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Featured Blogger ~ MissionaryMama
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5:07 PM, Nov. 20, 2008 .. Posted in Featured Blogger of the Week .. 0 comments .. Link
I don't believe we have too many bloggers here at HSB that live in Peru. MissionaryMama does and you can find her Deep in the Mountains. Isn't the internet an amazing thing? You can visit someone living in Peru and you don't even have to worry about snakes, bugs, and proper hiking attire. Communication Corner ~ Day 4 "21 Days to More Godly Communication"
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The Lord instructs us on the power of the tongue hundreds of times in His Word. Yesterday I talked about how our tongues can be used to bless people, but our tongues may also be used for evil. Day 4 of my "21 Days to More Godly Communication" comes from Psalms. 1:28 AM, Nov. 20, 2008 .. Posted in Communication Corner .. 0 comments .. Link "Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit." -Psalm 34:13 Our words are almost real things. They can be used to bless or to curse. Speaking evil can hurt someone even more than physical harm. As a kid, you probably heard the phrase, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Well, I'm here to shatter that illusion. Words can be used as a sword to cut the soul of a person. You can almost mortally wound a person with your tongue. With your lips you may destroy a person's reputation or his spirit. That's because words are almost living breathing things that, once spoken, have a life of their own. Martha has it in for Johnny. Once Martha tells Mildred that Johnny is no good, it's in her mind, coloring her perceptions and often outweighing any good Johnny may do in Mildred's eyes. Furthermore, once Mildred believes Johnny is no good, she's more likely to tell Mabel. Now Mabel's view of Johnny is tarnished. Mabel is much more likely to tell her friends and so on and so on until along comes Mary who is trying to make up her mind objectively about Johnny. She thinks to herself, "He seems nice to me, but I've only known him a short time! Mildred, Mabel and their friends have known Johnny a very long time. If so many people apparently have a problem with him, I guess Johnny really is no good." While Martha may have knowingly lied about Johnny, Mildred and the others may have been unwittingly speaking deceit against Johnny. Sometimes keeping our tongues from evil and our mouths from speaking deceit is a simply a matter of doing what's right. Sometimes it's more a matter of discernment. Either way, if we strive to live by Psalm 34:13, we will be more likely to fulfill it. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ JoJo Tabares holds a degree in Speech Communication, but it is her humorous approach to communication skills which has made her a highly sought-after Christian speaker and writer. Her articles appear in homeschool publications, such as Homeschool Enrichment Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, which also endorses her Say What You Mean curricula. You can also find JoJo on web sites such as Crosswalk.com and Dr.Laura.com. For more information on communication FUNdamentals and Christian-based communication studies for the whole family, please visit http://www.ArtofEloquence.com ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Quick Update!Bought a camera yesterday. Being playing with it some. I think I will like it. I got one with most of the features I wanted for the cost of repairing my old one. The one I really wanted cost twice as much, so I will need to save up for that one. I got a Canon SD790. I traded my 12x optic zoom for a 3x - but I now have a camera I can put in my pocket. It was money based decision, plus I wanted a pocket camera.It SNOWED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A very uncommon thing for us at this time of the year. Of course, it melted as soon as it hit the ground. And besides, it was flurries - not a real snow storm. The kids were excited and we enjoyed watching it. We were out driving around so we got to see it snow all over town in bits and pieces. I am still trying to get caught up with everyone. I hope to come read your blog soon and see what you have been up to while I was relaxing and goofing off. Last Week!Last week I was on VACATION -- all alone with Hubby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!First, I spent last weekend with 7 other ladies working on scrapbooks in Williamsburg, VA. I got lots done on my digital recipe album I am making for a Christmas gift. My mom was to watch the kids the week after, but she is still recovering from knee replacement surgery. A friend of the family watched the kids for us. That was a blessing and a God thing. The day that she would not be able to watch them turned out to be Veterans Day. It also turned out that my oldest was out of school that day, so he watched the younger two that day. Yay God! So my dear hubby came up Sunday night and we spent the week together by ourselves. Yup, we stayed up late, slept in, laid around in pj watching movies, ate out, went shopping, and a few tourist type things. One of the really cool things we did was go see the Crystal Concert. This guy played several different musical instruments made from glass. If you go to Williamsburg, be sure to check out his concert. My camera is broke and it is going to cost $$ to repair so I am on the search for a replacement. Self control and our nationConservatives for Obama?Posted: November 19, 2008 1:00 am Eastern By Reb Bradley
Editor's note: Reb Bradley's latest book, "Born Liberal, Raised Right," was officially released yesterday and is available in WorldNetDaily's online store. The election is over. The people have spoken. Now they have their man – the most frightening man ever to win the presidency. And tragically, Barack Obama was elected with the help of many professing conservatives. How did that happen? What was his appeal to so many "conservatives"? Barack Obama appealed to some who wear the label conservative, because his charisma inspired hope and confidence like few others have done.
"Give us a leader who knows our hearts," the people said, "one who will make us feel secure and at peace. Give us a man of compassion who will take care of us – one who will bring about change and rescue us from fear and uncertainty. We want a man of hope who will lead us away from pain and into a new future of happiness and prosperity." Barack Obama won this election because he appealed to people's emotions, while his Republican opponent spoke to their minds. Unlike past Democratic candidates, Barack Obama won the hearts of people. That is why this race was so emotionally charged for Democrats, and why supporters of the Republican ticket were treated with far more hostility than in previous elections. Obama connected with people's "passions" thereby evoking passionate responses in them. He became their "messiah" and any who stood against him had to be stopped. It was passion, not reason, that drove this last election. We live in an age in which the majority of people – even many professing conservatives – no longer make decisions based on reason, logic or moral absolutes. Feelings are what drive them. I have observed that it is younger conservatives who tend to think with their hearts rather than their heads. This is largely because of how they were raised. Reared by parents who did not train them against their "liberal natures," these children have grown up to call themselves conservative, yet unbeknownst to them, their hearts are liberal. In my new book, "Born Liberal, Raised Right," I elucidate this concept of being "born liberal" in great detail, so allow me to offer here a brief explanation. All humans are born with the same predisposition toward life. We may each be born with our unique personalities, but we have the same "bent" – by nature we are all born liberal. I propose that liberalism is, in fact, the natural condition of the human heart. For us to grow into conservatives, we must be trained against our nature. Left untrained, all children would grow up liberal in their outlook. To be born liberal means that we are born emotional, passionate beings. We come into the world determined to survive, and we vehemently express ourselves to get what we need: "Waaa!" and Momma feeds us; "Waaa!" and our diaper is changed; "Waaa!" and we are put down for a nap. As infants, our strong will can keep us comfortable and alive – the more outspoken we are, the more our needs are met. However, as we start to grow, we no longer cry for necessities – we crave pleasure, also. At 9 months old, if it's Uncle Bert's watch we want, we grab on and scream when he does not give it to us. Uncle Bert might laugh and marvel at our strength, but he easily pulls his watch away, sparking our anger. We are so furious that if we were seven feet tall and coordinated, Uncle Bert would be dead, and we would have his watch. The will-to-survive that kept us alive as newborns is revealed as a will-to-be-gratified the older we get. A grasp of liberal as well as conservative outlooks requires that we understand the self-centered drive of human nature. From birth, we are all driven by passion – we want what we want, when we want it, and we refuse things we do not want. Hence, as young children we beg or scream for ice cream and turn our noses up at Brussels sprouts. By nature we hate having to wait and demand immediate gratification – we throw fits when we do not get our way. From our first year of life, we want to gratify ourselves and loathe the idea of reaping consequences for our actions. It is our parents' job to train us to have self-control – to teach us that we can find contentment and security in life without fulfilling all our passions. They must work diligently to teach us that we do not need to be ruled by our "will-to-be-gratified." (Column continues below)
What do you suppose might happen if a child's "will-to-be-gratified" continued unimpeded into adulthood? That is, if it is human nature to be self-oriented and obsessed with pleasure, what might happen to a child who is not taught self-restraint during the early formative years? What might happen if he is allowed a voice in all parental decisions that affect him, and indulged with that for which he cries, pouts and sulks? How might a child turn out whose parents do not teach him to wait patiently for what he wants, or who is never forced to suffer through the common hardships of childhood, such as picking up his toys or eating whatever food his parents choose for him? Might not such a child grow up with an over-exalted sense of his own importance; and, consequently, a grand sense of entitlement, little gratefulness and minimal ability to delay gratification? A society whose children are not raised to have self-control will be out-of-control. Theft escalates in any society in which the children are not trained to say NO to their covetous hearts and respect other people's property; murder increases in any community in which children have not learned from their parents to respect others' right to life; out-of-wedlock pregnancies and incidents of sexual assault increase in any land in which children are not trained to say NO to their passions. It is interesting to note that since people began taking Dr. Spock's advice to soften up on their parenting, the rate of violent crime in the U.S. has risen more than 300 percent. Think about it – what might happen to a child permitted to escape the consequences of his actions, whose parents clean up his messes and pay for the windows he breaks? He will grow up with "entitlement" thinking, believing that it is the government's duty to protect the immoral from the consequences of their actions, which means clean needles for drug abusers, welfare for the lazy and condoms for the promiscuous. And if many of his friends are raised the same way, might they not share a consensus that pursuit of personal pleasure without consequence is their supreme right? Children start off life with a will-to-be-gratified, and if it is not brought into check when they are young they will arrive at adulthood with the same self-focused, passion-driven worldview they had as toddlers. This outlook on life will affect their relationships with their families, their employers and their communities. It will also determine their approach to politics and government. I would like to offer what will be a radical thought for many – at the very core of liberalism is passion. A liberal perspective, at the deepest level, is rooted in the heart – not the mind. The liberal mindset stems from emotions and feelings, which might include compassion for the needy, but more universally expresses itself in the desire for gratification, along with a refusal to suffer the consequences of those desires. So, do you understand how people were drawn into throwing their support behind a man, even though he stood against so many of their traditional morals? America, many conservatives included, is becoming a nation of liberal-hearted people. Obama simply seduced their hearts. What is disconcerting about Obama is that he spent his childhood feeding his liberal nature, and then learned to justify his passion-based worldview under the tutelage of Marxist and socialistic thinkers. In January, we will not only have a president whose reason is overruled by emotions, but whose philosophy of government is more leftist than any president in our nation's history. What makes matters worse is that the heart bonds he has developed with the American people may cause them to tolerate more governmental oppression and controls than they ever dreamed possible. America, buckle up – we are in for the ride of our lives. However, we cannot set our sites on trying to "survive" and hold our ground the next four years – we need to take ground! For our nation to return to its roots and restore its former greatness, the changes must start with conservatives. It is my hope that "Born Liberal, Raised Right" will clarify for them the path they need to walk.
Reb Bradley, a retired pastor, is best known for his classic best-seller, "Child Training Tips: What I Wish I Knew When My Children Were Young." His latest book, "Born Liberal, Raised Right," is now available. Catching up...Not a whole lot going on here. We did get to go see the Rockettes last week. Brooks called me on Thursday and said he had free tickets to see the Rockettes on Friday at 2pm. We went and had a great time. Sorry no pictures from it though. You can't take pictures during the show. Last year we were able to go as well but we saw the last show of the season. This year we saw the first show. It was great, as always. Our favorite is the live nativity at the end. We LOVE that.
We have had the opportunity to work on some child training things recently. :-) We have one child that is in the habit of calling my name from another room and just continues on talking. Or if this child knows where you are, this child will start talking before he/she gets to the room you are in. So we have been really working on waiting until you SEE the person you are talking to before you speak. :-)
We have also had the opportunity for some attitude training with other children. My mentor recently reminded me the importance of First-time obedience. When you call the child's name, you can really see into their heart right at that very moment. While I know this, I hadn't really thought about it in this way recently. I was glad for the reminder. There is no point in me doing anything with a child if their heart is not right.
I have had a lot of moms contacting me recently about the Neurodevelopmental approach for help with their children. As I talk with these moms, I'm reminded of how so very thankful I am for the ND approach. We have different children today because of ND. Things have been good for a while now and I tend to forget how they used to be. When we visit the zoo now, I often don't think of how there was day when that wasn't possible. The same goes for 4th of July fireworks, or the Rockettes show. There was a time when we couldn't have done those activities. God is good all the time!
So, What Would Call Doing School From the White House?If you can stand the inane chatter, you can watch a recent program of The View on YouTube video over at Extraordinarily Ordinary. Comments on Joy Behar's contradictory thought processess are being discussed there as well. Homeschooling through High School ~ Setting the Standard and the Example
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12:37 AM, Nov. 19, 2008 .. Posted in Homeschooling Through High School .. 0 comments .. Link Although a bit off the regular subject, I have found myself a bit frustrated lately with my high schooler and high schoolers in general, especially those around 15 or so. It seems like sometimes aliens inhabit our once responsible teens and replace them with someone who can walk past piles of dirty clothes on the floor, dirty dishes on their desk, unfinished homework and normally routine chores. All of a sudden it seems like the things that we have worked so hard to instill in them, as far as good habits goes, disappear for a time. Now, I know that this too shall pass. I've been through it twice before and I've also worked with dozens of teens who have passed through this age and they AND their parents have lived to tell about it and those kids are now very productive and godly individuals. However, it doesn't SEEM like this phase will ever end when you are in the middle of it. I do have to admit to you that I think part of my frustration is that I let down the standard a bit during this time. That seems especially true during this time around. I feel more tired the third time through this phase and so I'm finding myself not holding the standard as high for my high schooler or for me. So, we end up in a vicious cycle. I lower my expectations......and the standard slips lower....so I lower my expectations....and the standards slips lower. Now, I do believe in grace at certain times and phases of life. However, I also know that we get what we expect and INSPECT when it comes to our children. SO, instead of letting down, the past few days, we've had some heart to hearts about doing "all" things to the best of our potential for God's honor and glory. We've discussed the future and how we are setting ourselves up for success or failure by the character we show now. And all the while, I've been realizing that someone needs to talk to me about the same thing. I've lowered my expectations of myself lately. . .kind of let myself off the hook and it is time to "man up" so to speak and "run the race" well. Thus, I find myself not only needing to set and keep the standard with my high schooler, but also needing to set the example. Faith and Courage, Lori Lane Lori is married to the love of her life John and together they have four sons ranging in age from 23 down to 10. She is the author of “Beginning With The End In Mind”, a frequent speaker on home education, family and the arts, as well as serving as the Executive Director of The Artios Academies. (www.artiosacademies.com) You can see some of the pictures of their home in the central Colorado Rockies by visiting Lori’s website at www.theendinmind.net where you will receive encouragement for the journey.
Home Where They Belong ~ The Biblical Basis for Homeschooling Christian Children ~ Pt. 7 ~ CONCLUCION
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12:35 AM, Nov. 19, 2008 .. Posted in homewheretheybelong .. 1 comments .. Link CONCLUSION “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) As Christian homeschool parents, the above Scripture is a basic guideline. It points us to God’s attitude, methods, and principles. “The words train up are not framed as a mere suggestion. They are a command…In the original Hebrew, train up means ‘to touch the palate.’…Hebrew mothers would feed their children by first chewing their own food very carefully and, then, touching a little of it to their child’s palate. With that intimate sharing, the mother would instill in her child a taste for the very same foods she enjoyed…To translate the metaphor educationally: parents are to instill in their children a taste for their own delights by enjoying things together with their children. By working together, studying together, playing together, and simply living the Christian life together, our children develop…a deep inner yearning, an appetite…These tastes will form the basis for their lifetime of joyful obedience to the Lord.”[1] Gregg Harris goes on to explain that “in the way he should go” describes that the kind of training our children are to get is training in righteousness. No public, government-funded school will allow that. It doesn’t fit the “I’m OK, you’re OK” lie. Unfortunately, when someone lies someone has to be wrong – whether it hurts the feelings of another or not. Hell is far more to worry about than hurt feelings. By understanding that there is a right and a wrong – again, which public schools are loath to teach – it may be the difference between eternal hell and separation from God forever or salvation through a saving knowledge regarding the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son. And it seems that this train of thought brings us back to the favorite verse among homeschoolers, Deut. 6:4-7, in reminding us to teach God’s truths as we talk to our children in the home, and as we are walking along the way, and as we lay down at night telling stories, saying prayers and having wonderful bed-time conversation…only to rise up the next morning to start the whole cycle of teaching and demonstrating God’s truths as life is lived. Homeschooling is a calling of God, for the training up of our children. It is a commandment of God, as we are with our children nearly every hour of the day. It is a revival of God, in that a remnant has been called to breathe fresh wind on a spark and watch it fan into flame across the land. It is the truth of God, in an educational system dying from lies and deceit. It is the tie that binds, when so many in the educational system are trying to divide children from parents. It is a battleground, in the fight for our families and the minds and souls of our children and teens. It is touching the palate, to taste and see that the Lord is good. Political Asylum in Order to HomeschoolWorld Net Daily has the story on how a homeschooling family from Germany has requested political asylum in order to homeschool their children here in the U.S. { Last Page } { Page 1 of 5 } { Next Page } |
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