Category Archives: Uncategorized

Advent can be one of the most meaningful things you can do with your family leading up to Christmas, to keep it Christ centered. Over at my ‘from me’ blog, I just posted 3 meaningful way to use the Advent season to prepare your hearts for the true meaning of Christmas. Click over and check it out.

The name Chris Klicka holds a dear place in the hearts of many home educators. He has stood and helped home educating families since 1985, as Senior Defense Attorney for Home School Legal Defense Association. Many of us have been touched to hear Chris speak, and changed by his books, HomeSchooling: The Right Choice, The Heart of Home Schooling, and Home School Heroes.

.

Chris has battled MS for several years, and has seen much deterioration lately. After his unsuccessful hyperbaric oxygen treatment late this summer, I was surprised to hear he was feeling well enough to attend the HSLDA Leadership Conference in Colorado Springs this past week.

.

But during the conference he had to be hospitalized. After several ups and downs –  while the saints prayed fervently, they were able to get him fairly stable, yet not back to a place that he would be able to return home.

.

Chris and his wife Tracy had already discussed what should be, if it came to this. He had determined he did not want to continue an artificially induced life. Tonight they are preparing to transition Chris to hospice care at a friend’s home in the Springs, where Chris will apparently spend his last days here on earth. Short of a miracle of God (which we continue to pray for) Chris will soon be with his Savior, Jesus Christ and Almighty Father God. For Chris, “to live is Christ, to die is gain.”

.

Please pray for the Klicka family – Chris, Tracy and their children, and relatives. I’ll close this post with the words of Pastor Tito Mercato, on Chris’ Caring Bridge site: “In all of this, we have grieved and have been buffeted by the hope of Christ and of his saving grace and resurrecting power.  We are grieving with hope even now.  Would you please join Tracy and family in giving thanks to God for his grace in Chris’ life and would you pray for them that they would have strength and peace to continue to walk through the necessary details of this decision.”

.

May God be praised. To Him be all the glory. We thank and praise him for the life of Chris Klicka and what He has done through him, that has blessed our lives.

And —

At the same time Mike Farris, founder of HSLDA, was called home from the same conference, as his wife Vickie was/is having a flare up of what was recently diagnosed as interstitial cystitis. This disease has no known cause or cure. It is severely painful, but thankfully not life threatening. She is going through a bad episode right now and she is not really functional–she can’t homeschool, she can’t manage the house, etc. Just about anything she eats causes pain reactions. Pray for Vickie and the Farris family too.

To all my dear sweet readers,

It seems everywhere I turn home educating moms are crying out – or wishing they could without feeling looked down upon. They feel overwhelmed, discouraged, tired, worn out, stressed out, and out of sorts. They don’t want to quit. They love what they do. But they are currently under heavy fire, and in need of support.

.

Physical support, in any way you can, would be greatly appreciated I’m sure. I don’t know any mom that would turn down a floor vacuumed, a load of laundry ran, or dishes done.

.

Emotional support is necessary. They need a safe place to express what they’re going through. Someone who will care, and be a shoulder to lean on – or cry on.

.

But most of all they need prayer support. They need lifted up to our heavenly Father. We need to ask for the enemy to be rebuked in this attack. We need to ask for His strength, for they know their own is spent. We need to ask for His Peace in the midst of their storm.

.

Never before have I seen such a wide-spread attack on home educating moms from all over, at the beginning of the typical school-year. Purpose to pray for your home educating sisters in Christ, as they seek to follow their Lord in discipling their children for Him.

We serve a Risen Savior, who suffered and died for our sins, but rose
to life victorious over sin, death, and hell, that we who believe in
Him would also have eternal life.
Halleluia!

Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen:
Luke 24:5-6

May you all have a Blessed Resurrection Day!

If you haven’t been by our Clear Vision [update: Amazing Grace] blog for a while, check out our last four posts on What is the Gospel?

Time to put those convention tips I’ve been writing to use! Our state Home School Convention starts tomorrow.

Today I attended an excellent writing class with Andrew Pudewa of
Institute for Excellence in Writing. If you aren’t familiar with Mr. Pudewa or IEW, you’ve got to check them out. He is a fantastic teacher and speaker.

The class had a focus on writing for the SAT Essay. The way to write an SAT Essay, to get a good score, goes against most of what is done in real world writing, which made it hard for me to do. Good thing I don’t plan to take the SAT.

We didn’t just learn to write wrong though. Mr. Pudewa shared much on writing right also. DD said it was too much to take in in one day and then actually start applying. But we had a great full day learning, and she has much she can take home and gradually put into practice.

Click to check out writing resources from
Institute for Excellence in Writing.

“Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3:7

In these rapidly changing times, we must remember, “There is nothing new under the sun.” All man’s advancements still leave him in the same place.

As technology advances we have more opportunity than ever to reach more people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to use the medium to transmit, not new information, but never changing Truth!

God’s Word never changes, never needs added too, is always constant and always sufficient – in every age, at every time, in every place – for that universal need of everyone.

Take a look at this short video at Steve Camp’s blog.

Jennifer tagged me for this. And I’d already been tagged by Tracy at my ‘from me’ blog, so you can read 7 other random things there.

7 Random or Weird Things About Me and 7 People are Tagged (at the end)

1. I love to go barefoot. Rarely will you find me in shoes, except at church (until I get there anyhow) or in the store, and when it is winter and I have my sheepskin slippers on.

2. I love shoes. My father in law ran a shoe store for over 40 years. At one time I had over 80 pairs of shoes. (No they never wore out. 🙂 Also, this genetic trait has been passed on to most of my dd’s.)

3. I love to be pregnant. I never had morning sickness, just a little queasiness a couple times, mainly when I smelled meat.

4. I love quiet time. I could easily spend a week or two (or month or two?)  just reading and writing and never seeing another soul. (But I would miss my family tremendously. I love them. But I love quiet too.) When we had only girls (5 of them) our house was very quiet. People couldn’t believe there was a houseful of children here.

5. I’d love to have a personal secretary. I don’t need or want a nanny or teacher. A maid would be nice. But I really need someone who can do all my (electronic) paperwork and dictation for me. Anyone have a daughter that’d want to come. I can only afford to pay food. 🙁

6. I love keeping busy. If I live to be 120 I still won’t have all the projects I already have planned out completed. Anyone that’s bored care to come work on some of those?

7. I love exercising my mind but, much of a health nut as I am, hate exercising the body. (It is only of “little value” anyhow, you know.) A nice walk daily would be great, but who has time.

Here are the rules:

* 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
* 2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
* 3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
* 4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Tagged are:

My brain has been way too overtaxed for the last few weeks, so would 7 of you readers please just tag yourself and leave a comment below and a link to your post so others can read and meet you.

I’ve been self-tagged by Mandi @ Under His Construction. Here’s the rules for this book tag:

1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the 5th sentence.

4. Post the next 3 sentences.

5. Tag 5 people.

1. I figured the Bible was too obvious, so I grabbed the next closest book.

2. which was Valley of Vision, which had more than 123 pages.

3. However, it did not have 5 sentences on page 123, as that was the end of a “chapter”/prayer.

4. Here’s the “next 3 sentences” from the NEXT closest book, Morning and Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon.

Believer, have you not found in the midst of plenty a sore famine if your Lord has been absent? The sun was shining, but Christ had hidden Himself, and all the world was black to you; or it was night, and since the bright and morning star was gone, no other star could yield you so much as a ray of light. What a howling wilderness is this world without our Lord!

5. I’ve tagged more than 5 (more than double) since I’m not sure how many will participate. Please play along 🙂 I’d like to know what you are reading. And please comment back here after you’ve posted your tag, so I know. I have more friends I’d like to hear this from, but I’m not sure if you’re blogging anymore, since you haven’t had posts in a long time. You know who you are. Yep, you! 🙂

Tagged are:

MamaArcher

Principled Mom

Principled Discovery

Living Life Between the Trees

Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths

Shepherd’s Fold

On Wisdom’s Path

Principled Reformer

Life Nurturing Education

Let a Woman Learn

Sharing the Journey