A little encouragement for homeschool moms (and dads)

Recently, Sara picked up a book at the library called "Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe" by Todd Wilson. I have always enjoyed the brilliant cartoons offered  by Todd Wilson and his insights regarding homeschooling, especially as a Christian father. This little bundle of encouragement reminds us that part of why we educate our children at home is because we want to help them become who God wants them to be, not to be just like everyone else.

"Children are a blessing" video FREE viewing in April

We have heard about a video produced by the Moore family called "Children are a Blessing" for some time now. We finally got to watch the video tonight, a 30 minute film that is available until April 30th free online.

Following the lives of this God honoring and faithful Christian family, the film concentrates on the contrast between the modern views of family planning and child bearing. Preventing pregnancy through contraception along with chemical and surgical abortion is challenged in light of God's Word which states without exception that children are a blessing from God. Families like the Moores leave the results of how few or how many children they will have entirely up to the Lord.

You can watch the film online HERE until April 30th. The DVD version of Children are a Blessing
includes much more footage and extras about the family, and is available at the link below through Amazon. As always, your purchases through our links support our family and ministry.

Sara and I enjoyed the film and look forward to seeing more films like these that speak of the sanctity of human life and the blessing that children are. We hope this film challenges folks to consider that God has given us a charge to be fruitful not only in producing children for His glory, but to train those children to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ, to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This is not about having as many children as possible, but rather trusting God with the planning of our families. 

Time4Learning.com

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

We are excited as a family to try this program. My kids don't realize how much they are learning when they are on the computer.  I am excited to see them learn new things and enjoy the process.

sara

Biblical Patriarchy- responsibility for the father/patriarch

I found this article online recently and wanted responses from folks. This is in relation to the recent discussion on men standing up to the call of God to be spiritual leaders. I believe the author wished to remain anonymous, but I felt the content was important enough to share. I know the last article ruffled a few feathers, but again I wish to stress that what we are considering is the responsibility of men in the spiritual realm. We are not attacking women for any reason, but hoping to encourage and help them. Our goal is to see the family live up to what God planned in all things, for His glory. ~ Mark Cowperthwaite

The Patriarch's Teaching Responsibility
It is the responsibility of the patriarch to teach his family the Scriptures. No one else has been given this responsibility. It is a responsibility that he cannot delegate to others. He is the divinely appointed head of the home, and he alone is responsible for the spiritual welfare of those under his headship. This is a God-given responsibility that cannot be surrendered to anyone. This is a serious matter before God.

This, by the way, relates directly to the truth of "the church in thy house." A home, with extended family and guests, led in ministry by the head of that home - the husband and father. As a general principle, other family men may from time to time be there - ideally on a temporary learning basis, until they too can or will learn to take on their own God-given family responsibility. The primary teaching place is home. That is the standard of Scripture.

"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).

"The father to the children shall make known Thy truth" (Isaiah 38:19b).

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (Deuteronomy 6:7).

"And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home" (I Corinthians 14:35).

James Wesley Stivers (Restoring the Foundations) writes concerning the truth of these verses:

"Can a pastor do this for your family? Can your child's Sunday School teacher? No. It is impossible. What God is describing in this text is a live-in spiritual tutor. One must live with the person he is discipling [training]. Jesus lived with His twelve disciples for three years. They ate and slept in His presence. All this talk about church discipleship is fantasy. So is the concept of home cell groups. These are phony substitutes.

"There seems to be something lost in a relationship between a parent and a child, if it is the decision of the parent to commission a third party to provide biblical instruction and spiritual nurture to the child in his stead. I argue that it is a dereliction of duty. Parents are to disciple their children. It is an immutable part of the vocation of parenthood.

"We naturally suppose that the 'institutional church' is the primary agent in proclaiming the Gospel and teaching the Word of God. That is the primary role assigned to the 'church' in our day. But it has not always been so. In early America, as it was in the earliest church, the Christian home was the spiritual center.

"It is impossible to provide the basis for Christian character and spiritual experience in one or two hours a week. Constant contact with a Christian leader is necessary. That is why the 'discipleship movement' was so popular in recent years. It recognized the inadequacy of the 'institutional church' to provide even the basic spiritual foundations in a persons life.

"Some people believe, as I was prone at one time, that if one wishes to do anything for God, one must do it within the confines of the 'church' apparatus that God's work is done primarily at 'church.' Actually, the family is the chief agent for the passing-on of the Christian faith from generation to generation.

"Even the work of evangelism, once thought to be the principle purpose of the pulpit preacher, is better done through the home. The most effective evangelist, as many men and women with tender emotion admit, is that of a godly mother or father. Better than three-fourths of all conversions come through the work of family and friends.

"It is a personal faith which must be transmitted, not an abstract and institutional one."

So my mom isn't crazy after all

I recall in my childhood years my mother telling me that they wanted to protect me from many things. As the years went by, I was home schooled for a while, went to Christian schools, and ended my formal education with 2 years at a public school. When preparing to go to public school, I was told to be careful that teachers were not portraying sinful behavior as acceptable. Mom often spoke of the propaganda  being used in schools to promote abortion, sexual promiscuity, and such things. Mom, you were righter than you know!

Today, 180movie.com  posted this video from Planned Parenthood Golden Gate. This video was used on the PPGG site and most likely in schools often over the years. Besides the blatant lies about STDs and Christians, they have used terms like "reproductive health" in place of "killing babies" or "abortion". 

The producers of this video have demonized those who teach abstinence as the only guaranteed way of avoiding STDs and unplanned pregnancy, and even made fun of killing people using condoms and a superhero kind of gun. I find it odd that they don't want to teach abstinence, though no one can argue that avoiding sexual activity outside of marriage has proven effective. Does someone need to draw a diagram of how this works better than handing out condoms and telling kids how to use them? Surely these same people would tell you the only way to stop crime is to ban guns for everyone, even law abiding citizens.

Christian parents would do well to know what is being taught in their kids classrooms, though often you will not get advanced notice or be able to provide alternate activities during such times of brainwashing.

This video is not appropriate for young viewers, though something like it may very well be in your kids classroom at public schools. 

Cherish today

Many of you may already know the story of Denise Sproul. The wife of author and pastor R.C. Sproul Jr. passed away last night after a battle with cancer. Leaving behind her husband, eight children, and many lives that were changed through her ministry, many across the country are weeping today as they get the news. One of which is Doug Phillip's family, who ministered together often. Doug writes about Denise's impact on his family and especially his wife. Doug writes a cautionary tale of how we ought to cherish each moment with those we love. Read the whole story on Doug's Blog. Below is a short excerpt:

Tonight, stop and take a really good look at your spouse. Next, look at each of your children. Look really, really long and hard. Take a moment and thank God for every whisper of a moment that God has given you with them. Thank God for the little kisses offered, the stories told, the tickles dispensed, the games played, the readings shared, the silent moments cherished, the victories experienced, the losses endured, the kind words presented , the songs sung, the glances exchanged.

Though we never had the chance to meet this precious woman of God personally, we feel like we have had a chance to see her life through the ministry of herself and R.C, as well as the wisdom shared in R.C.'s writing. A book we recently read and highly recommend is "When you rise up" We will be posting a review of this book soon on Sara's blog and our Cowperthwaite Family Resources site.  See our Resources page for a purchase link. 

Through the pain of loss, still we can see a brighter side to this story, in that a child of God has been ushered home, into the presence of her Savior. For this, we shed tears of joy, knowing that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. What a precious promise! We will be praying for the family, especially for R.C. and the children as they prepare for life without Denise, knowing  that the Lord will work mightily for His glory in all things. 

When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling By P & R Publishing Who should teach your children? What should they be taught? What is the goal of education? Drawing on Charlotte Mason's and classical methods and encouraging parents as God's chosen teachers, Sproul offers a biblical approach to learning that defines instruction as discipleship; and its purpose as seeing your children bear fruit, grow in grace, and become more like Christ. 152 pages, softcover from P & R.

12 days of home school

This was shared with us via Facebook, but we thought we would share a permalink here. We are often asked many of these questions regarding educating our own children, along with many more. I thought this was well done, funny, and they even sing pretty well!