Jefferson’s Philosophy of Government

As we deal with an out of control Congress in Washington, just what would a truly effective government look like?

Seven quick thoughts from someone who should know:

“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”
(small government)

“The democracy will cease to exist when you take from those who are willing to work and give it to those who would not.”
(reward productivity)

“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle, which if acted upon would save one half the wars of the world.”
(balanced budget)

“I predict future happiness for Americans…IF…they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
(no bloated welfare)

“When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.”
(concern for inner city decay)

“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”
(individual second amendment rights)

“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”
(sense of moral absolutes)

Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia…and he should know!  Read more...

I’m tired of resolutions and goal setting.  I never keep my resolutions and I don’t want to make them anymore because I know….. myself.  The good thing about getting older is that you do not have any delusions about yourself anymore.  You are not so idealistic and you are more inclined to be practical and somewhat sober-minded. You are realistic about your goals and acknowledge your limitations.  Sometimes the young girl inside appears… but most days you are focused on the most important and the peripheral falls off your list.  Sometimes you are too tired or achy to care about the trivial but as a believer and follower of Christ, your heart follows after the eternal….no matter what.

All I’m going to resolve to do this year is to continue talking to my Lord, teaching my children, keeping my home, loving my husband and doing the next thing!  May the Lord guide our steps this next year and help us to do the next thing.  ~Anne

From an old English parsonage,
Down by the sea,
There came in the twilight,
A message to me;
Its quaint Saxon legend,
Deeply engraven,
Hath, as it seems to me,
Teaching from Heaven.
And on through the hours
The quiet words ring
Like a low inspiration-
DO THE NEXT THING

Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment,
Let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity,
Guidance, are given.
Fear not tomorrows,
Child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus,
DO THE NEXT THING  Read more...

There are some homeschooling activities that in their simplicity give me delight.  One of those activities  include  my children’s  copywork lessons. Charlotte Mason taught that a child learns grammar by doing copywork. Copying over selections from fine literature, Bible Scripture, or Founding Documents into a notebook allows the child to pay attention to the details of good writing. In our family this copywork becomes a penmanship lesson as well because we require our boys to write slowly and carefully. We usually choose short selections as I would rather them do a good job on a small piece than sloppy work on a larger piece.
I’m sure that many  reading this post already  include copywork in their homeschool lessons,   but I thought I’d share a bit about how we do  copywork in our family.

When we first began homeschool lessons, our copywork books were so very simple.  My boys would write something like My name is David or Jesus is Lord. That was enough for them when they were just beginning to learn to write.  Now though,  we have lovely journals filled with poetry, lists, founding documents, Bible chapters, family mission statements, Our 21 Rules, Schedules etc.
I usually give them the assignment but sometimes they ask me “Mom, may I make a list of my favorite dogs” or “May I write up a list of my favorite baseball players?” For some folks this might be unacceptable, but I am fine with this. Their copywork journal will eventually be a memory book for them to read when they are grown.
 Read more...

Lord, who am I to teach the way           

To little children day by day

So prone myself to go astray?

I teach them knowledge, but I know

How faint they flicker and how low

The candles of my knowledge glow

I teach them power to will and do,

But only now to learn a new

My own great weakness thru and thru

I teach them love for all mankind

And all God’s creatures,  but I find

My love comes lagging far behind.

Lord,  if their guide I still must be,

Oh let the little children see

The teacher leaning hard on Thee.

~Leslie Pinkney Hill

My dear friend and homeschool mentor discusses how she homeschooled through highschool in this post. This was written as a response to a parent who was asking questions about homeschooling her teenage children.  She writes from her heart and has a passion for homeschooling… especially the highschool years.  I hope you will enjoy this article and find it to be an encouragement and motivation to continue your homeschool journey througout your child’s teen years.  I’m so looking forward to mentoring my boys through these years and tackling some very interesting subjects together as a family.  Many Blessings,  Anne

I love home schooling high school. What I have to share is long, but I sincerely hope it will be helpful info as you make decisions for your family. There is so much to talk about on this subject.

I have been homeschooling for 15 years, and have graduated one son, who is now 19 and attending our junior college, with plans to transfer to a local university to finish his accounting degree. ( I also have 2 younger ones, coming up behind him.) What an incredible journey it has been… this homeschooling high school. I remember how intimidating it was, as I stood on that threshold, right where you are now. But God is so faithful, and He will guide you each step, as you continue to be faithful to His calling on your life to home educate and disciple your children, all the way to the finish line. This season of high school is the harvest season for all the time we have devoted to the basics. At the same time, I believe it is a very important time of discipleship and a most rewarding time as a parent. It will set the stage for your relationship with that child, as a young adult.  Read more...

As mothers, we have an awesome opportunity: the chance to plant seeds, kindle fires, and impart a legacy of wealth.  These seeds may not germinate for many years, sometimes not until after our own death; the fires may only smolder until our children reach adulthood, when suddenly, the Spirit’s breath fans them into life.  But we can be confident that the things our children learn from us of God and His Son will be a permanent part of their hearts, enriching their lives and eventually their children’s lives, an eternal heritage from one generation to the next.

Excerpt from A Mothers Heart By Ellyn Sanna

I recently heard Billy Graham on the FOX news channel being interviewed by Greta.  She asked him if he had any regrets in his life….or would he do anything differently.  He said that he would not have traveled quite as much but that instead he would have spent more time worshiping and loving the Lord… more time in the word of God studying.  I guess when you are 90 years old and ready to meet your Lord you would wish for that more than anything else.  We all need to spend more time with our Savior.

Whenever I hear this song, I think of my dear Mom who is with the Lord now.  I used to play this song on the guitar and sing it to her.  Her eyes would always fill with tears because truly this song was the cry of her heart.   Let’s begin the new year….and end the old year praising the Lord together and getting to know Him more.    Be sure to scroll down past the clock and turn the website music off before beginning the video.

Changing Lives!!

Changing America!!

Changing the World!!

Good Stewardship!!

On the Rise!!

Legal!!

Academic Freedom!!

Changing the Next Generation!!

Perhaps you should consider homeschooling?

This speech was given  by Margarat Thatcher; former Prime Minister of Great Britain.  I heard Margaret Thatcher speak years ago during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.  I did not know who she was at that time but I remember being so impressed with her.  She spoke with such authority and clearly had much wisdom and  fear of the Lord.  Here she examines how the Judeo-Christian tradition has provided the moral foundations of American and other nations in the West.

History has taught us that freedom cannot long survive unless it is based on moral foundations. The American founding bears ample witness to this fact. America has become the most powerful nation in history, yet she uses her power not for territorial expansion but to perpetuate freedom and justice throughout the world.

For over two centuries, Americans have held fast to their belief in freedom for all men—a belief that springs from their spiritual heritage. John Adams, second president of the United States, wrote in 1789, “Our Constitution was designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.” That was an astonishing thing to say, but it was true.

What kind of people built America and thus prompted Adams to make such a statement? Sadly, too many people, especially young people, have a hard time answering that question. They know little of their own history (This is also true in Great Britain.) But America’s is a very distinguished history, nonetheless, and it has important lessons to teach us regarding the necessity of moral foundations.  Read more...

I must admit that our family;  including my own siblings and extended family,  are not very organized or super good planners.  We don’t have a ton of great traditions that we  are consistent with from year to year, although we are beginning to repeat a few for several years now.  One thing we always make time for though is music.  Our family…most of us…loves to sing!! Each Christmas after dinner is over,  gifts are opened and we are all sitting around,  we will break out the guitars, lyric sheets,  and begin singing.  I’m usually the one to get the singing  started and I’ve learned over the years to simply pass out the music,  get my guitar, and begin singing.  Most of the time everyone is in a good mood and wants to sing carols.  If I made it into a big deal and asked “Who would like to sing?”, perhaps enthusiasm would be absent.  I make a point to be  very informal and casual about it and just begin singing.  Usually my brother or sister will join in first and then the children and others will chime in.  I encourage my boys to sing and tell them, “This is what our family does at Christmas.” I would never ask them, “Would you like to sing?” unless I wanted a “No, not really” answer.  Children naturally love to sing once it has started and they see the adults having fun. I believe that  adults need to model and mentor their children in this area if they want their children to have a love  and appreciation for music. My boys especially enjoy singing  childrens favorites….like The twelve days of Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. There is something about families singing together that just makes Christmas complete .  Read more...

Loving God, Help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men.  Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world.  Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.  Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.  May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children, and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake.  Amen

Robert Lewis Stevenson

There was once in a faraway country where few people have ever traveled, a wonderful church. It stood on a high hill in the midst of a great city; and every Sunday, as well as on sacred days like Christmas, thousands of people climbed the hill to its great archways, looking like lines of ants all moving in the same direction.

When you came to the building itself, you found stone columns and dark passages, and a grand entrance leading to the main room of the church. This room was so long that one standing at the doorway could scarcely see to the other end, where the choir stood by the marble altar. In the farthest corner was the organ; and this organ was so loud, that sometimes when it played, the people for miles around would close their shutters and prepare for a great thunderstorm. Altogether, no such church as this was ever seen before, especially when it was lighted up for some festival, and crowded with people, young and old. But the strangest thing about the whole building was the wonderful chime of bells.

At one corner of the church was a great gray tower, with ivy growing over it as far up as one could see. I say as far as one could see, because the tower was quite great enough to fit the great church, and it rose so far into the sky that it was only in very fair weather that any one claimed to be able to see the top. Even then one could not be certain that it was in sight. Up, and up, and up climbed the stones and the ivy; and as the men who built the church had been dead for hundreds of years, every one had forgotten how high the tower was supposed to be.  Read more...

Recently our local grocery stores have been selling Betty Crocker cake mixes for a dollar or less a box. When the cake mixes go on sale, I usually buy a few extra boxes to use during the year for Birthday cakes or even cookies. Do you have any boxed cake mixes in your pantry? If you are in the mood for delicious cookies instead of cake use your cake mix as a cookie mix. It’s super easy and you can be creative and experiment using different ingredients to make your cookies extra special. You can add nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chips….or anything you have on hand that sounds good. Today I’m making a spice cake mix cookie and I will probably add walnuts…maybe chocolate chips or raisins.
Any kind of cake mix
2 Tbsp. water
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. extract
1/2 cup pecans/walnuts/other

To fancy up the cookies you can Drop batter into bowl of confectioners sugar (about a tsp of batter per cookie, depending on size of cookie you want). Roll in sugar until it is in approximate shape of a ball. Cook at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Devils Food Cake is good with a small amount of almond extract. Yellow Cake Mix goes well with vanilla or lemon extract. Possibly White Cake Mix with almond extract.  For more recipes please visit  recipes and reflections.

The Christmas season makes me even more sentimental than I usually am. During this time of year usually unexpectedly, like while walking down an isle at Walmart,  I think about my Mom or Dad and the tears flow as I quickly wipe them away before anyone notices. How silly to be crying while looking at candles or Christmas napkins. I miss them so…. especially during this season. I also think about those family members and friends, dear to my heart who we are not able to see during the holidays for various reasons. I remember my neighbors and local friends and acquaintances that I wanted to be kind to during the year but for what ever reason, I neglected a visit, a call,  or a plate of cookies. My heart goes out to those who are fighting disease or are very ill right now. I have a friend in the City of Hope fighting Leukemia and a dear family friend who is fighting cancer. My prayers are that they would recover and grow spiritually and physically again. I think about my own family and want to make Christmas special for them. My husband….my dear Mother-in-law, my boys and my siblings. What about the friends at my husbands work? I can’t forget about his co-worker or his new supervisor. As the mail arrives, I receive lots of requests for Christmas gifts….the local rescue mission, Samaritans Purse, Missionary friends, food banks, World Vision, The disabled Veterans, and The American Bible Society. I feel overwhelmed each year as I work through all of these emotions and what I should do.  Read more...