal thing,” for wisdom is thinking God’s thoughts, and there is no higher Logic.

We really don’t focus on “thinking skills” as such, but rather developing a Biblical Worldview, which is just another way of saying “thinking God’s thoughts”. It’s having the same view of an aspect of Life that God Himself has of it. We think this is the most important thing we teach, and our goal in training and teaching our children – beyond loving and knowing Jesus personally, of which this is a part.

I think we’re doing a great job in “giving” our children a Biblical World, through reading that imparts the Scriptural view of things, and our own modeling of “Biblical thinking”. It truly is something WE must develop in our own lives first. Most of us have been thoroughly indoctrinated by our own education and just living in society with a humanist, even Marxist, and definitely unbiblical way of thinking. Many, perhaps MOST, of today’s Christians – even Evangelical Christians – have not renewed their minds and been transformed out of this mindset. We allow this mindset to not only remain in us, but it’s ever increasingly anti-scriptural view to set our children’s way of thinking, too.

That’s why, in several of the last few posts, in talking about “where do we begin?”, I’ve stressed that the parent’s reeducation must be the foundation. Although these articles have focused on transforming our view of EDUCATION, our renewing can’t stop there. Our way of thinking must be transformed in ALL areas – not just education. God has a view and His Word has the answer for EVERY area of life. As Marshall Foster, of the Mayflower Institute says, our goal is not to just raise kids who aren’t pregnant and on drugs by age 18. It’s to raise World Changers, for the glory of God. To do this we must have a transformed, Biblical Worldview AND impart that into our children.

4 simple steps taken from Marshall Foster give us the guidelines to this:

1. Teach the mighty deeds of God – that is History as His Story, the workings of God throughout the ages. Read Psalm 78. Verses 4-7 say: “We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. … which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; …”

2. Read original biographies. These are the true original stories of people’s lives and how God worked in them, including the futility of those without faith in God; not a dumbed-down, politically correct, revisionists view of someone’s life. Read Hebrews 11. 1 Cor. 10:11 says: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

3. “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 1 Cor. 15:33 According to the Word, your children will turn out like who they spend much time with, and other’s bad morals will rub off much faster than your child’s good morals will rub off on them. This includes real people of course, but also TV, computer or video games, and even reading books that have a non-biblical view. Pro. 13:20 “He who walks with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” I could go on and on here, but would undoubtedly get off on a rabbit trail that I will cover more thoroughly in another post. Hint: It has to do with Wisdom and Fearing God, the whole basis of a Biblical Worldview.

4. Make life and home a joyful revolution. Home is the center for God’s dynasty and the basic tool for God’s kingdom to be built. You are the center focus of this. Make your home the center of YOUR and YOUR FAMILY’S LIFE. Make it a joyful place to be. Model Biblical “gender” roles. Develop an atmosphere – provide a good library, historically 60% theology, 40% history. Build culture yourself – paraphrasing Dr. Spurgeon, “Set yourself on fire and your kids will come to watch you burn.” As I said, MODEL IT! God has a purpose and plan, not just for YOUR life, but for your DYNASTY – those you disciple. Deut. 6:3-7 says: “YOU fear the Lord your God, keep all His statutes and His commandments… be careful to observe it,…these words shall be in YOUR HEART. You shall teach them diligently to your children ….” Pro. 22:6 says: “train up a child” – this is a word picture of passing on YOUR tastes and culture to your children. Make sure they are GOD’S! – the way they SHOULD go. There is far more said to our husbands than us moms on this, but Pro. 14:1 says: “The wise woman builds her house…” And Pro. 31:26: “She opens her mouth with wisdom, …”

As I said, by modeling this and giving our children great reading based on a Biblical Worldview, they will *HAVE* a Biblical Worldview. But will they be able to REASON from this worldview? I believe THAT training takes a little more than just reading and having modeled to him. Hebrews 5:14 says: “Solid food belongs to those who are mature, that is those who by reason of use (practice) have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” To do this, we must (and must teach our children to) not just read, but also study and “exercise their senses”. Their reasoning skills aren’t developed just by hearing, but also by practicing. This is accomplished through the 6 Processes of Learning:

1. Receive – taking in information.

2. Record/ Recite – record that information through quoting and through their own words, “parroting back” through Copywork, Recitation, Oral or Written Narration.

3. Ruminate – “to chew on”, think about the new info, relate it to what we already know.

4. Reason/ Relate – to actually process the information and make judgement on it. We MUST have the foundation of Wisdom through God’s Word in order to do this. The 4R method used in the Principle Approach, through Researching what the Word has to say on a topic, “exercises our senses to discern,” causing Wisdom to be gained. God “has given to us ALL things that pertaining to Life and godliness…” 2 Peter 1:3

5. Respond – this is the step of deciding what to do with the information. Toss it totally if it doesn’t line up with Biblical Truth. Keep the “baby” but throw out the “bathwater”, if there is some Truth buried in man’s faulty understanding. Embrace it and make it our own – if it totally lines up with Biblical Truth.

6. Release – communicate the results of the above process, sharing what we’re learned – through discussion, essays, teaching others, etc.

We must TRAIN our children how to walk through this Process of Learning, but it is done through whatever learning they are doing, not through separate “classes” on it.

So, while there is a place for learning Formal Logic and Reasoning “techniques”, I am far more concerned with my children developing a strong Biblical Worldview through ALL that they learn, to not only live their own lives by, but to also be able to present, through God-given Wisdom, from His Word and His Grace (supernatural empowering), His Truth to all who may “ask for a reason for the hope that is in them.”

Proverbs 4:7: “Wisdom is the PRINCIPAL thing, therefore get Wisdom and with all your getting get understanding.” Proverbs 9:10: “The FEAR OF THE LORD is the beginning of Wisdom..” And Wisdom is having a Biblical Worldview. Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” That is probably the key to what we all want for our children (and our own lives), that they/we would be prosperous and successful in God’s eyes, and that comes from developing a Biblical Worldview, by knowing God’s thoughts and thinking like Him.

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa

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Mar 19
2002

Greetings from Me and My House,

Do you want a quick overview for Getting Started with LED? Do you like things laid out in a “1-2-3″ way? Do you want to see what I’m talking about when I say “Learning Map” – an AWESOME way to brainstorm, plan, and outline? We first learned of making these as a pre-writing help many years ago (about 13?) when we used the Weaver unit study curriculum. I don’t remember what they called them, but I was impressed by their usefulness and teaching benefits. Last year I came across the information that there is *software* out there to make designing MindMaps easy, neat looking, and computerized. We tried several programs, and this is the one we liked best and bought. You can download a FREE “viewer” of this program to open the attached Learning Map. [Link lost?]

—————————————————————————
To open the attached map(s) you can download the free
MindManager Viewer.
=========================================

[UPDATE: MindManager was the first mindmapping software we used, and the one mentioned in this article. It was a powerful program, but only available on windows, and quite pricey (for the professional version I liked.)

Since then I have found a couple more mindmapping programs that we like. Inspiration is a program specifically designed for classroom/educational use - and was the best we could find for use on Macintosh computers - and it is bi-platform.

Since then I have also found and like NovaMind better for Mac. It is a fairly new program, originally designed for Mac, and now brand new for Windows. (It's rare that I will purchase a type of software that I already have, unless I'm really impressed with the second.) You can download any of these for a free trial period.

BTW, I had no trouble recieving the substantial educational discount as a home educator. I will warn you ahead of time, don't send for the educational discount coupon until you are ready to purchase. It expires within a couple of days of being sent.]

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa

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Mar 11
2002

Greetings from Me and My House,

Did I promise an article on Routine? Well, let’s see if I can get it done today.

Some people are very structure oriented, some very variety oriented. The problem is that it is very doubtful that EVERYONE in your family is the same one. We must work at finding the right balance of Routine for our FAMILIES not just for OURSELVES. Yes, God gives us our specific family members to balance us. We all have seen the extremes of “schedule obsession” and “too flighty to finish anything”, and none of us want to be like those people. Even if WE are those people, we don’t want to be. And our families certainly don’t want us to be.

How do we find this balance? Let me suggest a middle of the road approach to “Routine” that can be adjusted slightly one way or the other to best suit your family. Although I’m giving this in a step-by-step format, I realize, and I hope YOU do too, that Real Life and Relationships do not operate by formulas.

Step 1) Start by making your list of priorities. This is NOT a lengthy, impossible “to do” list, NOR is it your “life goals” list. This is a list of basic priorities that are important to your family. Perhaps customizing the “7 Disciplines of L.E.D.” will give you an idea to start with. You can see the 7 Disciplines online – http://www.angelfire.com/ne/meandmyhouse/led-7disciplines.html – and more details are given on the “8 Principles of Lifestyle Education” tape. These are specific to our *educational* priorities, obviously other things are priority too; clean clothes, picked up house, healthy meals, husband/wife time, etc. but, in this article we are talking about our education routine, AND, as you’ll see in our example below, we have included most of those other priorities – husband/wife time is not included during the “school-day routine, household chores are.

Step 2) Set a few “checkpoints” during the day. I find that mealtimes make the most effective checkpoints. One reason is that they can be slightly flexible if necessary (unless you have someone that comes home for a certain lunch hour). Other checkpoints can be based on set appointments; i.e. someone has to leave the home at a set time. Perhaps you want to have Family Worship before Dad goes to work.

Step 3) Set up your basic daily Routine upon these priorities. Do them in order of priority, filling in other details as needed. This is the ORDER they are done in, not TIME that they are done. This is Routine, not Schedule. That way if interruptions come, or you have to drop everything for an emergency, you still know that the most important things got accomplished. There is a saying called the Tyrrany of the Urgent; that the important often gets crowded out by the urgent. If we begin and order our day by the most important things, this is less likely to happen.

Let me give you an example, based upon the 7 Disciplines.

Checkpoint #1 – Breakfast at 9:00 – personal devotions and grooming done before. I don’t care what time you get up, just have these things done before 9.

After breakfast – Family Worship (includes Disciplines 1 – 3) then
Daily Chores

Perhaps you want to add another checkpoint – at 10:30 – everyone back to the table for Table Time:
Character Study
Copywork/Handwriting
Free Writing
Life and Learning Skills (any help and training you need to give them, from math concepts to cleaning the toilet)

Checkpoint – Lunch at 12:30 – after lunch:
Family Read Aloud
Weekly Chores
Active work – Learning Experience and Discovery
Individual Reading and Assignments/ Notebook work

After all the above is completed is Free Time, whenever that time comes. Since the afternoon, after lunch and Family Reading, is basically “individual” time, Free Time will come at a different time for each person.

Our next checkpoint would be – Supper – 6:00 – with “Blitz” completed before then (however long before then that you need). Blitz is a quick pick up of house and putting away of all projects.

Perhaps they/ you finished early, before a checkpoint time, go on to the next thing (or if the next thing is a family thing, and not everyone is done and ready, they go on to the next *individual* thing.) If they/ you don’t finish by a checkpoint time, or you get called away from home for a while, pick up where you left off when you get back. If an individual doesn’t finish in time, they finish up before they can have Free Time. If it’s an issue of nobody got done because of an emergency or appointment, perhaps rather than picking up where you left off, you will choose to go straight to Free Time, knowing that what you did do was the most important.

Utilizing a basic Routine like this gives you more Freedom than a clock-based schedule, yet allows you to accomplish more – AND the things that are most important to your family, better – than “flying by the seat of your pants”. And that’s what Lifestyle Education is all about “Freedom and Simplicity™”.

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa

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Mar 10
2002

Greetings from Me and My House,

A List-Mom asked about simplifying High School record keeping for transcript-building, and our products for such. Below is my reply.

Let me explain our Freedom and Simplicity™ recordkeeping – some of it available as “forms” now, other parts to be included in the Lifestyle Curriculum – Or Excellence without Textbooks book (that I will finish in “publishable form” sometime, when LIFE – i.e. being a wife, mom, homemaker, Bible study teacher/writer, home school teacher, …… :- ) – allows me a bit more time. In the meantime I just try to answer questions as they come, individually – locally and email, through our website, and email list.

Anyhow, what we do (and notes as to what is available NOW) – with a focus on high-school recordkeeping, moving from daily records, to long-term planning – is:

Daily Log – This is a journal form, and my preference is for my children to keep it on a daily basis. They write a paragraph of what they did that day. I want this to be in a journal (diary-type) form, not just a list. (They don’t always get it done. : -( )Of course, you could use it any way YOU please. There is a block on the page for each day of the week. (Forms are in either of the Redeeming the Time planners – or we have some discontinued books – a year’s worth of forms, comb-bound – that we are including FREE with any order over $50, or for $5 with smaller order, while supplies last).

Tracking Sheet – This is my most helpful, at a glance form. It lets me see very quickly, just exactly what they’ve been doing. More explanation and a sample form (Word attachment) are in a recent l.e.d. email list post.

As the youth study and learn, they are creating Notebooks – their own personal “living study” of the topic. It will remain their personal reference on the topic, and can be used in the future as their own review or to teach others. These Notebooks though are not particularly for MY use in record-keeping – except in assessing how thoroughly they have covered the topic and put their information together - I use these more to assess such “classes” as Compostition, since these Notebooks contain their compositions and we don’t give further “Compostion” assignments.

Topical Journal – As they “complete” a topic (“class” if you must), they fill out a Topical Journal of it. A simplified overview. It includes a Bibliography of the resources they used (and a check list of whether they took notes/wrote a summary/discussed with parents), a Projects page (giving description, self-evaluation, and parent evaluation). They write a page of Highlights – interesting things they learned, and a Summary page – what they learned, their thoughts about it, etc. – somewhat of a short “term paper” – though not as formal. This is what I use for most of my “assessment”, in assigning a “grade” and “credits” to a Course/Topic. (Forms available – with permission to copy for the purchaser’s own children – for $3.00.)

Most of the other “high-school” documentation we do is through our High School Planning and Record Notebook – what “Lifestyle Curriculum ,,,” will cover. In a nutshell, what it contains is:

Our High School Graduation Requirements – how many credits in what courses and topics

Our Documentation Guidelines – how and where they are to document each area, any requirements for forms to use or things to include in specific notebooks.

Course Record – The forms I use to actually compile a transcript. One per course (with a note of how many credits required), divided into the Topics within that course and the basic requirements and credits for each class, the grade received. We also note “date finished” for each Topic/requirement, if appropriate. Things like “Learn the Bible in 24 Hours” (1 requirement for Bible Survey) have a definite ending date. Things like “Descriptive, Narrative, and Biographical Composition” don’t.

Topic Assessment Criteria sheet – (for appropriate Courses – such as History, Science, Health, Practical Arts) – tells what their grade will be based upon. I have a general one, for the above courses that require Topical Journals, but a few more specific ones for other courses – such as Math, PE – listing what is required to get an A, B, or C.

Learning Maps and/or Topic Record sheets – one for each Topic (division of a Course) – ex. our Bible Course (requires 4+ credits) is divided into the following topics – Bible Survery (1 credit), Bible Doctrine (1 credit), Biblical Principles, Christian Living, Male/Female Roles, and Ministry (1 3/4+ credit), Personal Bible Studies (1/4+ credit.) Each of these Topics (for each course, not just Bible) has it’s own Topic Record sheet headed with the Name of the Topic, and the date the Topical Journal is done. Below that is a list of “assignments” completed, their beginning and ending dates and a place for me to initial. The first few lines (or one or *none*) list any of MY required “assignments” – if there are any books or other resources (this could be ‘other resources’ like, “talk to Grandpa about practical investing”) on the topic that I REQUIRE (noted with an ‘R’) or that I consider excellent, though not required (noted with an ‘O’ – optional). The rest of the page is filled with blank lines for them to fill in resources and projects that THEY come up with and do. These sheets were designed and in use long before we began using the Tracking Sheets, and may now be somewhat redundant. But since these sheets aren’t necessarily turned in every week, I designed the Tracking Sheets to keep me more “up to date” on their progress, and Learning Maps more as planning sheets, to give direction.

My Redeeming the Time planner has several other Education Planning and Documenting forms in addition to all the homemaking forms.

Resources written by Me and My House available here.

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa

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Mar 9
2002

Greetings from Me and My House,

I’m asked often, but rarely share publically OUR curriculum, as we believe that is such a personal family thing. We really believe each family needs to seek God for specific direction for what to do – not what “pre-published curriculum” to use, but for God to write through them THEIR OWN PERSONAL FAMILY CURRICULUM. I have debated within myself for years as to how much to share. The questions keep coming, more and more frequent. (Please orderour “Introduction to Lifestyle Education through Discipleship” and “8 Principles of Lifestyle Education” tapes to know what we REALLY want to share with you, the foundation, philosophy and principles to build your own family’s education and curriculum upon.)

I don’t want any family’s home-education (other than ours) to be dependent on whether I get a complete curriculum “published”, but I am seeing the benefit other families could gain from me sharing outlines of what we do. So many moms have said, “I really don’t want to *copy* your curriculum verbatum in our home, but I’d just like to see what yours looks like to give me an idea of where to start.”

So….. with that in mind, I share with you a basic outline for our Bible Course (taken from our Bible Course Learning Map).

1. Bible Survey
pre-requisite: Read through the entire Bible and
Keep a journal of your devotions (a notebook form we have – “SpiritualJourney”, or something of their own covering similar info).
Our primary resource list: Learn the Bible in 24 Hours, What the Bible is All About, opt. Hayford’s Bible Handbook

2. Bible Doctrine
primary resource: Bible Studies for a Firm Foundation, book list for each topic studied

3. Biblical Principles (Christian Living, Male/Female roles, Ministry)
way too many resources to list, but included are: Basic Life Principles, Advanced Life Principles, Life Notebook and an extensive book list of possibilities.

4. Personal Bible Studies
various types of studies and using Bible reference books – expositional, inductive, word, topical, contextual – also includes Scripture memory
primary resources: How to Study the Bible, How to Study Your Bible, Bible reference books

These Topics (especially Doctrine and Principles) include journals and essays. The Survey includes book summaries and timelines. The Personal Studies are followed in various ways. I give this basic “requirements” and book lists (which aren’t always written, but “on the shelves”) and they take it from there, each completing it in different ways. We have used God’s Priceless Woman before, but I’ve come across many other resources since then, so don’t know if I’ll keep it as “required” or let them pick and choose. I also like to encourage deeper devotional reading (thought provoking) books.

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa

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Trackback  •  Posted in L.E.D. Bible & Worship  


Mar 4
2002

Greetings from Me and My House,

I’m forwarding this post I sent to another hs list this am.)

The “Ask Marilyn” article referred to was evidently in “Parade” magazine. It was a question about whether to hs or not. “Marilyn” had a very negative, obviously uninformed answer.

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa
Me and My House
1 Thessalonians 5:23

—– Original Message —-

Hi all,
Another post just to add more discussion and food for thought to this
topic. (Please forgive my use of CAPS. I’m not yelling at anyone :- ) I just am a very emphatic speaker.) This is long. It has nothing to do with writing transcripts, but everything to do with the college/ career question – focused toward daughters, because
1) that’s what was asked, and
2) sons open a whole other “can of worms”.

?said (sorry I didn’t catch the poster’s name): “One more thing, our 13yodd is a very bright, aggressive student and person…most assuredly “college material”…even career material! … How do I reconcile my dd’s gifts and abilities with a soft-pedal approach to higher education?”

Although I quote this *small* portion of ?’s note, this is not aimed at her. It was spurred by the “Ask Marilyn” article, and I ask/ present this as food for thought for all. (To our ? poster specifically, I would say *promote higher education to the nth degree*. Isn’t that our goal, to develop lovers of learning – not “college educated” career people, but lifelong, self-initiated learners? This doesn’t end when *we* “finish” with them. But this also doesn’t mean promote “college”.)

Must our daughters (or even sons) pursue college just because they are bright and gifted, white collar executive material? Must bright and gifted people pursue this route because their life would be a “waste” to themselves and society if they don’t? As indicated in the “Ask Marilyn” article, this is DEFINITELY the thoughts of the world.

It is *hogwash* (excuse the uneducated sounding terminology :- ) IMO to think that “smart” people go to college and get good careers, and that it is a “loss” if they don’t. As “Marilyn” put it (my paraphrase, I didn’t save the original) homeschooling robs the world of all the good these smart, educated people could provide. It is also, very strongly, implying that *SAHW/ SAHM* that have a brain are robbing “the world”. This is our society’s very SOCIALISTIC attitude.

I strongly pray that this worldly attitude is not present in homeschoolers. I hope hs-ers have the vision of God to see the MUCH GREATER FUTURE GOOD, and not the American/ World microwave, instant, I-want-it-NOW (with no vision to the future) good, of what we are doing. We are not here to promote “society”, we are here to CHANGE LIVES! A better society is only built by changing one life at a time.

Perhaps our bright children will impact thousands, perhaps they will impact a few neighbors, perhaps they will impact not many but their own children and raise another John Wesley, or Noah Webster. Is this considered a “loss”? Socialism will not change our world. Only Godly people pursuing Godly avenues, with the vision to project that into the future through our children, and leading our “neighbors” to train their children, can do this.

Am I saying that college is an evil to always be shunned by God-fearing people? NO, it is an avenue that is sometimes needed because we live in this world, and it is the way of this world for certain areas. College, for a God-directed field of interest and life’s work is a necessity for some in our society. It’s the only way to enter certain fields. College for the sake of college, is a waste.

If the point is just “furthering your education”, rather than entering a specific field of calling that requires a worldly degree, then there are much better ways of pursuing this, as home educators should know. That’s why we do what we do.

If we hs because we believe we can provide a better, more efficient, individualized education for our children, why do we believe they can’t continue to pursue the same after their years of training under us? Why must our “bright” children continue their education in an institution, with cookie cutter ideas about how to “succeed” in the “real world”? Many “geniuses” pursued their learning “outside the box” and gave our world/ society some of our greatest contributions (in the “world’s” own eyes). It is faulty to conclude that the “brightest” people have a string of initials after their names, and a 6+ figure income career. AND that they are making a “better” contribution than a SAH*W* (not even necessarily SAH*M*) without even a high school diploma.

Lest you be questioning, I am not anti-education! Nor anti-career! Nor anti-money! I DO think outside the “normal” world’s box though. AND I do VERY STRONGLY believe that all those things will pass away. Only relationships are eternal. Our society has made education one of, if not THE BIGGEST gods, right along side of money (as our nation’s consumer debt proves). Pursuing of careers has destroyed more marriages and family relationships than probably any other thing.

Yes! I believe the highest calling we (*men* and women) have is to marry, and then raise Godly-”seed” (children). To aim them as arrows into the future to change this world through impacting the lives THEY contact, just as we are to model this by also impacting the world through the others God brings across our paths. This does not require a college degree, or even a lot of money. Yes, we are to be good stewards and utilize all the gifts and talents God has given us, to do that, but still, good stewardship (even of talent and brains), in God’s eyes, is not equated with college and career.

He gave us what He gave us to glorify Him. If it is His will that someone enters a certain career, to impact the people He has placed within that sphere, AND that career *requires* a college degree, then that is the path he must take. If this is His will, then it CAN be done without sacrificing His higher calling of relationship.

I firmly believe that the “hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”. We can make the greatest impact on the world by being home with our children and raising them for God’s glory, to be world changers. Yes, I believethat is true for ALL women, no matter how bright and talented they are. AND that we can use every gift and talent, and ounce of “smarts” God has given us to do this, AND to stand by our husband’s side as a *helper for HIM* as our *family* together impacts those He has placed us amongst.

I know also that there is a present thinking of “what if God doesn’t have marriage in store for my children?” (especially daughters). Then they “must be prepared with a good career to support themselves.” It’s a *possibility* (though not *probability*) that your daughters (or sons) not marry, and Paul said, “I would that all men were as I am, *for the present tribulation*” (unmarried). But GOD said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” AND He made women for the PURPOSE of being a “helper” i.e. WIFE of a man.

Since marriage is a representation of God Himself in several aspects, it is His will for most people. Therefore, I don’t believe that women should look at just “leaving the workplace” to raise children, and then return and “make her contribution”. She is first and fore-most a Helper for her HUSBAND (not the world), and she is to be a “keeper at home” for HIM not just the kids. i.e. that doesn’t mean she’s home just to raise his children (or for that time period).

That’s a whole other topic, but to keep this on this topic, for our daughters, this means they do not have to be trained in a career for pre- or post- children days, or even pre-marriage days. ( I know, that’s way too foreign of an idea to consider a daughter might remain under the care and protection of her father, in his house, serving her family and extending her hand to others, if she doesn’t get married.)

As was mentioned in another post, women (including the virtuous wife of Proverbs 31) have many times earned extra “pin” money, through doing some sort of production or service out of her own home. Most times this was through selling the excess (whether product or service) of something she was already doing for her own family – an ideal way for women to use her gifts and talents to benefit her family AND others around her.

God has graced some women, at SOME SEASONS in their lives, with the ability to extend their hands (in greater ways) to others without negatively affecting her own family, marriage or children. The extent of this reach is determined by her current SEASON of life. Many pre-married women are able to do this, although it must always be taken into account that she’s to do “her husband good and not evil ALL the days of her life”. And she must take care that she is not developing a lifestyle, attitude, or independence that will be harmful to her marriage later on.

Just one aspect of this can stem from placing herself under authority of someone other than her father or husband, who doesn’t have the same protective attitude toward her, and whose authority will come in conflict with theirs. Who will she follow? She will lose her job, which is not based on commitment and relationship if she doesn’t do what they want. But she will damage, if not lose altogether, her relationships if she continues to chose to obey lesser (self-appointed) authorities over God-ordained authorities. Is it right for a woman’s family (children, husband, or parents) to have to make these “sacrifices” to accommodate her job outside of the family?

The question of *preparing* our daughters for college/ career has much deeper implications than not wasting their brains and talents. It has much to do with passing on what we value. What God values. And what He gave them those gifts for. We must seek His whole councel, including His Word to know His unchanging ways, not just in prayer for what we “feel” He may be saying. Yes, we pray for specific direction, but His answers never go against His infallible Word – and we must know His Word to know this. We must not presume that talent and brains means He’s called them to college and career, or that they won’t use those talents and brains if they don’t pursue college or career.

As we prepare our daughters for God’s highest calling (and IMO that is
what our goal in preparing them should be), their own interests and bents may ALSO (not instead of) prepare them for their future learning to include “college” for the purpose of a specific direction, that may be in working at her husband’s side, as his “helper”; or as an unmarried woman called to “extend her hand” to a specific sphere of influence. But, (IMO) it should never supercede preparation for what she most likely will be called to – to be a Helper of her husband, a nurturer of her children, and a keeper at home.

Yours for provoking thought,
At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa
Me and My House
1 Thessalonians 5:23

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Trackback  •  Posted in Misc. Education  


Feb 28
2002

Greetings from Me and My House,

In the Home Ec post I mentioned a Tracking Sheet I use. It is nothing fancy, nothing spectacular, but it is a way for your older children to track what they are actually doing. It is a simplified form of our Daily Log (which is more of a Journal, than a “form” – my *PREFERRED* method for their day to day tracking).

For us daily *assignment* sheets have not worked well. They require a whole lot of work and planning on my part, and become frustrating and obsolete when we get off-track or “behind”. It works much better to know where we’re headed and how we plan to get there and then just start. I do have “finish date” goals – that are sometimes met, sometimes not, so we just continue until we’re done, or if it’s not something progressive and interest is waning, we lay it aside until another Season (or maybe never) and go on to something else.

The youth fill out a Tracking Sheet for each course area, each week – such as: Bible, Math, Family Living/ Home Ed, Topical Study (Unit), (and any others they are working on). They list the course/ topic, the beginning date (and ending date, when they get there). This and their name are in a header at the top of the page. Then weekly they list what they accomplished – reading (what they *read*, or other resources), project (what they *did* with it), report (brief summary of what they *learned*). This is strictly a *list* – not their full documentation (Topical Journal) – for me to see what progress they are making. This is divided into 6 “weeks” on our chart, listing “week of”, Reading, Project, Report for each of the 6 sections.

Tracking Sheets can be a simple way to see at a glance what your older, more independent studiers are doing.

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa

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Trackback  •  Posted in L.E.D. Daily Life & Application  


Feb 27
2002

Greetings from Me and My House,

This post will continue to address some of the questions one of our List
Moms asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Times of Refreshing – Part 2

In Part 1 of this article I gave some ideas for coming to a place of Peace
and Rest in God’s presence before attempting to do anything else. One of
LM’s main questions was what to do with her children all day as she is going
through this Season of Renewing and finding God’s direction that leads to
lasting peace and implementation.

Lord of the Sabbath – Redeemer
I’m a great believer in the Sabbath. Not the Pharisaical legalism of what
can and can’t be done on the Seventh day, but rather the Spirit behind the
Law; the benefit and redemption that comes from spending time resting in the Lord; how we accomplish more in 6 days, than working all 7, by spending the 7th in His Rest; how we accomplish more in 24 hours by giving the first hour or two to seeking Him. He is truly our Redeemer, not only of our souls, but also of our time.

How does this apply to what to do with our children all day? Basically
because I believe God redeems that time that we spend resting in and seeking Him. What are your children doing all day *now,* while you’re “spinning your wheels”? Are you spending all your time working with them but accomplishing nothing? Are they sitting in front of the TV or playing
computer games? Or, more than likely, somewhere inbetween?

I doubt that while you spend time seeking God for His Peace and direction
for them, they will do any *worse* than they’re doing now. AND your time
will not be wasted. Although, you may have been wasting your time while
they were doing these things before, you aren’t anymore. Your time is in
the Redeemer’s hands. And He will now make up lost time for you after you
find His true direction.

It’s like when you don’t have time to stop and ask directions. You spend a
lot of time driving up and down streets that get you nowhere, and probably
end up arriving late. But when you stop and take time to ask directions and
carefully listen, for however long it takes, rather than dashing out
half-way through, although it leaves you less time to get where you’re
going, you don’t need as much time, because you know how to get there – and you may even get there ahead of schedule.

So, you could just let your children keep doing what they’re doing. But
let’s see if we can come up with some creative ways of helping them be more
productive, especially if they’ve been destroying your house, fighting with
their siblings, or vegging out on electronics all day.

1) If you have children age 3 and under, they probably can’t do any *better*
without some help with them.

2) Ages (aprox.) 4-7 or 8 should be able to spend their time
constructively – OK, at least not DE-structively. I don’t *expect* *ANY*
academic work from this age group, so the key is just finding them anything
non-destructive to do – until you can train them to be constructive.

I think household chores are ideal for this age group, that has so much
energy. They are usually eager to help do “big people” work. This is not
the time (during your Season of Renewal) to teach them heavy-duty cleaning, nor to expect perfection out of them. And, yes they will need direction from someone for each task. You can’t just give them a list and say, “Do this today.” But, you or someone else can say, “Empty the trash cans in
each room into the big one in the kitchen, then report back to me when
you’re done,” then give them another task.

This age group can, unsupervised, do things like: put away their own things,
pick up their room, sort clean laundry by who it belongs to, fold towels,
socks, underwear, and probably their own clothes, (but not MINE :- ), put
clothes from the washer into the dryer and start it, (toward the older end
of this) start clothes in the washer that are already sorted. They can set
and clear dishes from the table, collect “stray” dishes from around the
house, and perhaps put away clean dishes. They can sweep or wipe up small areas/ messes. They can feed and water pets. They can dust furniture, if you don’t have a lot of breakables. And there are so many more as they get
to the older end, and if you’ve already been training them.

They can also listen to a Bible story on tape and pray for their own Quiet
Time/ Devotions. They can draw and color pictures, and put together
puzzles. They can play quietly in a designated place – like your playroom,
or backyard, if it’s safe. And, if they are used to electronics time, you
can “reward” them for doing the above, with a *short* amount of time for an
educational but fun computer game, or Christian video.

3) Ages 8-12 or 13 can do all of the above plus much harder chores. If they
are reading on their own, most are at some point in this age range, they
should be reading the Word and praying in their private time with God. I
still don’t pursue *formal* academics with this age. But some quiet “Table
Time” projects they can work on by themselves are: Copywork – from the Bible and/or good literature; Reading – series like Trailblazers or Christian
Heros Then and Now, or The Light and the Glory and Sea to Shining Sea for
children, or classic children’s literature – Charlotte’s Web, Little House
on the Prairie series, etc. Further Math, Spelling, and Grammar skills
will have to wait until you can spend more concentrated teaching time, and
perhaps have further direction on how to best teach these. But these are
skills that can be learned in a fairly short time when the student is ready
and mom is at peace.

What about children that are more activity-oriented than bookworms, whose
quiet reading and copywork time has quickly reached its limit? And, even
the bookworm needs some activity. Shooting hoops, roller blading, and bike
riding are all activities this age group can do on their own, if you live in
a safe place. In addition, your children can work on creative projects of
interest to themselves. What are they interested in doing creatively – as
producers, not consumers? Take them to the library. Buy them a few
supplies. And let them go at it, on their own (which means the project
cannot be dangerous, or require further skill training first). Do they like
to build or make things? Cook or sew? Write? Scrapbook? Garden? Play an
instrument? Do they love the computer? Let them design and produce
something, not just play. This is their chance to do something they’re
interested in, not just what you direct them to do – although obviously,
their choices must be within boundaries you set.

4) Ages 13 or so and on up, can continue all the things listed for ages
8 -12 on a higher level. They should be able to research and self-learn new
skills, as well as supervise and direct younger siblings. They can oversee
basic household needs, fix meals, do all daily household chores. They can
(learn how to) seek and find God, and enter His presence in their Devotional
time. They can do Copywork, Writing, Reading, Documenting/ Notebooking,
Science experiments, and perhaps learn further math skills on their own.

What about you?
In this Season of seeking God for direction and gaining peace, you may spend a day or two completely locked away by yourself, but realistically, on most of your days, and probably not even *every*day, this time will only be an hour or two. The rest of your day will be devoted to caring for your
children and going about your daily duties, walking in the Peace you’ve
found in Him. Don’t step out of His presence and out of His Peace when you
step out of your quiet, private place. Stay in His Peace and the atmosphere
will begin to rub off on your children.

Set no expectations for “school” at this time, other than them spending time
on the above mentioned ideas – whichever of them will work without stress in your family. Spend time just enjoying being with your children, accomplishing whatever you do and no more. Not working on anything that stresses either of you, just enjoying each other, perhaps not accomplishing anything more than minimum maintenance on the housework.

Sound too idealistic? Perhaps it is, but this is the atmosphere and goal
you are looking for. Do some things together that will promote Relationship
and Peace, perhaps some outings, perhaps some projects at home, perhaps
reading to them. Try to work in some individual time for each child.

Begin the day with your children, after you’ve had your private time with
the Lord, with Family Worship. This doesn’t have to be a highly structured
or long time. It is a time where your children are learning that worshiping
and seeking God are top priority for your family, not just individually but
also as a family, not just on Sunday but everyday. This time can be as
simple as putting a Praise and Worship CD on as breakfast is being fixed and everyone’s gathering together and while you’re eating. Just filling the
atmosphere with Praise to God really helps set the tone of the home.
Consider leaving it going softly all day. Perhaps you want to all stand and
sing together after you finish eating. We’ve done this as training for
church worship service, when our children were younger. Then read the Word and Pray together.

Then spend some time with your children, as mentioned above, and do what’s required in your home. Then perhaps you can get them all involved in their quiet, private projects and you can steal away to spend more time with the Lord, in prayer or the Word, or even seeking Him through other resources.

If you have not read much on home education philosophy and you need this
info, I can recommend several resources compatible with L.E.D.’s philosophy, as well as our own materials. If you’re already “hearing too many voices” – you’ve read so much, you’re confused – it’s probably best that you just sit at Jesus’ feet, perhaps reading books about drawing nearer to Him (which is *THE* place to start even you if need to read the home ed philosophy and principles books too.) I firmly believe that the Holy Spirit is our teacher, and we are to, as individual families, follow Him in His direction
for *our family*. But I also believe that others have blazed the way after
Him that can be Mentors for us – as Paul said, “you follow me as I follow
Christ.” We can learn much from Godly pioneers, although we still have to
go back and seek the Lord for *exactly* how he wants us to implement
specific principles into our family.

Don’t look at your children’s needs during this time as “interruptions”, but
as opportunities to build relationship with them. They still need you, and
you are still responsible for them, even as you seek the Lord. He made you
a mother, and He has given you the grace necessary for a mother. He
understands your needs, and your children’s and will see you both through.
Just DON’T LOSE HIS PEACE in the midst of everyday life. You’ve heard it
from me before and will continue to hear it, RELATIONSHIP IS EVERYTHING!!!!

As your day winds down, spend some time putting projects away, putting the
house in order, and preparing to serve your husband. Homeschool isn’t
everything, RELATIONSHIP IS!!!

In the future, I will present more on Routine – ordering your day, after your Season of Renewal. You may be able to add more things than what I’ve presented here and still keep things running peaceful and smoothly, but this is a good place to start.

At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa

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Trackback  •  Posted in Getting Started w/ L.E.D., Misc. Education  


Feb 26
2002

Greetings from Me and My House,

Yesterday I received a letter from one of our list members, which I think many of us can relate to in many areas. Her questions were not simple ones with short pat answers, but deep questions of Life and a heart’s cry for some Practical Application answers.

I will excerpt part of her letter here, then begin my answers, which will be a *series* of articles posted here. This is long, but I think you will all be able to glean much from it. Please print it out and digest it. It is the heart of L.E.D. She asked if I had any suggestions. I always have suggestions :- ) I just continually pray that the ones I give are directed by God to meet the needs of those asking. Although our list mom (LM) is asking for some practical, physical applications, none of the “things” I could (and will) tell her to do/try will help at all until she has been able to find a place of peace and rest in God. It is where we must all begin, or everything we do will be in the flesh and will not accomplish anything of worth.

See LM’s excerpts below, and my beginnings of suggestions for her and any of you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LM’S EXCERPTS:
I’m on your L.E.D. email loop, and have gleaned much over the year……

I’ve spent much of the past two or three years (maybe more) trying to
learn & glean from too many voices (in retrospect….) I’m still floundering!…..

when I panic,and realize that time is passing so quickly, I push “school”… and Bible gets left out……I KNOW this is not God’s way, but, continue to flounder……With our oldest at home being 13 1/2 I’m beginning to panic! I just have so little time left with her, and I want her (& each of them) to have a BURNING LOVE for the LORD, and to WANT to do His will for each of them. OTOH, I don’t want her to be ignorant in respect of math, history, science, etc.

Where (or what) do I start? What do I concentrate on? I’ve recently
reread Wisdom’s Way of Learning, and just yesterday, I reread (for the third time) your books, too. I understand that I must seek God’s Wisdom FIRST & Foremost, but, what do I do with the children in the meantime? …. I *know* all the “right” things, but, I’m having a really hard time implementing them practically…..

you said that the children must *know* God and His character (I’m not sure I even know Him as I should!) How can I teach them this, when I’m just learning? Do you use the Bible for this, or have you another resource so that I (& the children) can learn this (God’s character) together?…..

days are passing by because I have too many voices (so to speak) telling me “this is the way, walk in it”……I’ve ordered SO much curriculum in the past two years it’s scary! ….and NONE of it gets implemented!)…..

Your 7 Disciplines are wonderful….but, how do I implement them? One at a time….just work on Connecting with God (for myself more, and for each of my children), and THEN implement the rest?…..

I need some practical help on what to do with the four children here at home yet……

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Times of Refreshing – or – RPJ NHG

When we reach this point – and all of us do at some time or another, we need to do what is the hardest, most unnatural thing. We need to pull back and enter into His rest. As LM mentioned, even though she’s “pushing school” and panicking over academics, all she’s really doing is “spinning her wheels,” going from one thing to another, without implementing any of it successfully.

Jesus’ offer is still our only hope when we are burdened or weary – or confused out of our mind – we need to Come to Him and He will give us rest. Resting in that peace that passes all understanding is such an awesome place to be, a place that I suspect none of us stays in as much as we should. But when chaos reigns all around us, not just in this world, but also in our homes and our relationships, the only place we can go, to make it all better, is into His arms to rest. We should all know by now that we can’t make it better in our own strength, and that God’s voice isn’t the one that yells the loudest in the midst of all the voices telling us what to do. His is the voice we hear when we “be still” and enter that quiet place, and turn off all that noise in our heads and listen for Him in our cleansed and open heart.

If I could impart into all of you just one thing through L.E.D., this would be it. For, if you’d learn and consistently practice this and pass it on to your children, all would be well. It is so much more valuable than teaching you how to write a curriculum, or to teach a child to read, or to plan a high school course of study and write a transcript. It is the foundation for all of Life. But as LM said, we need some practical training in even this. We need ideas and examples to get us started.

When nothing’s working we need to go back to our stable foundation, to what we know is secure and won’t fail us. In L.E.D. that foundation is the 7 Disciplines of L.E.D., beginning with “Connecting with God.” I’d like to share some ideas from my workshop, “Times of Refreshing”, and add some further insight and Practical Application specific to the situations LM is facing.

Many home-school moms are described in Luke 10:41, “you care and are troubled about many things.” The stressed out, burnt out, overwhelmed, home-school supermom is “encumbered” just as Martha was. And like Martha they’re saying, “If everyone doesn’t get to work here, NOW, things that are needed won’t get done!” Yet, in all her working and striving (in the flesh,) she was not commended by the Lord. The sister that wasn’t pressured into a panic by the upcoming deadline of “dinnertime”, the time when all must be ready and completed, was the one our Lord said, “chose the better part.”

There are some physical helps for reducing home-school stress. Ephesians 5:16 commands us to “redeem the time,” and we are also told that we are to discipline ourselves. But first and foremost we must come to a place of rest. We must deal with our troubled soul, by laying it at the Cross of Jesus and allowing Him to take our yoke of burden.

“Times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord,” Acts 3:19. As the bumper sticker says, “No Jesus, No Peace. Know Jesus, Know Peace!” Now, since we know Jesus, we have a saving relationship with Him, why aren’t we walking in Peace? Could it be that the only way this saying “works” in real life is to apply the Hebrew meaning of “know”? To “know,” in Hebrew, isn’t a mental knowing, but a relationship knowledge, to be intimately in close relationship with, as a husband and wife experience true intimacy and closeness. It refers to the ultimate closeness of love where the 2, husband and wife, are entwined and “in” each other, and totally consumed in all of their being with each other. It doesn’t refer to just “the act”. Marital intimacy is to be a representation of the intimacy God wants us to experience with Him, the Joy, the Fulfillment, the Oneness. He wants us to abide in Him. He wants us to be in Him, and Him in us. He wants us to have time and passion for Him, like married lovers are to have for each other.

I know, that sadly, some of you women have never experienced this deep intimacy with your husband or God. You know God on the same surface level as you do your husband. You come together in the act, but you yearn in your heart for something more, for deeper closeness, for an abandonment of body, soul, and spirit to come together totally as one. Your spirit desires Oneness with your Lord and with your husband. Relationship is never a formula or a legalistic act, but a complete, vulnerable, opening up and giving of the heart and soul, holding nothing back. We can even enjoy the “act”, but that doesn’t mean we have a truly deep intimate relationship. We can enjoy a time of worship to the Lord in church, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that just because we enjoyed it, we met with Him intimately.

I have so much more to say on this, but will leave you with a couple of thoughts, ideas, and scriptures to meditate on. Faith is our foundation for Life, and “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word.” We must always, first, renew our minds to His Word.

OK, Practical Application time.

Love is *Relationship*, not Law.

(There is no formula for loving my Lord, my husband, or our children. But there are some principles for successful relationships that we can follow.)

*Life* is Relationship.

(Everything else will pass away and be forgotten. Only relationships are eternal.)

For relationship with God that brings us Renewal, Rest, and Refreshing, we must come to Him on His terms, through His Son Jesus the Messiah, John 14:6. And, we must worship Him in Spirit and Truth, John 4:24.

Where to begin? To come into His presence we “enter His courts with Praise”.

1) Pray – you can follow our model of P.R.A.Y. if you’d like.

P. – Praise and thanksgiving – always begin with Him, not yourself; praising Him for Who He is and thanking Him for what He’s done.

R. – Repent – Confess and ask forgiveness and cleansing.

A. – Ask – for your needs – the need for peace, direction, etc.

Y. – Yield – Give Him control over all of you, your Life and your very being.

2) Word – Renew your mind. Here’s some scriptures on this subject for you to meditate on.

Acts 3:19, Isaiah 40:31, Luke 10:39 (-41), John 15:5, Phil. 3:3, Phil. 3:13-14 [originally mis-typed,but 4:13 fits too), Gal 5:22-23, Eph. 5:16, Rom. 14:17, Ps. 16:11, Ex. 20:8-11, Ps. 1:2, Ex. 33:14, Mt. 11:28, Ps. 46:10, Mt. 6:33, Deut. 6:5, Mk. 12:30, John 14:6, John 4:24.

3) Worship - Put on an intimate, peaceful worship CD and sing along, or sing a cappella either worship songs you know or make up your own. Stay in this place until you are lost in Him and have peace. Don't come out until you have release. In fact, if you start to drift out, press in instead and He will take you even deeper.

What do you do with your kids? AND, TURN OFF THE PHONE!!!!

1) Get them out of the house with an older sibling, other relative, or friend.

Pro - you won't be interrupted.

Con - they won't learn by seeing your example.

But it might be good for your 1st time or few to be assured of no distractions or interruptions. (Of course, this is all cancelled if you have a nursing baby, in which case, you trust God's grace to cover you and try to pick a time when baby will sleep a while.

2) Get yourself out of the house - leaving your kids with a sibling, etc. The key to this is finding a place where you won't be inhibited in raising your voice in prayer and worship.

Pro - you know you won't get phone calls or unexpected visitors.

Con - not many people have a truly private place where they aren't inhibited.

Some ideas: Does your church have a room you can use, (when nothing else is going on), where you won't have to "keep it down"?

Do you own a camper you could go out to and park somewhere?

Do you live on a farm or in a rural area where you can find a field, woods, or a barn (weather permitting)?

OR even is there a place you can just go park your car and sit and pray and sing to your heart's delight? Cemeteries can be private places.

3) Have your intimate time with the Lord when your children are sleeping.

Pro - no babysitters, no one has to leave.

Con - they may wake up and distract you. *You* have to get up extra early (a virtue, so I'm told :- )

This isn't a problem, IF your children can be told that when they wake up you want them to stay in their beds (rooms?) and read to themselves/ do their own devotions until you come get them.

4) Do it during the day when they are there.

Pro - they will see you placing priority on entering a private place with the Lord, and hear (through your closed door) you praying and worshipping.

Con - if your children are very young or not well trained, chaos may reign and you may be distracted and interrupted.

Ideally, your children will spend at least some of this time connecting with God for themselves. If they are older (or you have older ones that can help the younger) they can go on to other quiet productive projects until you come out. If all else fails, let them watch a Veggie Tale video or 2 (or 3 :- ) quietly in another part of the house, where it won't distract you.

5) My idea of ideal? Take a couple of days (at least once a year) - ideally with your husband, not alone (but if your husband and you aren't there yet, don't beat yourself up over it - just do it alone) - to get away and seek God - for your relationship with Him, both individually and as a couple, for your marriage, and for your family (including home ed direction).

Although we miss our children greatly when we aren't with them, and nursing babes always go along with us, over the years we have found these times to be greatly refreshing for us, and we grow closer when we through them. These times, whether alone or with your husband, will benefit your children by refreshing you and enabling you to be a better parent/ home-school mom.

A couple of resources?
There are many "intimacy with God" books I like, but the one I'll mention today is "Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madam Jeanne Guyon (written in the late 17th century). (I'll mention other resources in later articles.)

If you'd like a book for you and your husband, one of the best we've found on developing spiritual intimacy with your spouse is "A Marriage after God's Own Heart" by David Clarke.

If you don't have our tape "8 Principles of Lifestyle Education", it covers the core principles of L.E.D. and gives some Practical pointers for getting started.

See part 2 

At Jesus' feet,
Lisa

[Editted.]

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