Psalm 119:105


Saturday, April 30, 2011

Hannah's Book Review on Jesus Freaks by dc Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs

"Jesus Freak".  You've probably heard this term before, but what does it actually mean to be a "Jesus Freak"?  The Devotional, Jesus Freaks, written by dc Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs, will teach you what it is to be one.  You will read the stories of many believers who stood up for their faith in Jesus Christ.  Some stories are quite shocking:  Including Christians being attacked by wild animals for the amusement of others, two young girls being shot by their own pastor, and many being killed by their own families for their faith.  The stories will open your eyes to how good we have it here in the United States.
    
 The devotional goes over why we believe what we believe, how to see these heroic martyr deaths in God's eyes, and how to show love to our enemies and persecutors.  There are also specific prayers for persecuted Christians and their countries.
    
This book impacted my life by giving me a new view on my faith.  I asked myself  how I would respond if I were one of the Believers in these stories.  I have known  that Christian persecution existed, but I have never thought deeply about what life would be like if I were being attacked and hated for my beliefs.   It also encouraged me not to ever be ashamed of God or His Gospel, and to share His love with others.
    
I recommend this book to teens and adults who want to be impacted greatly by those who have given everything for the cause of Christ.  I believe this devotional will encourage you to be a stronger believer and a witness of God's love.



 

Sunday, April 24, 2011

A great List of 1000 Books for children divided by age and type

I was searching for a list of classics for Hannah to pick from and found this great list of reading materials I thought I'd share :0)  Happy Reading!!

ttp://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000-primary.html#picture1-3 

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Teaching Phonics

What a journery teaching Phonics has been for my little Isaiah & I..  He has to learn each step slowly and sometimes in several different ways..  This has challeneged my teaching skills greater than anything I have previously encountered.  At age 5 Isaiah was learning his letters and all the sounds they made and really struggling to write anything that resembled a letter.  We worked thru Explode the Code A,B,C & listened to all the sounds of each letter on StarFall.  He tried so hard yet each step and letter mastered was painful and slow for him.  We did flash cards, games and wipe on wipe off books for writing practice.  We have continued to plug away using Sing, Spell , Read & Write, Spectrum Phonics, Explode the Code and Hooked on Phonics over the last 3 years.  After much work Isaiah can now write all of his letters and numbers, knows all of his letter sounds and can read many three and four letter words.  Today we start out with reading the Beginner's Bible together. He reads a page, I read a page & Bethany reads a page. Next we listen to Bible songs and play with blocks or math toys and let him emotionally prepare for the day ahead.  We go on to do JUMP math a new math in simple steps that is great for the struggling learner, then we read and work on Hooked Phonics 1st grade Orange box.  Then read from Abeka Health.   Isaiah needs a break so he listens to Patriotic Songs and practices jumps, hops, skips and other feats of daring :0).  Next we do Abeka History and then Spectrum Phonics grade 1.  After another few minutes play time we do Explode the Code book 2 and read a couple books about his favorite topic:  science.. we have learned about insects and volcanoes, how cars work  & the planets among other things.  All the kids take a nice long PE Break and have lunch.  After lunch we read lots of stories together and rejoice because we've put in a faithful day of school.  It is sometimes very hard to be a homeschooling parent to a struggling learner.  Slow and steady at the pace that reaches your child has been what works for me.  Along the way Bethany age 5 has gone thru each step with her big brother and has learned to read well.. so I am greatful for that <3
Galations 6:9  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.