Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Reflections on Jesus by Napoleon
"Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and myself have founded great empires, but on what did those creations of our genius rest? Upon force. But Jesus founded his on love. This very day millions would die for him. I have inspired multitudes with enthusiastic devotion: they would die for me. But to do it, I had to be present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lit up the flame of devotion in their hearts. But Jesus Christ by some mysterious influence, even through the lapse of eighteen centuries, so draws the hearts of men towards him that thousands at a word would rush through fire and flood for him, not counting their lives dear to themselves." Napoleon
Friday, January 22, 2010
Take My Yoke
Jesus said, "Come unto Me all ye that labor 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."
Lately His yoke is not easy and His burden is not light. It's too hard, I say. I don't want this burden any longer, this besetting sin, this difficulty, I whine. I have no rest unto my soul. Why? The answer is in the verse. "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me." I have no rest because I am not taking the yoke. In fact, I'm trying to weasel my way out of it. True learning takes place when the student takes ownership of his learning, when he willingly takes on the discipline of applying himself to his studies. Learning of Him cannot happen until I take the yoke, not when I simply endure it. When I take it willingly upon myself, I learn meekness. I learn to accept God's will for my life, not only without complaint but with the assurance that it is for my good. Then, and only then, will His yoke be easy and His burden light.
Lately His yoke is not easy and His burden is not light. It's too hard, I say. I don't want this burden any longer, this besetting sin, this difficulty, I whine. I have no rest unto my soul. Why? The answer is in the verse. "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me." I have no rest because I am not taking the yoke. In fact, I'm trying to weasel my way out of it. True learning takes place when the student takes ownership of his learning, when he willingly takes on the discipline of applying himself to his studies. Learning of Him cannot happen until I take the yoke, not when I simply endure it. When I take it willingly upon myself, I learn meekness. I learn to accept God's will for my life, not only without complaint but with the assurance that it is for my good. Then, and only then, will His yoke be easy and His burden light.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Clever Quote
I love clever quotes. Here is one from For God So Loved by J. Sidlow Baxter.
"Writing in The American Magazine not long ago, a manufacturer expressed himself thus: 'It takes a girl in our factory about two days to learn to put the seventeen parts of a meat chopper together. It may be that these millions of worlds, all balanced so wonderfully in space - it may be that they just happened; it may be by a billion years of tumbling about they finally arranged themselves. I don't know. I am merely a plain manufacturer of cutlery. But this I do know: that you can shake the seventeen parts of a meat chopper around in a washtub for the next seventeen billion years, and you'll never make a meat chopper.'"
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise." 1 Corinthians 1:27
"Writing in The American Magazine not long ago, a manufacturer expressed himself thus: 'It takes a girl in our factory about two days to learn to put the seventeen parts of a meat chopper together. It may be that these millions of worlds, all balanced so wonderfully in space - it may be that they just happened; it may be by a billion years of tumbling about they finally arranged themselves. I don't know. I am merely a plain manufacturer of cutlery. But this I do know: that you can shake the seventeen parts of a meat chopper around in a washtub for the next seventeen billion years, and you'll never make a meat chopper.'"
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise." 1 Corinthians 1:27
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
A Medieval Feast !
We had our medeival unit celebration last night. What a wonderful time! We began our night with a feast: fresh baked bread with honey and herb butter, cheeses, quail from the King's own forest (chicken), wild boar (spiral ham), roasted parsnips, carrots, onions, rutabagas, and other vegetables, roasted potatoes and fresh greens, all from the King's own garden.
To begin, we had a formal Presentation of the Salt to the high table. Following that we had the Uppercrust Ceremony where the upper crust from a loaf of bread was presented to the most honored guest,hence our term "uppercrust" today. The last ceremony before the Procession of Platters was the Laverer and Aquamanile Ceremony in which the Laverer would help the guests to wash their hands by pouring warm water from a pitcher called an Aquamanile into finger bowls filled with spices and herbs.
For our entertainment, Princess Rosemund (Haley) sang O Come, All Ye Faithful in English and Latin. Sir Eric recited and performed The Duke of Plaza-Toro by W. S. Gilbert, a poem from Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera, The Gondilier, in which they made fun of the nobility. Princess Rosemund ended it all by singing and playing Be Thou My Vision, an ancient Irish hymn written in the 8th century.
Then the roasting of the Jester (Dad) began. The wits of the Jester were pit against the wits of Princess Rosemund and Sir Eric in Stump the Chump. Each contestant had an easy button from Staples in front of them. I asked twenty questions about historical people or events in the Middle Ages and whoever hit their button first and gave the right answer scored ten points. Sir Eric was our winner!
We finished off our night with castle pies and tea and coffee. It was a lot of work, but it was worth every memory.
To begin, we had a formal Presentation of the Salt to the high table. Following that we had the Uppercrust Ceremony where the upper crust from a loaf of bread was presented to the most honored guest,hence our term "uppercrust" today. The last ceremony before the Procession of Platters was the Laverer and Aquamanile Ceremony in which the Laverer would help the guests to wash their hands by pouring warm water from a pitcher called an Aquamanile into finger bowls filled with spices and herbs.
For our entertainment, Princess Rosemund (Haley) sang O Come, All Ye Faithful in English and Latin. Sir Eric recited and performed The Duke of Plaza-Toro by W. S. Gilbert, a poem from Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera, The Gondilier, in which they made fun of the nobility. Princess Rosemund ended it all by singing and playing Be Thou My Vision, an ancient Irish hymn written in the 8th century.
Then the roasting of the Jester (Dad) began. The wits of the Jester were pit against the wits of Princess Rosemund and Sir Eric in Stump the Chump. Each contestant had an easy button from Staples in front of them. I asked twenty questions about historical people or events in the Middle Ages and whoever hit their button first and gave the right answer scored ten points. Sir Eric was our winner!
We finished off our night with castle pies and tea and coffee. It was a lot of work, but it was worth every memory.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Kevin's Saltdough Map of Europe
Kevin made a saltdough map of Europe, painting it to show the location of Germanic tribes around 500 A.D.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
First Full Week
We did it. And it was a success! Our first history discussion on Wednesday went very well. I was quite pleased with their participation; it really seemed as though we were all learning. I felt that Haley really interacted with the material and thought about the whys of it all. When we met to speak about her writing goals for the year, she voiced her approval of the whole read, think, and write process. For the most part, we only hit a couple of snags the whole week.
The main issue is Haley's time. I am changing Latin to four times per week. We still should be able to complete the course by the end of the year and that will give her more time on Mondays for history reading. I may take Fix-It out completely because we will more than likely need all the time we can get when she gets a full writing assignment. We will take it as it comes.
One thing I need to keep at the forefront of my thought is to customize each week. When there is a larger writing assignment, we can cut back someplace else: history reading for that week, Latin perhaps. I need to keep in mind what skills are important for her to develop at that particular time. We can't do it all.
Hopefully, our success is not short lived. Next week looks like a bear with only four days and a lengthy church history assignment.
The main issue is Haley's time. I am changing Latin to four times per week. We still should be able to complete the course by the end of the year and that will give her more time on Mondays for history reading. I may take Fix-It out completely because we will more than likely need all the time we can get when she gets a full writing assignment. We will take it as it comes.
One thing I need to keep at the forefront of my thought is to customize each week. When there is a larger writing assignment, we can cut back someplace else: history reading for that week, Latin perhaps. I need to keep in mind what skills are important for her to develop at that particular time. We can't do it all.
Hopefully, our success is not short lived. Next week looks like a bear with only four days and a lengthy church history assignment.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Back to School!
We had our first week of school, albeit half-days. We read our summer reading for Tapestry of Grace and began Bible. Kevin started his math and Haley began her science (Apologia General), which we both have enjoyed. That dreaded first module even seems interesting to us! Haley also did a week of Fix-It Grammar and Editing and that felt relatively painless.
Today we have our first discussion and then planning session. I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants here because this is all new to me. Our new timeline books were delivered this week and we all love the History Through the Ages timeline book. Even though I am a little anxious, I am really looking forward to the year. God bless our school!
Today we have our first discussion and then planning session. I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants here because this is all new to me. Our new timeline books were delivered this week and we all love the History Through the Ages timeline book. Even though I am a little anxious, I am really looking forward to the year. God bless our school!
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Teaching Goals
There is so much to think about in chapters 2 and 3. First, the biggie: “It is not possible for one human being to educate another,” DeMille says. I agree. I think that true education lies in the appreciation of a thing. I can inspire appreciation, I can share my appreciation, but I cannot create it in another. Appreciation comes from within and grows through knowledge. Therefore, each individual is responsible for his own learning. However, I, as a teacher, can inspire and share, and that is my job. Great teaching must be my pursuit.
How can I be a great teacher? That is the most pressing question I want to answer as I go through this book. However, for now, I continue to work on character – both of my children and myself. Learning takes hard work, sometimes grueling, sometimes tedious, and sometimes frustrating. It will take a measure of character to choose a painful or difficult path over an easy one solely because it is worthy. Developing character is a life-long work in all of us.
What are my goals? I think I might call my philosophy in education Discipleship Education instead of Leadership Education. A disciple is a learner and I think that is what I want to produce: life-long learners with ears especially open to the Word of God. Using DeMille’s template (actually, I didn’t change much) my educational goals are:
1. To train my children in character that they may first have an honest and transparent heart that strives to do all that they put their hand to with excellence, remembering that whatever they do, do all to the glory of God.
2. To perpetuate freedom, both spiritual and physical (To know what freedom is, to know what freedom is not, to know what it cost, to know how to maintain it)
3. To teach them how to think, to ponder, to question, to investigate
Education ought to be important to us. I remember reading Veith (I forget which book) where he said our society was hugely image-centered and entertainment-centered, and, as a result, we are quickly rushing toward a day when there will be very few thinkers/philosophers/scientists. The few educated men will become the elite and thus rule over the ignorant masses, which will be easily swayed because they do not know any better.
How can I be a great teacher? That is the most pressing question I want to answer as I go through this book. However, for now, I continue to work on character – both of my children and myself. Learning takes hard work, sometimes grueling, sometimes tedious, and sometimes frustrating. It will take a measure of character to choose a painful or difficult path over an easy one solely because it is worthy. Developing character is a life-long work in all of us.
What are my goals? I think I might call my philosophy in education Discipleship Education instead of Leadership Education. A disciple is a learner and I think that is what I want to produce: life-long learners with ears especially open to the Word of God. Using DeMille’s template (actually, I didn’t change much) my educational goals are:
1. To train my children in character that they may first have an honest and transparent heart that strives to do all that they put their hand to with excellence, remembering that whatever they do, do all to the glory of God.
2. To perpetuate freedom, both spiritual and physical (To know what freedom is, to know what freedom is not, to know what it cost, to know how to maintain it)
3. To teach them how to think, to ponder, to question, to investigate
Education ought to be important to us. I remember reading Veith (I forget which book) where he said our society was hugely image-centered and entertainment-centered, and, as a result, we are quickly rushing toward a day when there will be very few thinkers/philosophers/scientists. The few educated men will become the elite and thus rule over the ignorant masses, which will be easily swayed because they do not know any better.
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