Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Twisting Scripture

Two months ago, I read a post that a page I followed had linked to on Facebook.  I was curious, so I went to the article and read it on the site Gentle Reformation (www.gentlereformation.com.  The title of the post was "A Letter to the Inactive Member".  As I read even the first paragraph, my heart became unsettled.  Something was implied in the first paragraph that was a slight twisting on Scripture.  It wasn't directly stated, but it was there, so I read on to see what the author would say as he wrote on.

What the author, Kyle Borg, implied in the first paragraph of what he wrote was a particular interpretation of the Parable of the Lost Sheep from Luke 15.  I felt he implied that when the shepherd has to go after the lost sheep that the lost sheep is negligent because he/she is causing the shepherd to neglect the other ninety-nine--and that is irresponsible and unfair to the shepherd and the other ninety-nine sheep.
These are his words as to why it is of concern if a member of a church is going to service, but not actively participating outside of the worship service each Sunday: "But it’s not only a great discouragement for a pastor (and congregation), it is also a good reason for concern. An inactive member is one of the sheep that has gone astray and requires the shepherd to leave the ninety-nine to go after the one."

When I read the author's words, I felt concern in my heart, but I knew that the best thing to do was go directly to the scripture--the Bible.  So, I opened my Bible to Luke 15…

The parable says this:
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:1-7, NIV

The point of the parable when I sit and read it is not the shepherd being resentful or that he has to leave the 99 other sheep, but rather that he misses the one and rejoices when he finds that lost sheep.  There is no name calling or belittling of the sheep--"What a dumb sheep you are!  How could you go get lost like that?!"  Instead, there is rejoicing.  The shepherd is glad that he has found the lost sheep.  The parable is introduced by the Pharisees having an accusation about Jesus that he receives and eats with sinners.

This week I have been listening to Rosaria Butterfield's newest book, "The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in our Post-Christian World".  Early in the book she talks about the paradox of Christianity--Jesus ate with sinners but did not sin like sinners; He lived in the world, but he did not live like the world.  Jesus was eating with the sinners because He wanted to.  It was intentional.  

Often it can be tempting to take our own world view and apply it to God's Word.  I know I did by picking the words irresponsible and negligent to describe what “being required to go after the sheep” means that the shepherd feels towards the lost sheep.  But, the man who wrote the post is a pastor.  Is he tired?  Does he feel that he had to neglect his congregation because of the people who were members but weren't attending and he felt he had to go chase after them?  I don't know.  I don't know him.  I am sure that his experiences as a pastor shaped what he wrote and the choice to describe the shepherd as being required to go after the lost sheep because of the actions of the lost sheep.  

But, we have to be careful not to take scripture out of context.  The Parable of the Lost Sheep is not about the Shepherd being resentful that he had to leave the 99 sheep to go find the one.  The focus of the parable is on finding the lost one and that every sheep is important--even the one that gets lost.  Much rejoicing is had when the sheep is found!

Recently, I heard the story of a friend who grew up in a church that twisted the meaning of the word grace.  The meaning the members of the church were taught sounded like the truth, but wasn’t Biblical.  It changed so much for my friend.  

Twisting scripture is dangerous.  One thing I had pointed out to me a long time ago is that while we may want to know other details about a story in the Bible, the details that are there are included on purpose.  My concern about the way this pastor interpreted Luke 15 and the lost sheep is that the focus then shifts to the shepherd and what he "is required" to do, instead of the verse that mentions that the Pharisees were concerned that Jesus cared about the sinners, even ate with them and then Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep-- a sheep was lost, the shepherd went to find the sheep, and rejoiced when he found the sheep.  There is no mention in the Bible that the Shepherd was required to go--instead it is implied that he wanted to go and rejoiced when he found the sheep!

The premise for this post about inactive members was only the beginning of my concerns about it.  I found that I had several other significant concerns about the assumptions and conclusions the author made and I have been struggling for the past two months about how to express these concerns so that they might be heard.  I wanted to post this article first before I delve into those in a future post...  



Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Ah, the teenage years!

My girls have both entered their teenage years.  Yet, they are so different from each other.  In conversations with each of them this past week, I became aware of moments when I frustrated them.  And I was reminded of something that my husband warned me about a while ago.  He advised me to tread carefully with them even when I have strong opinions because I need to protect and preserve my relationships with them so that they might here me when I need them to--and when I want them to.

Last week, my oldest daughter and I went to a college fair.  Those kind of things are fascinating to me and aren't intimidating at all.  My daughter on the other hand, was a bit overwhelmed.  But, I plowed on ahead.  I learned some information that I needed to know to help me select her courses for high school that I hadn't known before--even though I had already done a lot of research already.  The most helpful part of the night for my daughter was a table we stopped at that gave her a stack of cards to sort through to help her discern what types of careers she might be interested in.  We talked later and discussed it.  What she learned.  What I learned.  She and I are in a place where we need to start to switch roles.  She needs to get into the driver's seat.  I'm not a helicopter mom, per se.  I'm just a "do"er.  If something needs to be done, I will do it.  So, I need to consciously switch gears and guide her in the doing rather than "doing" what needs to be done myself. 

We're going to go to another college fair in two weeks.  This time she has time to prepare (we only learned of the other one that morning and had no time to discuss it beforehand).  I asked her to think of what questions she has.  What would she like to know?  This time is going to be a little different...

My other daughter is a very typical teenager and her tone of voice can quickly rub me the wrong way.  It sounds on the edge of being disrespectful and questioning--yet, when I say something, almost every time I realize that she doesn't realize how she sounds and looks.  In the Journey of the Strong Willed Child by Kendra Smiley, the author talks about the importance of not taking a strong willed child's words and actions personal.  What they are doing is about them, not you--the parent.  My daughter's words and responses are indeed about her heart and I need to remember that and be patient.  I need to not take them personal and respond the way her tone makes me feel. 

Oh, to be a teenager!  What a journey...

Monday, June 11, 2018

The ups and downs...

A few weeks ago, I was listening to a mom telling me that she was in a place where she was really enjoying homeschooling and feeling good about being a mom.  She was in one of those places I've been before--savoring a moment of peace and contentment that you're doing what God wants you to and that things are working!  I remember the first time I had that feeling.  I think it was after the end of my oldest daughter's second grade year.  The feeling lasted for a month or so.

Since then, I've had times when I've felt that peace about parenting and school.  Sometimes that peace lasted minutes, sometimes hours, days, weeks, or months.  But, I have learned that it comes and goes.  Having it is a blessing--a time of rest.  When it is absent though, I have learned that it doesn't mean things are wrong, instead, it usually means one of two things for me... 1.  It's time to step back and evaluate.  What's working, what's not.  and 2.  It's also time to just put one foot in front of the other. 

I talked with a young woman on Saturday in a store who told me that she felt like she is just working her life away.  She's going to college and working two part-time jobs.  I nodded my head and understood.  I had three part-time jobs while I went to grad school.  So, I agreed with her that it was tough but that she would get through it.  I asked her what she wanted to do and it turns out that she really wants to be a missionary.  But, she doesn't want to go on a short term missions trip.  She really just longs to be out there.  So, I encouraged her to look for a week long camp of sorts--maybe through YWAM or Navigators--to help her get reenergized and remember where she's heading and why she's doing what she's doing. 

I feel like that's what we need as moms too.  I do.  A lot of moms I've known over the years who homeschool go to conferences and that really encourages them and reenergizes them.  That never worked for my family and our schedule.  But, what I did have were conversations.  I found that finding a friend I could talk to about homeschooling, or parenting, or life, was often just what I need. 

But, what do we do when we feel like there isn't anyone we can talk to?  Sometimes it's because there isn't any quiet space in our lives.  Sometimes it's because our family has constant needs.  Sometimes it's because we feel empty and it's hard to get back up or we feel hurt and it's hard to go out on a limb again and ask for help.  And Satan would love that!  But, I don't believe that's what God wants.  When I read the Word, I hear that "He will never leave me nor forsake me."  I really need to remember that.  Sometimes it's really easy to forget it, though. 

And sometimes people let us down so when we do reach out, we get rejected when we're already hurting.  I remember after I had my second child and my family wasn't plugged into a church yet.  We weren't members because we were still searching.  I reached out to a church because I was seriously depressed but when the woman I spoke with realized that we weren't committed members yet, she said she couldn't help me and that I needed to go somewhere else (but she didn't have anywhere to suggest when I asked).  I was so hurt.  I didn't know what to do and I didn't know who to reach out to.  But, I should have remembered... God said He would never leave me nor forsake me.  I learned what it felt like to be rejected while in a pit.  But, I also saw God provide in unexpected ways and simply get me through it step by step by putting.. one foot in front of the other.  I'm still standing.  And I learned to stop and help when someone in a pit reaches out to me.  I don't want to be that person who says, "I can't help you." 

If I were playing a football game right now, someone would say that I have taken a lot of hard hits this season (aka this past year).  It's been really hard to get back up.  To find someone willing to listen and talk.  But, I think part of that is just in my head because I have to fight the wrong things that someone said to me last year that still linger in my head.  When I look at reality, I can see that I've made new friends in each of the places we've lived this year.  Friends that have changed my life and who I'm thankful for.  I think that Satan really tries to tell us that we're alone and that no one, least of all God, cares.  But, that's not the truth.  None of us are truly alone.  And if you're my friend and know me, well, I always tell my friends that it doesn't matter if it's day or night.  Call me or email me (if it's after 10 pm unless it's an emergency :) which in case definitely call!) if you need to talk! 

But, that's just my two cents for whatever it's worth...





Friday, May 25, 2018

How to Use 100 Easy Lessons to Teach Reading

When I was student teaching in first grade over fifteen years ago, I remember being in awe of how a child learns to read.  I felt this enormous amazement at how a child's brain connects symbols to sounds, sounds together to make words, and then words together to make sentences and to make meaning!  In the school where I student taught, there was no set curriculum.  Teachers always wrote their own.  Fast forward to when my oldest daughter was 4.  It was time to start teaching the letters!  And then we'd be on to reading.

I wasn't sure how to teach the letters and their sounds.  I couldn't find a curriculum with my oldest daughter that would teach me how.  So, my oldest daughter, at age 4, and my middle daughter, at age 2, learned their letters and sounds by watching Leapfrog's Letter Factory DVD.  Then, they both went through the Explode the Code books A, B, and C.  These books are wonderful!  They focus on developing a child's visual discrimination (essential building block for good reading), ability to follow directions (on the clues page), beginning phonics skills, and fine motor skills.  It is very important to get the teacher's guide to go with these books because otherwise a child can't complete the clue pages in the books.

By the time my son was ready for his alphabet, I finally found a curriculum that would teach me "how" to teach the alphabet.  It was Hooked on Phonics, Pre-K.  I love the video that comes with the series.  For each letter, there are several kinesthetic activities to do for each letter.  Part 1 focuses on the capital letters and Part 2 on the lowercase letters.  I also used The Letter of the Week, Book 1 by the Mailbox Books Staff.  This was great letter reinforcement and cut and paste practice, which my left-handed child needed.

Once my children learned their letters, it was time to start learning to read.  Initially, I started out with the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise.  This book does give instructions on how to teach the alphabet, but since my oldest daughter already knew that, I started with the reading lessons.  I had chosen this book because Jessie Wise talks so persuasively in her book The Well-Trained Mind.  After reading WTM, it felt as if the OPGTR must be right!  I am not exactly sure what it is about Ms. Wise's writing, but she writes in such a way that makes the reader feel that if you follow the model she sets forth, then you will be guaranteed to have a very well-educated and academically successfuly child.    What I learned as I started using the Ordinary Parent's Guide is that the reason there are so many different curriculum is that there are so many different children--there is no one program that will work for all children.

Autumn and I spent three weeks on the first lesson of OPGR and it wasn't clicking for her.  I had looked at How to Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, but had been so puzzled by the strange markings that I had put it back on my shelf.  After 3 weeks, though, I gave up and went back to the drawing board.  I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and my daughter.  No one my husband works with homeschools and I felt that I had to keep up with the Jones' and prove to the world that this homeschooling thing would be the right thing for my family--I needed to prove to myself and others that my daughter would and could learn better at home than in a school setting. 

At this point, I pulled 100 Easy Lessons off the shelf and started working with it.  This is when it clicked and I figured out how to use this book.  Whenever I talk to parents about this book, I encourage parents not to go straight through this book, one lesson per day, from one to 100.  Here's why:

1.  We want our children to love reading and learning.  Forcing reading down their throats will only push them away.

2.  There are several big clicks that need to happen in the book (1 is somewhere around lessons 30-40, and a second is around lesson 60, and a third around 70-80).  These clicks are different for every child, but I did see all three of my children have big clicks.  If a child pushes ahead without those clicks, they won't become fluent readers.  It will take them longer to learn to read.

3.  You don't want your child to learn to read from simply rote memory, but rather to develop phonics skills in the process.  So, I did 5 lessons, then backed up, repeated and went forward 10 lessons, went back 5 lessons, repeated and went forward 5 or 10 lessons.  If my child stumbled at all, I'd back up 5 and repeat.

4.  I started using this book with my kids in PK4.  But, in that first year, I did 1/2 a lesson each time I worked with my kids.  By the end of PK4, one of my kids was at lesson 20, one at lesson 30, and one at lesson 15.  But, by the end of grade 2, they were all done.  It is 100 easy lessons, but my kids all finished at different points--1 was done by the end of kindergarten, 1 in the middle of 1st and 1 at the end of 1st.  When a child is done with 100 Easy lessons, they will have a 2nd grade reading level.

5.  After 100 easy lessons, I continue with Phonics Pathways, reading 1-2 pages per day (repeating when they don't get them to practice).  100 Easy Lessons doesn't do a lot of work with compound and multisyllabic words, which kids need and Phonics Pathways covers. 

6.  I don't do the writing portion at the end of the lessons.  My kids fine motor skills developed later and I didn't want that part of the lessons to frustrate my kids.

7.  100 Easy Lessons is one of the few reading programs that is not based on rhyme and that is why it works for many kids when other programs don't.  But, it also teaches rhyme!  And it is one of the few programs that teaches rhyme.  My oldest daughter is an excellent reader (always several grades above her reading level) but she didn't get rhyme until she was in 2nd grade.  Ironically, she wrote poetry as naturally as most people breathe air in 2nd grade, so not rhyming early did not impede her reading or writing development. 

8.  I use Explode the Code alongside 100 Easy Lessons.  If a child reads easily, 100 Easy Lessons and Explode the Code whole and half number books are enough phonics.  But, if a child struggles, I would add in the phonics lessons from the Explode the Code teachers guides.  Using these books together would provide an inexpensive and strong phonics program.

As for where to buy these books...  CBD is the best place to get the Explode the Code books and
Teacher's books inexpensively.  Each Explode the Code book is about $7 and the teacher's guides cost about the same, but 1 teacher's guides covers 2 whole number books and 2 half number books.  As for 100 Easy Lessons, it hasn't been updated in years so a new or used copy can be purchased on Amazon.  When I checked, a used copy could be purchased for $10.50 and a new one for $18.  If you're going to use it with several children, a new copy is worth it.  As for Phonics Pathways, don't buy anything older than the 9th edition.  It has some great eye tracking exercises in the back that may come in handy!  Dolores Hiskes also wrote Reading Pathways (older editions are titled Pyramid) and this can be a helpful book if kids are skipping words and need more practice tracking. 

It's been several years since my kids finished their phonics lessons.  My youngest has just started book 8 of Explode the Code because I use it in place of spelling through 3rd/4th grade.  Explode the Code really is an amazing series because it works on visual discrimination, reading comprehension, blends, spelling, writing, and pulling words apart and putting them together (a modified Orton Gillingham type approach).  I am so glad I found these books to use.  They gave all of my children a solid base in reading.  So solid that all of my kids have always read well above grade level--

I hope that I've remembered everything in this post.  Please comment if you have any thoughts or questions! 



And the series goes on... and on...

Just a few posts ago, I wrote a review of the book Troubled Waters by Susan May Warren.  And it's already time to write a review of the next book in the series! 

Storm Front is the next installation in the series.  So many Christian fiction series only have three
books in them.  So, when I read the third book in this series I expected it to end--but it didn't!  Now, the series is up to book #5 and it's clear that this isn't the last book in that series.  One more book will be published this coming November.

Storm Front tells the story of another search and rescue team member, Ty, and the woman who has captured his interest, Brette Arnold.  It hasn't been smooth sailing and both have troubled pasts.  Their paths cross after a tornado hits a town where another member of the search and rescue team was performing in a music concert.  This story tells the tale of their search for missing people after the storm has past.  This book moves through the plot and smooth pace.  The characters are likeable and flawed people.  Perfect people really aren't as likeable.  It is harder to identify with them, picture them as real because we are all flawed. 

This book didn't engage me as much as the previous novels in the series did.  But, because I've enjoyed the series I want to know what happens to the other characters.  This is a series that makes a lot more sense if you start with book 1, Wild Montana Skies.  Some series you're able to just read any book in the series and it will make sense.  But, in this case, Storm Front, really makes more sense if you read the other books first. 

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of the ebook of this book for review from Revell Books. 

Thursday, May 24, 2018

A little behind...

I'm a little behind in my book reviews.  A lot has been going on in my house.  House projects, homeschooling, sports, and the like.  Amidst all of that, I've read a few books that I need to write a few quick posts about... so here goes!

The first book in my stack is Bountiful Blessings:  A Creative Devotional Experience by Susie Larson.  Several years ago, I read a book by Ms. Larson that I loved--Growing Grateful Kids.  So, I
was very curious about this devotional.

This book is a very short.  For each day, there is a Bible verse, a short blessing/prayer based on that verse(s) and a 5' x 7' coloring page. 

I'm not quite sure what I think of this devotional.  If it's what you're looking for, then it's okay.  But, the question is what are you looking for?  What am I looking for? 

This isn't what I'm looking for.  The coloring pages take time.  I don't have a lot of time.   And I wasn't always comfortable with the blessings.  I'm not a name it and claim it believer. 

So, I'm reading another devotional instead.  It's titled 31 Days Towards Trusting God by Jerry Bridges.  I read part of a day each day.  It has been very encouraging to me and challenged me.  I wanted more meat in a devotional.  I do highly recommend this devotional!  I have read the book Trusting God before and done the Bible study that goes along with the book.  Both deeply encouraged me, so I love reading this devotional. 

At different times in my life, I have found that I have more time for my morning devotions than at others.  Right now, I don't have a lot.  So, this book works well for me! 

Please note that I received a copy of Bountiful Blessings for review from Bethany House, but that these opinions are entirely my own.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

And the Series Goes On...

I enjoy getting into a book series and looking forward to the next one!  There have been several series I've enjoyed over the years, but right now there's a Christian fiction author that I enjoy reading.  It's Susan May Warren.  Her books are the typical Christian fiction and I've wondered why I like them more than others...

I think it is because the first series I read by her looked at a family of five kids and how their relationships changed as they became adults.  God helped me consider what that looked like.  My husband is the oldest of six kids.  Over the course of our marriage they have all become adults.  We read books because they help us to make sense of our own lives--as Leland Ryken says. 

I find that amidst the stress of life I can't handle heavy books filled with drama, but I can read light Christian Fiction. 

In the latest series from Susan May Warren, she writes about a group of rescue workers in Montana.  The last installment came out in January--Troubled Waters. 


The series began with a question mark about the relationship between Sierra and Ian Shaw.  This book finally brings them together.  The rescue squad's helicopter crashes.  So, Sierra decides to fundraise to help replace the helicopter.  Sierra heads out on Ian's yacht with a couple of his friends only to encounter some "troubled waters".  This story falls in line with the three books that precede it.  This book can stand alone, but it makes much more sense in light of the series.  I'd recommend starting with book one of this series (Wild Montana Skies).  This book flows well, with fun characters that easy to imagine.  It keeps going at a steady pace and never holds you up for too long! 

Ian and Sierra have been two of my favorite characters of the books and I looked forward to this book.  It didn't disappoint!  If you enjoy contemporary Christian fiction, I'd recommend this series!

Please note that I received a complimentary ebook copy of this book for review from Revell Books, but these opinions are entirely my own! 


Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Correcting One Another...

I have come to the conclusion that people often do not realize how harshly they speak and how long their correction stays with people or how it damages relationships. I think we really need to think long and hard before we speak to someone in an effort "to correct what we think is wrong in someone else". Matthew 7:3-5

Here's an interesting and different take on speaking the truth in love... see article HERE According to Tony Reinke, that verse actually applies to speaking the Gospel truth into someone's life--not correcting minor flaws you might perceive in someone else. It's easy to want to correct someone in how they are treating you, but is that loving? Is it necessary (unless it is abusive or manipulative--in which case it definitely is)?

I have observed that it is easy to want to control how people treat us when we feel out of control in our own lives (or grew up feeling out of control in our childhoods) and tell people how to treat you, but I don't believe that is what real friends do for each other. I don't believe that's what loving others really means.

We don't ever really know all that is going on in another person's life. No one knows the load I truly carry and I don't know anyone else's full load. Why add to that? What if those words are the criticism that is the straw that breaks the camel's back? Instead of criticizing one another, wouldn't it be wiser to grow in grace and forgiveness towards one another? Speaking the Gospel truth is a different matter--it is life giving and strengthening. It is a different matter altogether.