' Tis the Season

The battle rages on. Happy Holidays? Seasons Greetings? Merry Christmas? Some take offense at one or more of these expressions. For me, I stay out of the argument. None of them can be found in the pages of the Bible, yet all are acceptable ways of forwarding a kind greeting.

The best words of Christmas were written many millennia ago by the prophet Isaiah.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

To my way of thinking, the Christmas season continues to be a great opportunity to share the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the most materialistic shopping malls, familiar tunes with Trinitarian words resound throughout the shops and corridors. Forget why the malls and radio stations play this music. They may mean it for one thing, but the Lord of all creation uses it as He wills. Also at this time of year, people are more open to spontaneous conversation and smiles.

Yesterday, as is our custom, my daughter and I visited a senior center -- she as soloist with me assuming the role of sound manager. We arrived with our music amplification machine, microphone, and repertoire in hand ready to perform for as many as could be gathered to be our audience. Social coordinators of these facilities are happy to use us as a way to bring the residents together for a social time. As we were setting up, the coordinator was apologetic, not sure how many would show up. I assured her that numbers were of little concern to us. Those who showed up were the ones who would hear the concert.

An instrumental prelude signaled the residents to gather for the concert. During this time, I had a chance to talk to a number of them and hear how they came to live at this apartment complex. It never ceases to amaze me how ready, willing, and eager senior citizens are to share experiences and knowledge of their seven to eight decades of life. By the time my daughter's singing began, there were 20 -25 audience members mouthing the words to the familiar Christmas hymns she sang. Some closed their eyes and raised their hands in prayer. One shared the concert with a friend by calling her on a cell phone and holding it up through most of the concert. Later the coordinator who invited us reported that she's never seen this group so quiet. She said she checked on a number of them to see if they were still breathing – they were so engrossed in listening to the singing that they were hardly moving! One woman expressed her appreciation for the "religious" songs chosen, as she doesn't hear them often anymore.

By the time we finished, all in attendance knew that this talented young lady was homeschooled AND a Christian. The Holy Spirit took our efforts and maximized them in ways we couldn’t imagine. One gentleman, a minister from Burma, told me that you can always tell when the person signing the music believes what she's saying. "Your daughter," he smiled, "certainly does!"

I encourage all homeschooling families to make use of all those instrument and dance lessons you've been funding over the years. Find some folks (young or old) who don’t have many visitors and share your children with them. The rewards certainly outweigh the efforts.

'Tis the season to share Jesus!

The Monstrous Regiment of Women

A dear brother in the Lord, Colin Gunn, and his wife Emily took home the "Best of Festival $10,000 Grand Prize" at the San Antonio Film Festival this year for their film The Monstrous Regiment of Women. This documentary will be an important addition to your home library, and something to share with family, friends, and church members alike. Ordering information appears at the end of this clip.

Grateful to the Person Who Helps Me Shine

I've discovered that I have a considerable following -- those who read my blog and like it. The ones who don't, thankfully, don't feel compelled to share that information. However, I would be greatly remiss if I failed to acknowledge a person who helps me shine. Without her, you wouldn't get the clear, concise, grammatically coherent pieces that you read. Without S.B., I'd be a like a messy closet with good content that is hard to find, rather than a neatly ordered closet where it is easy to find what you're looking for.

I share this because too many home educators feel that their children should be able to write coming out of the chute. They understand that it takes years to produce a virtuoso pianist, but think writing should come "naturally" and they tend to abandon it after a few failed attempts. Good writing is an acquired skill that involves being well read, knowing the conventions of language, and having something worth saying. A piece rarely comes out looking polished until four or five passes. Like so many other things, we see the result, but have no real concept of how the process unfolds.

So, I thought I'd share with you the journey that any piece I write takes from the idea stage to being in print. First, I am constantly observing people (family, friends, acquaintances, and colleagues), news stories (internet, magazines, TV), films, and whatever else is around me, and I attempt to interpret all things in the light of Scripture: How does the behavior, story, idea, etc. conform or diverge from the clear Word of God? Second, I put my fingers on my computer keyboard and start writing as though I am talking to someone. I pay little attention to spelling or punctuation because I am working to get the idea and its relevance into a form I can read. If I'm interrupted, I "save" what I have down and return to it later. Sometimes I get to the end of a piece and realize that I don't really have a point after all. But, the good thing is that the ideas are out of my head and I've evaluated them. Third, I go through a piece I feel has merit, revising my wording so that it flows naturally. I then run the spelling/grammar checker to clean up any obvious mistakes and read the piece again. Fourth, I get it into a neatly formatted page and send it to my copy editor, S.B. In other words, I've sent her my best.

S.B. takes her time; usually we have a 24 hour turnaround. Each time I open up her revision, I'm struck with just how much my "best" needs improvement. She omits my wordiness (see what you’ve been spared), and helps me convey my ideas in an interesting and worthwhile manner by asking me pertinent questions to clarify my meaning. Finally, I take my work and post it to my blog site or submit it for hard-copy publication, making sure that the point I was attempting to make at the outset is still in tact.

Homeschooling parents should develop this copyeditor role with their children. Parents should make it a priority to help their students share their ideas clearly. By helping them "mine" for the precise word to clarify their meaning, they'll both be developing valuable language skills. I've recently learned that copyeditors (along with PhDs) are considered to have the highest vocabulary level when it comes to language. The beauty of homeschooling is that parents can be developing this skill in themselves as they teach their children how to write.

Now, comes the tricky part. I have to send this off to make sure I've not confused you or embarrassed myself in the process! Okay, S.B., time to get to work!

That's Just the Way It Is

I remember experiencing great customer service at the grand opening of a high-end department store about twenty years ago. An established chain, it was making its first appearance in our area. The atmosphere was pleasant and non-rushed, with piano music played by a pianist in a tuxedo. You did not have to look far to get assistance from knowledgeable, well-attired salespeople ready to go the extra mile to answer a question or find a particular item. In fact, often a salesperson would become your personal assistant, returning clothes to the floor and finding the correct size, so you didn't have to leave the dressing room. The slogan that was prominently displayed throughout the establishment read, "The only difference between stores is the way they treat their customers."

I'm sorry to report that this level of customer service is no longer present in this department store which has become very much like its numerous counterparts in malls. (That slogan is also no longer displayed!) Helping customers is not something that seems to be high on anyone's priority list. Even salespeople who sell you a computer, electronic equipment, or an expensive appliance are quick to promise all the benefits available should there be a problem. But when a problem arises, the customer discovers that the promises were exaggerated or the company has changed its policy since the item was purchased.

What makes the process more frustrating is that when you call customer service, there are very pleasant people giving very unsatisfactory answers. They gently and calmly guide the unhappy customer to the position of accepting "the way it is," -- leaving the problem unresolved. They will be the first to admit that they don't make the policies; they just have to live by them. It feels cruel and mean to unload on them, yet they are the face and voice of the company they represent. If you are directed to a customer service "satisfaction" survey after the call, the survey only deals with the attitude and helpfulness of the person with whom you just talked. So, there isn't any satisfaction with voicing concerns, because you are never asked about your real problem!

What does this have to do with home education? If we school our children to accept the status quo, to accept what all those experienced folks know - that's just the way it is - we are fostering and furthering an unbiblical status quo. Aren't we as Christians called to further the Kingdom of God rather than accept the realities of the kingdom of man? Our children need to be taught, and re-taught that their "yes" should be "yes" and their "no," "no" - regardless of whom they work for or where they work. If we as a culture continue to acquiesce to the way things are, then things will always be that way. The chain needs to be broken.

The Word of God is an excellent customer service manual. Why? Because as Christians we are to recognize each and every encounter we have with others as an opportunity to have our light shine before them, reflecting Our Father in heaven. When we approach people with this in mind, we will treat them correctly. The work ethic that is correctly identified with the Puritans was undergirded by such a perspective. Our home schools should produce graduates who value each and every opportunity to represent Christ to the world. That means holding ourselves, our customers, and at times, even our employers accountable to do things in a God-honoring way. How glorious the day when God’s way is just the way it is.

Providential Pain

One of the things that becomes obvious with age is how painful aging can be. Looking at a toddler who is able to sleep in all sorts of contorted positions and wake up flexible and raring to go reminds me that I've crossed the boundary of being young. Falling asleep in a comfortable chair for twenty minutes leaves me "dreaming" of the next opportunity to see my chiropractor. But, with age comes wisdom, wisdom that is often the result of various types of pain, both physical and emotional. The benefit of wisdom is not automatic. Without grace, years of painful experiences can produce cynicism or negativity.

As a homeschooling parent with a sizable age span between my oldest and youngest, I now have a better perspective of the parenting endeavor. I find that I am not preoccupied with the incidental aspects of parenthood and I am more concerned with the opportunity to impart life skills that will have the greatest impact on responsible adulthood.

Just the other day I had a chance to put this wisdom into practice. I was watching two boys under the age of four whose mom was giving my daughter a piano lesson. A bit of "separation anxiety" was at play with the younger one as his mom went to another part of the church campus and left the boys and me in the nursery. In my earlier days, I might have spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to get him to stop crying by diverting his attention and hoping he would become fixated on something else. Instead, I told him that I had no problem with him crying, his mom was going to be gone for a while and if he wanted to continue crying, he had to do it away from the door so he would not disturb others. This "reminder" had to be administered a couple of times as I physically removed him from the gate he was attempting to scale. I never told him to stop crying. After awhile, he went back to the door with a bit of a whimper trying as hard as he could to remember why he was crying. Unable to do so, he turned around, found an interesting toy and off he went. You see, I knew he would have to change his mind - I couldn't change it for him. In other words, I didn't work to lessen his pain. (Oh, that I had understood this 29 years earlier!!! No telling how much better life would have been for all concerned had this wisdom been present when I began parenting.)

Might I have been tempted to jump around and play a game with my little charge, crawling all over the floor if my half-century plus frame would have tolerated it? ---Was there some decided benefit in having to utilize other resources more readily at my disposal? Yes! But now that I have the benefit of a long term vision, I decided to use this situation for his long-term benefit. This youngster is in the process of learning to deal with pain - something that will accompany him the rest of his life. He wouldn't have been helped if I had lied to him and told him his mom would be right back. He would have only learned to distrust those caring for him. Instead, he got to "exercise" the muscle of patience and develop an understanding that life isn't always governed by personal dictates. Like the rest of us, he will learn that much of the progress obtained in life is the result of pain and disappointment.

Viewed and understood within the framework of a biblical worldview, it is obvious that pain is a vital part of the process of sanctification. After all, the very event that opened the door to heaven for us involved a tremendous amount of pain and suffering by One who for the joy set before Him endured the cross and the shame. Picking up one's cross and following Jesus leads us into the blessings of providential pain.

Thirty-Two and Counting…

November 7th marks the 32nd anniversary of my bearing the title Mrs., one that carried many more responsibilities than I was aware of when I received it back in 1975. In fact, it is safe to say that I had no substantial guidelines in place back then from which to operate. I figured it couldn't be all that difficult or different to be married - after all most people ended up married and I was at least as capable as they.

It wasn't until I embraced the perspectives of Scripture that I began to see that there were definite standards by which to judge myself as a good or bad wife and to determine whether or not I had a good marriage. Parenting added to the mix in a positive way, because it forced me to become organized and consistent in how I approached my duties. Thanks to a biblical worldview, duties became much more important than rights. I learned that I had the right to remain obedient (to God and His Word), and blessings would result when I obeyed, and the opposite would result when I didn't.

Many acknowledge the vital role that the mother plays in the homeschooling endeavor. But, I think far too little credit is given to the same woman's role as wife. The success of a homeschool has as much to do with how a woman relates to her husband as it does how she relates to her children. Unfortunately, not a lot of preparation goes into the education of young girls in this area. We spend lots of time ensuring they know the basic academic subjects, and possibly how to perform household tasks, but do we really encourage training in how to be a good wife? Culturally, much more time is spent on planning the wedding than on planning the marriage.

I am forever grateful for the theological and mentoring assistance of two departed saints who have as much to do with this anniversary being reached as my husband and I. For it was through those many Sundays spent in Vallecito, CA under the tutelage of the Rushdoonys--Rush and Dorothy--that we learned how to value and care for our marriage. In many ways, it's their anniversary as well.

In the Eyes of the Beholder

In our day, credentials "prove" that a person is knowledgeable about a subject and competent in its application. Without credentials, professed expertise in a given area is suspect. And, how is this defined?

A credential is an attestation of qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant de jure or de facto authority or assumed competence to do so.

The word credential has a similar root to the word creed. So, credentials are based on beliefs. In other words, someone or some group or institution has to attest to or "believe" that what one professes to know is, in fact, true and reliable.

Often when my daughter meets adults who discover that she is homeschooled she will be quizzed regarding the credentials of her teacher. Just the other day she was playing golf with a very pleasant man who asked her if her mother was a mathematician. My daughter's response, "No, but she's a very good teacher." Can you imagine that man asking a student from a public school if his teacher was a mathematician? It is assumed (despite ample evidenced to the contrary) that a child educated in a state school has better, more qualified teachers than does a homeschooled student. Credentials are subjective. Whereas many in homeschooling circles view me as an expert, those who are unfamiliar with home education OR who don't share my world and life view might consider me unqualified. Credentials are truly in the eyes of the beholder.

As the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. It isn't so important where one learns as that one learns. One would imagine this would be universally accepted if the primary reason for compulsory education was to impart true knowledge rather than to indoctrinate students with a particular worldview. Therein lies the real problem with Christian education from a secular perspective. Students who learn in a Christian setting are not being fed a steady diet of humanistic, materialistic, pluralistic, and/or atheistic content and may have opinions that deviate from the "norm." How inconvenient if you want to produce robotic responses to the issues and concerns of life!

Over the course of my homeschooling tenure, I have become quite knowledgeable in many areas. Some might call me an expert, or at least, attribute some degree of expertise to my knowledge. These areas have coincided with those things that are important to me and in which my children regularly participated. Sure, I've outsourced some of the instruction (specific academic subjects, music, and athletics), but because I was actively involved, I have been able to act as a coach or mentor in many areas with a huge body of knowledge at my disposal.

One Saturday afternoon while I was helping my daughter prepare for an upcoming golf tournament, I was approached by a man asking for my assistance with his putting stroke which he claimed was ballooning his golf scores. He was sure I was I was a golf teacher after watching me work with my daughter. I assured him that I wasn't, just merely a parent helping her child. After watching me work through drills with her, he approached me repeatedly asking for my help. I relented because the more I told him I was not a coach, the more he was convinced that I was just being modest, aloof, or too busy for him. He told me he was about to go play with his buddies and he needed help. So, I asked him to putt and I would watch him and tell him what I thought. After about five minutes I motioned him back. "You're lifting your head too soon. Keep it down and you'll drain more putts."

Now every golf book in print will give this same advice. And, my newly acquired student looked like the sort who had read them all. But after hearing this critique from "an expert," he made putt after putt. He was quite excited and practically hugged me. "Now," he said, "I'm ready to go out and beat those guys! I knew you were a golf coach!" I can only imagine how he boasted to his fellows about the free golf lesson he received that day.

I guess credentials truly are in the eyes of the beholder!

Speaking in Code

Every group has a dress code in some form or another. There is inevitably some standard by which "in code" and "out of code" is determined. Even those who dwell in nudist colonies have a code of dress that involves no clothes. One can find out a tremendous amount about a school, company, association, organization, church, and family by observing its dress code. By observing what is allowed and what is discouraged, the moral premises and ideology will become apparent. Despite the old adage that one cannot judge a book by its cover, one can learn an awful lot by noticing how people dress.

There is another way that the idea of a dress code can be viewed. This nuanced definition involves the idea of speaking in code -- using some form of encryption to transmit a message that is hidden or not so obvious. When used from this perspective, the manner in which a person dresses is sending an encrypted message to others.

For example, an attorney showing up to court wearing shorts, sandals, and a beach hat would be showing contempt for his position as an officer of the court. Likewise, a woman showing up to her wedding in a nightgown and curlers would be communicating that this event was unimportant in her life. So a good question to ask ourselves and our children each and every time we leave the confines of our homes is what message is being communicated?

The "fashion" today for females is to advertise lots of cleavage along with a bare, exposed midriff. Sometimes clothing has words written across various body parts that are meant to draw attention to those specific locations. For young males the trend is to have oversized trousers that keep onlookers in suspense as to whether or not they will fall down after two or three steps. In all too many "professional" settings, pop culture has invaded business culture so that making a deposit at a local bank can be a source and circumstance of temptation and/or inadvertant voyeurism.

Christian parents (whether homeschooling their children or sending them to Christian day schools) should consider what message they and their children are communicating when interacting with the culture. If we are to let our light so shine among men, it follows that what we say, how we say it, and how we appear as we say it will be enhanced by this focused light. How counter-productive to have the attention drawn to us with provocative or overly fashion-conscious dress, rather than on the giving of glory to our Father in heaven.

We’re always speaking in code!!

Speaking Their Language

Americans have seen a tremendous influx of Spanish speaking immigrants into our country over the past 3 - 4 decades. Regardless of one's political bent on this issue, the fact remains that the majority of immigrant children are being educated in the public (state) school system. The natural consequence of such indoctrination and instruction will be graduates who embrace a humanistic/secular perspective and the agenda of an over-arching state.

The Chalcedon Foundation has recently embarked on a project to make a sizeable dent in this monopoly. If you route your browser to www.chalcedon.edu/espanol, you will find in Spanish Rushdoony's book The Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum (La filosofía del currículo cristiano), the "Introduction" to Volume One of The Institutes of Biblical Law (Institutos de la Ley Bíblica (Introducción), and my book Lessons Learned from Years of Homeschooling (Lecciones aprendidas de mis años educando en casa). Additionally, there are a number of translations from important articles from Faith for All of Life and numerous blog pieces. New articles are being added monthly.

Here's your assignment. We need to advertise this site as far and wide as possible. Most of us know someone whose native language is Spanish and who would benefit greatly from the perspective that Chalcedon propagates. Share this information with at least 2 - 3 people, encouraging them to pass it on to others.

In order to reach the nations with Chalcedon's message, plans are in the works to translate these offerings into other languages. These will eventually be accessible on the Chalcedon website.

It's Not the End of the World

I can remember a time in my life when I was convinced that everyone was looking at me. Whether it was an untimely blemish, a stain on my clothing, or my inherited missing teeth, I was positive that as soon as I walked outside the confines of my home, the entire population would notice imperfections in my person or my adornments. Once I passed my teenage years and made my way into adulthood, those "demons" followed me around with more "grown up" taunts. My job, my belongings, my status among my peers became areas of concern where I was sure everyone was looking at me and finding me inferior.

I'd like to say that once I became a parent these "end of the world" dilemmas had gone by the wayside. Not by a long shot. I then had additional dilemmas because of how my children behaved or how talented they were compared with others and how that reflected back on me. Like the time my daughter, having watched me tweeze my eyebrows, decided she was going to be like mommy and used her scissors to cut her eyebrows off. Then, to make an embarrassing situation worse (she was accompanying me to a conference the next day), she finished the portrait by cutting her bangs so short that she looked like a chemotherapy patient who had been given a haircut by a three-year-old. (Come to think of it, she was three at the time!) This time I was certain that everyone was looking at me, judging me as a sub-standard mother!

Well, today I was unknowingly given a test -- one which demonstrated to me that my sanctification is progressing. After a week of being in intense back pain that was not made appreciably better by four visits to the physical therapist, I decided to go see my tried-and-true chiropractor. I not only recounted my aches and pains and how I thought they came about, but in great detail told him of the less than laudable treatment I had suffered at the hands of some physical therapy assistants who had made the matter worse. After listening intently to my woes, pausing to consider all I'd relayed, with utmost care and concern he responded, "I have one question for you. Is there any good reason you are wearing two different shoes?"

I looked down in disbelief. Sure enough, just as he had observed, there I was standing in the treatment room wearing a brown clog on my left foot and a black sandal on my right. Now, he is a good doctor, but I believe the lessening of the pain in my back was at least partially the result of the wonderful chemicals that must have emanated throughout my body as a result of my hysterical laughter. Think of all the places I'd travelled parading this new fashion statement, as he called it, prior to coming to his office!

The best part about this episode is that after I left his office, I made my bank deposit, and went to the grocery store, not the least bit concerned that everyone was looking at me. Not even one little bit! I'm amazed that it has taken me this long to fully recognize that most people are never devoting much of their time looking at me anyhow; and if even if they are…it's certainly not the end of the world! Some benefits have accompanied all the gray hairs I've accrued over the years of being a wife, mother, and homeschool teacher. Among them, a realistic sense of my place in the world, not to mention a better sense of humor!

To the Young Mom

It was very nice seeing you yesterday with your husband and 16-month-old daughter. How wonderful to see the look of love and expectation in your eyes. You are a living testimony to that wonderful aspect of motherhood whereby God allows a mom to look at her child and see things that are lost on the average onlooker. The smile on your face when you spoke about her was akin to how you looked as a little girl when something you really, really appreciated was before you.

But, my dear friend, I also saw another look; one that I have witnessed in others and felt myself. It is the look of "This is all going by so fast! Will I do everything I'm supposed to do correctly? I think I may run out of time."

So, some advice from a woman who has passed the half-century mark, who has been married a couple of decades longer than you, and has been a homeschooling parent for all but three of her eldest’s 29 years of life. You have all the time you need if you commit your time to the Lord and endeavor to glorify Him and enjoy Him in all you do. Will you do everything correctly? Of course you won't. But, that is beside the point. By using the time you have while your little one is still quite young, you can prepare yourself to be her teacher, mentor, and counselor while preparing her to be the best daughter, possible sister, friend, and, eventually, wife. In other words, the journey is as important as the destination.

Find and cultivate relationships with other wives and mothers in different stages of life and learn from them through their mentoring and friendship. Don't think "book-learning" is so important that you neglect other vital aspects of education. Recognize that all of life can be used to teach about the Creator/Savior and that character is ultimately more important than academic achievement.

Keep in mind that someday you will be the older woman and will have the pleasure and privilege of sharing your experiences with those new to their wife and mother profession -- maybe even that little bundle you are currently chasing around the house. Hopefully you will be able to look back on your life, realizing when you honored God as a daughter, sister, and friend and when you didn't, and be able to share with her the lessons you've learned from maturing, confessing, and accepting the Lord’s forgiveness. All in all, I think you will find that being a mom is among the most rewarding of professions even though you don’t have alphabetic degrees after your name.

If I may adjust the words at the close of Proverbs 31 for you:

Look well to the ways of your household and do not eat the bread of idleness. Your children will rise up and call you blessed; your husband also, and he will praise you: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but as a woman who fears the Lord, you will be praised. You will be given the fruit of your hands, and your works will praise you in the gates.

Love,
A Seasoned Veteran

What's Love Got to Do with It?

My husband's occupation includes interacting with a wide range of people from various socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. It is not unusual for him as the fleet manager of a large dealership to get to know his customers on more than just a casual basis. Throughout our years of homeschooling, thanks to the contact he has had with very satisfied customers, he has been able to arrange various "field-trips" for us ranging from personalized tours of the NASA-Ames research center, the deYoung Museum in San Francisco, and a chemical plant that made solid rocket fuel, to name but a few. Additionally, I have had the pleasure of talking with some of his customers when their occupations or interests have coincided with mine. This has resulted in a number of long-lasting family benefits as a result of their knowledge, experience, and expertise. Sometimes, he calls upon me to assist with situations or problems that exist in their lives (like adjusting to a new baby), a referral to a health-care practitioner, or (most recently) talking with a woman who has just begun to homeschool.

Bavani (not her real name) is a professor of engineering at a California university. Her husband is a software engineer working in the Bay area. She began to homeschool her six-year-old child this year after a very stressful and disappointing year in kindergarten. She said she was constantly at the school, lobbying for her child. Why? The teachers were doing nothing to curtail the abuse and ridicule he was getting from the "jocks" because he was a "nerd." She was concerned that, as a result of this negative interaction, he was going to conclude that being a serious student who cooperated with the teacher was something to be avoided since it brought about hassles with the other students.

Can you imagine! Jocks and nerds in kindergarten!

We talked for quite some time and I reassured her that, despite her husband's concerns that their son would not be able to compete in the adult world because he was homeschooled, she was positioning her family to meet the academic, social, and character building elements that make for a successful education. In the course of the conversation she made a very astute observation. She said, "So many of the teachers at the school he attended so obviously don't love children. You can see it in their eyes and their attitudes. Can you imagine teaching young children if you don't have a love for them?"

And that, in a nutshell, is the greatest blessing of the homeschool. Parents, who have a special God-given love and concern for their own children, are best equipped to exert the kind of discipline (both praise and correction) that will bring about responsible, mature adults. Even if the parents are not well-versed in all subject areas, with a bit of ingenuity and industry, they can find suitable learning arrangements for those subjects. Homeschooling is a good choice because it is a choice that honors the family, respects the parents, and allows the child to learn in a healthy, helpful environment.

(Note: If you haven’t already read The Harsh Truth About Public Schools, by Bruce Shortt, it should be on your reading list.)

A Journey to Nowhere

What happens to communication when people use the same words but define those words in very different ways? What if one person makes use of a dictionary to provide definitions and the other chooses to use a more "free-form" approach, focusing more on intuitive meanings? The outcome will eventually result in communication failure, due to unmet expectations and misunderstood intent. To push the point further -- if people having this hypothetical discussion don't share the same underlying principles for discussion, interaction, and truth, there will be much more than a failure to communicate. The result will be more like folks who don't speak each other's language trying to carry on meaningful discourse.

Take for example a flyer that came in my mailbox today addressed to "Resident" with the heading:

What if you and your best friends could reinvent how Church works?

Would you make it so that it wasn't just one person talking at you but everyone talking with each other?

Would you make it so experiments and experiences were more important that doctrine and dogmatism?

Would you make it easier to get to know people you have things in common with?

Based on this flyer, I can conclude that "Church" is an invention that can be reinvented according to preference. Also, doctrine and dogma are trumped by personal experiments and experience. And lastly, the common bond at "Church" needs to be something more than the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Along with times, dates, and location, the flyer pointed to a web address that offered the additional info:

The Journey is a church formed by people who don't like what normally passes for church. We started six years ago but this summer, we decided we want to reinvent ourselves. Mostly because we want to make sure we’re still the kind of church you'd like to be a part of.

We don't pretend to understand all of who God is. But our approach is to connect with Jesus and each other as we try to integrate faith in our lives.

We think relationship is better than judgment. We suspect asking questions is as important as finding answers. We think honesty and openness is better than the hypocrisy that passes for religion.

If we sound like the kind of people you'd like to be a part of, we want to meet you.

If spirituality intrigues you, but religion turns you off, join us as we recreate a place that all of us have ownership in.

The invitation explained that this group "intentionally sought out innovative methods to create a spiritual community of people who are growing in their understanding of God and who Jesus is." (Note: They are not suggesting that we should fear God and keep His commandments.)

Furthermore, they want all of us "Residents" to help them "design what happens not just on Sunday but during the rest of the week" as well. And, their "unique process gives anyone and everyone the opportunity to contribute to building a community of faith that fits their lifestyle." (Emphasis added.)

The words certainly do sound like words I have definitions for, but obviously my definitions would be very different from their definitions. I suppose that a culture that has made serious business of re-defining God, the family, the Constitution, and American History, to name a few, was bound to pick on the Church next. Who knows, before we are done, the need for dictionaries will be obsolete. After all, with re-inventing (re-defining) taking place, why codify anything at all? It might just become doctrine or dogma (as if their view isn’t).

Once again, if the education of young and old alike doesn't hammer home the point that there is NO NEUTRALITY, then we can assume new "churches" like the one advertising to me will be able to claim the high ground while busily perverting and nullifying the holy Word of God.

Where will Christian young people learn how to think if not in Christian schools and homeschools that deliberately and faithfully teach all subjects and disciplines from an orthodox and consistent biblical worldview? The resources and materials are out there to help this take place. Chalcedon's store is a good place to start. Cornerstone Christian School in California is offering online classes for high school students. Any parent who wants some inexpensive, yet very impressive course offerings, would do well to use these tools (either for educating themselves or their children) to stem the tide of all the current journeys to nowhere that our culture offers.

Bad Food

Imagine having first-hand, verifiable knowledge that patrons of a particular restaurant routinely experience food poisoning. After eating there, their stomach and intestinal distress is so bad that it leads to serious illness. Imagine reading about the effects of prolonged exposure to this establishment's unhealthy conditions, not doubting the veracity of the accounts at all. Now imagine arriving at the conclusion that it is acceptable for your children to eat at this restaurant because, well, it's free. I mean, you don't have to pay extra -- it already comes out of your tax dollars; besides, you want them to be missionaries to those who think the restaurant is a fine place to eat.

I believe I have made my point. The fact that so many professing Christians continue to patronize the secular educational establishment of the public school which has widely acknowledged failures across the board -- academically, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and socially -- speaks to the moral apathy and irresponsibility of our day. Moreover, it will doom the next generation to the poisonous mindsets and solutions of our day that have, as their baseline, antipathy to God's holy Word.

The issue is how God's people will prepare themselves to be useful members of His Kingdom. If the answers in all disciplines (economics, history, political science, medicine, and counseling, to name a few) are not grounded in the Word of God, then the future belongs to those who hate God and the Bible. If however the Faithful continue to challenge every thought and bring each idea into captivity to the obedience of Christ, then God will be glorified and pleased to bless His people. In order to accomplish this, Christians must surround themselves with instructional materials and teachers that are self-consciously biblical and which not only profess allegiance to Christ but also teach a deliberate biblical application as well.

Back to my restaurant analogy… It's time for those who bear the name of Christ to stop eating and approving of "bad food." And, it's time for those of us who know better to no longer mince words.

Have You Ever Said Any of These Things to Your Children?

This may take a couple of viewings to appreciate it fully.

School Daze

It's mid-September and all the back to school ads and displays have given way to enticements for us to make purchases for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The “back to school” savings are passé now that the kids are back in school. However, what remains fairly constant as the newness of the first week of school wanes is the response of many students when asked, "How is school this year?" "The same as always -- boring."

I'm not sure my children ever called our homeschool boring. They may have had other choice words to describe it during those seasons when things weren't going the way they wished. But, I don't recall boring being a part of the complaint. For you see, I made a concerted effort to relate whatever was being studied to real life with real application being a very important part of the mix. Whenever we found ourselves in the midst of any activity that had no bearing on real-world application, I replaced it with another that fit the requirement. Boredom is the enemy of learning.

From a biblical standpoint, every subject should excite and encourage a student to know more about God and want to serve Him eagerly. That said, not everyone in a teaching role has the ability or inclination to bring enthusiasm into all subject areas. This is where the homeschool setting has an advantage: you can outsource. I've done this for my children with piano lessons, karate classes, dance instruction, choirs, golf coaching etc. I've also utilized teaching videos and online instruction to bring master teachers into my home to teach my students. But, there are some guidelines that I feel very strongly about:

Rule #1 – Never place your student under the instruction of someone who does not love the subject he or she is teaching. The letters after the name or the certification received from a school of higher learning are no guarantee that the teacher has what it takes to impart a standard of excellence or purpose.

Rule #2 – The best teachers will be those who share your view about God, creation, the presence of sin in the world, and the reality of and necessity for biblical atonement. Granted that is not always possible, but should you choose to receive help for your children from those not of the faith, be sure you have ready access to sitting in on lessons and maintain a hands-on approach to what is going on.

Rule #3 – Monitor your student's eagerness for lesson times with these outsourced instructors. If there is a reluctance to practice or work on the assignment, be sure there is nothing "wrong" with the situation itself. I can remember as a child taking guitar lessons after begging my parents to let me start, only to want them to end when the instructor kept getting "too friendly" during the lessons. Not having the understanding that I should share this information, I merely acted as though I really didn't like the guitar after all.

Rule # 4 – Don't be surprised if your children come back quoting the outside teacher over and over with comments like, "Mr. Jones says that when he was a kid…," or "Miss Smith told me she thought I would be good at…" Instead of feeling discouraged that your offspring don't talk about you that way, realize that they are being acclimated to the idea of mentors and being mentored. Besides, you'll often find that the "experts" say many of the things you've been saying all along. Instead of responding, "I've been telling you that for years," smile and appreciate the fact that even Jesus acknowledged that, "A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house" (Mark 6:4).

In the homeschool setting, you must stay abreast of curriculum choices and new ways to breathe life into seemingly boring subjects. Homeschool conventions and curriculum marketplaces are easy ways to do this. Also, within most church congregations there are people whose jobs involve utilizing the very things your children are learning. Seeking out these folks and asking them to spend some time with your children can be helpful.

Lastly, if you as a teacher find a subject area boring, apply the steps outlined above to yourself. Your kids know how to read you like a book. If they can tell you are disconnected with the material, you'll never be able to convince them that it is a worthwhile thing to study and learn. You have to practice what you preach.

Testing....1..2..3

Don't you just love it when someone gets up to a microphone to determine if it is working? "Testing….1, 2, 3…" Why don't people say, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," or "Honor your father and your mother," or "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us"? All kidding aside, I believe our culture places the wrong emphasis on testing – as if one test, or a series of them, can determine competence.

What are tests, in the modern academic sense? They are ways of measuring whether or not someone has grasped the material studied. But do they indicate whether or not the person who can give the correct answer will apply that correct answer when called upon to do so? Most definitely not. Biblically, a test is an opportunity to see if one's profession matches one's confession. Consider the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Levite and the priest would have been able to give the correct answer regarding whether a person injured on the side of the road should be helped. But, their actions betrayed their actual beliefs and their application of them.

I do not deplore using tests to measure material grasped. I'm merely suggesting that there are other means of determining (much better than written tests) how much of what you've taught has been learned. For example, discussion and pertinent exploratory questions often reveal much more than a series of True/False or multiple choice responses. Although essay writing is a valuable skill and one that should be mastered, that particular method of demonstrating understanding has more to do with practicality (one teacher can't talk at length with 20 students) than being the quintessential measuring stick of understanding.

The other problem with testing is that it reduces learning to a "make it or break it" point in time whereby one gets to the next step (or not) depending on how well the test questions are answered. It gives the test-makers an inordinate amount of power over others, not to mention an almost divine status, in that it says they know the best questions to ask. By isolating all that was learned into a time of testing lasting 1 – 3 hours, a false priority is given to "giving the right answer" when nuance or circumstances could change a response drastically. In short, it makes the test-taker more concerned with proving his knowledge rather than applying his knowledge.

Testing has become so entrenched in modern academic pursuits that it is hard to imagine a time when this method will fall into disuse. However, while preparing students for PSATs, SATs, ACTs, and all the “alphabet” tests, it is vital that those areas which will have most relevance to their everyday lives as adults receive the proper focus and attention. In truth, our children will more likely be called upon to determine the character of a future employer or employee than determining whether or not various triangles are congruent. They will be faced with political promises from aspiring candidates and need to be able to effectively judge the truth or falsity of their claims and premises rather than be able to recite from memory the various parts of a eukaryotic cell.

The testing that ultimately matters involves meeting the challenges of everyday life in such a way that our actions and decisions, as well as those of our children, are obviously and deliberately being premised on the authority and sufficiency of the Holy Word of God.

Conclusions

Teaching is a risky business. What if your students do not really learn the truths you wish to convey? Worse yet, what if they come up with the "wrong" conclusions about what you instructed – perspectives quite different from your own?

If you are a teacher in a day school setting, you might file this under the category of the cost of doing business. But if you are a home educator, your graduates don't migrate away only to return for periodic school reunions. As a parent/teacher you get to see them and interact with them on a regular basis for the rest of your life. You’ll even be playing with their children someday.

It is precisely for this reason that the homeschool needs to be the place where all things are taught from and related to the Word of God. As in the parable of the sower, the home schooling parent is responsible for sowing good seed and must be more concerned with sowing than on the ground where the seed lands. Nowhere in that parable does Jesus hold the sower responsible for the ground on which the seeds end up. If one's children don’t see eye-to-eye on all matters and concerns, it isn’t a failure on the part of the teacher. By the same token, if children see everything in alignment with their parents without any deviation or disparity, it could mean that both parent and child are mistaken. My point is what they end up thinking does not validate or invalidate the teaching you provided. What we are called to be is faithful; the regenerating and sanctifying work in their lives is under the control and jurisdiction of the Holy Spirit.

I have very definite views on current events that my adult children don't always agree with. Rather than make it so we cannot discuss these things, we often have lively debates that result in potent food for thought. Rarely do we alter our positions entirely, but I am continually amazed at how well reasoned out their arguments are. Just recently, after one such dialogue with my son via email, I inquired, "How did you get to be so smart?" His reply, "My teacher made me think too much!!"

R. J. Rushdoony exemplified teaching the Word of God rather than merely transmitting his own conclusions. His writings and lectures did not have as a focus persuasion. No, his work and mission were much more vital than that. He was convinced that if he presented the Word of God faithfully, the Holy Spirit would lead his listeners into all Truth. We homeschooling parents can learn a lot from him, not only from his message (the Bible speaks to all areas of life and thought), but his also from his method (unabashedly premising all perspectives from an orthodox, biblical perspective). In the end, that's the kind of legacy that is worth recording on one’s lifetime resume: Were we found faithful in raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?

Straining Definitions

Definitions serve the purpose of designating not only what something is but also what it is not. For example, a glass can be defined as a clear receptacle used for drinking that holds liquids that are cold or room temperature. This definition makes a glass different from a plate which is a receptacle that is not designed to hold liquids whether they are hot or cold. Thus, one would use a glass for water, milk, or wine, but use a plate for food. It isn't so much that you can't use one in the other's place, but when you do, you alter its purpose and usefulness.

Recently while at a golf tournament, I walked around with a young man there in support of a girl who was paired with my daughter. I asked how he happened to know Jessica -- was he a brother, a boyfriend, or just a friend? He answered that he was her brother -- her stepbrother. Since a round of golf takes a good 4+ hours, Mark and I had a long chance to talk. I discovered that he was an athlete who competes in the junior Olympics for track and field and that he had just graduated from high school. Midway through the round I asked how long he and Jessica had been stepbrother and stepsister. He answered, "Well, we're not actually brother and sister at all. Our parents have been engaged for nine years, so we sort of call ourselves that. I don't know why they haven't gotten married yet…I guess they want to be sure."

So, how do you define brother and sister? These young people were forced to adopt a relationship that wasn't really theirs. No doubt, they wanted to fit into some recognizable category. When I discussed this with my daughter, she looked at me dumbfounded and said that Jessica had identified Mark as her boyfriend, indicating a dating relationship. When I told her what he had told me, my daughter responded, "That's gross! Dating your brother!"

But think about it. Assuming you have no issue with dating in general, what exactly was "gross" about their relationship? They really aren't brother and sister at all. The fact that they had been thrown together since they were nine and seven years old respectively set up a confusing and non-defined relationship. I let my daughter know that the fault lay with their respective parents who, no doubt, were more interested in gratifying their own desires than caring for the well-being of their children.

Is it any surprise that the definition of marriage is under assault when the definitions of father, mother, brother, and sister have been strained and muddled over the last four decades? The Bible takes great pains to list the lineages of both the righteous and the unrighteous in terms of their biological roots rather than the "blended families" of our era. Moreover, for us to truly understand the idea of the Church being the "family of God," we must understand that, just as the biological family has members who are clearly defined, so too being a member of God's family is not a matter of adorning oneself with a label, but an act of our Sovereign Savior.

The Conclusion of the Matter

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

These are the final verses of the Book of Ecclesiastes. Pretty straightforward stuff. I recall using them on the high school graduation diploma I presented to my son during his graduation ceremony in 1996. It is a portion of Scripture that has come up early and often in the course of the home education of my children.

The conclusion of something is a summation statement of all that has come before. At times it can act as the logical progression of a series of propositions. By implication, if one is at the point of hearing a conclusion, one has also heard the introduction and the body of the idea or thesis. So, fearing God and keeping His commandments would imply that the listeners or readers knew God enough to know He is awesome and One to be feared and revered. They would understand that He has likes and dislikes that have been communicated in the form of authoritative directives. Moreover, these statements of His will have everything to do with what is vital for mankind to live successfully; they are possibly the only truly important concepts human beings need to learn and apply. Finally, we are told at the very end that these commandments act as the "yardstick" to measure goodness or wickedness, faithfulness or faithlessness. In other words, there is no mystery in what it takes to please God.

Yet, few Christians make this their starting point in determining the rightness or wrongness of modern day practices. Instead of filtering all ideas and notions through the sieve of God's written Word, they often go along with what the culture promotes without giving the Commandments of God their function of determining right and wrong. For example, what about gender-changing surgeries? What portion of Scripture covers such practices? Why is drug use wrong? Does Scripture address it? Where? What about the process of freezing embryos for future use? Where in Scripture is one given guidance on this? When (if ever) is it appropriate for someone with a devastating and ravishing illness to say, "Enough is enough. It's time for me to die?"

I am not suggesting that the answers come without study and purposeful application of God's Word. Even those of us who have saturated ourselves in the Law of God for decades have hearty discussions that sometimes reveal differences of opinion. But, in those cases, we are arguing (in the good sense) based on common biblical presuppositions. What do those who say we are no longer under God's law argue from? They do have presuppositions and a law base they are drawing from. It just isn't the Bible. In short, many Christians think like humanists and act like humanists because that is the worldview from which they operate.

The Christian homeschooling teacher had better be an expert on biblical law (or strive to be one) in order to impart to his/her students the necessary starting point for them to successfully live out the conclusion of the whole matter. Ultimately, nothing else really matters.

Amazing Story -- Amazing Grace

Thought I would share an email I received from a good friend evidencing the amazing grace of our Lord God. I invite and challenge you to share this story with believer and non-believer alike.


I am a great aunt for the second time today! The doctor's first comment after congratulating my nephew John and his wife Tina, was, "This baby should not be alive." Tina lost Bailey's twin early in the pregnancy. Not knowing she was having twins she mourned the loss for a few days before discovering she was still pregnant.

As the doctor examined the placenta after the birth, he saw the umbilical cord was not attached to the placenta but to the sac, with veins running to the placenta. He explained that these veins were not enough to sustain life for the duration of the pregnancy. (Mind you, she had just been born, full term and healthy). What’s more, Tina's water broke a full 24 hours before the baby was born. The veins should have collapsed as soon as the water broke. The couple are not believers and I'm praying they recognize that their baby is truly a gift from God.

Fix It When It Breaks

Although in the car business, my husband is not a mechanic. Thus, we've had to "outsource" the regular maintenance on our vehicles. He has a hard, fast rule: If something goes wrong with one of our cars, he gets it fixed right away. Not only do we have well-tuned reliable cars, we have cars that have retained their value; this is very beneficial when we decide to trade in a car to purchase another one.

This "fix it when it breaks" policy was recently applied elsewhere when we discovered that our two dogs, having gone bonkers over all the fireworks and firecrackers during this 4th of July, had demolished our screen door (once again), having feverishly tried to get into the house while we were elsewhere. Hundreds of dollars later, we still have skittish canines, but we have an operational screen door.

Too often in the homeschool environment, when parents see malfunctions in their children’s lives they assume an "it will take care of itself in time" point of view, instead of applying a "fix it when it breaks" mentality. The problem with such a philosophy is that it doesn't work. Rather than improve over time, the situation (whether behavioral, academic, or medical) often becomes intertwined with other factors and variables making it difficult to discern what exactly is causing what.

Maybe the problem or situation is not one that a parent feels capable or competent to diagnose or rectify. That is where the greater Body of Christ enters the picture. By being in a healthy, God-honoring church that embraces and magnifies God's Law, there will be people around to offer advice, lend a hand, or make a referral to a competent resource.

The homeschool is crippled if there is not an absolute standard (for both parents and children) to establish what is right and what is not. If the Law of God is not the standard, then some other law will be. It is very sad that many Christians will tell you they are no longer under the Law of God, but they can't tell you exactly what law they are under the jurisdiction of. Simply put, if you don’t know what it should look like, how can you effectively identify it when it is broken?

I can attest that sometimes the hardest part of fixing something when it breaks is admitting that it is broken. However, there are definite promises in Scripture that tell us that wisdom, grace, and a straight path are available to those who trust in the Lord with all their heart.

Son Shine

We are told in Scripture to let our light shine before other people so that they may see our good works and glorify our heavenly Father. That portion of the Gospel of Matthew has been a signature verse in my own life and one I have emphasized over and over with my children. However, I must confess that the way I have always oriented myself to this portion of God's Word had to do with achieving or excelling in some enterprise or activity, and then having the successful person give credit to God. This past week my 15-year-old daughter taught me a lesson when she followed the command of Matthew 5:16 in a way that impressed and instructed her father and me.

In a golf tournament that meant a lot to her, she performed quite poorly. In fact, it proved to be a situation where most people would experience extreme humiliation. However, our daughter, although humbled and quite frustrated, didn't feel compelled to hide her head in shame or avoid meeting up with fellow competitors who had scored much better than she. In fact, our girl was ready and available to console others who had frustrations and upsets of their own – despite the fact that their scores were significantly better than hers. In other words, her light was shining.

However difficult it may be to accept, sometimes God intends for us be salt and light in less than flattering circumstances. Moreover, since we believe in a predestinating God who foreordains whatsoever comes to pass, we must be ready to receive the outcomes He has planned for us, whether or not they conform to our desired results. There is no qualifier on the command to let the light of Christ shine -- it applies to all places and all times.

That evening, we attended a dinner for the contestants and their parents. I'm sorry to report that most were only interested in sharing how they or their child played that day. Some even "congratulated" my daughter, without even asking how she played or knowing what her score was. Yet, as I sat next to my daughter -- a young lady who knows she is a child of God and is secure in that fact -- I was gratified to realize that in spite of my years of being a homeschooling mom, I continue to have plenty to learn. Indeed, I am taught by my students.

Truth or Dare

Sometimes when I read a biblical account, I try to picture in detail how a particular event played out. For example, when I read of Nebuchadnezzar's furnace and Daniel's three friends, I visualize the flames, imagine the intensity of the heat, and picture the young men’s faces when they are suddenly joined by Another and find that neither their clothing nor their bodies are burning. This makes the entire episode one that I remember vividly as if I was there myself. This technique has also served me well in teaching Bible stories to my children.

Just recently while dealing with aspects of pride, peer pressure, and pietism in my own life, I began to see these factors in Adam and Eve's encounter with the evil serpent in the Garden. Putting myself in their place, I tried to picture how the episode might have played out. Is it likely that the serpent presented himself like the sample lady at the grocery store? Was it that Eve was just hungry and the suggestion of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was just the most convenient way to deal with her appetite? I think not. My guess is that Satan presented himself in such a way as to invite interaction -- making the encounter seem accidental rather than intentional. He may have been striking to look at or imposing in his size and demeanor. In the process he worked to make Eve feel small, ignorant, and inferior. In other words, she experienced the same sort of temptation --- to fit in -- that I experience regularly.

Here is my "take" on how the conversation might have transpired:

Serpent: (mutters something).

Eve: Excuse me, did you say something?

Serpent: Oh, I didn't realize anyone else was around. I was just noticing how great this place is.

Eve: It is great isn't it? I'm so happy here.

Serpent: And why shouldn't you be? I mean, you have your choice of all the wonderful trees in this garden. I mean, you can have whatever you want.

Eve: Well, almost everything.

Serpent: Almost everything? You mean there are some things you can't have? That's a bit strange, don't you think?

Eve: Well, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said we can't eat of it, or even touch it for that matter; otherwise we will die.

Serpent: (with a look of condescension) How’s that again?

Eve: (now a bit flustered) I mean we were told we shouldn't eat the fruit of that tree.

Serpent: (in a patronizing tone) He actually told you that? That you would die? (laughing) You actually believe that? (with confident assurance) You will not die if you eat it!

Eve: (sheepishly) Why would He tell us that if it wasn't true?

Serpent: Because he knows that the day you eat it He'll lose his edge over you. You know what I mean? You’ll be just like Him. (with a grin) I mean, maybe He just doesn't want the competition. Think of it. Instead of always having to have someone tell you what to do, you can be your own person -- you know, deciding for yourself what's good and what’s not. Are you going to be tied to asking permission for everything you do?

Eve: (gazing at the tree, then the serpent, then Adam). Hmmmmmmmmm.

Serpent: (shoots a challenging glance at Adam who is nearby watching without saying a word).

Eve: (Thinking to herself) If it's in the garden, it must be good to eat -- I mean why would God put a poisonous tree in here in the first place? And, besides, I do think I'm at a point in my life where I am capable of making my own decisions. -- (out loud) Well, it looks really delicious.

Serpent: On that we can both agree.

Eve: Oh, well, what have I got to lose anyhow? (Takes a bite and turns to her husband who is more than willing to accommodate her offer). Oh, Honey, this IS good.

This unsuccessful encounter with temptation ends with the beginning of sin in the world. We and our children experience this scenario every day of our lives in one form or another. We, like Adam and Eve, have the Word of God given to us to protect us from the wiles of the devil. Similarly, our duty is to trust and obey rather than doubt and act autonomously.

How does this relate to the homeschooling family? Although we strive to provide our children with an environment where they can learn and grow with the Word of God as their foundation, just like Adam and Eve, they will face times of testing. What will happen when they are faced with a condescending, patronizing, ridiculing, professor, employer, or coach who belittles their biblical convictions of obedience and tempts them with the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life? Will they respond with Thus says the Lord and follow in accordance with His Word? Or will they, like our first parents, become overwhelmed by the arguments encouraging disobedience and consumed with fitting in, feeling cool, or whatever the fashion of the day prescribes? Truth or dare.

These are questions that are best dealt with in fervent prayer and supplication. But, regardless of the outcome for individual children, it is the duty and responsibility of parents to remain faithful to the law-word of God.

Apologizing During Golf

Acquaintances often ask me to share my "secrets" for being able to engage in apologetic conversations with non-Christians in the most unlikely circumstances. For me, one of the most fertile grounds for this activity is a golf course. You see, my summers involve regular attendance at junior golf tournaments with my daughter. The officials work very hard to have each group finish within a 4 – 4 1/2 hour timeframe; but these competitions often can run five, sometimes six, hours. Besides being tiring on the feet, they are times where I have the opportunity to get to know the parents of the girls in my daughter's group. In fact, in our family devotions before we leave for a tournament, my husband prays that Dorothy will play well and that God will set up "divine appointments" for me with specific people with whom He wants me to interact.

Recently I shared an almost five-hour round with a man I will call "Joe." I've known Joe for over three years now, having shared a number of rounds as spectator with him. I've gotten to know much about him (as he has me) -- his occupation, facets of his childhood, and the things he likes and doesn't like having to deal with in the world. Joe is the sort of guy who is very sure of himself and his own righteousness, actively determining and defining good and evil for himself. Unpleasantly, he repeatedly takes the Lord's name in vain over the trifles of a missed putt or a bad decision on the part of his daughter. Joe, like so many of our day, is sure that he has life all figured out.

Heading toward the end of the round on the first day of a recent tournament, (one in which his daughter was a good dozen strokes better than mine), he lamented that each time his girl got ready to hit her shot, the wind would kick up, potentially making her shot much harder than anyone else's. That was not an accurate observation, but one he maintained. I pointed out that there are some phenomena that cannot be controlled, and we need to view them as under the jurisdiction of God Himself -- the wind being one of them, blowing where it will. He snickered and sneered and informed me that God couldn't care less about what happened in this round of golf, one way or the other. I told him that I begged to differ with him -- the Bible clearly states that there is not one facet of life that God is not intimately connected with and concerned about -- not a sparrow falls to the ground without the Lord knowing about it. In a most patronizing, condescending voice with a hint of ridicule, he asserted, "Now you're sounding like a Calvinist!" To which I replied, "I am a Calvinist, and unashamed of it. I believe in a sovereign God who foreordains whatsoever comes to pass."

Now, Joe was a bit flustered, and all he could say over and over was, "Really, a Calvinist? Really?" It was quite funny witnessing him try to reassure me that he didn't have anything personally against Calvinists -- that he is a very tolerant guy -- one who believes all religions have an equal footing and all should be studied and applied. In fact, he made sure that I understood that he has known Calvinists whom he liked very much. When he regrouped, he commented, "Now it all makes sense. Now you make sense to me."

For the rest of that day and the day following, every time I saw Joe he kept bringing up the subject. In fact, he told his daughter (who won the tournament) that "Mrs. Schwartz is a Calvinist -- one of those 'religious people' who is very consistent in her beliefs." I further bewildered him when I asserted that he, too, was a very religious person. His was just a different religion. That made him speechless – for a time.

I'm guessing that the God Joe is sure is too busy for the likes of him, was successfully getting under his skin that day with me as His vehicle. As I was leaving the course, he yelled, "I plan to continue this discussion!"

Anytime, Joe. Anytime.

Life of the Mother ~ Life of the Child

We live in a day and age when the subject of abortion is relegated to the category of what polite people don’t talk about in public for fear of upsetting those with contrary views. Even within the ranks of Christians who consider themselves pro-life, there is often lively debate as to whether or not certain “exceptions” are appropriate and legitimate. It is at this point, that humanism often trumps a Biblical worldview in coming up with the “answers to the tough questions.”

This week’s edition of World Magazine highlights a family that epitomizes a resolve that affirms that ALL life is precious, and one life is not inherently more important than another. Michael and Susan Kelley made a decision 19 years ago, that not only serves to show how theology informs morality and action, but serves as a reminder that standing and acting on biblical principles derives blessings beyond measure.

I invite you to read and share their story.

I Love Teaching Evolution

Yes, it's true. You didn't misread my title. In fact, I dare say that a day doesn't go by in my homeschool that the subject and tenets of evolution don't come up, either directly or indirectly. This topic makes its way into our study of science, history, philosophy, and theology, not to mention its implications in cultural affairs and current events. You might be wondering, isn't this the very reason many Christian parents remove their children from state schools -- to get away from such teaching?

Evolution is a topic that repeatedly enters into our curriculum the same way that sin is a topic that gets covered in depth. How am I adequately educating my child if I fail to cover in detail the lies and deceptions that are prevalent in our humanistic culture? The Christian homeschooling parent must be prepared to understand, articulate, and refute the preposterous claims that currently serve as explanations for the origins of life and the presence of all creatures great and small. Fortunately, there are many good books and publishers that have taken the time to make this task much easier.

This kind of teaching and learning further prepares our students to be salt and light as they make disciples of all nations. Unless they understand what their contemporaries are being taught, they will be hampered when they engage in discussions with those steeped in lies. Furthermore, they will be better equipped to explain how the law-word of God is the relevant component in understanding life itself, the Creator of life, and His requirement of obedience.

Secular government schools insist that the foundation of a child's education be based on deception and falsehoods specifically designed to alienate the child from the God of Scripture. It is precisely for this reason that statist educators want children at younger and younger ages, while they are so impressionable. And, it is precisely for this reason that Christian parents should never relinquish their God-given responsibility to train up their children -- especially to those who either explicitly or implicitly deny the Holy Word of God.

Fifth Monarchy Men

Recently I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a young law student who is an avid Rushdoony fan and who is ready, eager, and willing to disseminate the perspectives of Christian Reconstruction. He wrote to me about the exploits he has shared with three fellow students as they unashamedly proclaim the crown rights of Jesus Christ:

There is a very interesting story about N.D. Last semester N.D. took an appellate advocacy course in which he had to argue the Pledge of Allegiance case in front of a panel of professors. I was there for a first year review and had the opportunity to sit in on many of the sessions. Student after student provided the same historical/democratic (humanist) argument that was presented in the Pledge case. When N.D. argued the case, he challenged the court by forcing the biblical antithesis. The panel of professors was taken back. They insisted that while his argumentation was correct from a legal and biblical perspective, he couldn't argue like that because he would only offend the Justices. N.D. pressed them to show him where his legal analysis was flawed, but they could not. In the end he was told that if he wanted to speak like the prophets of old, he would have to learn to suffer like the prophets of old. In effect he was told that the humanist sets the presupposition in the courtroom and he had been wrong for violating it. He received a much lower grade even though he had a far superior presentation and case from a legal and biblical perspective.

We are all committed to forcing the antitheses in the legal profession and in the world. When it comes to Crown Rights of King Jesus we are all loyalists. We love to meditate on the Law of the Lord and are dedicated to seeing it lifted up as the standard in our legal system.

Here is a young man, steeped in the biblically orthodox teaching of R. J. Rushdoony, who is willing to take a stand regardless of the consequences of those who suppose they have the power to determine his future. How prophetic were those professors comparing him to the prophets of old! As Rushdoony states in his commentary Thy Kingdom Come: Studies in Daniel and Revelation, these four are Fifth Monarchy men (Daniel 2:34-35) -- those who, like Daniel and his three friends, are unwilling to bow the knee to any other than the triune God of Scripture. I have run into many such young men -- those ready and eager to understand how their faith translates to all areas of thinking and living. A number of them are graduating from high school this year. My present of choice: the three-volume set of Institutes of Biblical Law by Rushdoony. I figure it is a sound investment for the future and the Fifth Monarchy.

Call Waiting

Today I was helping a friend (a homeschooling dad of 4 daughters who suffers from ALS*) make phone calls to handle financial matters and set up doctor appointments. The two hours we spent were enjoyable because Jay is one of those people to whom God has given an extra dose of funny. Sure his condition sometimes gets the better of him emotionally, but his faith in the Lord and his ability to turn the somber into laughter is something this devastating illness has not been able to touch.

When I arrived at his home, I watched his wife adroitly transfer him from his hospital bed to his wheelchair so we could get to work. We called his doctors' offices, a medical supply company, and the company that handles his employee investments. Each time I was greeted by a recorded voice directing me to punch all sorts of numbers and giving me instructions about the information needed in order to connect me to the proper person, only to have to repeat all the information over and over again. What's more, because I was acting as "Jay's mouthpiece," new permission had to be given by Jay to each person on the line for me to be okayed to speak for him. With his diminished lung capacity, this wasn't always easy.

During the many long waits on hold listening to selections from Handel and Mozart, Jay and I commented how grateful we are that we don't have to approach the Lord this way. Just think how humanistic man would improve upon Jesus' instructions in the Lord's Prayer. We figured it would go something like this:

Hello, you have reached heaven.
Your call is important to us, so stay on the line and someone will be with you shortly,
For praises, press one.
For confession, press two,
For thanksgiving, press three,
For healing, press four.
For all other petitions, please stay on the line for the next available operator.

Please be sure to have all identifying numbers ready when your call is answered.
For quality purposes, this prayer may be monitored.

Due to heavy calling volume, there will be a significant wait. Your prayer will be answered in the order received.
(Background muzak streams a synthesized version of Amazing Wait)

Someone will be with you shortly. Did you know that you can bypass this call by going to our website and leaving your question? Most inquiries are responded to within 48 hours.

(The lovely tones of Amazing Wait continue!)

Finally…a real person comes on the line, listens to your request, re-asks all the questions the first person asked, requiring new authorizations to speak on behalf of another, and back on hold you go.

Phew!!! I'm frustrated just recounting this process. My guess is that the hope on the other end of the line is that you'll hang up and forget why you called, deeming it not all that important after all, and learn to live without the answer you desired.

But, praise God, we have direct access to the throne of grace thanks to the mediating atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Not only do we have free access to the Father becasue of this Advocate who sits at His right hand, instructing us to pray in His name, but we also have a Comforter and Counselor who knows our groanings better than we do and prays on our behalf. Even when, in His good pleasure, God delays responding (thereby working patience in us), our waiting on the Lord is never in vain. He who answers our call is not some impersonal representative, ill-equipped to handle our particular need. As we're told in Isaiah 40:31,

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

[*ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease for which medical scientific research has yet to find a cure. ALS affects motor neurons which reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to the muscles' death.]

Combating the Humanistic Inquisition

My daughter and I are currently in the midst of a study of idolatry. Sound funny? Well, since one of the major themes of the Bible is to abstain from worshipping idols, it is incumbent upon me, the Christian homeschool teacher, to make sure that the subject is thoroughly covered and properly understood. Unfortunately, most parents spend more time on "Look both ways before crossing the street," and "Have you cleaned your room?" than giving their children a strong foundational understanding of this topic. Since the first two of the Ten Commandments deal with idolatry, and do so in very strong language, it is a subject that should not be taken lightly.

We are currently going through the second volume of the Institutes of Biblical Law by R. J. Rushdoony. We read a chapter a day and together discuss it. Sometimes the discussions are so far-reaching that an hour and a half has gone by before we realize it because we've examined the implications of a particular concept across many disciplines.

A recent chapter dealt with Idolatry and Law. Dr. Rushdoony had many insightful points. For example, he describes the dedicated assault on Christianity in our culture as the Humanist Inquisition in action, because the humanistic state won't tolerate dissent from its stated theological position and persecutes those who deviate from it. No wonder Christian homeschoolers are often in the bull's-eye of state and federal legislators and regulators who try to gain access and control over those they wish to proselytize.

Later in the chapter, Dr. Rushdoony makes the following statement, having previously expounded on the biblical definition of idolatry and its manifestations:

All who are content with a humanistic law system and do not strive to replace it with Biblical law are guilty of idolatry. They have forsaken the covenant of their God, and they are asking us to serve other gods. They are thus idolaters, and are, in our generation, when our world is idolatrous and our states also, to be objects of missionary activity. They must be called out of their idolatry into the service of the living God. (p. 468)

For those who have already taken the obedient step of teaching and nurturing their children in terms of God's Word, this perspective is probably not new to you. However, its implications are enormous. Among other things, it means that it is time for homeschooling families to stop apologizing for their decisions to obey God, feeling the need to justify their course of action to those who have chosen the path of compromise. It is time to stand firm on God's command to make disciples of ALL nations, starting with our own families. Quoting Rushdoony again:

It is our duty to evangelize, to work for the conversion of men and nations to Christ as Lord and Savior. At the same time, as part of our evangelism, we witness to the meaning of covenant law, and, in our own personal dealings, we live by it: we practice the tithe, restitution, debt-free living, and much, much more. Only as God's law is made the practice of man can it become the practice of nations. Only those laws are enforceable which virtually all men are already enforcing in their own lives. (p. 468)

Therefore, among the greatest tools of evangelism remains our faithful application of God's law-word to every area of life and thought. When we do so, we are acting as a beacon of light to a dark and hopeless world, and are boldly manifesting the position that, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." What better way to combat those who seek to destroy our faith, our families, and our foundations.

I'd be Lyin' If I Didn't Tell You About the Lion

It is easy to assume that if you homeschool your kids, teaching them all things from a faithfully Biblical point of view, everyone will live happily ever after and they will grow up actively serving and praising the Lord. As many who've traveled this path before can tell you, that just isn't always the case. Sometimes they stray from the path you've guided them on and there is much heartache that ensues. God instructs us, though, to be faithful and states that He will determine the results. That's why homeschooling would be an impossibly insane activity without receiving and living by the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God. Not only does the Lord promise that His purposes will be accomplished, He walks beside us to comfort us on our journey.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Without this undergirding, I seriously doubt that I would be an active home educator after 25 years and still eager and ready to help those just starting out.

Along with this portion of Scripture, there is a warning in 1 Peter 5:8 that we need to heed for ourselves and alert our children about: the ever present reality of the battle for their souls.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour...

This enemy waits for openings, and if the homeschooling parent allows ungodly, disrespectful attitudes to go by unchallenged, that roaring lion is ever-ready to come in and encourage these and other sins against God. But, even if all things are done by the Book, there is still the reality that some children consummately reject the teachings of their parents and walk in paths they've been warned against. However, difficult it is to accept, we don't make Christians; the Holy Spirit does.

Lest anyone be faint of heart and determine that this homeschooling task is beyond them and their capabilities, let me remind you of another Lion referenced in Revelation 5:5. This is He who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. The same One who came to earth to do for us what we were unable to do for ourselves. If He was capable and ready to redeem us from sin, will He not also be with us as we labor for the hearts and souls of our children? You see, I'd be lyin' if I didn't tell you about this other Lion!

Faithful Are the Words of My Friend

I have a most faithful friend whom I have known for over twenty years. During that time, I have only had the pleasure of sharing time with her in person on two occasions. Yet, this friend has been there for me in some of the most intense and important experiences of my life, not to mention times of sweet fellowship that I have enjoyed with other believers. Most recently her words provided the very real comfort I needed during an episode of sorrow. Words I have listened to for over fifteen years were used by God to convict and encourage me during a moment of overwhelming doubt. And yet, this friend is not very original in what she has to say. In fact, she constantly uses Another's ideas and words to make her point. You might say that she rarely has an original thought.

If you haven't already heard of her, I would like to introduce you to my very good friend. Her name is Judy Rogers and she has produced a body of musical work that is geared to support and encourage the Christian individual and family to stand firm in their faith of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You can get a great sampling of her CD offerings by visiting her website. Here is some background on this godly woman:

Judy was born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia. Her parents are dedicated Christians who taught their children the love and fear of our great God. Her dad is blessed to be very musical and her mom is a wonderful writer of stories, poems, and songs. These gifts were present in all four of their children and they have all sought to use them for the Kingdom of Christ.

Judy has been married to Wayne Rogers, a pastor, for 38 years. Their three children were the greatest reasons Judy began writing songs in the early 1980s. Believing that music is powerful and that children can learn much more than we often give them credit for, Judy began writing songs that were distinctively biblical, thought provoking, and melodically addicting! Wayne suggested that Judy write songs for the major themes of the Westminster Children's and Shorter Catechisms and, as they say, the rest is history.

Judy's music continues to minister to me even after years and years of having it accompany me in my car, at the gym, and even through my 25 years of homeschooling. In fact, my two youngest children could sing the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer long before they could recite them thanks to her first recording Why Can't I See God?. And this is a great comfort to me, knowing that the Word of God was planted and watered within them with the help of resources like Judy's music.

No, Christian education (whether through homeschooling or Christian schools) doesn't guarantee that there are no bumps, bruises, and detours along the way for our children. But, with a firm foundation laid in God's law-word and with the help of moms like Judy Rogers, God has given us the weapons of our warfare!!

Oh How I Love Thy Law!!!

Life appears to be full of unanswerable questions: Why would a person go on a rampage and kill people he didn't know? Why do apparently rational people continue to pursue behaviors that are detrimental to themselves and their families? Why do people raised in the faith turn from it after years of evidence of God's blessings for obedience? And the list could go on and on.

Psalm 119 (the longest psalm in the Bible) gives us the proper focus and foundation as we face these unanswerables: the law of God. God's law is to be our starting point as we ponder the whys and wherefores of unexplainable events and behaviors. If God's law is not our starting point, we will be as unstable and doubleminded as unbelievers. In fact, it is safe to say that this psalm makes the benchmark of faithfulness to God synonymous with faithfulness to His law-word. An honest, careful study of this psalm establishes that the law of God is the delight of the believer and that he meditates in it day and night. Thus, the major emphasis of every Christian homeschool should be knowing, learning, and meditating on God's law and judging all things in terms of it. This constitutes the "righteous judgments" we are told to exercise in John 7:24:

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

By the time a person is ready to assume his role as an adult, the law of God should be so hidden in his heart that his actions, decisions, and perspectives reflect faithfulness to God's holy Word. Moreover, when called upon to give a reason for the hope that is within him, he should be able to render an answer in terms of the law-word of God. This includes being able to comment on and judge any situation or circumstance with Thus sayeth the Lord....

Be wary of persons or teachings that elevate man's law above God's law where the two are in disagreement (capital punishment, abortion, human sexuality). Likewise, be wary of those who place their own personal opinions -- their likes and dislikes -- above the clear pronouncements of Scripture and justify their positions based on an "everybody knows" mentality. For example, homeschooling parents often outsource music and art instruction, along with athletic training. In cases where the parent isn't present for the lesson, it is important to "debrief" the child so that any subversive attitude or perspective does not enter in to your family unawares. Switching instructors might be in order should it become obvious that God's ways are despised or disdained.

By what standard should a godly education be judged? By ensuring that learning is taking place under the instruction of persons or a curriculum which reveres, respects, and obeys God's law and teaches others to follow it in all areas of life and thought. Of course, this means that homeschooling parents need to steep themselves in the Scriptures so that they are qualified to impart a biblical world and life view, and be able to confidently counter other perspectives that attempt to supplant and replace it. Then, when conflicts arise with modern cultural ways of thinking (and they will), and clear doctrines of the Bible are challenged by secular "truths," the words of Romans 3:3-4 will be in the forefront:

For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.