Educators At Home

We are slowly working our way through Christian Liberty Press’ , The Land of Fair Play.  Since we have our elections coming in a few short weeks,  I thought I’d skip ahead to our election chapter.

I believe it is our duty to educate ourselves,  learn about elections, the political parties, and vote for those who will defend and uphold the Constitution.  I know that folks everywhere keep saying,   “get out and vote”  but I would advise:  read about the issues first,  read the constitution,  and study our founding fathers.  Decide if you value your liberties and freedoms,  and if you do,  “get out and vote please”…. for the candidate that will protect and defend our God given liberties.  If you are voting because you think your candidate is a fine speaker,  good looking, or cool and hip,  do us all a favor and stay home please!!!!  If you are voting for someone because he is a favorite of your friend,  professor in school,  or Hollywood celebrity…..why bother?

Frankly,  these days I’m not impressed that a candidate is  Harvard Educated or a Rhodes scholar.  I don’t care if he is  ” smart” or a fine speaker or can “work”  a crowd.  I’ll vote for the person who truly loves America, who  fears God, upholds the Constitution, and is an honorable  man or woman of integrity.  I would love to vote for someone like that if they would run for office.  Read more...

I had a mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,
“Blackbirds” stowed in the hold beneath

I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be-
I had a Mother who read to me.

My husband and I have been blessed by the ministry of Voddie Baucham. We  attended a conference on “Family Driven Faith” and Multigenerational Faithfulness and have watched many of his sermons. He is extremely popular right now especially with homeschool families.  Voddie is a husband, father, pastor, author, professor, conference speaker and church planter.  He is currently serving at a family integrated fellowship in Spring Texas.

Voddie has an amazing an unique testimony. He did not come to know  Christ until his freshman year in college and was raised by a single Mom who was of the Buddhist faith.  He was given the gospel and then discipled by two teammates on the Rice University football team. I heard him discuss his conversion and remember him saying that he fell down upon his face and prayed something like “God, whatever my friend has….that’s what I want. ”

Dr. Baucham holds many  degrees from various Baptist Universities and Seminaries and he studied at Oxford.  What impresses me though is his devotion to his family and children, and his passion for the Lord.  He is also very passionate about homeschooling from a Biblical perspective and does not support the charter school programs for Christian families.

Voddie and his wife, Bridget have been married since 1989. They have five children, Jasmine, Trey, Elijah, Asher and Judah.

This sermon on “Brokenness” is by far my favorite.  I hope you will enjoy it as well!

Be sure to turn off the website music before beginning the video.  ~Anne  Read more...

Give yourself a treat by taking some time to SLOWLY read this article and let it sink in.  I hope it will bless you…. and you will enjoy reading it as much as I did.  ~Anne

French poet and essayist, Paul Valery 1871-1945, said “The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.” Those who look back longingly to fairer days agree with Valery but who could have seen a time when changes would become so radical that temporality and periodicity itself would become a form of entertainment?

Newness and news has become entertainment and an acceptable form of distraction for millions today, but it is far from being anything new. The ancient Greeks were caught up with news so much so, that when the Apostle Paul visited Athens he was considered a novelty because of an all new concept he put forth called, the “resurrection from the dead,” and one Jesus Christ who Paul said had accomplished it.

“For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.” (Acts 17:21)

A modern world presumes that God is static and if he exists at all he has limped into the backwaters of importance and scope. His word or his message, they are convinced, has also taken a backseat to the musings of modernity’s hot pursuit of all that is deemed as empirical, nascent and timely.  Read more...

Mr. President,

The small progress we have made after 4 or five weeks close attendance & continual reasonings with each other-our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes as ays, is methinks a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the Human Understanding. We indeed seem to feel our own want of political wisdom, since we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of Government, and examined the different forms of those Republics which having been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution now no longer exist. And we have viewed Modern States all round Europe, but find none of their Constitutions suitable to our circumstances.  Read more...

“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.” — Samuel Adams

I recently saw a bumper sticker that said something like  “If you are not mad as “heck”…..it’s because you are not paying attention.”

In my past posts,  I’ve acknowledged and declared my very average American status.  I’m a regular homeschool mom with some college education, but not quite enough to have been  indoctrinated.  I was still in college when my husband and I married,  and I joke now that my dear husband would de-program me after school.  Fortunately, one of the perks of homeschooling is that you will most likely get a second chance at an education.  When a family adopts a “learning lifestyle” , the whole family continues to grow and learn so much more than the public schools or colleges ever provided.

My dear mom only had a 7th grade education and my Dad was blessed to be able to take chemistry classes at MIT for a while.   Of the two, I would say my Mom had the wisdom….my Dad had the smarts,  and they both had a good dose of old fashioned common sense ; with a healthy measure of morality and devotion to the “golden rule.”   I know I did not inherit my Daddy’s smarts,  but I think each passed down   good ol’ common sense to all of us children.  If they were alive today,  I think they would be  in agreement with the bumper sticker slogan as well…and they would be mad as “heck.”  My mom would be praying and my Dad would be yelling at the television or shaking his head in disgust;  both admitting that nothing makes sense these days.  Read more...

As  September ushers in cooler days and school routines again,  I thought I’d share from my heart my thoughts about this new school year and our homsechool journey.  Sadly, it has taken me 8 homeschool years  to realize that I am not required to imitate the  public schools,  my homeschool friends, or any of the homeschooling guru’s  I’ve heard at conventions.   I  “knew” this in my head,   but I’m afraid my heart still did not grasp it and I kept striving to prove that we were just as smart as the next guy, that we were “serious” homeschoolers,  and  that we were way more academic than our local schools.  I often would ask my nephew  or neighborhood children what they were doing in school .  I felt this huge need to compare what we were doing  in our homes with what our local  government school was doing.  So much of it was based upon my own pride rather than upon what the Lord cares about for our family.

I’m not feeling pressure to do everything and learn every subject this year,  and our “schedule” is simply a guide that we can follow if we want to.  Thus far, our school year has been a delight….our best year.  My boys keep saying, “We are having fun doing school this year” or “I had a nice day today mom.” (Big Grin :))  To  homeschool Mom types like me,   this is as gold………we live to hear such words don’t we?  I’m still relishing in their words.  This year, our home is a peaceful and happy place to be, we are not rushing around much, hurrying  through lessons, or stressing out about completing books.  Read more...

Certain dishes just bring a flood of memories.  I recently made a big pot of chicken and dumplings for my sister and her family when they stopped by on their way back from a family road trip.  When my sister saw the bubbling stew in my green dutch oven pot she remembered our Mom.  Even her husband in his thick Boston accent commented that his mom used to make this dish as well and it seemed like such classic New England fare.

Whenever I prepare corned beef and cabbage, I’m twelve again for a few minutes at least,  and my Mom’s in the kitchen cooking for our family.   Even a simple peanut butter and Marshmellow fluff sandwich on white bread brings me back to my childhood days. My mom used to make this sandwich for my siblings and I, and I assumed that she invented it herself. Turns out this is a New England Classic as well.  This sandwich is called a flutternutter and generations of New Englanders fondly associate Marshmallow Fluff with their childhood. The flutternutter sandwich  is a local tradition almost as popular as a nice hot bowl of clam chowder (chowdah).  I always wondered why my husband (who has southern roots) had never had this sandwich.  I guess when my family headed west they brought  a bit of New England with them!
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Charter schools are just public schools on a slightly longer leash. A dog on a long leash is still a dog on a leash.
— Marshall Fritz

All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
— Sir Walter Scott

The philosophy in the classroom of this generation is the philosophy of government in the next.
— Abraham Lincoln

Our schools have been scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening. The average American [should be] content with their humble role in life, because they’re not tempted to think about any other role.
— William T. Harris, U.S. Commissioner of Education, 1889

We who are engaged in the sacred cause of education are entitled to look upon all parents as having given hostages to our cause.
— Horace Mann, first secretary of education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

[The role of the schoolmaster is to] collect little plastic lumps of human dough from private households and shape them on the social kneading board.
— Edward Ross, Professor of Economics, Stanford University, 1900

The education of all children, from the moment that they can get along without a mother’s care, shall be in state institutions at state expense.
— Karl Marx

The children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming, where everyone would be interdependent.
— John Dewey, American educator  Read more...

Morning Prayer~Dr. Watt’s

Almighty God, the maker of everything in heaven and earth;

the darkness goes away, and the daylight comes at your command.

You are good and do good continually.  I thank you that you have taken

such good care of me this night, and that I am alive and well this morning.

Save me, O God, from evil, all this day long,

and let me love and serve thee forever,

for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son.

Amen.

Evening Prayer~Dr. Watts

O Lord God who knows all things, you see me

by night as well as by day.

I pray you for Christ’s sake, forgive me

whatsoever I have done amiss this day,

and keep me all this night, while I am asleep.

I desire to lie down under your care,

and to abide forever under your blessing,

for you are God of all power and everlasting mercy.

Amen.

Years ago at our local homeschooling convention I picked up a copy of the New England Primer of 1777. I’ve kept this copy in my library even though we do not use it as much now that my boys are older. We probably should re-visit this practical and wholesome book again.
In the early colonial period, one of the main reasons folks learned to read was so that they could read the Bible and become a Christian. Parents taught their children to read and learned to read themselves so that they could learn about the ways of our Lord and come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This was their motivation. In 1647, the “Old Deluder Act” was passed in Massachusetts and it required every town with 50 or more residents to hire a teacher and begin a school. This was really our first step towards compulsory education. The chief goal of the “Old Deluder Act” was to enable students to gain a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures.

When you read through the New England Primer you will discover phonics lessons, spelling rules, and reading lessons. You will also be taught all of these things from a Christian perspective. The Lord’s prayer, The Shorter Catechism, the Apostles Creed, prayers and hymns by Isaac Watts are also included in the Primer.

A Wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure & trouble therewith.

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David Barton is not your typical tour guide.  He knows his history and has devoted his life to studying and collecting original historical documents.  He has many enemies and they attack him, but cannot say much about all of the original letters, sermons, last will and testaments, books, diaries,  etc. that reveal our true history. I hope you enjoy this video.  Be sure to turn off the website music. Enjoy!  ~Anne

This article made me pause and think about whether or not I considered all three of these “Golden Gates” in my conversations, my  postings, or even when I teach my children.  It also reminded me of times when folks have used words that are unkind, or unnecessary and how they have hurt me for many years. The Bible reminds us that careless words stab like a sword, but the words of wise people bring healing. (Proverbs 12:18)

My boys and I read through this article and talked about each “Golden Gate.”  We discussed how we could apply this in our lives with our family,  friends, neighbors and even strangers.

I pray that the Lord will forgive me for not holding my tongue when I should,  for being unkind sometimes, for bringing up subjects that are not profitable or edifying, and sometimes even keeping silent when the Lord calls me to stand up for truth and righteousness.  Amen. ~Anne

Someone once told me that if you found something good to say that you should never be afraid to repeat it.

Men will quote the Bible long after I’m gone and the words of people like Abraham Lincoln or George Washington will be repeated countless times but no one will say when its time to quit repeating their sayings. Such words are never put to rest they are only passed on to others; they belong to humanity they are legacy and wisdom and will never cease to salt the earth. Here are some of the best words I have heard in my brief stay on this old planet.  Read more...