Ehud ben Levi! You better get going, the school bus is about to come!
But, Mom, why do I have to keep going to the Philistine school?
Ehud, you know that they have the best Spear and Sword team.
But Mom, they only teach us about Dagon and that our God is nothing special.
Ehud, don’t listen to that stuff. You only need to pay attention when they teach you about math and science. You can also ignore most of their history stuff. You can learn about Torah when you go to Synagogue on Saturday.
Now quick, otherwise you’ll miss the bus. We love you, Ehud. See you tonight around 6.
Continue reading 'Ehud ben Levi'»
In response to the earthquake and suffering in Haiti, we are seeking to help a pastor in the Chicagoland area who will be leading a team that will be traveling to Haiti. Bob Allums and his wife Helen, a nurse, will be leaving for Haiti on February 19. It is difficult to assess the level of suffering and need in Haiti. Doug Phillips of Vision Forum ministries who also has been working in Haiti has noted that much of the American attention given to Haiti ended with distractions over the Super Bowl. We must not be so distracted. I would ask you to seek to help faithful ministries still working in Haiti. Please also pray for Bob and Helen Allums and those traveling with him. There may be opportunity to partner with them later in 2010.
They say that people who start out singing in the rain end up all wet.
Boy were we excited to start teaching our kids at home! This was going to be fun. We would see their little minds come alive with new found knowledge that would mold them into fine Christian gentlemen.
It turned out to be harder than we imagined. Continue reading 'Are We There Yet?'»
We periodically add a post that was published in a previous version of The Christian Educator, before it became a blog. The following article originally appeared in Volume 1, Issue 1 of The Christian Educator.
In early June, 2006, the United States Senate rejected a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that was designed to protect the institution of marriage by defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. This legislative proposal was put forth by politicians who were seeking to raise a standard against the growing efforts of those that are intent on redefining marriage to include “same sex” partners. The mere fact that such a bill was even deemed necessary, reveals the extent of the current crisis and further clarifies just how intent the forces of darkness are in trying to undermine the God-ordained institution of marriage.
As a Christian home school dad, I have watched the intensity of the attack upon the foundation of the family in the U.S. and abroad increase significantly in recent years and have sought the Lord’s wisdom as to how to respond. As usual, the Lord reminded me to take direction and comfort from His Word. While I believe that I do have a duty as a citizen to support political or legislative efforts designed to protect the family, the Word of God makes it clear that the Lord Himself will ultimately defend the covenant of marriage. Continue reading 'The Family’s Sure Defense'»
My title is borrowed from Zechariah 4:10, a reference to the attitudes of certain Jews concerning the rebuilding of the temple. What was the source of their attitude? The rebuilding process was arduous at best and life-threatening at worst. And from where they stood, it didn’t look like it was ever going to be completed. Or, if completed, it would never measure up to the presumed goal of the enterprise, namely, replication of the original temple.
There is a similar undercurrent I sense when communicating with parents struggling to teach their students at home. The smallness of any single day’s work can seem insignificant when made to stand against the enormity of the grand task. Worse, at those points of real struggle – when the pace slows to barely a crawl and frustration is the primary theme of the day – the entire academic enterprise can seem in danger of capsizing. Do not despair!
Continue reading 'Do Not Despise the Day of Small Things – Taking the Long View'»
We periodically add a post that was published in a previous version of The Christian Educator, before it became a blog. The following article originally appeared in Volume 4, Issue 3 of The Christian Educator.
Before my pre-dawn alarm went off, I got the call: “MOM! Zeke threw up on the carpet!”
I bolted out of bed, grabbed my glasses, and found my 15-year-old son angrily pointing at the offending spot on his bedroom carpet as our 70-pound dog Zeke looked on sheepishly.
Yup. I was off and running on “one of those days.”
Continue reading 'Handling Homeschool Interruptions'»
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With the upsurge in the popularity of classical home school curricula, there has arisen a simultaneous concern about the appropriateness of such literature for the Christian student. Should Christian students read classic pagan or secular literature like Homer’s Odyssey or Melville’s Moby Dick? Are there dangers lurking in these works that could negatively impact impressionable minds? Perhaps we should begin to answer this question with the thoughts of a couple of great churchmen.
Continue reading 'Should Johnny Read Homer?'»
Throughout this year I will be addressing important theological topics that junior high and high school students need to know as they prepare for the calling that God has for them as men and women. The first topic is the foundation of God’s Word.
The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) first deals with Scripture and then second deals with God the Trinity. This is not to make Scripture of more importance than God. But very wisely the writers of the confession realized that before we can speak of God we must know how it is that we can even know God. On the firm foundation of God’s Word we can then speak with confidence and assurance about the God who can be known and has revealed himself.
One of the classic passages on the authority of Scripture is found in 2 Timothy 3:10-17. Paul and Timothy had known each other for about 20 years by the time Paul wrote 2 Timothy. Timothy was not a novice and yet there were important things that Timothy still needed to learn. And so it is most interesting that Paul in giving encouragement to Timothy again reminds him of the sure foundation that is found in God’s Word. Continue reading 'The Foundation of God’s Word'»
Some products that promise good results offer as proof before and after pictures. While we are in the trenches, educating our children, we really can’t tell how they will turn out. I can’t make any promises and results may vary, but I am able to tell you a little bit about the before and after of homeschooling and Christian education. Continue reading 'Before and After'»
We periodically add a post that was published in a previous version of The Christian Educator, before it became a blog. We do this because we are hopeful they will be of benefit to many. The following article originally appeared in 2006 in Volume 1, Issue 1 of The Christian Educator.
In early June, 2006, the United States Senate rejected a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that was designed to protect the institution of marriage by defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. This legislative proposal was put forth by politicians who were seeking to raise a standard against the growing efforts of those that are intent on redefining marriage to include “same sex” partners. The mere fact that such a bill was even deemed necessary, reveals the extent of the current crisis and further clarifies just how intent the forces of darkness are in trying to undermine the God-ordained institution of marriage. Continue reading 'The Family’s Sure Defense'»
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