Of all peoples or places or nations or times, we live in the best. Think of the incredible benefits of living in America, at this time, in this place:
· We never sleep outside under the stars, unless we want to.
· Our children do not dodge gun fire on their way to school (at least not in North Dakota).
· Husbands are not conscripted into the militia, never to be seen or heard from again.
· The shelves at our favorite grocery stores are loaded...they are never bare.
· On the 17 acres my son-in-law and daughter own, there are no land mines.
· God will never, ever leave us or forsake us. Think on that!
· I can send a letter to the editor haranguing a political candidate and I will not disappear some night into a gulag archipelago.
· We have indoor plumbing.
· If I need my appendix removed, they will use anesthesia. I will not need to drink enough whiskey to pass out!
· Even if I can’t afford legal counsel if arrested, the court will provide me with one. This is very unusual in the entire history of the world.
· You don’t have to unequivocally believe anyone’s particular theology, because you can check it out for yourself in one of the many versions of the Bible you probably have available in your home.
· In all likelihood your home will not be quarantined any time soon because of the bubonic plague. And even it were, we have antibiotics that can treat the disease.
· I have an entire room in my home with bookshelves from floor to ceiling, filled to overflowing, with books of my choosing. No government entity will come some night and burn the whole lot.
· Broken arms and legs can be set by people who know how, with the least amount of pain, and with the best possible outcome. Again, no whiskey needed!
· I can publish my ideas in print, on my blog or over the air waves without fear of economic retaliation.
· I can shower everyday if I wish.
· Our government was designed as a representative constitutional republic. Practically unheard of in the world.
· God has reconciled His children to Himself through the sacrifice of His only Son. I will never have to pay for my sins. God has already made complete payment through Jesus Christ.
· Our children never starve...in fact we are so blessed with bounty that many of our little ones are ‘fussy eaters’. There aren’t any fussy eaters in Darfur, Nigeria, Kenya, North Korea or countless other locations in the world.
· It is very likely that the vast majority of our children will grow into adulthood and will not die from famine, war, or disease.
· I have a dishwasher.
· Most of us have more clothes right now than we could wear out in a life time. Particularly true of the polyester years of the 1970s.
· We have gentle bar soaps that we did not need to make with caustic lye.
· The choices in homeschool curriculum, educational supplies and other materials is almost endless. We get to pick.
· If we want to travel throughout the U.S. we have the freedom to do so...and we do not have show our ‘identification papers’ when we cross state borders.
· Corrective eye lenses can be purchased to meet my needs rather than making do with a pair from Wal-Mart. I can even wear monovision contacts.
· Our nation is crisscrossed with really good roads and we have really good cars and trucks to drive on them...and we can do so without stopping at checkpoints.
· Most of us actually have time for hobbies because we needn’t go to the creek for water, or chop wood for heating and cooking, or hunt game in order to eat.
· We will not need to sell any of our children to beggars or temples because we simply can’t afford to feed them or are in need of the money. Still being done in India.
· I can garden and can my produce for the sheer joy of it. If I wasn’t able to, we would not go hungry.
· We have almost instantaneous communication capabilities. If we move from our family on the East coast to Kansas, we will see them again, write to them, talk with them on the phone, or send daily emails. Not like in many times and places where if you left the home place….you left the home place!
· God has given us His Holy Spirit to teach us, guide us, correct us, and comfort us. WOW!

And if that isn’t enough here are some of the really important reasons from the Scriptures:
· Psalm 127:3&5 ~ Behold children are a heritage from the Lord...happy is the man who fills his quiver with them.
· Psalm 128:2 ~ You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
· Psalm 144:15 ~ Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!
· Proverbs 3:13-18 ~ Happy is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than the gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed (happy).
· Proverbs 14:21b ~ ...blessed (happy) is he who is generous to the poor.
· Proverbs 15:13 ~ A glad heart makes a cheerful face…
· Proverbs 15:15b ~ ...the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.
· Proverbs 17:22a ~ A joyful heart is good medicine…
· Proverbs 28:14 ~ Blessed (happy) is the one who fears the Lord always…
· Isaiah 52:7 ~ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’

Joy and its twin sister, happiness, ought to be the earmarks of God’s children. Of all people, God’s own ought to be filled with inexpressible joy because we are redeemed. No somber, dreary music for me. No long, depressing and joyless diatribes either. The joy of the Lord is my strength.

Yes, there are difficulties and occasionally deep sorrows, but the truth is that we are blessed, we are blessed, we are blessed. I have known abandonment, discouragement, despair. I have felt the barbs of angry words and experienced the loss of a loved one. I know what earthly grief can be like, because I have walked that valley. But I have set my face like a flint and refuse to allow sorrow to overwhelm me. Instead I will dwell on the numberless blessings God has bestowed on me, because I am, indeed, blessed. If you do not consider yourself blessed, you need to fall on your knees before the Sovereign Lord and beg Him to show you how magnanimously He has dealt with you!

I Peter 1:8 states, “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
Elisabeth Elliot in Secure in the Everlasting Arms writes, “Joy is the keynote of the Christian life. It is not something that happens. It is a gift, given to us in the coming of Christ.”

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”

Fanny Crosby, that great gospel song writer, blind since 6 weeks old due to a doctor’s mistake, could write:
O what a happy soul am I, although I cannot see!
I am resolved that in this world contented I will be.
How many blessings I enjoy that other people don’t!
To weep and sigh because I’m blind, I cannot and I won’t.

We have ever so many reasons to rejoice, both in this world and because of the world to come. So get busy dancing, and singing and laughing because life is good in America and doubly so as Christians.

I have neglected this blog due to a host of reasons. Most legitimate, but none I will go into.

I wanted to get moving on this and thought I would start with the latest edition of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. If you are not a subscriber, I strongly recommend it. If you can only divy up the dough for one hs mag, this ought to be the one.

The Spring 2008 edition is so full of great stuff that it will take me some time to get through it all. A new feature of TOS is highlighted in this edition: e-books. Yes, hundreds of them are listed including everything from amphibians to quilting...and a lot more.

For those heavily dependent on technology, especially in the area of keeping costs down, you're going to love this.

Check it out.

Our pastor has been slowly working his way through Romans on Sunday mornings. I'm almost 60 years old and have been listening to sermons most of my life, but I have never been privileged to hear such preaching and I am learning truths I should have learned decades ago.

The grace that God pours down on us, abundantly and persistantly, is made clear in the book of Romans. I have heard it said that if you can grasp the doctrines of Paul's letter to the Roman church then you will have a good understanding of God's working with mankind. I believe that is true.

I have run across so many Christians in my life that seem to be quite graceless. They are often condemnatory, accusatory and unloving. I wonder why that is. God has chosen to love His children with complete abandon and yet His children turn around and treat their brothers and sisters as lepers.

I have often jested after hearing another story of Christians treating other Christians with disregard that "they will know we are Christians by our LOVE?" It ought to be true, but, sadly, it often isn't.

I do not want to be like that. I want grace to pour out from me and spill all over everyone I come in contact with. I can trust God to fill me to overflowing with HIS grace so that I can live a life of quiet gentleness and love. It's not going to be easy, because I have often been a very hard-hearted person, but the older I get, the more I absorb Christ's teaching the more likely I am to weep than to accuse.

It's a strange change for me. I have found myself weeping over the death of Mrs. Bhutto. Why? Because I can imagine, only faintly, her eternal destination. Even for whom we would consider the most deserving (Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and their ilk) it still ought to make us weep to think that they must now abandon all hope, that they will be forever seperated from God.  We cannot even imagine such seperation, can we?

So for the new year I hope to continue my journey toward the development of oozing grace. Grace that flows from a heart filled with God's Spirit, open to whatever He has for me. I am grateful to our pastor and to the Apostle Paul for the lessons of Romans.

Grace to you.

Community Baptist Church, Fargo, ND, will feature Jerry Bridges, well-known Christian writer, conference speaker and author for two days of inspirational meetings on March 28-29,2008. Bridges is the author of The Pursuit of Holiness. The sessions will deal with the topic: Is God Really in Control--Trusting God in a World of Hurt.

For more information on this exciting, encouraging, and informative event go to www.cbcfargo.com

Well, well I'm sure those bushels of tomatoes thought they would get the best of me, but HA! HA! I have defeated them. Also, the corn, beets, carrots, cucumbers, buttercup and spaghetti squash and green beans.

The work involved in seeding, hoeing, weeding, watering, harvesting and canning is tremendous. But it is like everything else in life...you don't have to do it all today.

And that's the real lesson of most any task. Just do the next thing. You don't have to do 40 hours of work today, no matter what you may think.

And as I approach my sixties I've discovered something else: Even if you don't get it all done, it really won't matter that much.

There are so many more important things.

• A slow walk with a three-year-old on a unseasonably warm fall day.
• Watching a pair of Eastern bluebirds in the tree row with my grandson.
• Listening to Charlie tell me about the football game...or watching one with him on TV.
• Shouting encouragement to Laura as she pedals rapidly down the driveway.
• Sharing the week's activities with my husband after he's been gone for three days.
• Watching the twins grow and change and mature. Bold Anna, sweet Emma.
• Sunsets in the Red River Valley.
• Observing a full Harvest Moon come up over the horizon.
• Holding Lily after her nap while she slowly, leisurely awakens. 
• Talking with mom about the passing of summer and the approach of another winter...number 88 for her.
• Listening to Alex practice his piano.

And the list could go on for many pages. I'm trying very hard to be quiet and listen...for God's voice, to another's complaint, for an anxious tone in a friend's voice, to the gentle Holy Spirit as He continually prods me to be faithful and fearless.

I want to be busy with my own hands, a keeper of my own home and I want to mind my own business. My goal is to not bring shame on the Lord Jesus' Name. I am a slow learner. I have a stubborn heart. I am arrogant and insolent and often disrepectful.  But I want to be different. At least I want to want to be different. Ah, wretched woman that I am! Yet we can all rejoice in the fact that God gives us the measure of our days and He will shod our feet with adequate footwear for whatever journey He has for us.

It's a wonderful, freeing, assuring feeling to know that we dwell safely in the everlasting arms.

Today in our poetry study we learned about cinquains and diamantes. I have to admit I had never heard of either.

It turned out to be kind of fun. We each wrote several of each.

A cinquain is a five-line poem with the following pattern:

• one-word topic
• two adjectives describing the topic
• three verbs telling what the topic does
• a thought about the one-word topic
• same one-word topic or synonym

Sample (No LOL allowed, please!)

Kitten

Cute, fluffy,

Crawling, sneaking, licking

Mouse hunter

Cat

A diamante is kind of like a cinquain only longer. It contains the following:

• Noun (line 7 will be an antonym to this)
• two adjectives describing the noun
• three verbs ending in -ing describing the noun
• two nouns relating to or describing the word from line 1 and two nouns that relate to or describe the antonym in line 7
• two adjectives describing the word from line 7
• an antonym for the noun in line 1

Sample (again, it is strictly forbidden to make ha ha! about this)

Sky

Blue, spacious

Raining, clearing, shining

Big clear, firm green

Growing, curving, climbing

Green, brown

Earth

Now you try it. Fun, isn't it?!

Well, it's that time of the year again when we begin a more structured school program. We are excited about our new Language Arts program published by Common Sense Press. I know I'm learning alot! :>)

We are using Apologia Science which we love and Saxon Math. We are going to attempt Power-Glide French together. We'll see if what they say is true: the course can practically be self-taught. We'll see, since I have absolutely no experience with French. Streams of Civilization is our basic outline for history and geography. We are learning much, especially about other cultures which were NOT static during the Roman Empire etc.  We are also reading about knights, castles and damsels in distress. My student has built a trebochet, pretty good size, and in working order. We will also be gluing together a cardboard-type castle and making a medieval meal.

It is hard to give up the freedom of summer's schedule and particularly difficult when the weather is still so hot and summer-like. But even with the continued canning, pickling, jellying etc. we are still enjoying the start of another school year.

It's hard not to love Fall. The down side, of course, is that Winter always follows. I do not like Winter any more. As I approach 60 it has become more difficult to see the joy of snow-blown landscapes, biting cold winds and bare tree rows. But Fall is glorious in the Upper Great Plains. There is still the warm breath of Summer during the shortening days, but the nights become chilly and soon the winds come only from the cold north.

Even so, I love living where there are four distinct seasons. But I sure do see why C.S. Lewis portrayed Narnia, under the White Witch, as a place where it was always Winter and never Spring.

We are harvesting at the Blessed Life Ranch, too. Tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, beans, peas, and sweet corn. There is nothing like those first ears of corn, slathered with butter and seasoned with salt. Sliced cucumbers at every meal, along with juicy tomatoes and boiled new potatoes. We have pumpkin and squash, cantalope and watermelon. Three varieties of tomatoes will keep us busy making salsa, spaghetti sauce, tomato soup and stewed tomatoes. Today I canned beets in anticipation of cold winter days when I will simmer a big pot of beet borscht. Dozens of jars of pickles stand at attention on the counter and green beans fill the beginning of more than 100 quarts of the much-loved vegetable. What a blessing.

No wonder God started all things off by placing Adam and Eve in a garden. I wonder what that would have been like to work in a garden where there were no dandelions, thistles, curly dock or purslane. And what about their evenings. The Scriptures say that God walked with them in the evenings. Imagine that...walking with God in the garden. What a blessing. One has to wonder how our first parents could trade that away.

Harvest is the natural end of the garden cycle. Soon my little patch of rich, black loam will lie at rest until Spring. The Spring-Summer-Fall-Winter cycle is a picture of our own lives. Spring goes so quickly that we hardly even notice it and spend most of that time anticipating Summer. Summer is brief but very productive. Fall helps us to realize that our lives are brief, like the grass, and Winter brings our earthly sojourn to an end.  It’s a good picture of our pilgrimage.

I am in the Harvest time of my life. I have lived long enough to look forward to the end of my life with a great joy and anticipation of eternity with the Lord. I think about heaven as I approach the Winter of my life.

I wonder if there will be a garden there?

 By Gail Biby

 Originally published in the August 2007 issue of The Home School Report.

Editorial note: As I have often said in the past, nothing I say or write constitutes legal advice because I am not an attorney. These are my opinions and observations based on many years of experience. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney familiar with home school law or our HSLDA attorney, Dee Black, if you are a member.

Though North Dakota remains one of the most restrictive states in the nation to homeschool (Pennsylvania is certainly more restrictive!), nevertheless the law is relatively easy to understand and to implement. There are certain vagaries and, I believe, some misinterpretations of the current law, with the State usually coming down on the side of the most restrictive interpretation. 

Homeschoolers do very well, thank you!

We must pray that God will allow a sensible, liberty-loving, and parental-rights-affirming law to be written and passed in the future. Homeschoolers have generally proven themselves repeatedly when it comes to academics. We even score higher on tests designed for government students, to test government curriculum. We are disproportionately represented in spelling bees and geography competitions. And we have proven that socialization is better learned from someone who knows what constitutes civilized socialization than from one’s government school peers (When was the last time you heard of a knife- or gun-wielding homeschool student killing his sibling classmates?)

History of the law

The law has gone through many changes since home schooling was finally legalized in 1989. Again, North Dakota was behind most of the rest of the country in taking this step. Almost every legislative session since then the regulations have been tweaked in some manner.  The attempt this past session to allow grandparents to home school though has no precedent to my knowledge. It was the worst case of legislative ineptness and perhaps even mean-spiritedness that I have seen. We can be very grateful for those courageous legislatives that recognized a wrong being done and did everything in their power to correct it. Nevertheless, the attempt proved futile. Again, let us pray that the lessons we learned in this skirmish are not soon forgotten.

The current law

In order to home school in North Dakota you must be the natural or adoptive parent of the child, qualify under one of four provisions, file an annual statement of intent and test the child in grades 4, 6, 8 and 10. You  must provide 4 hours of instruction for 175 days.

During the legislative session the Attorney General was asked for his opinion on whom may homeschool. The opinion in part stated, “only a qualified parent may provide instruction to that parent’s child and that a qualified parent may not supervise someone else who is providing instruction to the child.”  This opinion is problematic for many reasons, not the least of which is: It would not allow a qualified parent to include as part of the homeschool program anything which they did not directly teach. Think about it. That would mean your child’s violin lessons, pottery class, science center experiences, any field trips, piano lessons, local theater/drama endeavors, intra-city soccer, biology lab at your local school or a host of other activities could not be part of your child’s legitimate educational experience. Nonsensical, isn’t it?  This opinion must be challenged by clarifying the current law. So as it currently stands the home educator must be the natural or adoptive parent, if you wish to abide by the AG’s opinion.

Records

The parent educator is required to maintain an annual record of courses taken by the child and any progress assessments, including the standardized achievement test

results. That’s it. You do not need to keep copies of anything else for the perusal of anyone else. However, I strongly recommend the keeping of simple files containing representative work completed by the child. I would also keep the originals of the child’s proof of identity and immunization records.

Parental qualifications

The parent must meet one of the following qualifications:

·          Be a ND state certified teacher

·          Have a 4-year baccalaureate degree

·          Take a national teacher exam

·          Be monitored by a ND state certified teacher for 2 years

The baccalaureate can be in anything, it needn’t be an education degree. The law simply states “a national teacher exam” and does not specify which one the parent may use. We are currently suggesting the use of the PreProfessional Skills Test (Praxis I), currently being used in the teacher licensure process in ND.  The Department of Public Instruction does not have the authority to determine which test is used.  If you qualify under the monitoring provision you must be monitored for at least two years. Once the monitoring is successfully completed you do not need additional monitoring when you home school additional children (NDCC 15.1-23-06, -07, -08).

Statement of intent filing

You must file an annual statement of intent (soi) with your local school district of residence on each child between the ages of 7 (by September 1) and 16. Once the child reaches the age of 16 a statement of intent need not be filed unless the child is participating in co- or extra-curricular events at the school.

The soi must contain certain information but it does not need to be on a certain form. One is available at  www.ndhsa.org and www.hslda.org.  It must include the child’s name, address, date of birth, grade level, name and address of parent, qualification of parent, public school courses the child intends to take and any extracurricular activities which the child will participate in (NDCC 15.1-23-02). The child’s social security number is NOT required and I do not recommend giving out that information.

The soi must be accompanied by the child’s proof of identity (NDCC 54-23.2-04.2).  Proof of identity is generally a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate, but the statute states it can be anything the local superintendent deems proof of identity. Also, you must attach the child’s immunization record, if you immunize, or a copy of your opt-out declaration. I recommend filing the soi by certified mail as proof that it was mailed and received. Once the proof of identity and immunization records are on file common sense would dictate that you do not need to file them every year, unless there is a change. Additionally, if you are qualifying under the baccalaureate or national teacher exam options, be sure to attach a copy of your diploma or the results of the PPST.  If you are a ND state certified teacher attach a copy of your certificate. If you are in a monitored program you may need to provide proof of high school graduation or a copy of your G.E.D.

Testing provisions

The current statutes require that home schooled children be tested in grades 4, 6, 8 and 10. If your school district will provide you with a test it must be a standardized achievement test. If you rent your own from a test supplier it must also be nationally normed. It must be administered by a ND state certified teacher and given in the child’s learning environment or at the local public school at the parent’s discretion. If the school provides the test, they pay for it. If you provide it through a testing company, you pay for it. The test must be administered in its norming period and once you receive the test scores you must file a copy with your school district of residence.

If your child tests below the 30th percentile on the basic composite score additional factors come in to play. The child must then be tested for a disability. The subsequent requirements are based on those findings  (NDCC 15.1-23-11,-12,13).

Regarding developmental disabilities

The law spells out the requirements for homeschooling developmentally disabled children. Three times a year you must file progress reports with your school district that have been prepared by the services plan team. This team consists of members from the school district of residence and the child’s parent or the parent may opt for and recompense a team of their choosing. For information  see NDCC 15.1-23-14, -15.

Extracurricular activities

North Dakota law allows home schoolers to participate in both curricular and extracurricular activities at the local school or at an approved nonpublic school. The child must meet the same standards for participation as public school students. Once you have chosen the school and have provided notification through your statement of intent, the child is subject to the same transfer rules as provided by the North Dakota High School Activities Association.

Your child may also take any academic courses provided by your school district or at a private school. You must list the courses to be taken at the public school on your statement of intent. You do not need to list the academic courses being taken at a private school.

Diplomas

Your local school district, an approved nonpublic high school or the ND Division of Independent Study may issue a high school diploma, however, most school districts will require that your child becomes a fulltime public school student for a certain period of time, generally their senior year. An approved nonpublic high school can set any requirements they wish in order to grant your child a diploma. The Division of Independent Study route can be very expensive.  The majority of home schooling parents in North Dakota issue the diploma themselves, after all, they did the teaching. To my knowledge, the parent-issued diploma carries the same weight as one issued by a government entity.

If you have questions regarding the law go to www.ndhsa.org for clarification or to print a copy of the statutes and the statement of intent. Comments can be sent to the author at billbiby@msn.com

We are going to do a brief unit study during the summer months (plus math and science) as we think it will be beneficial to just keep on with 'school'.

I am putting together my own attempt at a unit study on this subject by simply gathering materials I have in my library.

Here are my resources:

• The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia ~ You could hardly find a more wonderful display of photos and drawings to make plain how various cultures lived, worked, invented, dressed, ate and played.
• Kings and Queens of England (David Williamson) ~ Another highly informational resource with great photos, paintings etc.
• The Middle Ages-A Watts Guide for Children (Editor William Jordan) ~ This publication is like a mini encyclopedia specific to this time frame. Great illustrations.
• Streams of Civilization (Christian Liberty Press) ~ Wonderful overview with plenty of opportunities for the instructor to gear to the learner.
• Historical novels:  Wulf the Saxon and The Dragon and the Raven by G.A.Henty; Richard the Lionhearted in the Crusades by Robert N. Webb from the We Were There series.
• Medieval England (Editor H.W.C.Davis) ~ Very comprehensive resource.
• The Church in History (B.K.Kuiper) ~ Used in many Christian schools. Excellent resource with illustrations, maps, diagrams etc.
• The Story of the World (Susan Wise Bauer) Vol. 2: The Middle Ages ~ Could easily be read aloud. Geared toward the younger child but useful for all ages.
• Fast and Feast (Bridget Ann Henisch) ~ Everything related to food in medieval society.

We will study what we find interesting and move through the material quickly. I hope to have several hands-on projects (swords, shields, coat-of arms, castle building etc.)

It is a fascinating period to study and it was certainly NOT the Dark Ages. Much was going on.

 If you have any suggestions for additional resources, leave a comment.

I think this is really important. Even though it probably won't affect most homeschool state groups, it's the still an attack on free speech.

Gail

May 11, 2007

HSLDA: Calls Needed Protect Grassroots Lobbying from Federal Control

Dear HSLDA members and friends,

We urgently need you to call your U.S. Representative to resist
efforts to place federal control over grassroots lobbying activity. 
The House of Representatives is preparing to introduce its own
lobbying reform bill, and it is very likely that attempts will be made
to regulate grassroots lobbying.  Grassroots lobbying is the type of
lobbying homeschoolers used to defeat the amendment to H.R. 6 in 1994
that could have required homeschool parents to be certified as
teachers by the state.

The House Judiciary Committee plans to consider the House lobbying
reform bill as early as Tuesday of next week.  At that time, two other
bills may be introduced as amendments: H.R. 2093
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=4097 and H.R. 984
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=4098 .  The Democrat leadership in
the House has not released the official date of the Judiciary
Committee action, but it is a strong possibility that it will happen
on Tuesday, and the lobbying reform bill will very likely be voted on
by the full House of Representatives as early as May 22.  For that
reason, we urge you to call your Representative immediately.

Home School Legal Defense Association opposes both of these bills, as
they will increase regulation on entities who urge citizens to call
their elected officials.  H.R. 2093, a bill to "Amend the Lobbying
Disclosure Act of 1995," will regulate attempts to encourage citizens
to contact their elected representatives, otherwise known as
"grassroots lobbying." This is done by broadening the definition of a
"lobbying firm" to include entities that spend, receive or agree to
spend or receive $100,000 per quarter on grassroots lobbying
activities.  H.R. 984, the "Executive Branch Reform Act of 2007" will
require over 9,000 employees in the Executive Branch to report any
"significant contact" between the employee and a citizen about any
official government action. 

Although these bills may not affect most homeschool support groups,
organizations, or churches at the outset, they strike at the heart of
free speech and the rights of citizens to stay informed about their
government and call their elected officials.  If these bills are
passed, more restrictions will follow on anyone who urges citizens to
call Congress, including restrictions that would severely burden
homeschool support groups, organizations, and churches.  Please read
more about this and the victory for grassroots lobbying in the Senate
at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=4099 .

ACTION REQUESTED

Please call your U.S. Representative today and urge him or her to vote
against H.R. 2093 and H.R. 984 if they are brought up as amendments to
the lobbying reform bill, and to vote against any effort to restrict
grassroots lobbying.  Your message can be as simple as, "As Congress
prepares to take up lobbying reform, please make sure that the First
Amendment right of citizens to call their elected officials is
protected.  Please vote against H.R. 2093, H.R. 984, and any other
bill that restricts grassroots lobbying."  It is not necessary to
identify yourself as a homeschooler.

Please pass this alert on to friends and other concerned citizens and
urge them to call their U.S. Representative.

You can reach your U.S. Representative by calling the U.S. Capitol
Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or by using our legislative toolbox at
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3602 .

Thank you for standing for liberty.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Smith
President, HSLDA

On Friday, May 11, my daughter and I are hosting a party for a group of homeschooling gals. We are having a luscious dessert, games, prizes, lots of great conversation and a brief devotional. Since I'm the oldster my daughter, Aimee, asked me to give the devotional. So I asked her on what subject would she like me to expound? She said, "Something on cross bearing." CROSS BEARING!? I am probably the last person on God's sweet, green earth to be able to expound on diligent cross bearing. I have whined, grumbled, pleaded, resisted and bellyached about the crosses in my life. I don't like cross bearing, I don't do it well, and it hurts!

Both Aimee and I have read Ted Dekker's The Martyr's Song. This is where she got the idea because the price of following Christ is clearly and literally portrayed in this Bosnian village after WW II and the village women's trial and the death of Father Michael. It is one of the most painful and thought-provoking books I have ever read. I told you...cross bearing hurts! And yet, truth be told, it is our lot while we travel on this pilgrim journey. We were made for heaven though so cross bearing must have something to do with getting us ready for heaven.

Today is Thursday, tomorrow is the party and I still don't know what to give for the devotional. I'm still thinking, but I'm pretty sure it will have to do with getting fit for heaven

A former mayor of Fargo, Jon Lindgren, president of the local Freethinkers group stated, “The monument will display a sentence from a historical doctrine.”  

I had to ask myself: Who are the Freethinkers? And what historic doctrine is he talking about?  The Fargo Forum article mentioned language from the Treaty of Tripoli (1797). Here I display my own ignorance. What was the Treaty of Tripoli (I was pretty sure it had to do with pirates and Muslims!) and what does that have to do with the Ten Commandments monument erected in 1958?

So I went online. I Googled (I think that’s a word now!) “Freethinkers” and was surprised to find that there are groups all over the country, even the world, that are part of Freethinkers. The obvious quest then was to find out what they think. I read pages and pages and went to numerous sites. I found these words to describe them:  secularists, humanists, atheists, agnostics, materialists, evolutionists, skeptics, pacifists, socialists or any combination of the aforementioned. Nowhere did I find a “statement of belief” (I think belief is a word they only use sneeringly).  From what I read they are open to any system of belief (sorry, there’s that word again!) except for Christianity. On one site I actually found a hymnal. Now what in the world would they have to sing about? I was saddened to find disrespectful, contemptuous words substituted in hymn parodies such as All Hail the Power of Darwin’s Name, Amazing Place, Tell Me No Stories of Jesus, There is No Hell (tune: The First Noel), Evolution Chorus (tune: Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah) and many more. 

One site listed a tentative (a disclaimer states that names could be removed without notice if a lawsuit is threatened) Who’s Who of Freethinkers which included: Woody Allen, Fidel Castro, Larry Flynt, Howard Stern, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, Karl Marx, Ted Turner, Friedrich Nietzsche, Joseph Stalin, Barry Manilow, Clarence Darrow, Charles Darwin, Jack Kevorkian, Aldous Huxley, Mark Twain, Mikhail Gorbachev, Hugh Hefner, John Lennon and many more.

So that’s the Freethinkers thinking.

Next I searched through my U.S. Government section in our library and found very little on the Treaty of Tripoli, but when I Googled! it I found some great information. The Treaty of Tripoli (1797) was one of several negotiated during the conflict with the Barbary Coast (Tunis, Morocco, Algiers, Tripoli) Muslim pirates. Their war, by their own claim, was against the Christian nations of England, France, Spain, Denmark and the U.S.

For many years the Muslim fleets regularly attacked undefended U.S. merchant ships. The cargo was stolen and the seamen were enslaved (apparently in retaliation for the Crusades and expulsion of the Moors from Spain).  The U.S. sent envoys to negotiate the Peace and Amity treaties in an attempt to stop the Muslim pirates from stealing and kidnapping. The terms were like so many U.S. treaties:  we got the short end of the stick (e.g. the U.S. provided a warship to Tripoli, a frigate to Algiers, $525,000 in ransom for captured U.S. seamen).  By June 1815 when the U.S. had finally had enough of the theft and slavery perpetrated by the Muslim pirates, the malcontents were completely overwhelmed and agreed to American terms making the Mediterranean  safe for trade and travel.

Now to the historical document mentioned by Lindgren and his merry band of Freethinkers. The Treaty of Tripoli (1797) contains the following Article XI:

As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen and as the said State have never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

ND Freethinkers want to include the beginning of the quote (italicized) on their memorial to be erected near the Ten Commandments. Am I a dullard or what? Why would they want to memorialize anything since they don’t seem to really believe in anything?

Is this being properly interpreted by Freethinkers? According the David Barton, WallBuilders, Article XI can be read in two manners. It can be concluded after the clause “Christian religion”, which is what the monument-erecting Freethinkers intend. Or it can read in its entirety.

Barton states:

Even if shortened and cut abruptly (“the government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion”), this is not an untrue statement since it is referring to the federal government. Recall that while the Founders themselves openly described America as a Christian nation, they did include a constitutional prohibition against a federal establishment, religion was a matter left solely to the individual States. Therefore, if the article is read as a declaration that the federal government of the United States was not in any sense founded on the Christian religion, such a statement is not a repudiation of the fact that America was considered a Christian nation. (www.wallbuilders.com/resources/search/detail.php?ResourceID=5)

Barton goes on to say that the article attempted to make clear the differentiation between European Christianity and its hatred for Muslims and the newly-founded nation. It was an attempt to alleviate the fears of the Barbary Coast countries that America would take up the war against Islam that European Christian nations had been fighting for centuries.

Involved parties in the struggle had no illusions about the Christian nature of the American nation. The Barbary Coast pirates didn’t either, as demonstrated by one of their maxims: The Christians who would be on good terms with them must fight well or pay well.  

General Eaton, U.S. Military Agent to the Barbary States, in correspondence to Secretary of State Timothy Pickering to apprise him of why the Muslims would be such dedicated foes stated:

Taught by revelation that war with the Christians will guarantee the salvation of their souls, and finding so great secular advantages in the observance of this religious duty, their [the Muslims’] inducements to desperate fighting are very powerful. (Emphasis added.)

The pirates even thanked the U.S. for their extorted compensations by saying:

To speak truly and candidly we must acknowledge to you that we have never received articles of the kind of so excellent a quality from any Christian nation. (Emphasis added.)

Following the termination of these wars, Charles Prentiss published The Life of the Late Gen. William Eaton: Several Years an Officer in the United States’ Army Consul at the Regency of Tunis on the Coast of Barbary, and Commander of the Christian and Other Forces that Marched from Egypt Through the Desert of Barca, in 1805, and Conquered the City of Derna, Which Led to the Treaty of Peace Between the United States and the Regency of Tripoli (Hard to imagine a publisher allowing a title of this length to be used today!).  (Emphasis added.)

The main players in the event knew full well that the Barbary Coast pirates were Muslims and their American adversaries were Christian, irregardless of what Article XI may be misconstrued to mean.

Back full circle to the Freethinkers. It is quite disingenuous of them to advocate language  which even with a cursory look does not appear to mean what they intend. A look at ALL the history of the naissance of America, a reading of even a small amount of the documents relative to the Founding Fathers (see side bar this page for Supreme Court decisions) or an honest review of the design of our Constitutional representative republic will lead one to understand that America was founded upon Christian principles, by mostly Christian men with a primarily Christian worldview.

Additional quotes from Supreme Court decisions add weight to the view that America was founded from a Christian worldview: 

Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian.

Church of the Holy Trinity  v. United States, (1892), U.S. Supreme Court Justice Josiah Brewer

 We are a Christian people...according to one another the equal right of religious freedom, and acknowledge with reverence the duty of obedience to the will of God.

United States v. Macintosh, (1931), U.S. Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland

It is true that religion has been closely identified with our history and government. As we said in Engle v. Vitale, “The history of man is inseparable from the history of religion.” 

Secularism is unconstitutional...preferring those who do not believe over those who do believe...It is the duty of government to deter no-belief religions...Facilities of government cannot offend religious principles.

School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, (1963), U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark

We find no constitutional requirement makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion and to throw its weight against the efforts to widen the scope of religious influence. We cannot read into the Bill of Rights such a philosophy of hostility to religion.

Zorach v. Clauson, (1952) U.S. Supreme Court, Justice William O. Douglas

We have been subscribers to World magazine for many years. As one-time Time and Newsweek readers we were looking for weekly news from a Christian perspective and that's what we found in World. We don't exactly fight over it when it appears in the mailbox, but kind of!

Reading world and national news from a Biblical worldview is refreshing in our culture. An added bonus has been my discovery of Andree Seu. Mrs. Seu writes a regular column for World and it has become very important to me. My soul has soared at the reading of her vignettes; my heart has wept over the beauty of her word smithing; my spirit has been grieved by my own sloth and failure to act on the truth I already know; and I have grown to love this woman, this widow, this mom, this pilgrim.

My dear husband surprised me for Valentine's Day and purchased two of Mrs. Seu's latest books, both compilations of her columns from World. What a blessing. They are like reading Elisabeth Elliot, whom I adore and respect and consider a long-distance mentor. Mrs. Seu deserves to be read by Christian women. Her insights and lessons have been tempered in the fire of loss, grief and deep sorrow. Yet she continues to sing and dance with joy.

The books are entitled: Won't Let You Go Unless You Bless Me and Normal Kingdom Business.

I urge you to subscribe to World (no, I don't work for them!) and perhaps someone will bless you (or you will bless someone) as my husband has blessed me with copies of Mrs. Seu's books. You will not regret it.

I was prompted to to think about the briefness of our time on earth several years ago when we were returning from the national HSLDA state leaders’ conference in Spokane.  Driving across Montana can be  an exercise in boredom for some, but for Bill and me it is a joy immeasurable.  We love the wide open spaces of eastern Montana where you can see the horizon in every direction. 

Whenever we take a long trip I have a sense of excitement as I near the North Dakota border...coming home is sometimes the best part of a trip for me!  My husband always toots the horn as we enter our state.  That anticipation of getting home got me to thinking about that same feeling for my eternal home.  

My next major chronological milestone is the age of 60.  The years have passed rapidly.  As I continue my journey towards heaven I have become more thoughtful about the whole process of life, the point of our toil and the sureness of what is and what is not important. 

The wisest mortal who ever lived, Solomon, said this, “For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.  And how does a wise man die? As the fool!” 

Our lives are brief and they will be remembered only by those whom we have personally touched in some way.  Generally, once our children and grandchildren are gone....we are remembered no more.  It is the order of things.  And I say as Solomon said, “I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.”  There is sweet comfort in these words.

What will I be remembered for?  Baroness Karen Blixen who wrote under the pseudonym, Isak Dinesen, said this as she contemplated her forced exile from Kenya, a land she loved:

“If I know  song of Africa--I thought,-- of the Giraffe, and the African new moon lying on her back, of the ploughs in the fields, and the sweaty faces of the coffee-pickers, does Africa know a song of me?  Would the air over the plain quiver with a colour that I had had on, or the children invent a game in which my name was, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or would the eagles of Ngong look out for me?” 

What song will the world sing of me? What shadow will my loved ones cast that was like me?  What will they remember of me? 

What will your loved ones remember of you?  Will people talk of your happy heart and abundant mercy?  Will they remember your Christ-likeness? Will anyone even remember that you kept a clean house or will they remember how gracious you always were and how gentle you treated others in that house?   Will your children and grandchildren smile when they speak your name...even long after you have gone to be with Jesus?  Will they remember your willingness to serve and, even harder for many of us, our willingness to be served?

Life is ephemeral. Today we work. Tomorrow we fly away.  Here is what Ecclesiastes says:

“One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever.” (Ecc. 1:4)  “As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return.  To go as he came; and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand.” (Ecc. 5:15)   “No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, and no one has power in the day of death.” (Ecc. 8:8) “For man does not know his time.” (Ecc.9:12)  “If a person lives many years let him rejoice in them all.”  (Ecc. 11:8A) “For man goes to his eternal home.” (Ecc.12:5b) “Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well.  Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” (Ecc.12:6) 

Solomon concluded his thoughts by delineating the whole duty of man, “Fear God and keep His commandments.” 

So because life is so temporary, so transient we must diligently make each day count. 

The great hymnist Isaac Watts put it this way:

A thousand ages in thy sight

Are like an evening gone

Short as the watch that ends the night

Before the rising sun.

Time, like an ever rolling stream

Bears all its sons away

They fly, forgotten, as a dream

Dies at the opening day.

O, God, our help in ages past

Our hope for years to come

Be thou our guard while life shall last

And our eternal home.

Comfort can be found in the old gospel song, seldom heard in modern churches today.

Jesus, Saviour, pilot me

Over life’s tempestuous sea;

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rock and treacherous shoal;

Chart and compass came from Thee

Jesus, Saviour, pilot me.

As a mother stills her child,

Thou can’st hush the ocean wild;

Boisterous waves obey Thy will

When Thou say’st to them, “Be still!’

Wondrous Sovereign of the sea,

Jesus, Saviour, pilot me.

When at last I near the shore,

And the fearful breakers roar

‘Twixt me and the peaceful rest,

Then, while leaning on Thy breast,

May I hear Thee say to me, “Fear not, I will pilot thee.”

These are not thoughts on dying; they are thoughts on living. Every day, dear ones, we must live life with the zeal that comes from knowing we belong to the Great Creator and Sustainer of all. 

Has He given you burdens to bear?  He will under gird you.  Has He allowed sorrows in your walk with Him?  He will be your Divine Comfort.  Have you been abandoned, physically or emotionally?  Have you lost a loved one to death? Our great God will never leave you or forsake you.  And when finally we come to the end of our lives and enter our eternal home we can confidently say that God has been with us all the way.

Clean houses, academically bright children, home-cooked meals from scratch, ironed clothes or neatly folded laundry do not count for eternity.  If these are tasks God has given you then HOW you do them is much more important than HOW you do them. 

You will look back someday as I have and be amazed at how quickly your little one has gone from child to young woman to wife and mother.  You will be stunned by the passing of the years.  Do everything you can to prevent regrets.  Do what you can...don’t try to do what you can’t.  Do what is essential and skip the nonessentials.  Children remember when Mom takes time for an autumn walk on an unusually mild November day or plans a trip to the zoo.   They won’t remember if your house was spotless or if their clothes were ironed. 

Our walk with God is, “A long, steady obedience in the same direction.” It’s so easy to get off course.  As on a stormy sea, we can be tossed about by every wind of new ideas or curriculum or educational method that comes our way until we are confused and exasperated by the whole tortuous journey.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

In just a few short years I will be 60.  I have few regrets...but the ones I have that haunt me are the regrets about those I hurt, or ignored, or failed to love...the wasted time I spent in foolishness and the failures I experienced in my life as wife and mother...the time not taken to listen to a little red-headed girl or the flippant way I dismissed the thoughts of my tentative husband. But, by God’s good and plenteous grace, even the years poorly spent ended up making me who I am, again, by God’s good grace. 

A Proverbs 31 woman I will  probably never be.  But I can be constantly growing more like Christ and I can be more merciful, more gracious, less rushed and my life can be suffused with kindness.   That’s my goal...to grow old with grace so that when people see me they really don’t see me at all, instead they see Jesus. 

I want my loved ones to remember that I loved God more than anything and although I failed repeatedly I never quit. 

So my admonition to you is this:  You are engaged in the discipling and education of your children...you could hardly pick a more worthwhile endeavor.  Feeling exhausted some days?  Most days?  Don’t give up...this is worth more than you can imagine.  And someday when you approach your sixth decade you will be able to look back and see the delicious fruits of your perseverance.  And your children will rise up and call you “Blessed!”

Elisabeth Elliot’s aunt, Anne Howard, penned the following encouragement that can be an internal compass and prayer:

Help me to live this day quietly, easily;

To lean upon Thy great strength trustfully,

  restfully;

To meet others peacefully, joyously;

To face tomorrow confidently, courageously.

Finally, I memorized the following prior to our trip to India in 1997.  I was fearful of the journey, as though God was not in India!

Stilled now be every anxious care;

See God’s great goodness everywhere;

Leave all to Him in perfect rest;

He will do all things for the best.

And this is my prayer for you:  That God will quiet your hearts, lead you in the paths of peace and fill you to overflowing with His mercy and grace so that it can’t help but spill out all over everyone you come in contact with, for the sake of His glorious Name!  Like the Psalmist said, may we recognize that God will guide us to our desired haven. (Ps. 107:30b)

Now I know that some home educators do not keep a school calendar at all, but in North Dakota we are required by law to provide 4 hours of instruction for 175 days during our school year. However, we are not required by law to ever submit a school calendar to our school district of residence.

I keep a pretty detailed schedule for the two I home school, with the clear understanding (this is my OWN understanding!) that it is open to change and needs to be flexible. Having determined that though, I make every effort to maintain a schedule that keeps us moving forward.  I know of home schooling famlies that use the unschooling method and, frankly, that would never work for me simply because of my makeup. I believe it does work very well for many.

Why do I keep a schedule? Primarily for my own benefit. How will I know I have met my goals if I have no way to assess them?  I have goals for each of my students which represent where they are academically, socially, spiritually and even physically (who would have thought that a sudden growth spurt and hormonal changes could affect a boy like this!!??).

Practically speaking, I simply took a 2006 and 2007 calendar and copied them to suit my 3-ring binder. Using a colored pencil I colored in the days set aside for 4 hours of instruction. Since our school year coincides with the traditional government school year it allows us time off during the summer months when we are very busy with yard and garden work. We do have about 16 days during the three summer months which we use to either finish up the year's projects or take a quick but in-depth class. Summer 2007 will find us studying biology together.

Working the schedule is also accomplished in our home school by using a detailed daily/weekly planner. Not everyone needs or wants to use this system, but I find it very beneficial. It allows me to see where we have been, what we have missed and how much we have accomplished. It also is great record for me personally when it comes time to prepare the high school transcript for college admission. Again, I belive this should be done in a manner consistant with your needs and abilities.

Recordkeeping can become a real chore, but I have found that if I set aside time with my students each Monday morning to prepare the daily/weekly planner it is a much less cumbersome job and the kids end up having a stake in it, too.

Teaching Science

At almost 60 years of age I have just now discovered that I really like science. If I would have had good science teachers using good materials over the years of my formal schooling I might really have developed a great love for it.   I am now homeschooling my two oldest grandchildren and we are using Apologia Science for General Science and Physical Science.  I have already purchased their courses in Biology and the Human Body. These courses are designed for home educators and they are wonderful! Written as though the instructor is sitting across the table from the student, these textbooks are a cut above. We love the experiments! They are designed to teach important scientific facts using items found in the average home. We have done many of them and, as yet, have not had to buy anything to complete the projects.   An added and very important bonus is that they are all written from a Biblical worldview. Sometimes materials so written lack a professional finished product. Not so with Apologia.   I am learning so much!  And so are the children.   You can find out more about Apologia Science by googling Apologia Science.

ND Legislative Session

In December 2006 the 60th Session of the ND Legislature will convene in Bismarck. Historically the sessions have not been particularly home school friendly. We do anticipate having at least one Senator and one Representative that will be favorable to home educators.   Look for increased mandatory immunizations from the Department of Health. Anticipate an attempt to lower the compulsory attendance age and increase the number of school days. These will be directed toward government and private schools and should not affect home schoolers. Since home schoolers operate in ND under their own statutes it is unlikely that legislation will be introduced to change them, however, don't be so naive as to assume it couldn't be attempted.   It is in all of our best interests to keep abreast of what is happening during the session. For more information on this go to http://www.legis.nd.gov/assemply/60-2007   Stay tuned!

The term mentor is bantered about these days so frequently that it's hard to know exactly what the word means anymore.

This week I lost someone I considered a mentor many years before it had become fashionable.

Though I rejoice that this godly man has gone to be with Jesus, the world is immeasurably diminished because of his death.

Today mentors are considered long-standing if they have know their charge 3-5 years or have seen a youngster through the teen years. My mentor was involved with me and my family for more than 40 years. He was a friend to all because he knew the Best Friend of all. He was a merciful and gracious man because he had experienced God's great mercy and grace. He was a humble, gentle man because he was a member of the Great Gentle Shepherd's flock. He was wise because he sought for true wisdom from above and he had a remarkable sense of humor.

As the years passed and we grew up and went away we still kept in touch. The more time passed the less were the contacts, but it didn't change our relationship. We could always take up right where we left off. As old age and Alzheimer's began to take Stan's memories from him, my memories did not dim.

What would have happened to that little dysfunctional family if Stan and Simone hadn't purposed in their already overburdened hearts to take us to be their own. To nurture us, be gracious to us, accept us where we were and never once in all those years did either of them ever make any of us feel unwelcome.

Stan and Simone, StanandSimone, it was actually one word after all these years. It will be hard for Simone to go on I imagine because part of her will be forever missing until they are once again united in glory.  What a blessing to have known this humble, loving couple. To have benefited from their gentle, tender grace. It changed my life forever. And the lives of many. Only our dear Lord knows how many lives were nurtured and changed because of the, as Tozer put it, “the long, slow steady obedience in the same direction” that both Stan and Simone showed to high and low, rich and poor, saved and unsaved.

I have often been in study groups or ladies’ Bible groups or Sunday School classes where the subject of mentorship comes up. When it does, I always mention Stan and Simone’s name.

Stan never forgot where he came from (MONTANA!) and he never forgot where he was going (HEAVEN!).

He's there now!

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!