3 hours ago
Years ago, when I first started reviewing books for my blog, I read a book by a popular Christian author that I would have thrown across the room if I were the type of person to do that sort of thing.
The thing that made me so frustrated with the book was a particularly sappy description of loving Jesus in a way that made him sound more like an eager-to-please boyfriend. I have long hated Jesus-is-my-boyfriend language in books, because it is offensive to the very idea of a biblical love of God, and completely eliminates the idea the idea that we are to fear the Lord.
The fear of the Lord is an idea that alot of Christians have trouble understanding, and I relate to that struggle too. Now, loving the Lord, we think we understand that. Even the idea of having a reverence for the Lord is something that is simpler to comprehend. But fearing the Lord? Why do we need to fear Him if we know He loves us enough to die for us? Doesn’t perfect love cast out fear? Isn’t “fearing the Lord” more of an Old Testament thing? We know we don’t have to fear His judgement if we are in Christ, so what are we supposed to be afraid of? And are we literally supposed to be quaking in our boots, or does fearing the Lord mean something else?
In Rejoice And Tramble*, Michael Reeves provides one of the most beautiful explanations for the fear of the Lord that I have ever read. He explains that properly fearing the Lord is a more full, complete idea than merely having a '“reverence” for Him, a word which Reeves calls not inaccurate, but nevertheless “anemic”. Fearing the Lord is not in opposition to loving Him - it instead describes the right sort of love we are to have for God, a love that trembles. It is a fear that is not joy-sucking, but joy-fulfilling. It is not a fear that causes us to cower or run away, but rather a fear that draws us to our awesome, fearful God.
“The Lord looks on the heart and is pleased when He finds it quaking in wonder, love, and praise…For the nature of the living God means that the fear which pleases Him is not a groveling shrinking fear. He is no tyrant. It is an ecstasy of love and joy that senses how overwhelmingly kind and magnificent, good and true God is, and that therefore leans on Him in staggering praise and faith.” pg. 67
One section that especially rung true for me is where Reeves explains the right fear of God as our Creator, but then reminds the reader that properly fearing God’s creative power is not enough with the understanding of Christ’s redeeming work for His own. Fearing God as Creator has always been the easiest way for me to understand the fear of God, because His power and might and infinite understanding are so obvious and awesome when viewed through His creation. But Reeves points out that we only rightly understand God as the Creator when we understand the work of Christ. We don’t have to earn the favor of our Creator, which is something that would lead us unto sinful fear since we all instinctively know it is impossible. No, Christ has earned salvation for us, and because of that we can truly enjoy the glimpses of God’s character that we see in creation.
“The fear that is ‘purely evangelical’ continually and wholly rests upon Christ’s redemption as sufficient, not our own works. It is not left wondering if our sins might outweigh Christ’s righteousness, or if Christ’s righteousness needs some topping off of our own efforts. It can therefore remain constant in dependent wonder, not terror. Indeed it’s wonder is only increased by the perfection of Christ’s redemption and the infinity of His grace toward such extreme sinners as us.” pg.99
We can have true pleasure in the work of God in creation when we understand Him not just a fearful, powerful Creator but also the one who is our Redeemer. A right fear of God is a fearful love, understanding His power and greatness as it stoops to rescue “ a wretch like me”. This great God, who created all things, also redeems us, and because of that all His works become more wondrous and joyful to us.
“‘Gazing upon the vast expanse of waters - looking up to the innumerable stars, examining the wings of an insect, and seeing there the matchless skill of God displayed in the minute; or standing in a thunderstorm, watching, as best you can, the flashes of lightening, and listening to the thunder of Jehovah’s voice, have you not often shrunk into yourself, and said ‘Great God, how terrible art thou!’ - not afraid, but full of delight, like a child who rejoices to see his father’s wealth, his father’s wisdom, his father’s power - happy, and at home, but feeling oh, so little!’” -quoting Spurgeon, pg. 79
In this book, Reeves draws on the writing of some of the greatest theologians in Protestant history, such as John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Spurgeon, which adds a depth of understanding to his explanations of the fear of God. I appreciated Reeves including the experiences of fearing the Lord from men from church history who truly understood the fear of the Lord as something that makes us “rejoice and tremble.”
“The fear of the Lord is the only fear that imparts strength.” pg. 146
Reeves reminds us that this fear of the Lord is not just a right response to understanding who God is, but it is the fear which causes all other fears to pale in comparison, like the light of the sun making the light of a candle of no effect.
“As the fear of the Lord grows, it outgrows, eclipses, consumes, and destroys all rival fears. So the Lord could advise Isaiah: ‘Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, Him you shall honor as holy. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.’ When the fear of the Lord becomes central and most important, other fears subside.” pg. 144
Reeves closes the book with reminding us that “the fear of the Lord will endure forever.” Our eternal state will consist of us finally fearing the Lord perfectly, and falling on our faces in loving adoration, joy, and wonder. The Holy Spirit works in us by growing our joyful fear of the Lord, and in Heaven it will finally be perfected. We will understand God rightly forever, rejoicing and trembling. The way Reeves described it made me long even more for that day!
“In other words, our eternal joy will consist precisely in this fear of God: rejoicing and marveling so entirely that, like the angels, we burn and tremble and fall on our faces in wonder.” pg.163
If you have ever struggled to understand the fear of the Lord, I highly recommend picking up Rejoice And Tremble. I firmly believe this book will deepen your understanding of this wonderful fear that we are called to, and make you love the Savior all the more for His fearful glory and majesty.
*Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for a review - this is my honest opinion.
(Photo from a visit to our friends' ranch last fall.)
Between the months of September and May, it seems my life revolves around being a homeschool mom. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but not by too much. There may have been a time when that fact would have bothered me - I wanted time to do other things, to be other things. But I've come to recognize that there is a time and a season for everything, and this is the season that we are in the thick of homeschooling. Instead of kicking against the goads, I've come to embrace homeschooling as the equivalent of my 9-5, my career if you will. When viewed through that lens, I don't think I could pick a career I love more than educating my own kids, being with them all day, watching them grow and change and learn and thrive. What a blessing!
Since we've established that I can't think of much else beside homeschooling right now, why not embrace it on the blog too? I thought it was high time for a little 3/4 year homeschool update (actually more than that now, since by the time this post goes up we'll have a mere two weeks left!).
State Of The Homeschool
First, lest I scare any future homeschoolers out there, the last couple school years have been more all-consuming than is normal for us, or than is typical for the average homeschooler.
I am, after all, homeschooling five kids this year, even though one of them is just in kindergarten. On top of that, we've been in a transition period with some of my kids as I work on getting them to be more independent with their schoolwork - teaching independence surprisingly still requires alot of supervision. So we are very much in the thick of it right now. I said at the beginning of this school year that I anticipated this year being the hardest year of homeschooling for me as the mom. In reality, I think the 2022-2023 year, this year, and possibly next school year, will probably be the three hardest homeschool years we will have to go through. So I'm really just in the middle of the hard.
In some ways this year has been easier than last year, and in some ways it's been more difficult. I anticipate that I'll say the same thing next year, and after that we may be fairly home free (oh wait, after next year my oldest will be starting high school, so maybe not).
For the rest of this post, I wanted to share some things that are working well for us this year. There are alot of things that didn't work that we've changed this year, but I think I'll save some of that for a different post. These are the successes thus far.
Daily Checklists
A couple years ago I started creating daily checklists for my kids, and the effect it had on our productivity was incredible. At the time we started, most of my kids were not completely capable of following a checklist on their own, but just having everything laid out on a checklist helped me to help them keep on track. There are alot of subjects that would have fallen through the cracks if it weren't for our checklists! I understand there are alot of free-spirited homeschoolers out there who are probably cringing right now, but if you have ever had a sneaky feeling that you aren't accomplishing what you had hoped for in your homeschool days, let me just extol the virtues of the checklist. There are so many subjects and books that we would just forget about if it wasn't for my checklist system.
Weekly Planning
Every weekend I set aside a half hour to take a look at my plan for the week and make adjustments. This involves adjusting our checklists and taking a look to make sure we are on track with different subjects. At the start of the year I set lesson "checkpoints" for different weeks of the year, and that way I can quickly look and see if we are falling behind on our quarterly goals. Then I adjust our checklists as needed.
I originally modeled my checklist system after Sarah Mackenzie's notebook system, but I got tired of writing everything out each day, so now I just keep a "Weekly Checklists" file on my computer. This is our "ideal" homeschool week, but since we often have appointments, Bible study, or homeschool support group meetings, I just adjust the schedule depending on what we have going on that week. Just being able to look ahead and plan for the days where our school hours will be cut short has helped so much in keeping us on track this year, with a minimal amount of stress from me.
Front-Loading The Year
I admittedly pushed everyone a little harder than normal during the fall semester of school. I had so many things I wanted to get to with the kids this year, and with my middle schooler I had some tougher schoolwork to add to his plate. Did I over-plan a bit? Considering I was pushing all of us through THREE different history curricula and TWO science curricula, yes (why did I do that?). Were we a bit miserable in the fall? We were, and yes, it was my fault.
Don't worry, I came to my senses. I relaxed everything a bit this spring, but pushing us a little harder in the fall ended up giving us some space to pull back a bit this semester. It's actually been very nice, and we ironically are still going to get to most of what I planned, just at a more reasonable pace. I won't be so crazy in my ambitions for next year, but I might keep that idea of front-loading the year and having a more leisurely spring.
Morning Time
We've been more consistent than ever with morning time this year, and it's been a really lovely time for us as a family. We've read through the whole New Testament together during morning time (we're finishing up with Revelation right now), and this is my favorite accomplishment of the year. We've had time to discuss all this Scripture together, and I think of the promise that God's Word will not return void, and I know that it will hold true with reading through the Bible as a family too. We've also finished several chapter books together, done some art and music and poetry study, and sang hymns and psalms together. Morning time has been a staple for us for a while, but I'm really happy with how fruitful it feels this year, even though we've kept it simple.
A New Science Curriculum
We've always used Apologia Young Explorers for science, but this was the year for us to branch out a bit. My oldest is solidly in middle school now, and I thought it was time we challenge him a bit more with science. With my younger kids, I was admittedly getting a little weary of the Young Explorers format (even though I do love that curriculum), so I decided it was time to just try something fresh.
For middle school science, I chose to let my oldest go through the first edition of the Apologia middle school textbooks, mainly because my mom gave me a box of my old curriculum and my science book was in there. Now, I know, science textbooks do need to be updated periodically since science is always changing and new discoveries need to be added. However, when looking over my old science textbook, I realized that middle school science really hasn't changed that much. At that age, you are still learning alot of scientific basics. There might be little things here and there that are slightly out of date, but the important facts that they really need to know are the same, so I felt comfortable with using an older, but really rigorous and solid, textbook. What I love about the first edition Apologia textbooks are that there are no bells and whistles required. There is no "student notebook" that needs to be purchased, there isn't a ton of excess information that you really don't need to know. All that's required is a basic lined notebook (that the student uses to create their own scientific notebook), basic household items for experiments, and the textbook. I think the format has done alot to help my oldest learn some valuable study skills, and teaching him how to write up experiments. I'm quite pleased with how well the old Apologia has fit into our homeschool, so I'm going to be looking into the middle school Berean Builders texts for next year, because they are written by the same author as the first editions of Apologia and follow a similar format and philosophy.
For elementary science, we're tried out a new-to-us curriculum this spring called Science In The Ancient World by Jay Wile at Berean Builders. This curriculum series goes through different scientific discoveries through history. We have been studying the Greeks and Romans in morning time, so having some of our science tie in with that same time period has been really interesting for us all. The lessons are short and explained in a really great way for this age group. With Young Explorers, I felt that alot of the textbooks were more at an upper elementary level, and I had to simplify it quite alot for my younger kids. I think Science In The Ancient World is much easier to use with young elementary and older elementary at the same time. Each lesson involves an experiment, but most of the experiments use basic household supplies and are very quick and easy to do. We've been doing many more experiments than we usually do just because this curriculum makes it so simple! I am excited to get as far as we can before the end of the year (we only started in January, so we won't have time to finish - remember the TWO science curriculum thing), and I'm interested in picking up the other volumes so we can coordinate our science with history in the future too.
So these are the things I am really happy with in our homeschool right now. I'm sure I'll be back over summer break to share some lessons learned or plans for next fall, but for now, in the home stretch, it's good to review some of our wins as we try to finish the year strong.
Please let me know if you want a deeper dive on any of the things I mentioned! If you want to hear more about anything, I'll write a longer post and maybe even put together some IG stories to give you a peek at our homeschool!
Note: I wrote this post as a type of newsletter for my local homeschool support group, after my thoughts were originally stirred by this Instagram post. I hope you all get some encouragement from it too!
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In many, many ways, homeschooling is easier now than ever before. There are so many curriculum companies, so many resources, so much inspiration and ideas. Back in my mom’s day, there were basically two major curriculum companies for homeschooling, and that was about it. We have an embarrassment of riches in the homeschool community now, and that really is a blessing.
But along with the amount of resources and moms sharing their homeschool journeys online, I think the mom in the trenches can sometimes get her homeschool vision skewed. So many people are sharing the fun things they are doing, or the different ways they are educating, complete with beautiful photos of elaborate projects and smiling faces. Many wax poetic about how wonderful homeschooling is, how much freedom it’s brought their family. I am confident this is all true and coming from a good place. Homeschooling is portrayed as beautiful, peaceful, aspirational, joyous even; a chance to take charge of your child’s education and homeschool them according to their own needs, a chance to give them the joy of learning. And homeschooling can be and often is all those things! But along they way, maybe some moms are picking up an idea, even subconsciously, that if homeschooling is not smooth sailing, maybe it’s not right.
We homeschool moms don’t as often share when we are going through a hard season of homeschooling. We don’t want to discourage potential homeschool moms from giving it a try, so we are quiet about the times when our child breaks down crying over copywork, when doors slam and frustration boils over, when school takes longer than a full time job would each day. We tuck it aside, save it to cry about to our husband or mom later, and put on a good face for our mom friends. But maybe we secretly wonder if we’re really supposed to be this exhausted, if maybe we’re doing it wrong, or if homeschooling isn’t really what we’re supposed to be doing at all.
Sometimes the advice is “lighten up a little bit”, “don’t worry so much about academics”, and “connection over curriculum - just put the books away for the day”. And maybe sometimes that advice is the answer. But it actually can’t be the answer to do that every day - the bookwork actually does need to get done eventually, and your child does need to learn to multiply someday, and if we lighten the workload forever we’re not actually not doing ourselves or the kids a favor. Self-discipline has to be learned in it’s own way in homeschooling, by child and mom. Putting the books aside can’t always be the solution. My mom used to say “it doesn’t have to be fun, it just has to get done”, and that’s a truism that homeschool moms don’t like to admit anymore, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still true.
Just because something is hard, doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile. Just because there are bumps along the way, maybe whole years where homeschooling is a struggle, that doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing for your family. Just because no one is having fun right now, doesn’t mean you’ll be deprived of joy forever. A good marriage, for instance, is hard work, but we know how much joy and fulfillment comes when we stick it out through thick and thin, and we know that marriage is a good thing worth fighting for, even when we experience difficult seasons. I view homeschooling in much the same way.
The truth is (and I feel confident in saying you could ask any longterm homeschool veteran and she will confirm this), homeschooling is not always fun. It is actually hard work. There are going to be rough patches, rough seasons, rough years. It takes a level of grit, self-sacrifice, and mental toughness on the part of mom to make it for the long haul, and this is true no matter what style of homeschooling you choose.
Homeschooling takes a determination to see through the rough times until you come out on the other side, because everyone experiences struggles (they just don’t talk about it), and this too shall pass. It takes endurance to train your kids in study skills, self-discipline, and character development to make your days run smoother, and that’s not always fun. There often will be tears along the way. These are growing pains. These struggles don’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. It may mean you’re going to have to put in a little more effort and time into helping your child mature and grow…until one day you’re making dinner and realize that your child did a whole math worksheet today without breaking down. Until you notice that they actually read their Bible and pulled out their school books after breakfast without being asked. Until you see that instead of bickering with their younger sibling as per usual, they are on the couch helping their sibling work through a chapter book.
And that is when you get that surge of joy. So stiffen your spine, homeschool mom, and “learn to love what must be done*”, even when it’s hard. Pray for wisdom, pray for endurance, pray for patience, and stick it out. There will be joy along the way.
May God reward your work, friends, and I know He will when we homeschool as unto Him.
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*This is a phrase I think I originally heard from Mystic Winckler or Karen Andreola, but is attributed online to the poet, Goethe. I don't know where I heard it first, but it has become a refrain for my homeschool.
Yesterday it snowed. We had at least a couple inches on the ground, a couple days after I had planted my herb garden in our little porch greenhouse. The basil was wilting, so my son transferred it back to a portable pot and brought it inside for me.
Today, literally by the time the sun rose, all the snow was already melted, and my kids convinced me to let them go exploring in the woods alone. I gave them alarm whistles and walk talkies and sat on the porch waiting for them to come back. Dare I say, it was actually hot in the sunshine!
Such is spring in the mountains.
The last month has been a bit of a whirlwind. We had a nice Easter, and then before I knew it I had our homeschool group meeting, then visiting a co-op, then my son's birthday and a birthday party, then field trips and eye appointments. This week we'll have standardized testing, and two nights out with friends for me. It's a good busy, but busy nonetheless.
Homeschooling is going well, we're well into the homestretch and limping toward the finish line. I made limping sound like a bad thing just now, but it's more like finishing a bunch of our curriculum and trying to find some things to fill these last few weeks before we're officially done for the year. I bought this Shakespeare curriculum, I want to finish this book about the ancient Romans, and there will be spelling and math drills abounding. My daughter asked if we could start the second book in the Anne Of Green Gables series as a family read-aloud, so that might be on the horizon as well.
We've been on the go so much, I haven't had as much time to bake or experiment in the kitchen, and I'm itching to try making something new. I did buy coconut milk and seltzer water in preparation for making refreshing springtime beverages, and we've been stocking up on all the fruit. As summertime approaches, you'll probably find me gathering recipes to try when I actually have time to make things again (hopefully).
One new thing in April is that I re-started my no/low buy after falling off the wagon in March. I'm adjusting my rules a bit to allow myself to buy a couple things a month as long as they are less than a certain dollar amount. It's going well so far, and it's a good thing, because our puppy ended up costing us $800 this month. That was not a happy day.
Dot basically swallowed a toy, and ended up throwing it up, but still looked so miserable and listless that we were worried there was something else stuck in there. Our vet was closed for the day, so I ended up taking her to an emergency vet, and oh boy. Never again.
You know you've made a mistake when everyone in the office keeps calling an animal "your kiddo", while your actual kiddo is holding said animal. I would have walked out, but they took the dog away for an hour, and I had to strategically ask for her back before being able to escape. It cost that much just for an X-ray, and even though there wasn't anything obvious in there, they wanted to put her on an IV overnight! A dog, remember. And a dog which I already told them was still drinking plenty of water. I said I was taking her home to take our chances until our regular vet opened, and what do you know, she was 100% back to normal the next day.
Thankfully we were holding money aside to buy a new window, so we'll just have to wait another year. Who needs airtight windows anyway?
We went on a field trip to the zoo a couple weeks ago, and as we were walking down the paths, I noticed that I could smell the flowers, so our state is in that stage of spring now. Then when we went to church the other day, the flowering trees were just at their prime! I'm so glad I took some pictures that day, because as I mentioned, a few days later we had more snow. I was circling the tree, taking pictures and videos and big, deep breaths of the floral air, and I must have been making quite a spectacle of myself because a woman walked up and asked if I wanted a picture with the tree. I was a little embarrassed, but obviously agreed. She commented that she and her husband "were admiring your joy over the trees, and we just thought you needed a picture".
And all of a sudden I wasn't embarrassed anymore, because why would anyone not have joy over flowering trees? Joy is actually the right response, and who cares if everyone can see it? God could have just left all the flowers on the ground, but that would have been too obvious - instead He decorated branches with them. Isn't there something magnificent about that?
This week I hope you too find something that makes you so joyful that you make yourself a little ridiculous over it. Let it spill over, scatter it all around, and don't be embarrassed if someone comments on it, because why should you not splash a little joy on them too?
"Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;12Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.
For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.He shall judge the world with righteousness,And the peoples with His truth."Psalm 96:11-13
Happy Spring, friends!
The first quarter of the year is past, and as I sit down to share this reading summary, I am a little disappointed in it. I was sure I read more than this in the first part of the year - but when I look at my stack of half-finished books, perhaps this somewhat short list makes sense. I'm quite late in sharing my quarter-one reads, so I'm just going to slap this round-up post on the blog even though I feel like I forgot a few books. Hopefully there will be more to share next quarter!
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Drowning by T. J. Newman - I started this book the day I had my gum surgery as a distraction, and it was perfect! A plane goes down in the ocean, and a few passengers are trapped in the body of the plane underwater (this has been an actual nightmare I've had). This book is about the efforts to get them out, with the story of one broken family interspersed along the way. I was worried I wasn't going to like the ending, but it ended up being very satisfying. I definitely recommend! Content Notes: There is some bad language in this book, including the f-word, and many of the people from the plane die a gruesome death.
Stand: Christianity Vs. Social Justice by Jon Benzinger - This book is a wonderful rebuttal to the social justice movement from a Christian perspective. The author approaches everything with lots of Scripture, and gives great practical advice for how Christians can stand up against the unbiblical version of justice which is the social justice movement. There are also really thoughtful discussion questions at the end of each chapter, which makes it perfect for a group discussion setting. I highly recommend it for any Christian, whether you are currently facing issues in this area or not.
Advancing Christian Unity by Anthony Burgess - I am attempting to read a book written by a Puritan each month this year, and this was my read for January. Burgess does a great job of addressing Jesus's heart for the unity of the church, obstacles to unity, as well as defining what true unity looks like in the church (which does not exclude doctrine!). I highlighted so many pages and found this book so personally encouraging - I think it would also help someone to know how to handle situations where unity is being sinfully threatened.
Fallen by Tim Chaffey - This book is a deep dive into a passage of the Bible that has caused alot of puzzlement, Genesis 6. While the author speculated somewhat in this book, he was really upfront about what things he is drawing from Scripture and what things are just his own speculation. I wasn't sure I would put things quite like he did in some spots, and some aspects of the subject matter were disturbing, but it is rather a dark subject. His goal was to argue for the fallen angel view of Genesis 6 over the Sethite and other views, and I think this book was really persuasive on that front. Wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless you are already wondering about this passage, but if you are, I thought he did a good job of presenting his case.
Rules For Walking In Fellowship by John Owen - This was a great, short Puritan read that was packed with Scripture (I believe it's actually only a portion of a longer work). I thought this book gave alot of useful reminders of how we are to remain in fellowship with other Christians, and I really found it uplifting. It would be a great read to start with if you are new to Puritan writings!
Everywhere To Hide by Siri Mitchell - This book would be in the suspense/thriller category. Whitney Garrison suffers from face blindness, so when she is witness to a murder, she can't identify the killer. When she finds out the victim was actually waiting to meet her, the mystery deepens. Siri Mitchell's thrillers, including this one, are set in Washington D. C., and I think she does a good job of weaving in the political intrigue without being boring or too complicated. I enjoyed this one! Content Notes: Aside from the obvious violence involved in the plot, this was a clean book.
A Lady's Guide To Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin - This book is set in the regency era, and gave alot of Pride And Prejudice vibes - but from the perspective of the fortune hunter, which is usually the villain in Austen novels! This book was a fun and quirky romance that was perfect for an Austen aficionado like me. I loved it! Content notes: I think there may have been a couple mild curse words, and references to "ladies of ill repute", but it was otherwise clean.
The Biblical Case For Cessationism by Tom Pennington - In this book, Pennington argues the case for cessationism, which is the view that the miraculous gifts, such as tongues and miracles, were for the apostolic era and have now ceased. Alot of continuationists spin that to say that cessationists don't believe the Holy Spirit is working today, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I loved how Pennington gave the biblical arguments while explaining the gifts biblically, the reasons why we think tongues, etc, were important in the early church, and how the Holy Spirit works in the church today. Highly recommend no matter what side of the fence you are on.
Shipwreck At The Bottom Of The World by Jennifer Armstrong - I read this book to the kids for school, and it was a great one to read as winter is ending. This is the story of Shackleton and his ill-fated expedition to traverse Antartica. The most amazing part of the story of the Endurance is how every man survived! This book explains the grueling conditions that the crew suffered, and the tenacity and leadership of Shackleton as he led them to a rescue. A couple things that weren't covered extensively but were mentioned in this book are the faith of some of the men, and a mysterious event where three of the men, who were trekking across a brutal island in search of rescue, later found that they all kept thinking there was a fourth man with them - it reminds me of a certain Bible story. Content Notes: Mentions of millions of years, and a joke the men had about "wives and sweethearts" never meeting.
The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis - This was a re-read for me. In this book, Lewis imagines a group of tourists from Hell visiting the very outskirts of Heaven. I have found this book a bit confusing in the past as it is purely an imaginative interpretation of what such a scenario could be like, not based on any biblical arguments. So I wouldn't read this as any sort of doctrinal treatise. What shone through for me on this reading was Lewis’s insight into human nature and the sinful inclinations which keep a person from turning to God. As a sobering look into our sinful nature and choices that keep us from the truth, this book was very worthwhile - if you are looking for biblical accuracy on the afterlife, this isn’t that book, and I don’t think it’s meant to be.
Hoax For Hire by Laura Martin - I love reading middle grade fiction for a mental break, and this one was purely for fun! A family of hoaxers is secretly responsible for every strange story or legendary creature you’ve ever heard of, going back centuries - but 12-year-old Grayson wants out. He has plans to apply for a photography scholarship to a boarding school - until his dad disappears and his grandpa appears to be kidnapped by a competing hoaxing family. Grayson and his brother must figure out how to save his dad and grandpa, and the family’s livelihood. Content Notes: Quite a bit of parental neglect as the boys are mostly on their own, but it’s resolved in the end. Grayson’s brother is high-school aged, and “makes out” with his girlfriend or mentions it a couple different times.
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What is the best book you’ve read so far in 2024?
Despite the snow outside my window right now, my favorite day of spring, Resurrection Day, is right around the corner! I am planning a few crafts this week to point my kids' back to Jesus's death and resurrection, and I have a whole Easter study planned for morning time. I'm also going to finish getting my kids’ Easter baskets ready - we don't usually give our kids alot on Resurrection, because we want the day to be about celebrating Jesus’s resurrection first and foremost. But we always do some type of Easter basket, and I thought I'd share what I got with you this year (just for fun).
First I should say, the bedrock of our Easter baskets every year is a new Adventures In Odyssey volume for each of our five kids. I save up our credit card points every year to pay for Easter baskets, and so we've been able to collect quite a few of the old Adventures In Odyssey CDs for no extra cost to us. We will probably stop collecting after the James Dobson Odyssey era, so we only have a couple more years of doing this, which will be just about right for our kids' ages. We really enjoy listening to the stories in the car, and they also provide good opportunities to discuss biblical or character topics.
Another thing that has been practically free for the girls' baskets this year has been earring sets from Claire's. My youngest got her ears pierced last fall, and Claire’s had a deal that you can get a “year of free earrings” with an ear piercing, so each month we receive an email coupon for any earring set under $17. Since my older girls didn't get this deal when they got their ears pierced, I decided to split the free earrings for all three of them, so I've been collecting the earrings with the coupons, and I'm adding them to the girl's baskets!
So in their individual Easter baskets we'll have:
-An Adventures In Odyssey volume
-One of these devotional books by Joel Beeke
-Earrings for the girls
-Sunglasses for the boys
-Playdough eggs
-Candy
-Peeps
I decided to do an extra all-kids basket this year as something a little different (for us). Even though actual spring doesn't come to our mountains for another month or two, I wanted to give them some things to enjoy on warmer days, so the communal Easter basket is my chance to do it! I also collected a few Christ-focused books for them over the last couple months, and I'll sneak them into the basket too.
For the group Easter basket I got:
-A very large bouncy ball
-A colorful volleyball
-A colorful football
-A kite
-Bubbles
-A light-up bouncy ball
-Sidewalk chalk
-Socker Boppers
-Splat balls
Books:
-The Knight's Map by R. C. Sproul
-The Poison Cup by R. C. Sproul
-Little Pilgrim's Progress by Helen L. Taylor
-Big Truths For Young Hearts by Bruce Ware
It's nothing too special, but with five kids there are always those little items that they point out in the grocery store that we have to pass by. They are such good kids and never give me a hard time when I say "no" to something. I'm using this Easter basket as my chance to give them all those fun odds and ends!
The group basket is also a good excuse to collect some beautiful picture books that I've been eyeing for a while and add them to our family collection. What I love about R. C. Sproul's books is how he communicates such poignant biblical truths in story form. I've also heard good things about the other books on my list - we've read Pilgrim's Progress with our kids already, but I think having read it they will enjoy this illustrated version even more. Big Truths For Young Hearts is supposed to be almost a systematic theology for kids, which we'll go through as a family. The “Building On The Rock” devotionals for their individual baskets are something we will end up reading all together as well!
Do you have any items that you put in your kids' baskets every year? Are you adding anything new to the mix this year?
It's been a while since I've written a currently post! Honestly, we are at this difficult in-between stage in homeschooling where I know that homeschool is just going to take over my life between the months of September and May - I've accepted it. I have a couple hours this Sunday afternoon, the school week is already planned out, and I am doing a little not-too-serious blogging.
Currently...
Drinking: Holly Jolly coffee. You can see the recipe here.
Wearing: Brand new leggings, because we have a puppy that finds joy in chewing up all my clothes. I have taken something of a break from my no-buy project, because I have had to replace so many items that have been destroyed! She's literally chewed up every one of my workout leggings, among other items (including five dollars - literally, just a five dollar bill she found in my closet). I know this chewing phase will pass, but goodness, at what cost? So far she's dismembered at least $300 worth of stuff. Ouch. At least she's cute.
Reading: Hoax For Hire by Laura Martin. I really enjoy Laura Martin's middle grade fiction - she comes up with such interesting plots. In this one, a family has been hoaxers for generations, fooling people into believing they've seen Bigfoot, Nessie, etc, etc. It is Middle Grade March, so it seemed like a good month to pick it up.
Here are a couple other books I'm reading too.
Watching: Derek and I have been going through Parks & Rec again. Ron Swanson literally (read that the way Chris would say it) makes that show. We've also been catching up on Survivor. We usually wait until after a season has aired and then we subscribe to Peacock for one month and watch it all at once.
Planning: The kids' Easter baskets. I think I might even whip out a separate post about it, just so there's more to read on my poor, sleepy blog. But I found some fun things for their baskets, and I might be more excited about it than they are.
Dreaming: About warm summer days. This is always the stage of spring that drags by for me, as we are constantly teased by warm days bookended by snowstorms. We had a doozy last week, with 27 inches of snow at our house! The kids were thrilled, and I didn't hate it. We took a rare homeschool snow day! However, it's all melting into a muddy mess now, and that is the part that makes me pine for tank tops, pool days, and reading on my porch in the sunshine. Soon.
Listening To: A Johnny Cash playlist. It's just hitting right.
Baking: Alot of bread. I have finally perfected my fresh-ground grain bread recipe for my bread maker, and it turns out perfect every time now. I also was able to experiment at making cinnamon raisin bread and apple bread, and it's been yummy. It's a good way to add some extra protein to our diets, and it takes me about 20 minutes to throw everything into the bread machine. Two hours later, we have a beautiful loaf. Sourdough is nice and everything, but I doubt it can beat the ease of my bread maker recipe ( though I might still try sourdough sometime).
Working On: Cleaning out all the nooks and crannies of our house. When we first moved here, my cabinets and closet were fairly well organized, but the clutter has slowly crept back in. It's amazing how much can accumulate in a short five years! I did a major kid clothes cleanout a few weeks ago, and our SUV is piled full of 8+ bags full of stuff to donate. And I haven't even tackled my closet yet (that's on the agenda for next weekend). I'm looking forward to going through my clothes and packing away the things that I haven't worn this past winter. My method (currently) for getting rid of clothes is packing away items that I haven't wanted to wear over the past season, then revisiting it in a year. If it's packed away and I haven't even thought about it in a year, it's probably safe to get rid of it, so each year I go through my bins and do a final purge. I have to do this two-step process to help me be a little more ruthless on what to consider giving away - it helps me to know I can always undo it before my final purge.
Loving: How laid-back I'm feeling this spring. Aside from the year that I took completely off of social media, this past year I've probably spent the least amount of time I ever have on scrolling. I notice that when I am not constantly bombarded with aesthetic Instagram posts, I feel less compelled to have photographic evidence of everything we do, and hence I'm less stressed and more able to enjoy things and just relax. I've also spent more time communicating with friends through mediums other than social media, and I think that is a really healthy thing. It's just helpful to pause every now and then, and recognize how far I've come in the way I use my phone, and the positive changes I've seen since making adjustments.
Now, I still spend too much time on podcasts and Youtube, but that's a different post. One problem at a time.
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