Educators At Home

I hope you will enjoy this 3 part series by Francis Schaeffer.  As I watch him, I’m amazed at his insight and understanding and astonished  to see so much of what he talked about come to pass right in our White House today.  Unfortunately,  many of the radicals from the 60’s received their law degrees and ran for office.  Now we are facing a fundamental change in our America and we may lose our republic and way of life.  Knowing that the Lord is in control and He will never leave or forsake those who fear Him, my heart can be at peace regardless of  what happens in our world.  Please turn off the website music before beginning video. ~Anne

This address by the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer in 1982 is based on one of his books; A Christian Manifesto. I will be adding more of this address in our Library section. ~Anne

Christians, in the last 80 years or so, have only been seeing things as bits and pieces which have gradually begun to trouble them and others, instead of understanding that they are the natural outcome of a change from a Christian World View to a Humanistic one; things such as overpermissiveness, pornography, the problem of the public schools, the breakdown of the family, abortion, infanticide (the killing of newborn babies), increased emphasis upon the euthanasia of the old and many, many other things.

All of these things and many more are only the results. We may be troubled with the individual thing, but in reality we are missing the whole thing if we do not see each of these things and many more as only symptoms of the deeper problem. And that is the change in our society, a change in our country, a change in the Western world from a Judeo-Christian consensus to a Humanistic one. That is, instead of the final reality that exists being the infinite creator God; instead of that which is the basis of all reality being such a creator God, now largely, all else is seen as only material or energy which has existed forever in some form, shaped into its present complex form only by pure chance.  Read more...

A chemistry professor at a large college had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Professor noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt. The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country’s government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, ‘Do you know how to catch wild pigs?’ The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. ‘You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again.  Read more...

“Once we know that people are human and have some Homer Simpson in them, then there’s a lot that can be done to manipulate them.” – Progressive Regulatory Czar, Cass Sunstein

(Regarding the fairness doctrine) “A system of limitless individual choices, with respect to communications, is not necessarily in the interest of citizenship and self-government.”
“Animals should be permitted to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives…”
“We ought to ban hunting, I suggest, if there isn’t a purpose other than sport and fun. That should be against the law. It’s time now.”

(On the Constitution from Glenn Beck program) “ Let me explain the division among the conservative legal thinkers. Some conservative legal things like Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas is that the Constitution means what it originally meant. That means that we should understand the document by going through a sort of time machine and capturing the public understanding of the public that ratified the document a century or more than a century ago. So, that is a very distinctive approach which would involve quite radical changes in our existing Constitutional understanding and Justice Thomas is entirely clear on that.”

“Almost all gun control legislation is constitutionally fine. And if the court is right, then fundamentalism does not justify the view that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms. ”  Cass Sunstein writing in his book “Radicals in Robes”

(Who does this sound like?)
 Read more...

I received this very practical and yet quite obvious list in an email from a friend.  These bits of advice should be a way of life for us all.  I wish I could remember just a few of these…..if I did I think I would be happier and do a better job serving the Lord and my family.  I struggle with going to bed early, and taking one day at a time.  Some times I worry about things that I have no control over.  I often try to fix things without first asking for the Lords help. Instead of just realizing my own limitations,  I’ll have 2 or 3 things going on at once.   Should I really try to prepare a special dessert, talk on the phone, clean  the kitchen,  fold  laundry,  and  answer math questions all at the same time?  Why can’t I just slow down and  concentrate on the task at hand? When will I acknowledge  #35 on this list that  “I am not the general manager of the universe” 😉  Perhaps all of our “multi-tasking” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.  Well, anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this list.  Blessings,  ~Anne

1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say  “No”  to projects that won’t fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.  Read more...

Margarat  Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood,  once stated that her whole life was devoted to birth control. I cannot imagine anyone caring that much about keeping babies from being born, but evidently this was her mission in life. Perhaps she felt that there would be less poverty if families were kept smaller ,  but it’s more likely that she did not believe  all persons deserve to have the opportunity to live.  I read that her Mother had 18 pregnancies…..maybe this had an influence on her thinking.  Personally,  I would bet that she did not believe that man was created in the image of God and even though she used to be a Catholic, she probably did not believe in a Creator at all.  My guess would be that she was a believer in evolution and the theories of Charles Darwin. How else could she have come to the conclusions that she did?

Margarat Sanger has been praised by some, and   held in high regard amongst women’s groups and liberal politicians. Considering how Ms. Sanger encouraged abortions  especially in Black communities, and knowing her connections with the KKK,   I find it curious that so many black pastors and politicians sing her praises.  In 1966 the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. remarked about Sanger:  ‘There is a striking kinship between our movement and Margaret Sanger’s early efforts. . . . Our sure beginning in the struggle for equality by nonviolent direct action may not have been so resolute without the tradition established by Margaret Sanger and people like her.”  Read more...

As I’m reading up on Noah Webster, I’m reminded once again of  our Christian heritage in America.  I’m offended and stunned that so many symbols of our beloved Christianity are being removed from in the public square.  I’m disturbed and grieved that Christians are not allowed to pray at graduations or other events, and that we can no longer pray in our  government schools. It seems as though our courts today believe that our founders intended to banish God from our government and public square.  How foolish they are. Our founders did not want to establish a Theocracy for sure, but they wanted to allow the influence of Christian ideals in our society.

I guess the most disturbing thing of all for me was when I saw these guards removing the 10 commandments from an Alabama  court room a few years ago.  I never could quite get over that.  Judge Moore stated,  “It is a sad day in our country when the moral foundation of our law and the acknowledgment of God has to be hidden from public view to appease a federal judge.”  This Godly man was even suspended by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission  for refusing to obey Thompson’s order.  He will wear a crown one day.  Read more...

Since my articles entitled Prophecy 2008 and Prophecy 2009 were the most read articles of each respective year I have undertaken this piece with much care and forethought. The prophetic message has changed little in the last two years but the country has changed significantly, unfortunately the changes have not all been good.

What has not changed one whit is the prophetic charge I was given almost forty years past. In no uncertain terms I can say that our economy will plummet because our dollar will begin to fail across the globe. The current flush of spending by the government and the health care proposals now in the Senate are the single greatest threat to economic security the nation has ever had to face. It will not end well. I make no apologies and I seek no one’s support nor do I care what the naysayers have for arguments, this is a foregone. This is revelation not mere prediction.

It is only natural that when hard times are looming that we seek some form of preparation to stave off the worst. Survival garden seeds, investment in gold and arming to the teeth and finding places in remote areas of the country to hide or take a sort of last stand are all being touted as real and reasonable responses to the coming difficulties.  Read more...

Deuteronomy 4:10
“Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.”

Deuteronomy 6:5-8
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

Deuteronomy 11:18-20
“Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shall write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.”

Joshua 24:15
“Choose you this day whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Psalm 1:1-2
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”  Read more...

I can see that the whole process of writing a family mission statement is just as important as the product.  My husband and I have been talking about family life together!!  This is a good thing!!  To homeschool mom types like me,  this is a bit of heaven.  Having my honey talk about family goals  is a delight to my soul and it gives me great  hope.   Anyway, have a look at my revisions if you’d like.

Our family desires to honor and glorify our Lord Jesus and serve Him wholeheartedly.  We aim to know Him better, by gaining a thorough understanding of the Bible, and by seeking wisdom and instruction from Him every single day. We aspire to share His love with others through practicing hospitality, performing acts of service, and by sharing the gospel message with our neighbors and community.

We want to nurture and encourage a strong family bond and have a peaceful, warm, and relaxing home that can be a physical and emotional shelter for our family and loved ones. We will consistently work on creating happy memories and family traditions that will encourage family togetherness and strengthen our relationships. We will work together to keep our home tidy, organized and welcoming to guests.

We strive to have a home that is full of joy and free from strife and arguing, yet allowing for  honesty and communication.  We will be mindful of our biblical foundations and family rules while we are alone or while we have house guests. We will make it a habit to apologize and seek forgiveness when we have been unfair or unkind.  We will be quick to  forgive one another remembering how much we have been forgiven by our Lord Jesus.  Read more...

My husband and I have been talking about family mission statements for several months now.  When we first began homeschooling,  I wrote up a homeschooling mission statement and tucked it away in a filing box.  I didn’t understand back then that a mission statement needs to be displayed, read over,  and talked about often.

This statement is a rough draft and will probably be changed  as I think about it more.  I thought I’d share it with you all so that perhaps you will be inspired to make up your own unique family mission statement or at least begin thinking about it.  I started by just jotting down what I wanted to include. While  I have a tendency to ramble on and on,  my husband is more concise. You should have seen what my original statement looked like before my husband eliminated some of its wordiness!  Even though this is still a bit “wordy”, it seems to be incomplete to me.  I’ll probably have to add more over the next few months….then my hubby can simplify it again. ; ) ~Anne

Our family desires to honor and glorify our Lord Jesus and serve Him wholeheartedly.  We aim to know Him better, by gaining a thorough understanding of the Bible, and by seeking wisdom and instruction from Him every single day. We aspire to share His love with others through practicing hospitality, performing acts of service, and by sharing the gospel message with our neighbors and community.  Read more...

“Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state. The state will take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing. Your child belongs to us already…what are you?”

Even though I realize that this current administrations goal is to expand government, and even though I recognize that the larger the government grows, the less free we are;  I never thought the progressives in Washington  really cared about homeschoolers or even private schools.  I was naive to think that the leftists in control only concerned themselves with the public schools.  Now though,  I am hearing that Obama wants to include all private, religious and homeschools in the National Standards. My prayer is that his efforts will fail even though he has made no secret that national standards are an agenda priority. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan declared,  “If we accomplish one thing in the coming years it should be to eliminate the extreme variation in standards across America.”

I do not believe that the department of education and the progressive elitists are so concerned with the “extreme varitation in standards” , but believe that they want  control over what we teach our children and what curriculum we use.  This is simply another power grab for them.  Not only do they recognize the power of a textbook, but they know what a great  tool it can be for spreading any type of propaganda or worldview.  Dictators and Tyrants know that Textbook propaganda works, and many are using it today.  Even here in America many of  our children have been indoctrinated into the religion of secular humanism, moral relativism, anti-free market, socialism and evolution. God has been left out of our schools and a message is given….no competing view points are allowed even at many colleges and universities these days.  Read more...

I came across this sweet story in an old Ideals magazine.  I’ve always loved cozy and comfortable front porches and long to have my own one day.  I hope you enjoy this article as much as I did. ~Anne

Used to be everybody had a porch, and everybody used it.  Today, few people do more than dash in from the rain under the protection of a small stoop or pause to ring the doorbell.

Young people need to revive the lost art of “porch sittin’.”  Personally, I’m glad to see a bit of renewal for this old custom in the growing popularity of the old house plans with their large front porches.  Sometimes in my travels about the countryside, I see people sitting comfortably out on a porch, letting time roll under their feet, passing time or waiting for that occasional “drop-in” visitor.  When I see a scene like this, I can’t help but wonder whatever happened to all the sitters…and the front porches that they sat upon.

As newer houses developed, the side porch became popular.  Following closely behind came the modern porch stoop, while decks and patios took over the rear of the house.  As communities became more thickly populated, as people felt they needed more privacy.  But back a generation or so ago, sitting on your porch was just a way of being neighborly.  Read more...

Charlotte Mason was a Christian educator from Victorian Era England. When I first read about her in homeschooling magazines and books, I immediately decided that I wanted to adopt many of her ideas.  So much of what she recommends seems to be simply good old fashioned common sense that has been forgotten and would be shunned in many educational circles today.  I majored in Child Development while I attended college,  and what I acquired was a far cry from Charlotte Mason philosophy.

For Charlotte Mason, education was more to do with setting an atmosphere and a healthy lifestyle for your child than about workbooks and fact memorization.  Yet, her approach was not ” child centered”  in the  modern sense that eliminates instruction, discipline and good habits. She spoke of providing a wholesome and stimulating home environment  that encouraged learning while still allowing time for the carefree happy days of childhood.  Charlotte Mason would probably love the saying that  “homeschooling is a lifestyle.”  I thought the following list of Charlotte Mason ” do’s & dont’s” might be helpful to those who are just getting to know Charlotte Mason philosophy.  As I read the list, I think so much of what she taught is probably the way many of our forefathers were taught.  Her ideas may seem old-fashioned but I wouln’t be surprised if I found out that many of our grandmothers would have done the same.

~Charlotte did not recommend using textbooks but encouraged the use of whole books. She called them “Living books”  Read more...

Better than land or gold or trade
Are a high ideal and a purpose true;
Better than all of the wealth we’ve made
Is the work for others that now we do.
For Rome grew rich and she turned to song
And danced to music and drank her wine,
But she sapped the strength of her fibres strong
And a gilded shroud was her splendor fine.

The Rome of old with its wealth and wine
Was the handiwork of a sturdy race;
They builded well and they made it fine
And they dreamed of it as their children’s place.
They thought the joys they had won to give,
And which seemed so certain and fixed and sure,
To the end of time in the world would live
And the Rome they’d fashioned would long endure.  

They passed to their children the hoarded gold,
Their marble halls and their fertile fields!
But not the spirit of Rome of old,
Nor the Roman courage that never yields.
They left them the wealth that their hands had won,
But they failed to leave them a purpose true.
They left them thinking life’s work all done,
And Rome went down and was lost to view.

We must guard ourselves lest we follow Rome.
We must leave our children the finer things.
We must teach them love of the spot called home
And the lasting joy that a purpose brings.
For vain are our Flag and our battles won,
And vain are our lands and our stores of gold,
If our children feel that life’s work is done.
We must give them a high ideal to hold.  Read more...

Lord, make me tolerant and wise;

Incline my ears to hear him through;
Let him not stand with downcast eyes,
Fearing to trust me and be true.
Instruct me so that I may know
The way my son and I should go.

When he shall err, as once did I,
Or boyhood folly bids him stray,
Let me not into anger fly
And drive the good in him away.
Teach me to win his trust, that he
Shall keep no secret hid from me.

Lord, strengthen me that I may be .
A fit example for my son.
Grant he may never hear or see
A shameful deed that I have done.
However sorely I am tried,
Let me not undermine his pride.

In spite of years and temples gray,
Still let my spirit beat with joy;
Teach me to share in all his play
And be a comrade with my boy.
Wherever we may chance to be,
Let him find happiness with me.

Lord, as his father, now I pray
For manhood’s strength and counsel wise;
Let me deal justly, day by day,
In all that fatherhood implies.
To be his father, keep me fit;
Let me not play the hypocrite!

~Edgar Albert Guest