3 Cuties

I think this is the only non-bath picture I have gotten of all 3 kids that they all look happy. 

Thanks for taking this, Poppie!

Don't you just want to pinch their cheeks?

The Fog

I feel like my world has been rocked.  And yet, at the same time I feel as though I'm finally finding some clarity.

The past 2.5 years have been such a struggle.  I just haven't been "me".  

I've been trying to see clearly through thick fog.  Squinting.  Straining to see what's in front of me.  Trying to make out the lines that keep me on the right side of the road.  Moving forward slowly, yet feeling like I'm not moving forward at all.

Yet I've been in the Word.  Growing in knowledge.  And drawing closer to the Savior.

I've been on my face before the Lord.  Literally.  Countless times.  Crying out.  Drawing near to the Lord in ways that I never have before - in ways I've never needed to before.

In the midst of my weakness, I have taken my failings to the only One who can transform.

And yet, in my weakness, Satan has used it as an opportunity to plant seeds of doubt in so many ways.

I would read the Word, and see how far I was from where I wanted to be.

I would confess, repent, draw near to God, and yet, I looked and saw the same things present in my life.  The same feelings.  The same actions.

I longed for transformation.

There were times that I would be doing ok for a while.  Good days.  It brought hope that perhaps things were changing.  I would go on-sometimes days, sometimes weeks even - where I felt as though I was truly being transformed.

But I was never truly out of the fog.

I still felt weighed down.  I still felt like something just wasn't right.  I still just wasn't me.

What happened to my fire?

What happened to the life? The spark?  The sense of adventure?

The one who was passionate about life?

The one who loved with everything she had?

I started to question everything.  Where had I gone wrong?

Did I have unconfessed sin in my life?

Was there some unforgiveness?

Why do I feel this way?

I would wonder what I was doing wrong.  What I needed to change.

So then I started going into this works-based mindset.  What can I do?  How can I change?  

Because if I was drawing near to the Lord and I wasn't being transformed, surely I was doing something wrong.

I thought that I had failed.

But a works-based mindset can only lead to behavior modification.  Not true transformation.

I even came to question my Salvation itself, because I still was struggling to see fruit in my life.  I mean, if we know a tree by its fruit (Matthew 7:17-18), and my fruit was bad, then I must not really know the Lord like I say I do, right?

But that would simply bring me back to the quiet place to find refuge and strength.  I would cast my cares on the Lord.  He would renew my hope.

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV84)

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

 (Isaiah 40:31 NIV)

I was doing all the right things.  Going to the right place.  My heart was even in the right place.  So why wasn't I getting better?  It even felt as though I was getting worse.

10 hours of sleep at night, and I was still exhausted.

Mood swings would come out of nowhere...still...when 2.5 years ago I never had a short fuse.

Getting angry over ridiculous things.

Crying at times that seemed just as ridiculous.

Getting really bothered by affection...when I used to be known for my hugs...

Lack of motivation.

I saw all of these symptoms, and many more.

Was it possible that my hormones were still not regulated?  I kept waiting to feel better...but it never happened.

After a conversation with a woman at my church, and prayer, I felt compelled to go back to the doctor.  I started looking up symptoms.  Maybe it was my Thyroid?  Who knows?

But I was willing to, if nothing else, see if there was even a physical problem there.

My doctor tested hormones, thyroid, even vitamins and minerals (B12, Iron, etc.) in my blood to try to find the root of the problem.

A little over a week later I was called with the test results.

Nothing.  Nothing was abnormal.  My blood test came back perfect.

Most people would be ecstatic.  Not me.  I was confused.

I still had a follow-up appointment to go over the test results.  Not really sure why.  But I went.

A doctor- a different one- a woman came in to go over the results with me.  

"this should be easy," she said.  "everything looks perfect."

My respnse: "We did the tests to see what was wrong.  If the tests are all normal, then why do I have all of these symptoms?"

She asked me to go over my symptoms again.  I started crying right there.  Saying "see?  What is wrong with me?"

Then she asked me something really weird.  

"are you craving sugar all the time?"

Yes...totally confused.

Then she started talking to me about Seretonin levels.  That I was showing all of the symptoms of low Seretonin.

Low Seretonin = Depression

It was the first time I had ever heard of Depression as a physical problem rather than an emotional problem.

My Doctor then came in to talk to me about it some more.  He told me that Depression puts this image in people's minds of someone crying in a corner, but that more times than not, Depression shows itself in people who just say that they just don't feel like themselves.  They just don't feel good.

He said that he suspected Depression when he ran the tests, but he wanted to eliminate other possibilities first.

They started talking about medicine, and I got kinda freaked out.

Anti-depressants?  I didn't know how I felt about that.

But the more I talked to my Doctor, the more ok with it I felt.

Could all of the stuff I had been through be summed up to a physical problem of low Seretonin?

I knew I had symptoms of depression.  I never questioned that.  My questions were always about the reason why.

I always had in my head that the Depression was caused because of a deeper problem.  I mean, it showed up right after having Balian, so it had to have started because of hormones, right?  But as time went on and I wasn't getting better, more times than not I just assumed that what I was going through had to be a spiritual problem.  What I hadn't realized was that physical problems can affect my spiritual life, but that doesn't make it a spiritual problem.

Perhaps it wasn't because of a lack of faith that I wasn't healed.

Perhaps it was a physical issue that I was trying to make a spiritual issue.

Now, does that mean that I believe any less in God's healing power?  Absolutely not!

What I am saying is that God heals in different ways.  It isn't always some supernatural healing that can't be explained.

Sometimes He heals in common ways, by going to the doctor, by taking medicine. By receiving treatments.

Does that mean that we don't go to God and ask Him to heal?  Absolutely not!

Because weather by supernatural means, or by wisdom and medicine, it is God that does the healing.

He is "Able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine." (Ephesians 3:20)

He is able to heal in ways that can only be explained by the Power of God.

And He is able to heal through medicine, because any wisdom that man possesses came from God in the first place.  Weather man knows it or not.  Weather man acknowledges it or not.

Either way, God deserves the Glory.

And that is what truly matters.  God receiving the Glory.

That is our ultimate purpose here, on earth.  To give God the Glory.

I can't explain why God works in one way with one person and another way with another person, except that perhaps God receives the Glory best in different ways in different people's lives.

Why were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego saved IN the furnace rather than being saved FROM the furnace? (Daniel 3)

Why did God tell Naaman, throgh Elisha, to go dip into the river 7 times to be healed, even though he expected something different. "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy." (2 Kings 5:11 NIV)

Why did Jesus put mud on a man's eyes to heal his blindness (John 9), and at other times He simply spoke (John 4, and others)?

Why did some get healed by going into the healing pool and others never had the chance to get in there in the first place (John 5)?

God heals in different ways at different times.

God works in different ways, depending on the circumstances.

But His goal is always the same.  For us to draw near to Him, and for Him to receive the Glory.

I haven't been healed yet.  I'm still awaiting my healing.  The fog is still there.  I'm still squinting and looking ahead and wondering if I'm truly moving forward.  But I'm believing that the fog will eventually clear.

I believe that God is able to heal me.

I believe He will heal me, in whatever capacity He chooses.

And just like those 3 men who said "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not..."(Daniel 3:13, 17, 18 NIV).

Even if He doesn't, I will still praise Him.

Because God has already given me Victory through His Son.

I wrote this song a while back.  It's the one that we've recorded for the CD.  Although I don't have the music for you to listen to, I can at least give the words.  

I have treasure in this jar of clay

Overflowing with your goodness, even though I break

Though at times it may seem I'm lost in defeat

I'll remember you've already brought the victory.

You never said that victory meant having things my way

But instead that you conquered all when you overcame the grave

Help me walk in your joy so the world can see

That you've already brought the victory

So I will count it joy when trials come my way

When the world around me crumbles and seems in disarray

I am hard-pressed on every side, but I won't give up

And every strife that this world brings, you have overcome with love

Help me keep my eyes fixed on the cross and through your Word remind me

That you've already brought the victory

So I praise you, Jesus, in the midst of my pain

Knowing battles that I come against will bring you fame

Yes, you are good, and from your throne you can see

And you've already brought the victory

You've already brought the victory.

Blogging Test/What I've Been Doing

Why I haven't been blogging lately...

A dozen diapers down, half a dozen covers to go...

Ichthus

 So pretty much, I'm just going to post about a million pictures and describe.  Seems the easiest way to go...


We left Tuesday morning at about 11am.

Cary, driving us faithfully.

 We arrived in Memphis, TN for the night.

Our bass player, Scott.

Danni, my roomy for the week

Unloading...that's a lot of luggage!

We headed from Memphis on Wednesday morning to Wilmore, KY - to the Asbury Theological Seminary/ Asbury College campus.

Half of us (the ones of us that were spouse-less for the trip) stayed on campus.

My roomies - Danni and Mrs. Diane.  Danni lives about 2 blocks from me in Granbury, and her girls are my kids' most favorite people on planet earth.

Mrs. Diane is an incredible woman with amazing wisdom, and such an encouraging spirit!  Most of us have adopted her as our own and call her "Mom".

Love these ladies!!

We were really surprised at how nice the dorms were.  We had a suite with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchenette.  We were pretty cozy for the week!

 We showed up the next morning at Ichthus to kick off the day with worship.  I've never experienced having "roadies" to help out with unloading and set-up before...any time I've played somewhere, we've had to tote almost everything we needed with us, and had to do all the work ourselves to set up.  But the roadies were there...and we were thankful!  This was also the first time I've gone to play somewhere and I wasn't playing my guitar.  It felt so bazaar to just be standing around while everyone else was setting up, tuning, etc.  Different experiences...

See the guy sitting at the drums in the picture above on the Right?  He was incredible.  (My mind is totally going blank on his name at the moment...it'll come to me later, I'm sure...) The schedule got changed last minute, and so we ended up not leading worship on Saturday morning.  This guy was really upset about that. He was an encouragement to us, and we were all able to pray together in the midst of a bit of frustration.

We always started out with a pretty small crowd, but it grew as we continued to worship...

It is a privilege to sing with these ladies. 

Diane, Janet, myself, and Karen

Our group led worship Thursday and Friday mornings.  We have multiple "leaders" in our group that lead worship.  Shake is awesome about passing the reigns and training up leaders.  So just like we do on Sundays at church, we passed the reigns a lot.  My turn to lead came on Friday morning.  There was no denying that the Holy Spirit ushered us deeper into Himself.  I feel like I even had some breakthroughs in worship on Friday while leading.  Amazing how God works.

We went to Northeast Christian Church to "rehearse", a.k.a worship.  Great worship time :)

Back Row: Shake, Mike, Cary, Jeff, Kelly
Front Row: Karen, Alatha, Emma, Danni, Diane, Janet, me, Gary, Scott, and Bubby (Shake and Karen's son)

Another thing that we did was an interview about multi-cultural worship.  Shake and a guy named Neil, who is a black pastor of a white Presbyterian church, talked about what the church is missing when we separate ourselves according to ethnic backgrounds within the body of Christ.  All of us were a part of the interview - which is just stinkin' cool, because that is the whole reason our group is different!  Our church is predominately white, but we're beginning to get more and more ethnicly diverse - not just black and white - but hispanic, asian - you name it!  And our praise team is great because we are so diverse!  In a single sunday we will sing anything from your typical "white" contemporary Christian songs - to music typically found in black gospel churches - and everything in between.  Hymns are sung in ways that are traditionally sung in both kinds of churches.  The amazing thing is this - take a song like Order My Steps - a gospel song that is usually sung by a large black lady that has amazing pipes.  When Alatha goes forward and is preparing to sing, there is doubt spread all over the faces of those that know that song - they have their doubts that a skinny white girl can sing it well - but she is simply amazing.  Then, once she starts singing, you get faces with eyes so wide they look like they're going to bust out of their heads!
Anyway...back to the interview...(sorry!)
The interview will be aired on God tv at some point in the future.  not sure when.  I think I'm the only person who didn't say anything in the interview.  Do you ever have times that you just kinda feel like you need to shut up because you feel like you talk too much?  That was me that day.  I didn't want to speak unless the Holy Spirit prompted me.  I didn't want to speak just for the sake of saying something.  Then, when I did feel prompted, time didn't really allow for me to say anything.  That's fine with me.  But what I would have shared is this:  In Acts 1, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit would come and the disciples would be his witnesses - to Jerusalem, all of Judea, to Samaria, and to the whole world.  And all through Acts we see how all of these people groups received the same salvation and the same Spirit - bringing unity where otherwise there was none.  The Jews hated the Samaritans, but because of Christ, they were one.  Brothers and sisters.  God wants unity.  We were never intended to be separated in worship by race, and we miss out on the fullness of God when we separate.

Shake's home church was hosting a Benny Hinn service.  I had no idea who Benny Hinn was before I went. Let's just say it was quite an experience.  One that I hope to not repeat ever again.  I could go on and on about that one...but I think it would be best for me to keep my mouth shut other than to say that I didn't just feel "checks" in my spirit - I felt SCREAMS - to get out!  And when I did, it felt like I was finally able to breathe again - a breath of fresh air after feeling pressed down in an almost suffocating-like atmosphere.
ok, ok...I'll stop now...

Saturday, we played twice at the Galleria stage at Ichthus.  It was kinda surreal.  This was the line-up:
8:10pm - Derek Webb
9:20pm - us
10:30pm - the Afters
11:40pm - us again.


Of course, this was all going on while Tenth Avenue North and Chris Tomlin were playing on the Main Stage...which is where everyone was...o well.


We received some pretty amazing encouragement though.  The guy that was the owner of the sound company that Ichthus was using told us that he was amazed that our group was able to blend (harmonies) so well, considering all the talent (ie, strong voices) that we have.  He also said that we shouldn't have been closers for the night, but instead should have been put on earlier, when more people were around to hear us. For someone that's around musicians as much as he is, that was a HUGE compliment!

 Love these ladies!!

Diane, Emma, (Jeff behind us), Janet, me, Alatha, Danni, and Karen

Oh, yes, and one of the perks of being a musician/singer/whatever you want to call us, is that we had backstage access the entire time.  Here, a picture from backstage at the end of Chris Tomlin's set - as he's gettin' down :)

Danni and I were hoping to get a chance to meet him, but it didn't happen - we didn't have time to stick around - we had to book it to our next set!

We did get to meet some other fun people though.

I'm not a person that just goes up to people whose name I know, but I have no reason to talk to them other than to simply meet them.  I mean, we are all just people, right?  But Shake introduced us to some people that he knew that I would not have otherwise met, which is pretty neat.

(I know I'm being totally vague here, but I'm not a big fan of throwing out names).

I will mention some people though, that you may or may not have heard.  Mostly because I just thought they were neat people.  And their music is good too.

Josiah James was a pretty neat guy.  I actually met him in the merchandise tent.  He was manning his own table, which I thought was pretty cool - and he had an ipod and headphones on the table for people to listen to his music that may not have heard it yet - genius!  His music is good though.  Kind of a pop/emo feel.  I bought both of his CDs - and I'm liking them!  You should check him out!

We met These guys, from Visible Worship Band, because they were the ones that took our place leading worship on Saturday morning.  Then, we kept running into Eric, the bass player, who is from Texas, and said he felt horrible about what happened that morning (even though they had nothing to do with it).  Eric is definitely an extrovert - a very fun guy!  We didn't get a chance to hear them play, but they just finished their first CD, so you should check it out!  They have a very fun, very different, somewhat folk-y sound.  Not your typical worship band.  

Look up Visible Worship Band: Forged in Love on iTunes.

Back to what we did...

 

Sunday, we had 2 sets at 2 different campuses of the same church, Evangel World Prayer Center, in Louisville.  First was City of Hope, where we lead worship, and Shake also preached.  This place is amazing.  Not only do they have a church building, but they have apartments that they use to get people on their feet after dealing with addictions, etc - as well as a food pantry and they feed a crazy amount of people every day through their ministry.  God was moving in some pretty amazing ways that morning. Meaning the Word of God was penetrating hearts, and people were being healed because of it.

Hearts were healed.  Burdens were lifted.  Victories were won.

And before we knew it, we had been praising God together for 3 hours!! 

So we were late to our next set, at (I think) the main Evangel campus - but it was ok, and worked out fine.  

Sunday night, our church decided to pamper their praise team, and had reserved rooms for us at a 4-star hotel in downtown Louisville.  The Brown.  It was a great night of good rest, and I am so thankful to have a church family that loves on us just because they want to Bless us :)

Monday morning, we headed back to Texas.  We arrived at about 3am on Tuesday morning.  I still don't think I've caught up on sleep.

All in all, Ichthus was great.  There were difinitely moments of frustration, disorganization, and difficulty dealing with traveling with 2 vans and 15+ people.  Everything takes longer.  Nothing goes the way we expect.

But God is always there in the midst of it.  He always finds us right where we are.  He uses every opportunity to draw us closer to Himself, even when we're being hyper-critical, overly frustrated, are sleep-deprived, food deprived, and have a bad attitude (yes, talking about myself here).  God's desire is always repentance.  Always to bridge the gap between He and us individually and corporately.  He has our Best in mind, when we don't even know what our "best" is.

So what's next?  No idea.  I know that we're going to continue with recording.  I know that God is continually giving me songs.  Other than that, it's in God's hands.  In the midst of it all, He is teaching me to be content in every situation.  But quite obviously, I still need some work on that one (bad attitude = not content).  So whether I'm leading worship for a congregation, or jumping and waving my arms around like a crazy person while doing music with the babies in the nursery, or I'm at home doing dishes, sweeping crumbs off the floor, and changing diapers - God is using it all.  Eventually I'll understand the big picture - I just may not understand until I see Him face to face - and then...it won't really matter.

Homeschool Decisions, Part 2: What? The Madness Behind My Educational Philosophies

So now we ge to the part where we talk about what I will be teaching my children. Of course, that question is heavily based on my homeschool philosophy, so let me start off with a bit of information about the different homeschool "schools of thought".

Traditional 
A traditional homeschool approach is based heavily on the use of textbooks and workbooks. It looks very much like what you would find in a typical school setting, only it is taught at home. The curriculum is age/grade based, meaning, what the child studies in a given year is based on what is thought to be academically appropriate for their age. They complete a lesson, take a test, and are graded based upon their performance, then they move on to the next lesson.

Content-based 
Content based curricula are most often seen in the forms of the Classical approach, and unit studies. The Classical approach has very specific content that the child is to master. For example, in the first 4 years of the classical "trivium" there is much focus on the child memorizing all kinds of information and facts. Then, as they progress into the next level, they build on those facts and ask "why" when a child is naturally inclined to ask why anyway. Then, in the last level of the trivium, the child is in the rhetoric stage, building even more on what they have learned. 

In unit studies, each lesson is content-specific, but all subjects tend to go together. All of the subjects are based on the same topic. For example, if in science, they are studying about the human body, then math will be based on something to do with the human body, as well as the reading assignments,etc.

Child-centered
Child centered schooling are methods that range from unschooling to Montessori. Child-centered models focus on letting the child direct their learning path, and letting adults get out of the way of their learning. Montessori is set up to where the child can self-correct mistakes, without need of intervention, unless asked.

Unschooling is essentially studying about whatever the child is interested in. If a child shows an interest in dinosaurs, then you get your hands on all things dinosaur- books,museums,etc. you take advantage of this learning opportunity and run with it.

Home-centered 
Home centered methods are centered around the home. Everything in the home- the environment, the activities, the resources, are all home-centered and are all a part of the learning process. (home, meaning family) Academics are not necessarily separated from the rest of life, and life experiences are very much valued in the learning process. The most common home-centered method is the Charlotte Mason method. Education is taught mostly through the use of "living books".

I probably did a horrible job on these descriptions, but I'm trying to put them in my own words, and what I understand about them.*(see note below for more on these approaches).  At some point or another I have looked into every one of these approaches, or a combination of them. Some stuff that we've done at home has been very Montessori minded. We've also gone the workbook route. I looked a lot into the classical approach.

Yes, an iPad or iPhone can be a learning tool.  Balian is tracing letters and numbers with a stylus. 

The nice thing about homeschool nowadays is that there isn't this one size fits all approach. We have options! We don't have to do things the way that a school does them...because you aren't in a school! That gives me so much freedom. The hard part is breaking out of the box of what we have always been taught, or the way that we were taught. We don't even have to stick to one specific approach -we have the freedom to mix it up a bit-to use a little bit of traditional, mixed with some Montessori, and some unit studies. That's the beauty of it all. You have the freedom to teach your kids in the way that you want to/are led to teach them, and that could look completely different from one family to the next, or even one child to the next. But isn't it amazing that we, as parents have the opportunity to give each of our children the best possible education, that is the best possible fit for them? How else do we have that opportunity, but by teaching our children ourselves?

 I'm honestly not exactly sure how this year is going to look. After taking a good look at my kids, and Bella especially, and how they learn...then taking a look at our goals for their education, and our own personalities, we've decided to go the home-centered route. And, honestly, It's pretty much the way I do things naturally anyway. I've always been one to teach my kids no matter where we were.
At the grocery store we can count, pick out shapes, name colors, read labels, etc.
Outside, we like to play, but sometimes we run into a very teachable moment (like observing eggs in a bird nest), or gardening with mommy,or working out in the garage with daddy.
Chores, cooking, art, everything is a learning opportunity. When I've gotten away from this, I've gotten stressed out. When I try to go by the books, my kids either get bored or they get frustrated. We all do much better when I simply challenge them where they are, and once they've mastered something, I challenge them more.

Balian using dinosaurs to identify his lower-case letters/sounds

Do you see how this all fits in with discipleship?

Whether its Charlotte Mason or Whole-Hearted Learning, it's all based on the premis that my child is a living, learning, spiritual being, not just a tank for filling with information. It's opening up the child to a world of learning. My goal is to help my children to continue to love learning as much as they do now. I want them to become avid learners. I really believe that's what God desires for all of us in education. To become good learners, so that we can be teachable, and so that we are continuous students of His Word.
 There is so much that goes into home-centered learning, apart from academics. Teaching the arts. Music, artists, etc. Character training. The study of God's Word. Going on nature walks and studying God's Creation. Life skills training.

This is why I believe that discipleship is the foundation for education.  Discipleship and education happen together, at the same time.  When we disciple, we educate.  When we educate, we disciple (whether intentionally or not).

So much of this is stuff that most homeschooling families do throughout the day anyway, but they may not be super-intentional, or may not have the perception that all of these things add up to education, rather than being entirely separate entities.

Don't take me the wrong way.  Academics are important too; however, I'm more interested in if my child is really learning, than what academic level is printed on the front of their books. I would rather Bella really learn something, and have it stick, then just simply learn something for a test, and then forget it entirely. I don't just want her learning fact after fact after fact. I want her to live it and breathe it.

Kind of like with Jesus...

 I want her to touch the difference between a frog and a toad, not just read that a frog has slimy skin, and a toad has rough,dry skin. And if we can't touch a frog or a toad, then I want her to read about them in a way that captures her imagination, rather than just spit out facts and answers.

I want Bella, Balian, and Isaiah to love God.  I don't just want them to know facts about Him, or have a million different Bible verses memorized by the time they graduate High School.  I want them to know Him personally; to experience His presence; to stand in awe of His Majesty.  I want them to know that they know that they know - not just because they have it memorized, but because they have learned to live it out in every area of their lives.


Obviously, there's only so much I can do in this area.  I can't MAKE them love God.  Even God himself can't do that.  I can't bring them to a place of salvation - that is accomplished only by the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts.  But I can show them by how I live that I love God - and I can teach them about my Savior by getting into His Word with them.  I can teach them how to worship by being a worshiper.  I can teach them how to pray by being an example of prayer.  And hopefully, by seeing my love for the Lord, they will desire to love the Lord as well.  Until then, I will be standing on faith, and kneeling in prayer for the Holy Spirit to do a work in their hearts - to bring them into a place of repentance, salvation, and that they would have hearts that are set on fire for God.

Bella is a free spirit, and Balian is a kid that is so full of energy, I can barely keep up with him. Both of them are so full of life!  And God made them that way! To make them learn in the traditional sense, would, I believe, squeeze the beauty out of the way God created them. I want to teach them in a way that causes their personalities that God gave them to shine - and to develop into what He wants them to be.

One of Bella's reading lessons from "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons".

Yes, there are subjects that require more structure, like math, reading, and writing. With these I have learned that short lessons are the best way to hold their attention.
Math: 15 minutes. 
Reading: 15-20 minutes. 
Writing: 10 minutes. 

 What I have seen is that they learn to focus for that small amount of time to where that time spent is more productive than an hour of struggling...where no learning happens. They remember when they pay attention. Things stick better, and they master things more easily. I am at a place where I just have to say "no thank-you" to pulling teeth to get a child to read and write. That in no way instills a love of learning. Instead, it causes a child to think that learning is boring, tedious, and altogether a negative experience.

A copy-work lesson taken from the reading assignment above.

However, that's not to say that we shouldn't train children in diligence. Sometimes even a 10 minute lesson in copy work(writing) takes a reminder to do our best work without dawdling or wasting time. But diligence is much more easily taught in a 10 minute lesson than a longer lesson that becomes a burden to finish. As time goes on these lessons will increase in duration as each child is able to pay attention for longer periods of time.


So what we are doing is basing our learning not on how much we get done in a lesson (thinking that we must complete a certain amount of pages per day, etc.), but how completely a child understands, as well as the quality of work that is finished. It's mastery-based learning at its finest. They will not move on to the next thing until I know for sure that they grasp a concept fully. They "master" one thing before moving on to the next thing. The beauty of this is two-fold. If they need more work in one area, then you have the freedom to stay there for a while until they really get it. The other advantage is that if the child grasps the concept quickly, you don't have to stay on that concept and bore the child to death. You can move on when they are ready. So each child is able to work at their own pace. More challenging for quick learners, and less frustrating for slower learners.

 So how do we fit it all in? Math, reading, writing, art, music, bible,science, and history, as well as so many other things like running a household...and how in the world do you do it with 3 children who aren't even all doing "school" yet?
I mean, I still have to feed them, for goodness sake!
What does it really look like in a tangible way? 
What are we actually using for curriculum? 

I'll answer those questions next time, as well as give a lot of useful resources, so keep your eye out for Homeschool Decisions, Part 3: How?

* For more information on the different homeschool approaches, go to the Simply Charlotte Mason website.
They do a good job with giving unbiased (more detailed) information about each approach, as well as some places to get more information about other approaches as well.
Or get your hands on Educating the Whole-hearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson.  They do an excellent job of describing, in detail, the differences between ALL of the homeschool approaches.  An excellent resource for beginning home-schoolers!  (I talk about the book in this post, if you want to read that as well.)

The Role of Fathers

I intended to post this on Father's Day...didn't happen.

I heard the tail-end of this sermon on the radio show Family Life Today.
I immediately recognized the voice, and had to look up the rest of the sermon.
Matt Chandler, pastor at the Village Church, here, in the Metroplex, has an amazing anointing.
Most times I listen to him speak, I end up crying, because it is full of nothing less than truth. No watering down, no beating around the bush. This kid stomps on my toes, but does it in such a way that I just continue to hunger for more of the Word of God.
That's what brings me to tears.

Anyway, this is a message from a couple of years ago about the role of men as fathers.
But mothers, you can gain a lot from it as well. I certainly did!
Enjoy!

"Men as Fathers"

Men as Fathers

You can hear more messages from Matt Chandler at:
www.thevillagechurch.net

Ichthus update

Ok, so just to let y'all know, I leave this morning for Kentucky to sing at ICHTHUS! (this is going to be formatted weird...I haven't gotten a blogging app yet, and I'm writing this from my iPad...hence no paragraph breaks even though I'm putting them in...) I'm super-excited, but honestly, it's pretty stressful to plan meals, grocery shop, and get everything ready and lined up here at home...I don't think I realize sometimes how much everyone depends on me to keep things going smoothly (HA!) here, at home. If you want to check-out the ICHTHUS website, we are listed via Shake Anderson. I'm not really sure what the week is going to look like, but I know it is going to be a very full week! A break from the little ones, but not so much a break from work. My vocal chords will definitely get a huge workout :) We leave This morning, and stay in Memphis. Wednesday, we get to Louisville, and sing at Evangel's "city of Hope" Thursday, we lead worship at ICHTHUS in the morning, and play at Evangel World Prayer Center in the evening. Friday, we lead worship at ICHTHUS in the morning, then again in the evening. Saturday, same as Friday. Sunday morning, we are at N.E. Christian church in Lexington That evening we are at Evangel Billtown We leave Monday morning at 6am. In between all of that, we're going to be ministering and serving in some shape or form. Praying with people, counseling people, and serving. But we will also get a chance to see some good bands (Hello, Switchfoot!) So what about the 3 littles? Neil is taking off tuesday and wednesday. Mom is coming over to take care of them Thursday and Friday, and Neil is covering Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I'll journal as much as I can, and update on everything once I get back! In the meantime, here's some prayer requests: Group Unity. Vocal chords. For my heart to be where God has me, so He may use me more effectively. Trust that God will take care of Neil and my mom with the kids. No worries about home! Protection from the schemes and lies of the enemy. For God to use us to minister to His people. That chains would be broken. That people would be healed in God's presence. For God's Will to be done! For Neil: Creativity Quality time (not just quantity) with the littles. Confidence and consistency with discipline. That God would use this time to produce a harvest of righteousness in him, by cultivating character in the small trials that come in being at home with little ones all day :)