You're Gonna Be Ok

I met my husband shortly after becoming a Christian. If you knew him, you would totally get that he had a required reading list for me. I had never heard of C.S. Lewis until then, but fell in love with him through Narnia and have been a firm believer in Narnia since.
I have read it countless times out loud to my kids watched all the versions of all the movies, read the rest of Jack's books, read books about Jack and referenced Narnia in my life as a touch point for the real things.

I would say it's been a hard season, but aren't all seasons hard, even the good ones? No, this season has been heart wrenching and heart breaking. We have lived in faith-doing hard things, sometimes crazy things. But, I have believed through it all that Narnia was more real than this world. My Narnian belief has been that money, success, accolades are simply temporary and if we pour into people, family, our children, you know, the REAL things, all would be right in our world.

But we have been betrayed. We have been betrayed by those we have loved and sacrificed for. Heart broken barely touches the surface of what that means. I have lost faith in Narnia. I have questioned why. I have been angry at the sacrifices and counted us as fools. Not fools for Christ. Just simply fools.

In the movie, Paul, Apostle of Christ, Luke is in the dungeon below the Circus with fellow believers. A small child, who knows he is about to be fed to the lions, asks him, "Will it hurt." Luke gently says, "Yes, my child. it will hurt, but only for a minute, and then it will be O.k."

My husband told me this morning that line came from a recent event in Iraq, where Christians were being martyred. The church tried valiantly to get as many believers to safety as possible, but when it came to the point that many would be slain, the Bishop went among them and said, "it will be painful, but only for a moment, and then it will be o.k."

This world. Oh. It is painful. The more kids you have, the more people you love, the more you invest and sacrifice and give, the more potential loss and pain and hurt. And I honestly don't know how people who don't believe in God- believe in Narnia -manage it without drugs or denial or a good bit of both.

I know that Narnia is real. Hope is never lost. Hold on. Don't let go. Just stay one step closer, one step in front of the other. You'll get through this, just follow the light in the darkness. You are going to be ok. Narnia is real. True North exists and the Lion of Narnia, and Judah, knows your name. He knows my name. He catches every tear and promises peace and everlasting joy for those who continue to stand.

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

55 Things I've Learned in 55 Years

I had a birthday. It was a crazy busy week full of work, homework, people, friends, responsibilities and blessings. Monday we traveled to see the totality of the solar eclipse; my science-loving husband's birthday present to me. It was so beautiful and awe-inspiring. We were humbled and amazed.

Saturday, we were able to attend another inspiring Bible Study with our friend, Rabbi Wolicki of CJCUC -you can soon purchase his terrific book, Cup of Salvation.  (listen to the pod-casts, buy the book- it is excellent!)

In the midst of it all,  I received lovely flowers, thoughtful cards and beautiful birthday wishes  and my dear friend Ruth even came and cleaned my house. I am blessed by the simple and profound things of this week. 

With that, I wrote a list ('cause I love doing that)- 55 Things I've learned in my 55 years in this world. Some things on this list are simple, some are profound. 

1. Kindred souls are found in unlikely places.
2. Marriage is a messy sacrament.
3. Laughter is good and healing medicine.
4. In the end, all will be well. If it's not well, it's not the end.
5. Glitter is the herpes of the craft world.
6. Life is never what you expect.
7. You are not responsible for outcomes.
8. You are responsible to be faithful.
9. Do not despise the little things
10. Children are little things.
11. Children are a gift from God. Have many.
12. Growing old is a double edged sword. Honor the elderly.

13. Enjoy your knees while you are young and they still work.
14. Run after wisdom.
15. Don't suffer fools.
16. Search out the Master of the Universe. Nothing else makes sense. He always does.
17. All things work together for good to those who love Him. If you love Him, it will all work together for good.
18. Travel. Talk to the natives.
19. People love to be invited to the party, into the ministry, alongside the work. Invite others in.
20. Don't waste time being timid.
21. Books.
22. All great writing is redemptive.
23. Repetitio mater memoria
24. Listen well.
25. Flowers are always appropriate.

26. Children's laughter is the music of the Universe.
27. Jesus is alive and well, lives and reigns, loves and exhorts. You are His child. He loves you.

28. Ora et Labora.
29. Staying married takes hard work and sacrifice and can bring great joy. Stay the course. Love as best you know how. Extend mercy and grace. Laugh together- be a friend to one another.

30. Marriage vows are before God, not man.
30. Raising children is not for the faint of heart.
31. God loves your children more than you do.
32. There will always be those committed to misunderstanding you. Quit explaining and live your life.
33. Do hard things.
34. Finish well.
35. Be bold and courageous.

36. Let others tell their story. Listen well. They are waiting for a ready audience.
37. Prayer changes things. Mainly those praying. Pray without ceasing. The world needs it, you need it. Don't lose hope.
38. Feeding people is a simple and profound ministry.

39. Serve others out of their need, not your abundance.
40. Life sacrificially. It won't kill you. It might strengthen you.
41. Don't grow bitter. Choose life, not death.
42. Make your bed everyday.
43.Drink water.
44. White sugar is of the devil.
45. God has a perfect plan for your life. The Enemy of your soul has a perfect plan for your life. Choose the Master Strategist, not the master deceiver.
46. Sin makes you stupid.
47. G-rated living keeps you young. Cleanliness is a simple pleasure. Keep you heart, mind and kitchen clean.
48. Grow things- plants, people, blogs, ideas.
49. Find people who are smarter than you and learn from them.
50. Don't be afraid to look up and get in touch with people you don't know but want to. Call them up, email them, write them a letter- introduce yourself; make a friend!
51. Laugh at yourself. Laugh. A lot. Learn the art of humor. Practice it.

52. Take the long view.
53. Time is fleeing, life goes fast. My Gram, who died last summer at 99 said, "Honey, if you think it goes by fast now, wait until you're my age. You go to bed and wake up and it's a decade later!"
54. Sleep is cheap medicine.
55. Live with no regrets

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

"Hey! Unto You a Child Is Born!"

We read "The Best Christmas Present Ever," for our last book of the semester. Flower wrote this on her in response to the question, "Discuss the life lessons/ spiritual wisdom you gained through the novels/characters."

"What is on the surface isn't (always) in the depths, "HEY! Unto you a Child is born!" Something that looks like the most scary thing ever can really be something that needs a little Jesus." 

We were talking yesterday, on our way to do an errand, about why some people go to church for the cultural aspect of it alone. How going to church is the only indication that distinguishes them from someone who doesn't. They still talk and act, think and do like most of the rest of the world- i.e. for themselves. They have no missional focus, no sacrificial service, no radical plan or vision. It's just worldly business as usual- another day, another dollar, another way to get by.  Christ is transformative, and if your life doesn't reflect that, than maybe you need a little more Jesus. As we were talking, it struck me, once again, how Christianity is not just a nice idea. It's not a social club, not a "I'll get to it later," not a "my religion," not an option type of thing. It's Truth. And if you deny it, so what. The Master of the Universe will not be un-done simply because you do not acknowledge Him.

We see through a glass darkly, and beyond that is a universe- galaxies - of spiritual Truth that our minds and bodies will need to be made new for before we can even hope to grasp or engage with it. And in that space, the Master of the Universe dwells, still creating galaxies and new life and Transformation.

That being said, getting a little Jesus in your life changes everything-challenges, provokes, divides, defines, and brings about revolutions of one sort or another, It's not for the faint of heart- or else the very act of getting a little Jesus will take our faint hearts and instill in them courage beyond ourselves!

And in light of this, I believe that this little word study by George Grant is totally appropriate: The word "merry" is from an old Anglo-Saxon word which literally meant, "valiant," "Illustrious," "great" or "mighty." Thus, to be merry was not merely to be mirthful, but to be joyously strong and gallant. In Shakespeare we read of fiercely courageous soldiers who were called "merry men." Strong winds were "merry gales." Fine days were marked by "merry weather." So, when we wish one another "Merry Christmas," we are really exhorting one another to take heart and to stand fast

"Hey! Unto You a Child Is Born!"

Merry Christmas! 

Take heart, stand fast, the Savior of the world has come! 

Light has come~light will come again!

Alleluia! 

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Deck Everything- with Lights!

Our house is decked-seriously, 3 full stories - decked in lights, along with the arbor, and several trees. Dr. Dh was drinking egg-nog yesterday morning, gave a happy sigh and said, "I love Christmas." And he does. The lights are his stand, in a world and a job that often focuses on loss and darkness, that the Light conquers, loves and makes all things new.

We are history buffs around here and love timelines and historical comparisons, and Dr Dh and I were talking about the fact that 100 years ago both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were fighting in the muck and death filled trenches of WWI. And yet out of that misery and tragedy sprang some of the greatest literature of our time.

C.S. Lewis has been a mentor of mine for many years. Narnia has been a true place, if not physically real, for most of my Christian life. It's been a place of hope and rest, where my own weaknesses and shortcomings are not so huge, where Marshwiggles do crazy things, if only for a dream, where even the weak and meek and lost can make a difference and where SomeONE bigger than everyone else speaks life and worlds and renewal into existence. Lewis reminds us that The Deep Magic IS a real thing.

I've had some hard conversations with some of my kids recently about disappointments- with ourselves, other people, the church. Unfulfilled hopes; future that might not happen, a tribe that doesn't exist or show up. It's easy to get burned out and give up. It's easy to focus on what isn't, instead of what could be; veering way off course from True North.

The last several years have been brutally challenging in one way or another, and I understand my kids' grief over what might never transpire in this life-time. But I have to hold fast to Narnia. For my own sanity, because I'm not very good at plugging along for no good reason; for my own salvation and eternity. While I hope young people never have to endure the rat and death invested trenches of WWI again, I am grateful that they drove C.S. Lewis to create the world of Narnia. It gives me a touch-point. A place to remember, even if it exists only in my imagination; that what's to come is the fulfillment of all of our hopes, dreams and desires. We all need a little magic in our lives, and Deep Magic- the real thing-the magic of a Creator King- is far better than false manipulation. For Narnia and for Aslan!

It's Christmas and Hanukkah and the Season of Lights (if you doubt it, just come check out our decorations!) and the celebration of the Light-of-the-World, the Messiah, the One True King.

Glory to God in the Highest Heaven, 

Glory to God! 

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Memory and Hope

Jenny Rallens said something interseting in her talke the Liturgical Classroom and Virtue Formation that speaks to my little memory loving heart.
We cannot memorize with out a sense of it (senses meaning with our senses- sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell)
We can't think without memory.

Stop and ponder that for a minute. Without memory, we cannot think. I mean, really think.

think

THiNGk/

verb

1. 1.

   have a particular opinion, belief, or idea about someone or something.

   "she thought that nothing would be the same again"

   synonyms:

   believe, be of the opinion, be of the view, be under the impression; More
2. 2.

   direct one's mind toward someone or something; use one's mind actively to form connected ideas.

Withoug memory we can mimic, imitate or pretend but we can't truly think for ourselves. Given today's educational climate, that should give us all pause.

Memory is the Mother of Learning. Because without it, we remain childish in our thoughts and minds. With it, we can  brave oceans. face unbeatable odds, create sagas and symphonies, perform Shakespeare, own the poetry and prose of famous men, have the courage and conviction to face death for our beliefs.

I want that for my kids. I want that for myself. Honestly, I want that for your kids and the kids in inner city L.A. and for the kids half way around the world. I want them to be able to think. I want them to know the difference between emotion and reason, between cause and effect, between this life and the next. So that they can wonder, and marvel and have real courage, for the True things.

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What I've Learned from the Fathers in My Life

10 Things I learned from my Dad

1. Hard work.
2. Curiosity.
3. How to question.
4. How to talk to strangers and have a good conversation with almost anyone.
5. Reading opens up the world theoretically.
6. Travel opens up the world practically.
7. Don't give up.
8. Marriage is a good thing and till death do you part.
9. It's o.k, to cry.
10. Teaching people what you know is a gift.

10 Things my husband teaches his people

1. Passionate love for the things of God.
2. Truth is not optional or changing.
3. Live with integrity every minute of your life and live with no regrets.
4. Passionate curiosity about the world.
5. True love, care, sympathy, empathy and respect for people regardless of their circumstances. He sees and honors the Image of Gd in all people.
6. Work hard, play with abandon, live with intention, love with your whole heart.
7. Intellectual pursuit and exploration.
8. Prayer changes us and our circumstances
9. God calls us to be faithful, we don't get to choose the outcomes- we must trust God for those.
10. Reliability. If he promises or agrees to something, it will happen. His word is iron-clad.

10 Things I've learned from my Heavenly Father

1. All things work together for good to those who love Him.
2. We are His people if we choose to be.
3. He is a good, a very good, shepherd.
4. His table is always full.
5. We are all invited.
6. Prayer changes us and our circumstances
7. Vows and sacrament are real things.
8. By Him all things were created and by Him we live and breath and have our being.
9. Life is a gift.
10. He is the Master Teacher.

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

My Grandmother, My Grandson

Two weeks ago we stopped by Gram's house on our way out to meet the newest member of the family, our first grandson. Gram was born in July, 2016. We had a sweet visit- talked about flowers and weather and her plans to accommodate her failing eye-sight. When we left she squeezed my hand, looked into my blue eyes with her lovely brown ones and said, "Go with God." Her hand was firm, her grip strong, her voice steady. This woman has loved me my whole life. I have adored her all of mine.

Then we meet KB and Mr. V and little Baby V for a couple days of helping with the house flip, vacationing/conventioning and holding Mr. Cutie Pie who loves to be snuggled and talked to and shown the sites. I'm smitten, but seriously, look at that little face! 

And then we got a call that Gram had had a heart attack and was in a coma. So we stopped back by the Windy City to see her one last time. 

And then we drove home. And then we got a call that she had passed from this life to the next so we drove back to Chi-town for a funeral. 

It's been two weeks of contrasts, farewells, joy and grief, family and sorting a house chock full of childhood memories and sounds and smells and pictures of people I have loved so much. 

But it was a good week. A beautiful funeral, many loving tributes from neighbors and friends, and the knowledge that Gram died in her own home, which is just where she wanted to be. Laid to rest between Grandpa and Uncle Hank, under a tree. 

We brought back peonies that she brought to the house when she married Grandpa in 1936, pictures and history; hers, mine, ours, others. Her life was full and rich- full of friends and family, disappointments, hardship, hard work, joy, faith and love. 

Little Samwise spent the week with us and his parents and our family- celebrating the good, long life of his Great, Great Grandmother. 

 New life and old. 

My Grandmother.

My Grandson.

I am so grateful for Dorothy Irene's influence and love in my life. I hope that I can be every bit the amazing Grandmother that she was to my sisters and I, and all the many people that she touched and influenced. 

A life so very well lived. See you on the other side, Dear One. 

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2. 

"All I know is that Gram gave me great riches, and we wold, all of us, be less than we are if it weren't for those we love and who've loved use who have died." 
~Madeline L'Engle, An Acceptable Time

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Happy Mother's Day- What Really Matters

~ Happy Mother's Day~

...to all of those Momnas who have quietly sacrificed and made decisions to love their families in a world that encourages us to sacrifice them at birth, institutionalize them young and provide them with every worldly thing (screaming, "neglect" if we don't) but ignore their soul; to all the Mommas  who longed for years for children, to those who raised children who came at 'inconvenient" times, to those who took a neglected, cast-away child and raised them as their own-  don't forget what really matters. Because Motherhood is terrifically challenging and a Divine gift.

WHAT REALLY MATTERS

This is a quote from Hudson Taylor – missionary to China in the 1800′s. In a world enamored with position, promotion, celebrity and shameless self exaltation this is what REALLY matters.

“If God has called you to be really like Jesus in your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put on you such demands of obedience that He will not allow you to follow other Christians; and in many ways He will seem to let other good people do things that He will not let you do. Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires and work schemes to carry out their schemes, but you cannot do it; and if you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent. Others may brag on themselves, on their work, on their success, on their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing; and if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, but it is likely that God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, and that is helpless dependence upon Him, that He may have the privilege (the right) of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury. The Lord will let others be honoured and put forward, and keep you hidden away in obscurity, because He wants some choice fragrant fruit for His coming glory which can only be produced in the shade. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit for it, but He will let you work and toil on without knowing how much you are doing; and then to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work you have done, and this will make your reward ten times greater when Jesus comes.

The Holy Spirit will put a watch over you, with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for little words and feelings or for wasting your time, over which other Christians never seem distressed. So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign, and has the right to do as He pleases with His own, and He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you. He will take you at your word and if you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things which He will not let you say or do.

Settle it for ever that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does not deal with others. Now when you are so possessed with the Living God, that you are in your secret heart pleased and delighted over the peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven.”

Hudson Taylor

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People of the Book

As Christians, we are people of the Book (people of the Book are adherents of Abrahamic religions that pre-date Islam). This morning in church our pastor led us in a powerful call to worship where we proclaimed ourselves to be People of the Book, people of the Word, people bound to the person of Truth, Jesus Christ. It was sweet to stand among fellow believers, Bibles raised, and proclaim our faith together.

Having just come off of two back-to-back conferences, where I've done nothing but breathe, sleep and think education, specifically classical, I had an epiphany.

When we memorize something, we are writing on the book of our minds and hearts. Last week, Cub memorized and delivered 9 minutes of Patrick Henry's speech, "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death." I unabashedly chose the speech for him. I wanted him to own the beauty of Patrick Henry's words, the profound theology, the courage and faith, of a man who was willing to lose everything for an idea, a hope, a dream... freedom.

He could have read the speech and enjoyed it and left it at that. But memorizing the speech and presenting it wrote the words on his heart, they are now part of the book of his life. He owns them forevermore.

Part of the sad state of our culture is due to the fact that we overview and use google-fu instead of memorize. We don't take the time to intellectually own facts, scripture, speeches, plays or sermons through memory work. It's like we've raised an entire generation of people who walk around with books full of blank pages.

We are called to be People of the Word, and so we must never under-estimate the value of Words. We are also People of the Book. Do yourself, and your kids, a favor and write great words, awe-inspiring, profound words, in their hearts and minds- memorize!

If you don't have any of your own yet, borrow some. Great men and women are always willing to share.

Find more great articles on Classical Education at Trivium Tuesdays

 @Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Do You See What I See?

Do you see? 
The WalMart world of dirty floors and cheap plastic and people who walk around in slippers with their pants falling off?
Their teeth, and families and lives broken and worn by cares and worries they can't manage.
Do you smell the thick haze of stale tobacco and heart-ache as they breathe in your face, their cynical, bitterness barely disguising their panic, causing you to gag,

Do you see ?
 The beautiful people whose lives consist of selfies and whatever they can grab on their way out. The sun-glassed, glossed and tanned hipsters with their tats and pierced cartilage and pierced hearts.
They promise everything and deliver nothing; using you and enslaving your children to feed their souls and pocketbooks.
They'll take all that you have and leave you for dead. Do you see their heart of corruption and feel the death of usury?

Do you see?
The family that is broken. everyone gone their separate ways, the love and sacrifice and laughter forgotten and mocked. Hardened hearts and hurt fed by lies and rumors and gossip and the bitter relative who didn't get their own way. They leave you broken and battered, smug with self-satisfaction.

Do you see the putrid stench and quivering rot and dirty filth that permeates everything?
It's disgusting. Really. 

Way off. There in the distance. There's a pin-point of light.
Do you see it?  The light. A path. A narrow way?
I look and see and the light compels me. The path is clear. I follow. 
And the light becomes bigger, blinding. My fears and prejudices and despair and haughtiness are burned away.
I want only what's ahead.
The smell of rottenness is replaced by clover and hay, the clean smell of sheep and scratchy wool. 

That light, it leads to a humble place where the lowly live. The rush and pushing and striving are gone.
 It's just the shepherds and the sheep and the hay. 
And there, amidst the light that makes all things clear, is a place of peace.
There is a man and a woman, young and strong, and a baby.
Innocent and sweet, he smells of fresh hay and hope. 

And I look at Him and see. 
And he sees me.
He is a baby, young and innocent, but also old and wise.
He is Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, 
the Prince of Peace.

Do you see? Do you see who has come? 
God with us. 
Emmanuel.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. ~Isaiah 11:6-9

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It is Well With My Soul

…we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 2 Cor 4:9

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor 4:17-18

Do God's Commandments- Love One Another.

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 4- 7






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Circe Institute 2015 Annual Conference

Circe Institute 2015 Annual Conference in Charleston, SC. The break-out sessions were good  but it was the plenary sessions that I loved. Holy Buckets, these guys can make it all come together. The crowd consisted of Classical Educators from private, public, university model and homeschools. In other words people from all over the country (and some from beyond) with the common purpose of using the vehicle of classical education to bring the Gospel to the hearts and minds of others. Super love. 

Not many vendors- but the ones that were there were amazing- IEW, Lost tools, Roman Roads Media, 8th Day books. What made it so good, so refreshing, so fulfilling? The great food, great conversations, great teaching  had something to do with it. But also, the common vision of Goodness, Truth and Beauty, the fellowship of the Saints who believe that God reigns in the midst of crazy educational philosophies, political foolishness and a world gone a little skewed. 

If you haven't had the chance to get to a Circe conference yet, make it so. Worth it on so many levels! 

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

How to Suceed as a Homeschooler

1- Learning All the Time  I mean you, the Homeschooling Teacher. The first law of the teacher is to know the material, which takes time and energy.If you want to succeed as a homeschooler, model learning. Model reading, Model intellectual enthusiams, fed on a diet of good books, high standards and cultivated interest in things that matter beyond ones self. Embrace the pursuit of knowledge.

2- Be Humble  You are one of many, with unique talents, skills and abilities, areas of weakness and lack. Serve, even if you are unsure or unqualified; you'll gain skills, talent and wisdom by doing so.

3-Thirst for Knowledge and Wisdom. Ask questions, taking a stance of vunerability; willingly admitting that you don't have all of the answers and that there is always more to learn. You can be both expert and student at the same time.

3-Be Generous and Open Handed (in keeping with #2). You believe in the law of more begets more, and that  a rising tide raises all ships-  share opportunities, people, competitions, curriculum, knowledge.

4- Be Extravagant Homeschooling is the adventure of a life time and you get to share that adventure with some of the coolest people in your life- you family! There is so much to learn, people to met, place to go! Share what you have, what you know, the amazing people in your life. 

5- Be Industrious Homeschooling takes being intentional and proactive. You really need to show up, be prepared, and have a plan and DO IT.

6- Be Tolerant of others shortcomings and lack, along with your own and those of your kids. Allow your kids the time it takes to learn. 

7-Be Responsible Education is the transmission of culture. Not taking responsibility for your kids- their behavior or education- teaches them a culture of postmodern slothfulness. 

8- Be Godly Live your faith outloud, praying and worshiping with your kids, seeking God's goodness and mercy and wisdom. 

9-Focus on Being Faithful and leave the Outcomes to God -We've homeschooled long enough to know about every homeschool failure out there- runaways, drug addicts, felons, teen pregnancies, truly rebellious young adults that have caused their families heartbreak. I've learned some hard lessons in my tenure as a homeschooler and probably the most personal and the most painful has been this: I am called to live my life faithfully. God has called us to homeschool. God hasn't guaranteed, in return, that we get brilliant, faithful, kind, obedient, ambitious, focused, academic, Godly, moral people as a result. In fact, homeschooling is not an insurance policy. We don't get x for investing y. Every person, every child, every young adult that has been homeschooled, public schooled or raised by wolves, has to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. And their salvation is between them and God. No amount of homesschooling, prayer or pleading can guarantee any outcome in regards to another person, be they our beloved child or not. This is not something you are going to hear much about in homeschooling circles. Truth rarely sells well, and formulas do. Guard your heart against them because the only person you get to choose for is yourself. If you are homeschooling, do it wholeheartedly as unto the Lord. Leave the outcomes, and your children, in His hands. 

 @Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Do Good. Don't Quit

My sweet friend Jannell is a wise woman. One of her mantras is this: Do not grow weary. She says it in good times and challenging times and tiring times and joyful times. She says it as a reminder and as a challenge and as a comfort.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galations 6:9

I understand why the verse is a complex sentence. Because not growing weary is a complex task. We must endure and not give up if we hope to reap a harvest.

Praying this day for our Christian brothers who were martyred in Egypt. May God use their sacrifice to draw others to Him.



@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

The Danger of Words

I am a Dorothy Sayers fan to the core. I came late to the party and only discovered her mystery writing, Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane just a couple of years ago. This led to reading everything by DS I could get my hands on, including biographical memoirs. I love the woman. She was strong, courageous, brillant and wise. Read for yourself,

"For we let our young men and women go out unarmed, in a day when armor was never so necessary. By teaching them all to read, we have left them at the mercy of the printed word. By the invention of the film and the radio, we have made certain that no aversion to reading shall secure them from the incessant battery of words, words, words. They do not know what the words mean; they do not know how to ward them off or blunt their edge or fling them back; they are a prey to words in their emotions instead of being the masters of them in their intellects. We who were scandalized in 1940 when men were sent to fight armored tanks with rifles, are not scandalized when young men and women are sent into the world to fight massed propaganda with a smattering of "subjects"; and when whole classes and whole nations become hypnotized by the arts of the spell binder, we have the impudence to be astonished. We dole out lip-service to the importance of education--lip- service and, just occasionally, a little grant of money; we postpone the school-leaving age, and plan to build bigger and better schools; the teachers slave conscientiously in and out of school hours; and yet, as I believe, all this devoted effort is largely frustrated, because we have lost the tools of learning, and in their absence can only make a botched and piecemeal job of it." 

Read the rest of the Lost Tools of Learning essay here.

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Word for the Year- JOY

I have had a word a year for several years now. Words like Abundance, Occupy, Steward. These words have been a  call to action; a call to courage, because I often get discouraged and lose my way focus.

This year it's

 JOY. 

Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you. 

Isaiah 12:6

Let's face it, life is hard. It is full of challenges at every turn. People, places and circumstances can cause us to be bitter and spiteful, and justifiably so. I know myriads of people, in the church and out, who are on anti-depressants just to get by- and I don't blame them. If I wasn't such a stoic, hard headed German with a bizarre physiology I'd be downing them like candy myself. Life is depressing.

But in the midst of this world, this world whose ruler has designs on the people of Zion that include, but are not limited to death, thievery and destruction, God calls us to have JOY.

I'm not a natural at Joy. I'm a natural at melancholy, cynicism and bitter disbelief. I hate to admit it, but there it is.

But I found something this fall that I'd lost a couple of years ago- the ability to laugh. And, Oy vey, it was a good thing. Like, I had cracked the dusty, bitter shell of hurt and anger and betrayal that had threatened to define me. And then I laughed some more. And then I started seeking out opportunities to laugh- you know, like how I used to. Finding jokes, telling jokes, You Tubing Christian comedians, pranking my kids, telling funny stories. We started laughing as a family again- really laughing. Not the kind of laughing you do right before you cry, but mirthful laughing. What JOY to watch the faces of the people I love full of the LIGHT of laughter. We've laughed and discovered that contented feeling of joy within. And every now and then we've been at a place of true joy, and laughter has bubbled forth.

For Christmas this year,  Dr Dh and I did something extravagant and purchased an  arcade sized air-hockey table. It ranks as one of the best presents ever. We have already spent hours around it laughing and cheering and finding JOY in the simple pleasure of a goofy arcade game. Yea, it's just a goofy thing, but it's fun and it's laughter inducing and those simple prompts of laughter and fun have reminded us, reminded me, of what a great place joy can be.

Joy- the deep abiding assurance and rest that God is for us, that the world and it's dark portents can never harm us, that God makes all things new. Yes, please.

What is your Word for the 2015?

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Merry Christmas

 

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag30/Lisa_Nehring/siggywithflower_zps2ffa66ba.png @Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Michael Jr Comedy Christian Church Comedian

Church.



@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!

Christmas all through the House

I promised a whole post Christmas decor and here it is. Above is the outside of the house. Yes, looks like a frosted 3- tiered cake. Have I ever mentioned that we live in a 4-story 4x4 farmhouse?

The big Christmas Tree in the living room. Almost every window has a garland over it. The one in the living room has little snowmen perched in it. 

Another view of the tree.

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This is one of my favorite spots in the house. It's an odd little corner in the kitchen, with tons of light, that we've turned into a little coffee/tea corner.

Here's the garland above the glass block window. I have a paper garland beneath that

 says, "Peace," "Merry Christmas" and "Joy." I found the printable here. 

An alpine tree, decorated in a copper, cowboy theme. 

Found the metal "Believe" sign on clearance somewhere. 

Moms' tea cup collection surrounded by jingle bells and Father Christmas, 

stitched 20 years ago by my dear friend, Michele. 

On the buffet.

I stitched the creche in NM.

This picture does not do the cute-factor justice here. This is the periwinkle blue off-the kitchen bathroom. The window is from one of the decrepit sheds, embellished with burlap, copper bells, berries and greenery. 

Christmas books, with a "Calvin" tucked in, sitting on our antique school desk turned end table. 

Another free printable, which you can find here.

I printed it out and popped it into a perfect frame. 

On the bookshelves. A chalkboard I painted years ago.

A Christmas quilt we were gifted the year after our house fire.

 It is warm and snugly.

Here's the view from the stairs. Garlands and more trees. 

I hope you enjoyed our Holiday Tour! 

Wishing each of you a blessed Holiday Season! 

Stop  by Tuesday, I'll be hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling! 

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!