After an intensely busy summer, full of friends coming to help build a home for a needy family, late night visits to the emergency room and the push to try and get our learning differently(or disabled)daughter up to grade level.  We were delighted to spend a few days on the central coast relaxing as a family and visiting old friends.  We took borrowed kayaks out on the bay and were delighted to be followed by a harbor seal and stood amazed as we watched a sea otter cavort among the rough waters outside the jetty.  I made notes in my journal on the educational impact all this was having.  I can tend to skimp on science during the school year so I was happy to record everything we did.  We dug through an owl pellet, filled out a questionnaire at a natural history museum and found more information about a bird that visits us in Mexico.

On our way out of town I ran into a bookstore to find a last minute birthday gift for my soon to be fourteen year old daughter.  There were some good selections,  a book of poems illustrated by Tasha Tudor, and a wonderful collection of Charles Dickens, but what really stood out was the karma bracelets, voodoo dolls and other pagan objects.

As I climbed back in the car, I pondered why so many of the really beautiful places, coast towns, country towns are often full of visible signs of godless lifestyles?  Where are the Christians?  Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  So it seems that our light is something that will be visible.  Often as homeschoolers we become so busy with our own kind that we fail to make a dent on society.  I really enjoy being around people like me, people who don't mistake Charlotte Mason for a cake mix brand, or who realize that a day at the pool is a perfect P.E. field trip.  I enjoy my kind, but I am realizing more and more that God wants our faith in him to result in action, not for salvation but as an offering of love to the one who offered all for us.

What does it mean to shine?  It might mean having a neighbor over for tea, or taking your kids to help with housework for an elderly friend or family member.  Whatever the Lord puts before you, do it for his glory. For our great Savior, turn on the light.

Jennifer Pepito

jennpepito@yahoo.com