We do not celebrate Christmas and there are many reasons for that. The bible has given specific dates for the biblical feasts and festivals- specific days and times, but it never states that on December 25th we should celebrate the birth of Jesus. Our family celebrates His birth during the Feast of Tabernacles- a time when God dwelled with the people. So to us, it makes sense to celebrate our Savior, Immanuel (God is with us), during this festival which occurs in the fall. The history and origins of Christmas are interesting, but you can research that on your own if you feel led to do so.
Another reason we choose not to celebrate Christmas is because of all the massive, unnecessary consumerism revolving around this holiday. Did you hear about the Wal-Mart employee that was trampled to death on Black Friday? Was that good deal on that one item really worth his life? Does Messiah want us rushing around stressing ourselves and our families out all in the name of presents?... material items that have no eternal significance... So for all of my friends that celebrate Jesus on Christmas I just have one thing for you to consider...
Monday, December 8, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action" -WJ Cameron
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. There are so many things that I love about it: getting together with family and sharing a beautiful meal together, the changing leaves and the sound that they make under my feet, the smell of fires burning in chimneys, the crisp cool air, throwing the football around... I could go on and on. It is true that I love these things very much, but I feel that Thanksgiving means so much more to me this year. I started thinking about what Thanksgiving means; I looked it up in the dictionary and it says thanksgiving is the ACT of giving thanks, and EXPRESSION of gratitude. When I was a child I was taught that Thanksgiving was a time to reflect upon and recall all of the things I was thankful for. I still think of Thanksgiving as a time to count my blessings... but this year I am realizing that Thanksgiving is more than just thinking about all the things I am thankful for; thanksgiving is an action. Well, what does this mean? Does it mean to verbally express how thankful I am to God, my husband, children, family, and friends? Does it mean doing things to show them how much I appreciate them? These things, no doubt, are very important.
However, I think thanksgiving is even more than that. I was listening to the radio the other day and I heard a man say something very unexpected. He said "Thankfulness comes from within our hearts and it isn't dependent on outside circumstances." This man was right. It is quite easy to be thankful when everything is going great in our lives- we are healthy, well-fed, have clean water to drink, and a warm roof to live under- and on top of those basic needs we have clothes, transportation, family and friends that love and support us, and so many freedoms in this country that we take for granted... but what if all of these things were stripped away? What if Matt lost his job, or our house burned down, or our health declined, etc.? Would we still be thankful? What I have realized is that thanksgiving is an attitude of the heart. Especially when faced with adversity, the true attitude of our heart comes out. This kind of thankfulness reminds me of the story of Job and how everything that meant the most to him on this earth was taken away from him yet he never turned his heart away from God. That is amazing to me. He was able to face adversity with praise and thanksgiving in his heart. Having a good heart attitude is hard work and requires constant attention and effort. So as I go through the rest of this year I want to remember to continuously examine the attitude of my heart and make the conscious choice to be thankful in ALL situations and circumstances.
However, I think thanksgiving is even more than that. I was listening to the radio the other day and I heard a man say something very unexpected. He said "Thankfulness comes from within our hearts and it isn't dependent on outside circumstances." This man was right. It is quite easy to be thankful when everything is going great in our lives- we are healthy, well-fed, have clean water to drink, and a warm roof to live under- and on top of those basic needs we have clothes, transportation, family and friends that love and support us, and so many freedoms in this country that we take for granted... but what if all of these things were stripped away? What if Matt lost his job, or our house burned down, or our health declined, etc.? Would we still be thankful? What I have realized is that thanksgiving is an attitude of the heart. Especially when faced with adversity, the true attitude of our heart comes out. This kind of thankfulness reminds me of the story of Job and how everything that meant the most to him on this earth was taken away from him yet he never turned his heart away from God. That is amazing to me. He was able to face adversity with praise and thanksgiving in his heart. Having a good heart attitude is hard work and requires constant attention and effort. So as I go through the rest of this year I want to remember to continuously examine the attitude of my heart and make the conscious choice to be thankful in ALL situations and circumstances.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Constant Companions
These pictures display what my kids are usually busy doing while I am trying to cook dinner or do the dishes. They want to be at my feet getting out every dish and kitchen appliance that they can get their hands on! I often times will find toys in the cabinets when I go to reach for a mixing bowl, pot or pan!
No matter where I go in the house my children are never too far behind. Every now and then I would find myself getting bothered by this constant companionship. I have a very type A personality and I tend to get overly focused on completing a task. The problem with this is that I sometimes end up pushing my children to the background in the name of being productive. I'll get them busy doing some chores or try to get them interested in a toy or an activity so that I can get stuff done...but where is the companionship in all of this, the Deut. 6?
I think it is important for them to see me doing chores around the house and I think they need to do their part to contribute as well. I also think it is good for children to be able to occupy and entertain themselves for short spurts of time. The problem occurs when there isn't a proper balance between work and moments of engagement. If I see that my children are happily engaged in something then I will be tempted to just keep going with my work around the house and before I know it an hour or two might pass. The crazy thing is that there is always something to be done around the house. I could be working on it all day long, but the next day it would be the same and the next and the next. I often think of Ecclesiastes when I think of house work. A lot of times I feel it is all in vain because the minute I do dishes the sink is full again and the minute I fold the last piece of laundry the basket is full. Though it is good and necessary for these things to be done and I obviously understand the purpose behind them, I sometimes wonder can the dishes and the laundry just wait? I am positive they will still be there tomorrow in an even greater quantity...but in the big picture it might be more important for me to just sit down and read a book to Elijah or do a puzzle with Caleb or roll a ball around on the floor with Jonas. Even more than that I should involve them in the preparing and cooking of meals and letting them help me do the dishes or sweep the floor- which I sometimes don't let them do because I have a certain way I like to do things...but it would be so much more beneficial to them if I could just let go of some of my perfectionism and just let them accompany me in these daily tasks. I have come to the conclusion that they are better of by my side rather than being left to themselves. That way I can really live out Deut. 6 and I can teach them God's truth and wisdom as we walk though this life TOGETHER.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Faithful in a little
"When you are faithful in a little, more will be given you."
I have heard this quote before, but I was reminded of it as I was sitting in a Spell to Write and Read training seminar. The trainer posted this quote on her power point because she knew that all of us homeschooling mothers would be feeling overwhelmed by the massive amount of information that she was presenting to us. We were all sitting there trying to figure out how to process and implement all that we were learning and she reminded us that we won't be able to have it all figured out before we start the program, we just have to take the first step of faith and learn how to use the program as we go. She was just there helping us a gain a firm foundation in the principles and concepts behind the program but she wanted to remind us that if we remain devoted and faithful to doing a little each day, then each day we would gain more understanding of how the program operates and in the end it would prove itself to be fruitful.
Well, I took more away from that seminar than simply learning how to teach my child how to spell, write and read. The more I thought about that quote, I realized it could be applied to almost every area of my life. Truth be told, I am not a very disciplined person and I have to work very hard to stick to a task and see it to fruition. On the other hand, I am very good at procrastinating and being distracted...and then I get overwhelmed feeling like nothing ever gets accomplished! I want to have a nice, clean house and cook delicious, healthy meals everyday, plan awesome activities for our homeschool, exercise daily, and be an energetic, enthusiastic, optimistic wife and mother...but unfortunately I haven't yet figured out how to be and do all of those things at the same time! But what I came to realize is that if I can just remain true, devoted, and faithful in just one area of my life then all of these other things would more than likely be given to me. That one area is my relationship with the Father. I often times find myself struggling trying to accomplish things in my own power and not fully relying on God, but I just know that God wants my whole heart and not just a half-hearted prayer before I go to sleep at night. He wants my first fruits and I know that if I can remain faithful and devoted to Him that He will give me the energy and wisdom to accomplish all of the other tasks in my day.
"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
-Matthew 6:24-33 NASB
"O love the Lord, all you His godly ones! The Lord preserves the faithful and fully recompenses the proud doer. Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord."
-Psalm 31:23-24
I have heard this quote before, but I was reminded of it as I was sitting in a Spell to Write and Read training seminar. The trainer posted this quote on her power point because she knew that all of us homeschooling mothers would be feeling overwhelmed by the massive amount of information that she was presenting to us. We were all sitting there trying to figure out how to process and implement all that we were learning and she reminded us that we won't be able to have it all figured out before we start the program, we just have to take the first step of faith and learn how to use the program as we go. She was just there helping us a gain a firm foundation in the principles and concepts behind the program but she wanted to remind us that if we remain devoted and faithful to doing a little each day, then each day we would gain more understanding of how the program operates and in the end it would prove itself to be fruitful.
Well, I took more away from that seminar than simply learning how to teach my child how to spell, write and read. The more I thought about that quote, I realized it could be applied to almost every area of my life. Truth be told, I am not a very disciplined person and I have to work very hard to stick to a task and see it to fruition. On the other hand, I am very good at procrastinating and being distracted...and then I get overwhelmed feeling like nothing ever gets accomplished! I want to have a nice, clean house and cook delicious, healthy meals everyday, plan awesome activities for our homeschool, exercise daily, and be an energetic, enthusiastic, optimistic wife and mother...but unfortunately I haven't yet figured out how to be and do all of those things at the same time! But what I came to realize is that if I can just remain true, devoted, and faithful in just one area of my life then all of these other things would more than likely be given to me. That one area is my relationship with the Father. I often times find myself struggling trying to accomplish things in my own power and not fully relying on God, but I just know that God wants my whole heart and not just a half-hearted prayer before I go to sleep at night. He wants my first fruits and I know that if I can remain faithful and devoted to Him that He will give me the energy and wisdom to accomplish all of the other tasks in my day.
"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
-Matthew 6:24-33 NASB
"O love the Lord, all you His godly ones! The Lord preserves the faithful and fully recompenses the proud doer. Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord."
-Psalm 31:23-24
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Bits of wisdom from Charlotte Mason
On page 231 of her book Towards a Philosophy of Education, Miss Mason says that we should communicate to our children the beauty and truth of mathematics. They should understand that it is a "great thing to be brought into the presence of a law, of a whole system of laws, that exist without our concurrence,-that two straight lines cannot enclose a space is a fact which we can perceive, state, and act upon but cannot in any wise alter..." and this "should give to children the sense of limitation which is wholesome for all of us, and inspire that sursum corda which we should hear in all natural law."
Sursum Corda is the name of a particular versicle (a response exchange, whereby there is a short verse the minister recites and given response for the congregation's reply). Sursum Corda is the 'lift up your hearts' versicle. So Sursum Corda refers to the portion of the service when the minister says to the church "Lift up your hearts" and the congregation responds "We lift them to the Lord."
Miss Mason is pointing out that all natural law is God's law, and is part of God's voice to us. Whenever we learn of one of God's natural laws, whether it be that two and two make four and never three or five, or that apples fall down and not up, or that all things reproduce after their own kind, or that a blade of grass produces food from sunlight in a process we now call photosynthesis- it should be to us as though that natural law were the voice of God (which it is) saying to us "Lift up your hearts" and we should feel our hearts naturally, gratefully, and willingly responding to the voice of God in affirmation- "We lift them up to the Lord."
- excerpt from an article in the Charlotte Mason Educational Review written by Wendi Capehart
Out of all of the many styles, approaches and philosophies on education I find myself identifying most strongly with the ideas of Charlotte Mason. It took me a while to come to this conclusion...and I will explain more of the process of coming to this conclusion over time. There is so much wisdoms and practical goodness that comes from Charlotte Mason.
My degree is in elementary education and I started out homeschooling the same way that I was taught as a kid and the same way that I was taught to teach when I was in my teaching program. But finally, and I say this with much enthusiasm, for the first time since we decided we were going to homeschool (which was before we even got married and had children) I feel myself pulling away from my training towards public education and I feel a tremendous amount of freedom in that. I feel like I have gained this new confidence and peace in the understanding that one of the greatest things about homeschooling is that I don't have to do it like the public school... and in fact, I can do it better! I am not saying this in an arrogant way; I can say that because I know my children better than any teacher in the public school ever could. I know their strengths, weaknesses, passions, frustrations etc. I can move at a pace that is comfortable for them, whether it be fast or slow. There are a million reasons why homeschooling is great, but perhaps the biggest reason of all is that I get to spend time walking and talking with my children. I get to know and understand their hearts. I get to disciple them and train them up in the way that they should go...and for that I feel so blessed.
Last year I started "Kindergarten" with Elijah and he is bent towards math so I focused a lot on math and probably pushed him too hard. Ultimately I ended up with a frustrated child that dreaded "school". So I had to take a step back a re-evaluate the situation. Just because a child might be good at something doesn't mean that it is good to push them to the point that they no longer enjoy it. I just hope I didn't do too much permanent damage in my first year of homeschooling! I'm just hoping that he won't remember all my mistakes because he is, after all, only 5 years old...but he is also like his father- the "rain man"-...so maybe I should just hope that he would be forgiving instead.
Anyways- math has been the toughest subject for me to choose a curriculum for because I find myself debating over should I go with a program that emphasizes mental math, or one that is real hands-on, or one that goes right along with the scope and sequence of the public school??? After a lot of thought and research I have decided to go with the mental math curriculum. It does not follow a traditional approach, but it teaches the child how to "think" mathematically and logically. Charlotte Mason takes the purpose of math to an even higher level- when she basically says that all natural law is God's law- God is revealing a little bit about Himself to us through these natural laws. That made so much sense to me. So hopefully this year we can start with a clean slate and maybe this time I will have a better sense of my goals and priorities for our homeschool.
Sursum Corda is the name of a particular versicle (a response exchange, whereby there is a short verse the minister recites and given response for the congregation's reply). Sursum Corda is the 'lift up your hearts' versicle. So Sursum Corda refers to the portion of the service when the minister says to the church "Lift up your hearts" and the congregation responds "We lift them to the Lord."
Miss Mason is pointing out that all natural law is God's law, and is part of God's voice to us. Whenever we learn of one of God's natural laws, whether it be that two and two make four and never three or five, or that apples fall down and not up, or that all things reproduce after their own kind, or that a blade of grass produces food from sunlight in a process we now call photosynthesis- it should be to us as though that natural law were the voice of God (which it is) saying to us "Lift up your hearts" and we should feel our hearts naturally, gratefully, and willingly responding to the voice of God in affirmation- "We lift them up to the Lord."
- excerpt from an article in the Charlotte Mason Educational Review written by Wendi Capehart
Out of all of the many styles, approaches and philosophies on education I find myself identifying most strongly with the ideas of Charlotte Mason. It took me a while to come to this conclusion...and I will explain more of the process of coming to this conclusion over time. There is so much wisdoms and practical goodness that comes from Charlotte Mason.
My degree is in elementary education and I started out homeschooling the same way that I was taught as a kid and the same way that I was taught to teach when I was in my teaching program. But finally, and I say this with much enthusiasm, for the first time since we decided we were going to homeschool (which was before we even got married and had children) I feel myself pulling away from my training towards public education and I feel a tremendous amount of freedom in that. I feel like I have gained this new confidence and peace in the understanding that one of the greatest things about homeschooling is that I don't have to do it like the public school... and in fact, I can do it better! I am not saying this in an arrogant way; I can say that because I know my children better than any teacher in the public school ever could. I know their strengths, weaknesses, passions, frustrations etc. I can move at a pace that is comfortable for them, whether it be fast or slow. There are a million reasons why homeschooling is great, but perhaps the biggest reason of all is that I get to spend time walking and talking with my children. I get to know and understand their hearts. I get to disciple them and train them up in the way that they should go...and for that I feel so blessed.
Last year I started "Kindergarten" with Elijah and he is bent towards math so I focused a lot on math and probably pushed him too hard. Ultimately I ended up with a frustrated child that dreaded "school". So I had to take a step back a re-evaluate the situation. Just because a child might be good at something doesn't mean that it is good to push them to the point that they no longer enjoy it. I just hope I didn't do too much permanent damage in my first year of homeschooling! I'm just hoping that he won't remember all my mistakes because he is, after all, only 5 years old...but he is also like his father- the "rain man"-...so maybe I should just hope that he would be forgiving instead.
Anyways- math has been the toughest subject for me to choose a curriculum for because I find myself debating over should I go with a program that emphasizes mental math, or one that is real hands-on, or one that goes right along with the scope and sequence of the public school??? After a lot of thought and research I have decided to go with the mental math curriculum. It does not follow a traditional approach, but it teaches the child how to "think" mathematically and logically. Charlotte Mason takes the purpose of math to an even higher level- when she basically says that all natural law is God's law- God is revealing a little bit about Himself to us through these natural laws. That made so much sense to me. So hopefully this year we can start with a clean slate and maybe this time I will have a better sense of my goals and priorities for our homeschool.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Fourth of July
When I was thinking about the 4th of July, I realized it involves a lot of things that start with F... family, food, fun, the flag, and fireworks! I love Independence Day. It's one of my favorite american holidays. We usually do the same thing every year, but I just love it! We started off the day by going downtown for the parade. It was just a small parade, but the kids really liked the fire trucks and old cars and clowns (which I am not particularly fond of...kind of scary). Then we went home and gave them naps so they could stay up late and watch the fireworks. When they woke up we grilled out with my in-laws, my niece who was visiting from Charlotte, and my friend Adria. We let the kids swim for a while in Nana's pool and then it started to rain! I was hoping that it would stop before it was time for fire works...and thankfully it did or the kids would have been disappointed and up until midnight after that long nap that they had! We were trying to think of good places to watch the fireworks- a place that wasn't too crowded and where the traffic wouldn't be ridiculous...and my friend Adria came up with the perfect plan...the top of the parking deck at UNCG! It was less than a mile from where they were setting off the fireworks and it ended up being this secret, fabulous place. I don't know why other people haven't thought of it, but there were probably only a handful of other people who had the same idea. We had an amazing view of the fireworks and the kids loved it...even baby Jonas was saying "wow"! It was really cute.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Hair today, gone tomorrow!
"Funny" things are always happening at the Vaughn house. This particular incident involved hair- my hair to be exact! For the past 3 years I have been trying to grow my hair out and it was getting pretty long...about half way down my back. I usually get the urge to cut it once it gets a few inches past my shoulders, but I was doing really good this time about being patient and letting it grow.
Well, I have resolved to do most of my computer stuff at night so that I can stay focused on the kids during the day, but on this particular day I had to be on the computer for a brief 5-10 minutes. I am attending a homeschool curriculum workshop in August and the one for July filled up so quickly that the organizer told me that I needed to hurry up and fill out the registration form before the class was full. So here I am frantically trying to fill out the form on the computer and I hear this little voice behind me say "Mama, I cut you's hair"!!!! What????? It was Caleb, my 2 year old. He snuck up on me like a ninja and cut my hair! I didn't even hear him do it! So I grabbed my hair to access the damage and I pulled out a good sized chunk, so I ran to the mirror and sure enough he cut a top layer piece in the back all the way up to my chin! So much for growing out my hair! I don't even know how he even got the scissors in the first place because I usually have those on a high shelf where the kids can't reach them...so that is still a mystery.
Thankfully I didn't have to get it all chopped off. I went to a great salon Jade Aveda(which we can't really afford), but I figured they were so good that they might be able to salvage my hair some how and they did! I only had to have 2 inches taken off the bottom and then she put in some additional layers on the top to blend in where Caleb cut it. So when it was all said and done, I actually ended up with a pretty decent hair cut!
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