If you are a Christian, you might be familiar with Galatians 5:22-23, also known as the Fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
I recently learned how to memorize this text. It works in the Bible version you see above, which is the New Living Translation. It’s very close to the New King James Version, actually. Continue reading
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the second volume of The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis and, probably, the best-known and the most read. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy spend their summer in the country because of the war (this was World War II England – a chance to discuss some history with the kids), in the home of an old professor. There, Lucy walks into a wardrobe and, from there, into Narnia, a magical land.
C. S. Lewis wrote about Narnia and you could just enjoy the story as it is, of course. But the writer meant it all as an allegory of the Christian walk and a human’s relationship with Jesus Christ. Aslan, the lion in the title, represents Jesus. The Witch represents Satan and, at times, our fallen nature. The Wardrobe is the actual “door” used to go between our world and Narnia. Continue reading
During the Olympics, Walmart ran a back-to-school commercial using “Here I Go Again” – a song from the 80s by hard rock band Whitesnake. As I listened to the lyrics, I could not believe my ears. Walmart was making my point for me: going to school is a lonely road. You are alone even though you may be surrounded by a group of children. What ABOUT socialization?
School socialization is focused on clothes, loneliness and pairing up.
Socialization is used as an excuse by many parents who send their children to school. In fact, I heard it put this way: “For the rest of their life, they will live surrounded by people. So we must send them to spend several hours a day in a place where they are surrounded by people.” The French go as far as sending their babies to daycare at three months in the name of “living in a collective.” Continue reading
French fries are not exactly the healthiest thing you could eat. In case you did not know, they were invented in Belgium. Want more trivia? McDonald’s fries are not vegetarian. Nope. They are not.
Oven fries taste just as good and, because they are baked, they will not load you with fat your body cannot process.
Oven fries are healthier than their fat-laden country cousins known as French fries.
Besides, oven fries are very quickly washed, cut up, and tossed with oil and condiments, while the oven is pre-heating. It is an easy food to make and a healthy side dish to any entree.
Ingredients
6 medium potatoes
3 Tbsp olive oil (more if desired) Continue reading
Veggie burgers are low in fat and sodium, high in fiber and thoroughly delicious. I have shared my oat burgers with a lot of meat eaters and the vast majority of them were pleased. In fact, many people have asked me for this recipe and I have shared it over and over again.
Homemade veggie burgers and oven fries
You can make these oat burgers ahead of time and freeze them. To defrost them, I pop them in the toaster oven or the microwave.
You can call them veggie burgers or oat burgers, it does not really matter. By the way, they are completely vegan, so they contain no cholesterol. Continue reading
The other day I took the kids to the pool and an acquaintance asked if they start school soon. I knew that question implied that she thought they attend the local public school system. So I replied, “We homeschool, so we start whenever we want. But yes, we started Monday.”
Our son starts third grade.
She said, “Oh, cool. You homeschool. Is this your first year?” I said, “No, it is our fourth.” She said something positive about it again. Continue reading
Here we go again. Another school year means we go on with history. It’s hard to believe, but we have reached the year 1600 in our studies. On our first day of school this year, we read Chapter 1 of Volume 3 in Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer.
Story of the World Volume 3
I don’t know why the layout is slightly different but it does not matter. It’s the same basic format:
When children disobey, parents have a choice to make. Do we react or do we respond? I have been so emotionally spent by my children’s disobedience sometimes, that I just went to my room and knelt with my face on my knees. Better that than screaming.
It’s not the disobedience itself, the action, that bothers me, as much as the attitude behind it. I want their hearts. Just like God wants my heart.
The view from one of the places we stayed at in Romania. Those were good times.
And it reminds me all over again about the great battle going on over me. Do I choose to love God with all my heart? Or do I slip away and do my own thing now and then, because it’s so much fun? Continue reading
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis have inspired me and the children in many ways. I will attempt to cover several in this blog post but there will be more points coming, as I will write about each volume in a separate post.
The first volume of this masterpiece is titled The Magician’s Nephew. The language, the long sentences, the descriptions, i.e. the beautiful prose of C.S. Lewis, represent the first reason why any homeschool should put Narnia on their reading list. Continue reading
My son has a pen pal who came to visit the other day. They had never met each other, so the excitement and nervousness was palpable as we were waiting for their van to pull into our driveway. I had met this little girl’s parents before, but not her or her siblings.
Hiking in the Smokies with pen pals and siblings
It’s a sweet story how it all came about. Thirteen years ago, before I was married with children, I met a couple from Texas who came to work for the same organization I was working for. They did not have any children at the time. I left that place about the same time they did. Continue reading