Category Archives: Getting Started w/ L.E.D.

I’m still working away at my Freedom & Simplicity in History guide and hope to have it finished in the next couple of weeks. But in the meantime we’ve begun our study of Guide to American Christian Education (GACE) through a yahoogroup and I’ve posted a 5 part series on renewing our minds to lay a foundation for Christian Home Education.

It is some of my thoughts and some notes and quotes from GACE on:
Why Christian Home Education?
Why the method of teaching by Biblical Principles?
What are the challenges and rewards?
How can we overcome the challenges?
What do we do to develop a Christian philosophy of education?

You can read these posts on my website – here.It’s too long to post here on the blog, and would just get lost amidst the other articles.

 

God’s blessings to the many of you who have contacted me, and whom God has blessed through my words, by His grace alone! All glory goes to Him who alone is worthy. I have and am nothing without Him. Any worthwhile thing I have to pass on comes only from Him and by His grace. All the rest, that falls and fails, is of me.

I so desire to complete my book of Freedom & Simplicity™ through Lifestyle Education through Discipleship™, but my life is very full of living LIFE right now. My family can attest that I spend every moment I can spare (and probably many that I should’t) at the computer, working on sharing with you (corporately, as in this blog, elists, and my website) and individually. And attempting to gather my notes into coherency for my book. All the while, planning lessons for and teaching my own children. In addition to the normal wife, mommy, home keeper foundations of my life. Don’t feel I am complaining, my joy is in what I do. I only get frustrated that I cannot do it fast enough.

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On to today’s topic. If you haven’t read our thoughts on “Wisdom: The Principal Thing“, please do so. It is the foundation underlying everything we teach. Today I desire to begin sharing a little more practically what the goals and methods of achieving them are in L.E.D.

Keys to L.E.D. – Part 1 Faith & Virtue

Though not exhaustive, this series of articles will give you some foundational keys to the philosophy of L.E.D., the goals we are seeking to attain, and methods we utilize to get there. I hope through these to begin to paint a picture wherein you can examine some of the details to show you more clearly what L.E.D. is. Links to previous articles will be used to help pull those together for you.

We desire L.E.D. to result in our children to:
1) Be led by the Spirit – Our children should be governed internally by the Spirit of God, not by external motivation, either positive (physical reward) or negative (force or manipulation), nor by internal “fleshly desires” and selfishness. We do not desire to “candy coat” our children with Scripture, having much “head knowledge” but not living it, but for them to truly desire to love and follow God in everything they do. We desire: that they love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength; that they recognize that every “issue of life” proceeds from the heart, that they understand that for every external, seen action (effect) there is a prior internal, unseen except by God, attitude, motive, and thought, that they would know that character produces conduct; attitude produces action. Therefore, we are primarily home educating to reach the hearts of our children.

Methods we use:
a. Fervent Prayer – that God opens their hearts to Himself, that they may receive His Glorious gift of Christ that will completely transform their lives. He is the only one that can do this, but prayer is the means He has chosen to work through.

b. Parenting their Hearts – Endeavor to “keep” your children’s hearts. Be trustworthy of guarding their hearts. Recommended parenting resources listed here.

c. Feeding them the Word – for in it is Life. Feed your children the life-giving Word daily. It is “living and powerful” and “able to divide between soul and spirit, and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart”. We have many Bible teaching resources listed here, but mainly recommend this as a basic foundation to all other Bible “studies”.

d. Cultivating their Hearts – through godly life-changing literature. Stories that capture the heart with godly principles, character, and conduct. “Add to your faith virtue.” Recommendations and more on life-changing literature here.

This is the foundational Key, which we will build upon.

 

Microwave education is like a “whitewashed tomb”, a pretty painting of a flower on a stone wall. Reflective learning is the real flower, growing from a seed and blossoming into beautiful, fragrant life.

The heart is the key to reflective learning. The heart is the key to Biblical education. I want to show you 3 aspects of “the Heart” in relation to education.

If I had to pick just 3 areas to emphasize in teaching on education, I think I would focus on the 3 below, and summarize them with Katherine Dang quotes. IOW, if you are new to Biblical education or struggling to “get it”, may I give you 3 things to focus on “getting”? Meditate on these until they become internalized, until you make them your own. Study them. Pray for them. I believe they are Key.

1) “You follow me as I follow Christ.” Or as Katherine Dang says, “Teach what you know.” Actually she puts it stonger, “ONLY teach what you know. Don’t (try to) teach what you don’t know.” A true teacher teaches from their heart. This is Biblically one who disciples. I often put this in Paul’s terminology, for discipleship is what we are called to in teaching, lead through where we have been and where we are going. We can’t give what we ain’t got. Our teaching must come through our own transformation from reflectively renewing our minds, which will birth what we learn in our hearts. From there it grows and will bear fruit, enabling it to be reproduced in the hearts of others.

2) “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.” This relates to the subject itself. We must get to the heart of the subject. What are the principles and rudiments? As Miss Dang says, “You don’t have to teach a lot to teach a lot.” Or teach by “IV drip”, just a drop at a time. This is great news if we are only to teach what we know! Do you hear this? Teach only what you know, but you don’t have to teach a lot. IOW, you can teach if you don’t know a lot! Just learn the principles and rudiments of the subject and start there. Then continue to lead as you go along.

Reflective education plants seeds, the seeds of the Biblical principles and the rudiments of a subject (the heart) and then waters them and they grow to be “the greatest of all”. Refelective education is EXPANSIVE, not evolutionary. (I think that came from GACE.) (Read the whole scripture passage in Matthew 13:31-32.)

3) “The seed that fell on good soil sprang up and bore fruit, increased up to a 100-fold.” The heart of the student is our third aspect of the heart. Seeds planted in good soil, and watered will grow and reproduce. I don’t have a specific quote from Miss Dang, but she does talk about how as parent/teachers we are really only responsible for giving our children the rudiments.

We must remember, we are not teaching “subjects”, we are teaching students. IOW, I don’t teach math, science, English really, I teach Amariah, Levi, Isaiah, Shekynah, …. This is why parents should be the best educators. They should know and be able to reach their own children’s hearts better than anyone else. We are not wanting to “candy coat” our children with a Biblical education, turning them into legalists. We are wanting to plant Biblical thinking/reasoning in their hearts, that it would spring forth in the Spirit of liberty, that Truth would make them free indeed. Do you see why we must renew our own hearts first, to get to this point with our children?

We need to cultivate the soil of our children’s hearts. Prayer is the absolute best cultivator, because then God is doing the work from the inside out. The “Mashal” is another cultivator, that reaches the heart. It is the way Jesus, and much of the Bible teaches. This is not an 1828 definition, but one that will give you the “heart” of the meaning of Mashal. It is teaching by proverbs, parables, analogies, stories. Notice how much of the Bible is this. God wrote it to reach our hearts.

I’ll write more on this another time, but for now want to mention that living literature (that fits the guidelines of Phil. 4:8) is an excellent heart cultivator. Some of the best can be found: 1) in the Bible itself, of course. 2) in literature suggestions from FACE. 3) in literature re-published by Lamplighter Publishing.

 

Are we creating white-washed tombs?

In our instant society we want it NOW! We are pretty much that way about everything. As Christian moms (and dads) that mindset usually still remains. In fact as Christians period, that still remains. I want flawless theology – NOW! I want a fully sanctified life – NOW! I want saved and sanctified children – NOW!

Most of us seeking to educate our children Biblically have a problem, our own lack of a Biblical education. It needs to be overcome in order to teach our children. However, we “don’t have time to re-educate ourselves. Our children will get behind waiting on us.” We want a microwave education for ourselves. We look at the Big Red or other foundational books and think, “I don’t have time to read through all of this let alone study it.” And probably don’t even take into account the need to internalize it. So we try to jump in with both feet to a half-baked, mushy in the middle (internal), crusty on the outside (external) microwaved “Biblical” education.

We try to bring reform to our children’s education by applying some laws, a formula we kind of put together from what we did skim through. Then we wonder why this “right approach” is not working. We’ve missed the heart of Biblical principled education – the heart itself. It is from the heart that the issues of life pour forth. It is the seedbed of all that grows in our lives.

Biblical principled education is reflective learning. It is an education of the heart. It does not seek to impose changes externally without first planting changes internally, that are only seen after they have time to germinate and grow.

It begins with a soft heart, seeking God’s molding, seeking for Him to plant good seed within. Then it waters that seed and waits. It reflects. It ruminates. It relates. It reasons. Then one day a sprout breaks forth. Life is seen, just a little bit, but it is a living growing thing. Something a microwave can not do. I don’t know if you realize it, but microwaves kill life!

Microwave education is like a “whitewashed tomb”, a pretty painting of a flower on a stone wall. Reflective learning is the real flower, growing from a seed and blossoming into beautiful, fragrant life.

Stay tuned for part 2.

 

You may want to check out my article at Clear Vision today, that is somewhat related to our current topic here.

 

This week I want to continue on laying the foundation we started last week. We are working off of 2 primary Scriptures that show us that this is where we need to begin. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” (Pro. 4:7 – but read the whole chapter) And, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (Pro. 9:10 – again, read the whole chapter) Add to that, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments : his praise endureth for ever.” (Psalm 111:10)

In a past post, I summed up a working definition of wisdom that was stated thus:
“Wisdom is being able to see the Big Picture, God’s view and purpose, and then carrying through and acting on it. ” I don’t know how long or how far I will carry this this week, but for today I just want to make a couple of general observations.

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” (1 Cor. 3:19) “This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.” (James 3:15) “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” (James 3:17) Not all that is called “wisdom” is true wisdom from the Lord. Some of it is just plain fleshly foolishness. The wisdom we desire to teach our children is the wisdom of God, from His Word.

Pro. 2:6 tells us that “the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” (read also, at least vss. 1-11) And, James 1:5-6 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” Because, as Pro. 2:7 says, “He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. ” God is the source of true wisdom and He will give it to the “righteous” that ask for it in faith. We are told that “thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him , if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” (Deut. 4:29) So we are to seek for wisdom, “seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;” (Pro. 2:4) We are to seek with all our hearts. For God’s wisdom is in His Word, and it will be found by those that seek it.

Which leads me to my second initial observation. The Proverbs are a great place to begin looking for God’s Wisdom. They contain much for us to learn about wisdom.. A whole curriculum could be built upon the Proverbs. In fact, that is exactly what they are, a parent’s instructions (the college curriculm given to a young son) for living a successful life.

One small thing that you can do to begin laying this foundation in wisdom is to begin reading the Proverbs daily. Read them as a family. Disuss them and reason from them. An easy discipline to follow is to read the “Proverb of the Day” every month – Pro. 1 on the 1st, Pro. 2 on the 2nd, etc. You will read through the book of Proverbs every month. (You can double up on chapters 30 and 31 in the months that only have 30 days.) Don’t think you will exhaust what can be gleaned from these words of God’s Wisdom in 1, 2 or a few months. The depths are endless. Also, begin memorizing from the Proverbs. There are great passages and whole chapters that are worth comitting to memory.

Well, there’s a starter for you. We’ll continue tomorrow, Lord willing.

 

In concluding these foundational messages on the Fear of the Lord, do you feel like you have a grasp on it? Is it making sense?

More importantly, are you beginning to internalize it? Are you growing in the fear of the Lord? Are you finding a new awe in His awesomeness? Are you seeing Him for the wonderfully perfect God that He is? Are you recognizing His absolute Majesty?

If you haven’t been following along in our study, take the time to go through your Bible and find all the references to the fear of the Lord. Read them in context. Meditate on them. Pray over them. Memorize them. Ask God to make them clear and real to you. Then ask Him to help you pull it all together, to see the Big Picture of what the fear of the Lord truly is and how it is to be applied in your life – how it is the foundational depths of all of life and learning.

As you grow and follow the Lord in this, bring your children alongside you. Share what you are learning/have learned. Bring them into their own study of this. Have them look up and mediate on the Scriptures. Have them reflect and reason from the Scripture, and come to Biblical conclusions, as much as possible, on their own (or with a bit of guidance from you as needed).

This is discipleship. This is Lifestyle Education through Discipleship. And this study on the fear of the Lord is the beginning of the foundation of all of Life and Learning. It is the place to start.

Are you saying, “But this isn’t phonics and physics, arithmetic and zoology”? Remember, we are laying the most important foundation, according to the Word, to study those things and more. For “Wisdom is the principal thing” and “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. I believe this verse should be memorized by every Christian parent:
And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecc. 12:12-14)

Why don’t you begin the teaching and training of your children today with Psalm 34:11:
Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Next week, we will move on to Wisdom – the Principal Thing, Lord willing. Although I’ve written much about it in the past, my goal is to pull it together for you here, next week.

 

Today I’m still continuing a look at the fear of the Lord, with a brief conclusion. Tomorrow, I will wrap it up. If you haven’t been following these posts, you can start back at Sat. Jan. 7 for Let’s Start at the Very Beginning – or to some groundwork laid before that on the 5th and 6th.

For the non-Christian the fear of the Lord is truly, and rightfully, a very scarey thing (Luke 12:4-5). It is definitely not something they want to think of. It reminds them that in the end, they will not get away with anything, and they will pay the wages of their sin, which is death and hell. Not a fun subject to discuss, but the truth of our existance.

But for the Christian, the fear of the Lord is a truly humbling thing. It is still recognizing that we have sinned, that we are deserving of hell just as surely as the non-Christian, for “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin are death”. But we willingly see that God is God and He is Just. Because in that we can trust His faithfulness to ALL His Word.

We are humbled that He chose to, not ignore our sins, but to pay the wages of them Himself. That His mercy was longsuffering. He didn’t execute the penalty of our sin upon us immediately, but in His goodness, He was patient to bring us to repentence.

The fear of the Lord is an awesome thing. Even though it means much more than awe or reverence for Who God is, it truly includes such. For when we fear the Lord, we do truly stand in awe of Who He is, and we do truly reverence Him to the utmost.

With this foundation laid, I will wrap up this topic tomorrow, Lord willing.

 

No question about it, my mind has lost its focus on the continuation of this topic. That new baby (our grandson born Mon.), and keeping my own family at our home on track, through this birth, the visit of another daughter and grand-girls (LOVE to have them!), and a relative’s funeral today (that car trouble on the way there prevented our family from attending) has got me a little off track the last couple of days. I have plenty more to say -as always, but no guarantees of a nice smooth continuation Hopefully I have laid the foundational understanding of the fear of the Lord – what it is and why it is so important to begin there with our children.

In beginning to build upon that, start by reading James 1:22-25:
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

What we are looking at here is the idea that we began with in laying the fear of the Lord as the depths of our foundation. To fear God is really to trust His faithfulness. It is to believe Him, and act accordingly.

We are either Believers or Doubters. Either we know that God says what He means and means what He says, or else we doubt Him – “maybe not”. Maybe “I” can get away with it. “I” don’t have to obey.

When we say that we are Believers, then we believe what God says and act accordingly, because He says we will reap what we sow. And we believe Him. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. because without faith it is impossible to please him. Without belief it is impossible to please Him. If we think we can hear His Word and then not do it, we don’t really believe it. We don’t really believe Him. We have no faith.

We cannot be a believer without being a doer. If we are not a doer we are a hearer only and “forget” what manner of man we are. We forget we are sinners and deserving of the judgement of God. We forget that we will reap what we sow. We forget that God is not a man that He should lie. We do not believe God. We do not fear Him.

Perhaps this sounds negative, and a harsh thing to teach. But again this is not the end! But it is the foundation. We must know and teach that God is God and we are not. That He makes the rules and we are to follow them. Until our children see that they are in a sorry, helpless state, they will see no need for a Savior. As long as they think that if there is a God, He won’t hold them accountable, they will do as they please, then whine or blame others when they suffer the consequences of their actions. This is not harsh negativity. This is Truth, and as we build on it, they (and we) will see just how much we can trust God. How His unchanging faithfulness to His Nature, Name and Word is a glorious thing for us. Because He is also Love. His Love, He, is unchangable, unrelenting, unstopable. And everything He allows in our life, He has under control. Nothing catches God off guard. Nothing is unpreventable by Him. So we will be OK, because He is watching out for us. He died for us. Not because we are so good. Not becuase we deserve it. But because He is who HE IS -I AM!

He is God and I am not! A good life principle to believe.