Sep. 27, 2007 - Review TEACH Magazine Fall 2007 Volume XI, Issue 3
Posted in Everyday Grace
I just recently started receiving TEACH Magazine in the mail. I must say that I am very impressed. They go to great lengths to produce a good quality periodical. The photos are simply beautiful. It's printed on glossy paper. You can tell that Lorrie Flem puts alot of love into her work.
TEACH Magazine is designed to have a central theme with each publication. The Fall 2007 theme is "The Taming of the Tongue." Isn't it always interesting and mysterious how God seems to be working a character trait in your heart and then drops encouragement in your lap with a perfectly timed magazine, books, or simple article online? This is how I felt as I devled into my first issue of TEACH.
There were a few articles that really spoke to me in this issue. The first article was written by Lorrie Flem "Yelling: You Know How To. . .Here's How Not To." Talk about needing to tame the tongue. If there is anyone in this world that needs more help with NOT yelling it's me. Lorrie points out a few problems with yelling at our children. She used a quote that simply split my heart in half when I considered my own children. "Yelling overpowers children, it makes them feel frustrated and angry, and what can happen is that after awhile kids become immnue to being yelled at. They tune it out." This was a quote from Dr. Myrna B. Shure of Drexel Univeristy. As I read that quote I was reminded of the command for fathers not to exasperate their children. That command is for mothers as well. Lorrie offers a simple suggestion for stopping the yelling in our lives toward our children. . . .train them. Simple but true. She gives examples of just how she does this and point us in the direction of other resources in needed. It was definately an article God used to pull me out of my complacency with my children and pushed me back in doing my job the right way.
Another very good article in this issues was in the Swinging on the Back Porch section written by Marylin Boyer. Now this article was timely. I have been reading a book about not wasting my life. It's centered on ways to serve the Lord to bring Him full glory. But this book is geared toward all of life. Marilyn article broought to light the many ways I can be training my children in the areas of service toward others and glorifiying God in the process. The article is called "Serving With Responsibility." The basic premise behind Marilyn's writing is that "each family member needs spheres of responsibility." (pg.7) That is so true. If we want our children serving outside the home as they grow older, they must learn to serve in the home first. They will not learn to glorify God in their lives if they are not taught to carry responsibilities beyond what they like to do. Marilyn gives specific ideas to help you train your children in the act of serving. And the Spirit can use some of her ideas to help spark other ideas. I know I already have a few that I am cooking up for my children.
Finally, the most convicting and helpful article that I read in this issue was written by Shelley Noonan. If you don't much about Shelley, you can check out her website Pumpkin Seed Press. Shelley's article was titled "A Queen in a Home of Her Own." I simply loved this. She wrote in regards to training our daughters to be keepers at home. But what I enjoyed most was finding that someone else whose gone before me shares my view that young girls should be taught to keep a home at an early age. I have always had a goal to have my daughters (well all my children for that matter) able to run my home by the time they are 16 years old. Shelley sets the bar higher and says by 11 or 12 years old. Now that just gets the motors in my head and heart turning. She gives three specific areas that every young lady should be trained in: Cleaning their room, Laundry, and Meals. Her greatest encouragement to me was the idea that I need to become a supervisor, such as in the role an employer might have over an employee. My girls are capable of doing so much more than I expect them even to do now. I am training them very specifically in the area of laundry. In fact, all my children start helping with laundry around the ages of 2-3 years old. They also go through training to thoroughly clean their room (although we haven't gone through the training process of cleaning with duster and vacuum. That is next.) The area that I mostly fall short is in the kitchen. And wouldn't you know that God gave me a child that LOVES to cook. I am constantly challenged by her to be in the kitchen training her. I did finally train her in how to bake bread. But I am often guilty of "running out of time" so I take it back from her just to get it done. I need to slow down and plan better so she has those opportunities to be in the kitchen learning to be queen of her own home at her own pace. This was simply a wonderful reminder of why God has placed these two precious little girls in my home. And it's my dream that they will love their homes before they ever get there. Thank you Shelley for the great reminder.
If you've never read TEACH Magazine before, I encourage you to check it out. I have been inspired and encouraged as a homeschool mom. Homeschooling is so much more than simply pulling out school books to learn. Life is a school and the books are only the supplement. This magazine offers help along this journey in the areas that count the most.
God Bless,
Karen
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