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“WORDS TO LIVE BY”

from Virginia Knowles

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Ah, the power of words! And for those of us with scattered brains, a few pithy and profound phrases, rattling around in the gray matter, can suddenly snap us into focus. These words and phrases are ones that make a difference in my daily life as a home school mom:

ORA ET LABORA (PRAY AND WORK)

We learned this phrase a few years back while using the Latina Christiana curriculum. “Ora et labora” was the motto of the Benedictine order of monks, but it’s still a good one for us home school moms and our often distracted and idle children. We pray to God, and we get busy, continuing to pray as we work! Piety gets practical: it is both heavenly-minded and earthly-good. François Fénelon wrote, "Accustom yourself gradually to carry Prayer into all your daily occupation — speak, act, work in peace, as if you were in prayer, as indeed you ought to be." –François Fénelon

HANDS TO WORK, HEARTS TO GOD

So similar to “ora et labora” – but at least it’s in English already. I first found this saying on a set of pretty dishtowels, which, due to “hands to work” have totally faded out from use. Maybe I should have framed them instead, but that wouldn’t have been the point of buying dishtowels, would it? “Hands to work, hearts to God” is a wise motto for a prudent balance in daily life. The profound infuses the mundane with meaning. One day recently, I was sitting in my van looking at my house, and saw, in my mind, a sign on the front saying, “Blossom Lane Ministry Center.” That’s my dream – that our home can be a place where we minister to one another, and where each one is trained and equipped for ministering in the great world beyond. As naturally lazy and self-centered folk, we have a long way to go! I need to get busy rewriting our chore chart, especially now that one of my adult daughters is moving away. We all need to stay busy over the summer, get some projects done around the house, and keep reading a little each day rather than sitting around watching TV. Ora et labora! So, hands to work, and hearts to God.

KOSMOS

My boys and I were reading the book Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick, and she mentioned that the word cosmos, which we think of as universe, is from the Greek word kosmos, which means an orderly and harmonious arrangement. This is something the Greeks highly valued; they were so pleased that the heavens exhibited this quality. In my life, this inspires me to pursue kosmos. Whatever we do here, whether in home schooling, homemaking or personal relationships, needs to be orderly and harmonious. This will bring both pleasure and productivity to our lives. 1 Corinthians 14:40 says, "But all things should be done decently and in order." (By the way, my sister Barb gave me this book when she was cleaning her basement into a state of kosmos. You go, girl!)

One way that we pursue KOSMOS in our home is by organizing with bookcases. We already had 14 bookcases to store our 2000-ish books, but Thad bought another used one from our church. It’s a huge 7 foot by 4 foot thing! It needed three more shelves, so Thad bought the supplies, and the kids (in this case, Joanna, Andrew, Micah, Naomi and Ben) helped me to sand and stain the wood. Now we have a better place to store our bins of art supplies, puzzles, game pieces (in zip bags), math manipulatives, flash cards, and many other home school resources. My husband, bless his heart, is very safety conscious, so he anchored the bookcase to the wall with a pair of L brackets on top, and each shelf has been stabilized with two extra screws. Are your bookcases and other furniture secure? We never know when one of our children (even the ones who are old enough to know better) will try climbing to reach something, and possibly tip it over by accident.

Oh, here’s a lovely poem that has inspired me toward beauty and order. I found it in Everyday Graces: A Child’s Book of Good Manners. (This terrific anthology is edited by Karen Santorum, and was passed along to me by my second cousin Jean, who is a former home school mom.)

The Blue Bowl

by Blanche Bane Kuder

All day I did the little things,

The little things that do not show;

I brought the kindling for the fire I set the candles in a row,

I filled a bowl with marigolds, The shallow bowl you love the best --

And made the house a pleasant place

Where weariness might take its rest.

The hours sped on, my eager feet

Could not keep pace with my desire.

So much to do, so little time! I could not let my body tire;

Yet, when the coming of the night

Blotted the garden from my sight,

And on the narrow, graveled walks

Between the guarding flower stalks

I heard your step: I was not through

With services I meant for you.

You came into the quiet room

That glowed enchanted with the bloom

Of yellow flame. I saw your face,

Illumined by the firelit space,

Slowly grow still and comforted--

"It's good to be at home," you said.

Speaking of beauty and flowers, my 12 year old daughter Lydia pursues KOSMOS with cosmos! Cosmos are perky flowers that she grows from seed along our front walkway. After the flowers blossomed, she picked some, flattened them under a pile of encyclopedias, and used Mod Podge liquid to attach and seal them to cardstock. She also made coordinating seed-filled packets to include in the cards. She did the same with morning glory leaves to make two other cards, and gave them to thank her teachers at our home school co-op on our last day of classes. (I’m one of them!) This is a terrific crafty project for kids to do over the summer. Another enriching hobby for teens (and even younger kids) is digital photography. Rachel and Joanna bought a decent Canon Powershot camera on sale at Radio Shack, and they’ve been busy taking hundreds of pictures. You can see some of their gorgeous floral shots, as well as some cutie pictures of Melody, on their photo blog: www.homeschoolblogger.com/pictureperfect  They have also entered some photo contests, and Joanna’s lily picture (“Translucence”) won a Picture of the Day: www.benel.com/powershot/pic-of-the-day.php?day=1&month=05&year=2007

DIAMONDS AND TOADS!

My favorite fairy tale is “Diamonds and Toads” by Charles Perrault. I’ve read it to my kids for years from The Book of Virtues. Recently, we found a slightly different version in the aforementioned Everyday Graces anthology. I often read this book to my younger children, after a Bible passage, and find it a gentle and worthy way to start the day. I won’t spoil the storyline for you, but it makes me think, “What words do I want to hear in my house: diamond words or toad words?” You see, it’s embarrassing for me to admit it, but some of our younger kids have yet to break the discouraging “Shut up, stupid!” habit. As a reminder, when I hear them say something kind, I’m likely to burst out enthusiastically, “Diamonds and pearls!” When I hear the opposite, I’m likely to squinch up my face and croak out, “Snakes and toads!” It makes them laugh; hopefully it makes them think, too. I’ll love them always, either way. Do you want to read “Diamonds and Toads” to your children? You can find one version on-line right here: http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/perrault/fairies.html

PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS

 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS

At 45 letters and 19 syllables (meaning: “an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust”) this is supposedly the longest word in any English-language dictionary. How did I ever find this out? I have sons who not only have a penchant for strange factoids, but also love a hefty self-imposed memorization challenge. Yep, they memorized the spelling, and so did I! (After all, I had to check their accuracy at the dizzying rate of 3 letters per second!) How did we memorize this gargantuan word? By breaking it down into logical segments, some of which are words-within-a-word! Pneu -- mono – ultra – micro -- scopic – silico – volcano – coniosis! There now, wasn’t that easy? And don’t let your kids tell you they CAN’T memorize things! After all, in the classical education trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric), the early grades are supposedly when they can pack their little brains with all manner of data. My guys (ages 8 and 6 at the time) once picked off the entire list of American presidents in a day or so. Since one of them did it, of course the other one had to do it too. A little healthy competition works wonders… And yes, they still know them, along with most of the state capitals, and Andrew is also memorizing the list of chemical elements in the periodical table using a song that his teenage sister Rachel found on the Internet. Repetition, repetition, repetition! So, what is the point of memorizing obscure words or long lists? It’s fun, it gives self-confidence, it teaches word-building, and best of all, the strenuous mental exercise is good for the brain cells! And to think that I didn’t even put them up to any of this! It was their own idea! My husband, after reviewing this article, reminds me that we should be spending more time memorizing Scripture. He’s absolutely right! (Thanks, honey!)

QUIDDITY

Here’s another odd word. I confess that I love words beginning with Q because my maiden name is Quarrier. I learned this one because Joanna used it when we were playing Scrabble. I had put down the word “quid” and she upped it to “quiddity” and snagged the triple word score while she was at it. No, she didn’t already know the word. We always break the official rules and allow trolling in the dictionary for new words. It’s a great way to build vocabulary. The words quiddity is an oddity, but what does it mean? Really, two things, and they are quite intriguing. According to our Oxford Complete Wordfinder, “quiddity” means 1) the essence of a person or thing; what makes a thing what it is and 2) a quibble; a trivial objection. If you ask me, those are two very different things, but the contrast begs a question about how we are educating our children. Are we teaching them the essence of life as expressed in each school subject, or quibbling about the trivial? Are we reaching hearts or splitting hairs?

NATIONS AND GENERATIONS!

This has always been a motto for me as a home school mom. In academics, it gives me a vision for teaching geography and history – learning about people in other times, places and cultures. As a Christian, it gives me a vision for outreach (to the nations) and discipleship (of future generations, starting with my own children). If you click here http://www.virginiaknowles.com/nationsandgenerations you can find an article I wrote about this. Meanwhile, my boys begged for me to hang one of our huge laminated world maps on their wall, and they have colored several international flags to go with it. They love geography! Ben, who is 4, is getting pretty good at the World Discovery Deluxe CD-ROM from www.timberdoodle.com, which has become a favorite in our home. Our older daughters (ages 12 to 19) like to keep up with current events around the world, such as whether a pro-American conservative won the French presidential election or not. Rachel and Lydia told me that Nicolas Sarkozy did (http://www.worldmag.com/webextra/12938), and they were personally excited about it! I’m just glad they care about such things, even though I am not a politically minded example for them. I do, however, have a particularly soft spot for those who are being persecuted for their faith, such as the German missionary and the three Turkish believers who were martyred last month (http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12904) The Christians there ask us to pray, not against persecution, but for perseverance.

LORD, HAVE MERCY!

That’s what I’m likely to plead when “it” is getting to be too much. I need it. He gives it. Our prayers don’t have to be wordy. Let’s not forget to pray for others, too! HARD IS NOT HOPELESS I saw this quote in World Magazine a few months ago, and immediately ran to my journal to jot it down. It’s from General David Petraeus, who commands the American forces in Iraq. Now that’s a hard situation. I certainly don’t envy him. Thank God for the brave men and women who are defending our freedom in the world, so we can do the things God has graced us to do. Let us never squander our liberties! We may not be on the frontlines in Iraq, but we do have our own domestic frontlines here. Your husband or child might be serving in the military and his or her safety weighs heavy on your mind as you try to go about your business – but hard is not hopeless. You may be a single mom lacking time and money to care for your children the way you want – but hard is not hopeless. You may have a child with severe disabilities and you haven’t yet figured out how to teach him – but hard is not hopeless. You may have a rebellious teen and you’re ready to tear hair out – his and yours! – but hard it not hopeless. Or like me, you might be a tired, feisty mama of many – but hard is not hopeless. In light of what so many others suffer around the world, the inconveniences and frustrations I face as an American home school mom seem so petty and puny. But, big or small, they matter to God, and they are being used by God to shape my character. Romans 5:3-5 "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

STAY STEADFAST

I was sitting in a ladies meeting at church a few months ago, minding my own business, when Susan slipped into the chair beside me and whispered, “I barely know you, but I think God is telling me to tell you, ‘Stay steadfast!’” Oh my! Those are not words I had been thinking about, but as soon as she said them, I knew they were for me. God can see right into our hearts, and he wants to do a work in us. Sometimes he uses other people as a scalpel for healing. I’m glad Susan was obedient enough to step out in faith and risk being laughed at. She had been a stranger, now she is a friend. Isolation is deadly: we need the community of faith to encourage us. We also need Scripture. A few days later, I went to www.esv.org (English Standard Version), did a search, and pulled up over 220 verses with the word “steadfast” in them. Most of them spoke of the steadfast love of God. Of course that is where it starts. We can only be steadfast because he is. But I also found nearly 20 that spoke of us being steadfast, too. I printed them out, taped them into my journal, and started scribbling notes of insight about what it means to be steadfast. I’ll give you 1 Corinthians 15:58 to get started: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Here are some others you can look up on your own: Psalm 57:7, Psalm 119:5, Hosea 10:12, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Colossians 1:21-23, Colossians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, 2 Thessalonians 1:4, 2 Thessalonians 3:5, 1 Timothy 6:11, 2 Timothy 3:10, Titus 2:2, Hebrews 6:17-20, James 1:2-4, James 1:12, James 5:11, and 2 Peter 1:3-11. As home school moms, we need to be steadfast in our faith, in our home life, in our ministry, and in all we do. We must not give up, we must not give in -- we must give it our all.