What is homeschooling about? Why do we take our children out of the public school system and raise them ourselves?
This is a question that I fear may not be asked regularly enough among homeschooling families. I spent the last three days with over a hundred faithful families who are commited to following God's Law and making Him the center of their homes. These parents have the hearts of their children; the children eagerly serve their parents and each other. Smiles flow freely - no sarcastic glances or indifferent attitudes preside. The women glow with graciousness, the men are noble and strong, and all are rejoicing in each other. They obviously are not 'missing out' on life, or 'unsocialized'. They are not confined to the home, for they are eager to share with the world the peace and joy they have found in Christ. How different this is from the typical culture of today!
However, these are not the average homeschooling families. In fact, among the wide-spread homeschooling community, there is a danger of losing the vision. Christians are commanded by God to disciple their children; to walk with them by day, to teach them the Word of God when they lie down at night. In short, the Bible commands us to homeschool! Yet many lose sight of this fact. Far too many rely only on curriculum, and their reason for homeschooling is to help their kids get a higher IQ. Some parents may have had a bad experience with the government schools. All these reasons are fine and good, but we must never forget that we homeschool in an act of obedience to God, and our purpose is to raise up children of promise. Homeschooling is not our ticket to heaven - no amout of 'good deeds' can save us, and any of them, if performed outside of Christ, will ultimately fail. Without Christ we have no hope of regaining this vision of multi-generational faithfulness. But with His blessing all things are possible.
If any of you have never been to a Vision Forum conference before, I must say you are missing out! Last Friday- Sunday our family attended The 200 year plan; a practicum on multi- generational faithfulness. Led by Doug Phillips and Geoff Botkin, the purpose of this weekend was to solidify the family and to teach men to consider the next 200 years of their family line. Where will your family be in 200 years and what kind of an influence will you have made on the world? was the basic question. I enjoyed this weekend so much, and I was emboldened and inspired to do my best in keeping our family faithful throughout the generations. If you'd like to learn more and see pictures, go to Mr. Phillip's blog here. Or you can take a look at the conference CD with the recordings of all the talks!
Basically everybody on HSB has this already, but I'm going to try to find a few people to pass it on to!
I award: TruthSeeker. This is AuthorElf's political blog, and her posts are wonderful reminders to be grateful to those who protect our freedom. She has a talent for stirring up the patriotic spirit, which too often lies dormant.
And Hriste. This young lady is a newer blogger, yet she's still been around longer than me! I've enjoyed reading her poems and funny stories, and did I mention she's Elvish?
And musicallyspeaking. Knowing Toni personally, I especially love reading her blog and seeing the references to people I know! But this talented young woman's blog deserves the award anyway!
Aww, you're too sweet :-). Thanks for the award! I've found it hard to keep up a blog and an NCFCA career at the same time, but hopefully I'll be posting again soon. Thanks again, and God bless!
--Toni
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4:12 PM, Thursday, April 3, 2008 Posted by crochetcrazy
That's what Mrs. H said. Which notes did she read? It's funny how all of the judges in the sight reading room said "What good energy y'all had when y'all walked into the room!" or something like that.
.:::Renee:::.
Romans 5:8
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5:27 PM, Thursday, April 3, 2008 Posted by Jocelyndixon
Wow, your description of homeschooling and the families was wonderful. You really captured it! :) Thank you.
Also, I am glad you enjoyed and were encouraged by my Impressions post. A few enemies is nothing if you're able to witness and share you faith. Jesus had many, but he was persistent in His father's work. :)
And yes, I thought I added you to my friends list, didn't I?
Love
MJ
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6:14 PM, Thursday, April 3, 2008 Posted by baruch117
Yes, I agree, homeschooling is the ultimate way to go. It has it's good times and it's bad, but the Lord will see those who are His through it. Neat post.
Thank you so much for awarding me! And also for your comment, I'm glad you liked the chapter. :)
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9:57 PM, Thursday, April 3, 2008 Posted by Curufinwe
cool, tell me what you find for tricks!
LOL, you think? I think it's a holiday, not just a for fun day.
LOL, I kill orcs with lightsabers!
~CF
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7:39 AM, Friday, April 4, 2008 Posted by crochetcrazy
Yes, they also said our pitch got away from us on Hotaru Koi, Mrs. H wasn't so sure! And the crisp, clear "Ho's" we had in the beginning weren't as good toward the end. Oh well.. Still, we trophied!
.:::Renee:::.
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12:31 PM, Friday, April 4, 2008 Posted by Anonymous
I really enjoyed this conference, especially all the sweet families. It made me think about how I can help my family be faithful for the next 200 years. Vision Forum conferences are always very encouraging. I also enjoyed the Film Festival a lot. It was really fun and inspiring.
Emily, your sister
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1:51 PM, Friday, April 4, 2008 Posted by crochetcrazy
Yes, I remember Emily telling me that. =^) And yes, Mrs. H did tell us that the first year treble choir went they got 4's. Yikes! *shutters* I couldn't believe it! So how long have you been in choir?
.:::Renee:::.
Romans 5:8
Who are they?
2:58 PM, Friday, April 4, 2008 Posted by baruch117
Why and who are the Varden? The Varden is a resistance group fighting against Galbatorix, an immensely powerful Dragon Rider and king of the land. I have said too much already...... Read to find out.....
Matt/Eragon
PS/ Why act on behalf of the Varden? It's apart of the books and the theme.
Yeah, it seems to me that everyone gets Galadriel. And also I found a quiz (I don't remember when or where), and it has three choices! I'm Eowyn.
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12:00 AM, Saturday, April 5, 2008 Posted by BlogBoy
RYC: Lol, that Narnia prank did turn out great. I tried to think of everything that I never wanted to happen to the movie and then put it in the script. Sadly some of it will come true. Lol.
Yeah I think all my jokes failed last year. It all depends on what you decide to do :P
Eric
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8:03 AM, Saturday, April 5, 2008 Posted by chris36
I really enjoyed reading your blog. You are a very smart girl!
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9:09 AM, Saturday, April 5, 2008 Posted by crochetcrazy
Well, I think it was 3 years, not counting '07-'08. Of course this past semester, I was in choir, but then had to leave. )-:
.:::Renee:::.
Romans 5:8
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12:01 PM, Saturday, April 5, 2008 Posted by crochetcrazy
Oh, I don't mind you asking at all! The reason for my absence last semester was that I had too much on my plate, and my school wasn't getting done properly.
.:::Renee:::.
Romans 5:8
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6:14 PM, Saturday, April 5, 2008 Posted by crochetcrazy
hehe! I did that a *few* times!
I'm glad I'm back! I think Mrs. H is such a great teacher, don't you?
.:::Renee:::.
Romans 5:8
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7:43 PM, Saturday, April 5, 2008 Posted by crochetcrazy
Yes, there are probably better directors out there, but I doubt they're as fun... Not to mention patient! =^) I think you would be a good music teacher, Grace!
.:::Renee:::.
Romans 5:8
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8:50 PM, Saturday, April 5, 2008 Posted by grelb32
Well, thank you for that comment you left me. That was very kind of you.
I think you're a really amazing blogger, and a very great writer too, especially in this post! I think it's great to find people who know not only how to write, but also people who show Christ through their writings.
Is it alright with you if I add you to my friend's list?
~Nick
(P.S. Sorry for asking, but what does edifying mean?)
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7:45 AM, Sunday, April 6, 2008 Posted by crochetcrazy
I do! Emma will be taking the kids choir camp this summer, maybe you'll get to teach her!
.:::Renee:::.
Romans 5:8
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11:12 AM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Posted by Anonymous
I just realized that I can post even without an account! That's so cool! I wish I could have gone to the conference because it sounds so exciting and we could have had a blast together. Maybe they'll have a similar one in the future.
Love ya!
~Christina H.
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1:27 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Posted by crochetcrazy
What a pity... a pity indeed.. She's not going to the one at GCON, but I'm sure other children will be blessed by you! And yes, she is in children's choir. When she was in Angel Choir, she sang a solo that went something like, "All the animals gather round!" Remember? =^)
Yeah I wonder whatever happened to real christian families! Its also outstanding how many people "profess" to be christians when they really aren't.
:D Glad you liked the laugh!
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10:16 AM, Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Posted by PoeticMaiden
Wow, that sounds like a really fantastic conference! I would like to go to one like that. We have Doug Phillips speaking at our state homeschooling conference (I think), which is in June. I do think passing on the vision is the most important part of homeschooling, and I find the kids that succeed the most in homeschooling are the ones who have caught the vision for their own education and are willing to seek God for themselves. I feel like half of homeschooling is teaching kids how to listen (to their parents, teachers, and to God) and how to learn on their own.
Wonderful post! Sorry for ranting about what I think, but it sound like you think the same thing! :) Thank you for the lovely encouragement on my blog, and I'm glad that you liked the bit I did on thunderstorms! I always love reading your feedback!
God bless your blogging!
~Cherise, the Poetic Maiden
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10:35 AM, Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Posted by AuthorElf
When we do Bible Bowl, we pick a book to study that every Bible Bowler across the nation is studying. This year it was I Samuel. My team starts studying in September. Then, in April, we go to Abilene, Texas to test over what we've studied. There are about 200 people involved with the testing in Abilene. There are five rounds, and the test is three hours. The results are under wraps here, but I'll send you my results in a private message.
The next episode has to do with stealing bases. :)
~AuthorElf
5:07 PM, Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Posted by Jocelyndixon
Hey there, yeah, I will fix your link. Sometimes on blogcarnival it doesn't take the whole HSB link. I don't know why. LOL
MJ
On mirrors and cameras
11:13 PM, Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Posted by cenadunfee
Homeschooling in an interesting topic because there are so many different styles (some ineffective and some that work) to meet the goals. Is the goal to keep a child out of public school or put him in to something better? Probably both. I'm glad I was homeschooled.
Hint: If your camera doesn't like you when you take pictures in the mirror, try turning off the flash. You will have to hold the camera very, very still since the shutter will stay open longer. I'm thinking that you are using a digital camera that automatically adjusts the shutter speed, so if you are not, just ignore my advice...
~Jessica~
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3:33 AM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 Posted by Altariel
Sorry I took so long to respond to you - it isn't at all because I was ignoring you or anything, I've simply had hardly any time here for ages and a whole list of people to reply to. And as you may have noticed, I find it imposibly difficult to leave any comments below very large size, so it takes a while to respond to everyone. So sorry...
Your blog is lovely! I love your poems, between you and PoeticMaiden we are going to be quite spoilt with lovely poetry!
And you have the Excellent blog award already? That is impressive! From what I've seen, you certainly deserve it!
This is a great post - the conference sounds incredibly inspiring! I almost wish I could go, but the ticket over there might be a bit beyond me...
You know of my country? More than just what's seen in the films? But that's fantastic! You can be my friend! ;)
Speaking of which, I have heard of the Botkins, and met them a couple of times. I didn't really know them well, but they were good friends of our friends Craig and Barbara Smith, who are the big Homeschooling gurus of New Zealand. Do you know the Botkins well? They're an incredible inspiration to us!
Yay for more HSB writers! Welcome to the club! :D
-- Altariel
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11:03 AM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 Posted by BlogBoy
Lol, my little sisters decided that I was pretty crazy. The next thing I knew though, they were jumping in puddles too! :P The thing I love about Narnia is that you can relate everything in the book to real life. I should write something about the shadowlands.
Yeah, they sure did screw up that part of the movie. I guess I will see how bad it is when I go to watch it...
Eric
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3:05 PM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 Posted by crochetcrazy
Yes, she does have a lovely voice.
It is a shame that you aren't there for treble choir, but I'm looking forward to concert season, hopefully we'll see each other more!
Grace is a 17 year old girl who is striving to follow God's leading, but would be constantly embracing failure if God didn't just sweep her off her feet, sometimes against her will. Music is her first love and expertise: specifically voice, but also piano. She has been trained classically, which is a good thing, most of the time, except when she wants to sing pop style... and can't. Her favorite genres of music are Celtic, Scottish and Irish folk songs/jigs, film music, and broadway show tunes. Grace also takes pleasure in the beautiful diversions of writing poetry, Ultimate Frisbee, sketching, dancing in the rain, Irish Step Dancing, speech and debate tournaments, scrapbooking, acting, reading, photography, standing outside at night while the wind whips the trees every which way, and talking about herself in the third person. Home My Profile Archives RSS Feed
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