Chapter 4: Diligence

I am trying to teach my children diligence.  Obviously, I need to learn this myself.  My mind is full of thoughts and scriptures, but I don’t have the outline to this book I am trying to write complete, because there are so many scriptures that apply to education.  Some  apply in a very broad way and some are more focused.  I seem to have trouble starting because of that.  I want to write in a logical way, and present what I think the Bible has to say about education.

I know that conventional blogging wisdom says just start and put it in better order for a book later.  I guess I am hesitant to do that although I am not sure why.

Here is a list of the topics that I have scripture references for so far.

1. Jesus Christ has the authority of God.

2. God teaches us.  He also gives us teachers.

3. We are to teach our children.

4. Someone will teach us, if we do not listen to God then we are listening to someone else.

5. We need to pray for guidance in teaching our children.

6. We must study God’s word in order to be able to teach.

7. What and How does God say to teach our children.

8. Science–the study of God’s creation.  God expects us to learn about Him from our world.  He also expects us to learn to understand our world in order to “rule over all creation”.

9. Where does wisdom come from.

10. History–remember the past or you will repeat it.  Remember that God is over all and can use all circumstances to achieve His will.

Chapter 3: My Philosophy of Education

Education -Noun

The purpose of education is to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed and reasonable decisions, to reach the level of maturity needed to be a successful adult.

My standards for being a mature and successful adult are the following:

1. Living a life surrendered to Jesus Christ and continually growing in Godliness.

2. To have healthy relationships with family and friends.

3. To relate well to the world and culture: without giving up a strong faith, without surrendering to the culture, and without being swayed by fads of  “faith” that pull one away from the truths of the Bible.

4. The ability to provide for the needs of his/her family in a way that honors God.

Using this standard to measure success means that the first and most important teaching that I must provide for my children is to teach them God’s word, and the reliable truths that are found there. I believe that discernment is one of the most crucial elements of maturity. We much teach our children to be discerning in a world where subtle deceit surrounds us at all times.

Learning Godly character is essential for our children to be successful in their lives.

We must teach our children to find answers to their questions and not just “feed” them answers. We must teach them the skills necessary for them to find reliable answers for themselves.

Good communication skills (written and verbal) are vital to a successful life.

Learning history and geography are also an important part of education, we learn a lot about men and their relationship to God and to each other when we learn history. We see the mistakes of the past and are able to make better choices for the future.  In geography we learn about the diversity of this world we live in as well as our interconnectedness.

Learning science is also a very important part of a full education. God created this amazing world, and we can learn a lot about God from studying His creation, and the complexity of it. We also learn about mans interaction with the environment and impact upon it, good and bad.

The study of Math in its various forms shows us that absolutes do exist and our world could not function without absolute truth.  Math skills are important in all aspects of life.  Money management is an essential skill that needs active training.

Learning how to maintain order and how to care for a family (home economics or life skills training) is a vital part of a full education.

The best way to make sure that this is the education my children receive, is for my husband and I to oversee all aspects of our children’s education.   All parents must choose how to carry out this responsibility.  We have chosen to make learning a lifestyle. To accept that learning goes on 24/7 and be there to guide our children as they learn.

As it says in Deuteronomy 4:9

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

And in Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

Chapter 2: Foundational Beliefs

As a Christian mom educating my children at home, everything I do has to be built upon a strong foundation of absolute truth. The truths of the Bible I believe are those absolute truths.

I believe that Jehovah God of the Bible is the creator and sustainer of the universe. I believe as the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 8:6 “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”

I believe that all mankind from Adam & Eve on down to you and me have sinned. Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

I believe John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” and John 3:34-36 “For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.  The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

I believe that Jesus Christ came into this world to; show us God, to redeem us by His own sacrificial blood, to restore the relationship with God that sin has cost mankind as a whole. I believe He has shown us in the Bible how we should conduct ourselves as redeemed children of God.

I believe He was raised from the dead and is now living as Mark 16:19 states–”After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.”

I believe that the Bible is the word of God and is what we need to live by–2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

These beliefs are the foundation on which I must build my philosophy of education.

Chapter 1: What is the foundation of your philosophy of education?

I believe that a persons philosophy of education is filtered through their “world view”.  Not everyone has given consideration to where there view of the world comes from.  I believe we all start with some assumptions when we think about our world, and the people in this world.  Here are a few choices I can think of (for what those assumptions might be).

1. There is no God and all came about by random chance.

2. There are many gods, we can pick which one we like best.

3. There is one God, who accepts everyone and expects nothing.

4. There is one God, who is vengeful and barely accepts anyone.

5. There is one God, and the Bible is storybook about him.

6. There is one God, and the Bible is His word and it is the Truth to which we are held accountable.

I hold to #6 as the foundational Truth that my view of the world is built on.

New Years Resloutions–Why?

Sunday our Minister mentioned in his sermon, that we all make New Years resolutions and fail to keep them (or something similar to those words).  My 6 year old daughter asked me later “Why do people make new years resolutions, and why do they not keep them?  If they never keep them why do they still make them again?”  This is a hard question to answer, and I said something like, “We all want to do better next year than we did this year, but we usually make a resolution that is hard to keep.”

My answer to her is true, but only part of the truth.   I have been thinking about this the last couple of days, and am remembering some of my past resolutions– the ones that I never seem to keep.

1. loose weight

2. exercise every day

3. read the Bible every day

4. start eating healthy

5. set money aside for a rainy day

6. stay on schedule for school this year

7. keep my house clean, and uncluttered

Some of these are reoccurring themes (several in fact).

As Christians we need to look at why we make new years resolutions and why we don’t keep them.  I think it comes down to– faith, and lack of faith– feuding with in us.  We know that we are much less than we should be, and that with out the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ we would be lost and hopeless.  We know that, as Christ lives in us, we should become more like Him daily.  And yet we are always reminded of our failures, and all the ways we are not like Jesus at all.  We know that He will help us to become more and more like Him as long as we put our trust in Him and keep trying.   But we want to be better now!

While I believe we are all growing and striving to be faithful, we are still trying to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, to become the light that Jesus wants us to be.  How many of us have actually put on a pair of boots and then tried to use the straps to pull ourselves up?

Can it be done?  No! 

It reminds me of a picture of my son when he was about 18 months old standing in the middle of the floor and trying to jump.  He would squat down real low and bend his arms back as far as he could, then he would come up as fast as his little body could move and come up onto his tip toes, but his toes never left the ground.  He worked very hard over and over and over, and for a long time it was the same outcome every time.   He eventually did learn how to jump, but he has never been able to jump as high as he would like.  We will never get very high off of the ground trying to pull ourselves up by our own power.  We do however want to be better, stronger, and a brighter light than we currently are.

We have the faith to trust Him with our salvation, but day by day our faith is tested in ways we seldom notice.

Do we think of it as a test of faith when we look in the mirror and say, I must lose weight, this is not healthy for me.  Do we pray for strength to resist temptation today or even right this minute?   Mostly, I tend to say, “Oh, if only I had more will power I would not be so heavy and unhealthy.”

When we look at our house and it is not nearly as ordered as we would like, do we pray for strength and wisdom to know where to start working on it?   Mostly I say, “Oh, I don’t have time to finish that now, I’ll work on it tomorrow.”

When we get off schedule do we pray for God to show us what He wants us to do and ask Him what is important?  I tend to say, “Oh, we’ll have to make that up on a day I planned to for us to have off.”  What if, the thing that got us off of schedule is what God knew we needed to work on today. (Character issues, family issues, cabin fever– to enjoy His creation on a beautiful day)

Why do we make New Years Resolutions?   Because, we have faith that Jesus is making  us into a new creation.

Why do we fail to keep them?  The reason, is that we lack the faith in God to put our daily struggles under His control.

New Years Resolutions can be a good thing, as long as we acknowledge daily, that we need His help to do these things.   Because, (lets be honest) if we could do it ourselves we would have already done it.