The Process of Growth

Have you ever thought about why Jesus began His ministry at age 30? Why then? He was fully man, and fully God, and demonstrated at the age of 12 that He understood what His purpose was on earth (Luke 2:49), so why didn’t He begin His ministry at 12, 19, or 24 when He could have healed more, taught more, and served more?

I’m going to venture out on a limb here and it might ruffle a few feathers, so be warned: Because He wasn’t ready.

Did you scowl just now? Did your mind instantly jump to defend preteen Jesus? Isn’t it funny how a simple statement like that can feel a bit, uh, blasphemous? But is it?

I know, I know, loads of questions, but I really want to get you out of you Sunday school answer bubble for a minute as we dive into the humanity of Jesus a bit.

I love catching glimpses of Jesus’ humanity in scripture because it’s rare in comparison to His divinity, to the extent we almost forget that He was 100% human. Out of the four gospels, Luke 2 is the only chapter that gives a picture of His life outside of His birth and flight Egypt. We see infant Jesus being blessed by Simeon and Anna and then fast forward to Jesus’ first trip to Jerusalem at age 12. Talk about abrupt. The nosey side of me wants to shake Luke and tell him to quit being such a man and give me details! And while I won’t get my chance to do that (hopefully) for a long time, we are given a humbling lesson at the end of chapter 2.

After frantically searching for their lost son, Mary and Joseph find Him in the temple sitting at the feet of the teachers engaging them in theological discussion, “…listening to them, and asking them questions.” vs. 46.

In ancient Israel the Priests would set out benches in the temple and sit with the men who came to learn at their feet. There they would discuss the law and answer any questions of those who had gathered.

Notice how in verse 46 He is engaging them with questions. He is learning. To learn you are gaining information you didn’t otherwise possess, just like our children learn from asking us questions. In turn the Priests replied and asked Him questions to gauge His understanding, and He (vs. 47) surprised them with His answers and the depth of His understanding.

After Mary and Joseph collected Jesus and journeyed home we have this wonderful final verse detailing the rest of Jesus’ young adult life,

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” vs. 52.

The process of growth is an amazing thing, especially for a human. You begin as an egg and a sperm, join and develop into a baby, child, survive your teen years, and then enter adulthood. All the while you are tasting, touching, learning new things, and reasoning new ideas.

Jesus began that very same way. He was born of a virgin, and while fully God, He was fully man. He was not pondering the 2008 election while nursing at the breast of Mary, He was tugging at a lock of her hair as He drifted off to sleep in her arms full and happy. He toddled around their home bumping into stools and grasping for everything the way toddlers do. He fell down, scraped his knee, and caught a cold just like everyone else.

He had to learn. He had to be taught how to read, how to hold a chisel and a hammer, how to manage money, and learn the Torah. He made mistakes and had to repeat a task, be it carpentry or Hebrew lettering, till He got it right, because He was growing!

Now some of you might be uncomfortable at that last sentence because we correlate ‘mistake’ with ‘sin.’ Don’t do that. If your son is learning his times tables for the first time and thinks 3 x 3 = 10 would you toss his math book in his face and shout “Sinner!” Of course not, he didn’t sin, he made a mistake. We humans do that as we’re encountering a new subject and *gasp* Jesus did too.

That is why Jesus didn’t start His ministry till 30. He needed to mature and wait on God’s timing.

This has an amazing application for us as well. Do you have a call on your life? It’s one of the most exciting times in our spiritual journey when God reveals what He intends for us to do, but there’s a caveat to our calling: we have to grow.

Just because you have the call doesn’t mean you are immediately capable of carrying it out. For some that means medical school, missionary training, seminary, or music lessons. For other’s it’s on-the-job training, interning, or volunteer work.

Jesus lived His life as a model for us on how we are to live ours, so do not be discouraged at the work (and mistakes) involved to get you to the point where God says “Act!” We all have to grow before we can go 🙂

I remain,

Apologetically,

Yours

Grad Life

So I’ve been off the grid for a while and I promise I have a good reason: my time management skills stink. 🙂 Sorry about that. I naively thought that I could add grad school into our schedule without making much of a ripple in daily life. Silly pre-semester me must have been spending too much time around the glue during art when I thought I could study philosophy while the heathens were about.

I’m older and wiser now (maybe) and am working on budgeting time more efficiently, which typically means cutting back on that crutch people call ‘sleep’ and phoning my buddy Keurig for a late night jam session on the problem of evil. Let it be known that I know how to party.

Anyhoo, I thought I share a few iphonetastic pics of the campus to give you a peek at grad life.

This is the gorgeous theology bldg. where I get to take the majority of my classes:

Isn’t is pretty?! I had only been through it’s doors once during my first (and their first) apologetics conference last April, so I was ecstatic to venture beyond the lecture hall for reasons other than plain nosiness.

As you can imagine the rotunda is impressive. Large oil paintings of deans past and present line the interior walls while hallways splinter off to classrooms, stairwells, and offices. The dome is dizzying to look at and impossible to get a decent picture of unless you lie on the floor, something I figured a respectable adult wouldn’t do, at least not while there were so many witnesses about, so this is the best I could get before rushing to class. I’ll get better ones later. I promise.

The best part: the people. Mommies and babies picnic and play on the tree line grounds as they await their husbands to emerge from class. Pastor’s wives-to-be cluster over women’s ministry projects, bedhead worship leaders duck in and out of the music hall, doctoral students sporting sweater vests and ties (I’m pretty sure they shop at the same store together) nurse coffee mugs while pouring over Latin, and the youth ministry majors complete with hobo Jesus beards and Toms swap jokes as they wait in line at the cafeteria.

Mark* works at the coffee shop and will remember your name and favorite order by your third visit, and their parfaits are delicious!

Everyone smiles, professors happily answer questions while waiting in line for coffee, and there is a pleasant mix of focus and joy that follows you throughout the halls.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am to go there. I feel a little guilty at times that I get to shuffle along the walkways while my gorgeous is hard at work. He’s so wonderfully supportive and not at all envious of my midterm all-nighters 🙂

Best of all, everything I learn goes right back to you! So stick close and don’t hesitate to ask questions!

I Remain,

Apologetically,

Yours

 

 

The trouble with Doubt

Doubt is a word that puts most Christians into a state of anxiety. All of us have sat through a sermon where the Pastor admonishes us not to doubt the Lord, and that’s all well and good until we have a question about something we don’t understand. Hopefully, when you have found yourself in that situation you have an understanding mentor who guides you along, but there are many who get a verbal slap on the wrist for daring to ask, ‘why?’ This should never happen, but it does, and far too often. I feel it is caused by a lack of understanding, an ignorance of term if you will, of the different kinds of doubt.

I’m going to offer a theory here, and feel free to disagree if I’m off, but I believe there are two definitions to Biblical doubt:

A. Being unsure God can do something.

B. Being unsure how God did something.

Notice how the definition changes meaning with the placement and alteration of the italicized word. Let me show you this in action. Flip your Bibles (or hop on biblegateway.com) to Luke and read Zechariah’s visit with Gabriel verses 1:8-20 paying specific attention to vs. 18-20. Now skip down and read Mary’s account with an angel in 1:26-38 noting the interaction in vs. 34-37.

Did you see it? These two encounters are very similar. Both begin with Gabriel speaking to the winners of a gestational lottery. Both recipients are given a prophecy regarding their future child and both respond with doubt, yet the reaction to each from Gabriel is different. Why? Because of their varying kinds of doubt!

In verse 18 Zechariah was surprisingly unimpressed with Gabriel’s pronouncement. After receiving the promise of John he responded with complete and total unbelief. He basically asked, “How do I know you aren’t lying?” His doubt was so complete that he wanted Gabriel to do something amazing to prove he wasn’t pulling his leg, and he got it: 9 months of forced silence.

Mary had a very different experience because she did not doubt the nature of God nor question His abilities, but wondered how He was going to bring about a child when she was still a virgin, vs. 34.

We see this again in Matthew 14:22-31. In the midst of a storm the disciples thought the person walking on the waves was a ghost, but it was Jesus. Peter asked to walk with Him and Jesus granted his request. Peter was able to set foot on the water as if it were solid ground, yet when we saw the power of the wind and the strength of the storm he doubted God’s power over them, not how Jesus able to walk through (and on) them, and began to sink. When Jesus reached out to grab him, he asked why he doubted [God’s power].

I believe a good portion of the confusion stems from a misunderstanding of James 1:5-8,

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

     Many read vs. 6 to mean that they can ask for whatever they wish and it will be given to them as long as they ask without doubting God will give them their request. The problem with that interpretation is it removes the will of God from the equation, therefore making the interpretation invalid.

    First, James was specifically speaking about requesting wisdom.

    Second, when he spoke about not doubting, he was referring to doubting God being able to give wisdom in the first place. Notice how he references Peter’s water-walking incident in vs. 6. When we doubt God’s ability to do ‘X’ we will receive nothing from God because we deny Him and His power.

    Third, many read verse 6 and interpret that to mean they are to never question God. Period. This isn’t true, we can ask God anything! We can share with Him our frustrations during times where He is quiet toward us or when we don’t understand how something came about. What we are called not to do is doubt His abilities, when we do that we put our faith into question.

   Notice how in vs. 8 such a person is called ‘double-minded.’ This means that a person is undecided. They have not fully decided if God is God or just a nice myth. Peter didn’t believe Jesus was God (and didn’t until His appearance after the resurrection) and sank in the water; Zechariah didn’t believe God was capable of making an old barren women conceive a child, and was mute till John’s birth; but Mary did believe God could bring forth the Christ in her, she just didn’t understand how.

     What this means for you is that you never again have to feel ashamed for wondering how God did or is going to do something. If you’re a believer then you have already acknowledged that God is omnipotent, so doubting God is capable of doing ‘X’ isn’t on the menu. Wondering how He does what He does is human nature and often spawns great Bible study.  So be of good cheer and keep searching for answers while praying for wisdom!

I remain,

Apologetically,

Yours

Calling, Conviction, Command. What they are and how they affect your witness.

Today we’re venturing a little off the apologetic trail and over to witnessing. It may not seem like these three topics are involved with sharing the gospel but it is your callings and convictions that shape the way you interact, minister, and what information you share. They can also both positively and negatively affect how you respond to the commands of the Bible making it important to know how to share them, especially if it is to question where the answer is not etched in stone.

Before we move on I feel it’s important to define each topic to better understand them. The dictionary is great for this however these words take on a slightly different meaning within a Christian setting. To better clarify I am going to list the dictionary (D) definition first, and the Christian (C) definition second.

Calling: D- Vocations, profession, or trade

C- God’s intended ministry for your life. i.e. teacher, pastor, encourager, missionary, worship team   member, administration, etc.

Conviction: D- A fixed or firm belief

C- A personal set of ideals that an individual feels God calling them to emulate, adhere to, or avoid which may or may not be clearly spoken for or against within scripture. i.e. avoid all alcohol, wear or avoid a certain style of clothing, homeschool, eat or avoid certain foods. They can also be a necessary behavior modification brought on by the Holy Spirit.

Command: D- An order given by one of authority

C- A clear, direct order from God regarding an act of worship, ministry, or obedience. i.e. 10 commandments, Great Commission, forgiveness, loving your enemy, respecting authority, etc.

All Christians experience each topic in varying degrees. God places a calling on our lives because He has created us with an intended purpose to minister to others and bring glory to Him. The Holy Spirit convicts on personal struggles or issues so that we can resist the devil and have a more faithful Christian walk. God has also given us the infallible Bible with commands for us to obey so we can grow in faith, wisdom, and knowledge; to speak to us through quiet time; and to be our comfort in trials to name a few.

Where we fall into trouble is when we use witnessing opportunities as a platform to exchange God’s commands with our own calling or convictions. I’ll give a few personal examples:

-A man we once knew was witnessing to a young husband who wanted to commit himself to Christ. Rather than shepherding the husband, the man insisted that he first take down a large expensive painting hanging above the couple’s couch and throw it away. Why? Because the painting was of a medieval castle complete with a fire-breathing dragon. The man felt that the dragon was evil and the husband couldn’t have a true relationship with God if the painted stayed in their home. He didn’t let up until the man threw out the painting, much to the annoyance of the wife.

     This is a perfect example of one man’s convictions overstepping their bounds and impacting a budding believer negatively. He implied that one’s faith can be hindered by the presence of certain painting subjects and thus put a command in God’s mouth that He never issued. It is a dangerous practice that should be avoided.

      -A lady at a church we once attended made a commotion during Sunday school. A fellow attendee shared that sometimes she gets nervous at the idea of how, when we commit ourselves completely to God, that He could as us to do things that are frightening or dangerous. The lady got very offended, arguing that God could ask her to do anything and she would never be scared. Other members tried to explain that the attendee wasn’t saying that she doubted God, only that sometimes God asks us to go outside of our comfort zone which can make one anxious, but the lady wouldn’t be deterred. She spent the rest of the class arguing with anyone who might imply that serving God was anything but hearts and roses, forever severing the friendly relationship between her and the attendee and embarrassing the rest of the class.

      This woman has either the gift of faith or had a easy life with little to no challenges. Regardless, her convictions were conveyed in a hostile and insensitive manner. She belittled the attendee who shared her feelings and implied that her faith was stronger/better than others. She was also unwilling to listen when other shared that even Jesus asked for His cup to be passed if it be in God’s will, Matthew 26:39. Zeal is fabulous, but not when it’s at the expense of others.

     What if conviction-pushing isn’t a problem? Another common issue that affects our witness is when we abdicate a command because it doesn’t line up with our calling. One command a friend of mine once struggled with was evangelism. He was raised to have a conservative tongue, meaning if you have a belief you need to keep it to yourself. If someone got a little too excited during worship or mentioned the Lord a little too much they got the, “eye-roll of oversharing.” This had a lasting effect on his witness. When he became an adult and learned about spiritual gifts he reasoned that he didn’t have to share the good news because he wasn’t called to be an evangelist. While he was right in his calling, he missed the boat on God’s command. God didn’t expect him to participate in revivals and speaking circuits but He did want him to be faithful with the witnessing opportunities placed before him. The great thing is that once he took the witnessing plunge, he loved it!

      So what happens when a person asks a question that doesn’t have a ‘command’ answer? How would you respond?  Say a friend is struggling with whether or not she should read secular literature. Is there anything wrong with secular literature? In most cases no, so we’ll need some more information. Why is she struggling with this? Perhaps she is spending all her time reading magazines rather than having quiet time with the Lord. Now her question is conviction based. Maybe you even went through this same problem. This is where we’re able to share our own struggles and how God helped us through them.

     The moral of this post is personal caution. When God blesses you with an opportunity to share the gospel, share it! But be on guard so that you don’t accidently present a personal conviction as a command from God. We all have areas of our life that God is working on, and my faults may not be yours. It wouldn’t be fair of me to hold you to God’s conviction and calling for my life when He is doing something totally different in yours, but that doesn’t mean we can’t share over a cup of coffee!

   I hope this has been a blessing to you. It’s been on my heart a while and I’m glad to finally get it out there. I’d also love any feedback or thoughts you may have. We’re in this together 🙂

Last week got a kink put in it when the kiddos fell sick so I wasn’t able to all post the recipes I had planned on. They’re on the mend so I hope to get them added this week as well as start a series on common apologetic complaints against Christians. If you’ve ever wondered about Biblical slavery, the crusades, and others stay tuned!

I remain,

Apologetically,

Yours

Grammar

 

Grammar was something I didn’t want to play around with. I wanted my kiddos to be exposed to it early and to learn it properly. I did a good bit of research but didn’t find that right fit. I decided to look at Milestone Books since we really enjoyed their math curriculum and, wouldn’t you know it, we liked their grammar curriculum as well!

 Let me point out that Milestone Books is a Mennonite based company, so the boys and girls you see within the pages are dressed respectably and a little old fashioned. Mother’s are pictured with a head covering and girls are in longer dresses and sometimes aprons as well. We aren’t of the Mennonite faith but I appreciate their values and enjoy their focus on faith throughout their books. It affords you a great opportunity to share with your kids the convictions of others within the Christian faith should they ask. However, if you’re looking for a more religious-neutral teaching series you will want to look elsewhere. God is glorified on each page and bible stories are used for a good portion of noun and verb practice.

Like their math program, Preparing to Build is mastery based. The set comes with a teacher’s manual, a student text book, and a test booklet. You will need to buy a separate notebook to write you answers in. The teacher’s manual is broken down by lessons and have simple instructions to match, including an answer key.

A separate test booklet is also included in the set and has one test per unit. Tests are typically two pages back and front so make sure your critters study!

  

The book begins by teaching the student what a sentence is, what is comprised within the sentence, what is a phrase, and progresses from there. Tucked within the lessons are also little lessons about manners, respecting others, and helping around the house. One of my favorite lessons had the student match words to complete a short paragraph about how two children tidied up the toys because mother was tired. I’m thinking that one needs to be on a regular rotation! 🙂

 

If you stick with the curriculum your student will also learn how to diagraph sentences, just like in the Little House books! It’s hard to find a curriculum that teaches such a useful grammatical skill anymore.

As with all Rod and Staff book sets the quality is excellent. In fact, I have yet to find a curriculum better made, and I’ve shuffled through a few.

Cost for the Teacher’s manual, student text book, and test booklet is only $34.30!

To get a better look at their curriculum, scope and sequence, and a larger text sample copy and paste the link below.

https://www.milestonebooks.com/list/Building_Christian_English_Series/

**These reviews are of my own making. I have received no products, credits, or money from anyone. I just love their books and want to share with other families who may not have encountered them.**

Rod and Staff Working Arithmetic 2

 

This year I made the mistake of abandoning something that we loved and what worked for a curriculum used by a private school we had considered sending Ralphie to. What a mistake that was! Fifteen lessons into Saxon 3 and we were done. Ralphie hated it, I hate every aspect of it, so I put us on math hold and quickly ordered Working Arithmetic 2 from R&S. When we got the box in the mail containing his books I swear angels started singing.

   Before I get into Math 2 I’ll share quickly why Saxon didn’t work for us.

-We aren’t spiral people. For some the spiral approach is great, but for us it’s mastery all the way. I want to  know my children have grasped a topic before moving on to anything else. My kids like it too. There is very little confusion and the topic become second nature, so we never find our selves scratching our heads when it suddenly pops up in a later chapter. Which it won’t, because Rod and Staff doesn’t jump around.

-Saxon 3 math pace was so slow! Thanks to the great lessons in Beginning Arithmetic 1 Ralphie had already learned the concepts just being taught in Saxon 3. We could have skipped ahead but there wasn’t much point because we already hated it.

-Paper quality was poor. It was like writing on newspaper.

-Scripted lessons were awful! They were written for a class setting, not a homeschool one. I kept having the shuffle through endless pages to figure out what in the world they were trying to teach, and then had to skip portions of it all together because it didn’t apply. It looked and felt unnecessarily complicated, messy, and unfriendly.

-The assignments looked like papers you’d get as punishment in detention. They were boring! We didn’t need a laser light show, but after having the nice pictures and scripture references from last year, Saxon was cold and ugly.

    The only good thing about it was how quickly it sold on ebay. 🙂 Again, if Saxon is right for you, more power to you. The shoe just didn’t fit this Cinderella.

Ok, I feel better. Back to what we were talking about.

Rod and Staff has been a perfect fit for our family. There are about three pages per lesson for the student to complete, all with varying styles of problems to strengthen the math topics being covered, and speed drills every few lessons.

The first workbook is a review of last year’s material and the subsequent books introduce new progressively more challenging topics, which include: measurements, fractions, addition, subtraction, money, thermometer reading, place value, multiplication*, and division.*       *Optional. Both topics are covered in Grade 3 and only after the student has a solid foundation in subtraction, ordering, and addition of multiples.*

Math 2 has five workbooks with a teacher’s manual for books 1 and 2, and another for 3-5. Each manual CLEARLY and NEATLY outlines what should be covered for the day, answers to questions, teaching tips, and the locations of any needed printables at the back of the manual (there are reproducible cut-outs for a bee poster and others). There is also a description at the front outline how to use each portion of the lesson.

 

Ralphie feels proud whenever he completes a workbook and loves to look at the later lessons to see what “big math” he’ll be learning next. I like that it’s easy to use, thorough, mastery based, and Christ-focused.

Now as to book quality, it’s FANTASTIC! Teacher’s manuals are hard bound and are extremely high quality. The workbooks are bound with thicker paper and more than survive daily use. The pages themselves (both manual and workbook) are sturdy and thick, no tearing or bleeding through if you use pens. This is a set that will last!

The best part about this curriculum is the price!!!! For the entire math curriculum you’ll pay………wait for it…….$46.15. Did you gag on your coffee? This isn’t a typo, it’s the real deal. High quality, excellent content, fantastic price and a wonderful Christian company.

If you’d like more information about this math curriculum or any of the other subjects offered by Milestone Press copy and paste the attached link below. It’ll dump you off in the math section but you can easily navigate around by the tabs located on the left.

https://www.milestonebooks.com/list/Mathematics_for_Christian_Living_Series/

**These reviews are of my own making. I have received no products, credits, or money from anyone. I just love their books and want to share with other families who may not have encountered them.**

 

 

Why homeschool?

Snuggling while working at an alphabet app.

   Believe it or not, we never intended to homeschool. Other families in our church homeschooled, but I figured that we would enroll him in preschool on base (we were stationed in Germany at the time). Before we got a chance to a few problems arose.

Like most military bases, ours was over-populated and under-staffed, so preschool enrollment was lottery based. You put your name on a list and they randomly picked who could get in. That was the first problem for me.

Second, was the mandatory parental participation. If your kid got in you had to work there certain days of the week. That would have been fine except that they didn’t provide care for your other children, so I would have to hire someone to babysit my other boys while I worked at the preschool. Not cool.

Third, was the birthday cut-off. Ralphie’s b-day is exactly one day passed the cut-off. ONE! Like the 10 Commandments, that cut-off date was written in stone and none shall pass (Monty Python anyone?)

But the thing that clinched it for me was their discipline style: You couldn’t tell any child ‘no’. You’d actually get into trouble if you violated this rule, even with your own kid. It’s part of this new-age philosophy where proponents believe that if you tell a child ‘no’ you stifle their spirit, creativity, etc. I’m calling bull on that one. Go to any Walmart or Target toy aisle and you’ll see the effects of children who have never been told ‘no.’ None of them are pretty.

All of those issues added together equaled a situation I didn’t want to be part of, so I started stalking the homeschool mommies at church to find out how they managed homeschooling, curriculums, and life in general.

The more I dug, the more I liked what I found. There were so many options for any learning style and book preference! I have a love of learning and teaching (the spiritual gift of nerdiness) so this really spoke to me. I also knew what my kiddos liked and needed, which made finding the right fit slightly less overwhelming.

Best of all Ralphie wouldn’t have to wait to learn. He could start the second the books came in the mail. No lottery, no age restrictions, and I could parent exactly how I wanted to. Awesome!

Before I ordered the curriculum I did something super important, I asked my husband for his ‘ok.’ My feelings toward homeschooling was only half of the equation, I needed my spouse’s support as well, we all do. This involved a lot of talking and weighing the pros and cons. Hubby was deployed at the time so he had to do all his research online via the links I sent him. He agreed that sitting around for an extra year waiting on public school wasn’t the best and gave the thumbs-up order a pre-k/K from Sonlight. We were off!

Homeschooling has worked out well for us. We’ve taken a literature based approach to ensure that the boys have a strong foundation in reading and writing since boys typically struggle in those areas. They’ve blossomed! Ralphie is a very strong reader and has a vocabulary that catches us off guard some days. What seven year old in this century tells their brother’s to stop quarreling? Best of all, the boys love being with each other. So many times public school’s segregation by ages fosters a dislike of anyone younger than you, here we don’t have that. Sure they go at each other, they’re boys and brothers after all, but they love being with and helping each other. I attribute part of that to HSing.

Another reason why we homeschool is because our kid’s personalities would not conform well to the current method of teaching. Ralphie is analytical in nature and can sit and do his work with no problem, but Tex would suffer. Tex is tactile to a fault. He has to move, has to touch, and speaks in a constant yell. When we read his lessons he has to have something in his hands to manipulate or he starts going stir crazy. He’s all boy. Sadly schools have all but removed recess from the day. Kids are required to sit still, not talk, and do their work for hours without being about to move around as they need. We joke about how Tex wouldn’t last a week before the school would call requesting that he’d be tested and medicated into submission, but that’s probably what would happen.

Despite all the benefits the process is not without its stress. A lot of effort has to be put forth to ensure that they don’t get trapped within a Christian bubble. It’s nice to want to live life surrounded by believers, but that isn’t reality. Kids have to learn to adapt to adversity and the different beliefs of others. To balance that, we rely on community sports throughout the year. This helps assure my gorgeous that these kids aren’t being socially sheltered by limiting their interactions to only those who share their views.

We also have family that remain neutrally supportive of the decision. Our families have little to no experience with homeschooling and were concerned the kids wouldn’t be on the same education level as other’s their age. They also seemed to worry that they would live life locked inside with no interaction with the outside world. It’s taken time for them to adapt to the idea.

We even explored public school this year, but the over-crowded classrooms, common core curriculum, and the high chance of him not being allowed to advance in subjects he’s already mastered for the sake of staying with the class, didn’t leave me with a sense of peace about that decision. The house had a bit of tension for a while because of it, and I had to find areas to compensate, but I think we’ve reached a place where everyone is comfortable with this life.

Will we homeschool forever? Who knows. Life may change, we may be able to afford private school later. I received the best advice from a fellow HS mom, “Take it year by year. You’ll never feel like a failure that way, and you’ll keep life flexible.”

In the military we call it ‘Semper Gumbi’ which is Latin (sort of) for ‘Always Flexible.’ It’s biblical really. James 4:13-15 warns us against planning too far in advance because we don’t know what God has planned for us. Instead:

-Pray for your spouse. If it is God’s will for you to homeschool He will move in the heart of your husband/wife.

-Keep communication open. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t speak rationally to each other and share what the issue is.

-Be willing to compromise. Make every effort to sooth the apprehension of your souse. Get out of the comfort zone if you have to, get the kids involved, it’ll make life easier in the long run.

-Be willing to give it up. This is the hardest for me to think about, but it’s true. In the end your children move on and (hopefully) out of your house. It’s your spouse you get to live with beyond the school years. If he/she is steadfast against HSing and won’t budge, we need to be the bigger man and say ‘ok.’ This also means that we don’t make them feel like crap or their home life miserable because we didn’t get our way, but we can still bug the crud out of God about our conviction. If it’s His will, it’ll happen. If not, pray to accept the decision and move on.

Again, I hope you don’t have to deal with that last one, but be encouraged if you do, for God has other plans. Have a great Thursday!

I remain,

Apologetically,

Yours

Our School Room: Under Construction

It seems like our entire house is in a state of adjustment. Last year my in-laws decided they were going to move to Texas, and when my father-in-law got hired sooner than expected our house acquired another adult. That was September 2014. Flash forward four months and you’ll see that we’re still in a state of transition. The three heathens moved in together as we shuffled the rooms around and we got to thinking, why not turn the small bedroom into a school/play room?

It took all of five seconds to get me on board. Redecorate a room? Organize book shelves? Have a designated school room instead of the daily educational hurricane that blows through the living room each day? Yes, please! Ah, but if only life were an episode on DIY network. My cute contractor husband would have slapped on a flannel shirt, built and attached the shelves, painted the room, and hung the educational posters to a peppy montage. Then there would be the big revealed to awed and excited children and it all would be done in under 30 minutes.

Silly naïve housewife. Hey, at least the cute husband wasn’t a fictitious part of the fantasy. 🙂 For now I’ll post what we have accomplished  (and it’s not much) because all great reno’s have a hideous “Before” picture, and my kiddos just destroyed the room in one of their epic Imaginext battles so it looks extra pathetic.

Here is where all of our school stuff is currently living:

  This is the hall linen closet, aka the school closet. Our home happened to be the model home for our subdivision, so instead of having a useful hall closet they put in shelves to hold flyers. Terrible for foyer organization, but great for homeschool books.

Our soon-to-be-awesome school room is the smallest room in our house so my picture angles aren’t the greatest. Be warned, it isn’t cute. Thanks in advance for not judging me too harshly.

 If you were standing in the doorway this closet-turned-workspace would be to your immediate right. When my FIL lived in this room (he has since moved to the man room/sewing room) he removed he closet doors and put the desk inside, converting the strangely narrow nook into a closet. For whatever reason this family has a weird obsession with closets. Don’t worry, we’ll get help.

 Between the desk and door is our geography wall. Sad, isn’t it? I promise it will eventually get better. At least that’s what I keep telling myself when my frustration starts getting the better of me.

  As you’re facing the door you’ll notice the blackboard with Ralphie’s checklist written on it. You’ll also catch a glimpse of the narrow nook that is just wide enough for a book shelf and nothing more. Gotta love random architectural details.

Finally, there is an ugly green couch on the back wall (directly opposite of the closet desk). In front of it is a train table that takes up most of the floor space under the window. It’s cramped, and makes my inner OCD cranky.

Awful, right? Now close your eyes and image this with me. The walls are no longer a pasty beige but a light grey with accents of blue, green, and orange. The couch and train table are gone. Instead, two crisp white bookcases flank a whiteboard (which is currently sitting in our master bedroom). Beneath the white board is a cube unit holding cute blue drawers. All the school supplies are organized neatly by grade and subject. A globe rests on top of one of the shelves.

The chalk board remains next to the door but ledge shelves now hold board books beneath it, with a stool the length of the wall so little legs and reach the board to draw. The geography wall is decorated with hand-made maps from the kiddos and a cute pennant banner is hanging above. The spare walls have fun educational posters and the window has a boy-friendly curtain panel that ties in the pops of color around the room. Everything is in it’s place, and the homeschool world is right again.

*Sigh* It’ll be glorious! For now it’s back to reality.

I remain,

Apologetically,

Yours

Ps. Got an awesome school room? I’d love to see it! Post a link or pic!

Our School Room: Under Construction

It seems like our entire house is in a state of adjustment. Last year my in-laws decided they were going to move to Texas, and when my father-in-law got hired sooner than expected our house acquired another adult. That was September 2014. Flash forward four months and you’ll see that we’re still in a state of transition. The three heathens moved in together as we shuffled the rooms around and we got to thinking, why not turn the small bedroom into a school/play room?

It took all of five seconds to get me on board. Redecorate a room? Organize book shelves? Have a designated school room instead of the daily educational hurricane that blows through the living room each day? Yes, please! Ah, but if only life were an episode on DIY network. My cute contractor husband would have slapped on a flannel shirt, built and attached the shelves, painted the room, and hung the educational posters to a peppy montage. Then there would be the big revealed to awed and excited children and it all would be done in under 30 minutes.

Silly naïve housewife. Hey, at least the cute husband wasn’t a fictitious part of the fantasy. 🙂 For now I’ll post what we have accomplished  (and it’s not much) because all great reno’s have a hideous “Before” picture, and my kiddos just destroyed the room in one of their epic Imaginext battles so it looks extra pathetic.

Here is where all of our school stuff is currently living:

  This is the hall linen closet, aka the school closet. Our home happened to be the model home for our subdivision, so instead of having a useful hall closet they put in shelves to hold flyers. Terrible for foyer organization, but great for homeschool books.

Our soon-to-be-awesome school room is the smallest room in our house so my picture angles aren’t the greatest. Be warned, it isn’t cute. Thanks in advance for not judging me too harshly.

 If you were standing in the doorway this closet-turned-workspace would be to your immediate right. When my FIL lived in this room (he has since moved to the man room/sewing room) he removed he closet doors and put the desk inside, converting the strangely narrow nook into a closet. For whatever reason this family has a weird obsession with closets. Don’t worry, we’ll get help.

 Between the desk and door is our geography wall. Sad, isn’t it? I promise it will eventually get better. At least that’s what I keep telling myself when my frustration starts getting the better of me.

  As you’re facing the door you’ll notice the blackboard with Ralphie’s checklist written on it. You’ll also catch a glimpse of the narrow nook that is just wide enough for a book shelf and nothing more. Gotta love random architectural details.

Finally, there is an ugly green couch on the back wall (directly opposite of the closet desk). In front of it is a train table that takes up most of the floor space under the window. It’s cramped, and makes my inner OCD cranky.

Awful, right? Now close your eyes and image this with me. The walls are no longer a pasty beige but a light grey with accents of blue, green, and orange. The couch and train table are gone. Instead, two crisp white bookcases flank a whiteboard (which is currently sitting in our master bedroom). Beneath the white board is a cube unit holding cute blue drawers. All the school supplies are organized neatly by grade and subject. A globe rests on top of one of the shelves.

The chalk board remains next to the door but ledge shelves now hold board books beneath it, with a stool the length of the wall so little legs and reach the board to draw. The geography wall is decorated with hand-made maps from the kiddos and a cute pennant banner is hanging above. The spare walls have fun educational posters and the window has a boy-friendly curtain panel that ties in the pops of color around the room. Everything is in it’s place, and the homeschool world is right again.

*Sigh* It’ll be glorious! For now it’s back to reality.

I remain,

Apologetically,

Yours

Ps. Got an awesome school room? I’d love to see it! Post a link or pic!

Our Story

Like all good love stories ours began in Europe three weeks after being stationed at the same base, during a time of war no doubt! Can we say Nicholas Sparks anyone?! *sigh* I digress. I knew the minute we had our first dinner together that he was the one God made for me, but didn’t say anything because only crazy people and stalkers want to get married after their first date 🙂 Thankfully it didn’t take long for him to see we were a match made in heaven and were married in 2007.

 <—-Our first outside date. I had just started to snow and my Love said he knew at this exact moment that I was the only one for him. Awwwwh!!

Soon our house began to fill with the sound of little feet, boy feet that is.  The Lord has blessed our home with three loud, messy, silly boys: Ralphie, 7; Tex, 5; and the side of pudding, 3; and the place hasn’t recovered since.

My handsome little men getting ready for co-op.

Now we’re stationed/living in the great state of Texas and getting adjusted to civilian life. In the midst of homeschooling, co-ops, house work, and daily life, I am a full time student. I just completed my BA of Religion/Minor in Church Ministry from Liberty University *YAY!!!*  and will begin my MA of Christian Apologetics January 2015 which I’m super excited about, and why I am here on wordpress.

I hope to use my love of apologetics, theology, and the Bible in general to serve others…while also sharing the blessed chaos that comes from trying to do it all.