NCHE Conference Update

Glad to be at the NCHE conference again this year. Already bought our curriculum for next year (always the first thing we do). My Father's World has a BIG area at the book fair. Also bought great gifts and new (old) books. It was good to hear Mark Hamby again. Good coffee at Brew Nerds. Nice dinner at Mellow Mushroom. I checked out the room I will be speaking in tomorrow. Pretty big. Hope it's full. Pray for me. I don't want it to be "just another workshop." Of course, I assume (or hope anyway) that none of the speakers want theirs to be "just another workshop." But I am praying that a passion will be ignited (or fanned) for establishing authentic relationships with their children and helping them to follow Christ!

A Prayer for My Children

“May our sons in their youthbe like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace.” Psalm 144:12

May my sons be healthy, mature, productive young men. May my daughters be strong, beautiful young women, ready for honorable service.

What a contrast to our culture, which often produces immature, unprepared young men and women who are dependent consumers. I want to raise a different standard from my sons and daughters. I will do all I can to prepare them for a productive life of service.

Morning Prayer

Here in the High Country it is finally warm enough early in the morning to sit outside to meet the Lord. I can sit here and listen to the birds sing. I can look out at my garden. We have planted asparagus, about 18 tomato plants, peppers, leeks, and we have some mustard and collard greens coming up from last year. I love being outside! Here is a wonderful morning prayer from the Psalms:

"Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!"

Psalm 143:8, 10

Speaking at the NCHE Conference

I am looking forward to speaking in one of the workshops at the North Carolinians for Home Education Conference. My time is Friday, 3:30-4:30 in the Gains Ballroom. Here is the title and description:

Who’s the Boss?: Biblical Authority in Parenting

Children are ever changing, complicated, individually unique little beings. How can we successfully love and teach them? How do parents establish control in the home and at the same time teach children to establish their own faith and motivation? Parents are given authority and responsibility from God to both discipline and disciple their children. In this session, the balance and timing of these two responsibilities will be explored.

Graduated Two Years Ago!

Thanks to Dave Black, who was my Ph.D. mentor,  for posting some excerpts from my dissertation, The Authority of Church Elders in the NT. I graduated around this time two years ago! I often think of how glad I am to be done; but I am even more glad I did it! The privilege of working with Dave Black was one of the highlights. I could say many positive things about his scholarship and how he challenged me academically, but the most profound influence he has had upon me is the love for Christ and his church the he and BeckyLynn have LIVED OUT! He posted our picture taken just after my Ph.D. oral exam in 2006. Dave is all the way on the left.

Children are Worshipers

“All humans have a Godward orientation. . . . Children are worshipers. Either they worship Jehovah or idols.” “He is wither worshiping and serving and growing in understanding of the implications of who God is, or he is seeking to make sense of life without a relationship with God. . . . Part of the parent’s task is to shepherd him as a creature who worships, pointing him to the One who alone is worthy of his worship.”

“Since it is the Godward orientation of your child’s heart that determines his response to life, you may never conclude that his problems are simply a lack of maturity. Selfishness is not outgrown. Rebellion against authority is not outgrown. These things are not outgrown because they are not reflective of immaturity but rather of the idolatry of your child’s heart.”

- Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child's Heart, 19, 21-23.

This last paragraph was especially striking to me. I so often hear the hope of parents that their self-centered children will one day "grow out of it." A brief observations of adults would quickly dash this hope. The only real progress with adults is that they learn to put up a good front, being more shrewd and socially acceptable with their selfishness.

Go to the NCHE Conference!

Next week we will be attending the annual conference for the North Carolinians for Home Education. This will be our eighth year (I think). Last year I wrote "Top Ten Highlights of the NCHE Conference" for the newsletter, the Greenhouse. I am posting it again now in case it is not too late for you to consider attending. Worth it!

Top Ten Highlights of the 2010 NCHE Conference

Six years ago, my wife Dana and I wandered around the Convention Center in wide-eyed amazement. It was our first NCHE Conference ever and we had never seen so many homeschooling people, philosophies, books, and curriculum. That first year was life changing for us and helped us set the course for our home education journey. Since then, we have made the annual conference a priority and we are encouraged and challenged every year. This year was no exception. So I would like to share the top ten highlights of the 2010 NCHE for Dana and me.

10. Our hotel room card opened the door and there was no one staying in our hotel room. Two years ago we tried to save money and stayed in a crummy hotel. After returning to the front desk for the third time, the room card finally opened the door . . . but there were people in there! Recommendation #1: Don’t come for just the book fair or one day of sessions. Make it a priority, take off work, and come for the whole conference as a couple. Recommendation #2: Save up some money and stay in a nice hotel.

9. Buying our curriculum. Every year, the first thing we do is head to the My Father’s World booth and buy all our curriculum for next year. We love this curriculum, love saving money on shipping, and are glad to get the main, big purchase out of the way.

8. BrewNerds Coffee. Its hard to justify spending so much time in the insanely long line at Starbucks, but I usually do. Not this year. Instead, I found Brewnerds Coffee one block away on Fourth Street. It is easily as good (probably better) than Starbucks and the line was short. I also learned it owned from strong believers.

7. Meeting old friends. There are some people I don’t ever see except at the conference. What a blessing to give hugs and talk face to face instead of over e-mail!

6. Meeting new friends. This is difficult not to do. It is very encouraging to meet and be sharpened by so many other like-minded people.

5. Finding new books. The two book purchases I am especially happy with: What a Daughter Needs from Her Dad: How a Man Prepares His Daughter for Life by Michael Farris, and the first two books of The Peleg Chronicles by Matthew Christian Harding, Foundlings and Paladins (this series is supposed to be for the kids, but I sure am enjoying them!).

4. Helping wide-eyed first timers. We met a couple that was there for the first time. It was easy to remember what that was like and so we felt a little sorry for them! It was a joy to help them sort through the overwhelming mass of information and select a curriculum.

3. Being reminded of how important it is to spend quantity and quality time with my kids. Even though our family spends most our time together, there are two traps we must watch out for: 1) Spending a lot of busy time with your family without realizing they need also need more focused relationship time, and 2) Not taking the time to spend one on one time with your kids.

2. Renewing a godly generational vision. I especially enjoyed hearing Kevin Swanson speak on the importance of such a generational vision. The heart of home education is that parents are taking responsibility for diligently teaching their children to love God so that they can teach their own children. “That you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son” (Deut 6:2)

1. Spending time with my wife. We take all the kids (except the youngest) to Grandma’s house and drop them off. The time that Dana and I have together at the conference is always rich. We spend a lot of time talking, especially on our regular Friday night date to Macaroni Grill. We are inspired by what we hear and share what God is doing in our hearts. We talk about our family and discuss ways to grow and improve.

All in all, we are grateful to be a part of NCHE and the opportunity to participate in a conference like this. See ya’ll next year!