The Beginning of another New Adventure in Homeschooling!

Yesterday as an exciting day for us! I wanted to go yesterday and get our official DBA (officializing our new business!) because yesterday was the one year anniversary of the day that our little foster daughter left us! I wanted what was a very sad anniversary for our family to become a happy day for us. We know that God works all things out for good to those who love Him, and I wanted this sad day to be overshadowed by something good! So....we are now an official photography business recognized by our state and Uncle Sam!

If you had asked me several years ago if I would be a small photography business owner...I would have laughed my head off! This whole process was entirely a God thing! Our goals are different than many photography businesses in that we want to make some profit off of it, but more importantly we want to be a blessing to others through the talent that God has given us! We are being uncovential in our discounts for pastors, military, missionary, and homeschool families for photoshoots. We are also keeping our overall prices generally lower than those of many who do the same kind of photography. I've been warned not to do that, by professionals who want me to value my work. Although I do generally want to be paid for my time away from family during photoshoots, and for the time spent editing images, I don't want the prices to be so cumbersome that the average family could never conceive of hiring me. If this was a make or break income for our family, I would likely reconsider the pricing, but in my mind, God has given me this gift of photography, and I don't want to be steeped in pride about what I have done! I know many people will call us crazy when we choose to give freebies, or discounts on our work, but we feel that if we are not being a blessing to others through this business, then we are not doing it for the Lord...we are only doing it for ourselves!

We are excited about this new crossroads in the life of our family, and look forward to getting the kids involved in it as they grow older (they are already great photography students, and my Ethan loves to help me edit!). This is what we love about being a homeschool family, in that we can enjoy these adventures in what God is doing in our lives with our children!

So...if you have not already seen or been a part of our new business, you can find out more about what we are doing in several different places. You can fan our Facebook page, which you can see to the right of this post. Or you can visit our Smugmug site here: Smug Mug Or...you can start following our blog here: Blog Or....you can visit our still a work in progress website here: Website. If you follow our other blogs already you will see this same post in all places. I apologize for the redundancy, but it will be easier for me to share this all at once.

We are not only selling nature and scripture prints through Smugmug now, but we are also set up to start doing family photoshoots, senior pictures, engagement pictures, and special outdoor events whenever the weather is warm enough here in Southwest Michigan, Northern Indiana!

I hope that we can find a way to bless all of you in the coming years through this gift that God has blessed our family with!!

My Noah Plan Study, Principle Approach.

Here's a quote from this self-directed study book that I am starting with..

"What's Wrong?......American Christians have permitted secular educators to rob us of our rich educational heritage and the knowledge of our Biblical foundations!" then it goes on to say "Let's Solve it!...Wake up and get armed with the educational philosophy that gave us our liberty. Take leadership!"

That's a great way to start if you ask me. It starts me out with and assignment which I will do here and now. First I have to read Lesson 1 in the book. Then Read pages in the Teaching and Learning America's Christian History book, and the books of Daniel chapters 1-6, and 1st and 2nd Timothy. I need to make notes about their character qualities and any references pertaining their education. It gives me some questions to answer, and some writing to do.

Lesson 1- First the goal of the seminar is to challenge me intellectually, and to help me root out vain and deceitful philosophies. It is also supposed to set me on a course of renewing my mind (pretty exciting stuff!). Interesting...Christ said we are to love the Lord our God with all our minds. We seem to have gotten away from that in this country.

From the writings of C.S. Lewis..."For every one pupil who needs to be guarded from a weak excess of sensibility there are three who need to be awakened from the slumber of cold vulgarity. The task of modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts. The right defense against false sentiments is to inculcate just sentiments. By starving the sensibility of our pupils we only make them easier prey to the propagandist when he comes. For famished nature will be avenged and a hard heart is no infallible protection against a soft head......And all the time -such is the tragic-comedy of our situation-we continue to clamour for those very qualtities we are rendering impossible...........We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful." (The Abolition of Man). Powerful words from C.S. Lewis, and very applicable to today and our American society!

Four steps to start out with Step 1: Prepare your heart and Mind (Romans 12:2)

Step 2: Study God's Word (2nd Timothy 2:15-17)

Step 3: Practice God's Principles of Scholarship and Character (Luke 6:40)

Step 4: Teach others (Matthew 5:19)

Teaching and Learning America's Christian History: My favorite quote so far from my reading today..."One hundred years ago we took education our of the Christian home where it had raised up men and women who were God-fearing, Christ-honoring, Bible-loving people. People who were willing to count the cost of Christian liberty. Yielding to the arguments of secularism in the 1830's , 40's and 50's. we permitted our churches to relinquish their leadership of Christian education. In making this change into the government sponsored schools, we closed our Bible as the educational and political textbook, and we shifted our level of education from the building of individual Christian character to the building of a group character, conformable to society. As we shifted from a God-centered republic to a man-centered democracy-we began to flounder."

Noah Plan and Prinicple Approach...My Study

Ok, so I got the first part of our new curriculum today. I am now in the study process. I am studying about the Noah Plan, which is part of the Principle Approach. This is more than just your average curriculum. It's about a renewing of your mind (and the minds of your children). It's about taking all of education through the filter of the Bible. It's a whole new (yet old) way of educating. It's taking yourself and your family back to the old ways of educating children. It will require lots of study through many books for me to even know how to properly teach to my children. However, I am all for it...and ready to dig in. Since learning involves notetaking, I intend to take some time to document what I am learning about on here.

Some quotes from the first book I am going through (The Noah Plan Self Directed Study in the Principle Approach), that have particularaly stuck out to me have been:

"Because the Principle Approach is a new way of thinking today, it delivers a renewing of the mind benefit that causes all life and learning to be seen through a Biblical lens. "

"The vision is to restore to Christ what is His through education, the child, the subjects, the character, the results-bringing Christian liberty to the nation-and to the nations."

Dr. Mark Fakkema says "To educate children of today is to construct the foundation of the nation tomorrow. Faithless teaching makes for unfaithful citizens....To save our country from the dry rot of secularism we are in need of a nation-wide education that honors God and that teaches study content in light of God's Word" 1965

Part of this education involves word studies. Not just any kind of word studies, but those using the 1828 Noah Webster's Dictionary (which I am thrilled to have purchased). This is the only dictionary that maintains the genuine biblical word meanings. Some examples were given of the differences in the meanings of the words sin, law, and marriage in this dictionary and modern dictionaries. Very telling.

"This approach lays Christ at the foundation of all sound biblical knowledge and learning and cuts through anti-Christian philosophies and methods of socialism and progressive education.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry, I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could,

To where it bent in the undergrowth,

Then took the other just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black,

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet, knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages hence and hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

"Make me walk in the path of Thy commandments, for I delight in it...revive me in Thy word....And I will walk at liberty for I seek Thy precepts." Psalm 119:35,37,45

I will be coming back to record my studies in this along the way. It will be a good refresher for me as I look back on it...and it may even inspire some of you along the way. That would be my hope! Have a great evening!

Elizabeth

Life and a new direction

Ok, so I've been pretty neglectful of my blogs (again). I haven't meant to be...but life gets away from me, and the days fly by so quickly. It's hard to get on the computer when my 7 children are growing and learning so fast. Not to mention my littlest ones who will get into all kinds of trouble when they think mommy is not paying attention! I've also been spending a lot of my free time on learning and studying, and practicing my photography. I'm hoping that with enough practice and study, I might be able to use it to supplement our income some day.

One thing that has been happening around our home, is that Rob and I are contemplating taking the family in a somewhat new direction. This means new curriculum! Now, I feel bad about this because I have blown through so many different curriculums in the last 6 1/2 years. But, in many ways we are simply going back to the ideals that we once believed in, and have gotten away from for convenience sake. Don't get me wrong...I feel that there are times that you must do something convenient at times. When life gets a little wild, when a baby is due, or a loved one gets cancer, or you are trying to sell a house....it's ok to do something different for awhile, for the sake of convenience. This is why about a year ago I started my kids on the Robinson Curriculum. I needed them to be able to work more independently for awhile. I still like the Robinson curriculum, but I no longer feel it is meeting the genuine acedemic, and most importantly spiritual needs of our family.

We used a curriculum previously that was completely bible based. Everything was taught using the Bible. Rob and I were thinking back to the days that we were using this curriculum, and realized that when we were using that curriculum, where the daily grind involved serious Bible study and prayer......we had an overall better spiritual temperature in our house. The problem I had with this particular curriculum was that it was a tad to vague in it's goals for me. We began to wonder if we should return to this curriculum (it was called SOW). Then we found out about a different approach...it's called the Principle Approach, and there is a curriculum for it called the Noah Plan curriculum.

I am learning more about this every day, and I'm really liking what I read about it. It's very similar to the previous curriculum we were using in that it uses the Bible as it's main textbook, and is heavy on Biblical study and discernment. It also has a element of teaching our children the true Providential History of America. It's goal is to teach our children to see and understand our world, and what happens in our country, our government etc...from a biblical worldview. This is something we feel we do anyways with our children. These are tumultuous times in our country. God is being taken out, and humanism and Marxism are being ushered in. Our children need to learn to discern the true from the false in our society, and where God stands on these issues. I'm excited at the idea of not only getting back to our heavier Biblical study, but also to help my children to learn to see everything through God's eyes, and grow up to learn what they can, and should do about it.

I'm still seeking to learn more about this approach before we spend the substantial amount of money on it. But, so far, I am excited about it, and I think it fits what have always been the goals that we have had for our children. If you want to read more about this, read here. If you know more about it, or have used this approach in your home.....I would love to hear more about it from you!! I hope that you all out there are having a good productive and God honoring school year!!

Daily Proverbs

Proverbs 2:12-15 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways. Who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.

Lord, I pray today that you will give me wisdom to keep me from the ways of wicked men. I pray that my children will seek your wisdom, and that you will keep them safe from the ways of the wicked Lord. Amen

Daily Proverbs

Proverbs 2:9-11 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair- every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.

What a wonderful thing to be able to understand what is right and just and fair! Funny the wisdom in the statement that discretion will protect you. Discretion can protect us from many embarrassing situations, or situations in which we regret what was said or done. I hope that we will all seek this wisdom and discretion that only comes from the Lord!

Daily Proverbs

Proverbs 2:1-8 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

These verses from the Lord are so telling. They make it very clear that in order for us to obtain wisdom, and understanding we must turn our ear to Him. We must call out and cry aloud. We must look for it, and then we will find it. God will not give wisdom to those who are not willing to seek it, and for those who's hearts do not love him. For those who love him...he holds victory. What an awesome thought!! I love to think about that last part, where he guards my course, and protects my way! Praise the Lord for His wisdom today, for His protection, and for His love!!