Row, Row, Row your Boat

You will find something far greater in the woods than you will find in books.
Stones and trees will teach you that which you will never learn from masters.

--St. Bernard of Clarivaux

September had brought a crisp morning air. First day of school for this year. Fishing.

When we first stared homeschooling I would have had a hard time doing this. I thought that we should start school 'properly'. This in now our seventh year! Hard to believe. But I have come to realize that "the acquisition of mere learning is not necessarily education at all." (Charlotte Mason)


Although the 'fishermen' came in empty handed this time and quite cold it was a great way to start the year. After a snack, some reading and math we were off on a nature walk. A casual walk of observing, collecting treasures, and the grade 5 student capturing photos of things that were of interest to her.

































A good day of curiously discovering.

CARE Academy

“Our aim in Education is to give a Full Life. — We begin to see what we want. Children make large demands upon us. We owe it to them to initiate an immense number of interests. ‘Thou hast set my feet in a large room’ should be the glad cry of every intelligent soul. Life should be all living, and not merely a tedious passing of time; not all doing or all feeling or all thinking — the strain would be too great — but, all living; that is to say, we should be in touch wherever we go, whatever we hear, whatever we see, with some manner of vital interest… The question is not, — how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education — but how much does he care?”
–Charlotte Mason





Last week I felt the pressure and stress mounting as I thought about the beginning of school. We have had a quiet summer and enjoyed our holidays and slow rythms and time to freely play and some organized recreational sports in the evenings. However, the thought of rushing around and making sure we get everything done ~and teaching math facts~ seems to put me in a panic.

I came back to thinking about the name that we gave our school at the end of last year. We really don't want to change the atmosphere in our home just because 'school' is starting. Learning is to be lifelong and continuous, not just nine months of the year.




So what do we want our homeschool to look like. As mentioned in the above quote we want our children to care. We want their learning to lead to a full life. It is our desire that their learning and faith will be integrated. We will learn about God and His world. This needs to happen by example as well. As their mother I never stop learning and it is so amazing how much my children teach me.

As we learn together this is what we desire our homeschool to look like:

For other home education posts click here.

Stopping to See and Enjoy the Moments

I have been inspired by my lovely sister to come back here and just write. She occassionally asks if I will blog again and I just felt too overwhelmed to write. However, as I read her blog and see that as she tells her stories she is living more fully. Often in life we are just going through the motions and we don't stop to enjoy what we have be blessed with. I think as I look for things to share and as I write it will cause me to enjoy the moments more fully. I don't really have much to offer, just my story. If it will bless even one other person that will be wonderful, but even if it just helps me to slow down to live my life more abundantly then it is worthwhile.

So I will take the challenge . . .

And pop back in here . . .





Try to get comfortable . . .



Take a deep breath . . .



Face those paralysing fears . . .



And enjoy the moments . . .

Grace

After a week of seemingly barely keeping my head above the water,
and fumbling,
and falling,
and failing,
Tearing down instead of
Building up,

I am reminded . . .

I am forgiven.

I am His child.

I am loved.

Not becasue I deserve it,
nor by any merit of my own . . .

It is His grace.


But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
(2Co 12:9)

In Everything Give Thanks

Yes, I know it. The stink of perfectionism. Doubt is lingering, circumstances are paining, sticky messes are bothering. How can I get it all done? Why can't I get my act together and do everything I want to do perfectly. It's defeating, so I will sit and turn away from all that I still haven't got done on my list and, turn it to praise, to thanksgiving.

(It has been a long time since I posted my thanksgiving and I have kept a list on paper, but I will continue here from where I left off on paper)

245. Silence in the house on a Monday afternoon - one baby now sleeping and two other children at swimming lessons with husband.

246. a healthy 'new' (2 months new) baby girl sleeping


247. baby smiles and sounds

248. safe delivery and fairly decent recovery

249. help during the tough first weeks

250. hot meals and frozen meals prepared for us

251. gift bags overflowing and cluttering up my living room floor from a church baby shower held for us yesterday with new church friends


252. big sister loving little sister


253. big brother loving little sister


254. seeing husband delight in his little girl

255. the servant heart so evident in my husband

256. piano festival - two golds and a silver for big sister

257. fun evening at talent night with old church friends

258. coloured egg shells that will now become little pots to plant seeds for garden


259. books lying around

260. answering machine to take messages when busy

261. children's artwork submitted to artshow

262. dishes in soapy water dirtied from simple meals today

263. food to prepare simple meals

264. laundry in washer and dryer and folded on chair

265. baby baths

266. little boy knees dirty from helping Daddy

267. little boy humour that keeps us laughing

268. tender girl heart - oh so tender

269. four year old on two wheeler


270. help from my mom

271. brown battered dirty mixer ~ birthday cake for our almost 9 year old

272. noises on a Monday afternoon - baby now awake and children and husband home from swimming.

273. phone calls in the evening

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

When I am Weak

A call, from my sister in tears, came today and I think once again on these thoughts, at the blog Holy Experience. These words really spoke to me and made me realize too that I am not the only one wrestling. Of course, I knew it to be true, but again the lies tell me I am alone.

I have been silent here as I have been wrestling. I fear to write things down when I am at this place. I wrote the author of this blog, just wanting to thank her for her encouragement and trying to ease out some of what I wrestle with. Immediately after the email had been sent I recalled these well known words :

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

It is o.k. that I do not have all the answers, that I do wrestle, that I find discouragement on this journey. It is not about me at all. It is about HIM.

I mentioned this quiet place to my sister, telling her that the thoughts and words shared here direct us to a better place - to HIM.

Let all our employment be to know GOD: the more one knows Him,

the more one desires to know Him.

And as knowledge is commonly the measure of love, the deeper and more extensive our knowledge shall be, the greater will be our love:

and if our love of GOD were great we should love Him equally in pains and pleasures.

Let us seek Him often by faith: He is within us; seek Him not elsewhere.

The Practice of the Presence of God ~ Brother Lawrence

The Power of God

It is something we really do not do enough. Sharing slips of paper; sharing the gospel for which we should not be ashamed.

It was a little gospel tract that my husband was given early in the day as he entered the auditorium of our small Chapel building as the Church meeting had begun. He tucked it in his pocket intending to pass it along to someone in his travels.

Later that day, on a very wet drive home from the evening service, it was evident that we needed to make a routine stop at the gas station. As he looked in to the service centre, he felt he should pass the tract along to the blonde, middle aged lady attending the gas bar. A little inward struggle took place as to whether he really should just walk in there and give it to her. He decided to fill up and pay as he normally does right at the pump, without the help of the gas attendant. As he held on to the nozzle, filling the tank as the rain pelted down around him, the struggle continued. But, as he put up the nozzle, replaced the gas cap, and proceeded to complete the transaction the machine posted a note:

Receipt failed to print. Please see attendant inside.



Now confident that he was to pass on the Good News he went in to get his receipt and see the attendant. He said to her, "Here is a little something you can read when you have a few spare minutes."

She took the slips of paper with gratitude and he sauntered out back to his waiting family. As he opened the vehicle door, the attendant called out on the loud speaker, "I guess there was a reason the receipt did not print and that you had to come in here tonight. Thank you very much." and gave him the thumbs up.

We thank God for this opportunity. So often we fail to share what is so precious to us.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16