We're not Politicians, We're Patriots
We don't decide where we go, we just answer the call
I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me theother day when he said, "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' Grandpasaid "No… but I served in a company of heroes…"
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As a parent I just want to know one thing, I pray about itevery day. How do I raise strong,confident spiritual champions in today’s society? Legacy Dad aside, I found an answer from alifelong teacher and mother herself named Mary Menacho
“These inspirational(parents) are parents who manage the influences, the exposures, and the contentthat infiltrate their children’s worlds. These parents understand the value ofunstructured time by limiting activities, outside lessons, and electronicmedia. These parents understand the role of simple toys and good books inopening a child’s imagination. They understand the power of the Internet andmedia as an empowering, educating tool. These parents understand that they arecalled to be parents – to set and enforce limits, to foster resilience andindependence and responsibility in children. These parents understand that thechildren are not given to us to right the wrongs of one’s own childhood. Ratherchildren are given to us so that we will nurture them into healthy adulthood.”
I believe I have found a hybrid option to the homeschool/private school dilemma. K¹²
K¹² is a hybrid online/offlinehomeschooling platform that
- Reduces the need for a parent to be a full timeteacher. (4-5 hours per day)
- Tailors the curriculum to the student’sstrengths and weaknesses.
- Providesall textbooks, materials and resources. (Science, Labs, Minerals)
- Produces Standardized Test Scores that are20-30% higher than traditional schools.
- Did I mention it is free? Well it’s paid by our tax dollars.
K¹² has become the largest provider of online learning for grades K-12, theyhave created a top notch engaging curriculumthat blends online and offline learning experiences. They also enable differentiated instruction down to the individual level —rooted in decades of educational research. Theywrap this curriculum with services that include teachersupport, daily lesson plans, and a vibrant, global online community.
Also, I have discovered that K¹² has really taken off and won the approval of traditional homeschoolersaround the country. They also have localgroups that get together to socialize, attend field trips, and meet on analmost weekly basis. Plus, the teacheris a phone call/email away and also meets with you in person if needed.
It seems like a happy medium win/win situation all around.
However, as my wife and I discuss this , the cons of homeschooling alwayscome up.
1. Will my wife go crazy spending all her time with the kids and as aresult, our marriage will suffer?
2. 2. Will this require radical lifestyle changes?
3. 3. Will our children suffer socially?
Number one will only be answered if we decide to give this idea some roomto grow and actually start the program. We have also talked about splitting the teaching between ourselves. Her in the morning and myself when I get homein the evening.
According to K¹², number two seems minimal as childrenwill spend 20-30% of their time online; the rest is spent reading assignmentsor doing homework. If you have acomputer, printer and scanner; the software and curriculum guides the children.
And finally the one Ihear so often, Will our children suffer socially?
First, this will bedifferent for each family and for that matter, each child. My children have lived in a foreign country,moved numerous times and are generally social champions adept at meeting newfriends and socializing easily. However,for a shy child or child with a learning disability, the outcome may bedifferent.
A quick Google searchpulled up the Ph.D. thesis by Karl M. Bundy entitled Socialization: A Great Reason Not to Go toSchool. In this thesis, Mr. Bundyexams research about the topic and makes some compelling arguments.
Thefirst argument from educators and school boards is that homeschooled childrenlack social skills and therefore suffer from self esteem problems later inlife. Mr. Bundy found that self-esteem is a concept that was born inthe school system, and it is best for parents not to overemphasize theself-esteem of their children. Professor Martin E.P. Seligman, in his helpfulbook The Optimistic Child discusses how self-esteem has been more and moreemphasized in schools during precisely the same years that the youth suiciderate has increased in the United States. Seligman suggests"optimism," a concept he defines in TheOptimistic Child, is abetter thing for parents to develop than self-esteem. I have read, andam still trying to confirm in other sources, that Seligman is himself ahomeschooling parent. Whether or not he is a homeschooler, I know that he is ahighly respected psychologist, as I have read many books and articles that citehis research, and have confirmed that Professor Seligman was recently thepresident of the American Psychological Association.
Alsoexamined were the findings of Larry Edward Shyers inthat he found no significant differencebetween his two groups in scores on the Children's Assertive Behavior Scale.But direct observation by trained observers, using a "blind"procedure, found that home-schooled children had significantly fewer problembehaviors, as measured by the Child Observation Checklist's Direct ObservationForm, than traditionally schooled children when playing in mixed groups ofchildren from both kinds of schooling backgrounds.
Whilemy wife and I are still not convinced that this is the best route to go, we arecertainly open to the concept and are planning on researching this more indepth. At any rate, if it all checksout, we may try it next school year as we also start our “Legacy DadConfirmation Program.” Which I would call a Christian Worldview Primer as well as the core beliefs of Christianity.
Ifanyone has any insights, comments or suggestions please post them or email meat lance@legacydad.com
I have never looked seriously at homeschooling - untilrecently.
This started about month ago when I first read the story of Derrion Albert, the honor studentkilled in Chicago while walking home from school. I often worry about my children and theirsafety in the coming years especially once they start High School. Today, high schools are a breeding ground fordrug use, underage sex, and gang violence not to mention the peer pressure,bullying (now online and through texting) and the constant exposure to more andmore liberal world views.
Please understand I am not some fanatical Christian fatherwho thinks we should lock our kids in church and never expose them to theoutside world. Read some of my otherposts and you will understand I am against this approach. But somewhere a parent has to draw the lineand do what is best for the children. Mychildren frequently come home and complain about two specific areas:
1. Theyare not learning “new things” at school
2. Otherkids misbehave so much that the teacher spends 30% of their time on discipline.
My son expresses this more than my daughter and he does notunderstand why kids constantly find ways to bully and make fun of other children. My wife and I are seeing this as a wake-upcall.
This past week, President Obama proposed that in order forthe U.S. to keep up with the education trends and falling behind the rest ofthe world, that children would need to spend more time in school and have lessfree time.
"Now, I knowlonger school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," thepresident said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in myfamily, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demandmore time in the classroom."
I immediately read scores of remarks from parents around thecountry, some positive and some outright crazy. But one specific parent made it very clear. If the education system in America is broke,more time in it will not yield positive results. In fact, this may lead to higher burnout anddropout rates as well as even greater pressure on our already hurriedchildren.
In The Hurried Child byDavid Elkindhe, the author finds that “Infant mortality is upafter more than a century of decline. More children live in poverty today thantwo decades ago. There has been a fifty percent increase in obesity in childrenand adolescents over the last twenty years. Our teenage pregnancy rates are thehighest for any Western society – twice that of England, which has the nexthighest rates. Suicide and homicide rates for teenagers are triple what theywere twenty years ago.
Educationally, SAT scoreshave plummeted, and at the other end, some fifteen to twenty percent of youngchildren are “flunking” kindergarten. And perhaps most frightening of all, inthe United States today, millions of children are being medicated to make them moretractable at school and at home. This is a several-hundred increase over thelast five years.” (Prefaceto the Revised Edition, p. xvii)
Based on this, I believethat as parents we basically have a few choices:
1. 1. Moveto areas where the public schools are the best in the area and hope that,combined with strong parental, faith and life training, our children will getthrough it.
This option is limiting as real estate prices are high inthese areas and you are still playing the odds as these schools also haveproblems. Not to mention your career orlifestyle may not be conducive to living in this area.
2. Lookinto private schooling either secular or religious based.
While this option is better than the first, it alsorequires substantial money out of pocket. I am the product of a private school and I assure you that this is alsonot foolproof.
3. 3. Homeschooling.
I’ll be honest, my vision of homeschooling was a stay athome mom preparing lesson plans and teaching children day in and day out whileplacing stress on the marriage. I alsohad visions of ultra-right wing fanatics like those in Jesus Camp.
While this option offers the most flexibility and Ibelieve gives the children the best education and training in morals andvalues. It is also extremely time and resourceintensive.
There is also a hybrid of all these options which I neverknew existed, until now.
Continued in Part II
As a leader of Men's Ministry, I find myself talking to a lot of men throughout the week. Certain themes keep recurring in men's lives, or at least the men in our surrounding area. Over the next couple of weeks I am going to spend some time talking about these three themes that need to be addressed and focused on in our every day life and in our church: 1) Discipleship - moving men from milk to meat (Hebrews 5 & 6), 2) Biblical Stewardship and 3) Sexual Purity. Mathew 28 is pretty clear when Jesus tells us to go and make disciples. My home church believes in reaching the disconnected and growing the connected. They believe that we should meditate daily on the Word of God and also to find regular prayer time and quiet time with God. The thing that I see so important to discipling others is to be grounded in the Faith and to believe in Scripture and to let the Holy Spirit create a new in you and your walk with Christ. O B E D I E N C E (Obey God's commands, Believe in His Word, Edify yourself through memorizing scripture, decide to allow Jesus to be Lord over you ALL THE TIME and in every situation, invest in biblical stewardship from the inside out, empower others by sharing what the word is teaching you, never compromise yourself in any situation, commit to holy living even when you make mistakes along the way, evangelize others all the time). This is a trait that Jesus himself obeyed to the cross, even when he asked for this cup to pass from him, "but your will be done, Father."
Men are so easily assaulted on a daily and in some instances an hourly basis. Before we can take care of discipling and biblical stewardship, I believe that we have to commit to sexual purity of the mind, body and soul in order to protect ourselves and to move closer to God, after all, he is Holy and will always be. 
Therefore, we cannot defile our temples, yes our bodies are a temple of God that we have to keep pure in order for the Holy Spirit, who indwells in us, not to be grieved by our impurities. Some of you may be married and may be addicted to pornography or fantasies about other women when you are with your wife or simply away in your own dark place. Others may be single, widowed or divorced that have all the life struggles coming at you from every direction. The very notion of sexual purity is mind boggling in this technological world. Everywhere you turn, you cannot escape the onslaught of sexual immorality. I heard a statistic the other day that didn't even surprise me, that your grandfather in his lifetime did not encounter anything like what we encounter on a daily basis. Think about that and meditate on who you want to be Lord over you (see Galatians 5 here).
The final thought, once we start working from the inside out, is biblical stewardship.
To put this in to one word, would be simply put as Contentment. That is, being content in every situation, whether rich or poor, hungry or full, poor in spirit or rich in spirit, the very essence of contentment is what God calls us to be. This can occur through obedience to his Word. I am not saying that this journey is going to be easy, but if you truly looked at these three themes, then Lance and I would believe that you are on the right road to leave a legacy for your children's grandchildren to follow. Think about that for just a moment, "what legacy do I want to leave my children? To love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and to love their neighbor as their self. That would truly qualify anyone to be a Legacy Dad. Looking forward to hearing some of your thoughts (other themes) on this topic.
Blessings to you all!
Your Thumb: Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C.S. Lewis once said, a "Sweet Duty."
The Pointing Finger: Is next to your thumb. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
Your tallest finger: It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.
The Ring Finger: The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need our prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.
Our little finger: The smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayers for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effective.
Maybe this is something we can teach our children, albeit blood children, adopted children or children we teach at church or around our community...
When I was growing up in a very conservative church people there would always make more out of Halloween then I thought needed to be made out of it. They always seemed to scare us into believing that those who were evil had their birthday on this day.
I was letting my kids watch a "Kids" movie, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and I didn't realize how scared my oldest (a boy) would be. He was extremely worried (and scared) by the mean dog whose name was Carface. We talked about it afterwards and I asked him who the strongest person in the whole universe was - he said God. I asked him who loved him the most in the whole wide world - he said God. And then just when I thought I was getting through to this boys heart and to his fears he asked me this question: "Daddy, are people as mean (evil) as Carface?" That was a really tough question because we all know that there is evil in this world and that people are very capable of doing evil. I responded to a five year old in only the way I could, "Yes Trey, there are mean people in this world and they can do some very bad things that God would call evil, but you have Jesus as your forever friend and he will always be with you where ever you go." I am not really sure that this gave him the solace that he was looking for nor am I sure that he truly felt consoled with this truth, because he still does not want to watch the movie anymore. What I do know is that we, who call ourselves Christian, are called to go into this world and share the good news and to be the Salt and Light of this world. Evil (darkness) cannot hide from the Light (Jesus) and wherever his light shines, then evil will flee.
James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Hebrews 4:12 says this, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to diving soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thought and attitudes of the heart." What I should have said to my son, is not to worry, the victory is already won, he is risen and he sits on the right hand of God. Jesus is alive and well and no matter what fiery darts come to us, we should be clothed with the armor of God in order to stand firm and fight the fight!
10 [a] A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. 15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. 16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. 18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. 19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. --------------- Here is the thing, Men, some of you may be saying, "I don't have that wife" or "I wish my wife would be more like that, but there is no way." The question that needs to be asked is: Are you being the Spiritual Leader in your house or have you dodged your responsibilities? Notice in the Scripture - 1)The Man has full confidence in her (shows her respect, gives her some affairs of the household to take care of, trusts her implicitly) 2) Her husband calls her blessed 3) She fears the Lord and will do that better when she sees her husband yielding to God. It is never too late to step forward by leaning on God and praying that He will change your heart and build your marriage. You may not get the results that you want from your wife right away, she may not believe what she is seeing, BUT when you lean on the Bible, Prayer and Petition - please don't be surprised when the change takes place. She will be that wife and she will bless your marriage because she will see God restoring you as the Spiritual Leader in the family. Tonight, as I am typing this entry, I am listening to my wife teach 20 other Women how to save money with coupons and budgeting. Tonight I am listening to my wife change the lives of other women who will be given the tools to save $400/month+ on their family budget in groceries. Not only is she blessed, but I am blessed for trusting her! If I can leave you with one other thought if you are no where in this place that I am with my wife then hold on to this truth: She is God's daughter. She is a child of the King (if she believes in Jesus as Savior) and even if you feel that she is your enemy - what did Jesus say to do - Love the Lord God with all your heart, strength, soul and mind and Love your neighbor as yourself. Love her! Trust me - you will be blessed.Proverbs 31:10-31 (New International Version)
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."
When you find yourself at a point in life when you are tired, frustrated, fatigued, doubting or just completely burned out - what do you do?
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Instead of making your daily devotions and quiet time with God more of an exercise instead of more of a rest and relaxation in God's company - try and be honest with yourself and give to God what belongs to him...
Put your Hope in God and his son Jesus who he gave us to have Hope for an eternity spent with Him. He is the Way, truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but through Jesus Christ the Lord.