Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

 

He is risen indeed.

Have a blessed Easter, everyone!

Signs of Spring

It has been fascinating this month watching the approach of spring.  Even more, I am really enjoying watching my children notice the changes.

It began with our bird watching tree in the backyard.  At the beginning of March, it was bare and brown.  Then, in the space of a day or two, white blossoms began budding all over the branches.  My children were so intrigued by the new flowers on the tree.  We talked about the coming of spring and Princess K was very excited about warmer weather.  She wants to go in the pool.  A few weeks later, the flowers were gone and the tree was full of bright green leaves.

Tree Transformation

We’ve been watching the birds fly in and out of our backyard, stopping a while for a snack from time to time.  This month, we began to notice that the sounds of birds singing and chirping has greatly increased.

After a rainy night, a walk in the park brought to our attention a couple of earthworms crawling across the sidewalk.  A few days later, we found an earthworm in the ground near our baby orange tree as I lifted up a rock that was nearby.  We looked up information about earthworms and drew them in our nature journal.  The kids were fascinated by the idea that earthworms eat dirt and cannot hear.

Investigating Earthworms

Speaking of the park, we also noticed the differences in the trees there.  They also went from bare brown branches  to fluffy white flowers.

Branches to Flowers at the Park

We also found one of the cherry blossom trees there- a gift to our city from our sister city in Japan- in full bloom.  I told Princess K as I spied it from a distance, “Oh sweetheart, I found your favorite tree!  Shall we go look at it?”  (She had not yet ever seen a cherry blossom tree.)  When we arrived at the tree, she exclaimed, “Oh Mommy, you are right!  This is my favorite tree!”  (I know my daughter all right- anything pink is her favorite.)  We looked up cherry blossom trees and read about how important they are to Japan.  They have been bred to bear no fruit, but they are absolutely lovely to look at.  They generally bloom in April.  I wonder why this one was in full bloom while all the other ones at the park were bare.

The Cherry Blossom Tree

We found some lesser periwinkles and tasted the honey flavor at the base of the flower.  This has become a favorite activity at the park for X-man.  He looks for those periwinkle flowers every time we walk there.

A honey taste in the periwinkles

We also began noticing other things in our yard changing and blooming and becoming fragrant.  The lemon tree has begun to bear fruit and roses are blooming on our rose bush again.  X-man was very excited to report that he found a beautiful yellow flower near the hose in our backyard.  We looked it up and discovered that it is called the Bermuda Buttercup.  On his journal, he titled this flower “The Mean Bermuda Buttercup.”  I am not sure why he did this- when I asked, he laughed.  That usually means that he thinks he is telling some funny joke.  In this case, however, it is appropriate since I learned that these are particularly stubborn weeds.  I don’t mind though, for now it is small and very pretty.  And my kids like it.

Our whole yard shows signs of spring

Finally, we’ve noticed that the weather is getting warmer and the bees have begun buzzing around the flowers and bushes.  Z-urchin enjoys playing in the dirt and he tried to get a look at those bees, but he is still a bit short to look over the fence.  I took pity on him and lifted him up.  We watched the bees at work among the flowers.  What lovely jobs they have to do!

Warmer weather and busy bees

We’ve added several pages to our nature journals this month.  My daughter informed me that she loves spring because it is beautiful.  I find myself in complete agreement.  Welcome, Spring, we are so glad you’re here!

Monday Musings: Creating Meaningful Family Traditions

Traditions

Easter is right around the corner.  As this holiday approaches, my thoughts and actions turn to our family traditions.  As I consider this, after so recently reading about Charlotte Mason’s thoughts on habits, it seems to me that traditions are generational habits.  Family habits are passed on from the parents to the children who grow up and pass them to their children.  G.K. Chesterton said, “Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors.”

When I think of traditions, I think of my childhood holidays:  Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas.  Our family had certain rituals and activities and ways to celebrate.  These traditions were eagerly anticipated and delightfully followed.  We had other family traditions, such as going out to eat for Sunday lunch and having pizza and movie on Friday nights.  We moved around a lot when I was growing up and all of these traditions gave us a family identity that stayed the same while the scenery around us changed.

God established traditions for his creation from the very beginning.  He rested on the seventh day from his work of creating, introducing the tradition of the Sabbath rest.  He commanded his chosen people to observe his feast days every year and then when Jesus came, He instituted communion with his last supper with his disciples.  These traditions were to help his people remember his great works that He had done for them.  And to remember is to learn who God is, to yearn to be like him, and to turn to him in gratitude and love.

Family traditions do this.  They give a family an identity, promote relationships, love, and fun, and create a space for reflection and the passing down of values.  Traditions create a framework to house the essence of your family. The traditions and rituals of your family communicate to your children and to others who your family is and what your family cares about.

We want to take care in the habits and traditions we pass on to our children.  We want to use them to create memories, build relationships, and communicate the truths of the Scriptures to our children.  We have a few regular family traditions (that is, we are working on creating them now) and we have many holiday traditions.

Strengthen family relationships

How to Create Meaningful Family Traditions:

1.  Think about what you want to pass down to your children.  What do you and your spouse value?  What is important to you?  What do you want to teach them? What do you want your family to be all about?

Scotty and I went through the process of creating a family mission statement using the method laid down by Tsh at Simple Mom.  We set aside a couple of date nights last summer to talk through the questions outlined there and get a mission statement written.  It was a long process (and arduous for my non-analytical husband who just doesn’t think this way), but we were both quite pleased with the results.  It was incredibly helpful to know our goal for our family because, as Tsh’s husband said, we can only “manage it all by finding your family’s priorities and ignoring everything else. No one can do it all, so it’s essential to start by finding out what you should do, and which things are okay to ignore.”

Melding our Christmas traditions

2.  Think about the traditions your family (and your spouse’s family) did in your childhoods.  What activities and rituals were meaningful to you?  Which ones were not so important?

It is important to me to pass down some things from the past- from both families.  It gives my children connections to their grandparents and great-grandparents on both sides.  For example, we melded both of our childhood Christmases by following my family’s order of activities and serving his grandmother’s cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

But I don’t want to follow traditions that have no meaning to me or would add no value to our family.  Why add extra work to my load for no reason?

3.  Start gradually- one step at a time.  If the ‘tradition’ is completely new- and not something that you’ve done before, you must consider it a new habit and start small- adding one small aspect at a time.  Habits are formed one at a time with baby steps.  You cannot do a major overhaul overnight and expect it to stick.

Ready for family devotions

One tradition we’ve started in the last few weeks is family devotions.  It is something neither of us did as children, but something we’ve seen and read about in other families and thought it was a good idea.

Ever since we began having children, Scotty has covered the whole bedtime routine- he would read them a story, sing them some songs, and get them in bed.  In the past, I would get tired and thus hand the children over to him after dinner and go do my own thing.  Therefore, it was always a challenge for me to think of giving that time up.

However, a few weeks ago, I was possessed with a desire to do family devotions.  So I discussed it with my husband, he agreed and we have started to do the reading a Bible story and singing hymns and songs on the couch together before he takes them off to brush their teeth and get in bed.

The only difference between this new thing and what was being done before is my involvement, the story is a Bible story, and the songs are praise or worship songs.  Nothing major has changed and I think that is the main reason this habit is being formed so easily.  Baby steps are the key.

4.  Adjust as you go.  Life is an ever-changing spectacle.  As soon as you figure out how to live well in the stage you are in, your stage shifts- your kids grow older, circumstances  change, something new happens.  So your traditions may have to adjust or evolve with your situation.  And as you are creating traditions, you may find that some things are not fun for your family or do not add value or significance to the celebration and can be released.  Or perhaps you will do something new that you or your kids love that you can fold into your existing traditions.

5.  Remember that withholding is just as important as granting.  When my parents would take us on long drives to see family, my mother would pack a special bag.  Every couple of hours, she would pull out a brand new item- a new coloring book, a toy, a book- for us to enjoy.  We eagerly anticipated the next gift, but my mother was careful to carefully select the time that she would dole each new item out.  The act of withholding the surprise added to its value and the excitement of anticipation.

In our family, I do not allow Christmas music or movies to be played except in the month of December.  The Tale of the Three Trees is only read once in the Christmas season and once in the Easter season.  In the past few months, we have started watching the adorable show Shaun the Sheep for Friday Family Fun night.  We watch one 20 minute episode every Friday night.  My kids beg to watch it throughout the week, but my answer is always “Nope!  That is special for Friday Family Fun Night!”  When Friday arrives, boy, are they excited about Shaun!

This principle works in other areas of life than in creating traditions.  Toys withheld- packed up and put in the garage or put in boxes and stored up high- can be used as toys for special times, such as during “School Hours” for toddlers or for special activities.

If you think carefully about which ones you keep, family traditions can be rich in meaning and full of life and fun.  They can strengthen your family and provide a space for you to teach your children values.  As Tevye says, “Traditions, traditions. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as… as… as a fiddler on the roof!”

As shaky as kids learning to ride scooters!

Memorable Moments: Weeks 20-22, East Asia

Reading Z’s current favorite book: Things That Go by Anne Rockwell

The last few weeks have really flown by.  We have been having a lot of fun!

 

Highlights of our last few weeks:

Bible- We’ve been reading through the stories in the book of Joshua.  We’ve had some good conversations about kindness, obedience and integrity.  We are learning another verse of “Amazing Grace,” which the kids are picking up quickly.  X-man’s verse for Sparkies this week is Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  How fitting that we should be reading about Joshua and his life at this time.  I love it when this happens.

“Trip Around the World”- We have studied three countries so far in Asia: China, Korea, and Japan.  We read the Exploring Countries or True Book for each country and then enjoyed several stories from each country.

China:

Yeh-Shen– A Cinderella tale from China

Story of Paper – A tale based on the story of how paper was invented.  The book even gave a recipe for making your own paper, which we did not attempt.  Maybe next time.

Lon Po Po– A Little Red Riding Hood tale from China with three sisters who outwit a wolf.  It is a fun, engaging, and clever tale that is quite enjoyable.  The kids noticed that it was like Little Red Riding Hood!  That was fun.

Master Swordsman and Magic Doorway– These two ancient tales were in the same book and both were fun short stories set in China.  One was about a young village boy under the tutelage of a great master swordsman.  The kids really thought it was funny that the boy chopped vegetables with a sword at the end.  The other was about a painter who painted beautiful pictures and was able to escape a dire fate by painting a magic doorway in his painting.

Korea:

Sir Whong and the Golden Pig– A story of a rich, generous and wise man who outwits one who tried to fool him.

The Chinese Mirror– A very funny tale of a man who brings home a mirror to his family who had never seen a mirror before.  The kids did not fully appreciate the hilarity of this story, but I laughed all the way through the reading.

The Firekeeper’s Son– This was a very wonderful story with beautiful illustrations about a boy who fulfills his duty despite being tempted to neglect it.  It was very interesting to read about the signal fires of old Korea.  We all really enjoyed this book.

The Korean Cinderella– Princess K always enjoys having what she terms “a beautiful story” in the week’s reading.  So this book was that.  A beautiful tale of a poor girl who wins the heart of the magistrate despite her cruel step-mother and step-sister.

The Royal Bee– A really wonderful story- based on a true story- of the determination, persistence, perseverance and hard work of a boy who longs to learn so that he might provide for his mother.  It holds up education and learning as an honor and very valuable.

Japan:

The Magic Fan– This was a very cool story.  It had an interesting feature of fan shaped cutout pages to reveal more illustrations which we all found very intriguing.  It was a huge hit with my oldest son as the main character’s name was Yoshi (which is the name of a character in the Mario universe- a universe he loves!).

The Crane Maiden- A sweet story about how a poor man’s compassion on a crane caught in a trap leads to improved circumstances.  My daughter enjoyed this as it was another “beautiful” story.

Umbrella– A beautiful story about a young Japanese-American girl who eagerly anticipates the rain so that she can use her new umbrella and rain boots.  We all liked this book.

Then there are two more stories to read for this country- The Long Silk Strand and The Girl Who Loved Caterpillars.

30 words in a minute means he “wins” this page!

Phonics, Math, Copywork- We have started the Victory Drill Book for a change in phonics.  The fact that it is a race against the clock and that he has to get a certain number of words in a minute before he can move on to the next page is incredibly motivating and interesting to my son.  The day he “won” page 1 and got to move on to page 2 was the best day this week!

My daughter began this week with just sitting beside us on the couch, running the timer.  She has now requested to be timed as well and she is very excited to work through the words.  X-man so longs for her to win that he is not entirely trustworthy with the timer, but we are working on that one.

We’ve been focusing a lot on coins and halves in math lately.  My students- and my two year old as well- love playing with money!  They think it is great fun!

We’ve been working through Delightful Handwriting from Simply Charlotte Mason and I can see improvement in their Es, Ts, Ls, and Hs in the writing they do for fun every day.  Princess K informed me this week that copywork is now her favorite thing to do in school.  I have them work on their copywork page as I’m preparing snack for them, so perhaps the promised snack is what makes copywork so delightful.  Or perhaps there is great joy in having a task set before you that is achievable and produces noticeable results quickly.  Either way, I’m glad that they are improving- it is encouraging to see.

Demonstrating a Tae Bo Kick

Movement– Last week we borrowed Billy Blanks’s Tae Bo Kicks (an exercise dvd for kids) from the library and we’ve been working out with Billy nearly every day this week.  The kids absolutely love pretending to punch and kick bad guys and they are so impressed with how strong Billy is.  It has been a blast.

Adventure– Daddy took the kids to the San Francisco Zoo today and I had the house to myself.  What a gift!  And what a wonderful treat for the kids.  Apparently Z-urchin attempted to hang out on train tracks while the train was coming and he really wanted to make friends with the prairie dogs- Scotty found him being led out of the prairie dog exhibit by some helpful adult people.  How on earth did he get in?  Only he knows.  One thing I do know- I’m sure glad I wasn’t there for that!  Good thing that Toddler Tornado is charming because boy is he trouble!

Zoo adventure with daddy

When Momma has a sick day, Substitute Teacher LeapFrog takes over- X-man really loves the games

Friday Park Day- SO much fun!

Highlights of Charlotte Mason’s Volume I, Part V, Reading and Writing

Two weeks ago, I read and focused on the first section of Part V for my notes.  This week, I will focus on the middle section, which is all about reading and writing.

Five points that struck  me:

Magnetic letters on a cookie sheet- fun!

1. Play to Learn

For learning the alphabet by looking at letters and naming them: “…this kind of learning is no more than play to the child…” (p 201)

For making simple words with letters (such as cat, and then bat, fat, hat, pat): “Exercises treated as a game, which yet teach the powers of the letters will be better to begin with than actual sentences.” (p 202)

My older two learned their letters with no real effort from me.  We have a rhyming alphabet board book that comes with a musical CD that the kids really enjoyed.  We also have the LeapFrog fridge phonics magnetic letter set (sadly now discontinued, it seems) that the kids played with a lot.  They have also watched several of the LeapFrog videos that teach letters (and simple and complex words).  Now we will use the foam magnetic letter set to build words on cookie sheets and it is still like a game.  Things learned with games and without effort are so much more pleasant, I think.

2.  Slow and Steady Progress

“The teacher must be content to proceed very slowly, securing the ground under her feet as she goes.” (p 204)

“At this stage, his reading lessons must advance so slowly that he may just as well learn his reading exercises both prose and poetry as recitation lessons.” (p 204)

“But here is another advantage of slow and steady progress- the saying of each words receives due attention and the child is trained in the habit of careful enunciation.” (p 206)

This idea of slow and steady progress has been a theme for me this year- not just with teaching the kids to read, but in all areas.  In our memory verses, hymns, learning our address and phone number, and in math and our nature studies, I have found that the key to happy learning is patience.  When the Lord instructs parents to teach his commands to their children, He says, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”  (Deuteronomy 6:7)  The method He prescribes for teaching children his commands is to speak of them often and repeatedly.

So the key for me here is to remember to have patience and not worry about how long this process takes but be sure to review what they have learned as I move forward at a snail’s pace.

Reading from the Victory Drill Book

3.  The Key to Learning to Read is Joyous Interest

“…alternate days- one for reading, the other for word building- and that is one way to secure variety, and, so, the joyous interest which is the real secret of success.” (p 214)

“The child cares for things, not words… But the thing he learns to know by looking at it, is a thing which interests him… the number of letters in the words is no matter; the words themselves convey such interesting ideas that the general form and look of them fixes itself on the child’s brain…” (p 216)

In my short experience in teaching reading, variety and interest are indeed to key ingredients to success.  We have done many different types of reading lessons: we’ve used The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading where I use index cards and phonics rules and choose words in the family that I think my children will enjoy reading, we’ve done a few “Charlotte Mason inspired” reading lessons from poetry, we’ve watched LeapFrog Talking Words Factory and Code Word Caper, and we are currently using the Victory Drill Book (a book my mother used with me when I was young)- and the fact that it is a game or a test with a timer is extremely fun and motivating for my competitive young son.  Two days ago, he finally “graduated” from page 1 and he was so excited!

I also let the children choose a few books when we go to the library.  They are always very interested in books they choose themselves.  My son will seek out any book that has to do with Star Wars (though I make sure these books are age-appropriate) and my daughter loves books that are “beautiful.”

4.  A Child Should Learn Poetry

“…it is well to store a child’s memory with a good deal of poetry, learnt without labour.” (p 224)

Charlotte Mason then describes a system she saw done where the aunt read the verse to her niece several times throughout the days and her niece easily picked up the verses and was able to recite them beautifully.  I employ this method for verses and hymns and whatever else I want them to learn.  We all pick up songs easily this way- we quickly begin singing along to songs that played over and over on the radio.  So it is a great thought that I should also give them a beautiful poem to feast their minds on.

Cuddled up with a favorite book

5.  Reading with Narration

“The points to be borne in mind are, that he should have no book which is not a child’s classic and that it must not be diluted with talk or broken up with questions, but given to the boy in fit portions as wholesome meat for his mind.”  (p 232)

“In every case, the reading should be consecutive from a well-chosen book.  Before the reading for the day begins, the teacher should talk a little (and get the children to talk) about the last lesson, which a few words about what is to be read, in order that the children may be animated by expectation… Then, she may read two or three pages, enough to include an episode; after that, let her call up on the children to narrate–in turns, if there be several of them…. The book should always be deeply interesting, and when the narration is over, there should be a little talk in which moral points are brought out, pictures shown to illustrate the lesson, or diagrams drawn on the blackboard.”  (p 232-233)

The description of this lesson is for children older than what I have currently.  But, for my own future reference, I really like the structure of the lesson described here.  Review, anticipate, learn, summarize, expound.  This gives me something to look forward to and word toward in my preparations.  I am enjoying where we are now with homeschooling and I am excited about the days to come!

Happy Pi Day!

Pumpkin Pi

I am surrounded by Math Nerds.  Or Geeks.  There is a whole internet war about the distinction between these two terms.  My sister and my husband are at war on this front, actually.  And speaking of them, they are two of those Nerd/Geeks that surround me.  And they take this day- this important holiday- very seriously.

My sister has several clever Pi shirts (like this one, for example) and has celebrated this day, March 14- 3.14-  for several years.  Since my husband loves math and pi, I decided that we would celebrate this day as well.  It certainly is not entirely due to the fact that I’ll take any excuse to eat pie!

So therefore, this afternoon, I pulled out my mom’s good old pumpkin pie recipe, and made some pie.  I did have to substitute brown sugar in for most of the white sugar and in doing so, discovered something amazing.  I might have to do it this way all the time.  Brown sugar gives a fuller, richer flavor and I really like it.

My husband carved the symbol and Z-urchin helped embellish it.  All of my kids helped eat it while listening intently to Daddy’s Pi lesson.  In fact, X-man did not want the lesson to be over.  He kept getting more and more sheets of paper so he could keep learning.

What did I say… I’m surrounded!

Embellishing the Pi

Eating the Pie

This holiday is so significant, we even let the baby have some pie!

A Lesson on Pi

Happy kids!

Happy Pi Day, Everyone!

Homemade Alphabet Book: J

J is for Jungle animals and Jungle Green, (really, really cold) Juice and Jewels

Six Hymns We’re Singing

My husband and I love old hymns.  We like many modern worship songs as well, but hymns usually contain richer words, deeper truths, and put those to very beautiful music.  Whenever we sing an old hymn in church, are hearts leap with delight!  Therefore, we want our children to grow up knowing these lovely songs- and since we cannot necessarily count on churches to provide this for them, I’ve been teaching them hymns in our ‘school time,’ usually right before our Bible lesson.  We often review them at the beginning of meals and in the car!

How I Teach Hymns:

1.  I tell them the first line of the song

2.  I have them repeat the first line of the song

3.  I sing the whole hymn slowly, urging them to sing along with my body language

4.  I continue to sing the whole hymn to them often throughout the next few weeks or months- they eventually pick it up (even my 2 1/2 year old sings many of the words of these!)- I just have to have patience with the process.

Even before this school year- in fact, since the children were babies, both my husband and I were working on this teaching the hymns project.  I rocked the all my babies while humming or singing hymns.  We have a small guitar (half-size, I think) for X-man that Scotty has appropriated for use during the bedtime routine.  He plays crazy songs for them (Doctor Worm by They Might Be Giants is a particular favorite) and also many hymns.

Recently, we decided to start doing family devotions at night after dinner and dishes and before the whole bedtime routine.  This has given us a chance to review the hymns I’ve been teaching, and the hymns my husband has been singing with them all along and sing them together as a family.  What a beautiful time this is!

Charlotte Mason said, “Perhaps we do not attach enough importance to the habit of praise in our children’s devotion. Praise and thanksgiving come freely from the young heart; gladness is natural and holy, and music is a delight. The singing of hymns at home and of the hymns and canticles in church should be a special delight; and the habit of soft and reverent singing, of offering our very best in praise, should be carefully formed.”

Here are the six hymns we have been singing this school year:

#1- I love this song and it seemed like a fitting first hymn to learn in the school year where we are studying the countries of the world.

This is My Father’s World

This is my Father’s world and to my listening ear,

All nature sings and ’round me rings the music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world, I rest me in the thought:

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; His hands the wonders wrought.

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas, His hands the wonders wrought

#2- The second hymn we learned was compassion was the virtue we were studying at the time.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is thy faithfulness!  Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed, thy hand hath provided;

Great is thy faithfulness,  Lord unto me!

Thy compassions, they fail not

#3- This hymn we’ve sung over and over since the children were young.  My husband taught it to them through many repetitions at bedtime.  I think he did this for the same reason that kids’ first memory verse is Ephesians 6:1… but still, the kids love this song and request it often.

Trust and Obey

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do his good will, He abides with us still,

And with all those who trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of his Word

#4- This was our January song, one I picked because were studying rocks in our nature study that month.  This one is my 2 1/2 year old’s favorite hymn.

Christ the Solid Rock

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ the solid rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand

All other ground is sinking sand

On Christ the solid rock I stand

#5- This is our current hymn and one of my very favorites.  It is extremely well-known and very simple, but so deeply true.  I intend to teach them several of the verses, but the first verse is all we’ve done so far.  We’re in no rush.

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now I’m found;

Was blind, but now I see!

Was blind, but now I see

#6- This tune came up as my husband was fiddling around on the guitar.  It is not actually an old hymn, but a more recent song written by Stuart Townsend.  But the theological truth in it is profound the the tune is lovely, so he and I are working on memorizing all the words so we can teach this to our children this Easter.

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that left Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Bring many sons to glory

I love that there are so many beautiful and deep hymns- with so many verses- we can learn a new one every month for a very long time!

What is your favorite hymn?  Do you have any you are teaching to your children?

Homemade Alphabet Book: I

I is for India Red and Inches.

 

Monday Musings: A Mother Who Prays

St. Augustine

I have been slowly reading through Trial and Triumph, reading a biography in the morning with my devotions when I have time.  Last week, I read chapter 6, “Monica and Augustine,”  and was struck- and encouraged- by the significance of the role Monica plays in her son’s life.

Augustine was raised in a home with a believing mother and an unbelieving father.  His father was impressed with his son’s intelligence and sent him away at the age of 16 to study under the best tutors in Carthage.  His mother had faithfully taught him the ways of Christ and lived the example of a godly life.  She admonished him to remain faithful to Christ, but he fell in with the wrong crowd and into their temptations and sins.  He abandoned Christianity and decided to walk in the ways of the world.  His mother, desperate, begged her bishop to speak with her son.  But the bishop wisely saw that speaking to such a one would be pointless.  He offered this encouragement to her, however: “It is impossible that the son of these tears should perish.” (Trial and Triumph p 40)  She continued to pray through the years as Augustine continued to reject Christ.  Eventually, he went to hear the famous Bishop Ambrose’s eloquent sermons and began to hear the truth afresh.  Hearing the truth from the Scriptures transformed his heart and he placed his faith in Christ and joyfully received forgiveness for his sins.  The brief biography in Trial and Triumph ends with this: “Throughout his long life, Augustine never stopped showing people the way of God, and he always thanked the Lord for his mother: ‘God of my heart,’ he said, ‘I joyfully thank You for all those good deeds of my mother- for they were Your gift to me to save and guide me.'” (p 43)

What a tribute this is to Monica!  I am reminded of the words in Proverbs 31: “Her children rise up and call her blessed.”  What a important privilege and responsibility God has granted to mothers.  We have such influence in the hearts of our children- for good or for bad.  I long to be the kind of mother to my children that Monica was to her son.  I want my children to speak well of me and of my influence in their lives.  There is no greater way to spend my time than to be a part of leading them to the truth and worship and joy of Christ.

To follow Monica’s example, I should speak the truth to my children and let praise to God and the Word of God flow from my mouth all the time.  I can point out answered prayers and speak of the wonders of God’s creation and provision.  I can use the Word of God (yay for the Child Training Bible!) and the words of God when addressing discipline concerns or when they have problems that need solutions.

Spending time with my son

In order to have influence in my children’s hearts, though, I must first develop a relationship with them.  I must earn the right to touch their hearts.  To do this, I must spend time with them and deal with them in compassion, kindness, and sympathy.  Today, I had a lot to do and when my children asked me to play with them, I was very tempted to say, “Not right now.”  However, their hopefulness and bright eyes won me over and I knew in my heart that playing with them was better than whatever I had planned.  So, we went outside and played hockey.  After an exciting game of hockey where we played to some unknown number of points (it kept changing), I did have to go inside to make dinner.  But Princess K and I have a date tomorrow to play with her Calico Critters and she is very excited about that.

Lastly, Monica’s greatest influence in her son’s life were her faithful, unending prayers for him.  Her deep love of her son and her deep love and commitment to Christ led her to be very devoted to her prayers for her son.

This reminds me of a poem a friend tucked into her baby shower gift to me a few years ago:

I Have A Mother Who Prays

Some have had kings in their lineage,
Some to whom honor was paid.
I don’t have those as my ancestors
But I have a mother who prays.

I have a mother who prays for me
And pleads with the Lord every day for me.
Oh what a difference it makes for me
I have a mother who prays.

My mother”s prayers cannot save me,
Only mine can avail;
But Mother introduced me to someone,
someone who never could fail.

Oh yes…I have a mother who prays for me
And pleads with the Lord every day for me.
O what a difference it makes for me
I have a mother who prays.

Author unknown

 

Oh Lord, may I be so faithful in my prayers and love to my children that they may joyfully thank the Father for me.  What a gift and treasure that would be!

My hockey opponents