Homeschool Bible Class

As previously mentioned here at MSJ, we are using Picture This! Bible curriculum. We love it! You get to color and discuss the Bible. It takes us approximately a week to get through one book of the Bible because the pages are so detailed as they summarize a whole book. We are in the middle of Leviticus currently, learning all about priestly duties and sacrifices and forbidden food, etc.

Here is a rundown of how our Bible time went:

10:37 We gathered at the patio table with colored pencils, our color sheets, the fat curriculum binder and Nora’s chunky pink Bible.

10:38 I started coughing and returned to the house for water and cough drops. The washing machine buzzed and I changed the load of laundry.

10:43 We turned to Leviticus and reviewed what we have already covered/colored. Okay, this book was complicated. I didn’t even remember what all five sacrifices were for and there were code words to help you remember. Nora looked up several verses and we made our own additional code words on our papers.

10:55 A formidable shadow circled the back lawn drawing our attention and rendering us speechless as we looked at the shape of the wings.

10:56 The second circling shadow had us out of our chairs and onto the lawn, shielding our eyes from the sun, and staring at the hawk 30 feet above our heads. A discussion followed as we stood there, about why it would be circling above our house, what they eat, and what type of hawk it was. It was close enough for us to see it moving its tail back and forth with each turn. So cool. We realized it was not flapping its wings, simply soaring in a slow upward circular motion. So we waited on the lawn to see how long it would take the bird to actually flap.

11:02 I yelled through the screen door to my husband/pilot, “There is no wind. How can this hawk be circling for such a long time without flapping its wings?” He explained wind currents and changes with altitude.

11:06 THE HAWK FLAPPED, but just once, and kept circling.

11:07 Back at the patio table we read about the foods that were forbidden for the Israelites. Nora was truly sad for them because they could not eat bacon. For reals. She read through the list of fish that were approved and not approved. Then we googled an image of a shrimp so she could see what they look like before they get to Panda Express. She thinks they are ugly. She is right, of course.

11:20 We moved on to the moral laws for God’s chosen people. I decided to read these as they listed all the sexual sins and she didn’t need to be trying to pronounce all of those monstrous unfamiliar words. I refrained from glancing up at her because I already knew her dark chocolate irises had white circles all the way around them as I uttered those sins aloud, for God and country to hear out in public. When the list was exhausted, I casually closed the Bible and looked at the the next section in the teacher guide.

11:25 Nora was staring off at the tree over the fence while the wheels in her brain were processing SIN.

11:27 Processing complete, she inquired, “I thought the Bible was for everybody.” I reassured her that it is. “That part you just read is not for kids!” True. To aid to her disbelief of the contents of the Bible, I spouted, “Can you believe that God talked about all these things?” Discussion followed as to why in the world our holy God felt it necessary to mention women’s monthlies, incest and all the others thrown in with them.

11:35 She abruptly changed the subject and asked if we could have grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Sure. And Bible was concluded for another day.

Do you understand now why it takes us a week to get through one Bible book?

 

 

Homeschooling and Brain Surgery

An 18-year-old, non-homeschooled friend of my son’s was at our house during our Bible lesson with my 13-year-old daughter. He was sitting on the couch not far from the kitchen table where Nora and I sat coloring our Bible lesson. Yes, you read that right… coloring. It’s the BEST Bible curriculum out there, in my humble 16-year homeschooling experience.

“Picture This!” is a walk through the Bible system that has pages for each book with lightly shaded lines for you to draw and color the history from the Word of God. We read Bible verses, then we draw, then we color, and then we read more Bible verses talking about each as we go along.

This is not a sales pitch for the curriculum, but I love it so much I wouldn’t have a hard time selling it. (I am making no profit from this…. in case you thought I had figured out how to make profits off my favorite homeschool ditties. Um… no.)

Here is the page we were working on when our story began:

“This is the covenant I will make with them
    after that time,” says the Lord.
“I will put my laws in their hearts,
    and I will write them on their minds.” Hebrews 10:16

Wanting to always be RIGHT, my daughter asked, “Mom, what color are brains?”

An honest question. I replied, “I think they are sort of pink.”

Nora inquired, “How do you know? Have you seen a brain?”

Then, as most homeschooling lessons go, we veered off to a bunny trail on youtube and watched a video on brain surgery so my girl could see a real live brain. The surgeon was removing some dark colored blob and we could see the blood still pumping through different veins. She thought it was the most supremely awesome video in the history of the galaxy. How is this my child?

Setting my phone down, so I didn’t have to hold all seven minutes of brain surgery in my hand, I concentrated on non-gagging images in my head… like watercolor pictures of flowers and birdies. I get queasy with blood and guts and bones and such. I realize this is surprising to some who know our family’s history of frequent ER trips. But it’s true. I’m an injured-anatomy wimp.

When brain surgery ended, we found another video (like one wasn’t enough!) with a scientist holding a recently harvested brain before it had hardened up. I didn’t realize brains harden up, but they do. I am learning so much from homeschooling. Miss Scientist was naming the different lobes while holding and squeezing it in her gloved hands, and showing the characteristics of a fresh brain. It was so gross to me I had to keep my eyes averted most of the little show. However, my daughter’s dream of becoming a scientist was planted a little deeper in her blood-n-guts loving heart.

Back to the non-homeschooler on the couch… his interest was piqued and he sauntered into the kitchen and viewed the videos with us. His only comment, “I thought you guys were doing Bible?”

“We ARE doing Bible. This is homeschooling.” And back to coloring we went.

Rock On, Rickey!

Last night in the dark of the master bedroom way past midnight I apologized to my sweet husband for not doing anything for his 49th birthday. The special day when he entered our world is Feb. 3rd, but he was in Kansas City learning how to use the new glass cockpit on the King Air 250. Flight training trumps birthdays, obviously. And truthfully, I don’t think I could have come up with something to beat his enjoyment level of time in the flight simulator.

The nice people at Flight Safety realized it was Rick’s birthday when they copied his passport for identification. They gave him a Flight Safety polo shirt, a mug and a basket of goodies! See? He wasn’t entirely forgotten. Sheesh.

We couldn’t celebrate early because I was visiting my sister for 13 days, then Rick and I saw each other for two hours before he left for five days in KC. I have no excuse that I can remember for when he got home, but I know we were really busy. REALLY busy.

As our son, Austin, knows from experience, if you travel and are gone on your birthday it is forgotten. Period. He did ask me two months later if I would buy him a new Bible for his two-months-ago special day. I did. I’m the nice mom, remember?

After my apology, Rick replied, “Don’t worry about it, Honey. It’s okay.” My response surprised him as I said, “Okay. Thank you. … … … Don’t EVER forget my birthday!”

We shared a belly laugh and he summarized the comments, “And THAT is the difference between us!”

Happy belated birthday, Rickey! I love you!

10 Days Past December

Usually I am a bit more up-to-the-minute on my New Years post with a review of the past and hope for the coming times.  2013 was put to rest none too quickly for my liking.  It was a hard and frustrating year due to the car accident and slow healing.  Glad that’s almost over!

On December 31st I pulled my journal from the bottom dresser drawer… the journal with the hot pink cloth binding and the swirly letter L with bling bling on the cover.  The journal contains my bucket list.  I usually don’t look at it but once or twice a year, so I’m pleasantly surprised when I get to highlight the completed items on the list!  In 2013 there were 2 1/2 items completed…. 1. Go on a girls road trip! CHECK!  2. Build a chicken coop and raise chickens. CHICK!  I mean CHECK!  And 1/2 of 3. See the Parthenon…. well, I did see the Parthenon.  The one in Nashville.  I didn’t even know there WAS a Parthenon in Tennessee!  It’s in far better shape than the one in Greece.  When I made the list, I meant the one in Greece, but I didn’t specify Greece…. so I half-way highlighted it with hopes of Greek Islands in my future still.

On the horizon for 2014, other than we should start getting fresh eggs come May, we have a few out of town weddings, a graduation, some missions trips and lots of excitement and hope!  I relish a fresh new year with no scribbles on the pages.

As far as resolutions go…. REZ#1: I’m going to lose the weight I gained while lying on the couch for months eating casserole after casserole that my homeschool peeps brought to feed our family! Believe me, I am SOOOO thankful for my community who surrounded us during that time!  What’s a bigger size of jeans?  Or 2?  But everyone plans to lose weight, right?

REZ#2: I am reading the Bible through again.  The Children’s Living Bible is the chosen translation again.  The best I ever did at reading the Bible through involved a plan that took weekends off.  I needed the weekends to catch up!  So I divided the number of yearly weeks by five days and then divided the number of pages in the Bible by that number.  Voila!  Brilliance!  Four and a half pages a day.  And it’s already January 10th and I’m ahead of schedule!  Oh Yeah!

REZ#3: Make a few more mind and life changing resolutions…. like spending time each day in silence, and spending time each day being artsily creative, and knitting (well, that is creative too), and spending time each day listening to good music.  “Good” by my standards, not my children’s.

What are your resolutions?  Did you make any?  Will you keep them?  Share the wealth!

Yet Another Rude Awakening

These past two weeks, I have been appalled, shocked and dismayed as I have investigated “Christian” colleges that my daughter is interested in attending and heard reports of several state universities.  I’m not sure which surprised me more (albeit, I realize I’m a morally straight-up, nicely sheltered prude…. and proud of it most of the time) the fact that a professor at a nearby “professing” Christian college relayed to me that less than half the staff THAT TEACH at the college believe that the Bible is inerrant…. OR…. the fact that the dorms at the big state college here in town have co-ed dorms and BATHROOMS!  WHAT?  SO much has changed since our college days… oh…. my…. word.

With my daughter by my side, we introduced ourselves to a psychology prof whom she would be taking classes from if she attended the school we were touring.  He asked if I had any questions.  Boy howdy, did I!  My first one was about the professors believing the Bible’s innerrancy…..my second was an inquiry about his personal beliefs and worldview.  I didn’t reserve these questions solely to the psychology department…. I thought it was even more apropos to ask the dean of the Christian studies program.  “Most of the profs in the Christian Studies department believe like you do, Mrs. Crosby.”  MOST!?!  I’m more concerned about the few that don’t…. EVEN having a teaching job in that department.  Good gravy!

(Here’s my daughter with her suitcase packed ready to jump on the college train.)

My questioning ended with the Christian Studies gentleman with an inquiry if there were any required religious courses.  He quite satisfactorily affirmed that yes, all students must take Worldview.  (That could be good or bad, depending on what that prof believes!!!)  Larisa chimed in at that moment and said that she had already taken Worldview.  The prof asked what college she is transferring from.  She replied that she is a senior in high school.  He then cross-examined about what school teaches Worldview.  “I’m homeschooled,” she answered.  With eyes as big as the free frizbees they were giving away, he turned back to me and queried in disbelief, “YOU taught Worldview to your highschool homeschooler?”  “Yes,” I admitted a little more timidly than my questions had been delivered, “I thought it was really important.”  He actually shook his head at me.

After my questions were exhausted… as well as my little brain trying desperately to wrap itself around these ideas that are accepted by most now-a-days…. my daughter turned to me and said, “Wow, Mom, those were tough questions.  I didn’t know you were going to ask questions like that.  Good job.”  What was I supposed to be asking?  “Do you give scholarships for being really cute?” (I wish!)

I’m feeling older and more prudish as each day passes.  I’m relating more to Noah than to the world we are surrounded by.  In and not of, baby.  All the way.

Chompy Would Have Been a Better Name

This puppy is lucky he is cute…. and cuddly… and adorable.  This is the Christmas puppy, Ringo, that is so adored and cherished by many people each day.  To say he is spoiled is the understatement of the century.  BUT… here is the list of what he has chewed SO FAR.  (And it’s not like we are leaving stuff lying around… he goes searching for things to chew… while his chewy toys are scattered on the floor and all over the backyard.) 

The camoflage New Testament that Connor gave Keeve. (I was surprised he could see that one.)

Most of the drip lines that run to my potted plants.  I do remember Trixie doing this too, but we lived in a rental for a short period of time when she did this.  I am now hand watering my plants….  

Johnny Tremain, the book that is.  Not only does Johnny get a crippled hand, but now he has been chewed up by a six-inch tall doggy and thrown away. 

The picture of our nephew Mason.  Seems it fell from the display board in the laundry room and Ringo found it.  I couldn’t very well throw away a relative, so Mason is back up on the board…. chewed.

A wooden zoo puzzle that we have had in the family for 18 years…. mostly just the monkey who was riding the unicycle got his head chewed off… but that sort of made the puzzle not pleasing to look at.

The last roll of TP on the TP stand in the bathroom.  There are five or six rolls on there… waiting to be used.  I think we may just leave the bottom one on there for a while…. all chewed up and mangled.

I don’t recall how long the chewing phase lasts, but I pray it is short lived.  Thankfully, Ringo is so cute.

 

2011 in Review

Early yesterday morning about 1:45 am, after bringing in the New Year with most of my family at my parent’s home, I sat on the side of my bed and pulled out my bucket list of 100 things I hope to do…. but I only have about 73 items on my list so far.  This is a common occurrence on January 1st in my life.  During my first day of the new year ritual for the past several years I have used the yellow highlighter to cross off three to four things that were accomplished that year.  This year was different.  I only highlighted one item and it was Read the Scarlet Letter.  Bigg whoopie doo.  It was sort of sad after many years of mucho highlighted crossings-off.

The year-end review was good for my soul, however.  2011 was one of the hardest years of my life.  It was a happy year, yet difficult for me adjusting to being a mother of four children.  It began with the strain of hardly being able to communicate in Spanish with our precious daughter.  After a month home, even with the language barrier, I realized I had not had a talkative seven-year-old kid in my house talking at me all day long for over seven years.  It wore me out!  I haven’t taken this many naps since I was four-years-old…. not even when I was pregnant with child number three with a four-year-old and a one-year-old running around the house.  I love having Nora here, don’t get me wrong.  For the first three months we semi coccooned, always having either Rick or I with Nora… when she was awake.  She needed the stability and the attention.  As soon as her black hair hit the pillow, we did try several escapes for date-nights, but usually I was too tired to enjoy them.

It was at Nora’s Gotcha Day (the one year celebration of her adoption) when I realized that I almost felt back to normal.  It took a blinking year!  When I mentioned this to my thoughtful and insightful husband, he quizzically asked, “Oh.  You think you’re back to normal?????”  I didn’t want to know what that meant, so I never asked.  But I felt like I had accomplished something quite monumental….. surviving the first year of adopting an older child… and not having visible bald spots on my head.  A well-meaning friend and fellow-adoptive mom told me to call her when I felt like I had wrecked our family by adopting.  Thankfully, that feeling hasn’t surfaced and I haven’t needed to make that phone call. That’s a big deal.

Even though it seems like I only read The Scarlet Letter this year, it’s not true.  For the first time in my 45 years, I read the Bible through in a year.  I’ve read the whole book before, but never in a year.  That did my heart good.  If only it had been on my bucket list.  Maybe I should add it so I can highlight it!  (I secretly do that with my daily to-do lists.)  Shhhh.

The second non-bucket list accomplishment is truly a lifestyle change that is in progress.  I gained 20 pounds with each child that came into my life… including the child that came to us through God’s gift of adoption AND the baby that didn’t make it to see the world.  Needless to say, I was not on the top of my health game at the beginning of 2011.  I’m getting closer.  Through the program Take Shape for Life, I have managed to rid my poor body of 62 pounds so far.  I can barely lift 62 pounds…. good grief!  I still have a ways to go, but I feel SO MUCH better.  No more sugar induced headaches, or deep-fried onion ring stomach aches.  No more pumpkin pie comas or entire empty bag of Cheetos guilt.  Part of the success was due to the reading of another GREAT book, Made to Crave: Satisfying your deepest desire with God not Food.  If that doesn’t smack me upside the head, I don’t know what would?  It was real life in black and white.  It was encouraging and heart changing.  It changed me in 2011.

So, Scarlet Letter aside, I’m pleased with my personal positive progress in 2011.  I have big plans for 2012… there will be many highlights this coming year…. our 25th wedding anniversary… (I know!)… our eldest graduating from highschool homeschool…. and three semi-big trips to look forward to.  But I feel the need to up the ante… to choose somehow to serve others… to reach out to hurting people around me… I haven’t figured it out yet, but that will be my resolution.  I’ll keep you posted.

The Bible and Orphans

God’s Promises to the Orphan 
I copied this list from the Uribes Family blog.  They have returned from Colombia with their little man. So adorable.  I love the list because it shows the heart of a relational God.  A righteous God.  

I will defend you.   Ps 82:3  “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;  Ps 10:14  “You are the helper of the fatherless.”

I will rescue you. Ps 82:4 “Rescue the weak and needy;”

I will deliver you.  Ps 82:4 “deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

I will not leave you as orphans.    Jn 14:18  “I will not leave you as orphans;”

I will come to you.  Jn 14:18 “I will come to you.”

I will protect you.  Jer 49:11 “I will protect the orphans who remain among you.”

I will hear you.  Ex 22:22-23  “You must not exploit a widow or orphan.  If you  exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.”                                        

I will be your Father. Ps 68:5 “Father to the fatherless”

I will put you in a family.  Ps 68:6 “God places the lonely in families”

I will not forget you. Is 49:15-16  “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born?  Though she may forget, I will never forget  you.”  

I will give you compassion.  Hos 14:3   “…in you the fatherless find compassion.”

I will give you justice.  Deut 10:18  “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow.”

I will come close to you.  Ps 27:10 “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.”

Honor Bound

I’ve been called a lot of things through the years, but SLOW is hardly ever mentioned.  I’m usually a quick study and even quicker with my one-liner comebacks that regrettably needed to be censored before spewing.  However, the past three weeks have been my mentally slowest three of all eternity.  I usually catch on to clue words that the Lord brings to my attention over and over.  But not this time.  Nope.  Tonight finally, the lightbulb went on and I put the puzzle pieces together in my own ritardando way.

I’m currently doing a Bible study with a group of women on Wednesdays and the book we are using is called The
Strength of Womanhood.  Believe it or not, I’m actually a few weeks ahead of schedule and I’m diligently trying to keep it that way.  Regardless, the study I did three weeks ago was titled “Clothed with Honor” about how a virtuous woman is clothed with strength and honor.  It discussed honor being given and received.  It listed many scriptures about giving honor to God. 

I realized that I didn’t fully understand how the word honor is used in the Bible, so I did a word study and discovered several synonyms: reverence, a feeling of deep respect, regard highly, admiration, respectful thought and to regard with pleasure.  I soaked in the new meaning in my mind and moved on.

I’m also working my way through a book called Becoming a Woman of Excellence and last week it spoke of Boaz honoring Ruth when he told her, “All my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.”  Wow!  Again, I pondered and moved on.

Then my dad showed up at our house with a book in his hand and a bookmark on chapter four.  It is John Bevere’s book Honor’s Reward.  Coincidence?  I think not.  But did I catch on yet?  Of course not.  Dad was reading his way through the book but after completing chapter four, he brought it over for Rick and I to read.  It was about honoring authority.  It was excellent in showing how to attract God’s favor and blessing by honoring those who are and have been in authority over you.  It helped my thinking to be shaped more like Christ’s in this area.  But the honor lightbulb didn’t even flicker yet.

Tonight I went to a women’s dinner meeting with two of my friends at another church.  I haven’t been to it in several months, but tonight the topic was Honor in Marriage.  The examples given were excellent and the practical advice was fabulous and practical.  The best way for practical advice to be.  I STILL didn’t catch on…..  I’m usually not like this.

On my way home tonight, I was reviewing in my mind our school work for tomorrow…. cathedral visits, library stop, and then it dawned on me.  The unit we are studying for two weeks is Church Architecture…. in the character trait of Honor.  Daily I have been going over the definition of honor with my boys for over a week…. Honor: giving respect where it is due.  We chose our unit in June last year…. and God knew that I would be working on Honor in every area of my life in March 2010!  Wow!

SIX…. it took S-I-X different events where the word honor was brought before my eyes to realize that this needed some attention in my life.  Good grief!  God is so patient with us, as slow as we are sometimes.  Anyway, I’m working on giving respect where it is due.  Amen.

My Son, the Creative Genius

My son Keeve is eternally leaving little signs of his creative genius around the house.  It brings a smile to my face each time I find some little ditty that he has spent his energy on…. for no real reason at all.  Just because.  He is 11…. I don’t remember my older son going through the 11-year-old-creative phase… maybe this is unique to this child.  Who knows? 

Our first example above is the Trix cereal box that has been carefully altered to read Trixie….. the name of our dog.  Notice the font size and type were recreated with precision.  Wow!  Such artistic talent!  The Trix box was not complete without the editing done by my dog-loving son.  And besides, Trix are for kids.   This is the boy who has asked for Sharpie permanent pens for Christmas more than once.  He LOVES his Sharpies.  They are so useful.  And they write on practically anything, whether it is supposed to be written on or not.

Exhibit #2 is the school work/microphone station at the back picnic table.  This is not a temporary set up in the happenstance that a song breaks forth from his soul today alone.  The golf putter is taped to the stool and the table for future song outbursts in this particular math-doing seat.  So ingenious!  So creative!  So useful…. especially when he’s supposed to be doing math… right after he finds a putter in the garage, a stool from his brother’s room, the packing tape from the pantry, etc. etc. etc.

Our final exhibit, the bejeweled Bible.  I remember picking out this Bible for him in the Christian bookstore, thinking that he had out-grown the little boy Bibles and needed a grown-up, leather-covered Bible.  Within the first month, he wrote out two particularly significant verses on the cover in ball point ink (why didn’t I think of that?)…. John 3:16, one known to many.  But he also included Job 3:2…. “he said.”  That’s it.  He said.  It is a complete sentence as it contains a noun and a verb.  Keeve is fond of this verse… I’m not sure why? 

And the jewels in the shape of a cross… what can a mother say?  He did do a very careful hot gluing job because there is no trace of hot glue gun strings running from jewel to jewel.  The heart in the middle of the cross did this mother’s heart good.  The cover wouldn’t be complete in this child’s life without Sharpie pen too, of course.  What could be of more importance than his name?  Naming your belongings is why Sharpie pens were invented, right?  Right!

I love my Keeve. <3