Personal Convictions Need to Be More Than a Checklist

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Welcome back to the Legacy Homeschool Reflections Podcast.  Today I am talking about the subject of what drives our personal convictions.  I believe our standards or convictions need to flow out of heart transformation and not merely stand as a checklist in our lives.  Rules grow stale and cumbersome, but life transformation through Christ makes all the difference in the world.  When our hearts are made new in Jesus, good things should be flowing out of the good that He is doing in our hearts.  

Today I am linking up @

Just a Little Bit of Christmas in July!

Hello Dear Friends!
  If you have been following the blog you know that I have been doing a series of posts about building family libraries filled with books of faith, virtue, character and stories that are life-giving to our families.  I have been sharing some of the books that we treasure in our own family library.
  Today I decided to break with that series to insert a Christmas in July post!  Can you believe that July is almost gone???  It is CRAZY how fast this year is flying by.  Our family is getting ready to celebrate a few birthdays, take a historical trip East and then gear up for fall.  I know beyond that we will blink and find ourselves in the Christmas season.
  I am starting to think about the upcoming Christmas season, because I truly want to feel as peaceful as possible and avoid as much stress as I can.  With a family of nine the Christmas season can easily be overwhelming, and I really want to fight against that this year.  I want our family to have a Christ-centered Christmas that puts our focus on Jesus our Savior.  I want our home to be filled with love, joy, and peace that are fruits of the Spirit.

  One thing our family loves is Christmas traditions that unite us in a sweet way as we revisit them each year.  Other families have their own traditions, and we have our own that are part of our family culture.  One of those traditions is that on Christmas Eve all the children receive a gift of new jammies.  They know these are coming, but when they talk about it I try to pretend that I don't know what they are talking about.   On Christmas Eve we typically give them jammies and something like a new book that they can take to bed with them.  We also hide the gifts, and then the children all come in and do a hunt for their presents.  Then we take pictures in the new jammies and send them all off to bed.  

  It is important to our family to keep Christ at  the center of our Christmas celebrations, so we like to read the Christmas story and do things like go through the fun nativity activity from Family Life called "What God Wants for Christmas."  https://shop.familylife.com/p-4799-what-god-wants-for-christmas.aspx

  "What God Wants for Christmas" is a fun interactive nativity set and book that we have used ever since our oldest children were little people.  To this day our children love to pull it out and open the little boxes, and it is a good reminder that the Lord is seeking our hearts!  

  On Christmas morning we have a tradition of cinnamon rolls, and I cannot imagine our Christmas morning without them.  Honestly it is about the only time all year that we serve cinnamon rolls, and our children LOVE observing this tradition each year.  These cinnamon rolls are nothing special; they are straight out of the Pillsbury can, but they add an extra sweetness to our Christmas mornings.  

  These are just a sampling of some of our Christmas traditions, and it is special to me to see how these have developed through the years.  We also have the tradition of bringing out our collection of Christmas picture books each year.  These books are special, because they have been collected through the years and read over and over as the years have flown by.  

  Now I guess this post is going in the direction of book recommendations after all, because I have some Christmas resources I want to share with you.  This is a book I have referenced with my children many times over.  It is full of fun history, stories, meaningful ways we can see various Christmas traditions in light of Christ, and fun ideas.  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TLZEX2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Because we have used the "ADVETure of Christmas" so many times I was really hoping to find something new for this year.  I was so pleased to find this resource earlier this year, and I am really excited to dig into it with my children later this year.  

  This book is a beautiful coffee table style book that talks about how we can focus on various character qualities in our families as we journey through the Christmas season.   Sometimes the Christmas season can bring on fatigue, self-centeredness, and materialism.  This book attempts to counter that by helping us look at our attitudes and reminds us to shine the character of Jesus through what is supposed to be a blessed and holy season.  

  Just recently I ordered another book that I plan to use with my children this year.  The book is titled "Everything Christmas."  I have not looked at it in depth, but it looks like it might be a neat resource. On the front cover it advertises that the book includes: Heartwarming stories, treasured carols and poems, delicious holiday recipes, Christmas memories and remembrances, and great gift-giving ideas.  It says, "Celebrate the Joy of the Advent Season with the best of Christmas past and present."  I am super excited to dive into both of these books as we move closer to the Christmas season.

  What are some of your favorite Christmas resources, and how are you endeavoring to keep Christ at the center of your Christmas traditions?  I would love to hear your thoughts!  

  I am beginning to try to put together some plans, in my head, before the Christmas season rolls around.  It seems Christmas has a way of sneaking up on me, and I want to be somewhat prepared so that I can focus on what matters most this upcoming Christmas season.

  In wrapping up this Christmas in July post I would like to leave you with one of my favorite Christmas music videos.  I think this is beautiful and reflects the joy of the Lord in an encouraging way.  Enjoy the Wissman family singing this beloved carol! 

Building Your Family Library Part 3

Recently I had the opportunity to speak at a Teach Them Diligently event, and I had a young mom come up to me and ask me about book recommendations for her young child.  I found myself encouraging her to read stories to her little one that are full of virtue, character and truth.  I also encouraged her to start out reading stories that are rooted in reality.  Over the years I have had a growing concern about starting young children on a heavy diet of mythical, fanciful, fairy tale stories before they have gained a firm grasp on reality.  I am concerned that many children are growing up absorbed in fantasy, and also the false reality of the online world, to the extent that they are having trouble grasping reality.  It has been my observation that a growing number of young people today seem to have confusion between reality and fantasy.  Because of this I am an advocate of starting out reading virtuous, character building, stories set in reality to our young children.

 

  As I look back, I wish I had known this when my oldest was younger.  At the time I chose some homeschool curriculums that were strongly literature based and also full of stories that were not set in reality.  Over time I became concerned with this approach, and I am doing things differently with my younger children.  I have had talks with my oldest daughter about this, and I have shared with her that I wish I had started out differently with her in this area.  My encouragement to parents now is to start with stories rooted in reality before allowing your children to read even the Christian fantasy.  I think our children need a firm grasp on reality so they can discern truth from imagination.  They also need to be immersed in the light of Christ so that they will recognize the darkness.  So this is some of what
I found coming out of my mouth as I encouraged this younger mama to read life-giving stories that will shape her young child's life and root him in Biblical truth and the love of God.

  Over the years we have been on a mission of filling our family library shelves with books of virtue and truth.  We want our children to be reading books that portray the hope we have in Jesus and fill their minds with the truths of God's Word and His ways.  If you were to peruse our bookshelves you would see lots of picture books teaching family values and character qualities.  You would also see books for young children that talk about various Bible verses.     We have collected some ABC style books where each letter of the alphabet is expounded upon with a Scripture verse or character quality.  We have many books that share the good news of the gospel over and over through different story lines and beautiful illustrations.  It is our desire to continue to take our children back to the gospel over and over throughout our days.  When I go to conventions and conferences I am always looking for these kinds of books that encourage the heart of a child to faith, obedience, truth, beauty, and wisdom.

  Some of the books we have on our shelves are no longer in print, but I have picked some of them up through used books sales.  When you are seeking to build a family library of virtuous, substantial books it really can be a hunt to find these gems.
  Books can be friends to our hearts and do a lot to shape the worldview of even our young children.  This is why I think we need to be intentional in this area of what we are reading to our children and what they read as they begin reading for themselves.

  Of course it is easier to just let them read whatever, but I believe intentionality in this area is very important.  There are many book series for children that are full of bad attitudes, wrong world views, foolishness and things that go against the wisdom of God.  

  I have been raising children now for over seventeen years, and one of the things that has really been sweet is reading and re-reading certain stories that have gone through all of my children.  I think of certain books that I read to my older children and then to my middle aged group and am now reading again to my preschoolers.  Oh the memories we have had with some of these books!  I hope that in the years to come I will be reading many of the books on our shelves to my future grandchildren as well.

  As we seek to collect character building books we can be investing in generations to come who will hopefully be reading the books we are putting on our shelves today.  Hopefully our treasured family libraries will be passed down through the generations.

  In each of these posts I have tried to leave you with a few suggestions on particular books you might check out.  Today I am going to encourage you to look at the drawing series called "Draw-Write-Now."  These books are not stories, but they give children step-by-step instructions on how to draw certain pictures.  The books also encourage neat handwriting practice that goes along with the pictures.  My girls have really enjoyed these books and have gone back to them throughout the years. That is my book suggestion for today's post.  :)

I would love to hear about some of the treasured books sitting on your shelves!  Have a blessed week! 

The Blessing of Closed Doors

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Welcome back to the Legacy Homeschool Reflections Podcast.  Today I am talking with my oldest daughter about the blessing of closed doors.  Even when we do not understand the circumstances we know that the Lord is Sovereign and is caring for the details in our lives.  

Building Family Libraries Containing Stories of Virtue and Truth Part 2

Hello Friends, last week I posted a blog post titled Building a Family Library of Virtuous Books.  I was really shocked at how many people visited that particular post.  It was an exponential explosion of the number of visits I typically get on a given post.  This really opened my eyes that a lot of people are interested in this topic.  I hope to continue posting ideas on how we can build family libraries, filling our shelves with stories of virtue and truth.

  This topic is especially fixed in my mind as I am hearing more and more about the liberal agendas the American Library Association is pushing.  My childhood memories take me back to a time where library visits were for the most part a safe and educational experience.  I remember just loving to go to the library and having only good and wholesome memories of my visits there.  

  When I began having babies I really wanted to make good books a part of our family culture, and I took frequent trips to our local library bringing home bags full of fun picture books to read with my little people.  We also attended many story time events where we would enjoy a themed lesson, activities, songs, crafts, etc.  These are sweet memories of times spent with my older children when they were younger.

  As our family grew, however, library trips became harder as we moved a good distance away from a local library.  So, over time we began building our own family library and quit visiting local libraries as often.  I tried a few times to find a way to make the library still fit into our routine, but it was too much time and effort.  It seemed that we would always lose a book, tear a book or something that would stress me out and cost us money.  Over time we just stepped away from the library.  

  Then last summer we bought a vacation house, in a small town, with a library that is within walking distance from our house.   I was very excited about the potential to visit a library again when we spend time at our vacation house.  I remember visiting this quaint little library and being disappointed that I was having trouble finding the kinds of books I have worked so hard at filling our family library with.  I was seeing a lot of twaddly stories, cartoon and Disney stories, etc. but not a lot of really good literature that stretches the mind and inspires the heart.

  My oldest daughter also took at trip there one afternoon and came back telling me she just wasn't finding many books she felt were worth reading.  I guess over time we have cultivated an appetite for stories that convey beauty, truth, and virtue.  We are not looking to just fill our minds and hearts with fluff; instead we want the stories we read to grow us and sharpen us.  We have learned to really pick out the worldview in stories and want to read things that give us a correct epistemology, metaphysic, and Biblical ethic.
  Now my point in this post is not to condemn going to the library or to tell you what you should or shouldn't do in your family.  My goal is to raise awareness that if you do visit your local library, you need to be very vigilant and aware of the agendas the ALA has adopted.  I would also encourage you to be vocal and tell your librarians that you do not want to see books that promote lifestyles that are against God's Word sitting next to Winnie the Pooh on your library shelves.  

  Have you heard the recent news about how the American Library Service to Children Board voted to change the name of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award to the Children's Literature Legacy Award?  

I found this statement at the ala.org website.

At its meeting on Saturday, June 23, 2018, the Association for Library Service to Children Board voted to change the name of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award to the Children's Literature Legacy Award.

This decision was made in consideration of the fact that Wilder’s legacy, as represented by her body of work, includes expressions of stereotypical attitudes inconsistent with ALSC’s core values of inclusiveness, integrity and respect, and responsiveness. Please read the background document that informs this decision (PDF). Additional background information is found in the 2018 Midwinter Board Action Request form (PDF). 

Please read the ALA/ALSC statement regarding the Wilder Medal Name Change.

  So while the ALA is seeking to erase history and a sweet story of family values they are deciding to encourage drag queen story times in local libraries to educate young children in their liberal agendas.  I truly cannot even fathom that this is happening.  I wonder what kind of a world am I raising my children in and what will the future hold?  

  This is a link where you can see what is happening in Houston libraries to indoctrinate young children into thinking what God calls perversion is acceptable.  My friends, I just want you to be aware of the agenda the American Library Association is pushing.  This has become what the library is about.  Sadly, I no longer feel that the library is a safe place for my children.

https://www.khou.com/article/features/houston-heights-library-debuts-drag-queen-storytime/285-572854932

  I really dislike posting this kind of thing.  My heart is screaming, "Oh God, please save our nation and our children."  My heart feels so heavy and broken over what the sexual revolution, humanism, and atheism have done to the culture.  May we all find hope in praying for God's mercies.  

  In light of all of this I am thankful that the Lord led our family to begin building a family library of virtuous reading years ago.  Each year we add more books to our family library, and I hope that one day these stories of faith and truth will be passed down to my grandchildren.  The day could potentially come where it might be hard to find stories that convey a Biblical worldview, and so I think now is a great time to be building a library that can be passed down through the generations.  

  Last week I shared some book recommendations, and I want to close out this post by sharing some more suggestions of books you might consider for your family library.  

Christian Heroes: Then and Now

Just recently we purchased this entire set of missionary and heroes of the faith biographies.  I encourage you to check into it for your family bookshelf.  It is a huge set of books that portray the real lives of men and women who loved God and sought His kingdom.  There is also a similar picture book series for younger children.  You can also get these titles in an audio version.  We bought the entire set, because we want our children to be familiar with the heroes of the faith and inspired by those who gave their all for the cause of Christ.  

Katharine von Bora the Morning Star of Wittenberg

  Last year we attended a conference where I came across this beautiful jewel of a book.  It tells the story of Martin Luther's wife, Katharine Von Bora.  It is beautifully illustrated, and shares the story of a devoted wife and mother and how she opened her home to hospitality and encouraged her husband as he played a pivotal role in history.  It is a precious and encouraging story!  

Stepping Heavenward

"Stepping Heavenward" is a story I read as a young lady, and I have since read it several times.  It makes a great mother/daughter read-aloud as it chronicles the life of young Elizabeth Prentiss and shares her journey into marriage and motherhood.  It is an honest look her struggles through the decades of her life as she learns to submit to and trust her Lord.  Parts will make you laugh, and most women can probably relate to many of her emotions.  I read through it with my oldest daughter some years back and would love to read through it again with my younger girls.  

Hymns for a Kid's Heart

I'm going to give one more recommendation for this blog post, and then hopefully I will be able to continue with this series later.  

"Hymns for a Kid's Heart" is a beautiful series of stories behind the hymns illustrated for children.  It is a series meant to familiarize children with the hymns of the faith.  The books come with a listening cd so that children can learn how the hymns sound.  I think this is a needed resource in our day when many children are growing up not learning the great hymns of the faith.  If you have read my book "Legacy Reflections of a Homeschooled Homeschooling Mama" https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Reflections-Homeschooled-Homeschooling-Mama/dp/1973737825 then you will know that my husband and I are making a real effort to pass the hymns of the faith on to our children as an endowment.  We want our children to have the same friendship with the hymns that we have had.  The hymns have walked with us through various seasons of life and have been a strength to our hearts.  There are some good modern-day songs, but there is something very special about the hymns of the faith that connect us with the wisdom of the saints from centuries past.  I would highly encourage you towards these hymn resources.  

  I hope that you all have a blessed week.  I believe that as we seek the Lord and His wisdom, He will help us to discern good resources to grow our families in wisdom, virtue, and faith.  I would love to hear some of your suggestions for virtuous, faith-building read-alouds.  

Building a Family Library of Virtuous Books

  I am finding that I am receiving frequent questions about book and curriculum recommendations for homeschooling.  In my writing and speaking I tend to focus on my passion to communicate a vision for Biblically based home education and to encourage busy mamas along in the journey.  I am realizing, however, that the topic of books and curriculum is probably something that I should address from time to time, since people are frequently asking me questions pertaining to this subject.

 I think I am to the point in my personal journey where I have realized that the particular curriculum I use is not as important as how I am doing at engaging with my children and discipling them in Biblical truth.  There are a lot of good books out there, and there are some bad books too.  I really think praying about curriculum choices is so important!  I have found the Lord is ever so faithful to lead and guide my steps as I seek Him in our homeschool planning.  

  It has been my experience that as I have asked the Lord for wisdom in our homeschool planning that He seems to continue to impress on my heart that I need to integrate more of His Word into our schooling, more character training, more Biblical apologetics, more wisdom, etc.  

  I believe teaching our families the fear/reverence of the Lord is the proper foundation for all of learning to be built upon.  God's ways are always higher than man's ways.  

His plan is that we start with knowing Him and let all learning flow forth from that.  I love a quote by John Milton that says:

"The end of all learning is to know God and out of that knowledge to love and imitate Him." - John Milton

  So we do not want to teach our children mere academic knowledge, but rather we want to teach them wisdom that will equip them to apply the knowledge in Christ-like ways.  Honestly mere knowledge alone can be dangerous without wisdom.  Men like Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin were no dummies.  They had knowledge but they lacked the wisdom to use their knowledge rightly.  Thus they ended up destroying many lives.  

  There is a LOT I would like to say on this topic, but I want to get to some book recommendations here.  Hopefully I can continue this as a sort of series off and on.  :)  

  So, I am just going to share a few book resources we appreciate in our home.  Of course there are far too many to put in a single post, so I am just going to list a few ideas and hopefully I can share more in days to come.  

  When looking for books to build our family library we are looking for stories of virtue and truth that are well written and teach us to see life from a Biblical worldview.  

Because we love to teach our children church history we love this fun picture book! 

  I believe there is ALWAYS something to be learned by studying history whether it is world history, American history, homeschool history, or church history! 

We have really enjoyed this series of books that highlights heroes of the faith in picture book form. 

  Some books are so good you go through them multiple times.  We are on our second trip through the book "Parenting with Scripture." This book can be used in different ways, but the way we have used it is as a Bible study.  It goes through different topics alphabetically and gives a full page of Scriptures that apply to the given topic and then discussion questions on the corresponding page.  It is a short way for us to cover many issues and be reminded of what God's Word says on various topics such as anger, bragging, compassion, discernment, etc. 

"Treasures of the Snow" by Patricia St. John  is another book that we have read more than once!  It is a powerful story of the transformation the gospel of Jesus makes in our hearts and of love and forgiveness.  It is a gem of a read-aloud story! 

  There are so many books to share, but for this post I am going to end with a set of inexpensive books that I have LOVED for my younger children.  Over the years we have collected almost the entire set of the "Little Jewel Books" series. 

  

 These books are published by Rod and Staff and communicate sweet lessons on family relationships, helping,  serving, obeying, working diligently, and developing godly character.  The lessons are wholesome and sweet, and I will always treasure the times I've snuggled with my little people reading these books together.  

  Well, this is certainly just a small sampling of some book recommendations I would offer.  I do hope to write more posts on this topic over time, so stay tuned for future book and curriculum posts.  I encourage you to work at building a family library of stories that convey Biblical truth, virtue, and excellence!  Hopefully some of these books can be passed down to future generations.  Blessings to you all as you read, learn, and grow in your families.