Awhile back, we did a Family Vision Statement. After all, doesn't Proverbs say that where there is no vision the people perish? This was something to let our Family know what we are supposed to be about. In some ways, this is a futile attempt. A complete Vision Statement would be a Bible with the words Family Vision written on it. But this was our effort to bring out what we want to focus on. I thought I would share it in case someone wanted a template to build on.
Our Family Vision is...
To Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
To Follow all Scripture and not just Pick and Choose what we Like
2 Timothy 3:16
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
To Walk in the SpiritGalatians 5:16-26
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
To Love Others, Keep Ourselves Unspotted from the World, and Make Disciples
1 John 2:9
9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
James 1:27
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Matthew 28:19
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
To Train our Children Daily
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
To Have our Children Honor Their Parents
Exodus 20:12
12 “ Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
To be Parents that don't Aggrevate Their Children
Ephesians 6:4
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
To have a Biblical Marriage (and be who we want our children to be)
Ephesians 5:22-33
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
To be Joyful, Prayerful, and Thankful
1 Thessalonians 5:16
16 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
To have Our Treasure in the Right Place
Matthew 5:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
A Response to Home Educating Family
Home Educating Family recently published my response to an article they ran painting the Family Integrated Chruch movement in a fairly negative light. I would like to thank them for publishing the below alternative view point.
"I will assume by “Family Integrated Church” you are talking about a church that has searched the scriptures and has determined that they do not see a Biblical model showing churches broken up by age group for separate teaching of the scriptures. And because of this, they have deliberately eliminated the more traditional type of Youth Groups and Sunday Schools (except for care of the youngest children) commonly seen in most churches here in the United States at the moment.
Overall, I think the Family Integrate Church movement is a natural outgrowth of changes we have been seeing among more conservative Christians here in the United States over the last 30 years; when individuals began searching the Bible asking themselves the question, “Now why do we do that and why do we believe that?” This question caused Christians to begin waking up in the 80’s, and they started asking themselves where in the Bible does it show us we should send our children to Government Schools? Maybe Deuteronomy 6:7 really means what it says? Perhaps we should be with our children throughout the day training them? In the 90’s, a lot of these same people began looking at the church and asking themselves, why do we have a humanist educational format for our training and discipleship on Sunday morning also? Christians started to form churches that they felt were more Biblically based in its mode of teaching and discipleship. Mostly, they had to start new churches because as we know traditions are very had to break.
Recently, your magazine ran an article that called these churches more dangerous to homeschool families then the traditional church. Having seen families abandon homeschooling due to influences in their church, I was a bit surprised by this comment. Of course, the author could be right. The individuals in the churches she may have known and visited may have very well been dangerous. I am sure it could be very possible that there are some people out there who claim to be Christians who are isolationistic, preach bad theology, and worship the family over Jesus Christ. (This can be a very popular mode of operation as the Mormon Church has proven.) But just because someone misapplies Biblical principle, doesn’t make the Biblical principle wrong. I believe the principle behind the Family Integrated Movement is very solid and needed in the American church today.
Our personal experience with the Family Integrated Model has been good. Of course, we all know that that there are no perfect or superior churches. I do think these churches will continue to gain a footing as a whole among Christians in the United States. It will take a lot of them awhile to mature and gain more acceptance among the general Christian community at large. But the reality of poorly performing Youth Groups will continue to cause some to seek out a more Biblical approach. We have seen growth recently in the Family Integrated Church we attend from people outside the homeschool movement. Though I think we should be weary of judging success by growth only in numbers. I don’t see anywhere in the Bible where Christ judges success in this manner."
"I will assume by “Family Integrated Church” you are talking about a church that has searched the scriptures and has determined that they do not see a Biblical model showing churches broken up by age group for separate teaching of the scriptures. And because of this, they have deliberately eliminated the more traditional type of Youth Groups and Sunday Schools (except for care of the youngest children) commonly seen in most churches here in the United States at the moment.
Overall, I think the Family Integrate Church movement is a natural outgrowth of changes we have been seeing among more conservative Christians here in the United States over the last 30 years; when individuals began searching the Bible asking themselves the question, “Now why do we do that and why do we believe that?” This question caused Christians to begin waking up in the 80’s, and they started asking themselves where in the Bible does it show us we should send our children to Government Schools? Maybe Deuteronomy 6:7 really means what it says? Perhaps we should be with our children throughout the day training them? In the 90’s, a lot of these same people began looking at the church and asking themselves, why do we have a humanist educational format for our training and discipleship on Sunday morning also? Christians started to form churches that they felt were more Biblically based in its mode of teaching and discipleship. Mostly, they had to start new churches because as we know traditions are very had to break.
Recently, your magazine ran an article that called these churches more dangerous to homeschool families then the traditional church. Having seen families abandon homeschooling due to influences in their church, I was a bit surprised by this comment. Of course, the author could be right. The individuals in the churches she may have known and visited may have very well been dangerous. I am sure it could be very possible that there are some people out there who claim to be Christians who are isolationistic, preach bad theology, and worship the family over Jesus Christ. (This can be a very popular mode of operation as the Mormon Church has proven.) But just because someone misapplies Biblical principle, doesn’t make the Biblical principle wrong. I believe the principle behind the Family Integrated Movement is very solid and needed in the American church today.
Our personal experience with the Family Integrated Model has been good. Of course, we all know that that there are no perfect or superior churches. I do think these churches will continue to gain a footing as a whole among Christians in the United States. It will take a lot of them awhile to mature and gain more acceptance among the general Christian community at large. But the reality of poorly performing Youth Groups will continue to cause some to seek out a more Biblical approach. We have seen growth recently in the Family Integrated Church we attend from people outside the homeschool movement. Though I think we should be weary of judging success by growth only in numbers. I don’t see anywhere in the Bible where Christ judges success in this manner."
Monday, October 31, 2011
IndoctriNation Released
The Gunn Brothers just introduced "IndoctriNation" which questions the level of involvement Christians should have in the system at all. If you have seen "Waiting for Superman," you will find "IndoctriNation" a more humerous and easily watchable movie. And one with a doable solution. Its solution is not breaking the backs of the teachers unions and developing more Charter schools as "Waiting for Superman"calls for, but a challenge for Christian Parents to join the millions of other Christians who have pulled their children out of the public school system and take charge of their education themselves.
You can buy IndoctriNation at:
http://indoctrinationmovie.com/about-indoctrination
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Avoiding "Christian Parenting" Burn Out
Margo recently had the chance to give a talk to the Mom's of our local homeschool group on avoiding homeschool burnout. I thought I would pass along the hand out that she had. I think the principles apply to almost any part of the child raising process even if you don't homeschool (which of course we recommend). Add your suggestions to avoiding burnout on the comment box below.
How to Avoid Homeschool Burnout~
Are You in it for the Long Haul?
I. Catch a Vision-
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18
*ask your husband *write it out *look long-term, think grandbabies!
“Always be ready to give a defense (or answer) to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.” I Peter 3:15
*be prepared to talk to the people the Lord puts in your path
II. Try it God’s Way
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deut. 6:6-9
www.lifestyleoflearning.org
III. Keep the ‘Home’ in Homeschool- Being Joyful at Home
“The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish woman pulls it down with her hands.” Proverbs 14:1
*don’t give up the best for good things *successful Homeschooling require you to be at home *who is influencing your children’s heart?
IV. Put on Your Earmuffs- Are you listening to negative voices in your life?
“I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down.” Nehemiah 6:6
*get inspiration on a regular basis *surround yourself with people with similar goals *don’t put your fragile olive shoots out in the cold to freeze
v. You Deserve a Break Today!
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
*daily time with the Lord *daily fresh air & exercise & fun with your children *daily sprucing-up
Saturday, April 2, 2011
You may be embarrassed to be a Christian if...
1. The night before your airline flight, you purchased an electronic book reader so you can sit in the lobby of the airport and read your Bible undetected.
2. Your church recently removed any reference to God, Christ, or denomination from its name in order not to offend anyone who may be driving past who may have had a bad experience with God, Christ, or said denomination.
3. When your neighbor mentions they just read the first chapter of Genesis, you are quick to make an excuse for God and point out that this is the one place God didn't quite write it down correctly.
4. When someone mentions Christians and history, you immediately start apologizing about the crusades even though you never had anything to do with them, they happened over 700 years ago, and you still have never met anyone who had the slightest desire to emigrate to Iraq, Jordan, or Syria.
5. When someone accuses you of being a member of the Religious Right, you vehemently deny it even though you have Psalms 139:15, Ephesians 5:22-33, and Exodus 20:15 underlined in your Bible back at home.
6. The only reason your children know about God is that you occasionally show them talking vegetable videos.
7. You tape on a Coexist bumper sticker over your Jesus fish when driving into San Francisco, Seattle, or Washington D.C. scared of what may happen to you if your car breaks down.
8. You will wear any contemporary fashion making only the occasional minor adjustment to modesty, but you quickly point out to your friends that those silly women in long dresses and head coverings are all legalists.
9. When the BBC compares Muslim fundamentalists with devoted Christians in the United States, you are quick to point out that you love all people. That is you love all people but over zealous Christians who hand out tracts on the street and make you look bad by implying there actually may be a hell.
10. When your neighbors walk up to your house at Christmas time, they notice an apology note on the outdoor nativity set saying you are extremely sorry for taking over the season and diminishing the importance of Winter Solstice.
Feel free to add your comments, complaints, and your own "You may be embarrassed to be a Christian if..." to the list in the comments.
2. Your church recently removed any reference to God, Christ, or denomination from its name in order not to offend anyone who may be driving past who may have had a bad experience with God, Christ, or said denomination.
3. When your neighbor mentions they just read the first chapter of Genesis, you are quick to make an excuse for God and point out that this is the one place God didn't quite write it down correctly.
4. When someone mentions Christians and history, you immediately start apologizing about the crusades even though you never had anything to do with them, they happened over 700 years ago, and you still have never met anyone who had the slightest desire to emigrate to Iraq, Jordan, or Syria.
5. When someone accuses you of being a member of the Religious Right, you vehemently deny it even though you have Psalms 139:15, Ephesians 5:22-33, and Exodus 20:15 underlined in your Bible back at home.
7. You tape on a Coexist bumper sticker over your Jesus fish when driving into San Francisco, Seattle, or Washington D.C. scared of what may happen to you if your car breaks down.
8. You will wear any contemporary fashion making only the occasional minor adjustment to modesty, but you quickly point out to your friends that those silly women in long dresses and head coverings are all legalists.
9. When the BBC compares Muslim fundamentalists with devoted Christians in the United States, you are quick to point out that you love all people. That is you love all people but over zealous Christians who hand out tracts on the street and make you look bad by implying there actually may be a hell.
10. When your neighbors walk up to your house at Christmas time, they notice an apology note on the outdoor nativity set saying you are extremely sorry for taking over the season and diminishing the importance of Winter Solstice.
Feel free to add your comments, complaints, and your own "You may be embarrassed to be a Christian if..." to the list in the comments.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Family Devotions Among Other Things
We drove 40 miles south on a dark night in a rain storm to go to a family conference. Two things were presented to me. One, I should get rid of my TV. Two, maybe I was a little lax on family devotions? After going a week without turning on my TV, I decided maybe I didn’t need to get rid of it. (A subject for another day.) But when it came to family devotions, I was convicted.
The speaker’s we went to see were the Maxwell family. A large homeschool family most famous for an organization book Mrs. Maxwell had written. They talked about giving up playing youth and high school baseball and other activities for they could be home at night in order to do devotions. They talked about doing devotions even when guests were over. They meant that the family did devotions every night, and not just two or three times a week when convenient. It struck me as a radical concept, putting God first in our lives by actually putting God first in our lives even if that meant eliminating activities.
When it came to devotions, I had fallen into a common trap of thinking. The trap of believing God grades on a curve. We think that just because we know someone else that does not do something, in this case family devotions, that we must be doing well since we occasionally do them or at least think about doing them.
With help of my wife, we have managed to get on a better track with family devotions. Though in no way do we think we have them nailed down, nor does anyone gain greater favor with God by doing or not doing devotions, but they draw us closer as a family to him and focus us in the right direction on him.
Here are some things we and a few others we know have found to have worked when it comes to family devotions:
- Place the Bible on the table at dinner. Dinner is a great time for devotions.
- Go through a Book of the Bible. And to get off to a good start, try an Epistle. If you are worried about not having time to prepare? Use a Bible that has notes. All of a sudden you have commentary and a lot of times the notes answer a question your child may ask. You don't have to be perfectly prepared.
- We enjoyed going through Kevin Swanson’s Proverbs study at Generations with Vision.
- Lately, we have been using a book called 365 Days of Praise by Julie Lavender. It works surprisingly well. Our smaller children really like it. It works especially well when you get home from a hard day and you don’t have the faintest idea of what to talk about. This is my greatest challenge to devotions. The challenge of being plain worn out when it comes time to do them.
- Go through one of the Catechisms just like families throughout history have. For little kids, there is the Westminster Shorter Catechism , and for "bigger folks" there is of course the longer Westminster Catechism. And the one that I have enjoyed going through at our church is the Baptist 1689 London Confession of Faith.
- Check out the Maxwell's themselves. They have resources on family devotions at Titus 2.
What works well for you when it comes to doing family or "even individual" daily devotions?
- Place the Bible on the table at dinner. Dinner is a great time for devotions.
- Go through a Book of the Bible. And to get off to a good start, try an Epistle. If you are worried about not having time to prepare? Use a Bible that has notes. All of a sudden you have commentary and a lot of times the notes answer a question your child may ask. You don't have to be perfectly prepared.
- We enjoyed going through Kevin Swanson’s Proverbs study at Generations with Vision.
- Lately, we have been using a book called 365 Days of Praise by Julie Lavender. It works surprisingly well. Our smaller children really like it. It works especially well when you get home from a hard day and you don’t have the faintest idea of what to talk about. This is my greatest challenge to devotions. The challenge of being plain worn out when it comes time to do them.
- Go through one of the Catechisms just like families throughout history have. For little kids, there is the Westminster Shorter Catechism , and for "bigger folks" there is of course the longer Westminster Catechism. And the one that I have enjoyed going through at our church is the Baptist 1689 London Confession of Faith.
- Check out the Maxwell's themselves. They have resources on family devotions at Titus 2.
What works well for you when it comes to doing family or "even individual" daily devotions?
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Hurrah for Advent!
 |
| 2010 Advent Reading Calender |
But I finally got smart. By getting smart, I mean that I made up a calender. A calender which shows which day each reading was supposed to be done. Not only that, but I could also write each child's name down on the day that was their day. The day they were to pick the song, light and blow out the candles on the advent wreath, then hang up the marker on our countdown to Christmas calender forever indicating that we were one more day closer to Christmas. (For a copy of our advent calender just click the link below)
http://www.scribd.com/full/44162653?access_key=key-2aqabym1nt1fkffwo6l
There is certainly is no right or wrong way to do Advent. There isn't even anything in the Bible instructing us to celebrate Christmas much less establishing a formal Advent season. After all, Jesus most likely wasn't even born in December. The Puritans, who I consider arguably one of bravest and greatest Christian groups in all of history, didn't even celebrate Christmas because it had degenerated into a raucous party back in merry old England.
But today, who would want to miss out on a chance to join the rest of the world in the biggest of all celebrations. Especially, when it is our celebration. And Advent keeps our family focused on what it is all about: The virgin birth of Jesus the Christ.
How does your family do Advent or keep your focus on Jesus Christ over Christmas?
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