Archives For Apologia Live

Reflections from Apologia Live: Education and Religion – Your Child’s Potential with Zan Tyler

Amanda Pelser — May 17, 2012 — Leave a comment

This is the final post in a series of sharing quotes, tidbits, and reflections from the various sessions at the Apologia Live Retreat which I had the opportunity to attend recently. Start here to read about my over all experience at the Apologia Live Retreat and head over to this post to read reflections from other sessions.

Your Child’s Potential with Zan Tyler

Zan Tyler is such an inspiration. She literally paved the way legislatively in the state of South Carolina for homeschoolers. She was homeschooling at a time when there were obstacles at every turn. She humorously described homeschooling in this way:

Homeschooling is like building an ark in your backyard and hoping no one will notice.

Zan went on to share this classic definition for education:

The bringing up, as of a child, instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties. From Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary.

In this definition, education and religion are intertwined. It was assumed, that education and religion go hand in hand. Somehow, our society has slowly ripped the two apart. We now live at a time where education and religion are so far removed from each other that our children have lost the ability to integrate their faith into their everyday lives and careers.

What are you doing to help you child(ren) integrate their faith into everything that they do?

I’m so excited to be partnering with Apologia and hosting a book club using Zan Tyler’s book 7 Tools for for Cultivating Your Child’s Potential. More details are coming soon, but in the mean time, read these 10 reasons that you should join the 7 Tools Book Club. Sign up for the 7 Tools Book Club newsletter and sign up for my daily email so you don’t miss a thing!

In Homeschooling 7 Tools Book Club, Apologia Live, encouragement, moms

Reflections from Apologia Live: Your Marriage with Jeannie Fulbright

Amanda Pelser — April 24, 2012 — Leave a comment

I’m in the process of sharing quotes, tidbits, and reflections from the various sessions at the Apologia Live Retreat which I had the opportunity to attend recently. Start here to read about my over all experience at the Apologia Live Retreat and head over to this post to read reflections from other sessions.

Your Marriage with Jeannie Fulbright

I know Jeannie because of her science books, but she went a direction with this session that I didn’t expect: Celebrating the Journey with Your Marriage. I wrote so many great snippets and I’m just going to share them with you raw:

{Base image photo credit. Click on photo for larger image.}

You must have a fulfilling and satisfying relationship with Jesus. God doesn’t need you to be good.
God is enough.
Anything you need to be happy besides God is an idol – This includes the “ideal husband” you think your spouse should be.
Thank God for even the hard things. Thank Him for your trials.
Stop preaching and start praying without ceasing.
Your husband’s greatest need is respect.
When I don’t respect my husband, I stand in the way of who God wants him to be.
Forgiveness is not a feeling; it’s a choice.

There’s probably more than one line in there that makes you stop and think. How can these relate your your marriage? Are you standing in the way of who God wants your husband to be?

In Faith, Homeschooling, Motherhood/Women/Homemaking Apologia Live, encouragement, marriage, moms

Reflections from Apologia Live: How to Ask for Forgiveness with Elizabeth Smith

Amanda Pelser — April 20, 2012 — Leave a comment

How to Ask for Forgiveness

with Elizabeth Smith

Elizabeth talked a lot about reaching the hearts of our children. Kids are very reactionary and one of the things we can do to break down barriers is knowing how to ask for forgiveness. She gave these 5 tips for how to ask for forgiveness:

Do it in person
Work out the wording ahead of time.
Take full responsibility.
Use the word forgive.
Say exactly what you did to offend.

It takes a lot of humility to ask your kids to forgive you. I had to ask Jonathan’s forgiveness the other day when I got upset and yelled at him. Ever have a time when you had to ask your child for forgiveness?

In Faith, Homeschooling, Motherhood/Women/Homemaking Apologia Live, encouragement, forgiveness, moms

Reflections from Apologia Live: Loving God with All Your Mind with Debra Bell

Amanda Pelser — April 19, 2012 — Leave a comment

Loving God with All Your Mind

with Debra Bell

Debra’s session was really titled “Celebrating the Journey in Awe and Wonder.” But, it was loving God will all your mind that really stuck out to me. She used the framework of how God speaks to us through Scripture, Jesus, Creation, and through man as the Creature.

We can create a context for our kids to learn about God, but only God can bring about the revelation that we’re sinners. We do out best, but ultimately it is up to God and the decision of our children as to what happens to them. (I talked a little about this in my reflections from Shepherding a Child’s Heart Chapter 2-3.) Isn’t that just a little freeing to realize?

What really stood out to my from Debra’s session was in reference to loving God with all your mind. It seems like so often we can handle the idea of loving Him with our heart, soul, and even strength, but somehow loving Him with our minds seems unbiblical and heretical. Christ-followers tend to fear the mind. To use Debra’s phrase, we’re skiddish about loving God with our minds.

The thing is, God created us with minds to be used for Him. He has given us curiosity and a love for learning. We’re naturally wired this way. We’re created to be healthy when we are learning. Our conventional schooling model tends to squash this curiosity and love for learning in our children. It pushes down our innate need to explore and seek after God with our minds.

Encourage curiosity and pursuit of loving God with all your mind in your homeschool!

Want more from Debra Bell? See Debra’s website.

How do you encourage curiosity, love of learning, and loving God with all your mind in your homeschool?

In Faith, Homeschooling, Motherhood/Women/Homemaking Apologia Live, homeschool how to, homeschooling, mind

Kids in the Word Wednesday Reflections from Apologia Live: Memorizing Scripture with Pam Tebow

Amanda Pelser — April 11, 2012 — 4 Comments

Memorizing Scripture

with Pam Tebow

Photo Credit: Michelle Eichorn from Apologia

Kelli, Kelli, Rebecca, Amanda, Pam Tebow, Kathy

I have to be extremely open and honest here. I did NOT have high expectations for Pam Tebow’s session at Apologia Live. Sometimes when you have a really high profile speaker at a conference, they are hyped up so much that their talk falls flat. Or, they are so “famous” that they are arrogant.

I’m so glad to report that I cannot lump Pam Tebow in with those types of speakers.

I took plenty of notes during Pam’s session, but I don’t plan to share any of those notes. Pam’s whole talk was filled with scripture. She quoted more verses than I can count. She sang scripture to us just like she did to teach them to her kids. That’s what stood out to me. The importance of memorizing scripture with our kids and allowing it to overflow into everything that we do.

I was in awe through the whole session.

I was inspired.

Every other sentence out of this women’s mouth was a verse of the Bible – from memory.

It was encouragement to perserve. Keep memorizing scripture with my boys and find ways to hide it in their hearts because those passages will be there when they need them later in life.

It was encouragement to find ways to memorize more scripture myself.

How have you kept your kids in the Word this week? Share in the comments or link up a blog post. Grab the button from the side bar to include in your post.