Issue #24, Oct 4, 2001

---

Seedling

---

Nurturing our children in the freedom of Christ
Issue #24, Oct 4, 2001
Sr. Editor & Publisher: Elissa Wahl
Assistant Editor: Teri Brown
Contributing Editor: Angel Dyke

IN THIS ISSUE

---

1. Welcome from the Editor
2. An Unschooler Who is Christian? Elissa Wahl
3. Shifting the Focus by Michele Hastings
4. Links
5. Book Review
6. Closing letter from the editor
7. Subscription Information
8. Reprint Information

---

1. Welcome from the editor

Hi all, hope this newsletter is received in the manner it was
sent ... in love and through God!

What a month, huh? I PRAY we never see the likes of this again. I am
sure we have all run the gamut of emotions, from shock to anger to
grief....If your family is anything like mine, maybe you found
yourself explaining some things to your children , that a month ago
would have never crossed your mind.

When unexpected things happen, we are looked to for the answers, but
we dont always have them. It was very hard for me to talk
reassuringly to my children , when I was crying for all those lost,
myself.

It is times like these that remind us that we HAVE to trust in God.
We are NOT powerful, we are NOT in control and we dont need to have
it all on our shoulders.

This is also a good time to learn about patriotism. The history and
meaning of our flag, our responsibilities to our country as
Christians, and past wars and lives we have lost fighting for our
freedoms.


Please read on, and we pray you are blessed!

---

2. An Unschooler Who is Christian?
Elissa Wahl
(I wrote this article years ago, but I think the topic is relevant
today. It reminds us to trust in God, not only for our childrens
education, but for everything.)

My name is Elissa and I homeschool my son Brian. Actually we
unschool. For those of you who have no clue what unschooling
is...dont worry; there is no one set definition! It is an idea
encompassing natural learning, learning things the children are
interested in. It is about letting life act as our kids BIGGEST
resource, not a textbook manufacturer. We do not believe in breaking
the day into "math", "science", etc....we learn what we are having
fun learning. When the interest level starts to wane, we move on!

No two people are identical...so why should our standard learning
system believe all children learn the same? learning need not be a
struggle, a power play! We can allow our children the freedom to
learn what they need, and at the time that they need it.

Can unschooled children still learn about God?? Of course!! As with
all believers, God must become a TANGIBLE, living thing. As such, we
are naturally interested in Him! It is my "job" as MOM to keep that
interest alive, to feed it.

How does my son learn about God? Well, simplistic answer, through the
Bible. Longer answer, through applying the Bible to his real life.
What I want for my son to know above all else, is that God is LOVE.
We read many Bible stories and do many activities based on these
learnings. My son almost always requests bible stories for his
bedtime story...he loves them so! We apply God in our lives daily. I
encourage my son to pray, and pray often. We pray together, he sees
me pray, and he spontaneously prays himself. We pray on every
subject imaginable, from when the fire whistle blows, to when he is
feeling angry, to when his stuffed animal needs an "operation".
Prayer is just part of our lives.

We also pray thanksgivings for things, people, occurrences. We praise
and rejoice in the name of Jesus daily. This is so easy to do! Pop in
some worship tapes and sing at the top of your untuned voices! How
wonderful it feels to be driving down the road, both of us
screaming "What can wash away my sins, NOTHING but the blood of
Jesus"!!

Can unschooling be biblical? Absolutely. Here is the fear many people
have...that our kids are completely non-structured. WRONG! Please,
understand that PARENTING is a different subject than EDUCATION.
Yes, they overlap in homeschooling, but they each maintain
separateness. My child learns about the Bible because he WANTS to. It
is my responsibility to trust in God, to allow this natural learning
to happen.

Isaac 54:13
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.

The Lord, the Bible!

Let's just look at a few of God's names, in them alone we can gain
comfort. He has a plan for us!
El Roi: the God who sees, Omnipresent, always there, He sees all.
Jehovah-Jireh: "the Lord will provide"...look at the whole story
Abraham sacrificing Isaac (Gen 22:1-19)
Jehovah-raah: The Lord is my Shepherd, John 15:5, "Apart from Me, you
can do nothing". Over and over in the Bible we are referred to as
sheep. Sheep are nothing without their shepherd. Without the guidance
of our Lord, we will go astray, even unknowingly, into dangers.
Lastly, Jehovah-shammah: The Lord is there. Ezekial 48:35. How much
more comfort do we need?God is here! With us! We are never alone.

Joel 1:3
Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their
children, and their children to the next generation.
Notice, NOT Abeka & Bob Jones tell them, US, as parents tell them.
We instill in our children our belief system.

Lastly, I want to remind you of the JOY we are to feel when we give
everything over to God and trust in Him!

Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name
of our LORD, our God.

Psalms 62:8
Trust in Him at all times, O people, pour out your hearts to Him, for
God is our refuge.

Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD,
the LORD is my strength and my song, he has become my salvation.

Pslams 33:21
in Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.

Psalms 56:3
When I am afraid, I will trust in you/

Pslams125:1
A Song of Ascents
trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding.

Well....do you have a sense of peace? You should! God is in control.
Over everything, even our children's education. We just need to learn
to trust in Him.

Happy Unschooling!
Elissa

---

3. Shifting the Focus
Michele Hastings

Recently, I read an article written by a fellow homeschooling mom
about our children developing into God-Directed Learners. I was
intrigued with the article because of how it reflected our own
homeschooling journey and the desires I have for my kids as they grow
in age and maturity.

We've followed a rather Delight-Directed path, allowing our
children's interests to carve out our steps. I now realize the
missing "key ingredient" to our recipe, which is God's input. It's
not that God hasn't been leading us...He has! I believe God created
each of us with specific gifts and abilities and it's our job as
parents to allow them to develop in their own way and in their own
time. I've been waiting on God and seeking His will for the way to do
things. However, although my children both believe in God and
consider themselves to be Christians, they've not reached a level of
spiritual maturity to seek God independently for their own education.
Just as I was very actively involved in their early years providing
them with a rich learning environment and stimulating opportunities,
and investing much time and energy in this endeavor called
homeschooling, I also took responsibility for their spiritual lives.
I went to God in constant prayer, seeking His will for their
upbringing and education. As almost nine and ten year olds, they
pursue their interests with very little input from me. In fact, they
at times balk at the few expectations I do put on them academically.
They still need my input...both educationally and spiritually.

The time will come though, where the majority of their education will
become their own responsibility. And although I will continue to
intercede on their behalf for their entire lives, there will come a
time when they will be accountable before God for their own
spirituality. I long for the day when I see them move from the place
of, "What do I want to do" to "What does God want me to do".

We've taught them to follow their hearts, their interests and their
passions, instilling in them the belief that it was God who created
those things within them and He desires that they'd use and develop
those areas. But sometimes I struggle with feeling like it's such
a "self-centered" way to go through life. And it would be...if that's
where it stayed! But, it's God's will for them to progress from a "me-
centered" focus to a "God-centered" one. At what age this will
transpire I don't know. For me, it didn't happen until I turned my
life over to the Lord at twenty-two! I'm hoping that in this case it
happens ten years earlier...

I believe we are on the right path and proceeding in the right
direction. But, if it doesn't gradually shift in focus from their own
desires to God's desires for them, the right path will become a path
that leads to destruction. I trust God will continue to intervene as
we, the parents, keep these matters upon our hearts and in our
prayers.


Michele Hastings is the homeschooling mom of two bright and creative
boys, ages 9 and 10. They live in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and
have been leading a "lifestyle of learning" since the children were
born. In her spare time, Michele loves to write. Check out her other
articles at

http://www.wnycfl.com/Michele/home.htm

---

4. Links

Dealing with tragedy

Articles for parents, kids and teens


Child & Adolescent Trauma

Talking with Kids about the News


Christians and Patriotism


American Patriotism
What is the Christian's Duty?*

Christians and patriotism


The Betsy Ross homepage (lots of info on the flag)

http://www.howstuffworks.com/terrorism.htm
http://www.howstuffworks.com/sept-eleven.htm
http://www.howstuffworks.com/black-box.htm

---

5. Book Review
by Teri Brown

Home Management 101
By Debbie Williams
Champion Press Ltd

Do you wear too many hats? Have too much going on at the same time?
Do you find that you are often crippled because you have lost an
important phone number, the sign up sheet for soccer or your
daughter's ballet slippers? Let alone, your car keys, metal polish or
mind! Does that sound like you? Because it is definitely me.

Debbie Williams, organizing maven, life coach, and founder of
Organized U, has written a book for those of us who are
organizationally challenged. Her book, Home Management 101, is
helping me to get it all together; so to speak, into something more
organized then a pile in the garage!

This book provides practical and user-friendly tips for keeping your
family organized and in doing so, alleviating a great deal of stress
in the process! Home Management is put together in an easy to read
manner. Chapters, such as The Organized Parent, Office Management
101, and Conquering Your Common Clutter, are further broken down into
digestible bite-sized pieces. The appendix is a helpful collection of
resources that will help you on your way to becoming a more organized
(read more sane) person.

Debbie Williams comes across as knowledgeable and professional but
her style is far from stuffy as she does what she does best … help
other people to get it together. I predict that Home Management 101
will become a favorite of over extended homeschool Moms everywhere.

---

6. Closing Letter

Thanks for reading this, we pray that on some level something we
write or share will bless you. We encourage submissions of all
kinds....fun activities, cool recipes, a neat thing you learned!

Until next time,
Be blessed you all!

Elissa Wahl
Teri Brown
Angel Dyke

---

7. Subscription Information

Subscribe at : http://yahoogroups.com/community/Seedling or email
Unschoolr@aol.com

Unsubscribe at: http://yahoogroups.com/community/Seedling or email
Unschoolr@aol.com

---

8. Reprint Information

Individual authors herein retain their own copyrights. You may
freely copy this entire newsletter or material from this newsletter
in other nonprofit publications (unless otherwise marked in the
article), but you MUST include the author's name and this entire
notice:

"Reprinted with permission of Elissa Wahl from Seedling, a
Christian Unschooling E-Zine. For a free subscription, send
any e-mail message to Seedling-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit
URL: http://www.ChristianUnschooling.org"