the verdict is in

We’ve decided to homeschool.

Now, before you click away with pity and perhaps disdain, let me explain.  

Our oldest daughter is 5.  Let’s face it, kindergarten isn’t exactly the mountaintop of academic achievement, so it’s not like I’m taking on a monumental task here.  Plus, we “homeschooled” preschool this past year and it went well, so how much harder can it be?

And we haven’t committed to homeschooling all the kids all the way through to high school.  Although I don’t think that’s a bad goal.  We will take it year by year, child by child.  

Eliza, for her part, is thrilled.  She wants to get her books and school stuff and start… yesterday.  When I told her she would not be riding on the yellow school bus with the other children she was relieved and excited.  I have  a feeling she will be the one keeping us on schedule, just as she has pushed us this year to do more than I would on my own accord.  

We are incredibly blessed to have a huge network of homeschoolers around us.  I’ve already spent hours picking the brains of seasoned homeschool moms (who are very intimidating to me.. what can’t they do??  Need to churn butter and grind wheat while teaching an in-depth lesson on American history?  Talk to a homeschool mom!  They’re like MacGyver meets Jane Austen with a modestly dressed Wonder Woman on the side!)

So, all this to say, I am very very excited.  Mostly I’m excited to be able to teach my kids about the Lord and weave the message of the Gospel and Jesus Christ into everything we do.  I know that I will make mistakes and sin, but I’m hoping that even as I mess things up, God will use it for the kids to see Christ’s blood covering and redeeming their flawed mom.

If you’re still pretty skeptical about this home-schooling thing (which is perfectly fine), check out Jamsco’s blog for a funny look at the worst case scenario for socialization.  After all, everyone knows homeschool kids are socially backwards– here’s some proof-positive!

Did I mention I was homeschooled for 10th, 11th, and 12th grades?  

Any encouragement out there for me as we get ready to embark in the world of kindergarten?  How about any homeschool horror stories?

parents, are you moralists or theologians?

Of course the two aren’t mutually exclusive.  

But what’s your bent when you teach your kids what Christianity is all about?  I admit that it’s easier for me to fall into teaching my kids the moralistic part of Christianity as the main point.

Bruce Ware, Professor of Christian Theology at Southern Seminary, has a new book out called, Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God.  Justin Taylor interviews him about it on his blog.  

Here’s the killer excerpt:

I suspect that most parents are more comfortable teaching their kids Christian ethics (love God, don’t love the world, tell the truth, don’t cheat or steal, etc.) than they are teaching them Christian theology (how can God be three and one? How is Jesus God and man?). Why is it important for parents to learn good theology and pass it on to their kids?

He follows up the question by saying:

The Christian faith is not moralism. Yet, we can (wrongly and dangerously!) pervert the Christian faith into this, in our homes and our churches. Our lists of “do’s” and “don’t's” can become the sum and substance of our understanding of the Christian faith, and in this self-esteem saturated culture, this ends up redounding to the glory of the “self,” not the glory of God.

How much time do I spend making sure my kids understand the morality of Christianity compared to the time I spend diligently teaching them the truths of who God is, why Jesus came, and the total depravity of man.  We do talk about them, but is it primary?    

Moralism is easy.

It’s easy for grown-ups and kids.  We all know what to do with a rule.  Don’t lie.  Be kind.  Pray often.  Don’t envy.  And then we either feel good about keeping it or we feel good about breaking it.  Or guilty.  But massive weighty truths about God affect us differently.  They actually have the power to transform our mind, our heart, our worldview.

Here’s some truths that Dr. Ware says we all need to embrace, learn and teach:

• who God is in his eternal fullness as the triune God,
• who God is as Creator of all that is,
• who we are as created in his image,
• what sin is and has done to us,
• why Christ came, who Christ is,
• what he accomplished,
• how we receive the benefits of his work on the cross,
• what God provides for us to grow as his people,
• what these communities of faith called “churches” are and what they contribute,
• and what hope we have for life now and forever

I haven’t read Dr. Ware’s book, so I won’t endorse it.  But the stuff from his interview sure is helpful.  

How do you navigate being a parent-theologian?  It’s a big job isn’t it?!

daily devotions: life-giving or performance-based?

I read a great article by Tim Challies called The Quiet Time Performance.  

Here’s the heart of the article where he quotes Jerry Bridges:

Why is it that we tend to think this way? [meaning that God will bless us for good quiet times and punish us for bad] According to Bridges, we’ve come to believe that God’s blessing on our lives is somehow conditional upon our spiritual performance. In other words, if we’ve performed well and done our quiet time as we ought to have done, we have put ourselves in a place where God can bless us. We may not consciously articulate this, but we prove that we believe it when we have a bad day and are certain that on this day we are absolutely unworthy of God’s blessings. This attitude “reveals an all-too-common misconception of the Christian life: the thinking that, although we are saved by grace, we earn or forfeit God’s blessings in our daily lives by our performance.”

Do you think of quiet times this way?   (By quiet times I mean read the Word and pray).  On the days when you miss, are you just waiting for God to be “dishing out bummers”?  I think Challies has hit on some crucial points to help those who do quiet times for performance.  The kind of people who are sharing what they “learned” in quiet times more to show off or make sure everyone knows that they had quiet time than anything else.

If you brag about your quiet time, there may be a problem.

The same people who try to impress man with their devotions are probably also trying to impress God.  

But I’d like to come at it from the other side as well.  Yes, there are people who do quiet times for performance.  And if we end the conversation there, many people will, (now liberated) say, “Aha, I don’t need to do quiet times, God’s blessing on my life is secured by the death of his Son.”  

They’d be right.  Challies says, “Quiet time becomes tyrannical when you understand it as a performance.” 

So perhaps to end the tyranny, we should end the quiet times.

No!  Of course not, and that’s not what Challies is saying.  Here’s some of his concluding remarks:

So what, then, does Scripture command? It commands that the Word of God be constantly upon your heart. You are to pray, to read the Scripture and to meditate upon it, but you are to do so from a joyful desire, and not mere performance-based duty.

To look at devotions as mere duty, done to gain favor is lethal.  But to see them for what they should be, namely, the means by which I survive from day to day, they become a precious grace, not a performance for a blessing.  They are Air. Water.  Food for my soul.  

My pastor says it best in regard to prayer specifically (although I think the same can be said for Bible reading).  In answer to the question, “Is prayer a duty?” he says:

You can call it that. It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater. It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers. It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns. It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food. It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water. It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid. It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin. It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey. It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

And so, Challies says, quiet time should come from a joyful desire.  I think it should also come from a desperate need.  Desperation is more often my motivation than joy.  I’m needy.  I’m sinful.  Without the Word and prayer I get lost.  

And the more I’m in the Word, the more my need for it increases, not the other way around.  The more I pray, the more I need to pray.  

There’s no amount of time that is the “right” amount of time to do devotions.  Some will gain more for their soul from teaching a child one tiny verse and letting it affect their life and heart than others who spend hours studying.  Some are praying all through their day and others set aside a time to do so.  

The point is to rail against legalism, while preserving the Water that is the Word of God and prayer for thirsty people.

Any thoughts, readers?

7 minutes of enjoyment

I was seeing links all over the place regarding Susan Boyle from Britain’s Got Talent.  That’s the UK’s version of American Idol apparently.  I finally got around to watching it after ignoring all the raves for a few days.  

(If the video won’t play click here to see it).

I now understand what they were talking about.  

By the end of the video, for whatever reason, I was a puddle.  Part of that may be because I have strong sentimentality surrounding that song and all the songs from Les Mis.  I remember when my folks got the soundtrack to that musical; I was around 7 years old.  

Then when I was 8, we went to see it performed in Iowa City, about an hour from where I grew up.  It was a really big deal. Since then, I’ve seen it twice in New York City on Broadway.  I know every word of every song.  

Growing up I did horse chores in the morning and evening.  This involved (among other things) throwing hay down from the hay mow.  I used to waste a lot of time up in the hay mow.  Much of that time was spent performing the songs of Les Mis. 

There was a large door (the width of two regular doors at least) on the front of the hay mow where I’d throw down the hay and from it you could see the whole pasture and some neighbors houses and our pond.  

I’d sing my guts out, out that door.  

And those songs moved me.  After watching Susan Boyle’s rendition of one of them and my subsequent puddle-status, I am assured that they still do.

And in case your curious, if I were in that musical I would be Eponine.  Maybe that’s why Les Mis always made/makes me cry, because in my mind I identify with her, even though nothing in my situation mirrors her own.  I guess I have a love for the tragic.  

I think I’m going to go dig out that soundtrack right now and listen to it.  

Any Les Mis fans out there?  What did you think of Susan Boyle?

happy birthday to Mr. TommyD

It’s my husband’s birthday today!

Unfortunately, he is very sick today.  He hasn’t been feeling the best the last few days, then last night he got a fever, and it was pretty bad in the middle of the night (with the chills and shakes).  So he’s home today, but still working from his home office.  

The kids are happy to have him here.  Eliza made him coupons for his birthday.  One is for unlimited hugs, the other for unlimited smooches.  Also she’s given him a couple homemade cards, some Rolos, and some tea for his sore throat.  

To honor him on his birthday, I’d like to share the number one thing I love about him.  Get ready.  Here it comes.

He’s understanding.

I could have given you a top 100 list, or a top 25 list.  (I did a top 13 list a couple months ago).  There is definitely enough that I love and appreciate about him to fill pages and pages.  But I thought I just give you the one that impacts me the most from day to day.  And it’s simple.  

He lives with me in an understanding and compassionate way.

Some might be thinking, “Wouldn’t you want to name His love for the Lord as the #1 thing or his leading of your family?”  Well, it’s kind of like the greatest commandment.  There are two great commandments: Love the Lord your God…etc., and, Love your neighbor as yourself.  Then it gets condensed even further to simply, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Bible tells husbands to live with their wives in an understanding way and Mr.TommyD does a great job at it.  And I’ve no doubt that it flows out of his first love; his love for the Lord.  

What does it mean to be understanding?  It means he puts himself in my shoes.  He remembers the Golden Rule.  He’s a servant leader (who’s great at initiating).  He’s willing to change his mind.  He’s flexible.  He listens well.  And he keeps the main thing the main thing, and lets the lesser things be lesser.  

All this he does while keeping his backbone in tact!  Yes men!  You can be flexible and understanding with your wives while maintaining a love for unchanging truth and being firm in your faith!  

I daresay, the firmer your faith and trust in Christ Jesus and the Word, the more understanding you will be with your wives. 

So here’s to you, my dear!!!  Happy Birthday!  I am exceedingly thankful for you!

And some photos to boot..

 

 

the most important holy-day of the year

My pastor said last Sunday that Easter is the most important holiday of the year.  

More important than Christmas.  Because Christmas exists to make Easter possible.  

We should get this Christians.  This should be obvious to us.  But the culture tells us something different, so if we aren’t being really intentional, then we are taken along on auto-pilot, having Christmas be the big one and Easter a kind of nice spring-y  time of song-singing at church and fancy dresses for the girls.

I remember quite vividly the first time the reality of what Easter should be hit me.  

I was 15 and in Mexico City, Mexico.  The youth group went to Mexico City each year to help out the two missionary couples from our denomination who served and lived there.  We mostly worked with their youth and did whatever was most helpful for them.  We shared the Gospel, invited the neighborhood to church, ran a camp for the youth, did VBS, etc.  

The first year we went was over spring break and over Easter.  I remember reading my Bible in the morning and reading in the Gospels of all that transpired from the time in the Garden up to His resurrection.  It just dawned on me that I had walked through Easter many times never realizing the fullness of what it represented.  

I also began to feel an angst over the fact that Christmas was made so much of and Easter was not.

And, at 15, began to wonder, how do we fix this??!  This is a great tragedy!  I’d say I was partly right.  The culture has hi-jacked our holidays in ways that are not helpful.  But that’s not the main problem.  

The main problem exists in my own heart.  No one can keep me from making much of the glory Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.  And, in making much of Easter, Christmas doesn’t get smaller, it gets bigger.  In the kingdom of God Christmas and Easter don’t compete, they compliment.

I don’t have to make Christmas small to make Easter big.  

Instead the more I love God and Christ and His death and resurrection the more Easter gets big and so does Christmas.  It’s the same principle that C.S. Lewis speaks of when he says that the more we love our first and best love, namely God, the better and more we will love our second love, our spouse and children, etc.  Love for the best thing increases, not diminishes, our love for second things.  

So it is with Easter and Christmas.

What ways have you all employed to make much of this most-important holy-day called Easter?  Do you have any traditions that help to focus your and your family’s hearts on God-Man who was made a curse for us?  

Let’s look at Jesus, the One who must be lifted up like the serpent, and love Him together!

news and reviews 4/6/09

Adam Lambert favored to win Idol

I’ll say this.  I’m a Kris fan.  I can’t remember his last name at the moment, but you know the guy who plays guitar and has a crooked mouth when he hits the big notes?  I like his arrangements and think he’s very talented (plays piano and guitar).  Lambert weirds me out a bit with the makeup, nail polish and stuck-out tongue.  Can’t deny his talent.  But Kris is more my speed.  

Facebook draws 200m people with social gaming 

Anybody participate in facebook games?  Apparently texas hold’em and an interactive pet “game” are ranked the highest.  I must admit I don’t like them.  (Not a moral judgment).  Just think they’re annoying and a waste of time for me.  This social gaming is said to have a much bigger draw than other online gaming because you’re playing with people you actually know instead of strangers.  This ring true for anyone?

Tony Blair set to be President of the EU?

Wouldn’t that just torque Gordan Brown beyond words?  But it looks like Brown is ready to along with it.  He apparently recognizes the importance of having a Brit in that seat.  Country first I guess.  Or is it EU first?  I’m confused now.  

Run Away Banks, Run Away!

Tim Geithner reserves the right to oust bank execs from banks requiring exceptional help from the gov’t.  I think he also said that some banks are too big and important to allow to fail.  So what if a bank refuses gov’t help, but is one of those deemed “too big to fail”?  Does the gov’t “help” them against their wishes?  Then oust whoever they want?  

If I were a bank exec, I would, in the words of Monty Python, “Run away, run away!”

A Nuclear Irony

Tomasky points out the jolting irony that on the day Pres. Obama delivers a speech in Prague about a post-nuclear world, North Korea launches a rocket soaring over Japan, that may have the potential to send a nuclear warhead to Alaska.  He goes on to remind us that places like North Korea, Iran, and many others don’t care who our president is.  To them Obama isn’t “change,” he’s just an American (read: enemy).

Unions Ensure the Death of the Newspaper

I’m not saddened by the death of the newspaper.  I don’t read them.  I get all my news online.  And I’m not nostalgic about them, because I’m too young.  So, it’s easy for me to scratch my head when I read articles like this.  Unions won’t make concessions with newspaper companies and thereby ensure their complete collapse.  As has already happened all over the country.  Papers, like the Boston Globe, are being totally subsidized in order to pay the union employees.  But rather than cut all the superfluous staff and run the paper on a shoestring with minimal employees, they will shut the whole thing down.  

I suppose it’s going to happen eventually anyway, the unions unwillingness to cooperate just ensure it and speed it up.  I say, go read the Drudge Report.