Recently, we stayed in a Bed & Breakfast while visiting our son in Vermont.
Why We Come Together
There it is. The reason we come together.
Finishing: The Final 30!
My son just graduated from home school high school at age 16! Wow! Years ago I never thought this day would come but here I am and it seems like it was just yesterday when I started homeschooling. As we approached this final year I promised my son that I would run thirty laps around our backyard when he was done all his major subjects for the year. That number comes from how old I was when he was born when the “Trip of a Lifetime” began! I ran my mini-marathon on the day before Resurrection Day, Easter, a day signaling a new beginning. I thank God for sending his Son, Jesus, for without Him there is no hope in the future. As I ran I contemplated the thirty greatest things that have impacted in my life, how I raise my family, and home school, the good, the bad, and the ugly. For many of these things, the question arose, “Why did they happen?” There was no answer. I take comfort in knowing that there is a purpose and a reason for everything under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), whether we understand it or not. Over the years I have seen my child’s struggles turn to successes and his failures into triumphs. I could not have done all that I have nor be the person I am today without the people and events in my life that came before. I am thankful for each of them, the good, the bad, and […]
Vision
…may the Lord Jesus minister grace and blessing to you….
Only Believe
“Be anxious for nothing…”
Devotional from Elizabeth Hugo
But I’m NOT a Teacher
It’s interesting how the Lord leads you to do something you never thought you’d do.
Homeschooling Out of Conviction
“…So whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”
I Corinthians 10:31
You want to do “WHAT”
This was my first response to Krista’s question to me, “I think we should Homeschool”. Why would we want to do that, I blurted out? Little did I know that this was the most profound and impactful decision she would ever ask me to make. As a young parent I had never stopped to consider the thought of keeping our children home. We were both public schooled and we seemed to turn out OK right? As I pondered the question we began to discuss our oldest daughter’s 45-minute bus ride and all the “new” things she was learning on it at the age of six. At the same time we saw a change in her personality and bearing that we had not created or endorsed. It was these things and some honest retrospect into our own public school experience that finally prompted me to say yes, somewhat reluctantly I must admit. And so began our Homeschool journey. At first I was the ever typical absent Homeschool Dad. I did not encourage Krista in what she was doing, I simply didn’t say no. As time went on and the fruits of her not so insignificant labor began to bear I remember the awe I felt in her insight. I came to live in the knowledge that we were actively participating in our children’s lives and their instruction. More importantly we were able to maintain their innocence and begin to instill in them a respect and a love of learning and most […]
Tick, Tock Goes the Clock…
Hmm…can anyone else relate to the first paragraph..
LEAH Blog March 27
Mary Fratianni
Going Through the Motions
As I sit here less than two weeks from the Downstate Convention, my thoughts go through everything that needs to be finalized to make the Convention a success. While we try to plan for everything, there are always last minute items that pop up for which we need to be prepared. We spend much of our time dealing with the X’s and O’s of how to make it work, but the most important thing we need to do is keep our focus on our mission, which is to serve the homeschoolers who will be attending our Convention. At times, these items can be viewed as punch list items that we need to check off in order to move on to the next thing. How many times do we just go through the motions, be it with our families or our faith? Prayer – check! Devotions – check! Play a game with the kids – check! When we just go through the motions, those items in our wake tend to be cast aside. When we do this to our families, especially as Dads, we are really letting them down. We are showing them that they are just another thing on “the list” to check off. They are much more than that. Our families are a precious gift from our Creator. They were never meant to be “just another item.” Like many dads, I have a lot of demands on my time. They range from volunteer work within LEAH to church responsibilities […]