For a time or timeless?
Day-timers
Agape love
Pagers
Faithfulness
Pay phones
Self-discipline,
Land lines
Purity
Sears catalog
Hard work
Holiness
“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Steve
2016 is here, ready or not. With the new year most of us want to make improvements in our lives. For many that includes a renewed focus on fitness and health. When beginning a new exercise routine, most will struggle with consistency. Research shows that if you begin your “program” with someone, you are more likely to be consistent. Therefore, why not team up with your wife for your fitness goals? Have you ever regularly exercised together? (If your wife cannot join you for some reason, consider your children.) You will not only be consistent in getting exercise but your hearts will be drawn together with more in common.
Teri and I have walked together most days through the years. It is a wonderful time of talking while getting fresh air and exercise. Almost ten years ago Teri learned that weight training is very good for preventing osteoporosis, so we added strength training several days a week. For those who are curious, our strength program of choice uses kettle bells. They are inexpensive, improve agility, require very little room, and can demand a high amount of energy per minute to burn calories and tone muscles.
Don’t be like the couple who said they don’t spend much time together because they have different interests. Sadly, they believe that being apart is better for their relationship than being together.
Each saved couple has the Lord in common, and that bond alone is beyond exciting. In addition, the great amount of time and prayer the two of you expend together while discipling the children will draw your hearts together. Having things in common is a choice not a matter of “luck.”
“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6)
Steve
There are bad days and then there are unbelievably horrible days. What does one do?
What could have been worse for Abraham than to hear his God tell him to sacrifice his only beloved son—his longed-for son, the one he delighted in? What would he do? Would he rebel, sink into despair, languish in self-pity, or all of the above? What do you do when faced with insurmountably bad news? May we look to Abraham, our father in the faith (Galatians 3:7) as an example of how to respond.
The very next morning after God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, Abraham got up early and set out to obey. He could have said, “I’d better pray about this and make sure this is exactly what God wants me to do.” So often “we” choose to pray about things only as a stall tactic, to wait until the conviction passes. Abraham obeyed immediately. I expect that while en route, Abraham prayed seeking the Lord’s strength, but he obeyed.
Then when they arrived at Mt. Moriah, where God instructed him to go, what was Abraham’s attitude when his servant asked what he was doing? Did he pour out all his woes to evoke sympathy so that the servant would “pray” for him? No. Abraham said he was going to “worship.” His focus was not on himself or his troubles but on his God. When in trouble, we must get our eyes off of ourselves, obey, and worship. Try it!
“And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” (Genesis 22:5)
This is our confidence: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Steve
Do you remember being in school and having your report card handed to you? How did you feel as you looked at it? Were you excited? Anxious? Did you open it then or wait until you were alone? What was it like taking it home and showing it to your parents? Did you want to hide it, or were you proud of it?
When I was growing up, report card day was a momentous event at home. We received a quarter for each “B” and a dollar for each “A.” If the report cards were good, we had a special family dessert – chocolate sauce over pound cake. I only remember my sister and me bringing home good report cards. Yay!
As homeschool families are there any reasons why we would give report cards to our children? They place an added burden on Mom to create extra time and effort to track the information that would be needed to compile report cards. Sometimes as homeschoolers we feel like we want to leave behind what we saw as the institutionalized part of education. Do report cards fall into that category? As a homeschool family for 30 years, we would encourage you that report cards play an important role in home education.
It is necessary for homeschool moms to be diligent about accomplishing homeschooling. The education of their children falls squarely on their shoulders. Planning to give quarterly report cards should motivate Mom to make sure daily and weekly school is happening so that she has data from her students to be entered into the report card. It is very difficult to generate a report card if school time has been lacking.
Report cards give homeschool students a goal to work toward. In a normal classroom, there will be positive peer pressure toward academic accomplishment. In the homeschool, it is generally only one student per grade, losing the benefit of that incentive. In its place, homeschoolers can use the goal of achieving good grades to motivate children to work on their school assignments and to put forth their best effort.
Report cards will give homeschooled children reinforcement – positive or negative. Without some kind of grading system and report cards, how do our homeschool students know if they are doing well or doing poorly? The homeschool mom can verbally tell her children how they are doing, but they don’t have anything quantifiable and tangible to validate those words.
When we give our children report cards, it helps us discern their academic progress or lack of it. Good grades indicate positive progress, but bad grades will be a concern that should lead us to look for remedies. When those bad grades turn to good grades, we have a track record.
Report cards will indicate to governmental authorities, should they ever question a homeschool, that real learning is taking place. In the U. S. each state has slightly varying laws regarding homeschooling, but in all of them, it is clear that education is to be accomplished. Report cards indicate that this is a homeschool where real school goes on and learning results. We can have our textbooks as proof of homeschooling, but the report card indicates to the authorities what is actually being accomplished with those textbooks.
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation” (Romans 13:1-2).
Not only do report cards document progress that governmental authorities can observe should they question our homeschooling, but it also allows others to view academic progress in our children. Report cards can be shown to Dad, grandparents, even interested friends because they document definitive achievement. This gives those other people who love your child opportunities to reinforce and encourage that child.
Finally, report cards move our children toward adaptation to the real adult world. If your children go to college, they will be in an environment where tests and grades are the norm. If they are self employed, they may still study and take tests for credentials in their field.
When the child wants a driver’s license, he will take a test and receive a grade on it that will either allow him to have the license or not. Those who work in the corporate world will have written reviews by their supervisors that document their performance over a pre-determined amount of time. Those reviews are shared with the employee and with upper level management. Performance in the job as documented by the reviews will be tied to pay raises.
During my homeschooling years, I really didn’t find that giving report cards took very much extra time. Mine were simple with just the basic information on them. I had documentation of the children’s work from their test and quiz grades. For many subjects, I could simply average them for the grade. Since I kept the grades in an Excel spreadsheet, it would do all the calculating for me. I didn’t even have to work the math. Toward the end of our homeschooling, when we were using computers and e-mail so much, I would usually e-mail the report card to the child, to Dad, and then print a hard copy for our records.
I think that if you are a homeschooling mom, you will be happy to make the decision to give your homeschool students report cards and them begin implementing that decision. There are many benefits that come from report cards that you will experience if you do.
For many years, we have offered a basic report card template on Titus2 as a free download. With the upcoming Mom’s Corner in mind, we designed more report card templates. We offer them in several formats: sunflower or airplane, PDF to be filled in, or subjects blank so you can type them in or print and handwrite them.
Try them out, and let us know what you think. Happy report card making.
In business your “Not-To-Do List” is more important than your “To-Do List.” Knowing what not to spend your time on is critical for ensuring you have time available for the things that are wildly important. Today a myriad of things are clamoring for our time, and most are not beneficial compared to what they are displacing.
Here are some suggestions you might consider for your “Not-To-Do List”
Here are some fantastic things for your “To-Do List” now that you have freed up some time:
May each be a wise builder of his family.
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.” (Matthew 7:24