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Do You Have A Plan on How to Raise Your Children?

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Plan To Raise Christian Children

Raising Strong Christian Children

We plan for many things. We plan where we will go on vacation, what college we will attend, and how we will invest our income to secure our future. Understanding that the most important resource is our children, we need to plan on how we will raise them to become strong, faithful Christians. One way is to write a family mission statement — a covenant with the Lord. Remember that it is more than a plan, it is a guided process. “We’re talking about creating a home and a family environment in which you are learning together, praying together, putting faith into action together, and seeking to unite yourselves together around one rallying point: the gospel of Jesus Christ.”[1] A mission statement will clearly delineate your family’s goals to serve and honor the Lord, raise each child to love the Lord, and use the best resources to effectively educate them in Christian values and doctrine. Author Stephen Covey, who has written many books on how to be successful, states that one of the most effective ways to begin something and end successfully is to develop a mission statement, philosophy, or creed.[2] After you write a mission statement, I would like to add that you should read your mission statement daily.

Example of a family mission statement:

By the grace of our Lord and Savior, we will diligently:

Love the Lord Jesus Christ with all of our hearts, minds, souls, and strength, day by day and moment by moment.

Praise him and give thanks to him daily and attend church faithfully.

Submit to God’s authority in every area of our lives.

Joyfully spread the gospel message.

Pray morning, noon, and night, asking the Holy Spirit to fill us and guide us.

Exhibit our faith in words and deeds.

Teach and raise our children in the ways of the Lord at home and at school. Amen!

As a family, seek to love and help others and be self-sacrificial in honor of the Father, Son, and His Holy Spirit.

Remember, this is a lifelong mission but, more importantly, it is an honor and privilege. Only a few will be blessed to enter the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:13-14).

 

[1] Terence Chatmon, Do Your Children Believe? 38.

[2] Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, 113.

RaisingChristianKids.com

Podcast – RaisingChristianKids.com


Links to Help You Navigate the New School Year

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Fall makes me nostalgic. It’s a time when I begin reminiscing, even for a moment, my ten years of home-educating our son and daughter. I enjoyed immensely the process of choosing curricula and filling out my teacher’s lesson plan book (which I rarely followed after the first month.)

Not only has that time come again, but it will have a different look this year. For some parents, a part of their child’s day will be virtual, the remainder in a physical class, with masks and social distancing. Unless of course, they are home-educated, which many parents have made the decision to do.

Regardless, I want to encourage all parents of school-aged children as they navigate the process, and, admittedly, fulfill in me a touch of that ‘first-day-of-school’ longing.

FAVORITE CURRICULUM:

I chose the gentle art of learning — a Classical/Charlotte Mason approach. All resources below reflect my favorite learning style.

For a fabulous history course that will take your child from 1st grade through HS, incorporating art, music and literature: MYSTERY OF HISTORY

Mystery of History

To explain the gentle art of this type of education (especially good for young children) here is: A CHARLOTTE MASON COMPANION

A Charlotte Mason Companion

 

To go a step further and give a Christian world view perspective, read: THE WHOLE-HEARTED CHILD

Educating the Whole-hearted Child

For a fabulous list of many decades of ‘living books’ (read the Charlotte Mason Companion for a definition) there is: ALL THROUGH THE AGES

All Through the Ages
For online curriculum (I wrote the HS Home Ec course): SCHOOLHOUSE TEACHERS SITE & AUDIO AD

For used curriculum that will save you a bundle:


HOMESCHOOL CLASSIFIEDS

HOMESCHOOL USED BOOKS
For just plain parenting issues of all sorts, let me introduce my favorite parenting couple. I couldn’t have survived my parenting years without the Lord and these resources:

PARENTING MADE PRACTICAL

And lastly, two resources related to my middle-grade historical fiction, The Heart Changer (have you read it?)

The Heart Changer MG Biblical Fiction By Jarm Del Boccio
THE HEART CHANGER TEACHER’S GUIDE

FRACTURED FAIRYTALES

I hope this has been an inspiration for those of you home educating your children. Keep on keeping on in the strength of the Lord!!

— Jarm Del Boccio, Debut MG Historical Fiction Author

Picturing God, by Ruth Goring: A Book Review

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Picturing GodI don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, I pictured God as a white-haired old man with a beard. To me, God was always male, unapproachable, and a little scary. If only I’d owned a beautiful book like Picturing God! I would have loved to have imagined God as a mother, or living water, as a rock, or the wind, as a door, or as the light.

These marvelous metaphors for God are among many explored in this lovely new picture book by author and illustrator Ruth Goring, whose lyrical words combine beautifully with her use of handcrafted mixed-media collages to create this stunning title. Here’s a peek inside…

Published by Beaming Books and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, Picturing God begins in this way…

Picturing God 2

The lyrical text is lovely, soothing, and thought-provoking:

The Bread of Life makes us strong-

strong enough to share,

strong enough to be kind,

strong enough for pure delight-

and we find new ways

to give God’s love away.

Picturing God 4

God is a Father who forgives again and again,

who watches for us

and runs to meet us…

God is a Mother

who covers us with her wings.

Picturing God 3

This picture book, written for little ones aged five-eight, is just a beautiful way to nurture children’s spiritual curiosity and cause them to wonder about our great God.

If you are interested in that topic, whether you are a writer for children, a parent, a librarian, an educator, or someone involved in children’s ministry, I invite you to join me and a host of other children’s authors and publishers as we present at this upcoming virtual, progressive Children’s Christian Book Conference.

Until next time,

Glenys

Book Review: Cuddle-Up Prayers

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Cuddle up prayers

Cuddle Up Prayers

By Michelle Medlock Adams, Art by Mernie Gallagher-Cole

Is your child feeling sad? Are they happy? Or feeling thankful? Then it’s the perfect time to talk with God about how they feel…and this adorable book helps them get started.

With simple prayers of childlike faith, this board book helps littles learn to talk with God through prayer. Whether they feel jealous…or are celebrating their own God-given unique qualities…the prayers in this sweet board book with rhyming text help kids connect with God.

And the art is so adorable! With a variety of animal characters, every child will connect, no matter where they live around the world or what their background is.

A great way to cuddle up with your child…and talk together with God!

Here is a sample prayer:

 

PRAYER FOR A HAPPY DAY

I thank you for another day.

I know it will be good.

Help me to have a happy heart

And do the things I should.

 

No matter what, I’ll wear a smile.

I thank you for this day.

Help me to spread your joy around

At home, at school, and play.

 

Especially in these challenging days, it’s important to encourage children to talk about their feelings. And especially to teach them that God cares about everything they feel or think and wants to hear them talk with Him. This is a perfect book to use to help toddlers and little ones understand the importance of prayer and how to talk with God.

#ChristianChildrensAuthors

Book review by Nancy I. Sanders, author of The Very Oldest Pear Tree

A “Fourth Man” on the Journey–Lessons from Ernest Shackleton and other Survival Tales

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Ernest Shackleton book

Schools are back in session, sort of. As I write this, I’m deep in the throes of online professional development to prepare for the remote fall classes in my elementary school and a new role in the school. To be honest, I’m feeling a little sorry for myself. I want things to go back to normal, don’t you? I want to be safe and healthy and do my part to keep others safe and healthy, too, but deep down, I’m getting a little tired of this Covid-19 business. Weariness is setting in.

My pastor put things into perspective for me recently. Citing Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to the South Pole on Endurance (an aptly named ship!) my pastor recounted the harrowing tale of survival after Shackleton’s ship got stuck in an ice floe. After some months, the ice crushed their ship and they had no choice but to leave their place of isolation. They journeyed from ice floe to ice floe to get to the nearest place of rescue. It took over a year. After the final push down a 1000-foot wall of ice (50 feet of rope at a time), one of Shackleton’s men claimed that an invisible, “fourth man,” seemed present, supporting and encouraging them the whole way down.

Jesus wants to be our “fourth man” on our pandemic journey. Are you drawing on his support and encouragement during this ongoing difficult time? Jesus is here for us, and he’s here for your students and children, too. Many of the authors of this blog have been providing delightful ways to do this. Please go back and look at some of the older posts if you need some ideas!

Perhaps at this point in our pandemic journeys, you and your children, grandchildren, or students could benefit, like me, from a little regained perspective. One reason why I’m excited to get back into my school library is to check out one of the books we have about Shackleton’s journey. I’ve read several books in the past few years that relate in various ways to our days living in restricted environments and unusual conditions. While they aren’t Christian books per se, you might enjoy them (and perhaps feel a little better about your own situation!).

Here are a few:

Thin Wood Walls, by Christian writer David Patneaude, is a great story about a Japanese boy living in “quarantine” in an American concentration camp during World War II.

Donner Dinner Party, by Nathan Hale, is a graphic novel based on the true story about a group of pioneers who got trapped in the mountains and made some gruesome choices in order to survive. Definitely one for the boys who like to be grossed out!

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, is a survival story of a boy in the Canadian wilderness. Generations of kids have been inspired by this book.

Prairie Lotus, by Linda Sue Park, is a terrific tale, inspired by the author’s love for Little House on the Prairie. It’s from the perspective of a Chinese-American newcomer to the prairie life. Not exactly a survival or quarantine tale, but the isolation the main character feels due to her race, and the limitations of a new town on the prairie seem relevant, and girls, especially, will love this one.

I lived in Japan for several years, and one of my favorite Japanese words, gambate, keeps coming to my mind. It means to “persevere.” We can’t do much about the current situation and health-related restrictions, but we can do a lot to improve our attitudes and sense of perspective. May we draw on the presence of Christ and the lessons of history and even fiction to help us be grateful for the many ways God is providing for us. Things just aren’t as bad as they could be! Gambate, ne?!

Resting in His Arms,

Sonja Anderson

 





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