Thirteen Things for Which I’m Thankful Today:

1. I arrived home safely this evening from the city, driving in the dark, in the thick fog.
   
2. My son-in-law brought in some delicious pizzas so I wouldn’t have to cook dinner after being out.
   

1. Daughter #1 did the laundry.
   
2. I found a couple awesome gifts this evening for daughter #5, who turns 17 in a few days.
   
3. I’m thankful for Costco apple pie. Yum! That was dessert this evening.
   

1. The music of Deuter, to which I’m listening just now on Pandora, is relaxing and uplifting.
   
2. I feel better this evening, after awakening dizzy (ditzy?).
   
3. I’m thankful to have our two grandbabies (and their parents) staying with us while they look for a more permanent residence. Tomorrow may be the day!
   
4. The music of Paul Cardall is a blessing. He has a most inspiring life story, and his music is gentle and healing.
   
5. I’m thankful that all these years my husband has borne with my faults, and I with his, and that we both want to do what pleases the Lord, though ‘in many things we offend.’ Yep; we love one another. We’re at our computers in the same room, back to back, talking about this and that every once in a while. I guess that’s what brought this blessing to mind.
   
6. I’m thankful for daughter #4, who cheerfully lives her life with a major disability.
   
7. I’m thankful for good medical coverage to pay for her expensive medications. I’m reminded of this because I picked up about $1,200 worth of meds today.
   

1. I’m thankful to be able to stay in touch with friends so easily via the internet. That means you!
   

Becca, of BeccA’s Buzz says:

The ‘Give Me Five’ Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here’s how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn’t have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net

Give Me Five things you haven’t done in a long time that you would like to do again.

• I would like to join an exercise class again. Kind of. Sort of. The thing that stops me is the amount of time required to drive to the gym, participate in class, drive home again, and then, usually, the extra time I spend when I think of errands to run while I’m in town. Actual class participation I found to be so much fun. Ten years ago I participated three mornings a week in a step aerobics plus weight-bearing exercise class.
  
• I would like to do some easy hiking. Here again, with busy family life, taking the time to get away to do hiking doesn’t happen often. This usually happens only once a year during our vacation to Northern California.
  
• I would like to practice the acoustic guitar and the soprano recorder again. To do well at all, I would need to practice these instruments consistently. Currently, my main extracurricular activity is writing for my blog, so this probably won’t happen anytime soon.
  
• Participate in a Scottish Country Dancing class again, or learn line dancing. This past Saturday, we went to a Lebanese wedding reception, and the dancing was SO FUN! Now, there’s a way to get exercise, and have lots of fun at the same time.
  
• I haven’t done any canning in a long while. I would most enjoy doing some fermented pickles. I would like to make some chutney also. I only want to can specialty items, because time is too precious to can items that we can easily afford.
  

The prompt this week for One Single Impression is GLORY. Immediately I thought of the GLORY OF GOD. Specifically, I thought of how God manifests His GLORY in the creation that we see all around us (and in us).

A helpful summary of Christian doctrine, The Westminster Confession of Faith, says this about God’s GLORY in creation:

It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the GLORY of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, in the beginning, to create, or make of nothing, the world, and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good. – The Westminster Confession of Faith, 1647, Chapter 4: Of Creation.

In our family, during daily Bible reading times, we also sing from God’s song book, the Book of Psalms. One of our favorite psalms, Psalm 148, speaks of God’s GLORY in creation. Here is the metrical version of Psalm 148:1-14 taken from The Scottish Psalter, published 1650:

The Lord of heav’n confess,

On high his glory raise.

Him let all angels bless,

Him all his armies praise.

Him glorify

Sun, moon, and stars;

Ye higher spheres,

And cloudy sky.

From God your beings are,

Him therefore famous make;

You all created were,

When he the word but spake.

And from that place,

Where fix’d you be

By his decree,

You cannot pass.

Praise God from earth below,

Ye dragons and ye deeps:

Fire, hail, clouds, wind, and snow,

Whom in command he keeps.

Praise ye his name,

Hills great and small,

Trees low and tall;

Beasts wild and tame;

All things that creep or fly,

Ye kings, ye vulgar throng,

All princes mean or high;

Both men and virgins young,

Ev’n young and old,

Exalt his name;

For much his fame

Should be extoll’d.

O let God’s name be prais’d

Above both earth and sky;

For he his saints hath rais’d,

And set their horn on high;

Ev’n those that be

Of Isr’el’s race,

Near to his grace.

The Lord praise ye.

Those of you interested in meter (which means all of you, I imagine!) will note that this metrical psalm is written in 66. 66. 88. We sing this Psalm to the tune Darwall, written by John Darwall.darwalls148th

I love this Spiritual, and these folks have beautiful voices. This is the Romanian “Acoustic Choir.”

Heavenly singing.

Just high schoolers; can it be?

From Bellevue Christian.

Passing through our town,

Going to perform up North,

Sang at Meadow Greens.

Foretaste of heaven,

About fifty voices strong;

They sang for an hour.

Sang a cappella,

“In chapel style” as they say:

Without instruments.

Soprano, alto,

Tenor, baritone and bass,

All sang heartily.

From cathedral lays,

To spirituals sung by slaves,

And old classic hymns.

Our hearts burned within;

Affection to God was stirred,

A longing for Home.

For more Haiku, visit Jennifer over at Playgroups are No Place for Children and Christina at A Mommy Story.

(Just to let you know: Meadow Greens is where my elderly mom lives, not me (yet!). I was over visiting her today, and happened to catch the best singing I think I have EVER heard. Thankfully the choir will be back in town this Saturday at 7:30pm at Bethel Christian Reformed Church. That way more members of our family will have the opportunity to hear these talented young people sing. The performance location and time are for you local readers who might be able to come!)

Thirteen Things I loved about Home schooling

Back when we were beginning our family, about 25 years ago, home schooling was not the popular, cool thing to do that it is today. We became friends with some pioneering families who were really dedicated to the concept, however, and became convinced that home schooling was the only option for us.

As things have worked out, our oldest child was the only one who was exclusively home schooled (until he went to college). The next four children were home schooled plus Christian schooled. Now, the youngest four children have been home schooled, Christian schooled, and are currently public schooled. There are many reasons for this change from exclusive home schooling. One of the main reasons, I guess, is that we view home schooling as a TOOL, not as an end in itself. When the home schooling “tool” worked to the best advantage of our family and our children, we employed it.

For this Thursday Thirteen, I would like to tell you 13 things that I LOVED about homeschooling, not home schooling in general, but OUR home schooling (There are lots of different versions out there, ya know.).

• We were able to provide a warm, nurturing environment for our young children.
  

• We were able to be the main influence on our children’s developing characters when they were very young.
  
• The children were not rushed into academics too soon, but had lots of opportunities to play and explore, and to learn to help with the work of the home. You have probably guessed that I agree with Raymond and Dorothy Moore’s approach to homeschooling, explained in their books such as School Can Wait and Home Grown Kids.
  

• The children learned how to handle themselves confidently in varied settings because they went everywhere that we did, and were prepared beforehand on what to expect at the library, the store, the church, etc.
  
• We were on the lookout for the children’s special talents and interests and were able to facilitate their development. An interest in art, for example, led to us hiring an artist one summer to teach the youngsters watercolor techniques. We made sure to have plenty of art supplies on hand as well.
  

• I love interest-based education, something which is ideally suited to the home school. For example, when our first child became interested in WWII, American Indian chiefs, or astronomy, he had the opportunity to explore those subjects in depth, WHEN he was interested in them. When one of the girls became interested in breeding gerbils to obtain as many coat colors as possible, she did that.
  
• We went to the library A LOT. They have a limit of 100 books maximum which may be checked out at once, and we sometimes reached that maximum. Our rule with the children was, “You have to check out as much non-fiction as fiction.” All of our children continue to love books.
  

• I loved reading aloud to the children. If the children were interested, I would sometimes end up reading to them up to three hours a day.
  
• The children had time and energy for music lessons and practicing their instruments (3 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello). They still play occasionally, but I miss the “all-the-time” music.
  

• The children learned to take a lot of responsibility for their own learning, helping to research and select the curriculum, and helping to decide the time-table of completing their work.
  
• Life was more relaxed. The children got enough sleep. I got enough sleep.
  
• We could pretty much go where we wanted, when we wanted, without worrying about missing school.
  
• I enjoy my children. I love being with them. They have learned to be thoughtful and pleasant people. We had (and continue to have) such a good time together throughout those home school years.