Christian

In the News

~ Heather Davis ~ 4 Comments

Since hearing the news that Charlie Kirk was gunned down during a debate on a college campus, I’ve been thinking and praying. A lot. I accidentally saw the video of him getting shot, which is probably why it sickens me so much.

In the aftermath, I prayed for his widow and her children, and I also prayed for the shooter who perpetrated violence on his own soul. I’ve prayed for our nation, repenting for what we’ve become and asking for mercy we do not deserve.

You know what I’ve discovered since? There are videos circulating on antisocial media celebrating Charlie Kirk’s demise. People are celebrating.

I have to wonder if these are the self-same people who once staunchly declared what happened in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s could never happen again, especially not in America. We’re far too advanced to be brainwashed and cowed like those twentieth century German folk. I mean, we would NEVER so despise another group of people that we’d rejoice when they are slaughtered, gloat as they are brutalized, and dance in the streets as they die, right?

Right?!?

I’m not troubled because I’m some great Charlie Kirk fan, nor am I under any delusion that he was perfect or spotless. What disturbs me to my core is this: Charlie Kirk was not a government official. He had no power over others; no executive, legislative, or judicial authority of any kind. He had ideas, courage, and a willingness to engage people who think differently. He was just like one of us – only maybe a trifle bolder.

For this – for his ideas – he was shot. And people celebrate and gloat, never once thinking through the danger of their ideology. Allow me to spell it out: if Kirk “had it coming” by his opponents because his ideas differed from theirs, then by this logic, those who are celebrating “have it coming” because their ideas differ from Kirk’s supporters and fan base.

Oh people! Do you not see the utter foolishness, the stupidity, the reckless peril of this ideology? This is the very spirit of Nazi Germany. It is the spirit of the evil one who rejoices in all manner of evil and death, and it is, evidently, the spirit of our age.

But it is not the spirit of the Living God. He is the God of Life; the one who gave His Son to conquer death so all who repent of their rebellion, truly love Him, and entrust themselves to His Lordship may live forever in His awesome presence.

He is the God who says:

“…As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11).

And:

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days…” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

He is the God who made a way through death so all who return His love may live eternally.

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus has made a way out of sin, death, and shame.

Oh my people, please take it! Please don’t throw in your lot with death and evil and all that is perishing. That way leads only to destruction and unthinkable horror. Don’t delight in wickedness and so set yourself up to be enslaved by it.

Do you hear that? The bzz-bzz-bzz of an alarm clock?

It’s time to wake up.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana

“‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’  Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” – the Apostle Paul

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” – Jesus of Nazareth

Homeschool Advice Part 8 | Stay Engaged

~ Heather Davis ~ Leave a comment

Once again, this advice is for all parents, not just homeschoolers. Whether your kids are never out of your sight or you hardly see them; whether they receive their schooling directly from you, from a public school, private school, or a hybrid; literally no matter what is going on in your life with children, the advice is the same: stay engaged.

I know firsthand how tempting it can be to zone out during your homeschool day. Especially once your children reach the age where you become more educational facilitator than hands-on teacher, it’s easy to just let them go do their thing and assume all is well.

Resist this temptation.

Instead, stay engaged in the educational process. Initiate discussions. Ask questions. Have your learners repeat the information they are reading out loud. Not only will this simple practice keep you fully connected with their strengths and weaknesses, it will help them retain their lessons. It is wholly worth the extra few minutes.

Avoid Easy Buttons

Another bit of advice in this realm: don’t waste one of the greatest assets you have as a homeschooler – the ability to review mistakes made in homework. In my words: never waste a good mistake. All mistakes are fantastic opportunities to learn. So, don’t hit the easy button and just discard your kids’ work. Stay engaged in the entire process of learning, grading, and reviewing.

I recommend what I did – grade your children’s homework daily, then take time to go over not only what they missed but why they missed it. Sure, it takes extra effort on your part, but I promise the benefits for them vastly outweigh the inconvenience to you.

This process of reviewing missed problems or questions allows your children the enormous blessing of learning from their mistakes. Plus, it keeps you accountable for not letting things slide on the administrative end.

Win-win.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).

Another easy button to avoid is entertainment in the car. Those trips to and from activities or field trips provide excellent opportunities for conversation. You have a captive audience – as long as you don’t surrender your kids’ attention to technology.

By God’s grace, I avoided the use of technology in the car until my kids were nearly college-aged, and as a result, I was blessed with a multitude of incredible teachable moments and deep conversations. It always amazed me what would come up naturally in the course of passenger-seat conversations.

I still treasure our many (often hilarious) car-ride convos and have never once regretted leaving the distractions behind. To this day, my now college-aged kids prefer chatting in the car to zoning out on their devices when we are driving together.

Deadlines

One critical commitment you must make as the homeschool teacher is enforcing firm deadlines. When my kids were still babies, I began to research the pros and cons of homeschooling. I learned one of the most often reported complaints from colleges was the inability of homeschoolers to meet deadlines.

(And yes, I did in fact contact college admissions departments before my oldest turned four…)

As a Christian, this deadline failure ought to be an ouch moment.

Think of it this way – instead of demonstrating reliability, trustworthiness, and faithfulness, homeschoolers instead present a lax, disrespectful, and slovenly attitude toward other people’s time. An inability to meet deadlines and keep appointments displays a lack of integrity. It is both rude and irresponsible.

Not only would such a failing reflect poorly on your student, it dishonors our Lord. As Christians (homeschooling or no), we bear Christ’s name. Because of this, we are His ambassadors; thus, we should strive to do whatever it takes to make Him look good – reflecting His integrity and excellence to a watching world.

Even if it means doing hard, inconvenient tasks in our homeschool days.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20).

On a practical level, think of what failing to enforce deadlines teaches your student about the real world. When rent or the electric bill comes due, deadlines become quite important. If your student goes to college, they will need to submit their work on time. If they enter the work force, they will still be required to show up on time and meet goals or target dates for their work.

Slippery deadlines are a HUGE temptation as a homeschooler. Yet I urge you – do not be careless with this vital skill. It has far too many real-world ramifications.

When you’re tempted to “show grace” on a deadline, imagine a doctor rolling in a couple of hours after the scheduled surgery while you lay prepped on the table or an electrician putting off an appointment to fix a smoking outlet for a week or two. Then be firm and hold your students accountable.

Homeschooling as a Job

One major way to keep yourself engaged is to treat homeschooling (or parenting) like a “real” job – even though it is a job you pay to do rather than getting paid.

Think of it as your full-time career with the Lord as your boss – because, well, that’s exactly what is going on if you are called to homeschool.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24).

With this in mind, imagine your response if you sent your kids to a public or private institution and discovered the teachers were busy scrolling Instagram, never bothered to look over homework, or just decided to take the day off and watch movies once or twice a week.

Most of us would be outraged to discover this was going on in school, yet we find it all too easy to excuse the exact same behaviors in ourselves! Not cool.

Your kids’ education and well-being is worth the effort it takes for you to do the job well – not perfectly, of course, but to the best of your ability.

Don’t underestimate the trickle-down effect of slack behavior. If you demonstrate negligence, your kids will pick up the cue that cutting corners or scrimping on quality is an acceptable way of living life. Instead, model hard work, integrity, and personal sacrifice for the sake of God’s ways so they learn to do the same.

Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys (Proverbs 18:9).

Stay Engaged in Kingdom Work

Finally, stay engaged and look for gospel opportunities throughout your day. Homeschooling is not only about educating your child’s mind but also about discipling his heart. It is Kingdom work, and it is work with an eternal impact.

Keep the Word of God foremost in all you do. Look for chances to point out God’s work in your daily life, and draw attention to evidence of His mercy, grace, and goodness. Exalt Him wherever possible, even in the mundane details of your homeschool.

Final Thoughts

While it seems as if these years will drag on forever, they won’t. Your time with your children is precious and limited. Don’t squander it. All of the advice I’m writing out comes from a place of mingled regret where I failed and joy where I succeeded in my homeschool and parenting.

In homeschooling, I had no mentor, and I learned a great deal from failures. My heart’s desire is to give you a leg up so you can land on the other side with more successes and fewer failures than I. And above all, my hope is God can be glorified through sharing both my mistakes and my successes in homeschooling and beyond.

Jesus Didn’t Come for the Righteous

~ Heather Davis ~ Leave a comment

. . .He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
(Matthew 9:11-13)

The above statements by Yeshua (Jesus) were made shortly after He called a man named Matthew to follow Him. Because Matthew was both Jewish and a tax collector employed by Rome, he would have been vilified as a contemptable sell-out by his fellow Israelites.1 Without a doubt, Matthew was as shocked at the Master’s call as the other disciples, who were probably wondering, Why is the Lord asking a traitor to join us?

Whatever their response, we know at some point after Matthew left his tax booth to follow the Messiah, Yeshua was found dining with other tax collectors and socially unacceptable sinners. The Pharisees did not care for His choice of companions and voiced their disdain. It was at this point my Lord offered His subtle rebuke in the form of a reference to Hosea 6:6: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

In the rabbinical style of His time, the Lord intended to point them not only to the specific verse, but the entire passage (probably Hosea 6:4-10). It is worthy of note here to point out the English translation is not exact, but bear in mind Matthew’s Gospel account was written in Greek; Hosea penned in Hebrew; and the conversation probably happened in either Hebrew or Aramaic – just in case you were wondering why it doesn’t appear to be a direct quote.

What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. . . For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.
(Hosea 6:4, 6-7)

Do you see it? Yeshua is not only making clear His mission – to call sin-sick sinners to spiritual health – but He is reminding these wayward leaders of their own faithlessness. The quoted statement forces the hearer to decide which category he falls into. Am I righteous? Or a sinner?

Anyone as conversant with the Text as the Pharisees were, would know that Psalm 14:2-3 declares there is “none who does good, not even one,” and many of the proverbs discuss God’s abhorrence of human pride (see Proverbs 8:13, 16:5, et al).

Not to mention that to declare oneself righteous is as bold an act of hubris as can be imagined.

Matthew doesn’t record the Pharisees’ response to this challenge, but I doubt it was positive. In several other places, Matthew points out how this sect accused the Lord of casting out demons through demonic means, sought to destroy Him, and eventually conspired to have Him killed.2 Thus, it’s no leap of logic to assume they weren’t thrilled at His rebuke. After all, they were prominent religious leaders! How dare this young upstart presume to reproach them?

Hm. Indeed.

The thing is, it’s easy for us to fall into the habit of thinking, Oh, those awful Pharisees, roll our eyes, and quite miss the point.

Yeshua’s question is for us, too. Am I righteous? Or a sinner?

Do we, in living-color-lived-out truth, comprehend the gravity of our sin and our desperate need for the Messiah’s imputed righteousness? Or do our lives reflect smug complacency in our own decency?

When we read these accounts in our Bibles, it’s an easy thing to read as a bystander, observing without participating in the unfolding narrative. Yet the entire purpose of God’s Word is to teach us about Him and draw us to Him by showing us the path carved through the very flesh of His only Son.

If there were any other way to breach the chasm between our sinful selves and the holiness of the Most High God, Yeshua’s prayers in Gethsemane would have concluded without His betrayal by one of His close companions and the road to Golgotha.

We can never be righteous enough to counterbalance our sin. There are no Divine scales of justice where each bad deed weighs down one side while every good deed is placed on the opposite. There is only the living death of sin and the eternal life offered through the Messiah.

To be blunt, we all fall into one of two categories:

  1. Those who do not belong to Yeshua, who are walking dead just waiting for the animation of our bodies to cease, or
  2. Those who do belong to Him and have already begun the eternal journey that will continue once these temporary bodies wear out and are traded in for our eternal ones.

So when you read His words to the Pharisees, it’s worth a heart check. Have you been trusting in your good works, or have your good works been the grateful overflow of a life rescued from death through surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, Yeshua Messiah? Are you a recalcitrant miscreant relying on self-sufficiency? Or have you repented – made a 180o turn – leaving desire for sin at your back and making steps closer to the glorious Savior?

In fact, are you one of the sinners He came to call?

I know I am, and I’m blessed to call Him both Master and Lord. I pray you will come to Him, too, and we can glorify Him both now and for time out of mind.

  1. See “Why Exactly Were Tax Collectors So Hated?” and “Monetary System, Taxation, and Publicans in the Time of Christ,” et al. ↩︎
  2. See Matthew 9:32-32; 12:14; 12:22-24; 22:15; et all ↩︎

Homeschool Advice Part 7 | Read Aloud and Read a Lot

~ Heather Davis ~ 4 Comments

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” – Ray Bradbury

If you do nothing else in your homeschool, teach your children to read. Basic math is also a must, and thinking critically about what they read is equal in importance, but reading itself is an incredible skill that cannot be overstated. Since reading the Bible should be the foundation and center of all we do, it goes without saying that a person cannot understand the Scriptures unless he or she knows how to read. So, read. And read aloud. Then read some more.

Read Aloud To Them

Long before your children are capable of tackling texts themselves, I highly recommend reading to them. There is an established correlation between parents who read aloud to their very young children and the child’s later reading comprehension. Children who experience the benefits of being read aloud to often go on to not only have greater literacy and comprehension rates, but tend to read for enjoyment more often as well.

But don’t stop too soon. So many parents cease reading aloud to their kids the moment the young reader has a basic grasp of phonics and can make their way through a beginner chapter book.

This is a grave mistake. Reading is actually difficult work involving decoding signs and symbols into meaning. Often, a child can decode the words into sensible sentences long before they are capable of actually processing the greater meaning of the whole.

But when a parent reads aloud to children, their brains are free to assimilate, process, and critically think about the concepts they are hearing. They also learn the rhythms of language, gain exposure to complex syntax and use of imagery, and hear how others distill thoughts, feelings, and observations into words.

So don’t stop reading to your children the moment they crack the code for the first time. By all means, allow them the privilege and excitement of reading for themselves. Yet supplement their early reading with what I always called read-alouds; books you share as a family, read aloud by the parent and enjoyed by all.

Also – don’t stop this practice in elementary school. Read aloud to your children as long as you can. You may be surprised how long they will enjoy it.

In actual practice, I read aloud to my children until they started attending private school (in 10th and 8th grades respectively). Our read-aloud time was one thing I missed the most when homeschooling ended, and the kids expressed fondness for those times as well.

Not only did reading aloud serve as a bonding time for us as a family, it also helped each of them develop literacy, exposure to new ideas, and develop a love for reading (which, of course, varies from the middle child who seeks out and reads obscure Shakespeare plays for fun to the oldest who enjoys more modern books).

Have Them Read Aloud to You

Besides the books you read to them, be sure you insist on each child reading aloud to you for a few minutes every day. Don’t just assume they are grasping their reading lessons; be certain of it. And again, don’t stop this practice in elementary school but continue it for the duration of your homeschool.

There are several ways to do this. One simple way is to have them read a page or two of their reading/ literature, history, or science textbooks. Another great practice is to have each child take turns reading from the Bible each morning.

By hearing your children read out loud, you can be aware of areas they are misinterpreting words, skipping over difficult words or passages, or catch a myriad of problems in their infancy. Children who read aloud and have their errors corrected on the spot, who are encouraged to sound out big words, develop greater confidence and competency. It’s worth the extra effort.

Read Good Books

No matter what age or stage your children are at, they can still benefit from being read to. My number one advice for choosing a book to read aloud is to choose good, quality books with stories that stand the test of time. And choose books that are one or two levels above your child’s own reading ability.

Practically speaking, in the very early years (preschool – third grade), you have a plethora of children’s chapter books to choose from. The Moffats and other books by Eleanor Estes are fabulous, as are books like Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Ronald Dahl, and any number of children’s classics.

Do a Google search to find recommended reading lists for each grade, then choose one or more a grade or two ahead of your oldest student. In the elementary years, even young children can enjoy hearing books they may not yet be able to decode for themselves.

Note that in the elementary years, I personally recommend books that support Christian values. What you read to them will not only shape their minds but will contribute to shaping their worldviews. They are too young for abstract thinking, so be selective in your choices.

In late middle school, expand your read-aloud list to heftier material like The Screwtape Letters or Mere Christianity (7th-8th grades) by C. S. Lewis or Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton. These books may be beyond your child’s grasp, but reading them aloud and discussing them has a tremendous benefit. In books such as these, they hear the voices of Christian thinkers as well as men from another age and culture – all of which can serve your children well as their minds develop.

There is also great benefit to reading more controversial books aloud to middle school children. Don’t be afraid of what’s out there, but dive in, read it together, and examine it critically. Discuss what you read: Does the author champion a view that honors God? What parts of the book line up with Scriptural principles? Where does the book differ from God’s way? What is the main takeaway from this book? Are the themes, lifestyles, attitudes or actions those we should emulate or avoid? Why?

Don’t throw your kiddos to the wolves and hope they’ll figure it out for themselves. Jump in and wrestle it out with them.

Read Old Books

“Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else.” -Albert Einstein

One great service you can do for your children is to read older books. Take them back to a time when life was lived differently. Let them hear the flow of language, linger in the length of a long and luxurious sentence, and hear the tones, fashions, and moods of other periods in time.

By reading older books – especially when you spend time discussing what has been read – you help children see how cultural fads come and go. They can see how social norms may change but human nature never does. They are given a glimpse into the past and can learn that our modern ways of living and relating are not necessarily right just because they are current.

In short, they can learn what a small space each of us occupies, what truths endure and stand the test of time, and how true it is that “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). A little humility goes a long way in learning how to think well, and books can be a great tool in learning it.

“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new after all.” – Abraham Lincoln

Homeschool Advice: Part 6 | Failure

~ Heather Davis ~ 2 Comments

In the early years of homeschooling, I began to re-evaluate the role of failure in life. I’d spent a good portion of my adult years berating myself for stupid mistakes, wasted time, and the like – to the ironic point of wasting more time stupidly dwelling on past mistakes. It changed when I noticed my ungodly habit rubbing off my kids and recognized the absolute desolation of refusing to learn from past mistakes.

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
(2 Corinthians 7:10)

Instead, I began to tell my children what I had learned from mistakes. When they failed at something, I would repeat a phrase they likely grew sick of hearing over the years: never waste a good mistake.

I meant it. The usefulness of failure became clear to me during an afternoon chat with a neighbor on her front porch. She mentioned failing statistics several times in high school and talked about how much she hated standard deviations and probabilities. When she caught my blank stare, she asked, “Don’t you remember?”

I did not.

Ironically, I’d aced the class. Yet as the conversation progressed, it became clear she remembered far more statistics than I did despite her failures and my apparent success.

As I took this new thought to the Lord, He showed me where my personal areas of failure were now lessons more deeply etched than those areas I’d skimmed over by succeeding.

Because of this realization, I determined to not only allow my children to fail but to show them how to best learn from it. I didn’t withhold the large red X on incorrect problems, and I resisted the trend in my circles to give them straight As at the end of each grading period.

Instead, I graded appropriately. Good grades were earned, not granted. Whenever work was done incorrectly, I would bring the graded paper back to my little pupil and have them rework the problem. Together, we would think through what went wrong.

However, I did not change the grade. Instead, I provided a chance to learn from mistakes so the next grade would be better.

I wanted to challenge them, and I wanted them to fail so they would see failure is not an end. It is not a thing to be feared. Instead, failure is merely another step in the journey. In truth, failure can even be a more memorable step than instant success. Whatever we wrestle through, we tend to recall more vividly.

I’m convinced this is part of why God allows us to fail. By failing, we see our own fragility; our weakness and need for Him. Also by failing, we learn not to be afraid to try because we discover failure is not so bad, after all.

In fact, through failure, we learn humility and to better trust the God who never fails. 

"Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, 
remember the former things of old; 
for I am God, and there is no other; 
I am God, and there is none like me, 
declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done,
 saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'
(Isaiah 46:8-10)

Homeschool Advice: Part 5 | Keep the End Game in Mind

~ Heather Davis ~ Leave a comment

Today’s topic is part parenting, part homeschooling, and applicable to both: keeping an eye on the end game. What I mean is this: as you parent and teach, remember the job is to prepare your children to grow into adults who are willing to follow God at all costs; to stand firm on truth even in world hostile to truth and to be able to function long after you have been called home.

Parenting for the End Game

While it may sound idyllic to raise children in an environment free from difficulty, failure, and suffering, such a situation would actually be detrimental to their development. Without difficulty, children do not learn to trust God in times of trial; they do not learn to be resourceful and resilient. Free from any suffering, children cannot develop character and hope. Without failure, they never learn to get back up and keep going.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
(Romans 5:3-5)

Failure in particular is so critical to development, I am planning an entire post dedicated to it, so stay tuned.

Keep in mind that the job of a Christian parent is to raise children who become functional, godly adults. The end game is, put simply, to work yourself out of a job by preparing your kids to become men and women who no longer need you. One way to do this is to encourage them to try difficult things.

By “encouraging them to try difficult things,” I’m not saying you should hand your four-year-old a meat cleaver and have her start hacking a hunk of beef into stew meat. But you can be appropriate for each age and stage and still think forward. Provide opportunities for your kids to challenge themselves, to strive for independence, to grow.

Practically speaking, let your two-year-old attempt to dress herself even if she decides to wear purple polka-dot tights with a bright orange and yellow striped tank dress and fairy wings. It may not be what you would choose for a trip to the library, but at least she’s learning a necessary skill.

Encourage your five-year-old to pour his own breakfast cereal. Enlist all ages to help with household chores, even if they don’t do a stellar job. Praise the effort anyway.

Establish nutrition boundaries and have your six-and-ups pack their own lunches for school or homeschool tutorials or field trips. Have them fold and put away their own clothes as soon as dexterity allows (even if it isn’t perfect), and once they’re tall enough to reach the laundry controls, teach them to do their own laundry.

Start laying the ground work now so they will know how to function if you end up sick – or worse. Such skills will not harm them now and can only help them in the future even if they are somehow spared any future difficulties.

Teaching for the End Game

While all the above advice could arguably be incorporated into school as “life skills,” it is primarily geared toward parenting. For the homeschooler, teaching for the end game is just as important. This means teaching with an eye to preparing them for the next step God calls them to – whether it is college, career, marriage, or something else.

As you plan your homeschool, there are two facts you should keep in mind:

1. You Do Not Know God’s Individual Call for Each Child

For your part as a homeschooler, do your best to leave all available doors open. Teach with the goal of preparing them so college is an option for them, regardless of whether or not they take it. Not all children should go on to college, but you certainly don’t want to be guilty of closing that avenue for them before they even have a chance to decide.

      One practical way to do this is by establishing a homeschool environment with structure and routine. While your homeschool cannot – and should not – look and feel exactly like a public or private school, it is wise to set up structures easily adaptable into those environments, just in case. You literally never know what the future holds, so keep the possibility of future public- or private-school attendance in mind when setting goals and planning curriculum.

      Phrased simply, teach your kids as though you might not be there tomorrow, because you never really know.

      2. You do not know how long God will call you to homeschool.

      Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” James 4:13–15 (ESV).

      We live in a broken world, and because of that, terrible tragedies happen. Twice during my kids’ lifetimes, I contracted meningitis. By the grace of God, neither case was bacterial. Though both cases involved hospitalization and left residual health issues in their wake, I was able to continue being both mom and teacher.

      However.

      Both times made me realize how fleeting life really is. Had one or the other been a bacterial infection, there’s a solid chance I would not be writing these words today. It’s a good reminder that none of us ever know the date our lives will be required of us.

      Morbidity aside, there are other reasons your homeschool may be more temporary than you planned. It’s wise not to assume you will always homeschool and so lay a suitable foundation for your children to build on regardless of what tomorrow holds.

      Always hold your plans loosely, submitting them to the Lord who is the Master Planner. His plans are far better than ours, and we must submit to them even if we don’t understand – even if it means He calls your kids to another schooling environment.

      So in all your teaching, planning, and preparation, do the best you can to make sure your kiddos know how to learn no matter what their circumstances. This way, whether the future holds public school, private school, college, or career, or whatever – they will be ready.

      A Disciple’s Pet Peeves: “Jesus Hung Out with Sinners”

      ~ Heather Davis ~ 15 Comments

      I first learned to love God through His Word and didn’t walk through the doors of a church building until I’d read and wrestled through the Book at least once. Since then, I’ve continued to read and wrestle through the Bible repeatedly – a practice that’s brought to light some rather odd discrepancies between the actual Words of God and Bible-belt churchianity culture where I live. A few of these discrepancies have grown into pet peeves, like the oft-repeated mantra, “Jesus hung out with sinners.”

      To that, I can only muster both shreds of dignity, roll my eyes, and state with all possible decorum, “Well, duh!”

      The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

      Genesis 6:5

      I have to wonder if anyone who repeats this slogan has actually read the Bible. The whole of it, I mean; not just the verse of the day, an occasional victorious meme, or Aunt Sue’s Hobby Lobby signs.

      The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

      Psalm 14:2-3

      Honestly, you don’t need to turn many pages of Scripture to find human beings sinning. All of them. Starting with the first two ever created and spiraling downward from there. My rogue race began with simple disobedience and quickly progressed to bloodshed, polygamy, incest – and it just keeps getting worse.

      Even David, the man after God’s own heart, committed adultery (and possibly rape) followed by conspiracy to commit murder to cover his backside (see 1 Samuel 13:14, 2 Samuel 11). Anyone reading it can see the truth behind Paul’s words: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). An honest look at the news headlines, social media feeds, or even our own lives confirms this truth is ongoing.

      My best guess is that those who repeat this inane refrain are drawing from segments of Scripture such as the following excerpt:

      And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

      Mark 2:15-17

      It’s true – Jesus did dine with sinners. In fact, every time He ate in the presence of a human being, He was dining with a sinner.

      To put it another way, Jesus didn’t come to earth with the option of going on occasional retreats with His like-minded buddies who were also sinless incarnations of the Living God. Every person He interacted with was a sinner.

      Jesus had no alternatives; if He hung out with anyone, He hung out with sinners.

      However, those who spend their time parroting this phrase without contemplation are missing the beauty of the passage. When the Lord responded to the accusations of the Pharisees and scribes, He wasn’t telling them that He preferred the company of sinners to the company of upstanding, righteous members of the community. Or in today’s vernacular, He wasn’t saying He’d rather hang out with prostitutes and drunks than with pastors and clergy.

      Instead, He was subtly rebuking them.

      Jesus didn’t come to call the righteous – because there are none. He came to call sinners, a label we all carry whether we realize it or not. Even those Pharisees. Especially those Pharisees and those of us who – like them – believe we are “good people” because of what we’ve done and because of our ability to justify the ickier deeds.

      I stood upon a high place,
      And saw, below, many devils
      Running, leaping,
      and carousing in sin.
      One looked up, grinning,
      And said, “Comrade! Brother!”

      Stephen Crane

      That Jesus spent time around sinners is a given, but the reason this phrase has become a pet peeve is the way it’s often used. Too often, people sling these words around to justify their own poor choices in companionship. If we were Jesus, we needn’t worry about being corrupted by the company we keep. But we are not Him.

      While it’s vital that we tell everyone the gospel, it’s also important that we remember our own proclivity to stray. As my pastor says, we need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily; keeping alert to our own need of Him and remaining wary lest we take the easy road into sinful practices and disavow the gospel’s power by our deeds. Or by our pride.

      When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

      Proverbs 11:2

      85 Second Devotional | December 12

      ~ Heather Davis ~ 2 Comments

      Welcome to my goofy attempts to have Advent devotionals with my busy college students who now live in 3 different cities.

      For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. . . and his name shall be called. . . Prince of Peace.

      Isaiah 9:6

      Peace is something that seems elusive to most of us in the modern world. After all, we can hardly escape the constant barrage of information, and most of us are now so accustomed to the incessant yammering of the media that we don’t even pay attention.

      Another scandal involving high-ranking officials? Of course.

      Government corruption exposed yet no one serves jail time. Naturally.

      We’ve come to expect chaos, even embrace it. But the expectation comes at a cost. The US consistently ranks #1 or #2 for anxiety, depression, and substance abuse despite being the most affluent nation in the world. Money, it seems, does not buy us peace.

      Sadly, as a nation we’ve rejected the Prince of Peace. Fewer Americans each year identify as Christian and of those who do, even fewer actually read the Bible or follow the teachings of the Christ they claim to serve. A 2019 Lifeway research study found evangelicals are far more likely to use social media daily than read their Bibles.

      Yet in chapter 26, Isaiah writes, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4).

      We lack peace because we no longer truly trust in the Prince of Peace. But we can choose to change this. Will you?

      Those Worrisome Words – Christian

      ~ Heather Davis ~ 4 Comments

      For series background info, see my previous post.

      Our kickoff word is Christian.

      Sooooo many people use this word, and yet in utter sincerity, I do not think it means what they think it means.

      Nerd Alert – brief foray into etymology ahead!!

      The word Christian actually comes from a Greek word which was coined not long after the death of the Christ, who was likely called Yeshua by His contemporaries and more commonly known today by the transliterated and (possibly Swiss-ified from the Geneva Bible translation) name, Jesus.

      Long story short, His Greek title would have been (transliterated), Christos. Christianos was the Greek derivative used to refer collectively to those who followed His Way not long after His death. The English is easy to spot from there.

      But what does the word mean? What, exactly, makes a person a Christian?

      I’ve had a virtual conversation with an atheist who believes Adolf Hitler was a Christian. And from his perspective, it makes sense. After all, Hitler belonged to a nation which identified itself as a Christian nation, he mentioned Divine Providence (a way of referring to God) many times in his speeches, wrote about his concept of God and the Divine Image in his autobiography, and even proclaimed Jesus as Savior and Lord during a speech or two.

      Surely that’s enough to make him a Christian, right?

      After all, if yours truly, a mother of three, suddenly chooses to identify as a man, I can be a man – thus saith the progressive logic of the current century and thus the atheist’s puzzling little piece fits, though admittedly the picture is more a puzzle assembled than if it remained in scattered pieces.

      The truth is, Hitler also used the term Christian while remaining ignorant of its actual meaning. Consider this quote straight from the pen of the mustachioed Austrian madman himself:

      It would be better if they left this [missionary] work alone, and if, in its stead, they tried to teach people in Europe, kindly and seriously, that it is much more pleasing to God if a couple that is not of healthy stock were to show loving kindness to some poor orphan and become a father and mother to him, rather than give life to a sickly child that will be a cause of suffering and unhappiness to all.

      Adolf Hitler, from Mein Kampf

      According to the deceased dictator’s philosophy, the God-honoring Christian thing to do is to sterilize the sick and infirm, allowing them to perhaps raise some healthy orphan rather than perpetuate their inferior genetic stock.

      He goes on to sing the praises of eugenics. The gist of this section of merry old Adolf’s autobiography is that allowing unhealthy, crippled, mentally deficient, or “racially impure” (presumably by his standard) people to procreate is an act of immorality.

      Logically consistent, but abhorrently far from what Jesus actually lived and died to accomplish. Hitler shaped his concept of God, Christianity, and morality around his lifestyle, ethnic makeup, and opinions rather than shaping his worldview around the actual Christ as presented in His Word.

      Like so many of us still do today, deceiving ourselves that we have no kinship with a freak like Hitler. Too many of us fail to see the inherent dangers of redefining what it means to follow Christ.

      So is a Christian merely a person who identifies himself with the Christ and calls Jesus his Savior and Lord?

      Not according to the Christ Himself:

      “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

      Matthew 7:21

      The Lord goes on to declare even some people who call Him Lord and do incredible feats – things I’ve certainly never accomplished – in His name will not enter. Jesus labels these Christ-proclaiming high-performers workers of lawlessness, not Christians.

      So what is a Christian, if not a person who calls the Christ Lord?

      Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

      John 14:23

      There’s the start of the definition, though it’s necessary to know Jesus’s commands. Read Matthew 16:21-27, John 13, John 15 – heck, really you need to read the entire Book and study the types of Christ in the Old Covenant before moving on to study the actual Christ in the Gospels and letters making up the New Covenant.

      To know what a Christian is, study the Christ. And remember that He tells us we can know them by their fruits.

      A person is not a Christian just because they say they are, nor because they do a little Divine name-dropping or throw out a frequent, “Praise the Lord!”

      Instead, observe their fruit. Do his actions bring acclaim to himself? Does her lifestyle honor herself?

      Or do they imitate the life of Christ?

      “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

      John 15:12-13

      Testify!

      ~ Heather Davis ~ 6 Comments

      I don’t normally do this, but a sweet friend and sister in Christ was moved by my last post to share a testimony of God at work in her life. I found her story deeply moving and was humbled by her transparency.

      I especially wanted to share it now as we can clearly see our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion, waiting for someone to devour as 1 Peter 5:8 tells us. With her permission, I am sharing it here with you, edited slightly to protect her privacy:

      “Scripture says, ‘Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins’ (James 5:20).

      In the spirit of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, I wanted to share a piece of my story with you to give you some hope that Jesus can and will transform the hearts and minds of those you see behaving inappropriately—if they let him do so.

      In the summer of 2018, my family and I left Station Hill (and church altogether) for about a year.  I was still deeply wounded from a Life Group experience gone wrong several months prior.  I’d struggled with them since the beginning, a chunk of which was my own fault.  I’d gotten into a couple of disagreements on social media about politics with a group member.  My natural political inclinations are center-left; the other’s are solidly right.  (Looking back, soooo embarrassing and immature.  I was willing to sacrifice the unity of the church and my and their Christian witness for my rights and rightness.)

      The final straw came, though, when the pastor referenced the Supreme Court and abortion amidst the nasty Kavanaugh confirmation saga.  I’d had it.  I walked out of that church, didn’t talk to the pastor or anyone else, and was determined never to return.

      To my dismay, however, God wouldn’t leave me alone about Station Hill or break my emotional ties entirely with the people of the church.  (They’d already walked with my husband and me through an intense season of infertility, but that’s another long story.  In addition, there’s gonna be using a lot of “I” pronouns since this is my story; my husband has his own perspective.)

      I eventually returned once the church scheduled a meeting about how to support families at the border, a pro-life cause that I felt was being ignored by both the local church and the global white American evangelical one.  I kept coming periodically.  The pastor didn’t throw stones at me from the pulpit, and the two close friends there I had remaining generously welcomed me back.

      The political sermon in the “True North” series was particularly healing for me.  I finally let the Spirit convict me enough to email the pastor to repent of treating the church like a country club instead of a family and for any hurt I’d caused by leaving the way I did.  He was gracious, extended the forgiveness to me I didn’t deserve, and invited me to ask any questions I had remaining.  Of course, those questions involved politics and revealed my heart of idolatry–which the pastor could see but I couldn’t at that point.

      In a sermon a couple of weeks later, the pastor used a quote from Hudson Taylor that I hope I never forget–‘Christ is either Lord of all, or is not Lord at all.’  


      You know how sometimes it seems that the pastor is looking straight at you?  That was one of those times for me.  I felt like I’d been stabbed in the heart; I very nearly burst into tears.  Jesus is my Savior, and I’d really thought He was my Lord.  It hurt me that the pastor didn’t think that Jesus was my Lord–‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend’ (Proverbs 27:6), though, because I obviously hadn’t surrendered to His Lordship when it came to politics. 

      That statement, combined with a Coffee House Theology podcast on Galatians 4 that I just “happened” to tune into–about not letting the Judaizers (or their modern equivalent) lure you back into bondage—sparked some immense spiritual growth and love and healing.  I feel like I was “born again” again.   

      While I haven’t been politically perfect since that time, God has been so gracious and patient and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love to keep forgiving, teaching, and redirecting me.

      I was obedient to let God remove me from a state government job that at that point was reinforcing my ungodly tendencies.  With the pastor’s sermons, I was able to finally see that I was trying to uphold government as the instrument of redemption, trying fruitlessly to force society to skip from brokenness to restoration without going through Jesus.

      I surprised myself that when President Trump got Covid, my genuine desire was to pray for him instead of to gloat.  I opted to attend the Women’s Night at church rather than to watch another fruitless, divisive presidential debate.


      Other followers of Jesus, not some political party that will rise and fall, are my true tribe now and forever will be.   💗 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rDeiy9-t2GE ” – L. P.